Rafe was sitting on his bed when Sully entered, looking for all the world like he was just waiting for a business meeting to get started and not waiting for his butt to get beat. It had taken a few minutes to school his expression into something so neutral, but he was satisfied at the end result. Sully had to know that he didn't consider children's punishments a threat, and that he didn't feel bad in the slightest for hitting Samuel. Sully could take his rules and use them as a suppository, for all he cared.

"You know," Rafe cocked his head to the side and looked at the older man. "Just sitting here with nothing to do, waiting for the guards to come by and 'assert their authority'- the only thing that would make this more of a jail cliché is if I had a baseball to bounce against the wall."

Sully was in no mood for a verbal fencing match. "You had a choice and this is what you decided," he said simply, going to sit on the bed beside him. "It's not what I wanted, but it is what it is."

Rafe eyed him, not making a move. No, it hadn't been much of a choice. He wasn't going to let them blackmail him into being a servant, and he definitely wasn't going to spend twelve months kissing ass. The game was rigged against him, and he didn't believe for a second that Sully didn't want it that way. "Was that a 'no' to the baseball?"

"I might trust you with a tennis ball," Sully couldn't help but smirk. "Let's just get this over with, alright? Come here."

Rafe shook his head. "If I remember correctly, you said that you were going to take me over your knee, not that I was going to just dive on your lap." There was no way that Sully was strong enough to do it, not without exhausting himself, and Rafe had heard Sam leaving the house so he knew he didn't have backup. He wanted to make sure the old man knew that he had no control over him, and once he felt like that point was made, then he'd humor him.

Sully looked Rafe over. He was still relaxed as if this was an office disagreement, and he had a smug look on his face. He'd been expecting anger, or embarrassment, or some kind of fight… Just not this. For a brief moment he reconsidered the tactics he had planned out around Rafe, but he pushed back the doubts. No, he knew Rafe wasn't going to enjoy this. He was there at the beach along with everyone else and he had seen the kid's reaction, it definitely wasn't pleasure.

He would have thought being dragged across a lap was more humiliating than going willingly, and Rafe wasn't stupid enough to think he'd just give up and not punish him if he resisted. Unless, of course, this was just a display of false bravado. "You're really going to make me do that?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Are you really going to spank me?" Rafe retorted, raising a brow of his own. "I'm not five, Sully."

"No, you're not," Sully agreed, reaching over to grab his upper arm, "But your actual age doesn't really matter when you still act like a brat. And, like I said before, you're the one who decided you wanted to be spanked."

He pulled, but Rafe resisted, planting his feet and hands against the bed and locking his muscles. No matter, Sully had plenty of experience with a certain other brat who liked to try the same strategy before eventually learning it was much better to just accept it. He used his free hand to grab Rafe's ear and give it a slight twist. Rafe immediately yelped and tried to push that hand away, and that gave Sully all the leverage he needed. Within seconds the kid was over his lap, and before he could struggle again Sully pinned one of his hands behind his back to keep him in place.

Rafe found himself on his stomach staring down at his blanket. Well, that was unexpected. He tried to push himself up with his free hand but Sully had too much of an advantage on him. He stopped trying and went limp. "For the record, I didn't decide that I wanted to be spanked. I decided that I didn't want you telling me what to do." There was a sudden flash of pain across his backside, accompanied by a muffled clap, and he couldn't suppress a gasp at how hard the old man could hit. This might not be as easy as he first thought…

"Say it however you want to, it amounts to the same thing." Sully adjusted Rafe a little to give himself a better target, then swatted him again. Rafe didn't make a sound this time, but he felt him flinch under his hand. It was a good start, at least.

Rafe grit his teeth and focused all of his will-power on not reacting. The stiller and more quiet that he stayed, the sooner Sully would see how ridiculous this was. "So, did Samuel let you practice on him those months before I got here, or what?" That was something he would gladly pay to see.

"Hurts more than you expected, hm?" Sully began alternating sides, first swatting one cheek then the other. He knew that for this to be an effective means to curb Rafe's behavior in the future then he'd have to make sure it left an impression now. He also knew that the kid's stubbornness and pride would mean that, in order to do that, it would unfortunately be a very long time before he was finished. Despite what Rafe may think, he didn't want to damage him, so he was making sure to distribute the pain as evenly as possible. "No, I didn't need him for practice. We had someone else who gave us a lifetime of experience with this."

