For a good chunk of his morning, Stefan glared at the strap hanging in his closet as he attempted, with very limited success, to rub away the sting in his ass. He kept his hand away from his thighs because he knew he deserved the faint bruises that Damon had lain there. But everything else was fair game. There was no way he was going to knead his backside at school, so he needed to try and reduce the sting as much as he could while he was alone in his room.

The rubbing didn't help much.

And the strap was a wicked reminder that Damon would probably have him back over his knee before too long. Stefan had a feeling he'd be spending most of his time afflicted with a throbbing smacked bottom for a good while yet.

Speaking of the devil.

Just as Stefan was picking up his backpack, Damon waltzed into his room and made himself comfortable on the couch. Dread built up like bile in Stefan's throat. His frustration with Damon melted into a combination of anger and fear. His older brother crooked his finger and patted his knee.

With a huff, Stefan dropped his bag. He stomped over to his brother. "I didn't break one of your rules."

"You are now," Damon said. He was smiling but here was no amusement in his voice. After Stefan's hands were behind his back and his head was bowed, Damon unceremoniously knocked him facedown over his lap. Stefan counted the hits Damon gave him. It helped him get through the pain without crying or, worse, begging for forgiveness. He was given ten swats, five for each cheek. They were not love taps. Damon put a lot of power behind his blows. It took all of Stefan's self-control not to reach back to his already well-punished posterior to block the corrective sting. He'd been punished enough over the weekend. Over punished, in his opinion, actually. "I don't have time to give you what you're asking for. But, rest assured, little brother, after school, I'm going to spend the afternoon making sure you'll won't fight me over an ass whipping for a very long time."

Stefan swallowed down a whimper. "I didn't fight you! I came right over."

"No wonder you're failing math," Damon said. Stefan twisted over to look up at him. "You seem to be having trouble putting two and two together. Let me walk you through it. Two weeks ago, I pulled you out of bed for a spanking. I taught you three things. What was the third one?"

"I need to mind my mouth," Stefan said. To the floor. He didn't feel like looking at Damon anymore.

"And me," Damon said, punctuating his point with another round of swats that brought forth a few tears to Stefan's eyes. He sighed and Stefan felt him lean back a little. "Believe it or not, Stef, I hadn't been planning to punish you this morning."

"Believe it or not, sir, your actions suggested otherwise."

"You really are asking for it today," Damon said. He tapped Stefan's wrist. It was a silent order to drop his arms to his sides. Stefan obeyed. Then, Damon's hand was back on Stefan's rear and he clenched with the automatic assumption that it was about to be heated up past the aching warmth is was currently suffering from. Instead, Damon began to rub his sore cheeks gently. A couple of seconds of comfort from his brother did more to ease the pain than the countless hours Stefan spent trying to dull the ache of his punishments over the weekend. "We need to talk, and you listen much better like this." Now he was sounding amused. "I think the blood rushing to your head makes you think better."

"I guess you're right," Stefan said with a little more bite than what wise for his ability to sit down ever again, "because I'm not saying what I'm thinking."

"Tone," Damon said. His hand moved to Stefan's undercurve, but he seemed more interested in giving solace over sting. "We need to go over what happened with Elena."

"I don't want to hear anything about that from you," Stefan said. The whine was no longer coloring is his tone. It was icy and angry.

"Yes, you do," Damon said. His hand was still on Stefan's backside, but he'd stopped rubbing. There was something in his voice that Stefan couldn't bring himself to ignore, "Because I'm about to apologize."

Stefan suddenly understood exactly how Elena had felt when Damon had spilled the beans about their new brotherly arrangement because his brain was shortening out too.

"Not for punishing her," Damon said and Stefan couldn't bring it him to be surprised even if he was disappointed, "but for the way I did it. I lost my temper and that's now how I want to deal with either of you."

"Are you done?" Stefan asked. It was harder to stay angry at Damon when he was admitting at least some fault, but he saw no point in making things easier by being agreeable. If Damon didn't like Stefan's cold shoulder, too bad.

"No, I'm not," Damon said. He rose his hand. "Rule six, little boy, when I'm punishing you or explaining how I'm going to run this household, you either mind your manners or get spanked before minding them." Damon's hand sliced through the air as he smacked his little brother, the loud and crisp sound of it echoing loudly through the room. More heat built up immediately. The blows came down with such swift power that Stefan was sharply reminded that Damon's hand could be very effective spanking tool in its own right. The strap wasn't the only thing he needed to fear.

