Joyride
The kids could hear the voices of the adults at the front door, finishing off paperwork and talking to the cops who had brought them home. Lucy stared at the kitchen table where she was currently sat at, placed right there with the others when their mentors had caught up with them. Wanda sat next to her and Lucy could feel the regret and shame radiating from the other girl. Peter, sitting opposite them, also had his head sunk and tried not to look too nervous.
Lucy could hear the door move and feel the adults enter the room and stand before the table.
"Someone explain what happened tonight."
Steve's order was clear and his voice stern but calm. Lucy could feel Wanda next to her slump even more, which was to be expected since Steve was her guardian and he was obviously not amused - but then, they all knew that none of their mentors were in a joking mood at this point.
It was Labor Day weekend and Tony had decided that the kids deserved a break after school had been in session for a few weeks. They all went out to Malibu and while it wasn't Lucy's first time on neither a private plane, nor in California, she hadn't been out of New York in months. It could've been a completely relaxing short holiday if not for her stupid decisions. For some reason, Lucy had thought it'd be a good idea to take one of Tony's cars and go on a drive along the coast and dragged the others with her – though it didn't take much dragging after she told them that Tony allowed her to do so. Obviously, that wasn't true, but they could've gotten away with it, had it not been for the speeding and thus getting caught by the cops. Now, she was gonna pay for it – and it wasn't gonna be pretty.
The kids kept quiet and Lucy just hoped that their mentors would jump to the punishment without further talk, before she heard Natasha clear her throat, obviously expecting Lucy to start explaining. She forced herself to look up at her mentor who watched her with a strict expression and hard eyes. Lucy swallowed and started.
"We thought we saw something outside that didn't look quite right so we thought it'd be best to see what it was. The fastest thing we could find was the car, so we took that to see –"
"Lucy," Natasha stopped her explanation steely and gave her the look Lucy dreaded.
She always wondered how Natasha could see through her and her lies so easily and knowing that her guardian knew exactly that she had tried to deceive her made her heart skip a beat.
Lucy sunk her head again and quickly threw the others a glance - they still found the table too interesting to look anyone in the face. She took a deep breath and forced herself to hold Natasha's stare. Her mentor could be terrifying but she wanted her to believe her when she told the truth.
"It's my fault and my responsibility. I was annoyed because we were ordered to stay at home, so I told the others that Tony had allowed me to take one of his cars on a ride, so we wouldn't be so bored. They didn't know I wasn't allowed to take the car and I was also the one driving."
Lucy had to sink her head again as she finished because she could feel the disappointed gazes of Steve, Tony, Bruce and Clint weighing on her like bricks. Natasha had returned to her stoic features but that made Lucy just more nervous. If Natasha didn't show her stern disappointed face anymore but no emotion at all, she had really messed up. The others just looked at her in surprise - though not surprise that she'd lied to them. They weren't stupid, of course they hadn't bought her story for a moment, but they were happy to go along in ignorant bliss if it meant having some fun. They were surprised that Lucy would take the entirety of the blame on herself. Lucy thought it shouldn't surprise them, really. She had a tendency of claiming responsibility and it truly was mostly her fault because without her story, the others probably wouldn't even have gotten the idea to take one of the cars and speed down the highway in the middle of the night when they were ordered to stay in.
"Lucy, I believe you and I need to have a long discussion," Natasha addressed her sternly and Lucy immediately understood the order and was at her mentor's side in seconds.
She followed her upstairs to her bedroom and stood next to her bed as Natasha closed the door.
"Have a seat."
Lucy sighed. She'd hoped they could just get the discipline behind them but of course Natasha wanted to talk. Lucy squirmed. She'd rather take two spankings than having to endure and answer to her guardian's disappointment.
"Why?"
The word cut through Lucy and she knew she had to answer the question, even though she really didn't want to.
"I was bored."
It was a childish reason and now that she had to say it out loud, it sounded even stupider. Natasha gave her that imploring look again and Lucy looked down on her hands.
"That's a stupid reason, just like all your actions today, and you, my dear protégé, aren't stupid."
She shouldn't feel warm and safe when she was about to get her ass handed to her but Lucy couldn't help the security spreading inside when she heard Natasha's words and she looked up again.
"I wanted to fit in with the others," she admitted. "They're all normal but I'm the serious one with all the legacy and responsibility weighing on me. I just wanted to have some fun, show them that I can be just like that."
If Natasha had suspected anything, she didn't let it show. Instead she asked, "did the others ever say anything? Exclude you?"
Lucy shook her head. "No, never, it's just a feeling I kept getting inside."
This sounded dumber and dumber by the minute.
"If you feel like that the next time," Natasha spoke up again, "talk to the others or come to me and we'll figure something out. Getting into trouble, risking your safety and betraying the trust of the team is not the way to go about it. Is that understood?"
Her voice got very stern by the end but she was still calm. Lucy winced and wished she would start yelling, that would make it more bearable. Her calm demeanor made Lucy feel ten times worse than before.
She nodded and only managed a soft whisper. "Yes ma'am".
