12. Axel

Chapter 12

Axel

The night had drawn in and quite the gale had picked up outside. But fortunately for Axel and Arlo, the pair of them were all snug in bed. Laser was fast asleep downstairs in the kitchen and aside from the creaking of the occasional floorboard, there was quiet across the ranch house.

After the work on Kipp's orchard took longer than expected, Axel had to head into town to pick up some equipment. It was no big deal, although it did mean that he was able to stop at one of his regular clients' houses to finish off a job from earlier in the week.

All of this meant that by the time bedtime rolled around, Axel was beat.

Having decided to stay with Arlo at the ranch once more, Axel was gradually drifting off to sleep with a full belly when he became aware that Arlo wasn't as close to sleep as he was. Far from it, in fact .

‘Everything okay?' Axel asked a little drowsily as Arlo shifted from one side to another and kicked his feet. ‘You should be asleep by now baby boy.'

‘ Urgh . I can't sleep,' Arlo replied, his voice full of frustration.

Axel could tell that even though he might have been more than ready to jump on board the snooze train, Arlo was about as far away as it was possible to be – and unless Axel gave Arlo a helping hand, the pair of them might be up for hours.

‘Okay, so talk to Daddy,' Axel said, turning on the small bedside light and providing a warm glow onto Arlo's sweet face. ‘If there's something on your mind, tell me and I'm sure it'll make it much better.'

‘I don't know… it's silly,' Arlo replied, his voice shy and a hint of pride in it too. ‘I'm fine. I really am fine.'

Axel reached out and brought Arlo in close. Axel could tell that his baby boy had something on his mind and wasn't going to allow him to bury his emotions like this. That wouldn't be good for anyone in the long run.

‘ Talk ,' Axel said, stroking Arlo's hair. ‘And that's Daddy's orders.'

As Axel waited for Arlo to respond, he could tell that there was something swirling around his darling boy's mind. Suddenly, Axel was sensing that whatever it was that was keeping Arlo up late into the night might actually be something way more important than he'd imagined.

‘It's just…' Arlo said, clearly now wanting to open up to his Daddy but still not quite sure how to say it .

‘Darling boy, you don't need to worry, just talk,' Axel said reassuringly. ‘You're in bed with your Daddy. No one can hurt you. Nothing you say can scare me. You're safe.'

Arlo smiled sweetly and began to talk.

And from the moment he opened his mouth to reveal what had been bugging him, Axel could see that this conversation had long been overdue…

‘I think that I might want to walk away from my appeal,' Arlo said, having explained everything about his scare in the barn and how it had brought up so many old feelings and memories from the military. ‘I think m-m-m-maybe trying to win my unfair dismissal case is keeping me stuck in the past. But then I think that I don't want them to just get away with treating me like that. What if someone else like me wants to serve? They should be able to without fear of being bullied. I don't know what to do. Argh . I hate feeling like this.'

Axel ran his fingers down Arlo's arms. The young man was clearly stressed about the ongoing appeal process, and there was the baggage he was still carrying from how he had been treated too. It wasn't easy for the boy, that much was evident.

But while Axel might have had his own opinions on what Arlo should do, he knew that the choice had to be his. Axel might have been a Daddy but in this situation, it was the Little who needed to take the lead…

‘My boy, I'll support you in whatever you decide to do,' Axel said, his voice soft and full of love. ‘It's good that you're talking to me about it, and I'm always here for you to listen, talk, and discuss options. But this is a big deal for you, and the choice has to come from your heart. Sure, I could tell you what to do. But that wouldn't be right. And I don't think you'd thank me for that in the long run either. I'll be standing next to you whatever you choose though. I'll pick you up when you fall or when times get tough and make it all right. Whatever you decide, I've got your back.'

Axel could see that Arlo was taking in what he was saying.

‘Thank you, Daddy,' Arlo said, suddenly looking and sounding like a wave of tension had been lifted from him. ‘You're pretty cool, you know?'

‘I don't know about that,' Axel said, chuckling softly. ‘But I do know that the pair of us need to close our eyes and go to sleep. And Sass too. If that little strawberry dude doesn't get his full eight hours of sleep, we all know he's going to be cranky over breakfast.'