If there wasn't so much subtext surrounding Elena, Stefan would have readily obeyed the command Damon's hand was sending to his behind. "I really like how you tell me your rules after I've already broken them."

Damon wrapped his arm around Stefan's hips and pulled him forward, against his broad chest, for better spanking access. He began to give Stefan a real thrashing. The time for warmups and warning smacks were gone. Damon hit with the intention to blister. Those blisters taught Stefan to watch his mouth. Damon laid more blisters on his blisters and Stefan found himself reluctantly respecting his teaching methodology. Stefan was crying quiet tears as Damon shifted him up a little in order to give his legs the same treatment.

"How do I expect little boys treat me in my home?" Damon asked after he'd blistered Stefan's legs and had returned to punishing Stefan's cheeks. The corrective pain stung so bad! Stefan was very sorry for mouthing off! Damon continued to subdue Stefan's smart mouth with his own smart hand.

Stefan forced himself to breathe through the next set of swats. Damon mercifully decided to reduce the amount of power in his swing, but every time his hand landed, Stefan was reminded which brother was in charge. It made him regret sassing off. "Respect," Stefan yelped as Damon reinforced the word with an extra hard smack on a fresh bruise, "sir. I'm sorry."

"What do little boys get when they aren't?"

Damon was a talented spanker. His sharp hand was so good at adding sting to a blistering fire. If there was an Olympic sport for big brothers spanking their naughty siblings, he'd win the gold every four years forever. Stefan curled his toes and whined, "Spankings!"

"And if I say your butt needs to be warmed up before school, little boy?"

Stefan could hardly think clearly, much less speak with any coherency. He managed to whimper out, between Damon smacking his left undercurve and then his thigh, "More blisters."

Damon laughed. He helped Stefan on his feet and wiped away his tears as Stefan tried to rub away the burn of his morning spanking. "I left your breakfast on the table. Eat it and head to school." He straightened up Stefan's shirt. "We'll finish our discussion when you get back."

"Discussion means punishment," Stefan accused. His bottom warned him to shut up, but he ignored it. Damon was going put Stefan on his knees again in a few hours, so why bother minding his mouth? "I don't want another one!"

"It'll be really good one," Damon said, grinning with fond affection when Stefan's wordlessly whined, "I'll make sure you'll learn enough so I won't need to spank you again for at least a day or two." He picked Stefan's bag and strapped it to his shoulders. He propelled Stefan to his bedroom door with a firm smack to his rear end that brought a pout to Stefan's lip and tears to his eyes.

The drive to school was rough. Sitting hurt, but that wasn't the real problem. He was feeling guilty about how he'd behaved throughout his morning spanking. He wanted to turn around and apologize to his big brother for acting like a spoiled brat. He wanted Damon to forgive him with a tight hug. He couldn't stop thinking about being very small and crying his heart out in Damon's shoulder after his little backside had been soundly smacked. Damon would rub his back and bottom until he'd calmed down before laying him down for a post-spanking nap. When he was a little bigger, he'd still comfort Stefan but after helping him lay on his front, he'd add some more sting to Stefan's punished skin. It would help him remember to be obedient after he woke up from his nap.

Damon was such a strict proactive and disciplinarian! But his methods had worked. Giuseppe had been under the impression that his youngest child was too obedient and good to ever misbehave. He never laid a hand on Stefan before killing him with a bullet.

He had no idea why those memories were flooding his mind. At least it they didn't invade his mind too long. By the time Stefan arrived at school, he no longer felt naughty child whose bottom had been smacked by his big brother cos he's been bad. No. He felt like a surly teenager whose jerkass brother tore up his ass for no good reason. While it was a better feeling by a long shot, he knew he'd have to nip anything other but polite attentiveness in the bud, at least for his classes. He had no interest catching the attention of Damon's ruler.

Elena was at her locker, talking to Bonnie. She seemed okay, but Stefan rather suspected it was mostly for show. While he would have liked to pull her aside to talk, it was Bonnie's day to have Elena. Stefan and Bonnie took turns hanging out with her in order to minimize contact between Bonnie and either Salvatore.

As he passed the girls, he squeezed Elena's elbow and studiously avoided Bonnie's gaze.

While Stefan knew it was probably the best compromise they could hope to come up with, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He liked Bonnie and wanted to be friends with her. He blamed Katherine. Damon was at fault, too, but Stefan had never been good at holding a grudge against him. It took enough energy to resent him for smacking him. Stefan didn't have it in him to blame his brother for falling for Katherine's tricks, even if Damon could have done a little more to reduce the collateral damage.

