Pros and Cons

Written By: LJ


“Well, fellas, the date for our summer vacation is fast approaching and we haven’t even discussed what we’d like to do this year,” Dominic commented as he sat down at the table with a fresh cup of coffee in his hand. “Jayden, are you going to play with that or eat it?” He looked disapprovingly at the bowl of fruit and cereal his youngest partner was idly stirring.

“Huh? Oh, ah, eat it, I guess. I was thinking of all Slade and I had to do today.” Jayden wasn’t a morning person and it was an effort for him to refocus his thoughts in order to concentrate on what was being said.

“I’d like to go on a cruise!” Slade excitedly announced.

“Really? I was thinking more along the lines of renting a cottage by a lake in the Laurentian Mountains. Maybe even roughing it in that old log cabin Dennis has often talked about.”

“I don’t want to do anything that remotely involves work!” Slade staunchly insisted. “We already rough it when we go camping twice a year. I wanna holiday in style; you know, to just chill out and be waited on.”

“What do you say, Pet?” Dominic glanced over his coffee cup and saw a look of uncertainty in Jayden’s hazel eyes.

“I don’t know,” Jayden murmured and shrugged his shoulders.

“Come on, Jay-Jay. Say you wanna take a cruise too. It’ll be a blast; lots of sunshine and fresh sea air, great food and fancy drinks, fantastic parties and activities, exotic ports to visit…..” Slade’s voice tapered off when he felt Dominic’s hand on his arm.

“That’s enough, Sugar. Give Jayden time to think of some things on his own, okay?” Dominic’s request was firm but kindly spoken. He got up, walked over to the sink and rinsed out his cup before placing it in the drain-board. “Jayden, have you taken your medication yet this morning?”

“Ah, no?” Seeing the glare on his oldest partner’s face, he decided it was in his best interest to add a reason, however useless it would prove to be. “I forgot again.” Jayden obediently swallowed the Fluoxetine put in front of him, washing it down with a mouthful of orange juice. He wasn’t surprised when Dominic hauled him out of his chair and landed a solid swat on the seat of his jeans. It was a regular occurrence due to his forgetting to take his meds on an average of twice a week. He was improving though, thanks to Dominic’s persuasion strategy. “Am I going to be stuck taking these pills for the rest of my life?” he grumbled.

“Yes, Pet. The prescription strength may vary but you will always require it. Besides, you have to admit to feeling a lot better with the meds than without, especially since we now have them regulated to minimize the side-effects,” Dominic patiently explained. They had been over this more times in the last several months than he cared to remember, but he would continue to answer the question every time it was asked. He gave his Brat a hug to take the sting out of the needed chastisement. “We’ll talk about our holiday plans this evening. I’ve got to be at the hospital in twenty minutes to make my rounds. See you later, boys!” He kissed each of them good-bye.

************

“Have either of you been giving any further thought to our vacation plans?” Dominic inquired as he ladled chili onto his plate.

“Sorta,” Jayden answered. He seemed more interested in buttering his bread than in taking part in the conversation.

“I still want to go on a cruise but Jayden’s holding out!” Slade complained. “I told him he had to choose either your idea or mine.”

“No, he doesn’t, Slade.” Dominic strongly suspected his oldest Brat of trying to coerce their younger partner into supporting plans for a sea voyage. Jayden looked uncomfortable and Dominic decided to change the subject. “This is really tasty, boys! Your culinary techniques are certainly improving. Which one of you cooked tonight?”

“We did it together, Dom. Of course, Skyy helped by talking us through it.” Jayden beamed at the compliment. “We made lots ‘cause it freezes good.”

“I’m actually starting to enjoy cooking. If I’d have known it would be so interesting, I’d have learned to do it sooner,” Slade remarked, grinning at the praise given.

“I’m inclined to believe you like the challenge now that you realize it is one.” Dominic observed. “You guys made the meal, so I’ll clean up. After which we’ll get comfortable in the den and resume our earlier conversation.” He smiled with mixed feelings at Slade’s whoop of excitement and Jayden exaggerated groan of dismay.

