"Very early in my life it was too late." (Marguerite Duras, The Lover)

A/N: Very predictable punishment scene ahead.

Punishment? Ashur wanted to punish him now?

Well, it didn't come as much of a surprise to Fayez. Ashur had already told him about important things in BDSM relationships such as safewords, punishments, or power play. Those things were equally promising and frightening.

He remembered their conversation very clearly. Only, at that time, he hadn't thought that the day would come when Ashur decided that his bratty mate needed to be punished.

He had obviously understimated himself, for the day had come much sooner than expected. Clearly, he had potential. Being a brat was something he was good at.

Maybe it could be a good career path for him? He should investigate about it. Make mama proud and all.

"You - you want to punish me?" Fayez asked again, just to make sure Ashur was still in full possession of his faculties.

"I do" his mate quietly replied, his eyes trained on him.

"Ash, by any chance, did you use the word 'punishment' when you really meant 'reward'? "

This second question was probably unecessary, as Fayez already knew the answer, but hope is what makes us live.

"I did mean punishment as in punishment, Faye" Ashur simply responded.

He should probably stop asking all these stupid questions, and get it done with already. He was only delaying the inevitable, and pissing off the prefect some more.

Truth was, he was feeling a bit anxious. Maybe, if he bought himself enough time, a meteorite would descend on the Institute for Supernatural Beings and kill them all. No Fayez + No Ashur = no punishment for Fayez. Yay. So lucky. Such a happy ending.

"I'm sorry I was rude to you" Fayez tried, in his most sincere tone, which, sadly, didn't sound very convincing.

No, scrap that - not convincing at all.

"You're not sorry yet, but you will be." Ashur assured him, with the confidence of a true King. He stepped forward, so that their chests were now almost touching, their breaths mingling.

Fayez gasped, but didn't attempt to take a step back. What would be the point? He knew he wouldn't be able to leave Ashur's office without getting his punishment first - whatever this punishment might entail.

"I won't call you dude ever again, I promise."

"Praise be" Ashur commented, his lips twitching, like he was trying his hardest not to smile.

Damn, he already knew it, but Ashur was unyielding. The best he could do now was pray for the punishment not to be too painful.

"Do you have a particular punishment in mind?" he asked, trying to appear bold, but sounding more like a mouse in distress.

He had investigated about what punishments generally involved, and the results weren't very reassuring.

"Helmut, you've got a minute?" he had asked his trustworthy friend one evening.

"Depends, Faye. I'm pretty busy right now."

"You're always busy! It's like you're having a double life or something." Fayez had tried joking, but his offended tone had betrayed him.

"Okay, okay, you won. What is it, child?"

"I have a question, for ... ermh... for a friend of a friend of a friend. They want to know more about punishments."

"Punishments?" Helmut had looked kind of lost. "What kind of punishments?"

"Don't be shocked but... punishments in the context of a BDSM relationship. You see, my friend is pretty kinky. Shameless, even. Erm, a bad boy - I mean, a bad girl. Girl. She's a girl."

Helmut had then smiled so widely, you would have thought it was his lucky day or something. Odd. For a guy who barely had time to speak to his friend, he was suddenly in a very chatty mood.

He had shared with Fayez all the information he had about punishments. Way too much information. Fayez would never look at a cotton swab in the same way.

"Back to Earth, sweet boy."

This time, Ashur smiled to him for real, but it wasn't the expected predatory smile.

It was the warm, soothing smile which always made Fayez's metaphorical heart skip a beat.

"Relax, Faye. You're way too precious for me to hurt you. Plus, you're pretty inexperienced, and I don't want to scare you for life."

"I trust you, Ashur. Also, there's no way I could be scared. I'm never scared of anything or anyone."

"Good to know. Now, tell me, out of curiosity, how did your parents punish you when you were a kid?"

Fayez thought about it. His parents never really formally punished him, so what was Ashur getting into?

"You - you really want to put me in the corner?" he asked increduously.

Although he probably tried very hard, Ashur couldn't contain his laughter any longer. "Oh, Fayez" he murmured with a fond expression, before cupping his mate's cheeks and pecking him on the nose.

And, just like that, Fayez's previous anxiety magically disappeared.

"No, Fayez, I don't want to put you in the corner."

"Well, that's too bad, because I'm good at remaining motionless while keeping my mouth shut."

"I hightly doubt it" Ashur snorted, before adding "Have you ever been spanked?"

Silence. Fayez wondered why Ashur was asking him such a weird question, all of a sudden. Unless...

Oh.

"You - you're planning to spank me? Me? Have you looked at me? I don't look like the type to be spanked." Fayez declared, straightening up his spine.

"Trust me, I have taken a good look at you. I think you would like even more delectable with my red handprints on your sweet ass." Ashur replied, his warm smile turning wolfish.

Gosh. Ashur was a real pervert. Who would have thought? It was really the quiet ones. He might even be worse than Zephyr.

Well, no, that wasn't possible. Fayez didn't know much about the world, but he was sure Zephyr was one of the most perverted creature ever born.

"So, this is really happening." Fayez mumbled. "Me, a grown ass vampire, who is three hundred years old , I will get my ass beat by my handsome mate -whose hair can apparently turn into tiny snakes."

"Only if you allow me to do so." Ashur corrected. "You're free to use your safeword at any times. Remember what it is, sweetie?"