That said, he fully intended to stay angry at Damon until made up with Elena. He should apologize for swatting her. And promise never to do it again. Then, and only then, would Stefan forgive Damon.

His plan to head to English early in hopes of asking for extra credit were ruined by Caroline Forbes storming over to him like hell was on her heels. Matt was lagging behind her, shooting him a sympathetic look.

"You," she said, digging her perfectly manicured index finger into his chest, "are not allowed to quit the football team! With you, we have an actual chance at getting to and winning the state championship."

"I didn't quit," Stefan said, "I'll be at practice tomorrow like everyone else."

"But you won't be playing the games," Caroline said, "which is basically the same thing as not being on the team."

Matt set a hand on her shoulder, "That's not - "

Caroline shushed him. "Tell me how to fix this and I'll have it done by lunch."

"How did you even know about this?" Stefan asked, "I haven't even talked to the coach yet." Caroline stared at him like he was an idiot. Matt was giving him a very similar look. Stefan figured they had a point. Nothing happened at Mystic Falls High that Caroline Elizabeth Forbes wasn't aware of. "I'm only benched for two months."

"That's practically the entire season!" Caroline said, "your stupid brother ruins everything."

"I'm really sorry," Stefan said, "there's no getting around it." He felt a shot of pain up his legs. The bruises urged him to say, "I wouldn't want to. Damon's right," Caroline twitched and fell into Matt's arms, "I don't deserve football privileges considering my performance in school. I'm lucky he didn't make me quit all together."

Caroline pouted. Then, an idea hit her. Her smile was very bright when she offered "I have a couple of nerds on hand who can hack your school records and fix them."

"No," Stefan said firmly while Matt said, "Care!"

Caroline rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "Fine. Our football team will remain the laughingstock of the entire state of Virginia, but I won't interfere with you two goody two shoes."

"The cheerleading team is one of the best in the state," Stefan said and Matt just looked so proud of his girlfriend. "I heard that two years ago, a baby freshman bullied her way into the captain's chair. Last year she led them to winning the state championship."

Caroline preened as the bell rang.

Unfortunately, the English teacher was a substitute. The school had been searching for a replacement since the start of the school year. Stefan was about ninety percent sure Damon had snacked on said teacher. The school board hadn't even found a consistent sub to replace her. Stefan had a feeling that, with his luck, they wouldn't find anyone suitable in time to save his butt. He had an even stronger feeling that he'd have another conversation with Damon's ruler when his English grades were all said and done for the quarter.

Best case scenario was that Damon would notice how hard Stefan had tried and decide to go easy on him. Stefan didn't need a magic eight ball to tell him the outlook on that wasn't very good.

His chemistry and Spanish teachers were all too happy to pile Stefan with extra work to help the football star get back on the field. He spent his lunch in the library feeling guilty about making them do extra grading and that most other students wouldn't have been given the same opportunity as he was. He tried to focus on doing homework, but the guilt lingered. He was glad it hurt so much to sit down.

The last of what little luck he had ran out with his drawing teacher, Mr. Baker.

"As I said in the first day of class, I don't give out extra credit," he said.

Stefan had been too busy staring at Elena to actually pay attention. He looked at the ground. "Yes, sir. I just thought I'd give it a shot."

"And even if I were to give out free labor," Mr. Baker said, "I wouldn't do it for a brat who distracts my entire classroom with juvenile antics with his girlfriend nearly every day."

Elena had been fairly understanding when Stefan insisted that they no longer sit at the same table together. During class, he'd forced himself to keep his eyes on his assignment or Mr. Baker himself. And that had been no easy feat considering that Mr. Baker looked like an angry fusion between a gremlin and a troll. Meanwhile, Elena was wearing a cute tank top that showed off her bare arms. She'd also pulled hair into a bun, showing off her delicious looking neck.

"That's very understandable, sir," Stefan said to the old tiles that made up the floor of the classroom, "thank you for hearing me out and I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"Look at me when I'm speaking to you," Mr. Baker snapped. Stefan's head shot up. "I noticed your brother had a little talk with you. With leather, I should imagine, considering how much you squirmed."

Stefan kept his face neutral as he stared at his gremlin little face and mean beady eyes.

