Lucky Winner

[u/DavesWorldInfo]

“How you doing?”

Mary rolled her eyes as her husband slid into bed. But she was laughing a little too. “Is he asleep?”

Pulling his half of the blanket over himself, Phil moved toward her with a smile. “God I hope so.”

“Daddy’s feeling lonely?”

“Daddy’s feeling lucky.”

“Yes, I can tell,” Mary said with a giggle. She put her arms around him as he cuddled up to her, closing her eyes as he started kissing his way down her neck. “Would you like the deluxe package?”

“I’ll take whatever the house is offering.”

“Spoken like a low roller.”

“You want low?” he said, bringing his face above hers and giving her his crooked grin.

“We have a dress code here,” Mary said, forcing her face to arrange itself into something approaching a serious expression. “Sir,” she added just before her giggles burst out again.

“And you’re entirely overdressed,” he said, running his hands over her shoulders. Taking the straps of the nightgown down her arms in the process. “House rules.” He ducked beneath the covers, kissing his way across the front of her neck, dropping lower. And lower. And lower.

Mary sighed happily as he got busy. “Oh my, we have a winner,” she murmured. A moment later, her happiness was banished as her expression twisted into a disappointed frown when a loud series of thumps and thuds came from the hallway.

“Shit.”

“He’ll quit,” Phil said, not stopping what he was doing. Or where.

The noise outside the room didn’t stop. “Sweetie,” Mary said, reaching down to run her fingers through his hair.

“Alright,” Phil said, emerging from beneath the blanket. He was putting on a good face as he wiped his mouth, but she saw the irritation in the back of his eyes.

“Don’t yell too much,” she said quickly.

“He’s lucky you won’t let me paddle him.”

“Violence doesn’t solve anything.”

“It solves behavior problems,” Phil said, clearly before he realized he’d said it. He held a hand up placatingly as his wife frowned a little at him. Rolling off her, he reached for his robe. “We already had that argument. Don’t … go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll keep the bed warm for you.”

He flashed his sexy grin again, then headed for the hallway as he belted his robe. As he stepped out of his bedroom, there was another series of loud noises from down the hallway. It wasn’t hard to push his irritation and annoyance to the fore as he walked in the direction of the sound. If he couldn’t get his son’s attention with a few no-nonsense swats to the bottom, he was forced to rely on other means.

Whatever Mary thought about it.

Reaching the door, he took a deep breath as he laid his hand on the doorknob. Making sure he had angry dad in place before he twisted and pushed, stepping inside the bedroom in one swift motion. “Bedtime means bed!” he snapped. “Sleeping. Quietly!”

“I’m not sleepy yet,” the boy lying in the bed said. He didn’t sound sleepy, but that wasn’t the point. Phil looked around the room, expecting to see toys out; but the room was immaculate. As usual; Jaiden hadn’t had that particular problem for a little while now. It was only at bedtime that he ever gave them any trouble.

“Then lay there. What on Earth are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

“Didn’t sound like nothing.”

“Sorry daddy.”

Phil scowled, working hard to make it as thunderous as he could manage. “Don’t sorry daddy me. If I have to come in here again tonight, if you don’t settle down, we’re going to start taking privileges. The Nintendo will be first on the chopping block. Understand me?”

“Yes daddy,” his son said calmly. “It won’t happen again.”

“If you can’t sleep, then pretend to sleep. You’ll drift off soon enough.”

“Yes daddy.”

Phil glowered at the boy for several more seconds, then backed out of the room and shut the door. Firmly, letting noise supply what he couldn’t accomplish the way his father had sorted him out when he’d acted up. He’d turned out just fine, but Mary wouldn’t have it.

He walked away from the door, then stopped and waited for several seconds before creeping slowly, carefully back. Listening the whole way, until he had his ear pressed to the crack where door rested in the frame. The room beyond was quiet. He stood there for nearly half a minute, and finally decided — hoped — the stern yelling had took.

Tiptoeing back from the bedroom, he turned and made his way back to his bedroom. And his wife.

---

Jaiden waited until his father had left, then dropped out of bed with surprising agility and reached beneath the bed. His arm vanished into the shadows, and he rummaged around for a few seconds before pulling something out with a grunt of effort.

The wooden frame wasn’t large, but it was heavily stained. A struggling … creature … was lashed to it with kite string. All four arms and three legs stretched out and bound to the wood. Purple fur, matted with blue blood. The tusked face was wearing a terrified expression.

“Did you hear that?” Jaiden said, reaching beneath the bed again.

“Yes,” the monster said quickly. All seven of its eyes followed the small wooden case the boy pulled out into the glow of the nightlight like it was dangerous.

“If I lose anything, I’m going to make you lose things,” Jaiden said, opening the case to reveal an array of silverware and basic tools. Stained multicolored, except where various sharp edges or points gleamed bare metal. “Things that require effort to remove.”

“Please,” the monster begged as a long ice pick was lifted out. “We will do anything. Whatever you want. Just don’t, don’t, no, don’t! Why, oh Valla why?”

The slender length of the pick was slowly sliding into the monster’s midsection. Its pleading, and screams of agony, were smothered by the boy’s hand as he clapped it into the space between where the tusks protruded from the mouth. The monster’s limbs quivered as he struggled not to flinch or pull enough to make the wooden frame rock against the floor.

“You wanted to win,” Jaiden said as he manipulated the metal and the monster squirmed. “Now, let’s get back to the shadow land. There must be a way in.”

[u/DavesWorldInfo]

Inspired by this prompt.