Rafe shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like how quickly the heat was building in his bottom; it was getting harder to ignore. "You mean Nathan?" he asked. He'd known that Sam used to do that, but Sully too? Well, he guessed he shouldn't be too surprised. If they'd both treated Nate that way, then maybe it wasn't the big leap in logic that he thought it was for them to be doing it to him now. It was still a stupid leap, though, and he was certain that they were getting some enjoyment out of it. He wasn't a family member; he was an 'enemy' who 'plagued' them on an adventure.

"Yes, Nathan," Sully confirmed. He figured that Rafe was talking to distract himself from the punishment, so he decided to put an end to it. "But that's enough about that. If you want to speak, then you can tell me about why you're getting punished and how you plan to avoid it in the future- and maybe about apologizing to Sam." Yeah right, that was a stretch. "Otherwise, keep quiet and learn your lesson."

"Yeah, fuck you," was Rafe's immediate response.

Sully stilled his hand for a moment and placed it on the small of Rafe's back. His palm was already protesting, and he knew that it would be screaming at him by the time this was over. He almost wished he brought the wooden spoon in with him- almost. But he knew that for the first time, he needed to prove to Rafe that he could bring him to tears without any help.

"Alright, Rafe," he said, keeping his voice calm but firm, "This will be your first and only warning, and I mean for this and any future spankings you might have, so listen up. You can curse as much as you need to to get through it, but keep it general. If you aim any insults my way when you're across my lap then you lose your pants. Do it again and you lose your underwear, if you have any on. Do you understand me?"

Rafe's whole body stiffened with indignation, and his face turned red. A retort immediately jumped to his tongue but he had to bite it back. He would not give Sully that satisfaction. He wasn't sure he'd be able to survive the humiliation. Not trusting his mouth, he nodded his head the fraction of an inch.

"Good." Sully raised his hand again and smacked the back of one of his thighs.

Rafe kicked involuntarily, then cursed and tensed to keep it from happening again. He wasn't about to let Sully win this. He'd been through much worse than getting his ass beat by an old man; he could handle this.

Sully continued to lay into his thighs, much to Rafe's dismay. He closed his eyes and bunched his blanket up in a fist, squeezing it as hard as he could. He needed something to take his mind off the pain in his backside, but the blanket couldn't hold his concentration for long.

Minutes seemed to pass, and he stubbornly kept quiet. He wondered just how long Sully was planning on spanking him, and whether or not the old man's hand or his ass was going to break first. That seemed like the only logical conclusion at this point.

Soon he wasn't able to think about anything but the throbbing pain in his backside. A few years ago, when he had been researching the St. Dismas Cathedral, he'd come across a medieval torture method where a man was chained to an iron chair and a fire was lit beneath it, slowly heating and then roasting the victim's flesh. He imagined that this was pretty close to what that felt like.

It became too much for his body to handle, and no amount of willpower in the world could keep it from trying to squirm away from the pain, and tears were threatening to well up and spill from his eyes. Great. Nathan betrayed him, Samuel betrayed him, Nadine betrayed him, and now his own fucking body was betraying him. Couldn't anything do what he asked?

Rafe took a deep, shuddering breath. Well, he had humored Sully long enough. It was time to get out of this mess before he embarrassed himself by crying. He gathered all of his strength and pushed off the bed, rolling against Sully. He hoped to knock him off balance just enough that he could get his hand free and really fight to get off his lap.

Sully fought to stay upright at the sudden shove and he instinctively tightened his grip on Rafe's hand, pushing it against the small of his back to keep him down. Rafe had just gone from a sulking dog to an angry cat that was tossed into a bathtub full of water, and he had to contain it fast.

He pulled Rafe's wrist towards him, anchoring him at his waist, and swept Rafe's legs off the bed, pinning them between his own legs. He had to pull Rafe higher up on his lap to be able to reach his bottom, draping most of his upper body onto the bed. Once the kid was settled in the new position he had a lot less freedom to move.

Rafe let out a very frustrated huff and tried to twist his body, but there wasn't much wriggle room. Great. Now he was in a worse spot than he had been before.

"Are you finally going to accept that this is happening to you?" Sully asked, accompanying the question with a hard smack against a sit-spot.

