I know it's been a long time since I posted anything: my life is really full right now, and I feel like I can hardly think straight, let alone write a coherent sentence. Buuut… writing these stories is kind of my stress relief, so I apologize if the quality suffers. XD

I've been a little obsessed with Sylvain lately, so here's a pre-timeskip story of him getting in trouble with Byleth. Maye one day I'll write a post-timeskip story with him as the spanker… we'll see.

The Golden Deer classroom was filled with the sounds of rustling papers and friendly conversation as the students packed up after their last class of the day. They had just gotten their last exam back from the professor, and most of the conversations centered around the grades they had made and questions they had struggled with.

Amidst the shuffling of her classmates, Lysithia raised her hand and piped up, "Professor, you forgot to give my exam back to me! I need to know what my grade is."

"I didn't forget," at the front of the classroom, Byleth held up two papers, his expression unreadable as he continued, "I want you to stay here so I can speak with you. You too, Sylvain."

Sylvain stopped mid-conversation to glance up at the professor, "Oh… alright."

"Did I do something wrong?" Lysithia questioned, her brow furrowing. Being asked to stay after class was not something she was accustomed to, and it created an unpleasant sinking feeling in her stomach.

Byleth responded in his maddeningly unreadable manner, "I'll discuss it with you both in a moment."

Lysithia huffed. Folding her hands on the table in front of her, she waited tensely for the rest of her classmates to leave. Sylvain seemed much more relaxed about the situation, continuing to laugh and converse with the others as they finished packing up, until finally only the two of them were left in the classroom with the professor.

Byleth stood and came around to the front of his desk, leaning back against it as he studied the papers in his hand.

"I want to discuss our last exam with you two."

"What, did we fail?" Sylvain's tone was jesting, but there was a hint of nervousness about his demeanor now that his classmates had gone.

"No, you both did exceptionally well," Byleth continued to study the tests in question as he spoke, "You got the highest score in the class. Both of you."

He paused for a moment, "In fact, you both got the exact same score. Your answers were remarkably similar. It seems you both understand the concepts in the exact same way… and share the exact same misunderstandings."

Lysithia felt a mixture of dread and anger begin to stir in her stomach, and she already knew the answer to her question before she asked it, "…What are you saying?"

Byleth finally looked up at her, and some of her indignation died as she met the professor's flinty gaze.

"I'm saying that it is very unlikely for the two of you to come up with such similar answers independently. And I happen to remember that you were sitting next to each other during the exam," his gaze swept between the two students, "It's obvious one of you copied from the other, so would one of you like to confess?"

"Professor!" That single word was filled with a mixture of hurt and outrage, along with a fair bit of shock that seemed to render Lysithia otherwise speechless. She could scarcely believe what she was being accused of.

"C'mon, professor," Sylvain chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, "Aren't you jumping to conclusions? It's not like you have any proof…"

Byleth already had a good idea who the guilty party was, and the two students' reactions only supported that view. However, he wanted to ensure he dealt fairly with the situation and did not, as Sylvain had said, "jump to conclusions," so he settled on a test to be sure.

"Very well then, since it seems neither of you is willing to admit to it, I want you each to answer a question," he looked straight at each student as he spoke, gauging their reactions to his words, "This wasn't on the test, but if you studied the material thoroughly enough to do this well, you should be familiar with the concept."

As expected, their reactions were very telling: Lysithia visibly relaxed in her seat, while Sylvain grimaced slightly and glanced away. Even so, Byleth went ahead and posed the question, which Lysithia immediately answered with meticulous detail. He then turned to Sylvain and asked a follow up question, with very different results.

Sylvain sat silently, staring intently down at his desk as though he were frantically searching his mind for an answer. After a moment, he let out a defeated sigh, "Sorry professor. Looks like you caught me."

Nodding, Byleth turned back to Lysithia, "Lysithia, you may come get your test, I'm sorry for worrying you. Your score is excellent; well done."

