Tony woke up excited. The construction on the new home had recently been completed, he and Pepper were getting along better than ever, his panic attacks had stopped after his friend Bruce Banner had referred him to a very good therapist and the resulting calm had inspired numerous new ideas and upgrades for him to work on in his newly built lab.
That was enough to wake up excited about, but today his bud Bruce had a meeting scheduled with him at 2pm. Tony wasn't able to needle out of his friend what the meeting was about, other than that it had nothing to do with the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. Intrigued, Tony had images of new scientific discoveries dancing in his head. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long for 2pm to get here.
Bruce arrived fifteen minutes early, shuffling unconfidently to the front door. Tony watched his friend: well dressed but slightly disheveled looking, gaze locked to the ground, the occasional rub to the back of the neck, face working as though he were receiving an internal reprimanding. Same as always, Tony snorted to himself, cheerily going to meet Bruce in the entryway.
"Hey," Bruce said unhappily to him in the entryway as he looked around and then watched idly as Jarvis scanned him.
"Hey yourself," Tony answered, taking in Bruce's gaze. "Like it?"
"Mmm," Bruce answered distractedly, though he was grinning in admiration.
"Wanna see the lab?" Tony asked playfully, bouncing on his heels.
"Is it private?"
"Well….yea," Tony answered, blinking in confusion. "...if you don't mind Jarvis. Pepper's at work."
"I don't mind," Bruce answered quietly and then waited expectantly.
"...Ok then," Tony said after an awkward silence. "This way," he called over his shoulder as he led the way to the lab.
He tried to show some of the new advances he'd created in the home along the way, but quickly realized that Bruce was barely even glancing at what he was talking about. His friend's gaze was pretty much firmly planted on the ground.
Entering the lab, Tony spun around with his arms outstretched and said "Here it is - secret lair" in a somewhat flat tone. He watched Bruce give an obligatory grin and then watched him take a cursory look around.
"So. You wanna…"
"There's a reason I wanted to come today," Bruce cut him off.
"Figured that out," Tony piped in. "What's up?"
Bruce scowled at him.
"You said it didn't have anything to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers, there's been no news of a big green guy redecorating cities, you seemed pretty ok with the aliens thing - so what's up?" Tony asked brightly, flopping onto a rolling chair and sliding to a work table. "Trouble keeping a handle on things?"
Bruce quirked his mouth to the side in irritation and glared at him.
"Oh. Wait. You had an entire speech prepared for me, didn't you?"
Bruce huffed and grinned in irritation the floor. "I did."
Tony nodded. "Was it long and drawn out? It seemed like it was gonna be long and drawn out. ...But I'm not wrong about what's up, am I?"
"No," Bruce sighed, "you're not wrong."
"Kay," Tony thought for a moment, concern clear on his face, "so what changed?"
"Things are going well."
Tony made a face, "And that's bad?"
"I need to always have anger in me," Bruce explained. "Things are going well. Really well. I'm feeling more guilty than angry…"
"...Remember the whole 'I'm not that kind of doctor' thing a few months back?" Tony butt in.
"Tony…"
"I'm just sayin'..."
"Tony…"
"If you don't have the temperament for this, I don't know why you think I would."
Bruce closed his eyes and lowered his head in defeat.
"I could be wrong," Tony said quickly, slightly panicked. "I could...maybe…"
Chuckling lightly, Bruce looked at him and shook his head.
"So, the guilt is making you lose control?"
"I'm afraid it will, eventually, that with things going so well…"
"Harder to be always angry," Tony cut in.
Bruce inclined his head, "That's right."
"Kay, so...what are you wanting to do about it? Self sabotage?"
"No," Bruce laughed good naturedly. "What I need. I...what I was hoping… ...what I want from you…"
Tony shook his head in impatience as his friend stammered on nervously. It didn't take long for Tony to interrupt, "What exactly could I do to help?"
Bruce gave him a deer in headlights look, and Tony tilted his head to the side sarcastically.
"This is going faster than I'd…"
"What are you up to, Banner?" Tony asked curiously.
"I don't want to lose control. I don't want to be respons…"
"Yea, caught that. How do I fit into this?"
Bruce's mouth worked silently.
"Bruuuuce," Tony cooed.
Bruce dropped his head and mumbled something at his shoes.
"What…" Tony started again.
"Can't we just slow this down?" Bruce all but pleaded, slumping into a chair at another table.
"Kay," Tony said, wondering how to do that when it was clear Bruce wasn't interested in talking about anything other than the reason he was visiting.