Rafe winced and couldn't hold back a pained groan. "Is it too late to make a deal?" His voice was thick to his own ears. His tears wouldn't be held back much longer, and he was getting desperate.

Sully rested his hand on Rafe's bottom, as a reminder that he was still in charge. "Are you going to apologize to Sam?"

"We both know that's not going to fucking happen," Rafe answered.

"That's the only deal I'll be willing to make," Sully commented, lifting his hand again. He expected Rafe to protest, or make a counter-offer, but the kid just took a deep breath and nodded, then turned his head and buried his face into the crook of his arm.

"Alright, go ahead," Rafe said, voice muffled. He might not be able to stop his stupid body from crying, but he'd be damned if he'd let Sully see it.

Sully couldn't help but admire his resolve. Rafe may be a dick, but no one could say that he gave up easily. If Rafe wasn't the type to manipulate others and seek revenge, Sully would have happily ended it right there. Unfortunately, he had to make it clear who was in charge right now, before any real trouble happened in the future, and to do that he had to break that resolve.

That didn't mean he couldn't offer a little mercy.

"If I let your hand go, do you promise to try not to push me away or get off my lap like that again?" he asked gently.

Rafe scoffed, despite himself. "You really trust my word right now?"

"Against my better judgement, yes," Sully answered. "You have a reputation for keeping it. Besides, you're smart. You know you have nowhere else to go except back over my lap, and it will definitely be worse the second time."

Rafe remained quiet for a few moments while he thought about it. There was no harm in admitting he didn't want his arm twisted behind his back, he finally decided. "I won't try to get up, but I make no promises about instincts that I have no control over."

"Fair enough." Sully released his grip on his wrist and reached over to give his back a little rub for encouragement. Then he wrapped his arm around Rafe's waist and hugged it to his side to keep him in place. "Are you ready?"

Rafe tucked his now-free arm with the other one around his head, and he stiffened with indignation at the touch. He didn't need Sully's false sympathies- it was degrading! The brief break from the pain and the resentment he now felt were enough to strengthen his resolve. He was not going to cry, and he was not going to let Sully win. He'd show that old man that his willpower was much stronger between the two of them, and that trying stunts like this wasn't going to be worth his time. "Ready."

It was about time to get this punishment over with. Sully began to aim all of his smacks on Rafe's sit-spots, where he knew he would feel it the most, now and any time he tried to sit over the next few days.

Rafe hissed when the fire re-ignited almost immediately- it was like he hadn't even had a break at all. Sully was a lot more heartless than he expected.

His newfound determination didn't last two minutes under the assault when his body flat-out rebelled against him. His brain might be able to shut out the pain, but his body couldn't, and it was overwhelmed. He pressed his eyes against his arm to hold in the tears, but they forced their way out anyway. For the first time in decades, Rafe Adler began to cry.

Sully heard the quiet sobs emanating from the kid over his lap. Finally. He wasn't going to embarrass Rafe by commenting on it, but he knew that it meant they were reaching the end. This was the longest spanking he'd had to give in his life; his arm was aching and his palm wasn't going to forgive him for how much it hurt. If every punishment with Rafe was like this then he was going to have to invest in a good glove, or some kind of protection.

Rafe's body began to squirm and kick. He tried everything he could to keep it under control, including tensing every muscle in his body to keep it locked in place, but that didn't even last ten seconds before he shuddered and collapsed, then resumed writhing. He could feel exhaustion settling in, and briefly he wondered how he allowed himself to get so out of shape and to lose this much self-control. He had a lot of training to put himself through.

Then, after one last struggle, his body just gave out on its own and he lay still over Sully's lap. Rafe groaned loudly through his tears. It was worse than he'd thought- staying still because he'd told it to was one thing, but giving up and being unable to move was a disaster. Fuck.

Sully gave him just a few more strikes to each cheek to wrap it up. He was exhausted, the kid was exhausted, and he was pretty sure that his punishment had made the impression it needed to. Rafe would have to think twice before choosing to end up here again.

He began to rub circles on Rafe's back to calm him, not saying anything. Even if he knew what to say to comfort him, he wasn't sure the kid would actually be able to hear him right now. He was crying pretty heavily.

