Author's Note: this is a discipline fic. If those aren't your thing, back away slowly.
I stood with my nose in the corner and my hands firmly by my sides.
Even when I heard her footsteps behind me I didn't move. I had been in trouble before, but this felt worse than anything I'd got myself into hitherto.
"Turn round, Edward," Bella said sternly.
Her tone didn't bode well. She sounded irritated at having to tell me to face her. Damn. I had been trying to be respectful by remaining in place. It sounded like Bella thought I was playing the fool. Not a good start.
I span quickly and hung my head, trying to show her that I took my position seriously.
Bella huffed slightly, and I looked up to meet her eye. I knew she didn't like me avoiding eye contact, regardless of the situation.
Catching sight of her face, however, I wished that I hadn't looked. Her mouth was pursed in a tight line. Her eyes were cold. She was determined to punish me. That face said that I was shortly going to find myself upended over her lap.
"Whose idea was that?" she asked, nodding towards my corner.
"Emmett told me to stand there," I confessed.
Bella sighed, "well, it quietened you down at least."
Ah, so it wasn't necessarily my slowness in turning that displeased her; she was unimpressed by my standing in the corner at all.
"I was quiet after he spanked me," I said.
Bella looked surprised, nobody can have told her yet. But, more interestingly she looked thoughtful. I recognised the quick succession of microexpressions that told me she was reconsidering her plan. She was wondering, maybe only for a second, whether I needed my backside warmed up after all.
I seized the moment, "it really hurt," I said, "he gave me a very thorough spanking." I didn't say that there was no need for her to add anything to my punishment; even I knew that would be pushing my luck.
I got the impression that Bella thought I was pushing my luck anyway. She raised one eyebrow and said, "was it more than you deserved?"
Not a fair question.
Of course, Emmett hadn't given me the full measure of what I deserved. I was still standing and talking, wasn't I?
"He's very strong," I said, dancing around the edge of her question, "and I promise you, I am well and truly sorry."
"Edward," that warning tone reminded me to straighten up and answer her question. Bella was not completely against warning swats. If she used that tone again today, it was going to be accompanied by a few slaps to the backs of my legs.
I grimaced, I did not need any reminder smacks today, I could still feel the residual sting from Emmett's displeasure. I rearranged my face to the appropriate expression of humility and answered her properly and rapidly, "Emmett did spank me, but it wasn't more than I deserved, no."
Bella's face softened now, reminding me how much she hated being obliged to discipline me. Why did I only remember how awful this was when I was facing a punishment? Why couldn't I remember this feeling four hours ago, when it might have helped me to avoid this situation altogether?
It was easy to say that everyone had seen something like this coming. It had been inevitable that some great clash would occur. Unfortunately, that didn't let me off the hook. A row of some sort had been unavoidable, but my appalling behaviour could certainly have been avoided.
Emmett had no right at all to lay a hand on me, but there wasn't a mind in range that condemned him for it. There wasn't a mind in range that was anything but impressed with Emmett. I'd done more than stepped out of line today. I'd run all around outside of the lines. Emmett had brought me back to my senses, but not before I had made one hell of a mess. Bella was going to kill me.