The two men sat opposite each other, looking anywhere else but at each other. Tony was beginning to get really creeped out, and he began thinking of what'd it be like if Bruce really did lose control again.
"I need help," Bruce told him suddenly in a barely audible whisper.
"Ok, what kind of help?" Tony said nervously, finally realizing how serious this talk was.
Bruce took a deep breath, "I need something not to look forward to. ...and, I dunno, maybe it'd help with my guilt."
"What would?"
"I need you to hurt me," Bruce blurted out, locking eyes with Tony and then staring at the floor once more.
"Hurt you? Hurt you how?...wouldn't that make the big guy…"
"Y'know, how Steve and Thor…" Bruce shrugged towards Tony.
Tony's eyes went wide, "You want me to spank you?!"
Bruce scrunched up his face and shook his head in irritation, holding his hands up as though to shush Tony.
Tony was relieved, "You don'twant me to sp…"
"No, I do," Bruce interrupted with his eyes closed, face still scrunched.
"Wait wait, hoooooo," Tony said in a rush. "Isn't that gonna, you know, make the big guy come out?" He made a monster sound and flexed his muscles, mimicking Bruce's transformation into the Hulk.
"I can control it," Bruce said quietly, the slightest hint of a grin on his face over Tony's antics.
"Yea but you just told me…"
"I can control it," Bruce insisted.
"You better," Tony said as he fiddled with a screwdriver on a work table. "I don't think Pepper'd approve of coming home to me smooshed on the floor."
"Is that a yes, then," Bruce asked, and his tone was so childishly hopeful that Tony stopped his constant fidgeting and looked at him directly.
"Why me? Why not Thor or Steve?" Tony asked, and Bruce gave him a disdainful look and tilted his head in a way that'd rival a surly teenager, and so Tony continued, "I'm not exactly the disciplinarian type, you know. And I'm not doing it in my suit…"
"Why not?" Bruce interrupted, his eyes going a bit wide in what Tony couldn't distinguish between concern for his safety or disappointment.
Tony exhaled sharply and looked at Bruce from under his lashes, "I think you know I've been upended myself a number of times…" he said, his mind racing over the instances he'd been spanked by various members of the team, often times it was barely even a private setting. One time in particular included Bruce being hastily pushed from the lab at S.H.I.E.L.D., and Tony was reasonably certain Bruce had witnessed the entire thing. He waited until Bruce inclined his head before he continued, "...that's where you got this idea in the first place…" again he waited until Bruce inclined his head once more, "...and I'm telling you that it meant more and had more of an effect when it was done certain ways. So if you're serious and if we're doing this…"
"I'm serious, I need…"
Tony held up his hand with an authoritative look on his face that quieted Bruce immediately, "...ifwe're doing this then we're doing it my way, and that means with no suit and you over my lap." Tony folded his arms over his chest and looked Bruce in the eye, waiting to see what he'd think of that.
Bruce looked at Tony with a blank expression for a moment, and then his brow knit together and he began chewing his lower lip. He made a few unhappy noises in the back of his throat before taking on the look of a sad puppy as he gazed up at Tony with his large brown eyes.
Tony shook his head and raised an eyebrow, and Bruce huffed and looked to the ground.
"Ok," he told Tony in a small, defeated tone.
"Ok," Tony answered back assuredly. Then his eyes darted around in an anxious sort of a way, "Do we need to do this now?"
Bruce closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Yeesssss," he answered in a whiny, dour tone that Tony'd never heard from the other man before.
Tony blinked rapidly at Bruce, "I think you better calm yourself down first."
"I'm not gonna change," Bruce hissed back.
"Watch that tone," Tony found himself scolding, and he furrowed his brow at how quickly he'd adjusted to the role Bruce sought in him. Even more surprising was Bruce's reaction to those three little words.
Bruce flinched and then sunk in on himself, guilty expression pasted across his features as he stared at his shoes. He looked like a chastised schoolboy.
"Bruce," Tony said in a stern tone, enjoying this new situation he found himself in.
Bruce tilted his head up just enough to look at Tony.
Tony chuckled at the look of dread on Bruce's face. He crooked a finger at him. "I think it's time we got started," he told him cheerily.
Bruce leaned his head backwards and looked at the ceiling. "Why did I come to you," he sulked.
"I dunno. You still haven't answered that question," Tony answered a-matter-of-factly while hopping up and walking to the only wheeless chair in the lab. Sitting in it, he fired a lewd smile at Bruce and patted his knee.
Bruce slumped, closed his eyes and gave a pathetic moan, then pushed himself up from his chair petulantly and began shuffling slowly towards Tony. Tony's lip quirked at the pout that had formed on Bruce's face; he was accustomed to being the one who acted like a child. Seeing someone else do so was incredibly funny to him, and Tony had to steel his face and remind himself how important this situation really was.