"Well, then, there's no reason to belabor this any longer." Natasha looked at her determinedly.
"Unbutton your pants and over my knee."
Lucy stood up and swallowed as she slowly moved her hands to her hips but then stopped. This was going to be worse than what she'd gotten before. Since the lab incident she had managed to stay out of trouble and that one had been equally her and Peter's fault, where they didn't endanger anyone but themselves. This time, Lucy had taken the main part and not only disobeyed a direct order but also put her and her teammates and other peoples' lives in danger. This was going to suck big time. Lucy sniffled, unable to meet Natasha's eyes. Nat stood up and raised Lucy's chin so that the younger woman had to look at her.
"If you hate something but have to do it?" she prompted.
"Get it over with!" Lucy replied as she had been taught and nodded quickly.
Taking a deep breath, she unbuttoned her jeans and lowered herself over Natasha's knees. Her mentor rubbed her back and then pulled down her pants and panties in one fell swoop. Lucy gulped. No warm-up over her underwear meant this was going to be severe. Not that she didn't deserve it, Lucy thought. She could kick herself for her actions and wished that she could reverse them. She felt Natasha's left hand pressing down on her back and yelped as the first swat hit her bottom.
Natasha continued to methodically spank her and soon Lucy started sniffling and wiggling but she used all her self-discipline to stay in place. When Lucy's bottom had taken on a uniform red color, Natasha stopped and started to talk.
"What you did today was incredibly stupid and dangerous."
Tears started to prick at the corner of Lucy's eyes but she could still hold them back.
"I'm very disappointed in your actions. Getting into trouble is not the way to get accepted by your teammates."
Natasha's words cut through Lucy like a knife and she had to try harder to keep her tears at bay, especially as Natasha continued spanking.
"Now, tell me why we are here."
"Because I took Tony's car without permission-"
"And what is that called?" Natasha inquired in a sharp voice.
"I stole it." Lucy's voice was quivering and Natasha could hear the guilt weighing in it.
"Good, what else?"
"I coaxed the others into breaking a direct order and coming out with me."
Natasha nodded. "How did you get them to break the rules?"
The tears started to flow freely now and Lucy's voice was strained as she answered. "I lied to them."
"Exactly," Natasha continued as she tipped Lucy forward to land swats on her sit spots where her protégé would feel it in the coming days every time she sat down.
"The others aren't stupid and I don't believe for a second that they actually bought your story."
Lucy squirmed uncomfortably. Natasha was far too close to her mind again and she wondered once again how the older women seemed to see through her so easily.
"But I'm leaving that to their mentors to deal with. We are looking at your actions in a bubble and the fact of the matter is that you lied to your teammates and that is absolutely unacceptable. It's a breaking of trust between the three of you, not to mention the abuse of the trust we adults put into you to obey a direct order."
Lucy wanted to be swallowed by the ground. She felt so ashamed of her actions and of the fact that she hadn't considered all the consequences to her actions Natasha now listed. She didn't have to worry she wouldn't be held accountable though, as Natasha now picked up her ruler she reserved for especially severe discipline. Lucy stiffened. She'd never experienced the ruler first hand; the one time Nat had threatened her with it was enough to keep her in line – until now apparently.
"What did you then do after you've stolen the car?"
Lucy's answer was intercut with sniffling and tears.
"I was driving around and speeding and then stopped by the police."
She yelped as Natasha started to use the ruler and methodically covered her backside. The stinging pain was worse than what Natasha inflicted with just her hands and Lucy started to cry earnestly.
"Your choices were absolutely unacceptable, dangerous and disappointing. Driving on roads you don't know, at night, and speeding could have hurt you, the others and innocent people. I expect better from you and you know it. I know you can do better than that and should we ever find ourselves in this situation again for this same problem, today will seem like a warm up. Are we clear?"
Lucy flinched at the stern tone and answered immediately. "Yes, ma'am."
Natasha nodded and tipped Lucy forward again to also land some smacks with the ruler on her sit spots. "Now why did you do it? Why did you choose to do something so absolutely unacceptable and stupid to get approval from the others? And why now?"
Lucy squirmed harder and really didn't want to answer her mentor. She couldn't form the words. Natasha smiled knowingly and while continuing to deliver blows to Lucy's bottom, she decided to help her protégé.
"Sometimes we do things we can't justify even to ourselves. When we become comfortable with the people around us, we sometimes want to see where their limits lie. We're testing them."
She watched Lucy squirm uncomfortably and it wasn't just from the swats. Lucy didn't like the exploration in her mind but she couldn't deny that Natasha was right.
"Let me tell you right now that you've reached that limit. I will not let you endanger your life or anyone else's because you want to push me further. I love you too much to let you do that."
Hearing Natasha's words was too much for Lucy to bear and she started sobbing and went limb over the older woman's lap. Her mentor stopped the spanking and rubbed in circles on Lucy's back until the younger woman had calmed down. She then put her clothes back, helped her up and settled her on her lap. Lucy threw her arms around her mentor and was engulfed in a tight hug.
"I'm so sorry, Nat, I swear it will never happen again," Lucy sobbed into Natasha's shoulder.
