A Few Simple Rules to Live By
Fandom: Supernatural
Characters: Dean(14), Sammy(10), John
Summary: It's mid August, schools almost back in session, but the Winchesters take one more trip!
Warnings: Language, discipline, bratty brotherly stuff. You know, the norm J.
Disclaimer: Not my characters. Just my crazy.
Notes: For Kara, Happiest of Belated Birthdays to you my dear!! You wanted John, Dean and Sam, you got it!
John isn't sure what surprises him more, the fact that Dean's excited about something else besides cars or the fact that his boys are actually willing to be seen with him in public.
He'd been gone on a hunt for almost a week. It was nearby enough and he was only really helping out another hunter, so the four days hadn't been all that bad on any of them.
Arriving back at their motel room, he only wanted to stand under the shower for about an hour, let the freezing cold water wash away more than just the cling of the August sun, and slip into a restful slip for the rest of the day. Instead what he got was a sinking suspicion that his sons were up to something.
"DAD!" they cheered as he was opening the door.
Sammy rushed over to him, hugging him around the waist so tightly that he feared his slight lunch would resurface.
"You're back!" the ten year old noted into his stomach, the vibration of his voice causing John to grin.
"I guess I am," he replied, slipping a hand through the dark hair, grimacing at the sweat that clung to it.
"We missed you!" Dean said, huge smile on his face and John's smiling back, wondering if he'd been gone longer than he had thought.
And then Dean's hugging him too, he hasn't even fully stepped into the room, door still open behind him. He catches himself glancing at what he can see of the room over their heads, because for both of them to be this happy to see him, something must be broken. He'd been gone before for a couple of weeks and not gotten more than a 'Dude, s'up' from the teen.
"Missed you guys too," he tells them, enjoying the moment –though weary – and dropping a quick kiss on Dean's sun lightened hair before he extracts himself from them and closes the door.
"Did you catch your monster, Daddy?" Sammy asked him sweetly as he walked into the kitchen space, checking their supplies and setting his duffle down on the floor.
It still nerves him how calmly Sam's taken to the whole 'There's real monsters out there and Daddy kills the bitches dead' thing so well. Sounded wrong coming out of his high pitch and his still doting eyes.
"Duh!" Dean replied for him, slapping the back of Sammy's head.
"Hey!" Sammy snaps, turning around to probably punch his brother back, which just makes his eldest laugh. But instead he just huffs at him.
John frowned.
"Dean," he softly scolds, not having the strength to really care about a tiny little head slap when he's likely to do the same to the both of them and often. "Don't hit your brother."
"Yeah," Sammy growled.
Dean just rolled his eyes.
"You hurt?"
"Fit as a fiddle. You two alright?"
He doesn't miss the look they share then, and he's wondering if he could still slip into the shower and get the grit of dirt and sweat off of him before they start confessing.
"Awesome."
"We're good."
Liars. The both of them. But he really needs that shower, so he's willing to let them slide.
"Eating alright? Get your exercises in? Read over those pages Jim mentioned?"
Both boys roll their eyes, but for different reasons. Sammy's hated exercising since forever, and Dean just hates reading.
"We ate good," Dean said smiling over at him and he knows that he's going to have to address the other two things as well. Damn, four days was a long time if they're already slacking.
"You ate well," he corrected, but it's pointless. He reached into the fridge, pulled out the juice jug and grabbed the cups from the fridge. He smiled at that, noting how they'd all taken to picking up that certain habit of Bobby's since last summer. It was nicer to have a frozen cup than having to haul back and forth for ice."And you're not answering my other two questions tells me that you two have quite the weekend ahead of you."
Predictably, they both groan.
"Can't that reading shit wait?"
John glances up form pouring into the second cup and glares at Dean.
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, it's pointless! When are we ever going to need an exorcism?" Dean sighed, slumping into one of the kitchen sits and taking the offered cup of juice but clearly not getting that John was mentioning to the language.
See, head slap there.
"Ow!"
"You watch your mouth, kid. And if you're told to read over something, you do it, regardless about how you feel on the subject. Clear?"
"Yes sir," Dean pouted, gripped his frozen cup and tilting it up for a sip.
"I don't like all the strange words, Daddy. They're confusing and strange," Sammy said, taking his own juice cup and frowning.
Jim had started in teaching his youngest Latin. He'd been at it with Dean for a few years, giving him books when they visited and assignments over the phone. Now that Sammy 'knew the truth' he'd quickly taken to teaching him too. Sammy loved learning, but he really didn't know what or why he was learning it. Knowing about monsters did not entitle him in knowing about everything, not matter how much he pleaded and whined.
