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Ash groaned as he rolled over and checked the time on his phone, quickly growing suspicious as he registered the silence in the room. There should be soft breathing from across the room. “Damn it, sugar…” he peered at the other bed in the room, gritting his teeth at the immaculate twin bed.
He was out of bed like a rocket as Jamie’s absence registered, dragging jeans up over his boxers and looking for a flannel shirt. Once he was dressed, he pulled out his phone again, eyes narrowing at the TATL notifications simultaneously pinging Jamie in different locations. “How the fuck…” he muttered in disbelief, frowning at the app. Deleting it and redownloading it didn’t work so he went for more traditional routes.
You’re supposed to be in bed, sleeping, sugar.
The reply was rapid. Surprise! Catch me if you can and win a prize 😜
Jamie.
No reply came so Ash sighed, resigning himself to a late night adventure in upper Manhattan. Prof was going to kill them. He grimaced and texted Cal hoping not to wake him, then set off on a wild goose chase.
//
Jamie grinned as he got ready to go on stage, feeling proud as hell of himself. Ash would likely kill him when he tracked him down, but for now the workaround Riley had taught him for TATL was working. He’d also masked the FindAPhone app for an hour so he had time to perform at least a little. Ash would understand, probably.
The jazz bar was loud and the atmosphere electric when he saw the door open and thought he saw Ash slip into a booth. The lighting wasn’t strong so he couldn’t tell and he quickly pushed the thought from his mind. He focused on the riffs he was playing and soon lost himself in the sound and energy of the strings beneath his fingers.
//
Ash lost track of time as messages pinged every 30 minutes giving him clues for finding his AP, and boyfriend. He wasn’t sure whether to find it hilarious or infuriating. They were both going to be exhausted tomorrow, which sucked, but he also loved seeing the younger boy’s creativity shine through. Jamie had struggled when he arrived but now that he’d found his feet? Well, he was thriving. He was also naughty as hell. It was fun catching him, and it was fun watching the ridiculous excuses the boy used to charm his way out of trouble —with mixed success— with different Tops and teachers around him. Tonight it wouldn’t work, but Ash was looking forward to witnessing the rizz the boy showed.
He was just thinking about calling Prof when he walked past a jazz bar playing a melody that seemed familiar. Curious and suspicious all at once, Ash stepped back to listen a moment before letting himself inside. The lighting was low, smoke and sultry notes filtering through the air. Barmen were in braces and cocktail waitresses in sparkling flapper dresses and the vibe was very Prohibition in the 1920s. He felt like he’d been transported into the world of Gatsby. It took only a minute to recognise a familiar mess of auburn hair up on stage, making him snort in amusement. The clues all made sense now. The little shit had planned this. He shook his head and stepped inside, glad he wasn’t in a hoodie. He slid into a booth once he’d ordered an Old Fashioned, leaning back to watch the show and grinning to himself. He was going to enjoy this; Jamie didn’t realize he’d arranged his little treasure hunt to end at a lifestyle friendly jazz bar.
He sipped on the drink, knowing he probably shouldn’t be drinking alcohol while responsible for the Sophomore, but he figured one wouldn’t hurt. When the show paused for the intermission, he finished his drink and stood, moving into Jamie’s line of sight. He almost laughed at the delighted smirk on Jamie’s face as he waved. “Congrats, cowboy, you completed the treasure hunt.”
“Better get a prize then, huh sugar? I walked 42 blocks tracking you down.” He leveled Jamie with an intense gaze, swaggering towards him as a lion would hunt its prey.
Jamie grinned wider. “But of course. The prize is—“
Ash moved with lightning speed and precision, snagging his wrist to tug him in flush against his body. He watched in delight as realization dawned in Jamie’s eyes, nerves mixed with excitement sparkling as their eyes met. “My prize is this adorable ass.” He squeezed it for good measure. “Red and squirming.”
“I’ll give your feedback to management, but naw. That’s not tonight’s prize. The prize is… is, eh…” he grew flustered as Ash held his hips firmly in big hands. “Your prize was getting to see me play. Isn’t this venue cool?” He tried innocently.
“Uh-huh. Why didn’t you ask me? You know I’d have come with you anyway.” Ash raised an eyebrow, smirking.
“Aw, cowboy, come on. Where’s yer sense of adventure?”
“Oh, I’m ready for an adventure tonight. Never spanked a naughty boy in a Prohibition Bar before.”
“Not here, cowboy, dinna want ye getting arrested, aye?”
Ash leaned back enough to look into Jamie’s eyes, giving him the momentary hope that he’d get away with his crimes. He grinned smugly. “You don’t know much about this treasure trove, huh?”
“It’s a jazz bar.”
“It’s a kinky jazz bar. Pro-spanking, McAvoy.”