Failing to help his friend could mean hundreds would die and could mentally damage Bruce beyond repair. Tony didn't believe in failing, and so he cleared his throat and fixed Bruce with a severe look, "Stop stalling? Get yourself over here."
Bruce gave him a hesitant look from under his brow for a moment and then nodded, walking to Tony at a quicker pace. He stopped at Tony's side, looking much calmer and seemingly awaiting further instruction.
"Undo those," Tony said, pointing at Bruce's crotch, and Bruce silently obliged, unbuttoning and unzipping his pants and then standing still once more.
Tony nodded and then waved his hand over his lap, indicating that Bruce was to lay over it. When all Bruce did was shuffle and twitch nervously where he stood, Tony gave a slight huff and gently took hold of Bruce's wrist.
Bruce tensed, but before he could pull away Tony caught him dead by looking him straight in the eye and saying, "You're gonna have to do your part too, man."
"Yea….I know," Bruce answered in a shaky tone. Letting out a long breath, he lowered himself over Tony's lap, squirming to try to find a comfortable position.
Ever impatient, Tony sighed and pulled his awkward friend to his hip and then wrapped his arm around him, locking the smaller man in place.
Feeling Bruce again tense, Tony patted his thigh and said "Calm down, we haven't even gotten to the good part" in a cheery tone. He smirked when Bruce actually did relax over his lap at that.
Now that it was go time Tony faltered. He'd never been in the driver's seat of a spanking before. He cleared his throat and then asked, "Cozy?"
"Not really," Bruce answered sarcastically, though Tony could hear the unease in his voice.
"Yea, well… Ready to begin?"
Bruce grunted and huffed in answer. Tony found it irritating. This entire thing had been Bruce's idea.
Tony swatted him hard, "Ready to begin?"
"Ow," Bruce flinched and then glared back at Tony.
Tony waited, giving Bruce another chance to answer. All Bruce did was look at him like a hurt puppy. Well, a cranky hurt puppy, Tony thought to himself. Rolling his eyes, Tony swatted him again. "We're not really starting until I get an…"
"Yes, alright? I'm ready," Bruce hissed at him.
"What did I tell your naughty butt about that tone, young man," Tony shot back with a smirk, landing another harsh swat that caused Bruce to suck in his breath.
Bruce glared at him again, but Tony could see the humor in his eyes.
"Hmmph," Bruce hummed in answer, facing forward and relaxing over Tony's lap once more.
"Bruce," Tony cooed, "I expect answers to my questions."
Bruce sighed and answered, "Watch my tone."
"Good boy," Tony goaded.
"You're really annoying," Bruce told him dryly.
"Isn't that the point?" Tony asked him brightly.
Bruce huffed.
Tony swatted each sit spot and enjoyed how Bruce yipped and danced over his lap each time.
"Yes, that's the point!" Bruce said, and then hissed out an 'ow.' "Partially anyway," Bruce added as an afterthought.
"What're the other points? The pain and guilt?" Tony asked, landing swats two at a time in each spot before moving on.
"Partially - ah - can we not…" Bruce hissed, a slight edge to his voice.
"Oh, we're talking about this," Tony said over Bruce's pained voice.
Bruce ducked his head and made an irritated noise. "Just forget I said…"
"Would you just," Tony shook his head, "it's like pulling teeth here. Tell me what the hell is going on."
Bruce turned his face away and didn't answer.
Tony lost what little patience he had and tipped Bruce forward. He knew it was a little soon to do so, but really, that was Bruce's fault he reasoned. Tony let his hand fly, landing harsh swats to Bruce's sit spots at a rapid pace.
Bruce let out a strangled cry and then tensed his body, squeezing his eyes shut, hoping to ride this out.
Seeing just how difficult Bruce intended on being spiked Tony's irritation even more. "Kay Bruce, you wanna push me…" he said, grabbing Bruce's pants and yanking them down.
"Don't - I don't want to talk about…"
"Don't care. Lift up," Tony ground out, having Bruce's pants nearly past his ass.
"Tony," Bruce argued.
Tony responded with two well aimed swats to Bruce's thighs, and each was rewarded with a frantic 'AH!'.
Bruce huffed loudly as he lifted up, "You better be careful…"
"Or what? I thought you said you had control," Tony chided belligerently, he had Bruce's pants down to his knees lightning fast. Tony was a bit surprised to see how reddened Bruce already was, and he wondered if his own skin reddened even more quickly under the hand of Thor and Cap.