"I mentioned your poor attitude and manners and outrageous sense of entitlement," Mr. Baker had such a fussy voice, "but I suppose you'd need more than one conversation with a leather belt to learn that necessary lesson." He pursed his lips together. "I'm not fooled by your faux apologies, Salvatore. In fact, I have half a mind to give you lunch detention for a week for your gall!"

"Yes, sir," Stefan said.

For a moment, Mr. Baker was taken aback. He composed himself quickly before walking to his desk and writing up a discipline slip for Damon to sign. As he handed it Stefan, he added with a curled lip, "I do hope your brother's belt will reinforce the lesson I'll be teaching you."

He'd written the same thing on the sip, among other remarks regarding Stefan's attitude and lack of respect. Stefan slid it into folder. It looked like his discussion with Damon would include the ruler on top of whatever he used to readjust Stefan's attitude. Probably his stupid strap. "Yes, sir."

Students were pouring into the room and had heard most of verbal lashing. He imagined that he'd be subjected to the rumor mill over the next couple of days. Not that it was much of a secret Stefan was nursing a busted ass. He hadn't embarrassed himself by rubbing, but he'd squirmed while on the hard desk chairs all day long.

"Best be on your way," Mr. Baker said, "before you're late for your next class."

Stefan gave him a nod.

Elena was waiting for him. From the look on her face, it was clear she'd heard everything. She pulled him down for a very fast peck on the cheek. "Want to talk?"

"Do you?" Stefan asked.

"Not really," Elena said. She smiled in a grim sort of way. "We should, though. Let's aim for tomorrow, okay?"

Stefan nodded and returned it with a shaky one of her own. She bounced over to Bonnie, who was waiting at the end of the hall, with false cheer. Bonnie didn't seem fooled by her act, but she didn't say anything as they walked to class together. The three of them shared the same precalculus class, but Stefan waited until they entered the room before making his way over there as well.

He'd say he was looking forward to the school day ending. But he wasn't. Damon's promised to spank him hard enough to keep Stefan well behaved for at least day and now he was in for a session with the ruler for his lunch detentions as well. They day could go on forever and it would still end too soon.

Stefan waited until the students had poured out of the classroom before heading to Mrs. Gardner. She was a formidable middle age woman with a strong build. But her face was kind. She was passionate about math and a well-liked teacher in spite of a reputation for not suffering fools.

"How can I help you, Mr. Salvatore?"

"My brother had a talk with me about school, ma'am," Stefan said.

"I noticed," there was a faintly amused glint in her grey eyes.

Stefan flushed. It was his last class, and he was nervous for the afternoon spanking Damon had promised to give him. He hadn't been able to stop squirming. But he kept his eyes on his teacher and listened to every bit of her lecture. It actually hadn't been too bad - Mrs. Gardner knew what she was talking about and had the ability to convey it in an easy to understand way. She was the best math teacher he'd ever had, and Stefan's had way more math teachers than he cared to remember.

He wanted to look at the ground, but Stefan was capable of learning after being disciplined. So, he kept his eyes on hers and said, "I wanted to apologize directly for my poor behavior. I'm sorry for cutting class, not doing my homework, and being a poor student in general."

"I'm glad to hear that," she said, "and now I assume you're going to ask for extra credit?" At Stefan's surprised look, she added with a small smile, "Teachers talk in the lounge. It's not often a student in your position goes on an apology tours and asks for extra credit. You've been an interesting source of gossip today."

"No, I wasn't, ma'am," Stefan said. His legs took the time to remind him how much Damon's ruler hurt, the traitors. It was well deserved though, so he couldn't really hold it against them. "I double checked the syllabus, and you don't give out extra credit outside of special circumstances. I just wanted to apologize and promise to do better."

Mrs. Gardner rose an eyebrow. "You don't consider your circumstances special?"

"The family I was born into and my athletic ability aren't special in any way at all, ma'am."

"I was talking about your uncle and brother abandoning their duties as parents," she said.

"My brother was exaggerating to make me look better," Stefan said. Now he was looking at the ground, detentions be damned. "He's been caring for me my whole life and Uncle Zack did the best he could." Now he was dead. Stefan probably should have sent him away once Damon showed up. It wasn't the first dead family member on his conscious, but he hoped it would be his last. Sarah Nelson and Damon Salvatore had no idea the other existed and Stefan planned to keep it that way.

"Mr. Salvatore," she sounded so strained Stefan looked up in alarm. She looked so sorry for him and that made him feel even worse. "Children make mistakes and test boundaries. It's up to their parents to set them straight. You brother should have taken you in hand long before now."