"Yes, I do, my safeword is 'HODOR!!!' " Fayez proudly exclaimed. "He's my favorite character ever in Game of Thrones. I swear, I was so sad when - "

"Good boy." Ashur interrupted him. "Do you want to use it now? Is the idea of being spank making you too uncomfortable?"

"No, I don't. I'm - I'm okay with being spanked. Weirdly enough." Fayez mumbled.

It was impossible to say such words without getting flustered, and Fayez was a mere vampire, who wasn't even four hundred years old yet. He didn't stand a chance.

"Perfect." Ashur concluded. "Now, just so you know, I'm gonna spank you twenty-time."

"What? Twenty-time?" Fayez protested. "Come on, dude, you can't be -"

"Let's make it thirty, for calling me dude again. Drop your pants and underwear to your ankles, but don't remove them completely. Then, bend over the desk." Ashur commanded.

This time, Fayez wisely kept his mouth shut, and did as he was instructed, under Ashur's watchful eye. Although the prefect had already seen it all in the shower, he still found being naked in front of him pretty embarassing.

Especially when he had to undress for such an indecent purpose.

He looked at the desk, which was a few meters away, and took a deep breath.

There's no coming back from this, he thought, before clumsily making his way to the desk, as his ankles were hampered by his pant and underwear. I will remember this forever. I swear, I really need to keep my big mouth shut sometimes. If my parents could see me, they wouldn't believe how talkative I can get.

He bent over the desk, his stomach and dick shamelessly pressing against the wooden surface.

"This is just between you and me, right?" he asked, his voice muffled. "Not a word to Zeph or - Lord forbides - Akhenaton."

"I won't tell a soul" Ashur assured him, and Fayez could tell, without needing to see him, that his mate was smiling. "You're really beautiful, everywhere I look, but your arse is something else."

This was a compliment. This was definitely a compliment. An unusual one, but a compliment nonetheless.

In the past, it was only his grandmother giving him the occasional compliment - mostly about how strong and powerful he looked. Now, his mates seem to have an unhealthy obsession with his ass.

What was so special about his ass?

"You're so perfect to me, you know. To us" Ashur murmured, making Fayez's face go even pinker. "So funny, caring and adorable. I am glad our paths crossed."

"I'm glad too I met you guys" Fayez whispered, his voice barely more than a puff of air - but he knew that Ashur had heard him. "I can't believe how lucky I am."

He closed his eyes as he felt Ashur's big and warm hand stroking his hair, before sliding down his back in slow and sensual motions. Finally, he rested his hand on the small of his back.

"Remind me why you're being punished today, Fayez?" he asked, his voice stern.

"For barging into your office uninvited. For talking back to you, and for being disrespectful about the Headmaster."

"Correct. Now, I am asking you again: are you fine with this punishment - and with the idea of being punished?"

"Yes. I accept this punishment." Fayez obediently replied, and his docile tone seemed to pleased the prefect, who gently patted his behind.

"Good boy. Don't hesitate to use your safeword, if you feel the need." Ashur concluded.

His hand briefly left his ass, before landing sharply on his left asscheek. Fayez winced at the slight burn, but didn't make a noise.

"How does it feel?" Ashur asked, as he started rubbing the abused patch of skin.

"It's more than bearable." Fayez replied honestly.

"I won't hit you any harder than that." Ashur promised. "Now, count aloud."

Smack.

"Two"

Smack.

"Three."

Fayez didn't know what was more embarrassing. The loud sound echoing in the room, every time the palm of Ashur's hand made contact with his poor bottom? The fact that he, an adult and skilled warrior, was getting slapped on the ass? Or the feeling of getting hard from the spanking?

No way he would let Ashur find out about this. No way. He would spend an eternity laying on this table, if he had to.

"Are you still doing alright?" Ashur asked, interrupting the spanking.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." Fayez responded, his voice slightly shaking.

Ashur was silent again, making Fayez panick a bit. Shit. Surely, Ashur didn't have any suspicions, right?

"Okay. Keep counting." Ashur eventually declared, as he started giving the same treatment to his right asscheek - no one's getting jealous, this way.

Spank.

"E-eleven"

Spank.

"Fifteen."

"Don't try to cheat again, or I will add ten more" Ashur chastised him.

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

Spank.

"Thirteen."

What was wrong with him? It hurt, and Fayez never liked pain. True to his words, Ashur never spanked Fayez harder, but his sore ass was getting more and more sensitive with each slapping, making the punishment more painful. He was pretty sure his butt was turning a pretty shade of red.

Spank.

"Fourteen."

Fayez wasn't really aware of his deepest desires yet. If he was, he would have understood that what turned him on wasn't the pain, but the fact that he was getting his ass slapped, as if he was a disobedient little boy.

The knowledge that Ashur was just behind him, taking notes of each of Fayez's smallest reactions. Noticing how he unknowingly raised his buttocks higher in the air in offering. The way he wiggled against the wooden surface in obvious discomfort.

It seemed Fayez was getting off on being humiliated.

Spank.

"Fifte-"

He was interrupted by the loud noise of the door, as someone suddenly barged into the room.

"Sorry for not knocking first, Ash" a familiar voice said, "but I need to know where - Oh."

Shit.

Zephyr was here, and so was Akhenaton. They had seen him. There was no mistaking what was currently going on between him and Ashur.

Why weren't they saying anything?

What were they thinking?

Shit, shit, shit.

Surely, it couldn't get any worse than that, right?

Now what?