But gave the Alarm, when any one drew nigh,
Nor let pretended Friends pass fearless by:
For which reprov'd, as better Fed than Taught,
He rightly thus expostulates the Fault.
To keep the House from Rascals was my Charge;
The Task was great, and the Commission large.
Nor did your Worship e'er declare your Mind,
That to the begging Crew it was confin'd;
Who shrink an Arm, or prop an able Knee,
Or turn up Eyes, till they're not seen, nor see.
To Thieves, who know the Penalty of Stealth,
And fairly stake their Necks against your Wealth,
These are the known Delinquents of the Times,
And Whips and Tyburn. testify their Crimes.
But since to Me there was by Nature lent An exquisite Discerning by the Scent;
I trace a Flatt'rer, when he fawns and leers,
A rallying Wit, when he commends and jeers:
The greedy Parasite I grudging note,
Who praises the good Bits, that oil his Throat;
I mark the Lady, you so fondly toast,
That plays your Gold, when all her own is lost:
The Knave, who fences your Estate by Law,
Yet still reserves an undermining Flaw.
These and a thousand more, which I cou'd tell,
Provoke my Growling, and offend my Smell.
- The Dog And His Master, by Anne Kingsmill Finch
Sometimes Dean needs to go away.
Sam can always sense those times - can tell from the way his shoulders go loose and relax and the knotted-wire ball of tension in his belly unwinds and fades away that he doesn t mind.
Sam could tell him that he doesn t need to see inside Dean s head, that all he has to do is watch. Just wait, and soon Dean would start to tense, get fidgety and restless, like he has just pounds of raw energy he needs to burn. Then his moods will shift, at one moment laughing and making dirty jokes, and then at the slightest thing he ll turn nasty and sharp.
That s when Sam would take Dean to their motel room and lets him disappear.
They re at a diner, a tiny 24 hour deal that they re taking advantage of for some 3 AM dinner, and Sam knows that Dean s time is near.
Dean s shifting in his seat, drumming his fork and spoon against the table, pausing every now and again to run his hand through his hair quickly, messing it up and glancing around, the whites all around the edges of his eyes visible.
The wait staff probably think that Dean s high on something, or he craves another fix of whatever he s already on, but Sam just drinks his coffee and watches his brother, waiting for a sign for him to drag Dean to their hole-in-the-wall motel room and leash some of that nervous tension.
Eventually they manage to finish their meal without Dean making too much of a nuisance of himself, and it s when Sam goes to pat Dean on his shoulder, just a friendly, hey, look at me for a moment, movement, when Dean snaps.
There s a sharp growl and a blur of movement, and Dean s head snaps to the side to nip at Sam s hand.
The diner was quiet, but now it s dead silent as people look in shocked surprise at the two of them. Neither of the two pay anyone else any attention, however - both of their eyes are on each other.
Dean looks immediately repentant, but there s still that wild look in his eyes, and Sam has to react to it. He reaches out and grasps the back of Dean s neck with the hand Dean nipped and grips firmly. With a small shake he says in a voice just barely loud enough for the two of them to hear even in the near-silent diner, Bad. Now go out to the car and wait for me.
Dean doesn t say anything, either already sensing he s in enough trouble or beginning to flirt with the headspace that they both are heading inexorably towards. Instead he turns and walks out, and Sam watches through the windows until he sees Dean get into the passenger side and settles in before he turns back to pay for their meal.
Afterward the car ride itself is quiet, but full of that electric feeling between the two of them that always proceeds Dean s little vacations. Sam arm is slung across the back of the seat and can t help but run his fingers through Dean s hair, scratching a bit behind his ears.
By the time they get to the motel, Dean s eyes are half-lidded and distant, and Sam knows that they d gotten there in time before they did anything that might make Dean embarrassed later. As it is, when Sam pulls away to get out of the car Dean makes a tiny whimpery noise in the back of his throat, and looks up at Sam accusingly through the windows as Sam circles around to the back of the car.
Sam pops the trunk, not letting Dean s pleading eyes bother him, and gets the extra duffel out of the back, the one that contains their kit for just these situations. He closes the trunk, then opens Dean s door. Dean slides out, and Sam gives him an approving pat on the back when Dean doesn t sink to all fours once clear of the car - he isn t too far gone yet, though Sam keeps hold of the collar of Dean s jacket while they cross the lot to their room.
Strip, Are the first words out of Sam s mouth once they enter the room, even before he closes the door. As soon as the latch clicks shut and Sam s dead bolting the door, Dean s already got his jacket and flannel off, and is skinning his T-shirt off and tossing it to the floor. Sam ignores his brother for the time being and sets the bag down on the bed and unzipping it.