Stefan suddenly missed Lexi so much it hurt. "I'm old enough to know better."

Mrs. Gardner laughed out loud. "I'm an old woman, Mr. Salvatore. I've raised six children and taught thousands. Believe me when I say that the difference between six and sixteen is not nearly as much as you assume."

Stefan wished his skin weren't so pale. His blush was probably bright enough to light the entire school for a week.

"Your situation is special," Mrs. Gardner said, "and I do have a procedure in place to help students in circumstances like yours." She opened up the top drawer of her desk and pulled out the paddle she'd been assigned. It was large and thick with eight holes drilled in it. Stefan vaguely remembered it being a compromise the school board agreed on a few decades ago. The maximum number of swats would be twelve, but in exchange the implement would need to be able to dole out a suitable amount of pain with those allotted swats to unruly students. "Children need a firm hand. If you are willing to accept this and submit to five strokes, I will be more than happy to help you achieve the A I know you're capable of."

Stefan remembered quite clearly NOT giving the school permission to administer corporal punishment him when he'd enrolled. Damon must have taken care of that during parent-teacher night. "I know I'm not entitled to free labor, ma'am."

Mrs. Gardner did not look impressed. "I think you'll find helping troubled students reach their potential is very much a part of the job description of any teacher worth their salt."

Stefan squirmed under her look. "Yes, ma'am." He licked his lips. Damon probably still believed a paddling at school meant a paddling at home. But he was already in so much hot water, he doubted he'd even notice a little extra fire. "I would appreciate taking you up on your offer."

"Very well, Mr. Salvatore," Mrs. Gardner said, "set your backpack on a spare desk and bend over."

After setting his bag down, Stefan did as he was told. He set his chest on the table of the desk and folded his arms under his head. It had been about thirty years since he'd last gotten paddled in school, but he did remember how it went. He spread his feet a little bit and lifted up his hips.

She hummed in approval.

Then she pressed a hand on small of his back. She set the business end of the paddle against the very center of his buttocks. She tapped it a few times. Moved it up and down. Patted again. She was looking for the best spot to punish. Any part would due, really. Stefan's entire backside was very bruised and extremely sore.

"I'm starting now," she told him. She pulled the paddle back and slammed it home.

Stefan's eyes widened as the wood kissed the seat of his jeans. The pain faded quickly, but against a well-punished backside, a normal human was very capable utilizing a school paddle as intended, even on a vampire. After a few moments, she slammed the paddle back down. It was much harder, and Stefan hissed through the brief fire toasting him. It seemed she believed each swat should hurt more than the last. The next swat shifted the desk up a few inches with the force of its blow. Stefan lost his position and almost shouted at the pain.

"Back in place," she told him as he lifted his hips back up to be punished more. He parted his feet again and hid his face in his arms. "It looks like your bother has taught you well."

"Yes, ma'am," Stefan said.

The last two swats fell right on top of each other, one right after the other. The desk scooted on the floor after the first and Stefan didn't have a chance to lift his hip back up after it was spanked down. She connected the paddle with his seat again and his hip cut awkwardly against the edge of the desk as the fire seemed spread throughout his entire body. He was very close to crying as she set the paddle down next to his head.

Stefan stayed bent over as she filled out the discipline slip to inform his parent/guardian that he'd been paddled. He'd need to bring it back tomorrow with Damon's signature. She was sure taking her time checking a few boxes. Or maybe it just felt she was, with him bent over with a smarting bottom. The pain from her swats had faded, but she'd reignited Damon's previous work.

"You may get up," she said. She'd folded the discipline slip half and was holding it out for him to take. Stefan got up, grabbed his bag, and put the folded punishment note in his folder on top of his other one. He allowed himself to rub the sting a little as she gave him a fond look. "I hope the rest of your day is more pleasant."

It wouldn't be. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you."

"I'll have some assignments prepared for you tomorrow after class," she said, "dismissed, Mr. Salvatore."

Stefan gave her a curt nod before walking out of the classroom. He was too busy internally licking his wounds to notice Tyler Lockwood leaning against the lockers across from the classroom until he spoke up. "Sounded rough."

Stefan wasn't in the mood for his brand of jackass. "I guess. Do you need something?"

"Not me," Tyler said, "you." He grabbed something from the pocket of his bag and tossed it to Stefan. Stefan caught it. Ibuprofen. "Take four. It'll take the edge off. Trust me."

