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It was one of those long, hot summers that never seemed to end. With no school to attend the boys were free to focus on being children. Jas in particular was surprised at just how easily play came to him. He'd played often since his Rejuvenation of course, but he was still amazed at himself for how spontaneously something as simple as a gardening trowel could magically some industrial machine, or how the living room floor could suddenly transform into molten lava. Today, about three hundred years after the end of the school term, the pavement was filled with pitfalls triggered by standing on a gap between the paving slabs, or on a cracked one, or one that was the wrong colour. Chloe walked along behind her children, mindful of their actions but content to give them a little more leeway than usual. There were plenty of people out in their front gardens today, and the boys knew better than to stray onto the road. Besides which, Chloe noted with some approval, the boys stopped their game (or at least reigned it in somewhat) when other people passed by so as not to get in the way. She saw no need to spoil their fun.

Of course, not everyone was so lucky. As they came within sight of Simon's house they could see an all too familiar scene playing out, one that every Penny was unhappily familiar with; the public spanking. "No mommy! P-please don't spank me out here!" Simon's desperate cries were falling on deaf ears. Jenny had set a stool out in the garden in the midst of her tools and newly bought plants, clearly having halted the planting to deliver this punishment. Simon was already over her lap with bottom bared for spanking. "I am VERY disappointed in you Simon!" His mother scolded, bringing her hand down sharply toward his backside, delivering a blow with her hairbrush that echoed across the street. "You know better than to be running with shears! What if you'd tripped and hurt yourself?" "Ow! Ow! OW! I'm Sor-ryyyyyyyy!" Simon wailed, quickly giving up any hope of resistance and bursting into tears as the hairbrush worked across his backside, which was quickly turning a hot, sore pink. "Please Sto-ooop!" The boy's words were wasted. They were always wasted; Penitatas learned quickly that begging for mercy got them nowhere, but it never stopped them trying. The hairbrush came down over and over. CRACK! SMACK! WHACK! "Just wait until your father gets home!" Jenny scolded, causing Simon's crying to redouble at the thought of ANOTHER harsh spanking later in the day. With tears in his eyes Simon risked a sidelong glance out across the street, seeing the family across the street pause in their routine to watch, leaving the hovercar half washed whilst they bore witness to Simon's punishment. His eyes moved across, taking in half a dozen Rejuves, Voluntaras and Penitatas alike, who were watching his public humiliation from windows or front gardens. It was more than he could take. His pain filled cries took on an even more tortured tone and he threw his gaze to the floor, bawling out his pain as his mother's spanking continued, working over his rear until every inch was a painful, well-spanked shade of red. Lifting her son off her lap, Jenny placed Simon back on his feet and knelt down to give him the comforting hug he so clearly needed. With his thoroughly punished backside on display for all to see Simon cried his pain out into his mother's shoulder, though he couldn't bring herself to meet her gaze when she'd helped him upright, nor several minutes later when she broke her embrace. "Hunny, look at me." Her tone was gentle but Simon was uncooperative, shifting his gaze and hiccupping out a few remaining tears. She carefully lifted the boy up and cradled him, speaking softly as she turned back toward the house. "Come on, let's take you inside for a little quiet time."

Outside, having watched the punishment play out, Chloe and her sons were left with the impression their plans for the day were thoroughly undone. Jas had avoided watching the punishment out of respect for his friend, whilst Vaahn had watched not with sympathy, but frustration. "Don't say anything." Jas warned as if reading the thoughts in Vaahn's head. Vaahn cast a quick glance to his mother and conceded to the advice in part. Instead he resorted to his native tongue, "[punish a man for doing wrong for the right reasons and he'll do right for the wrong reasons.]" "What was that?" Chloe asked. She had started to study the language, but had no chance of keeping up with a fluent speaker in full flow. Jas looked into Vaahns eyes. He knew all too well exactly how the conversation would go, so instead he chose to skip to the end. "I think Vaahn's still got some frustrations from... the incident." As in on cue, Vaahn's tail and ears dropped a little. He turned to face his mother fully and said, "I just... don't really want to have to watch a friend hurting." Chloe weighed the words carefully, trying to decide if what she was dealing with was an insolent boy trying to back out of trouble, or a genuine case of post-trauma anxiety. It was months since the attack and the boy's nightmares had gone, but every now and then there'd be a day where he wasn't quite right. Jas had days like that too, but unlike Vaahn he tried to talk to people about it and work it through. Vaahn just put it all somewhere inside, hoping it didn't leak to the surface. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Alright, why don't we go and visit someone else? You've not seen Jakob in a while."

