Archive of Our Own ^beta

Rip gulped when Sara took her leave to stride off to the Captain‘s quarters, and he was left alone with Jonah. A very upset looking, glaring Jonah Hex. He tried to give him a little smile, but was met with the death glare of the century.

„I.. um.. Thank you for saving me?“ he tried, and was met with a huff.

„You said you‘d always come back.“ That gruff voice did things to Rip, even when Jonah was so clearly angry with him. „Now you wouldn‘t have come back if your band of misfits had not risked their asses to get you back from the dead.“

„Of course. I would have… I‘d have found a way“, Rip tried to explain, but he knew that Jonah could easily see through him.

„A demon, Rip, really? Letting yourself be blasted to pieces? You know better than that.“ He pointed at the table, and Rip sighed. There wasn‘t anything he could do to escape this, he knew. He had deserved it with his foolishness, really.

„Jonah, I..“

„Table. Now. And your pants down, or I‘ll rip them off. Right along with your stupid trenchcoat.“ Rip sighed and carefully moved over to the table, opening his pants and pushing them down when he got there.

„Really, I know it was bad. I won‘t do it again, Jonah.“

„That‘s right. I‘m going to teach you a lesson and you‘ll cease being a foolish boy. You said you‘ll always come back to me and I‘ll hold you to that. I‘ll get you back from the dead personally if I have to.“

„I always want to come back to you, Jonah, really. I didn‘t… I didn‘t think, is all.“

„Is all? You died, Mr. Hunter. You died. We grieved you, I grieved you.“ Jonah was approaching him now, easily grabbing the back of his neck and bending him over the table.

„And now you‘re going to take your punishment like a good boy or I‘ll have to double your punishment. Are we clear on that?“

Rip swallowed and tried to get rid of the lump in his throat, but gave a nod after a moment.

„Of course. I‘m really very sorry, Sir.“

„No, you‘re not, but you will be.“

He could hear Jonah undoing his belt, and in any other moment he‘d be excited to hear that sound, but now it just sounded ominous and threatening. He knew exactly what Jonah was going to do with that belt, after all.

And true enough, Jonah came to stand right next to him and gave his bare behind a few rough pats. „Now, one hit for every day you‘ve been gone would be appropriate, I think. Every day of my life, before you start with some timeline shit or other. I‘ll teach you better than to die on me, Rip Hunter.“

And with that, the belt was already coming down, and Rip gave a loud yelp. He didn‘t even know how much time he‘d been gone, but he knew it must be a significant amount for Jonah to react like this. Not long enough for him to have found someone else though, a little voice inside his head supplied, and Rip immediately tried to silence it. Jonah had been happy to see him back, yes, but did that mean that they‘d get back together after this? Rip sure hoped so, and he thought that Jonah would not punish him if he wasn‘t interested in being with Rip at all anymore, but he couldn‘t be sure.

He grunted as the second strike hit and winced a little. „How.. how many did I deserve, Sir?“

„Well, I didn‘t know when you‘d be coming back, did I? So you might as well not know when this is going to end.“

That was fair, Rip supposed, even though he was already waiting for it to stop by the time Jonah had hit him ten times. They‘d never done it without a fixed end point before, and somehow that unsettled Rip more than the spanking itself or a high number he knew he‘d have to endure.

„I.. ouch, Jonah, do I still have my safeword?“

Jonah grunted as he brought the belt down again, and only then took the time to answer. „Course. Never said otherwise.“ There was a little pause then and the belt didn‘t come back down immediately afterwards. „You need to say it?“

Rip frowned a little, thinking about it. It wasn‘t really that bad yet, and he deserved it… he should just take anything that Jonah wanted to dish out, but it just… it scared him, now knowing how much, and not knowing where they stood.

„I don‘t know... can you... how many will I get, please?“

„You don‘t know?“ Rip could hear the frown in Jonah‘s voice, but then the belt came to lie on the table next to him and he felt himself being pulled up into strong arms.

„If you don‘t know then we‘ll stop. Reassurance first then, punishment tomorrow. Come here.“ Rip sighed and easily let himself be pulled against Jonah‘s chest, nuzzling against the skin of his neck.

„I never meant to hurt you...“

„I know you didn‘t. You were your reckless usual self and only wanted to save everyone else. But I need you, Rip… please don‘t leave me like that?“

It was so rare to hear insecurity in Jonah‘s voice, and it immediately had Rip pulling back to look at him.

„Never, my darling. Never. I‘ll always come back to you. I promised.“ He carefully reached up to take Jonah‘s hat off his head and place it on the table behind him, then slowly leaned in.

„Please?“

His reply as a gentle smile and then Jonah leaned in to meet him halfway, giving him a kiss that told Rip just how much he‘d been missed. Jonah didn‘t do soft and mushy, but this kiss was exactly that. That and all the things he felt for Rip put into one kiss, and Rip just melted against him.

„I love you too“ he whispered once they had pulled apart again, and Jonah just crushed him harder against his chest.

„Yeah. What you said.“

Rip gave him a weak slap on the side for that, but then they moved over to the bed and sat down, both leaning against the other for support.

„I‘m glad to see you back, Rip“ Jonah whispered, and Rip didn‘t even mind that his hand in his hair was seriously messing up his gelled style.

„I‘m glad to be back… to be back with you“ he murmured, and was rewarded with a kiss to his temple. „How long was I gone though? How long… how long did I leave you alone?“

Jonah sighed and shook his head, and it took Rip staring at him imploringly for him to crack and give him an answer.

„A little over two years now...“

Two years? Oh god, he‘d left his heart alone for two years…

„I‘m so sorry you had to go through that, love… really, so sorry.“

„I know, Rip. I know. It‘s just… it‘s different when you just leave and I know you‘ll come back, okay? I know it might be years until I see you again, but this time… I thought I‘d never see you again, Rip. I thought I‘d have to live out the rest of my days without you. And I… Rip, I can‘t do that. I need to know you‘re coming back.“

Rip turned around then, swinging a leg over Jonah‘s lap and settling on it. „And I will. I always, always will come back to you, Jonah. Not even death can stop me. Nor any demons or time cores or amnesia or anything. I‘ll always come back to you, Jonah Hex. Always. I swear it.

Jonah smiled at him then, that sweet, gentle smile that lit up the whole room.

„And that is all I need to know, my Rip. That‘s all I need to know.“