Fifteen minutes later, Dominic walked into the study to find his partners hunched over the computer.

“We’re getting info on cruises, Dom,” Slade explained, looking over his shoulder.

“In other words, you are not even going to consider a two-week stay in the mountains,” Dominic accurately surmised. He wasn’t at all put out about it.

“We’re not interested in living without modern conveniences in some rundown old shack, Dom.”

“Are you speaking for Jayden as well as yourself, Slade?”

“Nooo, not exactly. But only because Jayden won’t discuss it with me, will you?” Slade turned and glared at his fellow Brat.

Dominic sat down on the couch, held out his arms and softly invited. “Jayden. Come here, Pet.” He was pleased when the younger man responded to the gesture, settled on his lap and buried his face in Dominic’s neck. “What are you thinking about, baby?”

“I’m not sure. I understand why Slade wants a cruise but….” Jayden’s voice faded. He was unable to put his thoughts into words.

“Okay, we’ll handle this one step at a time. Do you have any desire at all to go along with my idea? It’s perfectly all right if you don’t want to, Jayden.”

“I-I… Why don’t you just pull rank and say that’s what we’re going to do?” Jayden almost whined. “Then it wouldn’t be up to me to decide.”

“First off, I have no intentions of ‘pulling rank’ as you put it. Secondly, the decision is not yours to make alone. I am only asking you for a suggestion or two in order to increase our list of options.”

“Can I have more time to think about it?” Jayden requested in a small voice for Dominic’s ears only.

“Of course you may,” Dominic assured him. He was aware of Jayden’s on-going struggle to think for himself and not meekly follow behind Slade. This was an area the three men had been working on ever since Dominic’s return, last fall. He kissed the head leaning on his chest and to prevent his legs going completely numb, nudged Jayden into sliding off them.

Going over to stand behind his oldest Brat, Dominic placed his hands on Slade’s shoulders, applied a gentle massage and succinctly insisted, “I want your word that you will not intimidate or try to persuade Jayden into going along with your choice. You are to let him come up with his own ideas. Do you understand me, Slade?”

“Yes. I promise!” Slade reluctantly agreed.

************

The next evening, Dominic arrived home earlier than expected. He quietly entered the study and unintentionally surprised his Brats who were involved in a heated discussion.

“I’ve made up my mind to tell Dom I don’t want to go on a cruise, Slade! I’m not letting you push me into doing something I don’t want to do.”

“Come on, Jay-Jay! Look at all the neat stuff we can do.” Slade pointed at the monitor. “See, there’s parties, sports, fancy dinners…..maybe we’ll even get a chance to eat at the captain’s table.” He was using up the last of his persuasive powers and quickly running out of patience.

“Look at the list of stuff we have to take with us, Slay. And who feels like dressing up in a penguin suit? Not me!”

“Okay, but you don’t have to.” Seeing he wasn’t making much headway, Slade changed tactics. “You just don’t want to be on the water because of what happen with your parents.”

“That’s not true. We were on a small yacht when the accident happened, asshole, not a gigantic ship the size of a small city.”

“Then what IS your problem?” Slade knew he had hit below the belt but wasn’t prepared to back down.

“Slade Dwayne Richman!” Dominic hollered from the doorway where he was standing with his hands on his hips and looking rather threatening.

Jayden abruptly stood up. Slade fell while attempting to get off his chair and ended in a heap on the floor. Both Brats’ eyes were opened wider than their Top would have thought humanly possible.

Dominic walked over, embraced his youngest partner and planted a kiss on the light brown hair before softly requesting, “Jayden, I want you to go out to the kitchen and order pizza for supper. I need time alone with Slade. Please,” he added when he saw the other man hesitate, and gave him a gentle push towards the door.

Dominic then hauled the older of his two Brats up and into his arms for a comforting squeeze. He wasn’t looking forward to the next half-hour and was perfectly aware that Slade wasn’t either. “Just what do you think you were doing, young man?”

“S-something you told me not to,” Slade muttered into the junction of Dominic’s neck and shoulder.

“You understood my instructions, but what did you find confusing in regards to the reasons behind them?”

