Steve tried to ignore the pang in his heart as his brothers faced him, doing their best to look him in the eye. They looked scared to death. He had wished many times over the past several weeks that he could go back and erase the events preceding the night of his youngest brother’s punishment. He wished it more than ever now. If there had been any way for him to prevent this moment from coming, he would have, at almost any cost, but come it had. Now, there was nothing to do, but get it over with. With a deep inward breath, he mustered all the severity he could, and regarded Danny and Ryan sternly. “You’re late,” he scolded. Matt too, frowned at them in an intimidating manner.

“It’s my fault,” Danny sobbed, unable to hold himself together any longer.

“I’m not particularly interested in whose fault it is,” Steve returned, taking hold of his arm. “Come here.”

“No!” Ryan protested as Steve escorted their younger brother to the bed. “We would have been here, Steve! We were here in fact. It’s just that Kevin . . .”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Steve snapped, sitting down and pulling his little brother over his knees. “I don’t care who is at fault, or what the excuse is! When you are summoned for a punishment, you report on time, and that’s final! You two, of all people, should know that!” Danny clutched the bedspread, and hid his face as Steve laid his hand threateningly against his bottom. His brother had never spanked him before, but he suspected he would spank hard. More than that, he knew Ryan was going to get it too, and it had been his fault they were late. Danny’s shoulders shook as his guilty sobs continued to fill the room, and tears stung Ryan’s eyes too as Steve continued. “Time after time, this semester, the two of you and Kevin have put me in bad situations. Kevin, of course, didn’t know any better until a few weeks ago. The same cannot be said for the two of you!” With that Steve lit into his little brother’s well rounded bottom with sharp, punishing smacks. Danny squirmed and bucked away from his hand, and Ryan started to cry harder.

“Oww, Steve! Oww, oww! I’m sorry!” Danny sobbed, but Steve was unrelenting. He continued to bring his hand down hard on the back of Danny’s jeans, warming his brother’s bottom thoroughly until he could feel the heat even through the thick material. He ended the punishment with a rain of spanks aimed at the backs of his brother’s thighs, and then left Danny crumpled on the bed, grabbing his bottom as he moved on to Ryan.

Ryan too clutched his bottom and tears stung Steve’s eyes as his little brother shrank from him. He was determined, however, not to be swayed. He took Ryan firmly by the arm and pulled him to him as he picked his ruler up off his desk. Ryan did not have on thick jeans as Danny did. He was wearing the long, but flimsy mesh running shorts he habitually wore to work out in, and now he began to envy his younger brother’s foresight.

“Steve, please,” he begged as his big brother pinned his arm to his back, forcing him to bend. “Please! I thought Matt was going to do it,” he sobbed.

“Matt will be administering the punishment, Ryan, yes,” Steve started, thankful that his voice did not waiver, “but by arriving late tonight, you displayed a blatant disrespect for me! You should know better! This, compared to the punishment you will be receiving, is nothing but a little reprimand! I’m sorry I have to do it, but you left me little choice.” Ryan regretted bemoaning the thin coverage his shorts provided as Steve grasped the elastic and pulled them down just below his taut, muscular bottom. His big brother could call it a reprimand or whatever else he wanted, but Ryan knew he was about to get a very hard spanking, and his sobs were pitiful to hear.

“Please Steve, please! I didn’t mean to disrespect you!”

“I know you didn’t, Ry,” Steve returned softly, “but you didn’t think very hard about the position you were putting me in by arriving late, did you? It is a problem that you, Danny, and Kevin all share! You never think things through!” Ryan sobbed harder and flinched as Steve placed the ruler firmly against his bottom. “You are too reliant on your position, Ry! Perhaps I should have reddened your bottom in the beginning of the semester to remind you that I can’t always bend the rules just because you are my brothers!” SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

“OWWW!” Ryan howled. Keeping tight hold of his little brother’s arm, Steve let him have it again. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWW! Steve, Please!” Ryan squirmed and Steve pinned his arm tighter to his back, gripping his waist firmly to steady him. He pulled Ryan’s shorts lower and attacked the underside of his little brother’s bottom. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWW! OWWW! OWW! Steve, Please! Please! I’m sorry!” Ryan wailed. Steve pulled his shorts up over his burning bottom again and gratefully, Ryan thought it was over. In his relief he started to get up, but Steve pushed him firmly down once more.

“We are not done!” his big brother admonished. “Straighten your legs and bend lower!” Ryan responded automatically, not daring to disobey.

“No,” he whimpered as Steve grasped his shorts tightly and drew them between his cheeks. “Please!”

All of Ryan’s bottom was a rosy red color now, but Steve was determined to give his little brother a lesson he wouldn’t forget, and now he brought the ruler down hard once again, concentrating particularly on the backs of his legs. “OWWW!” Ryan screeched, and his little brother responded with wails of sympathy. Danny was clutching the pillows on Steve’s bed now, and hiding his face, in an effort to muffle the sounds of Ryan’s spanking. His own burning bottom was all but forgotten.

