Work Text:
“Stop pacing.” Merrin snapped with unrestrained irritation. “You are getting on my nerves.”
“I’m sorry?” Bode paused. “It seems like I’ve been getting on your nerves a lot lately.”
“I wonder why that might be…” she muttered, going back to her meditation.
“Look,” he interrupted her again. “I get it, I do. What I did was unforgivable. Almost unforgivable to some, unforgivable to most. But I’m trying to be better, trying to make amends.”
“Really? That is what you are trying to do?” Merrin snorted. “It appears to me that you are actively avoiding Cal, who you need to make amends to the most. You are avoiding Greez as well. But for some reason you insist upon sticking closely to me. Why? Because I am not singing your praises?”
“No one here is singing my praises. Not even Kata.” Bode pointed out. “But you haven’t said if you forgive me.”
“Forgiveness takes time. Forgiveness is earned. Again, tell me, what have you been doing to earn it? From me or anybody else?”
“Okay, if you know so much about it, what do you think I should be doing?”
“Groveling for one.”
“What?”
“Acting like you are sorry in any capacity.”
“I am sorry.”
Merrin sighed, looking at him pointedly. “Here is the thing, I cannot tell if you are sorry because you know what you did was wrong or if you are sorry you did not get away with it. The distinction matters. This is why I do not feel your intentions are altruistic.”
Bode clenched his fists. His posture reminded her of a cornered animal. Cornered animals were dangerous, prone to lashing out, and Bode was no stranger to lashing out. “It was the dark side.” he said through gritted teeth. “Cal struggles with it too.”
“Do not compare yourself to Cal.” Merrin admonished him sharply. “You have more in common with Darth Vader than you will ever have with Cal.”
He looked shocked by her words. “I don’t know what you want from me. But I don’t know if it’s worth my time to try.”
That. That got the blood boiling in her veins. “Worth your time? Worth your time?”
Bode looked uneasy now, backing up towards the door which she promptly forced shut behind him and locked.
“You should be begging for our forgiveness! But instead you are doing this! Ugh!” she exploded in frustration. “That is it, I think it is time I take matters into my own hands.”
“What? What’s that supposed to mean?” Bode looked around for any and all exits, finding nothing. His hand went instinctively to his blaster but they had taken his weapons from him for safety reasons. “You can’t kill me.” he clenched his jaw.
“I am not going to kill you.” Merrin informed him and he released the breath he had been holding in. “But I am going to hurt you.”
“Excuse me?” he reacted in alarm.
“It will not be disfiguring. You will be fine. It is meant to be a punishment, a lesson, but I will try to restrain myself.” She lied. She had no intention of going easy on him. “Now, come here.”
“I don’t know if I want to.”
“It was not optional.”
Bode hesitantly stepped forward. “Are- are you even allowed to do this?”
“I think I am allowed to do whatever I like.” she shrugged.
“No, I mean- would Ca-, would the others think this is okay?” Bode cut himself off when mentioning Cal, a wise decision.
“Greez might find it archaic. Cal? Who knows?” Merrin uncrossed her legs. “Do you want to remove your trousers and underwear or shall I?” she wondered innocently.
“Wait-” Bode’s face was drained of color. “You’re not serious-!”
“I am very serious.”
“I am not letting you spank me-”
“You do not have a choice.”
“The hell I don’t.”
“I would recommend reconsidering what you might be thinking of doing. Using your Jedi abilities would give the wrong idea, do you not think?”
Bode’s eyes narrowed. “This is blackmail.”
Merrin smiled. “Something you are very familiar with, yes?” Even though Bode was a big man, bigger than her, she had her own abilities that made it so they were on an even playing field. He put up a struggle but he knew she was right about using his abilities and eventually gave it up, finding himself slung over her knees. There, she pulled his garments down to his knees. He cursed in embarrassment when she did so but that was the extent of his resistance.