One by one he takes out the pieces of their kit, sitting on the bed and makes sure that each piece is clean and undamaged since the last time they were used.
Everything in working order, Sam looks over at his brother.
Dean s stripped down to his boxers skin and watching Sam, his cock obviously hard with what his body was translating into sexual excitement, even though there would be no sex tonight, not while he s gone. Even his amulet is gone, placed with deliberate care on the top of the dresser where it can t get lost.
Here, Dean, Sam commands, patting his knee.
Dean immediately pads over, standing between Sam s spread legs, his breath already heavy and limbs trembling with leashed excitement. Sam takes the first two items off of the bed and straps the knee pads on. They re probably the least visually appealing piece of their kit, but the most functional. The point isn t to punish Dean, and scraping his legs up on the short, filthy carpet was guaranteed to hurt.
Sam taps Dean s hip, and Dean immediately sinks to his knees, shifts just a little as the pads fall into familiar place.
Sam tugs on one of Dean s biceps until he offers up first one hand and then the other for Sam to slip into leather mitts. They are soft and padded on the inside, cradling Dean s fist comfortably. On the outside the hard leather is shaped like paws, with rubber pads on the bottom and small blunt nails.
Sam doesn t drop Dean s hands, instead tugs up a little, guiding Dean to sit up straight. Dean sits up, mittened hands tucked up close by his shoulders, and Sam buckles him into his harness. The belt with attached tail to goes on last - they have other types, comfortable lightweight ones with foam cores that stay in one position, another that hangs behind him limply, but today isn t a day for those. Today Dean s tail is a foot and a half in length, furred the same dirty blond as Dean s hair, and has a wire core that makes it bounce and sway with every movement of Dean s back side.
Sam runs his hand through Dean s hair once more, and with his other he picks up Dean s collar.
The collar isn t fancy, or anyway different than a thousand that a person could find on any dog, but as soon as Sam fastens the thick black leather around Dean s neck he could almost see the last of Dean leaving, and Cliff taking his place.
Sam ruffles Cliff s fur on top of his head, and Cliff s expression becomes open and dopey, leaning into the rough caresses.
Good boy, Sam murmurs, grinning. Yeah, you re my good boy. He stops suddenly, and Cliff freezes in the same position, seeming not to realize for a beat that the scritches had ceased. Shaking himself, Cliff straightens, looking up at Sam with his mouth dropped and tongue lolling in a doggy grin.
Wanna play? Sam asks, hold up one of their toys - a rubber bone that bounces and squeaks enticingly when thrown. Cliff likes the idea, giving a little hop back, rump raised and tail wagging furiously. Sam tosses the toy across the room and Cliff is after it like a shot, all fours thudding across the room and nearly overshooting where the toy had landed.
Cliff snaps the toy up and bounds back to Sam, and Sam has to fight the puppy for the toy, Cliff growling playfully and not releasing until Sam gives a particularly sharp tug.
Sam tosses the toy again, not minding how the toy and his fingers are covered with dog slobber, and looses count how many times he throws it until Cliff finally collapses in one corner, chewing contentedly on his bone.
Sam gets up and pours water from the bathroom s sink into Cliff s water dish, and after a moment as Sam s getting settled in with a movie on HBO, Cliff drags himself over to lap the water up. Thirst slaked, he jumps onto Sam s bed and curls up at his side, sighing contentedly as Sam begins to stroke along his flanks and thread his hands through his fur.
After a little while of relaxing with his dog, Sam slides off the bed, and Cliff is immediately alert, ears pricked forward with curiosity. Sam pats Cliff on the head once with a quiet stay, and Cliff settles back down on the bed, but he watches as Sam brushes his teeth and prepares for bed.
Once Sam finishes, turns off the light and TV and slides under the sheet, he could see Cliff still watching, face pale and eyes glinting in the meager light slipping through the broken slats of the blinds.
C mon boy, Sam says, patting his belly, and Cliff is suddenly right there, lapping at Sam s face with doggy kisses and slobbering over them both. Sam laughs and holds Cliff s face still just long enough for him to plant a kiss between his adoring eyes and gives him a small push away, scratching behind Cliff s ears until the dog stretches out across the bed, head resting on Sam s belly.
Sam unlaces Cliff s paws and pulled them off, tossing them over the side of the bed, running his fingers through Cliffs fur and makes soothing noises at the pup s protesting whine.
Slowly they fall asleep, Sam caressing the dog s fur, and Cliff limp and content snugged up close to his Master