"I do!" Bruce bit back.
"Oh, so you're just trying to threaten me - got it," Tony took aim at the little white briefs over his lap and let his hand fly, putting more strength behind the swats as he grit his teeth.
"No, wait - ow! OW!" Bruce's legs kicked out behind him at the increased pain, and his body jutted forward with each connection.
Tony shook his head, "You ask me to help you, tell me I'm safe, won't answer my questions and then you threaten me?! I'm helping you like you asked and you threaten me!" Tony's voice rose until he was yelling. "No, if you've got control then you're taking this - all of it. If you wanted to piss me off well you've done it, buddy!"
Bruce swung his head around to look up at Tony, looking almost shocked, and certainly ashamed, by what Tony had said. Then with true remorse in his voice, "I'm sorry - ah - I didn't mean…"
"I don't know what else you could've meant to do," Tony scolded angrily.
Bruce's eyes shone with tears, "I just wanted to avoid - OW! Tony wait! I just...OW!"
"Wait why, am I in danger?" Tony asked, slowing down.
"Nooo!" Bruce squalled in a put out tone. "I just…"
"You didn't wanna answer my questions, so you resorted to threats," Tony ground out, speeding back up.
"I'll tell you! Owwhowhow! Just stop - OW - for a minute," Bruce begged.
Tony stopped. "Tell me then."
Bruce huffed and puffed as he tried to catch his breath, and every now and then he whimpered.
"I don't hear any explaining," Tony warned.
"Just give me a minute," Bruce griped. "Ah!" he cried out from a sharp slap his his left sit spot. "Ok," he huffed and then stalled again. "Ow, I came to you because you accepted me, ok?" Bruce reached a hand back to try and rub some of the sting out of his right sit spot, but Tony slapped his hand away.
"Hands in front," Tony admonished. "Keep talking."
"Everyone else was wary when they met me," Bruce told him. "You were excited. You weren't scared, you wanted to be friends - you never judged me. You respected me," Bruce said pitifully.
"Still do," Tony said.
Bruce chuckled at that as though he found that hard to believe. Then he continued, "I knew you got, you know - I saw Steve do it to you that day in the lab. You'd know how far to go."
"Worse than you thought?" Tony asked with a smirk.
"Loads," Bruce admitted, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Is it helping?"
"I've been angry pretty much the entire time."
"Good, well let's see how you deal with this," Tony said, grabbing the waist of Bruce's briefs.
"Tony don't," Bruce whined. "C'mon," he yelled when Tony started pulling his briefs down.
"Hey, this is an important part. Thor and Steve do this to me - you wanted the full experience, right?"
"I don't remember saying that!" Bruce answered caustically, starting to struggle.
"Ah ah, you fight me and I'll use my belt," Tony warned.
Bruce stilled, though he turned and glared at Tony, "This is not what we agreed to."
"Too bad," Tony said, successfully pushing the briefs out of the way, "it's what you're getting."
Bruce growled, and Tony looked at him warily for a moment until he realized he was safe. He then looked at Bruce's cheeks, they were bright red. They're about to get redder, Tony thought as he raised his hand.
Bruce mewled before Tony even brought his hand down, and, as soon as the swat landed, Bruce bucked over Tony's lap, a strand of his hair falling into his eyes. "AHHHH!" Bruce yelled, and if he wasn't so slight in build, Tony would of thought Bruce was resorting to theatrics.
They went on this way for some time, Bruce's voice growing louder and hoarser until finally his voice began to crack with the first hints of an impending sob.
Tony was about to land another swat when Bruce kicked his feet up.
"Bruuce…" Tony warned.
"No more, please Tony," Bruce said in a broken voice.
Tony sighed, not sure for a moment whether to continue or not. He made up his mind pretty quickly.
"Normally I'd let you up. We started this to help you, not punish you - but then you went and threatened me," Tony explained, irritation rising in his voice, "and you've been a little shit the entire time, Banner…"
"I'm sorry about that," Bruce insisted wetly. "I won't don't it again, I promise."
"Good, but I don't think I'd be doing my job if I let it slide. We've got a bit more to go, buddy."
Bruce ducked his head and let out a whine that caused Tony to shake his head.
"Come on, it won't be that bad," Tony lied.
Bruce snorted, "Oh yea, because all of it up to this point has been easy. Right."
"Well, ok, it's gonna be bad - but you'll get through it. Ready?" Tony asked, raising his right knee.
"No," Bruce spat flippantly, "Tony ...OW! AHH OWWW!" Bruce thrashed over Tony's knees, twisting and turning from the pain.