"Well, you're just starting, Sammy. It'll get easier the longer you work at it."
John's pretty certain that Dean gave his brother a negative nod when he turned to put the juice away, his own frozen cup in hand.
"But it's no fun!"
"It's not supposed to be fun."
"It's necessary," John firmly told the both of them. End of discussion. Even if Dean frowned more at that.
"Well, can I stay in and study the Latin?" Sammy asked hopefully into his cup.
Dean snickered into his juice and John sighed.
"No. You know how important it is for me that you boys are fit. Especially with all that sugar you love to eat. Do you want to give up the sweets? Because then you can cut back on the training."
John wasn't going to cut either of his sons slack on the training, because it was more than just keeping them fit. But he needn't to worry. His little sweet toothed baby wasn't willing to go through that kind of sacrifice.
"Aw man," he sighed, causing the elder two Winchester to share a smile.
"Good then, you two can hit the books while I shower."
"No! You ask him!"
"Why me?"
"Because," he heard Sammy smile. "You're older."
He finished his shower and was standing in the bathroom, getting dressed, and clearly his children weren't aware that just because a door was closed didn't mean that it was sound proof.
John snorted, hearing Dean's own words turned against him.
"You brat!"
"Ow, don't hit me!"
"Don't hit me," Dean repeated in a whiny little voice.
"Hey!"
"Hey!"
"Dean! Stop it."
"Dean! Stop it!" Dean repeated, sounding extra whiny.
"Hey! I don't sound like that!"
"I don't sound like that!"
"Dean!"
"Dean!"
John sighed, knowing all too well that this could go on for hours before Dean tired of it, and all that would accomplish would be Sammy in tears and Dean sporting a sore bottom for not knowing when to call it quits.
He opened the door to the echoed response to Stop it already!.
"Boys!" He bellowed, zipping up his jeans and tossing his soiled shirt and socks towards his discarded duffle. "You better not be arguing."
Two deer in the headlights. Oh brother. John tried not to outwardly smile.
They're sitting on the bed that they're going to share that night, cards all over the comforter in a matter that they're either playing BS and Dean's winning or Go Fish and Sam is.
"We're not," Sammy's first to recover. "Dean was just saying how he had to ask you some'in'. Right Dean?"
"No," Dean muttered, glaring at his little brother.
"He's lying."
"Am not."
"Yeah you are."
"Am not, you little brat!"
"Are too!"
"Alright! Enough!" John yelled, knowing this war of words could probably beat the previous one in length if he allowed it.
He tried to remain the calm, rational adult.
"If you boys have something to ask me, then you ask me. None of these run arounds. Otherwise, whatever it is, the answer is no."
"But Dad!" Sammy already started to whine.
"Shut up twerp," Dean said quickly, hitting the ten year old in the arm. "He's not really saying no yet. You're going to ruin everything!"
Sam's eyes went wide and he closed his mouth. For all of Dean not wanting to ask, he clearly did want something. John just hoped they weren't trying to ambush him for a puppy again.
He frowned over at them, tossing his towel over his shoulder and crossing his arms over his chest. There was just no way that he's going to get goaded into giving them a puppy, or hell a goldfish even. And it's not just the fact that he's pretty certain his boys will kill them either.
"Umm well."
"Sammy, why don't you tell me?"
"Cause, I don't want you to say no."
"And you think I won't say no if Dean asked?" He's curious about that, because he's pretty certain that he's been pretty fair on telling them each no often.
"I dunno," Sammy shrugged.
"Oh God!" Dean groaned, dropping his stack of cards onto the bed and looking straight at John. "We were watching TV, and well…Can we go to the zoo this weekend? It's free."
The zoo, it turns out, isn't half bad.
John doesn't get to take his boys out to nice, family places a whole lot. Last time was probably when Sammy was six and there was a water park that the boys had rummaged the newspapers for coupons. And yeah, he feels like a crappy father about that too.
He's surprised Dean's as excited as he is, being the 'cool' teenager that he is now. But the kid's never been to a zoo, so it's got to be pretty exciting nonetheless. Hell, John's kind of excited too, because the last zoo he went to was back home in Indiana and one of his siblings had gotten sick after eating something that they shouldn't of and they had to leave early. The car had smelled like crap for days after that.
John parked the Impala a little far away, but he didn't want to endanger his car near all those other crazy families' kids and he'd found a nice shady spot for her. She could relax as they, well vacationed.
They'd seen ducks and birds before, so the boys moved quickly away from that building, the first they encountered as they entered.