Richard Lockwood beating his son was a pretty open secret. Stefan wondered if he could get Damon to stage a murder without the Council finding out. Damon might agree just because non ripper Stefan opting for homicide as plan A was novel enough concept to tickle him. He wrapped a hand tightly around the bottle. It wouldn't help, but the thought really counted. "Thanks."

He patted Stefan on the back, "See you at practice tomorrow."

Damon was lazing on the couch in the parlor, day drinking, when Stefan arrived home. He pointed to the stairs. "Wait for me in your room." He took a small sip and grinned over the glass touching his lips. "I'll take care of you in a few."

Stefan shot him a dirty look. It might get him extra swats. But what was the saying? In for a penny, in for a pound. That was about how Stefan felt about his coming punishment. Well, that and a healthy dose of fear. Damon spankings hurt.

When he was in his room, he dropped his backpack on the bed. He took out the discipline slips and grabbed the ruler of his desk. He should probably grab the strap, too. But he had made a personal vow to himself he'd never touch the nasty thing without being ordered to. He set the slips and ruler on the coffee table and sat on the couch.

Waiting for a spanking from Damon was not, in any way shape or form, worse than actually getting one from him. Anticipation for an upcoming tanning was not a fear Stefan ever developed over the years he'd spend beholden Damon's sturdy lap and swinging arm. Stefan had no problem waiting indefinitely before going over his knee. He would happily wait and not be smacked, thank you.

His wait was unfortunately very short. Less than fifteen minutes passed before his brother entered the room like it was his own and waltzed over to the couch. He rose a brow at the ruler and picked up the slips. Stefan's palms felt quite clammy as Damon read without saying a thing. He thought for sure Damon would teases him. Maybe he'd find the whole thing funny and not be inclined to take two discipline slips from his school in one day seriously.

I expect you to so well behaved at school that the kids on the Dean's List will want to bully you.

The floor of Stefan's room could use a good mopping. Maybe he should polish it, too. He was probably going to spend the rest of his life staring at it. Might as well be nice to look at it.

"Do you want me to kill your drawing teacher?" Damon asked.

Startled, Stefan's head shot up to look at him with blank stare.

"Murder," Damon said, "take homicidal actions, play the part of an assassin, liquidate his heart, exterminate him like a pesky cockroach nest - "

"Damon!"

Undaunted, Damon continued, "Bring back the guillotine and chop off his head, indulge in vampire manslaughter, butcher him after draining him of his blood. God, I miss killing people."

"How about you kill Mayor Lockwood instead?"

Damon's eyes glittered with joy. "I'm going to spend days plotting his demise."

"I don't want you to enjoy it," Stefan said, quite fruitlessly.

"Just be glad I'm not going to stalk him for weeks first," Damon said. He showed off the red of his eyes and dropped his fangs. "I don't like men who beat their wives."

Lily and Damon both tried to hide that Father's abuse extended to her from Stefan. But there had been no hiding her screams the one time he'd broken her bones. It had happened not long after the first time Stefan had watched Giuseppe burn Damon with a cigar.

"Mom would - "

Damon cut him off by patting his knee and Stefan stood up and got into his pre spanking position. "Paddled at school, paddled at home, Stef." He pulled Stefan across his lap. Stefan expected him to reach over and grab the ruler, but instead he used his hand. Twice, one on each cheek. He barely felt the smacks over his jeans. "Your math teacher is very impressed with your newfound manners."

Stefan tapped his feet on the floor a few times. "I haven't been impressing you, have I?"

Instead of answering, he put Stefan back on his feet. Stefan bowed his head and put his hands behind his back. Damon put a finger under his chin and tiled his head up. Damon's eyes were unusually gentle. "I remember giving you permission to forge my name."

"I figured you meant for things like field trips," Stefan said. His arms, folded neatly behind his back, twitched and he shifted his weight from foot to foot. "You made it pretty clear I should, ah, start putting two and two together? I figured you'd expect to know if I got in trouble at school, seeing as you want me to, um, be well behaved at school?"

Damon patted Stefan's behind a few times. "You always were so responsive to a good whipping," he said as he dropped his finger and allowed Stefan to bow his head again.

Stefan did not share the nostalgia in his voice and was very glad his brother couldn't see him blushing.

"Put up the ruler," Damon said, "it's time to test how far your responsiveness extends."