Ryan was dancing back and forth now as Steve continued to smack him with the ruler, and his bottom went from rosy to tomato red.

“Stop moving!” Steve scolded, and his little brother tried to obey, but the burn was excruciating now, and he could not help his side to side movement. Finally, giving up, Steve dropped the ruler onto his desk, led his sobbing brother to the armchair on the other side of the bed, and sat down. Ryan was crying too hard to protest now, and he allowed Steve to pull him down over his knees. He hid his face on his arm as his brother once again gathered the loose material of his shorts tightly, so that almost all of his bottom and the backs of his legs were exposed. Steve’s hand came down relentlessly, moving from Ryan’s bottom cheeks to his thighs, and up and down the backs of his legs. Soon there was not a single white spot to be found, and finally he stopped. “All right, Little Bro,” he instructed gently, “stand up.” Slowly, Ryan did so, digging his nails into his palms to keep from rubbing. “Remember that,” Steve stood up too, and brought his hand caressingly to Ryan’s wet cheek, using his thumb to wipe away some of the tears that were still coursing down his little brother’s face. “I don’t expect to ever have to summon you again, but if I do, you will be on time! Do you understand?” Ryan nodded, biting his lip. Steve wrapped his arms around him, and Ryan clung to him, burying his face on his shoulder.

Matt had, so far observed his brother’s actions with silent approval, but he could see that Steve was becoming emotional now, and quickly he moved in beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You all right?” Steve nodded, but his throat tightened and he was afraid to try and speak. Matt saw it, and taking Ryan by the arm again, he pried Steve’s little brother off of him. Steve, knowing it was for the best, assisted Matt in loosening his clinging brother’s death grip. Sternly, Matt ushered Ryan back to the chair they had just vacated and placed his younger brother on his knees. Ryan had become hysterical once more and he buried his face in the back of the chair as Matt let him go. “Take a few minutes to pull yourself together, Little Bro,” Matt advised, “we have a lot to get through still, and,” he lowered his voice with a sidelong glance at the bed, “you need to be there for Danny.” Ryan didn’t answer as he clutched the back of the chair, and sobbed. “You may rub,” Matt finally gave the long awaited permission in a soft, affectionate tone. He was very fond of all his little brothers, and extremely sorry that this had happened. As Ryan brought his hands back to soothe the fire in his bottom and tried his best to do as his oldest brother asked, Matt turned his attention to Steve once more.

“You all right?” he asked again in tones his sobbing younger brothers would not hear. Steve looked at him, and shook his head, tears brimming in his eyes. Matt placed his hand on his little brother’s shoulder once more. “You’re doing great,” he whispered. “I know that was hard, but it needed to be done.” Steve swallowed as tears started to streak his cheeks. “Come on, Man,” Matt squeezed his shoulder, “you can’t let them see you like this.”

Steve knew his brother was right, and he tried hard to swallow the lump in his throat, but his stomach was churning now, and the sounds from downstairs weren’t helping. For some time now, Steve had been dimly aware of them as they drifted up the stairs and snuck under his doorway, but they were not very loud, nor were they distinct, and he had been focused on his brothers. Now, however, as the room became quieter, the noises were becoming louder, and he couldn’t help wondering what was going on. Matt too, got a bewildered look on his face. “What the hell is that?” he questioned rhetorically. He hadn’t heard it before, but there was definitely a commotion of some sort going on, and it was becoming harder and harder to miss. Even Danny and Ryan began to grow calmer, distracted from their own misery by the raucous disturbance outside.

“No! Let me go, Sean! Let me go!” The blood drained from Steve’s face as for the first time distinct tones reached the ears of the four brothers.

“Oh, Jesus!” Danny sobbed, and Ryan began to cry harder again too. Matt was the only one who did not recognize the sounds for what they were and he looked at Steve inquiringly.

“It’s Kevin,” Steve explained softly, but by that time no explanation was necessary as Matt too identified the voice.

“Steve!” they heard their youngest brother calling. “Steve!” A moment later he was pounding on the door. “Steve, don’t!” Steve put a hand to his eyes, and Matt squeezed his shoulder once more. Not long after, they heard Andy’s low tones and Kevin’s infuriated screams filled the air. There was no more pounding after that, but Kevin’s furious caterwauling intensified, and they heard Pat’s voice now too as Danny and Ryan’s friends tried to soothe their younger brother.

“God damn it! Who told him?” Steve’s temper flared as his brotherly instincts kicked in. Danny and Ryan were both unable to speak for a moment, and Steve had not really expected them to answer. He didn’t think they would know. Finally, however, Ryan responded.

“I th . . .ink Jess . . . and . . . and Sean probably did,” he managed brokenly. His voice was so garbled that both Matt and Steve had a hard time understanding. They got the gist though.

“What?!” Steve demanded. “Why? Why would they do that?”

