Inside, he saw both Edward and Alphonse sitting on his bed. Ed held the hairbrush he had used on Envy for his first spanking, and Al held a wooden spoon, both implements making the homunculus gulp and blush. Both brothers looked up at Envy as he entered, Al looking a bit sorry for him and Ed still keeping his stern look.
"Alright, Envy. Come here and stand in front of me." The older brother ordered. Gulping down a lump in his throat, Envy shakily trudged over to Ed, hands in front of him rubbing together, both in nervousness and still trying to rub some of the sting out of them. Once he was in front of Ed the blonde lifted up Envy's chin with a hand, making the homunculus look him in the face.
"So, you've explained to us what you did. Now, can you tell us why what you did was so bad?" He asked. Envy blinked a couple times, the question catching him a bit off-guard. Why was what he did bad? He had never considered such things. He just knew that it was bad, he never questioned why. So it was a while before Envy spoke, glancing away from the brothers to gather his thoughts and come up with an answer.
"Um… it's not good to steal cause...cause then the store loses out on money and the clerk could get in trouble. Or if it's not from a store, a person could get very worried and sad that their things are gone. And...lying isn't good cause then you wouldn't trust me if I was telling the truth. And that could be dangerous." He responded. Sure the answer sounded a bit childish when he said it out loud, but it was the best way he could put it.
Ed nodded slowly as he listened to what he was saying, and would make the occasional glance to his brother, who had to glance away to avoid giving away how bad he felt for what was coming to Envy. "Well, I'm glad you at least seem to understand that much. But now we have the matter of handling the rest of your punishment for doing it. To avoid this in the future."
Envy gulped down the lump that was in his throat as the feeling of dread welled up in his stomach again and his chest tightened, and he also glanced at Al following the elder brother's gaze. Seeing Al glance away, he knew right away that Al didn't want to do this. Maybe he could try to plead out of it...assure that he had been punished enough already. But...he remembered what Ed and Al said, that the guilt would only fester and grow if this wasn't dealt with thoroughly. "R-right..." His gaze trailed down to the hairbrush Ed held in his lap, remembering how the wood bit into his skin so badly during his first spanking. And now he was getting it again...and the spoon from Al. This was going to suck…
Ed nodded again, accepting his answer. With a great sigh, he figured now was as good a time as any to start getting this over with. Gently he took hold of Envy's arm, guiding him to his side before helping him over his lap, Envy's hands and feet barely able to touch the floor. Envy grunted softly as his stomach met Ed's thighs, and he squirmed a slight bit to get comfortable, his bottom a perfect target for the brush. He hated this position, it made him feel so small and vulnerable…probably another reason he hated getting spanked at all. He was situated in a way that he could see Al in front of him if he looked up, not that he wanted to as he kept his head down in shame.
His head wouldn't stay down for long though, as it jutted up when he felt Ed hook his fingers into his bottoms and tug them down to his knees. "H-hey! C-c'mon, leave those alone!" He protested as he looked over his shoulder at Ed.
Ed shot him a glare, to which Envy wavered, his entire body shuddering. "For one, all your spankings from now on will be given on your bare. Maybe then you'll remember the price for misbehavior. Two, I need to see what I'm doing so I don't accidentally injure you. So yes, they are coming down, and they will continue to come down every time you need to be spanked. If you don't like it, then behave yourself." He scolded, before Envy would see him pick up the brush and tap it on his bottom, making him flinch and turn his head away.
When it finally did come down, he heard it before he felt it. A loud POP against his right cheek, followed by a strong burning pain where it struck, making him gasp and whine as the sting reached its apex. The second one came on his left cheek, and this one made him kick out and yelp, scrabbling at the air with his toes. It didn't take long for the spanking to get faster, Ed falling into a rhythm of punishing his misbehaving rear.
Envy meanwhile was in a difficult position, wanting to keep stoic and take what he had coming, but a large portion of him knew it would be for nothing. He knew he couldn't get through a spanking with Ed's hand without crying, so getting a full spanking with the brush was even worse. His hands gripped tightly onto Ed's pant leg, squeezing the fabric tight as his legs kicked as if he was running on air. The rest of his body wasn't any better, his rear swaying as it tried to get away from the biting wood of the brush, Ed keeping him firmly in place with an arm around his hip.
It didn't take very long for Envy to become vocal, the skin of his rear taking on a good rosy pink hue. "AAOW! OW OW! NO, PLEASE! AAH! STOP, STOP! I-I CAN'T-AAH! I CAN'T TAKE IT! OWWW!"
"You can, and you will. This is the price you pay for your actions, Envy. Just be glad you're getting a spanking instead of sitting in a jail cell for your thievery." Ed rebutted, the brush not stopping one bit in its continuous rise and descent on his bottom as he spoke. Envy already felt tears stinging his eyes again, threatening to fall any moment as the spanking continued.