“Nothing,” Slade sadly admitted. He knew the silence following his admission was a sign that Dominic expected a further response. “I know we’re supposed to be helping Jayden figure things out and come to his own conclusions instead of relying on one of us to do it for him.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re partners, a threesome, and each of us has an equal responsibility in building our relationship. And even though you have final say, Jayden and me still hafta put in our two cents worth.”

“And are you giving Jayden the opportunity to add his two cents worth?”

“No,” Slade shamefully whispered.

“What happens when you’ve deliberately disobeyed, Slade?”

“I get punished.” Slade hated saying the word ‘spanked’ even though he was quite sure that was exactly what was about to happen. He clutched on to Dominic’s hand and tried to drag his feet as little as possible while allowing himself to be led across the room to the sofa. He stood quietly in front of the other man as his jeans and boxers were lowered. He submitted to being placed face down over his Top’s lap before panicking and begging for a last minute reprieve. “Please don’t spank me, Dom!”

Dominic ignored the plea. “Tell me why, Slade, even though we’ve been over it many times before.” He pushed up the T-shirt and ran his hand over his Brat’s back, calming the younger man’s moment of panic.

“I just want a cruise. I didn’t mean to,” the Brat whimpered plaintively. “I won’t do it again!” he promised, finally resigned to the inevitable.

“If it does, young man, this is exactly where you will find yourself each and every time.” Dominic raised his right arm and brought it down hard, leaving a red handprint on the bare bottom in front of him. He continued to land sharp, rapid spanks until he felt the message had been accepted and the wails had changed to sobs of repentance. Then after waiting several more moments, Dominic gently turned the younger man until Slade was lying on his side with his upper body securely held. “Okay, baby. You’re all right. It’s over now. All has been forgiven.” Dominic repeatedly murmured words of assurance and slowly rocked the man in his arms.

It took twenty minutes for the crying to be replaced by sniffles and intermittent hiccups. Slade gradually relaxed and snuggled against Dominic’s chest, seeking the solace he knew he’d find there. “I’m sorry, Dom!” he murmured.

“I know you are. We’ve taken care of it though and it’s over, babe,” Dominic tenderly kissed the short ash-blond hair. Soft gray eyes lovingly gazed into slightly teary, pale blue ones. “Are you ready to go out and apologize to Jayden?”

“Un-huh.” Slade crawled off the couch and struggled to straighten his clothing. He hissed as his pants rubbed across his sore butt. He stepped closer to his partner and wrapped his arms around Dominic’s neck. “It seems that every time we take one step forward, we take two steps back.”

“Not at all, sweetheart. Our relationship has grown in leaps and bounds since this time last year. We’ve all worked hard on our weak points by using our stronger ones. We’re moving in the right direction and by this time next year, we’ll be able to look back and see how we have grown even more. We need to be patient with each other and with ourselves, just doing the best we can. We are a fantastic team, baby, we have a good thing going here and don ‘t you forget it!”

“Yeah,” Slade breathed out the word on a sigh of relief. He grabbed Dominic’s hand and started towing him out of the room. “We better not keep Jayden waiting any longer.”

************

“Okay, Jayden. You’ve had two days to think things through, so what have you come up with?” Dominic asked, setting the mashed potatoes on the table next to the platter of pork chops. He pulled out his chair, sat down and looked expectantly at the man beside him.

“Well, I listed all the pros and cons just like you said to do. They kinda balanced out for your idea but, for me anyway, the cons outdid the pros for the cruise thing.” Jayden sent a look of contrition to his fellow Brat. “I can’t help it if I get seasick, Slay,” he pleaded for understanding.

“When the hell did you ever get sea-sick?” Slade couldn’t conceal his astonishment.

“Remember the time Mom and Dad took us to Nova Scotia? We had to take a ferry from Saint John to Digby and I threw up almost the whole crossing.”

“HELLO! That was because you had the flu, moron!” Two Brats jumped to their feet and leaned across the table until they were standing nose to nose.

“Sit down! Both of you!” Dominic ordered. “Slade, you will apologize at once!” Silence! “One!” More silence. “Two!”