Jamie’s jaw dropped for a moment before he recovered, forcing a cocky smirk across his face. “Now, now, canna be showing up the band with an even bigger performance,” he retorted leaning up to kiss Ash hoping to distract him.
“Nice try, brat.” Ash sat in an empty booth and pulled Jamie down over his knees, bringing his hand down firmly. He was gratified by the instinctive wiggle it earned him. “We’re giving them a bonus show. An after party, if you will, sugar.”
Jamie groaned below him. “But they won’t want me back…”
“Sugar, they won’t care. It’s common here. And I told you. I get a prize for finding my naughty boyfriend showing off to the people of New York, and I wanna show you off.” He landed a few more hefty spanks before reaching under Jamie to unbutton his chinos and slowly drag them down his legs, letting the material brush against his barely protected skin to make him squirm more.
He let Jamie adjust for a second before he was spanking again, enjoying the surprised grunts and soft groans that escaped his boyfriend. “You’ve been very naughty, sugar, sending me off all over the city that never sleeps. Especially when you should be fast asleep. What did Prof say about being a good little boy, mm?”
Jamie smirked and rolled his eyes. “He’s being a killjoy.”
“He’s sure gonna kill your joy before he’s through with you.” Ash agreed, keeping up those slow sturdy slaps to Jamie’s ass, flicking his fingers up just a little to squeeze with every swat. He probably shouldn’t be having so much fun doing this, but there had to be some perks to his adventure tonight, and honestly? This was the highlight of having been roped into chaperoning this field trip for Prof anyway.
A crowd soon gathered, grinning and whispering as drinks were passed out and the band cleared up equipment, a Miles Davis record playing somewhere near the bar. Ash had positioned himself so Jamie didn’t have to see anyone but they’d see a little of the scene in the dim lighting.
Deciding to tease him a little more, the Senior reached down to take Jamie’s boxer briefs in one hand, gathering the material and pulling it upwards so that Jamie’s cheeks were visible with the material pulled tight. It had the added advantage of the soft cotton rubbing his sensitive skin. As he’d expected, Jamie let out a low groan, pressing against him hopefully. “Ah, ah, not tonight, sugar. Naughty boys don’t get to shoot their load.” He announced, smiling to himself at the way Jamie made a soft sound of protest, wiggling a little.
“Wouldn’t that be a more impressive show?”
Ash snorted and brought his hand down sharply across Jamie’s sit spots. “You were naughty, I’m not rewarding that.”
“Sure feels like it…” Jamie muttered smugly, rubbing against Ash’s thigh to prove his point.
“You’re such a brat.” Ash laughed. “And we can’t stay out all night putting on a show, sadly.” He looked over at one of the guys pouring drinks. “Hey, you got something I could borrow?”
The barman, also the shift manager, smiled knowingly and retrieved a small, lightweight cheese board from the kitchen. Ash accepted it gratefully and swung it down against Jamie’s pinkening ass. The younger boy pushed out a shaky breath, feeling a little less cocky when the next one landed. It stung and he told Ash as much. Ash let him fuss and whine knowing he needed to cause a scene. He didn’t deliver an especially hard paddling, too impressed by the creativity of the evening’s activities, but he did turn his butt a light red that would linger tonight.
Satisfied, he stood Jamie up and put him in the corner, hands on the wall in front of him before pulling his boxers down below his glowing ass, letting the tent in the front of the material hold them up to maintain some measure of dignity. He couldn’t resist rubbing his hand across the sensitive flesh tenting in the cotton for a minute, laughing softly at the needy sound Jamie made, pushing towards the touch. “Don’t you dare, McAvoy, or I’ll really spank you. Understand?”
Jamie sighed and pouted, but a smile tugged at his lips. “Aye aye, captain.” He agreed cheekily, saluting for a moment before settling.
Ash rolled his eyes as he moved out of sight, returning the cheeseboard to the manager. “Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.”
“That kid’s adorable, but he breathes naughty. We enjoyed the show.” He winked at Ash. “And he’s welcome back, you know, his talent’s insane. We got a lot of happy patrons tonight.”
Ash’s smile grew again, a proud look in his eyes. “That’s my boy, he’s the best at what he does.” He agreed. “We’re only here a few days but if we get a chance I’ll bring him back.” He promised.
“Sure thing.” The barmen held out a card with their social media details. “Reach out if you can get back and we’ll make space.”
“Thanks, I will. For now I have a naughty rascal to get home to bed.” Ash shook hands with him again and moved back towards Jamie, stopping to admire the sight before him. When he’d first used corner time or time outs, Jamie had hated it. His ADHD had been unmanaged and the lifestyle had been alien to him, leading to a lot of arguments from the corner as he fought against Ash’s authority. It hadn’t been quite as much of a struggle for Prof, but he’d still fought against it as best he could. Now he seemed to find peace there. If Ash left him long enough, he’d likely zone out completely. As nice as it would be to watch the effect he had on his boyfriend, they needed to get moving. It was already after midnight and they were going to be be back at the hotel late enough as it was.