She did not pull her punches, choosing to start strong as she delivered her first smack to his backside. It must’ve been the shock of the hit because she knew Bode had gone through way worse and yet, he let out a gasp. But as she continued, he held in his other reactions with considerable restraint. It was almost no fun to deliver a punishment to someone who had no reaction. Though she was not meant to be doing this for fun, it was meant to be a teaching moment for Bode.
Merrin did not think that Cal would like what she was doing. She did not think that he would want her to make Bode bleed either. But then she thought of Cere and Cordova, those who weren’t even there to have an opinion on what she was doing and she got angry.
She unloosed her belt from around her waist, pulling it tightly around her hand to make it shorter, but still able to lash efficiently. On her lap, Bode shifted, almost as if he was wondering what her next move might be. He didn’t have to wonder for long as she lashed the belt buckle over his pink skin.
Bode yelped in pain and surprise. “What the fuck?! You said this wasn’t going to be disfiguring!”
“I lied.” Merrin told him bluntly, watching as welts appeared across Bode’s skin and then, the skin split, spilling out droplets of red blood. “Though I did say I was going to hurt you.”
“You’re insane.” Bode muttered, shaking his head. “This is just some power play to you, isn’t it?”
“So what if it is? Do you think you do not deserve it, hm?” she asked him. “If it had been my decision, you would not be here right now.”
He stiffened, seemingly wanting to say something but then he said nothing. So she continued with what she was doing.
Bode’s skin was red and raw. It would leave some scars. It would also be hard for him to sit in the near future. He was surprisingly limp, either checked out or concentrating hard as not to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. Then as she brought down a particularly hard blow, Merrin paused in surprise when she heard Bode sniffle.
“Bode?” she asked carefully.
“You’re right. I’m- I’m not even attempting to make amends. I- I don’t know how.” he expressed regretfully. It was perhaps the first time she had heard that in his voice. “I fucked it up so much. And- and I betrayed everyone’s trust, especially Kata’s. She looks at me like I’m some kinda monster, you know? I just wanted to protect her…” he said miserably. “But now, she has a traitor and a murderer for a father.”
Merrin didn’t know what to say.
“How am I supposed to face up to what I did when my own kid looks at me like that? How am I supposed to face anyone?”
“You could try by saying that you are sorry. Try it with me.”
He hesitated but then he tried it. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I know I can’t change what I did but I want to be better.”
When she didn’t respond right away, Bode flinched as if he expected her to hit him.
“I believe you.” she surprised even herself with her words.
“Wait… you do…?” he seemed unsure. Suspicious even.
“I do. This is the first time I have heard you sound sincere.” She had not expected her punishment to be such a big teaching moment for Bode. Even though she had presented it as a lesson, he had been right about it being a power play for her. “I think we are done here.”
“Really?”
“You can stand.”
Bode shakily removed himself from her lap, pulling his pants up with a wince and wiping his face just as Cal forced himself into the room. All of them stared at each other.
“Cal?” Merrin frowned. “What is it?”
“I thought-” Cal looked between her and Bode, frowning too. “I couldn’t find you two, so I-” he stared at the belt in Merrin’s hands, the piece of evidence that she hadn’t been able to hide. “What’s going on? What were you doing with that?” His brow furrowed.
“It’s nothing.” Bode said, trying to force a neutral expression on his face but it just came off as pained.
“I was just showing Bode my belt.” Merrin lied lamely.
“Merrin.” Cal said seriously.
“Cal?” she wondered innocently.
“That has blood on it.”
Well, it was obvious that they had been caught in the act. There was no getting past Cal’s keen observation skills and need for the truth.
Merrin looked at Bode who shook his head, begging her not to elaborate. She sighed. “This type of punishment is common on Dathomir.”
“What type of punishment?”
“Cal, leave it alone.” Bode pleaded.
“Spanking.”
“What?!”
Now she did know what Cal thought of spanking, and it appeared that he did not care much for it. Merrin could feel a headache coming on. For both her and Bode.