"Are you gonna threaten me ever again?" Tony lectured playfully in a snide voice.
"NO! OW, I promise, OWW!" Bruce yelled, his face scrunched up in pain.
"You better not, mister, you won't like what'll happen," Tony warned him.
"It hurts!" Bruce yelled over his shoulder, tears spilling down his cheeks.
"Yea, I know," Tony responded, not letting up.
Bruce began kicking his legs from the pain.
"Think you can be a good boy now?"
"Yes!" Bruce cried out, grabbing Tony's knee tightly with both hands.
"Ok," Tony said, wringing his hand out to the side. "We're done."
Bruce tried to climb off Tony's lap, but failed, and so he laid there whimpering and sniffling for a moment.
Tony patted him on the back, "You're ok."
Still trying to get his breathing under control, Bruce looked over his shoulder at Tony, "If you call this ok, you're nuts."
Tony giggled at that, which caused Bruce to chuckle wryly and shake his head.
Tugging on the band of the briefs, Tony began "Want me to…."
"I got that," Bruce snapped at him, skittering up off Tony's lap clumsily. He delicately took a reddened globe in each hand and rubbed.
"Watch that tone," Tony warned.
Bruce looked at Tony warily and yanked up his briefs, hissing in pain. He then quickly pulled up and fastened his pants as Tony stood.
Tony attempted to pat Bruce's shoulder, but the petulant man would have none of it.
"Get offa me," Bruce snapped at him, pushing Tony away and swiping his forearm over his eyes.
Tony tsked at him, wrapped an arm around Bruce's neck and pulled his face into his shoulder. Bruce, for his part, kept the contact as minimal as possible with his hands behind him cupping his sore bottom, huffing into Tony's shoulder.
"This is important," Tony told him, making a face and not really enjoying the contact either. He squeezed the back of Bruce's neck gently and then let him go.
Bruce stood with his head lowered, pain still showing in his face and a hand holding each cheek. Tony watched, grin on his face, as Bruce tried to level out his breathing.
"So, I'll make time to do this weekly."
Bruce's head shot up, mouth agape.
"Weekly?!" Bruce cried, "No, I don't want it weekly..."
"I don't care what you want," Tony told him sternly, "now, doesn't that just piss you off?" Tony asked him with a smirk.
Bruce worked his mouth into an irritated pout.
"And remember, that's just if you're good. Bad boys get spanked, you know, so if you're bad it's more than once a week," Tony said with a sly smile.
The annoyance on Bruce's face was extremely entertaining to Tony, and he didn't bother to hide his giggle. Tony half expected him to argue that it wasn't fair, but he didn't. Instead Tony watched the wheels turn in Bruce's mind, and then his face relaxed into the normal expression that Tony had come to know.
Finally Bruce huffed and shot Tony a sideways glance. "I appreciate what you're doing."
"I appreciate you trusting me," Tony said, "...not that I appreciate you coming to me with this, but, you know..."
"Oh thanks."
"Would you wanna do this for me?" Tony asked.
"Right now? Yeah."
"Too bad, that waiting list is pretty long."
Bruce was quiet for a moment and then asked, "What about monthly instead?"
"You're getting it weekly," Tony insisted. "That's final. Get over it."
Bruce looked at the floor, brooding.
"C'mon, let me show you around," Tony waved his arm around the lab. He was beyond done with this situation for now.
Bruce looked up from under his lashes, unable to deny his curiosity.
Tony chattered away, full of excitement about ideas he was working on. Bruce couldn't withstand the storm for long, adding his own ideas and insights. Soon, the reason for the visit was forgotten and both men got lost in friendly companionship.
Before they knew it, Pepper appeared. "Look at you two," she said happily, "you both look like you've had a nice day."
Her head turned to the side at the snorts the two men gave.
"Bruce, will you be staying for dinner?" she asked.
"He will," Tony said before Bruce was able to decline. "He'll be joining us once a week for dinner," Tony shot a grin at Bruce, "maybe more," he shrugged, "usually once."
Bruce gave Tony a surprised look.
Pepper blinked rapidly, smiling in confusion. She knew there was a joke that she wasn't in on, but she didn't mind. "Well, it'll be nice having you over so much, Bruce."
Bruce gave a tight grin, "Yea, I'm sure."
Tony raised his brow.
"Thanks," Bruce added, inclining his head at Pepper.
Pepper gave them both a look and then laughed. "Well hurry up, I'm starved," she said on her way out of the lab.
"Well, you heard her," Tony said.
Bruce laughed, "We don't want to make her angry?"
Tony played it up, "Nope, never a good idea."