The next few moments were a cacophony of yelps and smacks, Envy stuck over Ed's lap getting his bottom thoroughly roasted under the brush as he had begun to cry, tears running freely down his face as he made his displeasure known to both brothers.
"S-STOO-OOP! PLEASE, PLEASE I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! OWW! AHH, NOOO! AAOOWW! I'M SORRY! PL-PLEASE! IT HURTS! OH, OH GOD IT HURTS! AAHHH!"
The two Elrics tried to tune out the cries as much as possible, focusing on the task at hand. It was much easier for Ed to do this than Al, which was why the younger brother was going second and had the much lighter implement.
Later rather than sooner, the brush ceased its assault on Envy's bottom, which by now was a bright stinging red and pulsating with stinging pain. Envy continued to cry and sob even after it had ended, Ed moving his hand from Envy's hip to his back and beginning to rub it in soothing circles to help him calm down. He didn't want to hand him off to Al in such a state, especially since Al had a special way of giving his spanking prepared that he and Ed had discussed and Envy needed to be cognizant for.
After a few long moments, Envy's crying quieted back down to sniffling and hitched breaths, the homunculus trying to get his emotions and breathing under control as his body stilled. He still squirmed and wriggled over Ed's lap slightly, which Ed didn't seem to mind as he knew how much this must hurt. He remembered when Pinako would spank him how it was hard for him to settle down. Once he did seem to get his bearings enough Ed gently guided Envy up to stand, and wiped some of his tears away with his thumbs.
"There we go, we're making good progress, Envy. We're almost there. You still have a spanking coming from Al now, but I'll give you a choice here. Either you can take it right away and get it over with, or you can take your corner time early and take a small break. Keep in mind if you take a break you are still not allowed to rub your bottom yet, and you must remain in the corner until we tell you to come out." He explained. Envy thought it over, glancing at Al and his spoon a few times as he did so. His bottom hurt so much, and he knew it was going to hurt a lot more before he would be considered done.
"I…I'll take a break…please." He whimpered, and Ed nodded, standing up and guiding him to the same corner he had stood Envy in before and gently pushing Envy's head until his forehead rested on the walls. He then took Envy's hands and placed them at the back of his head, far away from his bottom as Envy interlaced his fingers.
"Stay just like this, no talking and no turning around. I'll call you when your time is up, just try and calm yourself down and think about what you did." Ed directed, and when he got a nod from Envy he stepped back and went back to sitting on the bed, sighing.
In the corner, Envy sure had a lot to think about. Most of it was some form of "ow" thanks to the burning in his rear, but he did also think about how he got that in the first place. Not only had he disobeyed Al and wandered off, he stole something and lied to Al about it. All in all he did deserve this and more besides.
It was a long while before Envy would be called from the corner, a good 20 minutes of silence aside from some light sniffles coming from Envy, who for the most part had calmed down aside from shifting from foot to foot from the pain in his rear. Once he was called he shuffled to the brothers once more, blushing as he realized he had kicked off his bottoms as they sat in a pool of black fabric near Ed. Edward turned him towards Alphonse, who tried to look stern at Envy but the gentleness in his eyes betrayed the look. Gently Al took Envy's hands, the spoon resting in his lap as he looked Envy in the eyes. Envy's blush increased as he was made to look at the younger Elric, his stomach doing flips from the dread and the small bits of guilt he still had for letting him down.
"You know we don't like doing this, Envy. It breaks our hearts to hear you cry. But if you're going to learn anything, then this needs to be done, and be done thoroughly. Understand?" He asked, which got a gulp and a shaky nod from Envy.
"Good." Al responded, before situating himself to where one leg was on the bed and the other had his foot planted firmly on the floor. He led Envy over the leg on the bed, having his upper body be supported by the bed and his bottom raised up higher, causing his feet to be a few inches off the ground. Once more Envy squirmed to try and get comfortable, Al holding him close to his stomach with one hand as his other took up the spoon. He gave a glance to his brother, who nodded in assurance. Taking a deep breath, Al steadied himself for what he was going to do.
"You were a very naughty little boy, Envy." Al scolded, before Envy would hear and then feel a smack on his sensitive sit-spots. The left one, to be precise. He grit his teeth as he fought back a yelp, kicking up a leg in surprise. The blush never left his face, especially as Al started to scold him in such a childish tone.
"I would have understood if you wanted the toy." Another smack, this time on his right sit-spot. "I would not have made fun of you or thought any less of you." Another, on his left thigh which made his squeal and he couldn't take it anymore. He reached back with one hand to try and cover his sensitive areas, only to have Al snatch his wrist and pin it to the small of his back.