Numbly, Stefan did as he was told. On his way back to the couch, when Stefan was close enough, Damon hooked his finger around his belt loop and bared his backside before Stefan had a chance to lower his head again. "Keep your hands at your sides," Damon pulled him back over his lap. "Good boy," he added, at Stefan's prompt obedience.

Stefan swallowed audibly.

"I control every aspect of your punishments," Damon said. He started to spank Stefan with typical procedure: down one cheek and up the other, covering his legs as well. "That includes what I use to spank you with. I keep spanking implements in your room to remind you to behave, not to give you any sense of ownership over how they go down."

"Yes, sir," Stefan said. He blinked away some tears from the next stern blow from Damon's hand. "I won't do it again."

Damon spanked him hard for several minutes. "Anything other than complete obedience to my rules will get you a spanking."

"Yes, sir."

"Your job is to be a pain in my ass little brother," Damon continued to tenderize Stefan's bottom with steady blows connecting to his upturned and naked bottom, "but not when I'm telling you how things are going to go or whipping you for defiance."

"Yes, sir," Stefan managed to gasp.

Roughly, Damon put Stefan back on his feet. "Step out of your pants." Stefan started to obey, but Damon rained hard smacks on his naked cheeks. Moving with motive was impossible, he could only squirm as he was struck again and again. "Now, Stefan." Damon's hand was teaching him obedience and Stefan needed to learn it. He yelped and hissed as Damon kept smacking him. But, eventually, between new stinging swats, he was able to complete the task he was given.

For several minutes, Stefan stood naked from the waist down in front of his brother and tried to be quiet as Damon smacked rules and sense his rear. He felt his willfulness dissolve more and more each time Damon's hand added more heat to his throbbing and hot bottom. He kept his hands at his side and tried without much success to stay completely still as Damon tanned him.

"I have a present for you on my closet door," Damon said. He was so good at making sure all of Stefan's punishment area got equal treatment from his strict hand. Even when Stefan squirmed because the sting was so bad, he made sure every inch of Stefan's punishable skin got equal correction. His thighs and butt were very sore when Damon spoke again, "Go get it for me," he said, smacking him in the direction of the door.

Stefan sniffed and rubbed his bottom with both hands as he walked down the hall to Damon's room. He was not looking forward to seeing what Damon's gift was going to be.

As expected, the present was a new tool for Damon to use in his journey to keep Stefan in line. It was a cord that was bent into a ping pong paddle shape, attached to a handle with an easy grip. The cord was black and looked very sturdy. It was hanging upside down on the door. A little fearful, he brushed his fingers over the cord. He swung it a few times to test how it would hit. Flexible and whippy. It wasn't taut, making where it landed somewhat unpredictable. Damon wouldn't have completely control over exactly where the cord bit into his skin. He'd never been punished with anything like it before.

Tears were streaming down his face when he handed it to Damon.

"It's called a loop," Damon said as he guided Stefan to sit on knees between his legs. "I'll be using this to readjust your attitude unless you force me to graduate to a more painful model." His eyes locked onto Stefan's. He could feel Damon inside his head and molding his brain. It didn't hurt, but it was invasive in the most intimate way possible. "When I hit you with it, the pain will not fade. You'll still feel each individual blow for an entire hour after I'm finished with you." He brushed some tears off of Stefan's face. "And when I use this, little boy, it'll be because you'll need a long whipping."

Stefan shook his head in horror as his body absorbed Damon's law.

"That's the last time you'll resist me for a very long time," Damon said as he pulled Stefan back over his waiting knee. Bared, exposed, and already well smacked, his bottom was ripe for Damon to keep his promise. "I'm in charge of this household, Stefan. You're about to learn what that means." The press of the loop against Stefan's skin was no threat. It was a vow.

I know you're in charge Stefan wanted to say. But he didn't, not really. Because Damon was right. Stefan had been resisting his lead. He'd been defiant and bad and Damon was right. He needed a long whipping in order to learn his lesson. But he really, really did not want it.

"I make the rules and decide how and when you learn about them," Damon said.

The explosion of pain was unlike anything Stefan had ever felt before. Not only was the pain so intense that it took his breath away, it hurt in a way he was completely unfamiliar with. After the second blow landed, instinct took over. He reached back to protect his buttocks from another lash from Damon's terrible loop.

"That is not allowed, little boy." With one smooth move, Damon locked his wrists to his back. The flat of his spanking hand started to punish every inch of his cheeks and thighs. Unlike before, these were not smacks meant to warm up him up his bottom to a hot sting. These smacks were a punishment of its own. They connected to Stefan with such force that it felt like he was being hit with a metal hand.