Still feeling a bit dazed from the experience, Lysithia rose slowly and came to the front to retrieve her paper from the professor. On the way out, she cast a quick glare at Sylvain, feeling a rush of conflicting emotions well up inside her. On the one hand, she was furious with him for copying her answers and making her go through such a humiliating experience, even if she did not actually end up in trouble. On the other hand, she could not help feeling a small twinge of pity for him as she left him alone to the professor's judgement. She was certainly glad it was not her in there.

The sound of the door clicking shut reverberated through the nearly empty classroom with a strangely ominous tone, and Sylvain gulped. He could not bring himself to look to the front of the room, where he knew he would have to face the wrath and disappointment of his professor, so he just stared down at his hands folded on the desk, waiting.

"Sylvain, I want you to give me a straight answer," Byleth held up the test in question as he asked in a level but deathly cold tone, "Did you copy your answers from Lysithia's test?"

Sylvain winced. He knew that considering what had just transpired, there could be no doubt in Byleth's mind that he had done exactly that. He supposed the professor just wanted to hear him admit it outright. Since there was really no denying the fact at this point, Sylvain reluctantly obliged with a mumbled "Yes sir…"

"Why?"

That question caught Sylvain a bit off guard. He had not been expecting to be asked to explain himself. Hesitantly, he stammered out a sheepish reply.

"Well… I took this girl out the night before the test, and, I-I really did intend to study when I got back! But then… we ended up being out really late… she was really cute! And she had this way of…" he trailed off, noticing the professor's stony glare, and re-centered himself to his explanation, "A-Anyway, by the time I got back I was so exhausted, I just collapsed into bed. I only slept a couple hours, and I didn't end up studying at all, so when we took the test… I hardly knew any of the answers, and I was too tired to come up with anything that sounded good, so… it just…. seemed easier…"

Once again, his voice faded into silence.

Byleth sighed deeply. He did not find the tale surprising; it was completely in character for the flirtatious young man. However, he was still disappointed in how the boy had chosen to handle his mistake, and intended to make sure he thoroughly understood the wrong of that choice.

"Sylvain, I know you are capable of doing excellent work: I have seen it," he began, crossing his arms over his chest, "So it's disappointing to see you put so little effort into your studies."

Sylvain bit his lip, feeling the sting of his professor's reprimand and hating the surge of emotions it caused.

"However, even given your poor choice of nighttime activities, had you simply answered the questions to the best of your ability, the worst that would have happened is that you failed the test," as Byleth continued, his glare darkened and bore into his cowed student, "But I absolutely will not tolerate cheating. Come here."

Gulping, Sylvain rose slowly to his feet and made his way up to stand before the professor, his eyes still cast down at the ground. He could feel his heart pounding in his ears, nervous anticipation coursing through his body. The professor really could be quite terrifying in moments like these.

Taking a step to the side, Byleth pushed some papers to the edge of his desk before gesturing to the cleared surface.

"Bend over."

"Professor…" Sylvain shot a pleading glance to his angry professor, but received only a chilling glare in return.

"Bend."

That single word left no room for argument, and Sylvain grimaced as he reluctantly obeyed the command. He shuffled up to the desk and slowly lowered himself over it, bringing his forearms to rest on the smooth wooden surface. Under normal circumstances, Sylvain considered his height an advantage; the ladys certainly seemed to like it. Here, though, he found it troublesome, as his hips were a good bit higher than the desk, making his ass stick straight up when the professor guided his torso down until his nose brushed the desk's surface.

Sylvain could already feel the heat rushing to his face, and the situation only worsened when he felt his trousers stripped down to his knees, exposing his skin to the cool air that filled the classroom. Somehow, being in such a large, empty room only made him feel more exposed. He tucked his head to his chest and groaned.

