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“Sit.” Darry demanded, pointing to the chair. Ponyboy obediently sat down, not wanting to piss his brother off even further. He surely had gotten into enough shit as it was.
“Oh, Pony! You okay, baby?” Sodapop asked, rushing in and gently resting his hand in Pony’s hair, looking at the boy’s messy face. Pony had a bloody nose, a bruise forming on his cheek, and a busted lip. He clearly had just gotten into quite a fight.
Pony blushed at being fussed over. “Yeah, I’m fine, Soda.” He said, looking down at the floor. Darry sat down next to him with a first aid kit and supplies, quickly grabbing the boy’s chin and lifting it, looking into his eyes sternly. “Your backside won’t be when I’m through with it.” He growled. Oh, Darry was very upset with his youngest brother.
He was inside when suddenly he heard the sound of shouting coming from outside. He ran out, only to find his kid brother rolling on the ground with another boy he recognized from the neighborhood who used to hang out with Pony and play with him growing up. They had gotten into a heated disagreement, which led to a full on brawl right there in the middle of their street.
Darry got Pony off of the boy and had carried his sorry little ass inside, which was exactly where they were now. He carefully used a clean, wet washcloth to wipe Pony’s face. “What the hell happened?” Soda demanded, worried.
He and Darry were forever worried when it came to Ponyboy. They were both very protective of their youngest brother.
“I got in a fight with Joe. We were arguing about something that happened at school at first, and then things just got more heated.” Pony clenched his fists, getting angry all over again as he thought about it.
“He kept running his damn mouth and I-” He was cut off with a sharp swat to the side of his thigh. “Watch your mouth, little boy. You are in enough trouble as it is.” Darry scolded, continuing to clean Pony’s face.
Pony grunted at the swat, gritting his teeth. “Ponyboy Michael, you know better than to get into fights! Especially with your pals, you have known Joe since yall were little. When yall have arguments, ya walk away.” Soda lectured.
He didn’t know why, but he had a feeling that Pony had thrown the first punch. He was quite spunky these days, and it wouldn’t be the first time he started a physical fight.
Pony was sweet as pie, but he had a temper on him. He was also hardheaded, and in the words of Darry, ‘A hard head leads to a soft behind.’ which was true for Ponyboy.
“M’sorry, Soda. I just got so mad. I shouldn’t have hit him.” Pony said, truthfully feeling regretful now that he had calmed down and finally felt the guilt sink in. “No, you shouldn’t have. I’m going to make sure you never do again, too.” Darry said, pressing the bag of frozen peas against Pony’s bruised cheek.
Pony whined dreadfully. “Dar, c’mon! I’m really sorry, I already learned my lesson.” He begged. Darry ignored the boy’s pleas, looking over to Sodapop instead. “Can you get started on dinner for me please, Soda?” He asked his brother politely.
Soda nodded, a sad look on his face as he gently rubbed Pony’s back comfortingly one last time. He knew all too well what the boy had in store, and he didn’t want to be in the room for it either. It always broke his heart to hear Pony’s crying, and he was more prone to asking Darry for an early finish to Pony’s punishment when he was there, so this was for the best.
Darry held the frozen peas to the boy’s face for awhile longer until the swelling went down before grabbing his hand and leading him upstairs. Pony nervously watched as Darry grabbed the wooden hairbrush from his drawer before sitting on his bed.
Darry looked at Pony expectantly. “Come here, Ponyboy Michael.” He said, his voice dripping with scary authority. Ponyboy took in a deep breath and released it before slowly walking to his doom. When he was within arm length, Darry held the boy by his waist and stood him between his legs.
“You know better than to get into fights, Ponyboy. I am very disappointed in you. Answer me this question, and tell me the truth. Did you hit him first, or did he hit you first?” He asked, wondering if he needed to give him extra grace if it was done in self defense and things just spiralled out of control from there.
However, the sheepish look on Pony’s face told him everything he needed to know. Ponyboy’s mouth suddenly felt as dry as sand. “I…I threw the first punch and tackled him to the ground.” He admitted, ashamed.
Darry frowned, just taking a moment to look at Ponyboy. Pony watched this, practically seeing a million wheels turning in Darry’s head as the man pondered. He then heard Darry let out a sigh, before feeling his pants and boxers being tugged down.
Then, he was over his eldest brother’s knee. He hated how familiar this position was. He also hated waiting for the first smack. He never needed to wait too long, though.
SMACK!
And there it was; the first of many. Darry’s swift smacks landed all across Pony’s exposed bottom. Darry was quite experienced with spanking his little brothers, as well as Dally, Steve, Two Bit, and Johnny (though honestly, Johnny was very rarely spanked in comparison to the rest of them).
“I am not going to sit by and have you land yourself into a group home because you want to get into a bunch of trouble and start fights like a bratty little delinquent with no home training, Ponyboy Michael. That’s all the social workers need. Even if I have to spank you every night for a week, I will do it if that’s what it takes. I ain’t gonna sit by and watch you continue to make these poor decisions. Now you’ve gone and gotten your damn hard headed self hurt!” Darry lectured, focusing a lot of the swats on Pony’s sit spots now.
Ponyboy hollered, squirming over his brother’s lap. Darry’s palm was already bad enough, but when he used an implement, it was almost unbearable. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to sit straight for a long time after this.
“Oww! Ouch! Ah! Aaah! I’m sorry, Darry! OWW! Ouch!” Pony exclaimed, holding onto his pillow for comfort. “I’m sure you are now that you are bottom up over my knee, Pone. You need to learn how to be sorry before we get to this point, though. You are a smart boy, and you know better than to start fights.” Darry said, popping the hairbrush down in a quick, stinging pattern.
Pony began to bawl, tears rolling down his cheeks. Darry’s heart broke as he heard the boy’s cries. He had a soft spot for Pony as the youngest. He couldn’t help but to still see him as that same little boy he watched grow up. He loved Pony with his whole heart, and that meant disciplining and knocking some sense into him when necessary.
Pony’s bottom was bright red now, and the poor boy was now sobbing his little heart out over Darry’s knee. Darry decided that now was the time to finish up the spanking. He lifted his knee and then focused the final swats on Pony’s undercurve so it would match the same shade of red as his bottom.
Of course, Pony’s crying got louder as a result of this. Darry finally set the brush back down on the dresser and sat Pony up on his lap, gently rubbing his back and rocking him in his arms.
“Shhhh…it’s okay, baby. You’re alright. Easy now, Pony. It’s alright, you’re forgiven, honey. Shhh…you’re okay, baby…” Darry softly cooed, soothingly running his hand through Pony’s hair while he showered him with all of the cuddles and comfort he deserved.
Pony allowed himself to be fussed over now, crying into Darry’s chest and clinging to him. Soon, his tears had stopped and he found himself absentmindedly playing with Darry’s shirt, just like he used to when he was little when he’d cuddle in his lap.
Darry leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Pony’s forehead. “You hungry, kid?” He asked, lightly bouncing the boy on his knee. Pony looked up at him, blinking. “Maybe I will be in like…five minutes?” He asked, not wanting to get up from this comfortable position yet.
Darry smiled, nodding in understanding. “Alright, then. You will be apologizing to Joe tomorrow, too.” Darry said. Ponyboy nodded with a sniffle. “I will.” He said, resting against Darry once more and enjoying his time being held.