He strolled over, well aware of the attention he drew as he moved confidently across the bar, stopping behind Jamie and kissing his neck. He turned the younger boy out of the corner and into his chest, holding Jamie against him as he dragged his clothes slowly back into place, teasing him with a little more friction. “Let’s go, it’s way past your bedtime.”
“I’m no’ a bairn.”
“No, but you’ll be grumpy at six AM when my alarm goes off.” Ash reminded him. “And then you’ll get yourself spanked and spend the day pouting. So let’s skip the step where I have to paddle you properly sugar, huh? I’ll even hold you till you fall asleep.”
Jamie grinned, nodding eagerly. Was it against the rules? Technically. Did they care? Not at all. Ash hugged him and kissed him again, then led the way to the door. They got lost on the subway back, eventually giving up and walking 40 blocks back to their hotel. Ash sent Jamie to shower quickly, texting Prof to fill him in. He didn’t want to get Jamie into more trouble because tonight had been fun, but he knew he had a responsibility as an upperclassman on this field trip and he needed to set the right example.
It was gone two by the time they were both in bed, Ash’s limbs tangled around Jamie’s as he held him tight against his chest. He’d learn it seemed to increase his chances of his brat actually sleeping, which would mean more sleep for him. That seemed worth the ten minutes it would take to be sure he slept properly. Soon the room was quiet again.
//
Cal had been sorely unimpressed to hear about Jamie’s escapades the previous night when he woke up. On field trips he favored getting the upperclassmen helping on the trip down sooner so he could run through their plan for the day. He was fairly easy going, it wasn’t a tight schedule by any means, but he liked making sure his students were prepared so they could navigate unexpected changes.
Midnight treasure hunts though? Cal drew the line at that. He knew both boys very well by now and he was well aware Ash would have loved every minute of that ridiculous idea of Jamie’s. Admittedly his creativity knew no bounds, which was usually either a delight or a nightmare to navigate. It tended to depend on whether you were the lucky recipient of his antics.
When Ash arrived downstairs he looked bleary eyed. “Sorry Prof…” he muttered, aware he was a few minutes late.
Cal smiled at him, gesturing to a seat. “Don’t worry about it. Did you get any sleep?” He asked, one brow raised.
They heard a snort and a whistle at the other end of the table as Liam spoke up. “When did we lift the rule against getting jiggly with it? Isn’t that meant to be a Miami thing?”
Ash groaned at the terrible joke about Will Smith’s nineties classics. “Get your mind out the gutter, man.”
“Hey, I’m just saying the rest of us might get jealous.” His friend teased.
Cal rolled his eyes. “Jamie decided to explore the New York nightlife last night. Ash was the one tracking him down.”
“Truly is the city that never sleeps, huh?” Liam winced sympathetically, moving closer to squeeze Ash’s shoulder in solidarity. “Need us to wrangle him today?”
“I’m good, I just need a decent coffee. Though, you are the expert in naughty little boy wrangling.”
Liam just grinned smugly. “Don’t I know it. And so does Alex, though he’s usually a good little boy. You want a brat tamer to wrangle him though, ask Milo.”
“Milo’s not here just now, in case you didn’t notice.” Ash retorted, rolling his eyes. “And I can handle my own brat, thanks for your concern.” He swatted Liam’s thigh playfully, enjoying the look of surprise on their peers’ faces.
Liam narrowed his eyes. “Oh, it’s on…”
Before Liam could retaliate, Cal intervened. “Alright, gentlemen, perhaps we could get on with this morning’s briefing?”
Both Ash and Liam ceased their horseplay and took seats, turning to Cal with focused expressions. He talked them through their plans for the day and the research project they’d be looking at for the coming week in collaboration with NYU, then he released them for coffee.
//
Jamie groaned as he heard Ash’s alarm go off, pulling a face at the sharp slap to his ass ten minutes later when his boyfriend headed out. He gladly dropped back off to sleep, not thinking to check for his own alarm being on.
By some miracle he woke a before after eight when he got a text from his boyfriend. You have fifteen minutes to be down here or I’m coming for ya, sugar.
He smirked. That a threat or a promise? We still have business to attend to… 🍆😏
Sure, if you want to put on a show for Prof…
Dude just no… why would you ruin the mood like that?
Fifteen minutes, McAvoy. I’m counting…
Jamie pulled a face but dragged himself through the shower and dried off, getting ready in record time. He was pleased to see he wasn’t the last person down to breakfast, though it was busy enough he thought he could sneak through to a table with his friends. His hope was short lived.