Plucking the crop from its place on the desk, Byleth positioned himself beside his student and took a steadying breath. He really did hate cheating, and was certainly angry with the boy for trying it, but disciplining his students was never easy for him. Even so, his voice rang with a cool authority as he pronounced the discipline he was about to deliver.

"You're getting fifteen strokes. You know I don't appreciate dishonesty, Sylvain."

Sylvain closed his eyes with a shudder as he felt the dreadful implement come to rest against his exposed skin, anchoring his mind on what he knew was about to happen. Resting his forehead against the cool wood beneath him, he muttered out lamely, "It… It wasn't really that dishonest…"

Byleth raised his brows and tapped the crop lightly against the boy's ass: not hard enough to hurt, but certainly enough to make him acutely aware of his position.

"Is that so? Because the way I see it, cheating is just another form of lying. You were trying to make me believe the work was yours when it was not. In what way is that not dishonest?"

Sylvain winced. The petulant defense had really just slipped out without any thought, and he had no answer to give.

"I… I'm sorry…" it was the only thing he had to say.

Satisfied with the response, Byleth hummed his acknowledgment before setting his jaw and bringing the first stroke down smartly across his student's upturned bottom.

Sylvain heard the swish of the crop a moment before a line of vibrant fire burst across his ass, and he yelped. The professor seemed to have decided no more discussion was necessary. A moment later, another stinging stripe landed just under the first.

It was such a unique pain, the bite of the professor's crop. Nothing else in the world hurt like that simple tool in the professor's hand. As the next two strokes caught the skin between his ass and thighs, Sylvain groaned, gritting his teeth and clenching his hands into fists. This was not like when he was injured in battle, with the adrenaline and thrill of fighting dulling the pain. Here, he felt every stroke as clear as day, with the weight of the professor's disapproval making the sting sink deep into both his skin and his mind.

The whipping continued at a slow, steady pace, with the only sound being the swish of the crop and Sylvain's distressed grunts and gasps. Finally, Byleth spoke again as he delivered the last few strokes across his student's upturned backside.

"Sylvain, in the future, all the work you turn in to me will be your own. You will pass or fail based on the merit of your own work, not by stealing answers from others. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir! Very clear!" Sylvain cried and let his body collapse against the desk as the final swat landed. He certainly had no intention of trying to fool Professor Byleth ever again. It was clear that it was not going to work anyway, and he would rather fail every test than have to face the professor's wrath again.

Returning the crop to its place, Byleth leaned back against the desk and ran his hand down Sylvain's back, "Very good. It's alright, Sylvain, we're finished now."

He continued to rub the boy's back as Sylvain took several deep, trembling breaths. Once he was satisfied his student had calmed, he patted the back of his head and instructed gently, "Alright, up you get."

Slowly, Sylvain pushed himself up from the desk and righted his clothes. Casting a small, uncertain grin at the professor, he questioned with a somewhat shaky chuckle, "So, I guess I failed the test too, huh?"

The look that crossed Byleth's face was almost a smirk: even subdued, the boy had not lost his jaunty nature. "Yes. Do you really think it would be right for me to give you credit for work you didn't do?"

"No, I guess not," Sylvain sighed, casting a forlorn gaze down to the floor.

"However," Byleth continued, "I always offer the option of makeup work for any failed test. You won't be able to make up the whole test, but you can earn some of it back so your marks for the class will not suffer so badly."

"Really?" Sylvain perked up, "Even though I…?"

The thought was left unfinished, but Byleth understood the unasked question. "I believe you have learned your lesson and will not be cheating on any more of your work. Am I mistaken?"

"No sir!" Responded hurriedly, "I definitely won't! I… thanks."

Byleth nodded, "Come see me tomorrow to pick up your makeup work. For today, classes are over. You may go."

Sylvain's smile was more genuine this time as he gave the professor a little bow before heading out of the classroom. He rubbed absently at his smarting backside as he made his way up to his room, not really caring if anyone saw. One thing was certain: he would definitely be more careful to study for the next exam.