It was true that his return to the GCPD had garnered somewhat mixed results… But Ed remained undeterred. It would take more than a punch to the jaw from Doctor Thompkins to keep him from parading his newfound status in front of his old 'friends'. He was about to press the doorbell to Jim's new home, when he saw the grime and thought better of it. Instead, he rapped a clean(ish) spot on the door with his knuckles and waited impatiently for him to open it, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he did so.

Jim kept him waiting for nearly two minutes and when he finally opened the door he looked like he had just climbed out of bed. However, seeing Ed standing in front of him seemed to wake him up.

"Hello there, Jim. May I come in?" A wide smile came across his face at seeing Jim's reaction.

Jim was surprised. More than that, he was clearly furious that Ed had the gall to show up unannounced on his doorstep, but he was also startled and suspicious as to what had brought him here. Before the unshaved former detective could give a response, Ed pushed passed him nonchalantly and walked into his home. He looked over it, quickly taking in the less than elegant surroundings. He compared it to where he was living and felt extremely pleased with himself. Jim, who had been so self-righteous and determined to do good, was in this dingy, squalid little hole, while he was second to the Mayor and living in a mansion.

"What the hell do you want Ed?" Jim asked harshly, his voice low and his fists clenched by his sides.

He clearly wanted to punch the unwelcome guest right in his smug face, but he restrained himself. Only because he was sure there must be a good reason why Ed would risk getting his nose broken (or worse) by choosing to suddenly visit him.

"I hear you're a bounty hunter now." Ed began, that smug smile still on his lips as he spoke. He was looking down his nose at the shorter man, making no effort to hide how superior he felt to Gotham's former white knight cop. "I wanted to employ your services to help find the Red Hood gang. They've caused quite a lot of trouble for the Mayor recently, no doubt you've heard about the statue incident."

"I heard." Jim replied, folding his arms across his chest. He was wearing a white tank top, the same one he'd worn yesterday (and the day before), quite the contrast to Ed's perfectly tailored suit. "The answer is no."

"Mayor Cobblepot would pay you double your usual commission if you are able to apprehend their leader. Triple, even."

"It's not the money."

Ed raised an eyebrow skeptically, then chuckled disparagingly. "Really? By the looks of things… I would have thought you were in desperate need of the mone-"

Ed's smarmy words were cut off when Jim grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him forwards. He sat down on a chair and tugged the lanky man sharply over his lap.

"What- What are you doing?! Unhand me at once!"

Maybe it was because of the hangover. Maybe it was because Ed caught him in a particularly bad mood. Or maybe it was just because Ed was wearing that goddamn cocky smirk on his face… But Jim couldn't stop himself. He couldn't break the nose of the Mayor's Chief of Staff, that would just get him arrested. However, he had a funny feeling that Ed wouldn't be telling Oswald, or anyone else for that matter, about this.

Jim snorted as threats flooded from Ed's mouth and tugged down the other man's pants and underwear. He heard him gasp, and he began to struggle all the more.

"You can't be- I- LET ME GO!" Ed seemed to be on the verge of throwing a full blown tantrum, but Jim wasn't about to dignify his outbursts with a response.

Instead, he locked a leg over Ed's, put an arm around his waist, and began laying into the upturned ass with the palm of his hand.

Smack after smack landed on the pale target, quickly turning the skin pink. Jim didn't hold back on him, and in response, Ed yowled and squirmed for all he was worth. Yelping out threats that did nothing to dissuade his former colleague. He was taking the spanking appallingly, not that that was much of a surprise to Jim.

"Harv told me you made quite the entrance back at the GCPD. Let me guess, that wasn't enough for you? Had to come round and rub your freedom in my face too?" Jim was, annoyingly, right on the mark with his assessment of Ed's motivations for being here.

The proposition that he help track down the Red Hood gang had just been a ruse, an excuse to come visit Jim and taunt him a bit. He'd wanted him to be infuriated, to be outraged, but he hadn't wanted this!

"Even before you became a criminal, you were always crying out for attention. Am I right? Well now you're getting it."

His hand didn't falter once, he continued to beat out a severe rhythm on Ed's backside, the pink hue gradually growing darker.

Ed cried out in frustration, as well as pain. He tried to kick his legs, but Jim kept them well pinned. He attempted to get up, to raise his torso up, but he was kept down with seemingly little effort.

