So What Did You Do This Weekend?
Many thanks to Jas for the beta (still waiting for yours ) and to Brenda
for more encouragement than I could possibly deserve.
Can't really see a lot of point in disclaimers but, for the record, I've no
know idea who they belong to but it ain't me.
Richie was sitting on the edge of the barge looking out over the water,
waiting for Duncan to get back and generally feeling very sorry for himself.
He'd been bored. Bored and lonely and homesick. That had been his problem
to begin with. Now his problem was how his friends were going to react to
his methods for counteracting that boredom.
When Duncan had first given him the plane ticket and he'd understood that he
really was going to Paris with Tessa he couldn't believe his luck. Given
practically no time to pack, let alone think about the realities of a move
to France he'd just floated along on a cloud of excitement that had lasted
him until Mac joined them and they'd settled into the barge on the Seine.
Then reality set in. Its wasn't that he didn't like Paris or wasn't
incredibly grateful to his friends for the chance they had given him. It
was just that, well, he didn't belong. He didn't know anyone and couldn't
have made himself understood even if he'd met anyone. He was far more
dependent on his friends here than he had ever been at home and dependence
on anyone wasn't something he was exactly comfortable with.
Duncan and Tessa didn't seem to mind. They generally tried to include him
in anything they were doing but they had friends of their own here and they
were definitely not his type. Or, more to the point, he wasn't theirs.
They were clearly a little perplexed by his inclusion in Duncan and Tessa's
family and he quite often had the suspicion that they were talking about him
when they suddenly moved into French and that made him even more
uncomfortable.
He didn't want to bother either of his friends with his problems. He wasn't
a child after all and he didn't want them to think he wasn't happy to be
here, particularly given everything they'd done for him. So he retreated
into his usual cocky, tough guy persona and struck out on his own. And
anyway, wasn't Tessa always saying that he'd learn the language much more
quickly that way?
Duncan and Tessa had been invited to a weekend house party at the chateau of
a gallery owner friend of Tessa's. They had assumed that he'd go too but he
had persuaded them that he would much rather stay in Paris. Reluctantly
they had agreed, feeling that there was little trouble that he really could
get into in just two days.
Big mistake, thought Richie as he sat watching the sunset and mentally
reviewing the weekend's events. Mac would be back in an hour or so and he
was not going to be happy with the tale Richie had to tell.
It has started out innocently enough. The drive hadn't really been a bad
idea. Mac had left the keys after all and there really hadn't seemed any
harm in just going for a drive. Ok, so he wasn't actually supposed to drive
without Mac or Tessa along after that little incident with the traffic cop
but, what the hell? That was just a technicality anyway and no one would
ever know. Would they? Anyway, it was a stupid place to stand. Even if he
was directing traffic
Maybe he shouldn't have stopped at the café? No, even that would've been ok
if he'd just had a coke and moved on but, well, it was legal for him to
drink here, wasn't it? And, well, he was bored and fed up and a beer seemed
like a good idea at the time. And another. And another.
Even then, everything would have been ok if it hadn't been for that jerk in
the corner. How was he supposed to know that he was the son of the patron
behind Tessa's exhibition? Maybe if his brain had been clearer he would
have realised that the brat seemed familiar but, in his beer fuddled state,
he'd just thought the kid was a mouthy little bastard who deserved to be
taught a lesson.
Ok, now hitting him was definitely a mistake but, even so, the café owner
hadn't needed to chase them out with a broom like a couple of scrapping
puppies! And she definitely didn't need to phone the obnoxious little brat'
s father. They'd only traded a couple of blows for goodness sake. It was
all but over by the time the old man arrived!
Now him Richie did recognise and the recognition was clearly mutual. And
unwelcome. Richie didn't understand very much of the tirade that was
directed at him but he got the general gist of it and it clearly wasn't
complementary. Tessa's name was also mentioned several times so it was
clear that she would be the first to hear of his activities. Suddenly this
didn't seem like such a great idea after all.
Finishing the tirade in a crescendo, gesticulating at both boys, the old man
swiftly clipped his son across the back of his head and swept him off,
leaving Richie feeling very much the worse for wear and digging through his
pockets for the car keys. They weren't there.
Timidly he walked back towards the café to look for them inside. On seeing
him the owner initially brandished her broom again but he managed to explain
his problem with in a mixture of pidgin French and gestures and she agreed
to let him back in to look for his keys. Unfortunately they didn't seem to
be there either.
This shouldn't have been a problem. After all, breaking into cars was what
he'd done for a living at one stage but why oh why did those policemen just
happen to be passing just then? And why oh why did one of them just happen
to be his friend the traffic cop? Though, strangely enough, that at least
turned out to be a blessing. Given that the guy clearly remembered him he
couldn't actually arrest him for breaking into Duncan's car, however tempted
he might be. They couldn't even charge him under the drunk driving laws.
He didn't have the keys on him so how could he be intending to drive?
However that did rather leave him without transport as he could hardly
hotwire it and drive it away under their very noses.
It had been a long, cold walk back to the barge that night and an even
longer walk around Paris the next day trying to find where he'd left the
car. The anticipation of Duncan's probable reaction when he heard that his
was car as lost somewhere in Paris together with the reason why was not
exactly comforting either.
Richie was used to talking his way out of trouble. It was something he was
very good at but even he had some doubts that he could talk his way out of
this one. Which is why he was sitting on the barge looking out over the
water, waiting for his friends to get back, generally feeling very sorry for
himself.
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."
End