//
Cal kept an eye out for Jamie’s arrival as he sat with the other staff on the trip drinking coffee. He’d waited to get food until he’d collared the brat under his responsibility this week.
He was impressed to see Jamie wasn’t in fact the last person from their group to arrive at breakfast, something he suspected was thanks to Ash. The sophomore tried to look surreptitious as he edged around the table towards his friends.
Cal didn’t even look over as he snagged an arm out, catching Jamie by the scruff of the neck and pushing his seat back while simultaneously pulling the kid down across his thighs. Jamie groaned and twisted, letting out a surprised protest. “Prof!”
Cal rolled his eyes and brought his palm down firmly, not breaking his conversation with Dr Payne at all. He set up a firm but sustainable pace, keeping the spanks sturdy to get Jamie’s attention. He’d learned that slow and sturdy was the best way to start off to get Jamie’s attention as it forced him to actually feel the consequences of his actions.
Jamie sputtered his way through the first few spanks before his head rose and he met Ash’s tired gaze with a cheeky smile and a salute. They all knew exactly why he was there, and it was hardly surprising in reality. Cal rolled his eyes, struggling not to chuckle; the difference in Jamie since his arrival at RBU truly was extraordinary. It was transformations like this that made his job worthwhile.
With that in mind he paused to tug Jamie’s clothes down to his knees and went back to spanking, glad the hotel was also lifestyle friendly. There were booth-like rooms along one wall and at the self service breakfast buffet there was an implement section for those needing to administer breakfast spankings. Further round were insteps in the walls that effectively created multiple ‘corners’ where misbehaving bottoms could be deposited to reflect on their actions.
Cal didn’t think he’d need that today. Jamie had had his fun, and this was mostly to encourage him to stay on track for the remainder of the trip. “Now, little boy,” he scolded when he heard Jamie’s genuine groan as the sting built. “What did I say about behaving on this trip, hmm?”
“That we weren’t to do anything you wouldn’t appreciate, Prof, but—ah! But this was kinda impressive… it was a whole treasure hunt!”
“Indeed, but it was also after curfew and you knew it was naughty, yes?”
There was a pregnant pause before Jamie groaned, dropping his head. “Aye, I guess…”
“I think you know so. Do I need to arrange for an extra bed in my room like I do when I book a family room, Jamie? Do you need to stay where I can keep my eye on you?”
“What? No! No way, sir! Ye canna!”
“Then I expect you to be a good boy and go to bed when I tell you this week, you hear? I will be very unhappy if we have to repeat this conversation.” Cal scolded as he attacked his sit spot with fervor.
Jamie sniffled and squirmed, kicking his feet. “Aye! Prof, I get it… Nae more Ash-ventures!”
Cal was so surprised by the pun he couldn’t hold back his chuckle. “That’s right, good boy. I think we understand each other, mm?”
“Yes sir. I’ll no’ be causing more mischief, honest, Sir...”
He hummed, letting the boy squirm for a moment. “Alright then, I’ll take your word for it. I hope you don’t prove me wrong, because I have no issue spanking you before bed every night to help you settle.”
“No disrespect, sir, but I’d rather Ash do it.” Jamie quipped. He winced as Cal focused on his thighs to finish up.
“That is precisely why Ash wouldn't be doing it, brat.” Cal chuckled and fixed his clothes, helping him stand. He reached up to brush away Jamie’s stray tears, patting his hot cheeks and pulling him into a hug for a minute. “Off the record? You get full marks for creativity, kid. But don’t let Ash hear me saying that.”
Jamie’s smile lit up a mischievous twinkle in his eyes but he nodded, making a show of zipping his lips theatrically. “Our secret, boss.”
“Indeed. Alright, go on and get some breakfast. If you can be a good boy I’ll let you sit with Ash so he can fuss over you.” He was rewarded with a delighted smile from the sophomore, who nodded eagerly and shot a hopeful look towards Ash. Ever in tune with him, Ash looked up and caught his eyes, offering him an indulgent smile that had Cal hiding a grin.
Ash slid to his feet and made his way over, holding out his hand to Jamie. “Come on, I need coffee. Someone kept me busy last night.”
Jamie laughed sheepishly and went over, leaning into Ash’s side and leaning up to kiss him. “Occupational hazard of being a sexy Top, Cowboy. Or so I heard.”
They set off for the breakfast bar and Cal watched with fond amusement as they jostled one another and laughed raucously. Despite Jamie’s promises, something told Cal that he’d have found more mischief before the end of the day; it was just who he was, trouble followed him like excitement hovered over the city that never sleeps. He didn’t mind though, he’d be here waiting to catch him when he inevitably fell, and he'd love every minute of the challenge Jamie would inevitably set him before the week was out.