“I didn’t leave them much choice,” Ryan sobbed.

“Ryan,” Steve started gently, “slow down, and back up. You’re not making any sense. What are you talking about?”

“It’s what I was trying to tell you before!” Ryan choked into the chair. Danny ‘s agitation had reached fever pitch as he clutched the pillow to his face, and without a word, Matt went and sat on the bed next to him, placing a hand on his younger brother’s back and whispering softly to him.

“Come on, Dan, it’s all right, we’ll get through this.” It was hard to even hear what Ryan was saying now, but Matt looked up in an effort to get what his other little brother was trying to convey.

“When we came in, the first person we saw was Kevin. He was just standing there in the hallway and he was clearly upset. I was afraid someone might already have told him, but then he certainly wasn’t acting like he knew! Danny and I looked to see what he was looking at and . . . .everybody knows, Steve! Everybody knows!” Ryan too was becoming hysterical again, and Steve went to him, squatting down beside him, and placing his hand on his back.

“Come on now, Bro,” he soothed patiently, “I know it was upsetting to come in and find Mcarthy here, and I’m sorry that your friends found out, but that is hardly everyone . . .,”

“No, Steve! Everyone knows! The whole fucking house is down there! It’s standing room only, and believe me, they all know!”

“What?!” Steve paled and looked at Matt. “They’re all supposed to be at dinner!”

“Yeah well, they’re not!” Ryan sobbed bitterly. He turned his head to look miserably at his brother. “That’s why we were late! The only one who didn’t know when we came in was very clearly Kevin, and we could barely get up the fucking stairs! He was looking for Danny. Wanted help with his History project. We kept trying to get away, but he wouldn’t let us go. Then when I told him we had to come see you, he wanted to come with us, and the only way I could get him to back off was by telling him it wasn’t a social call. He didn’t get it though, and I’m sure he asked Jesse and Sean about it. They’ve just been trying to help. We should have told them to begin with, and then this wouldn’t have happened like this,” he sobbed.

Steve and Matt were silent as they looked at one another in dismay. How could their beautifully orchestrated plan have gotten so far off course? Absently, Steve continued to rub Ryan’s back. ‘How the hell did this information get out?’ he pondered to himself. He didn’t understand. The only people who had known anything were his brothers and his two best friends. Not even Danny and Ryan’s closest friends had been aware of the impending punishment. Steve did not know how it had happened, but he was furious, and he was going to find out.

“I’m going to fix this, Ry!” he assured quietly, and with one last comforting squeeze of his little brother’s shoulder, he got to his feet and headed for the door.

“What are you going to do, Steve?” Matt asked quietly. He still had a hand on Danny’s back, but Danny’s anguished cries had not decreased by much.

“I don’t know,” Steve replied honestly. “First, I want someone to tell me how the fuck the whole house came to be in possession of information that we have guarded very carefully for weeks now.”

“Somebody must have slipped,” Matt continued in the same undertone.

“Like who?! Kurt and Mike? It will be their asses, if they did!” Steve snapped, his hand on the doorknob.

“Steve, before anything else, and especially if you’re determined to go out there, you have got to calm down! I know you’re pissed, but if you open that door, you have to be prepared first and foremost to deal with Kevin. The last thing you want to do is inadvertently make things worse.” Steve looked at his sobbing brothers and paused. Matt was right. The last thing he wanted to do was make things worse.

“What do you think I should do?” he asked his older brother as Hurricane Kevin continued to rage on the other side of the door.

“I don’t know,” Matt replied softly. “It’s a tough call. Someone’s got to get that kid calmed down, and the best way to do that might be to let him in.”

“No! No! Jesus, No!” Danny interjected even before his opinion was called for.

“Well, there you have the thoughts on that idea,” Matt replied wryly. “The only other choices are to forget about it and get this over with and try to deal with Kevin and everything else in the aftermath, or open the door with a very specific plan, knowing the kid’s going to try and push his way in here.”

Steve looked again at Ryan and Danny, and another wave of fury washed over him. It burned him to think people were out there reveling in their misery. “If I can just get Andy’s attention for a moment, or Pat’s, maybe they can tell me something . . .,” he intimated to Matt in hushed tones.

“NO!” his younger brothers pleaded, horrified. Steve had not intended for them to hear, and he met Matt’s eyes uncomfortably, looking away as his oldest brother raised his eyebrows at him. “Please just leave it, Steve! Please!” Ryan sobbed. “There’s nothing you can do about it, now!”

‘I can find the sons of bitches responsible!’ Steve thought darkly to himself. He was trying very hard to think rationally, but at the moment his more practical side had been overridden by his protective feelings for his brothers. He would find out who had done this to them! He would find out right now, and if Mcarthy had one single thing to do with it, he would eat his liver for lunch.

With that thought in mind, Steve turned again towards the door. All his brothers were against him, but he was the president, and in this case, anyway, he would do as he pleased.