Sweet Justice

Summary: Part of my 'Lessons' series. Tag to Collateral Damage. Warning: spanking of adult. Don't like? Don't read!

Disclaimer: I don't own them; I just play with them.


Warning: This is part of my 'Lessons' series and builds on a larger plot arc. This story contains discussion of the corporal punishment of children and the disciplinary spanking of an adult. If you have a problem with that, click on that 'back' button now. You've been warned!


'Yes!'

Tony reached into the slot at the bottom of the vending machine, retrieving his prize. His delight quickly turned to dismay, however, when he turned around and found himself facing his boss.

His very irritated boss, if the look on his face was any indication.

'Boss... I can explain... it's not what it looks like...' he babbled, fairly sure he couldn't actually talk his way out of trouble but willing to try anyway.

'So you weren't stealing candy from the vending machine, DiNozzo?'

'Stealing? No, I wasn't stealing. I was...'

'Smacking the machine around until it gave you free candy?'

'Uh...'

'Tony, for heaven's sake, you work in law enforcement!'

'But...'

'Why the hell would you risk your career for a dollar's worth of chocolate?'

'Actually, it's peanut butter, Boss...'

Gibbs just glared at him, making it perfectly clear that the older man didn't give a rat's ass what Tony was purloining from the break room vending machine.

'I need to check in with Abby. Go get the paddle, and meet me in the conference room in five.'

'No! Boss...'

'It's in my desk. I'll even let you pick which one you want to use.'

'But...'

Tony didn't get a chance to finish his protest before Gibbs disappeared in the direction of the elevator. Sighing audibly, he turned resentfully towards the team's section of the bullpen. Gibbs was actually going to spank him over a stupid candy bar! And he hated having to fetch the paddle himself. And having to choose a damned paddle was no kind of benefit. If anything, it just made everything worse to have to decide which solid piece of wood would be applied to his ass.

And of course it was more than five minutes before Gibbs appeared in the conference room, a fact that meant that Tony had to wait, nervously, paddle in hand, for his inevitable spanking. Finally, he was able to hand over the hated implement and bend over the table, telegraphing his displeasure with every movement.

'Well done, Tony,' Gibbs said, incongruously, resting one hand against the small of his back.

Tony bit back a retort that would probably just get him spanked harder.

'And it's appropriate that you chose my old paddle for this, instead of the one you made.'

'Why?' he heard himself asking, curious despite his annoyance at the situation.

'It's a family tradition to paddle candy thieves,' Gibbs chuckled, reminding Tony of the paddle kept in Gibbs's father's store, used for dealing with the local children. 'May as well use a family paddle for this!'

'Funny, Boss. Very funny,' Tony muttered, before hissing sharply at the first crack of the paddle.

The next few minutes passed in a haze of pain, the paddle echoing like gunshots as swat after swat landed hard against his ass. By the time Gibbs finally released him, ruffling his hair affectionately as he got shakily to his feet, his breath was coming in ragged pants.

'I'm proud of you, son.'

For what, Tony thought?

'I know how hard it is to take a spanking when you're not feeling guilty about what you've done. Thank you for trusting me enough to let me decide what you deserved.'

It was only when he heard Gibbs say it out loud, that Tony realised that he had accepted his decision to spank him. He'd never felt guilty about cajoling extra sweets out of the vending machine, had never really even given it a second thought. It would never have occurred to him that it would get him punished at all, much less that it would be a spanking offence. Yet he'd accepted Gibbs's discipline without question. He'd been annoyed about the man's hard-ass attitude, and he hadn't been particularly gracious about taking his punishment. But it hadn't felt unfair to him, and his protests had been more about wheedling for leniency, than about serious objections.

The realisation left him speechless. He looked up, and found himself pulled into a hug.

'You deserved that, by the way.'

'If you say so, Boss...' Tony quipped, surprised to discover that he meant it.