‘Daddy!' Arlo said, rolling his eyes. ‘Sass never gets cranky. That's why he's the best!'

Axel smiled and kissed Arlo on his lips.

And before the pair of them knew it, they gently dozed off to sleep as the wind outside rattled their windows.

But just before Axel fully drifted off, he took a moment to consider what he'd just heard.

The military don't fool around.

They won't want to look foolish.

And if Arlo keeps this appeal up, they might resort to underhand tactics .

Axel was happy that Arlo was feeling more comfortable with his situation thanks to his support, but a part of him wondered whether the real drama was only just around the corner…

The following morning, Axel and Arlo headed to the orchard to check whether some of the corrective tree binds had held out during the night's stormy weather.

With Kipp and Dale back at the ranch, it was just Axel, Arlo, and Laser that made the walk across the ranch and into the secluded orchard.

‘Can I try an apple?' Arlo asked, skipping along ahead of Axel with Laser by his side.

‘Sure, if you can find one worth eating,' Axel chuckled. ‘This place needs some serious TLC. One day it will be full of the freshest, crunchiest apples. But that day might be a long while from now.'

Arlo giggled and merrily romped around the orchard looking for something approaching an edible apple. Meanwhile, Axel methodically went around the perimeter of the orchard checking everything over.

‘Looks pretty good,' Axel said, adjusting one of the cable ties a little. ‘The wind picked up quite a pace last night, but I think we're in the clear. We're still looking at losing some of these trees though. But that'll mean we can plant new ones, so it's not all bad news. '

‘Yay!' Arlo squealed, looking very cute in his shorts and t-shirt. ‘Daddy?'

‘Yeah?' Axel replied, squatting down to pin back a wayward branch.

‘I'm cold,' Arlo said, a slightly impatient tone in his voice.

‘Well I did tell you to wear more than just that flimsy t-shirt,' Axel replied, chuckling to himself. ‘Maybe next time you should listen to Daddy.'

‘ Bleurgh !' Arlo replied, stomping his foot. ‘I want to go back to the ranch house and get back into bed!'

‘Well we're not quite done here yet,' Axel countered, his patience tested. ‘Why don't you come and help me do this? It'll take your mind off the cold.'

‘I don't wanna…' Arlo snapped back, lazily kicking out at a fallen apple. ‘I'm bored.'

Axel rolled his eyes and continued on with the work. But after more complaints from Arlo, he decided that enough was enough.

‘I'm warning you now, boy,' Axel said, standing up and walking over toward Arlo. ‘We came to do a job, and that's what we're going to do. I said you should wrap up, but you insisted on coming out in just t-shirt and shorts. Do you even have any underwear on?'

‘Have a look for yourself, stink-butt,' Arlo said, his eyes full of mischief as pulled his t-shirt up over his chest to reveal his lean stomach, pecs, and pink nipples. ‘Boring, boring, work. I want my treat cereal and a hot chocolate! '

‘Boy!' Axel bellowed. ‘Enough. It's time for a morning wake up call for your sassy little ass.'

With that, Axel spun Arlo around and yanked his shorts down. As with his t-shirt, Arlo was naked underneath his shorts and Axel was faced with Arlo's perfectly peachy ass cheeks.

‘Hold on to the tree, and keep this in your mouth too,' Axel demanded, taking a ripe apple from his pocket and placing it in Arlo's mouth. ‘If it drops onto the floor, I'm restarting the spanking.'

Arlo made a muffled protest as Axel put the apple in his mouth.

‘When Daddy brings you on a job, you listen to him and don't complain,' Axel said, landing a quick double spank on each of Arlo's cheeks, making them wobble and redden. ‘And you certainly don't sass him.'

Axel proceeded to give Arlo six double spanks on each cheek and was satisfied that this was enough – especially as Arlo successfully held the apple in his mouth for the whole time.

‘And that… is that !' Axel declared, landing the final spank. ‘Now let's get that little booty all cooled down.'

Arlo turned around and placed himself over Axel's lap without hesitation.

‘You can munch on the apple now if you like,' Axel said, taking a small tub of cooling cream out of his cargo pant pocket and gently applying it to Arlo's glowing butt cheeks. ‘And for taking your medicine so well, you can have your choco treat cereal when we get back to the ranch. '

‘Thanks Daddy,' Arlo replied, shifting his weight a little and letting out a slight moan of pleasure as he rubbed his hardening cock up against the rock-solid bulge in Axel's cargo pants. ‘Maybe we could shower together first?'

