Double Jeopardy, remember, Tony?" Steve frowned when Tony told him what he had planned for Peter.
"A bedtime spanking is not a punishment, just a reminder." Tony replied. "And it's not like he was punished for this. Bruce wrote a report and he's been sulking."
"All right. But I'm going to check in on him afterwards."
"Peter, I saw what Bruce had written about your progress. And I agree." Tony and Peter sat in Peter's room, with Peter in pajamas. The topic under discussion was a written comment by Bruce, which stated that "Peter is not applying himself as much as he used to."
"Mr. Stark, really, I'll do better next time. I don't know why..."
"Maybe because you're actually getting challenging work? Your superhero work is taking a lot of time?"
"Maybe." Peter agreed, looking at the floor.
"Or is it because you're spending a lot of time with that video game? Having fun with the twins?"
"I don't know!" Peter shook his head. He had disappointed Dr. Banner!
"Right. Come here." Tony pulled the boy to his side, an arm around him. "Peter, no one expects you to be perfect. We just want you to do your best, all right?"
"Yes Mr. Stark." Peter answered.
"You are wasting time, however, and that's not OK!" Tony said, sounding slightly sharp.
"Hmmm." Now was Mr. Stark disappointed too? Peter hadn't felt this bad for a long time.
"I'm going to do something Jarvis used to do if I got into trouble, but not too much trouble." Tony pulled out the glove from his pocket, and Peter's heart sank. He was going to get spanked with the glove! But why, if Mr. Stark didn't think it was too much trouble?
Tony patted his lap. "Come on" he said, "This is not punishment, just a reminder to behave."
Peter was feeling too guilty to protest. He laid down across Tony's lap and Tony pulled his pajamas down. Cold air touched Peter's bottom, and his pajama jacket was folded up his back. Tony was taking his time over each step, and he carefully positioned Peter.
Finally, Peter felt a hand rest on his bottom, and held his breath. However, the first spank didn't come.
"What am I going to do, Peter?" Tony asked.
"You're going to spank me." Peter answered. It was a routine question and a routine answer.
"Why am I going to spank you, Peter?" Tony asked, rubbing Peter's bottom.
"Because I didn't do as well as I could." Peter said, and Tony heard the guilt in the boy's voice.
"That's right, Peter, I hold you to very high standards." Tony said. "Now, hold still. You're getting a dozen."
Peter lay still. He felt a little pat on his right cheek, and a moment later he felt the first spank land. Tony then patted his left cheek, and landed another stinging spank. The spanks weren't very hard, but Tony was wearing that horrid glove. They weren't painless either.
"You've helped Dr. Banner a lot, Spiderling. He's not going to be disappointed with you for one spell of negligence." Tony said, patting and spanking each cheek one more time.
Peter grimaced as his bottom was patted, and wiggled a little when the spanks landed. Why was Mr. Stark doing this so slowly? "You're young, you have a lot of responsibilities but you do have the right to have fun. And sometimes, fun just takes precedence in your mind," Tony went on. "Nothing to feel guilty about, little spider. Just make sure you don't neglect your work." Peter felt better even as the next spank landed, making him wince.
Finally, after Peter received six spanks to each cheek, Tony stopped. Peter looked back. Both cheeks were pink. The spanks had stung when they fell, but his bottom was just stinging mildly and warm.
"It's a bedtime spanking, Peter. Just something so that you remember to do better tomorrow." Tony said, rubbing Peter's back. Tony rubbed his bottom too. and reached for the lotion bottle. Peter relaxed as the lotion cooled down the sting, and his pajamas were pulled up. He relaxed even more when Tony held and rocked him for a while. "You're a good boy, Peter Parker. I'm so proud of you." Tony said, smiling at Peter. The stress of the day, the spanking and the comfort made Peter feel drowsy. Tony settled him in bed, rubbed and patted his bottom again, then tucked him in. The warm feeling in his bottom wasn't unpleasant, and with Tony running his hand through his hair, Peter drifted off to sleep quickly.
A few minutes later, Steve stepped in to check on Peter and saw him sleeping peacefully on his back, looking even younger than he usually did. He silently slipped out. Tony Stark knew what he was doing, all right!
In the next few days, Steve scolded Peter for negligence during training. As he was hugged afterward, he wondered whether Tony would have anything to say about it, or do, that night. When Steve whispered "I have to tell Tony, pet." in his ear, Peter knew what was going to happen. Sure enough, Tony was gloved when he came to Peter's room that night. Again Peter slept bottom-warmed and guilt-free.
The third time Tony walked in with a gloved hand at bedtime, Peter got up and stood by the side of the bed. He waited for Tony to sit down, then quickly laid himself across the waiting lap. And then, to Tony's utter surprise, he pulled his pajama jacket up and raised his bottom to have his pajamas pulled down. When Tony bared Peter's bottom, the boy settled himself so that he was in the perfect position to spank.
"Good boy, Peter." Tony praised, giving the obediently proffered bottom a rub. Then he patted the left cheek, raised his hand and let it fall.
Peter held his breath as the first spank fell, right where he knew it would. And then came the murmured reassurance and praise. Peter listened, feeling his heart warm, thinking of what was to come: The back rub and the cool lotion on his tingling bottom. The cuddling and forgiveness and going to sleep under the eye of his mentor. He gasped, however, as the next stinger caught him off guard. He laid very still after that, letting the lesson sink in. He didn't really like the sting, but loved the rest of their little ritual.