Damon was going to teach Stefan how to behave during a lickin' cos he'd forgotten, and spanks on his naughty bare bottom were good reminders. One, he had to be extra still, so he could practice submitting to his big brother. Two, try not to cry too loud too long so he could hear when Damon lectured with his voice instead of his hand. And, three, never, ever, reach back to try and protect his backside. His cheeks and legs were in desperate need of those lashes. His resistance needed to be erased with the fire of a good spanking. Stefan Salvatore was not allowed to defy his big brother. Damon thrashed his punishment spot in a circle over and over again. Stefan's special spanking spots were being smacked because Stefan hadn't minded Damon's rules.

He burst into tears.

"You will obey me," Damon said, proclaiming each word with a hard smack on Stefan's upturned buttocks. Two on each cheek. All four with stinging precision. Stefan could do nothing but accept and learn and cry.

Damon pressed the cord against his buttocks. Franticly, he tried to wiggle away from the loop. "It hurts too much!"

"That's not for you to decide," Damon said. He swatted Stefan with the loop. It wasn't a hard lick, but it still stung so much, and it wouldn't stop stinging. All three corrective blows from the loop stung as much as when they were freshly delivered. "That you're denying that means we have a long way to go before we're done."

"I know," Stefan said, unhappy with the truth of that statement. The first real swats with Damon's newest tool stung more than the entire hand spanking he'd gotten for trying to avoid his richly deserved punishment. "I just can't - I'll need you hold me down. Sir, please."

Damon didn't respond right away. For a moment, he thought Damon was going to be mad and add to his punishment. Instead, he let go of Stefan's hands to rub the small of his back for a few minutes before trapping Stefan's legs and arms. He was pinned and at Damon's mercy. Mercy was not something given to little boys who challenged their big brothers lead.

He started to beat obedience into Stefan's defiant backside. The cord sliced through his skin like a knife. It was very flexible and so easily cut welts into the curves of his cheeks and legs. And no matter how much time passed after the cord disciplined him, the pain of each lick never faded. In fact, they got worse. Because Damon was such a thorough spanker, he made sure Stefan's entire backside benefited from the sting only an electric cord to deliver. After every bit of skin had been thrashed, he'd start from the top, hitting new liquid fire into welts, still so freshly sore.

Damon was flaying the naughty skin off his seat!

Stefan hadn't wanted to mind Damon and acknowledge how he ran the household. He hadn't wanted to heed to Damon. But the cord cutting welts into his bottom, smacking it for defiance, was making a strong case for Stefan to accept his new world order. Damon and his loop worked together to punish Stefan's backside. They were a great team and would keep smacking licks until Stefan accepted his place and minded his big brother.

He wept as Damon tore apart his will and corrected his misconceptions. Damon is in charge the loop scolded. Accept his decisions. Follow his lead. Mind him. His buttocks, licked and penalized for denial and defiance, could only listen. He had no ground to speak. He had to lay over a knee and listen. Learn. Behave. Obey

"I will not be challenged," Damon kept steadily skinning him alive with a whippy cord. The loop's tongue was sharp, but it was quiet. Stefan's crying had softened considerably after several rounds of burning licks. Stefan could hear his big brother lecture clearly and had every incentive in the world to listen and learn from it. "You will either obey me when I'm calling the shots, or you will obey me 24/7. I will whip every word in your vocabulary but sir if I have to."

Stefan had no idea how he managed to gather enough strength to speak, but he did. "Sir."

"This includes," somehow, impossibly, the swinging cord bit fresh cuts on fresh cuts into his soft bottom and thighs with even more power than before, "when I'm punishing Elena. Never try and stop me again, little boy. You're both children and children sometimes need their butts tanned."

Stefan thought maybe he should argue that point. Damon maybe didn't have the right to spank a naughty Elena like he did a naughty Stefan. But maybe he did? He wasn't sure. Damon sounded very sure, though. And bite of his whipping cord was persuasive. And the reason Stefan's bottom was being thrashed with a nasty cord right this very second is cos he'd been arguing too much and needed to learn his place in the household.

He wouldn't be on Damon's knee getting and smacked with a loopy cord on his spanking spots if he'd listened and obeyed. If he'd been good. He sniffed through a few more educational licks, "Yes, sir."

"Good," Damon said.

But Stefan's whipping was not over. Defiant little boys who challenged their big brothers get good, long spankings.