Rafe didn't notice when the actual spanking ended. All he knew was that one moment he took a deep, shuddering breath and realized that the constant pain had ended. No, not ended- it was still there, but it was no longer increasing. Now there was pressure against his back, and he didn't even have the energy left to tense with indignation. Fine, he'd put up with it, but he wouldn't enjoy it. Sully might have won this round, but he wasn't about to let that old man win him over with mind-games and fake compassion.

When Sully thought Rafe would be able to handle it, he gingerly helped him move off his lap and onto the bed, where he'd be a lot more comfortable. Then he resumed rubbing his back- partially because it felt good on his throbbing hand, but even if he had brought that spoon instead, he'd still do it. That had been a rough ordeal for Rafe, and he wanted to make sure he was okay.

The sobbing stopped almost as suddenly as it had begun; Rafe was beginning to take back control. Sully took that as a good sign. "I'm going to get you something to drink," he said quietly, "Do you want water, juice, or tea?"

Rafe took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if he was able to speak properly yet, but it seemed like Sully wasn't going to give him a choice. A drink would be good, though; his throat hurt almost as much as his ass did. No, he amended, not even close. But it still hurt a lot. "Tea," he whispered hoarsely.

"Alright." Sully had the audacity to pat him on the back of the head. "I'll be right back."

Rafe heard him get up and walk to the kitchen, heard him bumbling around to get a teapot on. Every fiber of his being was telling him to reach back and rub the sting away, but that was one battle his pride was able to win. His butt could wait until he knew Sully was going to leave him alone and not catch him in the act. That was an embarrassment he'd never recover from.

He heard Sully in the hallway again, and soon something cold was pressed against his hand. "Drink this for now until the water heats up."

Rafe grasped the cup blindly, then slowly turned on his side, keeping his back towards Sully. He didn't want him to see his face right now. When he had settled as comfortably as he could he finally lifted his head and allowed himself to drink.

He heard a drawer open and some ruffling, then something soft hit his side.

"I suggest you change into these when you're feeling up to moving. They'll be a lot easier on you than those jeans."

He craned his head a little to see a pair of sweatpants. Jesus, what was he? A college girl? He raised his arm to knock them off of him and onto the floor.

Sully chose to ignore it and he reached out to squeeze Rafe's shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked.

The son of a bitch actually sounded concerned for him. "What do you think?" he responded. Now that he had some liquids, his voice sounded a lot better.

"I think you're probably pretty pissed and confused," Sully answered, "But you understand why you deserved that, don't you?"

"Sure," Rafe took another sip. "You needed to prove who was in charge, so you provoked me by giving me ridiculous rules that you knew I wouldn't follow, and then jumped on the first chance you could to assert your authority."

"Cute," Sully rolled his eyes. "No, that's not why. Those rules are there so we all get along. 'Help out with housework' and 'don't beat people up' are not unreasonable. You just wanted to prove that we aren't as good as you, so you jumped on the first opportunity to show that you didn't care what we said. I just want us to get through this year, and you're the one who decided that this is how you want to do it. So, I'll ask again. Do you understand why you deserved that?"

Rafe sighed heavily and let his head flop onto his pillow. "Yeah, Sully, I get it. I did the exact thing you told me not to do, and you did what you promised you would. We don't have to talk about it."

"I'm just trying to be fair." Sully turned his head when he heard the teapot whistling. "You take milk and sugar with your tea?"

"Milk, no sugar," Rafe responded tiredly.

Sully was gone again, and a few minutes later Rafe heard a mug being placed on his nightstand.

"I'll leave you alone now," Sully said, "I'm sure you have a lot to think about. Take all the time you need to recover, but I want that mess in the kitchen cleaned up before bedtime. Understand?"

Bedtime. Rafe repeated the word in his mind bitterly. He wasn't even going to dignify that with a protest. Instead, he gave a slight nod, keeping his back to the door.

"Good."

He heard the door close, and he cautiously turned his head to make sure no one else was in his room. Finally. He set his glass of water aside and immediately began to rub the sting out. He could feel heat radiating out of the seat of his pants, even though he was wearing jeans. Fuck.

*Author's Note*

Thanks for all the kind reviews so far!

Jess: As of right now I have no plans for a stand-alone story with Sully and kid Nate, but when Nate shows up later in this one (sorry, it'll be a while) there's a good chance I'll have a few flashbacks with them~