The way Vaahn shifted at the suggestion told Chloe everything she needed to know. Hands on hips, disapproval dripping from every word, she looked Vaahn in the eye and said, "Vaahn, have you still not made up with her?" "No." Vaahn replied bluntly, folding his arms across his chest and breaking eye contact. "Jakob said she was sorry." Chloe reminded her son. "What more do you want?" The comment made Vaahn's fur stand on end. He slapped his hands onto the back of his neck and roughly dragged his fingers through the fur around and down to his chest, letting out a long, frustrated exhalation as he did so. "saying sorry doesn't mean anything; she has to be sorry, and I know d- darn well she isn't." He answered through gritted teeth. "And just how do you know that?" "I've been around." Vaahn answered. "She only cares about what she wants. She isn't upset because she insulted drove me away, she's sorry because she wants people to hang around with and make herself feel wanted." Chloe, despite her scepticism, was impressed by Vaahn's reasoning. Jakob had a reputation as being something of a spoiled brat on occasion, and the boy's outlook was certainly plausible, though not necessarily correct. "I think you should give her the benefit of the doubt, Vaahn." "Is that a suggestion, or an instruction?" Vaahn asked, clearly wanting it to be the former. "An instruction." Chloe answered, making her boy grit his teeth in anger again. "I don't care if she is being silly about it; be the bigger man and stop dragging the issue out. She'll be coming over on your birthday party, so make up with her then." Vaahn let out a tired sigh; he'd been looking forward to the party up until then.

* * *

Jas' birthday was two days ago, and Vaahn's was a little under a week away, but both boys were having a shared party. The weather had been perfect for the children to spend the day outside; a clear blue sky above them offered nothing but hot sunshine. Summer was looking to stay late this year, and there was no sense in wasting it. A large paddling pool, borrowed from next door, was set up in the middle of the garden with an improvised water slide set up using a large garden slide (on loan from across the street) and a simple pump and hose assembly. Half a dozen children were present at the party, though it was a relatively small scale affair; Tim and Jenny, the neighbouring children whose parents supplied the party gear were both nearing twelve years old, and did not really want to be present at a party with kids almost half their age. Danny, one of Vaahn's long-standing friends, had been forbidden from taking part in the fun outside due to appalling behaviour with his sitter the week before and so was forced instead to watch from inside. Thus, at present, only four children were playing outside; Jas, Vaahn, Simon and Rebecca. The Penny girl was not in the best spirits herself; having allowed excitement to overcome her within a stone's throw of the Johansson household she had run across the street without looking, breaking not only the basic rules of road safety but also a fundamental rule of being a Penitatas - never leave your parent's side without permission. The result of that infraction was that for the first fifteen minutes of her visit Rebecca had been over her parent's lap receiving a thorough going over with the hairbrush. The three boys outside had heard the whole thing even though the patio doors were closed, which had killed the mood somewhat. When she finally emerged outside she had been stripped bare; her mother decided that the embarrassment that would result was a fair compensation from the corner time she would normally have gotten. It also meant that, whilst still technically being punished, she could at least play with her friends at their party, and would not miss out on anything.

It was not surprising to the gathered parents that the children quickly settled back into play once Rebecca joined them. Though the boys made a few remarks and shared the occasional glance or giggle at Rebecca's predicament, Hard Time Penny's were all familiar with being literally caught with their pants down, and as classmates the boys had all seen Rebecca over the teacher's lap before. Though she avoided the slide, Becci splashed and played and chatted happily with her friends, and all four were soon lost in their own exploits again. When the patio door slid open all four children were engaged in a splash fight. Chloe called to them to get their attention and announced the arrival of another child. Looking awkward in a lime green one-piece bathing suit, Jakob seemed unwilling to make eye contact with any of the other Rejuves. "Isn't someone going to say hi to your friend?" Chloe prompted. "Hi Jakob!" Becci spoke up quickly, eager to not put another foot wrong today. "Good to see you." Jas added. Vaahn, with some reluctance, met her eye. "Glad you came." He said, and he almost sounded like he meant it. "Really?" Jakob blushed a little. "I... I didn't think you guys would talk to me again." Simon wordlessly moved to the other side of the pool as Jakob climbed into the waist deep water. Satisfied, Chloe retreated indoors. "So, you guys-" Jakob was cut off by a sudden surge of water that was hurled over her from behind. She turned sharply to find Vaahn pointing toward Rebecca. "It was her." He said, despite all evidence to the contrary. "Hey!" Becci answered, retaliating against the false accusation with frantic splashing of her own. Jakob joined in and the Great Splash War had begun. It was a long and bloody battle. Alliances formed as a mutual enemy was located, or simply left vulnerable, only to shatter instantly due to treachery or friendly fire. By the time it ended all five children were drenched head to foot and a great deal of water had left the pool, which Matt pointed out in a tone of voice that failed to make it clear if he was amused or angry. Still, the children were dried off without incident, and once brought inside and dressed again the children were ushered into the dining room. Food had been set out, which immediately reminded them all how hungry they were, and the six Rejuves were sat down in their seats. "Alright everyone, let's wish Jas and Vaahn happy birthday!" "Happy birthday!" the guests all chorused, which prompted the lighting of the candles and the singing of a traditional birthday song. As the last notes died away all attention turned to the cake.

