Chapter 1: Spanking

(Mako is 8 and Bolin is 6)

Their parents had been dead for three weeks when Mako first spanked Bolin. The brothers had gone out together to get groceries; Mako thought about leaving Bolin home, but couldn't bring himself to do it. What if he turned on the stove, or played with the knives, or decided to take a bath and ended up drowning? It was much easier to just bring him along and keep an eye on him.

Mako had been grocery shopping with his parents many times but had only gone alone with Bolin a few. He was using the money that had been in his and Bolin's piggy banks, and it was dwindling fast. He tried to make sensible purchases—things like noodles that were cheap and easy to cook. But it was difficult to bring Bolin along; he loved sweets and expensive prepared items and didn't seem to understand their perilous financial situation.

"Mako, I want dumplings!" Bolin whined as they passed by the dumpling vendor in the outdoor market, tugging on Mako's arm.

Mako sighed. "I'm sorry, Bo, but they're too expensive. We still need to get fruit, vegetables, and bread—stuff that we can eat for the whole week, not just tonight."

Bolin stopped dead in the middle of the walkway. "I don't want vegetables. You always get those icky green things and the nasty red bulbs. I want DUMPLINGS."

Bolin had raised his voice and a few people nearby had turned their heads to look. Mako tried to push him along, feeling an all-out Bolin meltdown coming on. Bolin, however, had other ideas. He stopped dead center in the middle of the walkway and rooted his feet to the ground, bursting into loud tears in the process.

Uh oh, thought Mako. He could feel the ground beneath his feet trembling and buckling as Bolin's sobs intensified. Suddenly, the loose dirt and pebbles in the immediate vicinity were swirling in the air, and were hurtling straight towards Mako's chest. He barely had time to cover his head and turn away before they pelted down upon him, hard.

Everyone within a ten-foot radius had stopped now and was staring at the two of them. Blushing furiously, Mako grabbed his brother's upper arm. He let his hand warm up, not enough to burn but enough to let Bolin know that he meant business.

"Sorry….sorry…" he muttered, pulling a crying Bolin behind him and pushing his way through the crowd.

Eventually they crossed the market and travelled the few blocks to their late parent's apartment. Mako pushed Bolin, who by now had started to scream and cry in earnest, inside roughly. Ignoring him, Mako put their meager purchases away inside the cupboards and tiny icebox.

Eventually Bolin cried himself out. Tucking his legs underneath himself and popping his thumb in his mouth, he leaned against a leg of the kitchen table sleepily.

Mako thought furiously: what would dad do if he were here? If it had been him having the tantrum, he knew that he would have gotten the belt, but he didn't think that Bolin had ever been subjected to that particular punishment. When Bolin was in trouble he typically got a hand spanking. But could Mako do that? Eyes closed and silent, Bolin was much more endearing now that his tantrum had passed.

Thinking about the possible consequences of future tantrums helped Mako to decide that yes, he could. What if a police officer had seen them and started asking questions? The last thing they needed was to have to escape from one of the city's seedy orphanages.

Mako sat himself in the kitchen chair at the head of the table, positioned just like his dad had been when one of them was in trouble. "Bolin, come here," he said sternly.

Bolin looked up at him, thumb still in his mouth. Apparently deciding to obey for once, he picked himself off of the ground and walked up to Mako's side.

"Bolin, how you acted today was unacceptable. We don't have enough money to buy all of things we want anymore. Remember? Mom and dad aren't here and we're in charge of taking care of ourselves now. We can't attract attention when we go out like you did today. If people start asking questions they might take us both away…or even separate us."

Bolin looked at Mako, tears welling up in his emerald eyes. "Sorry, Mako," he said, removing his thumb from his mouth at last.

"I know you are. But I'm going to have to spank you so that you don't forget in the future."

Bolin's eyes widened and he took a step back. Mako patted his lap and held out his arms, motioning for him to come closer.

Bolin, apparently too shocked to reconsider, shuffled over to his older brother and bent himself onto Mako's lap, his head facing the firebender's left side. Mako took a deep breath and steeled himself.

SMACK. Wincing internally at the pain in his hand—had his father really done this on top of Bolin's clothing?—Mako paused before bringing it down again.

SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. Bolin, already primed for crying from his earlier tantrum, burst into tears at the seventh spank. Mako felt terrible, but he knew with certainty that his father wouldn't have stopped so soon.

SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. Mako paused and concentrated on cooling the temperature in his hand as his mother had taught him to do before she died. Bolin was still loudly bawling but had not moved from the position he had been ordered into.

SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. Surely twenty is enough, thought Mako, wincing at the soreness in his palm. He helped to stand up Bolin, who had tears streaming down his face and was now hiccupping. Mako pulled his younger brother into a hug and pressed a kiss to the side of his cheek, tasting his salty tears in the process.

"…hck…I'm…I'm sorry, Mako…hck…" said Bolin in between sobs and hiccups.

"Shhh, I know, it's okay Bo," replied Mako, hugging him close. "You're forgiven. You just have to be more careful, okay? It's like mom always said: you can't let your temper get away from you."

Bolin nodded and leaned his head onto his older brother's shoulder. Mako sighed and fervently hoped that this whole taking-care-of-Bolin thing was going to get easier soon.