"Y-You'll regret this, Jim! I'm not a man to be- Ow! Oww!" He yowled as the smacks grew harder. Somehow. "Let me finish!" He complained, the words coming out as a desperate whine, rather than an authoritative command.

Jim smirked a little. "Nah. I think I've heard enough of your arrogant little speeches to last me a lifetime, Ed."

That declaration earned another frustrated growl from Ed, but it was interrupted with a sob as Jim's hand continued its warpath. "S-Stop it! Whatever i-idiotic point you were trying to make, I assure you, it's been made!"

Jim rolled his eyes. He moved Ed so that he was back to his original position over his lap, his struggling had made his body shift forward a bit. "Somehow I doubt that." He remarked skeptically.

He wasn't so naive to think that a simple spanking could teach Ed much, apart from maybe not to push him too far. He'd still be an egomaniacal, murdering bastard at the end of this. Jim just wanted a little payback on the man who had tried to ruin his life, had framed him for murder, and had put Lee through so much. It wouldn't make them even, not by a long shot, but it was better than nothing.

Jim looked up at the clock. Quarter past one. He was expecting Harvey to come round at half past. They were going to their usual haunt for lunch and drinks. He had paused the spanking as he rearranged Ed on his lap and to look up at the clock, giving the man a brief opportunity to catch his breath. He could hear him trying to collect himself, trying to gather the pieces of his pride back together again. He even made a move to try to get up, but Jim kept a strong hold on him.

"We're not done."

Ed felt his stomach sink in dread. How much longer did Jim intend to torture him like this? Before he could stop himself, he let out a frustrated whimper, his hands attempting to break free from Jim's vicelike grip on his wrists and to go back to shield or at least soothe the inflamed skin. Unfortunately, Jim had no intentions of letting him, and his efforts were rewarded with a few particularly sharp slaps to his ass.

"A-Ah! Jim, please!" Ed blurted out the plea before his pride could stop him. it seemed to hurt even worse after he'd been given a short break. He just wanted it to stop at this point. "This is too much!"

"After all you've done to me, you think this is too much?" Jim snorted in disbelief. "You should be thankful I don't just kill you."

Ed found it impossible to be thankful for Jim's self asserted 'mercy'. He felt tears roll down his cheeks, his mind desperately trying to think of a way out of this, but every five or six seconds there was a sharp flick of Jim's wrist and his scheming was interrupted and he was back to square one.

"Oww! Jim…! Jim, stop!"

He hated that he was reduced to merely begging for a reprieve, but he saw no other way. Jim was right, after all he had done to him, this was relatively lenient. He had no logical incentive to stop before his arm tired, Ed simply had to rely on some semblance of pity to be provoked in Jim's heart.

Jim really wasn't hitting him all that hard by this point. He didn't need to. Ed had passed his limit, even light swats were enough to provoke whimpers and begs.

His hand was beginning to hurt. A cursory glance at it and he could see that it the palm had gone rather pink, although it was nothing compared to the red shade that he'd worked Ed's ass into. He knew that he should probably wrap this up.

"I wonder what Harv's gonna make of this. You know, he's not so great at keeping secrets."

It was twenty past one.

Ed's eyes widened in horror at the suggestion that Jim would tell Harvey about this. His struggles picked up again and his spindling form twisted over Jim's lap in protest.

"Y-You wouldn't!" He pleaded, voice clearly portraying his dread.

Jim let him believe that he would for a minute or two, desperate pleas spilling forth from Ed's lips, his voice warbling in a way that Jim hadn't heard from the other man before.

"Please, Jim! Please don't!" Jim's hand landed on Ed's ass a last time, making the man wail pathetically.

"Fine. I won't. But if you ever so much as think of crossing me again-"

"I won't! You have my word!"

Jim had a feeling that once Ed's wounds had healed, the weight of his threat might lose some of its bite to the former forensics expert. However, for now, he seemed quite sincere. Besides, he wasn't opposed to 'reminding' him of this should the occasion call for it.

"In that case, you better hurry up and get out. Harvey will be here in less than ten minutes."

Ed scrambled off of Jim's lap the instant that his old colleague's grip slackened, the fast movement causing him to wince in pain. Jim shook his hand, trying to remove some of the sting from it while he watched Ed pull up his clothes and practically run out of the door. Not so much as a goodbye, after coming in so full of himself.

It was worth the sore hand.