It was a good cake; white sponge with vanilla and hazelnut chocolate. Thirteen candles, seven for Jas and six for Vaahn, were set around the edge. Candy stars covered the surface, filled with the promise of sugary delight. The two boys blew out the candles together, accepting the cheers and applause, and then the children settled down to enjoy their hot dogs with a reminder that cake was for afterward.

When the birthday cake was served it was very well received, but the meal had given the less well-behaved party guests time to reflect on their day and, with the parents talking in the next room anxiety was taking hold. "I'm in for it when I get home, aren't I?" Rebecca asked the table in general, chasing the last of her cake around the plate. "Definitely." Vaahn, the voice of experience, answered joylessly. Becci sighed sadly. "It isn't fair. It wasn't like I was trying to be bad, I just ... I don't know why I did it. I didn't mean to." The comment made Danny smile humourlessly. Like Vaahn, he'd been through several cycles. "No Penny ever thinks their spankings are fair." "At least you're guilty of something." Vaahn cut in. "I was flying under a war flag when I was Rejuved." "You were a pirate." Danny pointed out. Vaahn shook his head. "It was a military operation - I was ordered to sabotage enemy shipping." "By stealing their cargo." Danny pressed on, seemingly enjoying himself. "We needed it more." Vaahn replied. A shadow flickering across his eyes for a moment as an unhappy memory surfaced. "You don't want to run out of supplies with Daysiders on board." Simon shifted in his seat, remembering how own slip ups over the year so far. Though neither he nor Rebecca were serving an especially tough sentence, and both were considered good Pennys by their parents, they both thought of their time so far as both long and difficult. Rebecca sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "Sorry." She said, giving Jas and Vaahn an embarrassed smile. "I didn't mean to ruin your birthday." Vaahn shrugged. "It's not my birthday yet, so don't worry about it."

The atmosphere relaxed a little more as the children were brought into the living room. There was time for a few more games and for the giving of presents, but the bulk of the gifts were already given or waiting for next week and so it wasn't long for the party to break up. "So, um..." Jakob hesitated at the door whilst her mother said goodbye to the other parents. "Do you guys want to come over next week? If my parents say it's okay I mean. We can get our game going again." "Sounds great." Jas answered. The other three nodded in agreement. "Great. That's great. I look forward to seeing you!" Jakob smiled at her friends as she set off for home. Next it was Rebecca's turn to leave. The girl tried to keep a happy face, but she had spotted the stern look on her mother's face and knew yet another spanking was waiting for her at home. "Does it get easier?" Vaahn thought about this carefully. "I suppose it depends on whether you want it to." He answered honestly. With a nervous smile and a timid wave, Rebecca took her mother's hand and headed off. Finally, Simon was ushered out by Jenny, his mother, and the party had finally come to an end. "Good day?" Chloe asked her boys, who both nodded in agreement. "Glad to hear it." The children settled down on the couch with their parents. Vaahn's fingers traced the outline of the gelmyrc round his neck, letting his mind wander of its own accord. He stared through the holo, too tired to really watch it. "Six again." He mumbled absently as his fingers completed their second circuit. "Back home a birthday is a time to look back on what you accomplished that year, to see whether it was a year wasted, or a year put to good use." "Was it a good year?" Matt asked as he placed an arm around the boy. "I've had a lot of wasted years. This one didn't exactly go as well as I'd hoped either." He let out a long yawn and snuggled up against his father. "Guess we'll wait and see for the next one." Both boys were sound asleep within minutes and were carefully carried up to bed. Chloe and Matt stood in the doorway a while, thinking about both their boys and what the future had in store for them. It had been a rough year, but as they stood watching their children sleep soundly, knowing plenty of others would be crying themselves to sleep right now, they decided that they had it better than most.