"When I told you to stay by me, that was for your own safety." This time not one smack, but four good ones came on each of his sit-spots and thighs, one to each of them. "The marketplace is very big, and can get very crowded. I didn't want you to get lost or hurt." another four, going in a circle from left sit-spot, to the right and then right thigh to the left. It didn't take long for tears to once again well up in Envy's eyes as these more sensitive areas were targeted, his legs kicking up with each one as he panted hard from trying to keep stoic.
As he scolded and spanked Envy, Al felt this become a bit easier as he fell into his role. He wasn't a hard hitter like his brother, so he opted to scold Envy fiercely accompanied by his sharper smacks of the spoon to his more sensitive places. This way he'd be getting his point across without having to smack very hard, and it'd make Envy feel childish as well for pulling such a stunt.
"As for your stealing…" He started up again as he gave two more spanks, one to each sit-spot which were now turning a bright pink. "We do not take things that don't belong to us. You were correct in saying that people could get worried and sad if they found out their stuff was stolen, and store people could get in lots of trouble if stuff goes missing on their watch." As he spoke he continued to go in that same pattern around his sit-spots and thighs, both areas becoming a smarting pink as Envy wriggled and kicked, and Al could hear him start to whimper and whine as his resolve was beginning to break.
"I know it hurts, but we have a long way to go before you're done, mister." He scolded, planting another two spanks on his sit-spots which made Envy gasp and yelp.
"And finally, your lying," He smacked Envy's thighs two times each this time, making the homunculus whine loudly and try to push up off Al's leg with his one unrestrained arm. Al responded by putting more pressure on Envy's back and thus the arm he had held behind him, keeping him firmly down and over his knee and the bed until he settled down.
"I know what I asked may not have seemed like a big deal, but you had an opportunity to tell me the truth and you decided not to. If we can't trust you to tell the truth when it comes to small things like asking if you're ok, how can we expect you to be truthful when it comes to more major things? It's as you said, it is a slippery and dangerous slope if Ed and I can't trust you to tell us the truth." Once more as he scolded Envy he went in his pattern again, and Envy couldn't keep himself from squirming more fervently and becoming more vocal as he began to outwardly cry again.
"Ahhh! S-stop! I get it! I understand! Oww! Stoo-oop! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Ahhoww!"
Al shook his head, and this time kept spanking without the accompanying scolding for a bit, just enough to get Envy's sit-spots and thighs to a darker pink that bordered on red before speaking again.
"Now, are you listening to me, Envy?" He asked. Envy was about ready to break, and he wanted the homunculus to answer some questions for him before he stopped. Whining loudly, Envy nodded his head rapidly.
"Y-yeess!"
"Good. Now, if I tell you to stay by me, what are you going to do?" He accompanied this question with not a sharp swat to his sit-spot or thigh, but a good solid whack to the fullest part of Envy's rear, on top of the brushing he got from Ed. Envy sucked in a breath, and let out a heartfelt yowl of pain.
"OWWW! S-STAY BY YOU! OHHH OWW!"
"Good boy. And are you going to take things that don't belong to you?" Again, this time on the other cheek which made Envy kick and scrabble at the air with his toes.
"N-NOOOO! OWWWAAAHHH!"
"Good. And when we ask you something, even something as small as 'are you ok', what are you going to do?" This one came dead in the center of his bottom, the spoon catching both cheeks as Envy arched his back down and clawed at the comforter with his free hand.
"T-TELL THE TRUTH! OW OWWW! P-PLEEEEASE!"
Al nodded, satisfied with his answers as he set the spoon down and let Envy's wrist go, the homunculus furiously rubbing his eyes with both hands as he cried loudly. His entire rear was a miasma of red, and his sit-spots and thighs looked not too far behind as the brothers let him calm down, Al rubbing his back in circles as he waited.
"When you're ready to get up, Envy, we can have a nice long cuddle if you want. It's ok. It's all over. You did so good." He praised. Envy took the time to calm down, still rubbing his eyes as the tears continued to fall and his legs falling limp against the bed.
It took several long moments, but soon enough Envy felt he had the energy to try and push himself up, getting onto his elbows before he felt a pair of hands under him and helping him up. He very soon found himself straddling Al's knee so his bottom wasn't touching anything, and he was wrapped up in a nice warm hug. Envy at first was surprised when he found the position he was in, but he didn't fight it as his breathing calmed down and he let himself rest against Al, his head nestling in the crook of Al's neck and he wrapped his arms around the younger Elric.
Ed had to look on with a smile. He scooted over to the pair, and rubbed Envy's back a little as a show of affection. Envy seemed to really take to Al a bit better, which wasn't surprising to either of them since Al was not as strict and, if Ed had to be honest, he was a bit 'nicer' than Ed. Less short-tempered, as well.
For now, the three of them sat in silence, all worn out from the afternoon's events and not sure what the future held. But, they would get to that at some point.