“All right! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have called you that. I know it’s not true.” The younger men continued to glare for another minute or two before relaxing and smiling sheepishly at each other. With peace restored and ruffled feathers soothed, they started filling their plates with the food Dominic had prepared.

“If you’re right and it’s true I only had an upset stomach or something, then my plans will work out better than I thought,” Jayden commented, his excitement beginning to show.

“What plans are those, Pet?” Dominic asked as he cut into his meat.

“Being as I couldn’t choose between you guys’ ideas, I came up with one of my own,” Jayden voice rang with sense of satisfaction in his accomplishment.

“So, are you going to tell us about it or do you want us to just guess?” Slade teased.

“I’d kinda like to take a trip to Newfoundland. I looked it up and it’s less than forty hours drive from here to Gander. We’d even have time to swing over to Prince Edward Island for an overnight stay. We’d end up travelling through six different provinces!” Jayden sat back to await his partners’ reactions. His eagerness waned at the shocked expressions on their faces.

“Hrrrmph!” Dominic recovered first and cleared his throat. “You’ve certainly put a lot of……I mean, you seemed to have……” He was at a loss for words as thoughts of an extensive car trip with these two Brats of his, inundated his mind and brought visions of a horrendous ordeal in their future. ‘Think, man! Think!’ he stoically urged as he struggled to find a way to let his Brat save face.

“You’d sorta still get a cruise, Slay. ‘Course it wouldn’t be as fancy and the chances of eating at the captain’s table are rather slim, but as least we won’t be roughing it and….” Jayden stopped talking and looked down at his hands to hide the flush of embarrassment spreading across his cheeks. ‘It’s a stupid idea!’ he admonished himself. ‘Dom shouldn’t have made me do this.’

“I like it! Yeah! I really like it!” Slade announced enthusiastically. He grinned at the sight of Jayden’s face lighting up.

“It just might work,” Dominic murmured thoughtfully. “May I make a proposal, Pet?” Getting a nod, Dominic introduced what turned out to be a readily accepted plan of action. “Instead of staying in different hotels along the route, why don’t we rent an RV? It will give us more space than the car and eliminate the need to live out of our duffel bags. Plus, having most the comforts of home at our fingertips means we can make our own meals instead of eating out three times a day.”

“Right on!” Slade noisily made his support of the plan known.

“Sooo, we’re…we’re really going to go with my suggestion?” Jayden asked hesitantly.

“Appears as if we are, Pet,’ Dominic assured him, smiling at the happiness radiating from the younger man’s eyes. “Let’s finish supper and get the kitchen cleaned up so we can spend the rest of the evening going over routes, checking out campgrounds, and putting together a list of the tourist traps we’re willing to let ourselves get suckered into.” He relaxed and fondly watched his Brats merrily chatter away. It was good to see things falling into place so smoothly.

“Dom, what would you have done if we hadn’t agreed with Jayden’s plan?” Slade asked with a smirk.

“I would have carried out my responsibilities in this relationship and made the final decision.” Dominic informed him, relieved that it had not been necessary.

“Yeah, but what would it have been?” Jayden wanted to know.

“Had it been just Slade and myself,” Dominic paused to grin teasingly at the inquisitive expressions on his partners’ young faces. “I would have gone along with his wishes.”

“How come?” Slade was practically beaming.

“First, to make you happy and secondly, because a cruise also appeals to me,” Dominic explained. “However, that being said and because I have two Brats instead of one, for this holiday I would have opted for the cottage on the lake.”

“Why?” Jayden was obviously bewildered.

“Because I feel you’d have a harder time adjusting to an extended stay on a floating ‘city’ than Slade would have with spending two weeks in the mountains. And before you fly off the handle, Slade, I would have rented the fully equipped cottage rather than the log cabin.”

“Well as long as we didn’t have to rough it, I’d be game for whatever you decided. You too, right, Jay-Jay?”

“Right!” Jayden agreed, high-fiving his fellow Brat. “Would you have use the ‘pros and cons’ method to decide, Dom?” the young man’s question had all of them laughing.

“It’s the only way to do it, Pet!”

The End