‘ Ha , I think that might be a great idea,' Axel said, applying the finishing touches to the cooling cream. ‘In fact, I might carry you all the way back to the ranch if you like?'

Arlo giggled and grinded himself harder against Axel's lap.

It was clear what Arlo wanted, and Axel wanted it too.

The sun might only have been up in Eagle Ridge Ranch for an hour or so, but Axel and Arlo's day was already looking like it was going to cover all the Daddy and Little bases…

That evening, Axel was at The Tap House with Max and Trey. The music was pumping, and the beer was flowing – albeit Axel was taking things a little slowly as he knew that he had a full day of work ahead of him tomorrow.

As he took a sip on his German lager, Axel saw a message flash up on his phone from Arlo. And by the sounds of it, he was having a great time with Dale and Marshall over at Marshall's place…

Arlo: Hey Daddy, just checking in! We're all in our PJs and making popcorn. Marshall's got a spooky movie for us to watch and we're going to all snuggle in bed so we can dive under the covers if it gets too scary! XoXoXoX o

AXEL: Sounds fun. I don't know about scary movies, but Max's pool playing is pretty damn scary at times. The sonofagun thinks he can hustle me, but he's got another thing coming. Have a great time with your friends and I'll do the same. See you back at the ranch. Daddy XoXo.

With that, Axel put his phone back in his pocket and brought himself back into the conversation that Max and Trey were having. And to no one's surprise, things were getting competitive…

‘All I'm saying is that I think I could out lift you,' Max said, flashing his charming smile but with an added sense of macho energy.

‘You talk a good game,' Trey replied, holding court behind the bar. ‘But unless I'm mistaken, the last time we hit Metal Work Gym, it was me who came out on top. And it wasn't even close on the deadlifts either…'

‘Yeah, yeah, you know my grip slipped on my last attempt,' Max laughed, raising his bottle of beer to toast his friends. ‘Here's to healthy competition. And to non-slip grips too!'

The three Daddies laughed and downed their drinks in readiness for a fresh round. The conversation soon turned to Arlo and Axel felt like it was time to tell the guys how much Arlo was beginning to mean to him. Axel still wasn't sure about how to take the next step with him though …

‘Staying at the ranch is great,' Axel said. ‘But it's a temporary thing. I'm beginning to think I need something more. It just feels right. But I'm still not going to try and pressure Arlo into committing. That just wouldn't be right guys, you know?'

‘Agreed,' Max said. ‘But you do need to make your feelings clear.'

‘You certainly do,' Trey added. ‘Imagine how bad you'd feel if you didn't tell Arlo how you felt and then he left town. I know you don't want that.'

Axel knew that Trey and Max were right.

However before the conversation could continue, there was a disturbance over on the other side of the bar. Two guys, both of them from out of town, were starting to get a little obnoxious with some of the locals…

‘Let me handle this,' Trey said, a stern look on his face.

‘You need a hand, you let us know,' Max said.

‘Hell yeah,' Axel added, unimpressed as he watched the two strangers sullenly agreeing to quieten down and mind their own business as Trey made the rules of the bar clear to them.

‘Guys, I can see that you're both military dudes,' Trey said, his voice firm but respectful. ‘Thank you for your service. But we have our own code of conduct here, which I'm sure you'll respect. Everyone is free to drink here in peace. And I'll be thankful that you adhere to that. If not, there's other bars you can try.'

The two men nodded and duly retreated to a booth in the corner .

Axel didn't like the look of them at all, but at least they were now keeping themselves to themselves. And rather than dwell on things, it was time to resume the banter with Max and Trey – but not before Trey posed one very interesting question.

‘So… Arlo…' Trey said, cracking open three beers. ‘Is he the one ?'

Axel paused for a brief moment, but inside he was pretty damn sure he knew the answer.

‘You know,' Axel replied. ‘I think… I think he might just be.'

With that, the three Daddies toasted to love, weightlifting, and friendship. Despite plans for an early finish, suddenly Axel was in the mood to let the good times roll…