"I know you are," her mentor replied in a calming voice. "And you've been punished and forgiven. I don't expect having to correct you for this again."
Lucy's enthusiastic shaking of her head elicited a smile from Natasha. "That's my girl."
"I'm very proud of you, pticka." She acknowledged Lucy's confused look with another smile. "You were the only one who owned up and answered Steve when he asked you all, with only a little prompting. You took responsibility for your actions and that's just what I expect from you."
Lucy smiled and snuggled closer to her mentor. "Well, I had the best teacher." She smiled at Natasha who pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I want you to understand just how dangerous what you did was, so you're grounded; a month on good behavior."
Lucy nodded, having expected this before they even started.
"The usual drill, no friends over, and I'm sure Tony will have some chores for you to make up for taking his car."
"Yes, ma'am," Lucy answered clearly.
"And you'll apologize to the other adults for giving them the shock of their lives and to your teammates for lying to them."
Lucy bit her lip but nodded obediently.
"Good girl," Natasha praised and Lucy reveled in her comfort again.
After Lucy had calmed completely, the two of them went downstairs to join the others again and first met the adults who were still gathered in the kitchen. Lucy straightened her back and walked towards the others. She knew what Natasha expected and she might as well get it over with quickly. She faced the other adults and looked them straight in the eyes.
"I'm sorry for disobeying your orders, Steve, and I'm sorry for - for giving you all the shock of your lives." She turned to Tony and directed her gaze to his face. "Tony, I'm very sorry for taking your car without your permission."
"We thought you might have some chores for her to help you with during her grounding to make up for it." Natasha's voice didn't leave any room for disagreement if Tony had ever thought to.
The faces of the adults turned friendly and each engulfed Lucy in a big hug.
Tony smiled at her. "We'll find something for you to do, don't worry."
Lucy smiled back at him, knowing that while Natasha wouldn't allow her to have fun during her punishment it wouldn't be too terrible with Tony.
Steve stroked her hair. "The other are in the next room, if you want to join them."
Lucy threw a quick look back to Natasha who nodded but had the unspoken reminder in her face. Lucy smiled and nodded before going off into the living area.
Her teammates were spread on the sofa, trying to decide which movie to watch that night.
"You're alive!" Peter sounded surprised and Wanda nodded with him.
"It wasn't that bad," Lucy deflected their amazement. "Listen guys, I'm really sorry for lying to you about being allowed to take that car. I don't want to ruin the trust between us."
Wanda waved her apology away. "You got nothing to be sorry for. We shouldn't have believed but stopped you and definitely not gone along with the idea." She threw Peter a pointed look who gave a tortured smile.
"Yeah, I was just too happy to pretend you weren't lying so…" he trailed off.
"So, what did you all get then? Considering we all broke the order to stay in?" Lucy looked at each of her friends.
"Spanking," Wanda murmured and Peter agreed in a low voice.
"Though not as bad as you probably," Peter offered with a wonky smile. Lucy sighed. Natasha was a difficult mentor but she wouldn't have traded her for the world.
"And no grounding, that's just you," Wanda added.
"At least it's over with and we'll never think of anything this stupid again," Lucy sighed.
Peter grinned. "Until we do."
Wanda gave him a dry smile. "You're on your own. I don't wanna incur Steve's wrath for a long time."
Lucy silently agreed with her friend. Natasha was strict enough in everyday handling and she didn't exactly want to experience her discipline sternness on a regular level.
"What movie have you guys chosen then?"
###
Natasha watched Lucy disappear through the door into the living area, content that her protégé would apologize to her teammates even without her supervision.
Steve sighed. "I assume you had a long and painful talk then?"
Natasha nodded. "As did you?"
Steve and Tony agreed and Natasha gave a wry smile.
"She's grounded for a month with no friends over and you can find some chores for her to do to make up for taking that car," she addressed Tony. "Nothing that will be fun. This is punishment, not fun lab activity."
Tony swallowed and nodded. Even he was scared of Natasha and wondered how Lucy survived her discipline.
"I'm very impressed," Clint started. "She confessed really quickly and you caught her in her lie so easily. How do you do that?"
Natasha smiled. "I know her. It's obvious when she's not being truthful and I like to think that I installed enough moral compass in her that she knows when lying is just absolutely wrong. Also, she knows that it'll just get her in more trouble. The truth will always come out."
"Very good lessons indeed," Steve agreed.
Bruce smiled too. "I'm glad to see her so happy so close to a punishment session. She was definitely not as subdued as I expected her to be."
"She felt very guilty, I could tell," Natasha explained. "She was relived after we finished to get a clean slate, so obviously she's more than happy now."
The adults smiled at each other and made their way into the living area where the kids had just decided to watch Star Wars.
The adults sat on the sofa with their respective charges and Lucy snuggled close to Natasha who put an arm around the girl. Lucy buried her head in Natasha's shoulder as the text crawl started to flow across the screen. She felt more secure and content than she had in her long time, possibly since her grandma was alive, and she couldn't believe how lucky she was to have this family.