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“He was your friend? ”
Kurt turned his glare to Josua who froze in place on his spot on the floor as he heard the tone of his father’s voice.
“You mean you hang out with slobs like that? Do you want people like him to make you weak, so everyone in town calls you ‘weak Josua’? Is that what you want?? ”
Tears were already welling up in Josua’s eyes as Kurt was poking him sharply with the metal antenna of his walkie-talkie. He shook his head vehemently, but Kurt didn’t seem to let up.
“And not only was he a lazy slob, he was even worse, a criminal. We cannot have dangerous people like him in Gambämark!”
This made injustice bubble up in Josua’s chest. Without thinking, he blurted out words that he regretted as soon as they left his mouth.
“But I didn’t even mean to drop that packaging! It was just a biscuit packet!”
When he saw his father’s eyes widen, he immediately put a hand up over his mouth, as if that could help anything.
“ You didn’t mean to do that?”
Kurt’s voice was steely and pointed. Josua felt like his gaze could explode him out of existence.
“N-No!” he managed, “I meant-, I meant-, he didn’t mean to do that.”
“ And when did I tell you it was a biscuit packet, exactly? ”
Josua’s heart sank to his feet. He knew he had messed up now. It was probably impossible to save Gunnar anymore anyway, but in his anger over losing his friend, he had forgotten to save himself from his father’s wrath.
Josua’s face was practically on fire from how hard he was blushing, and his lack of a response didn’t do him any favors either. Kurt already knew everything he needed to know.
“You little scoundrel!”
Josua yelped as a sharp tug on his ear forced him to his feet.
Kurt pointed a finger into his son’s face.
“Were you anyone else, you would be thrown out of here head-first! You know not to mess with anything from the outside world! But, you’re lucky that I’m your father, so your fate won’t be as severe.”
Josua certainly didn’t feel any luck in his moment, especially as the sharp pinch on his ear was still present, making him grimace in pain.
Kurt shook his head.
“I’ve clearly been too easy on you, you’ve grown spoiled and disobedient. That is no way for a man to act. Perhaps I should’ve listened more to the old saying ‘spare the rod, spoil the child’. The olden days had the best wisdoms after all.”
Josua recognized that phrase from an old book he had found once, and his eyes widened once he understood its meaning.
“Papp! You don’t need to-”
But it was too late for protests, Kurt had already set path to a chair. With a resolute motion he sat down and changed his grip on Josua by taking a firm hold of his wrist and pulling him down. Josua landed right over his father’s lap, his bottom in the air, and hands bracing against the floor. In truth, as strict as Kurt was, this wasn’t a punishment he used often, though no matter how long ago it was, moments like this always stayed brightly in Josua’s mind.
“ No whining! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll save your usual dramatics for yourself”
Josua whimpered as he felt his father’s hand come down hard on his poor bottom.
Kurt didn’t exactly look like the strongest man in town, but Josua felt like his hand was impossibly hard and harsh as it began smacking down on his backside. Each swat caused a stinging sensation to bite into his bottom, making Josua squirm.
“Papp! Papp! Please, I’m sorry!” Josua began kicking his feet, unable to stay still.
“You will be sorry, but you won’t wiggle out of this!” Kurt tightened his grip on Josua’s waist as he was writhing about.
Kurt was determined, keeping up a steady pace, striking his son’s bottom with force, leaving no area untouched. He didn’t enjoy doing this, but Josua needed to learn his lesson. He was way too soft-skinned for his own good, so a spanking was long overdue. He could only hope that this is the wakeup call Josua has always needed and would straighten up by the time they were done here.
“Aj, ow, Papp, please stop!”
But he didn’t, Kurt only shook his head and kept going, now striking the lower areas, including the backs of Josua’s thighs. He needed to make sure Josua would feel the aftermath of this punishment whenever he sat down in the nearest future.
Josua was miserable, his bottom was stinging and throbbing but Kurt just kept going. He cursed himself for telling him about his part in the rule-breaking that had taken place. Sure, he was lucky not to be thrown out, but a sore and tender bottom wasn’t the best alternative either.
By now, Kurt’s own hand was starting to smart, but he knew he had to push through it. He would wear Josua’s bottom out even if he had to sacrifice his own hand. So he continued to give the seat of his pants a good dusting.
The sharp relentless smacks were starting to do a number on Josua. His papp was so strict, he should’ve known that a spanking from him would be no joke. This was way worse than the time he had spilled a whole vat of berry juice when playing in the central freezer. That had been so stupid of him, but not as stupid as admitting breaking one of his father’s most important rules.
His bottom stung so much and his whimpers and pleads all fell on deaf ears. Josua felt so helpless, the tears building in his eyes began to roll down his cheeks.
Josua finally ceased all resistance, slumping over his father’s lap. There were no more protests from Josua, only the loud smacks and his own soft sniffles could be heard in the otherwise quiet room.
Noticing this, Kurt figured he had finally gotten through to his son. He ceased the smacks, giving Josua’s back a pat.
“Now, will I ever catch you doing stupid things like this again, Josua?”
Josua shook his head.
“ Use your words.”
The admonishing slap caught Josua off guard and he flinched.
“No! No, papp! I will- I will never engage with things from the outside. …It’s dangerous and bad.”
“That’s right,” Kurt’s voice was satisfied as he patted Josua’s back again, “ and it’s against the rules and we all must follow them. Now, get up you poor thing, we’re done here.”
He helped Josua up, putting both hands on Josua’s shoulders as they were both standing now.
“I only do this because I care for you. And no more tears, you need to be a man, got it?”
Josua sniffled again, as the snot was still building up in his nose, but nodded, wiping his hand against his eyes.
“Good, good,” Kurt clapped Josua’s shoulder and let him go, “but heed my warning. I ever hear of you breaking rules again, I won’t be so nice. I will have you go to the forest and bring me a birch switch. And you can imagine how bad that would feel on your bottom.”
Josua shuddered but tried to keep eye contact as his father was pointing a finger in his face again.
“No! There’s no need! I will be good… I promise.”
Kurt nodded and smiled at Josua approvingly, content with the result of the punishment. Josua however didn’t feel so happy. The resentment he had for his father had only grown exponentially throughout this experience. Kurt was so mean and he didn’t understand him at all.
Josua nodded back, just wanting to appease his father so he would leave him alone. Once he was allowed, he headed right out of the house. His plan was to get as far away from Kurt as possible, but he couldn’t help but look back, sneaking a look through the window. He saw Kurt shaking out his hand, grimacing a bit. Good, I hope his hand hurts a lot. Josua thought to himself in a moment of childish defiance.
But before Kurt could see him through the window, Josua set off to the forest. He finally stopped once he found a secluded place in the woods. He took a moment to catch his breath and rub his sore bottom for a moment. The lingering pain was just a reminder of how he couldn’t live like this anymore. He didn’t know how, but he would find a way to defy his father, no matter how many spankings he gets threatened with. Josua nodded to himself, still reeling from the outburst of emotions he just had. Yes, he will get back at him, somehow.