"I wanna see the hippos! And the giraffes! Dad, looks, they've even got kangaroos! Can we see those first?!"
John glanced over Sam's excited head down at the map Sammy had snatched from his hands.
"They're all the way on the other side, kiddo. We'll work our way over there, kay?"
"I wanna see them feed the snakes! That's closer, can we got there?"
"No! Gross, they feed them live mice, Dean!"
"I know! So, Dad, can we?" Dean's face was just beaming with excitement. Sammy looked disgusted.
"Hey look, world's largest turtle!" John walked over to the fence, glancing down at what he considered one of the words more boring animals ever. He felt the boys following him though, and that was the point. Once they got started it wouldn't matter what they saw.
He reached over, touching the huge, old turtle's shell like he was seeing other people do. Damn that thing was hard.
"Wow, that's pretty tough. Sammy feel that."
Sammy eagerly got up on the last rung of the fence and leaned over the top to reach the turtle.
"Cool," the ten year old said, smiling brightly.
Curious now, Dean slid in on John's other side, pressed tightly to him as he didn't want to bump into the woman standing there. John just slipped his arm around Sammy's waist, keeping him from falling and giving Dean a little more room.
Dean reached over to it, his fingers edging around Sammy's.
"Cool. Bet we could throw him off the Grand Canyon and it wouldn't even crack!"
"Dean," Sammy scoffed. "You'd have to lift him first. And he's huge!!"
Turned out, 'he' was a 'she', but John didn't burst their bubble, he just pointed out towards the aquarium. It was pretty small, but it brought them right up next to the reptile house which Dean would love.
By the time they started getting hungry, they'd seen all the water, scaly and African animals. Dean was tugging on both of their hands, his stomach guiding him towards the concession stands, as Sammy started eagerly chatting about lions and tigers and how he might actually like to go see them dumb birds after all.
The day was going pretty awesome, in John's opinion. Which really should have been the first warning that something was going to happen.
As they finished up eating, Sammy started complaining about having to go to the bathroom. No problem there, except that Dean kind of wanted to go check out the bears.
"But I gotta go."
"You can hold it for like two minutes, Sammy. Geesh, you're a big boy now!"
Sammy glared at his brother, probably rearing to start something.
"Hey! Easy you two, or the day can end right here," John said. He glanced to his right, meeting Sam's eyes before giving his 'I'm totally serious right now' look across the table to his eldest. "Now, Sammy has to go, and the bathrooms are right there. The bears aren't going anywhere in five minutes."
Dean frowned.
"What if they're like falling asleep now or something?"
"They hibernate in winter, Dean," Sammy said, very patronizing, so John moved quickly and caught Dean's fist before it fully reached across the table.
"Hey! You want to start this here? Because not only will we go home, but all these people are going to be privy to you getting your ass kicked." He released Dean's wrist and his tough teenager was scolded enough to look sheepish.
"The bears should be very awake by the time we get there, son. And if they're not, I'm certain that we can find something else that'll be equally amusing. Until then, toss out your trays and we'll head over to the bathroom."
"But I don't have to go," Dean whined, getting up with his tray and moving over to the trash bin.
"You just had a large Pepsi and most of Sammy's juice, trust me and take a few minutes to let that run through you. Unless you want to head back here when we're halfway across the zoo and you have an accident or something."
Dean gives him a look that clearly tells his father he thinks the man is crazy.
"I'll just wait here."
"No, you'll come with us. You just ate and I doubt you want to walk through a place filled with animals smelling like food."
"Well, I don't want to smell like piss either."
John eyed him then, feeling his patience just about tipped over. Dean started moving towards the bathrooms then, quickly.
He was waiting on Sammy, who kind of had a thing against public bathrooms no matter how badly he had to go. John was getting tired.
When Sammy finally appeared and then had to get all grossed out over the condition of the sink – which considering where they sometimes lived, he didn't see why his son was complaining – he turned to make a comment to Dean and noticed the kid had slipped out.
"Son of a bitch," John growled, grabbing a handful of paper towels and shoving them at Sammy's hands while leading them both outside. He prayed that Dean was smart enough to be waiting out there patiently for them, but that was wishful thinking.
"Dad! I got to throw these away! Stop shoving me! Where's Dean?"
"I don't know, Sammy. Your brother slipped away."
Sammy looked surprised at that, glancing all around them even as John led him over to one of the zoo trash bins.
"Where'd he go?"
"I don't know, Sammy," John sighed. He took Sammy's hand walking them purposely over to the mammal section that held bears and thinking he was going to swat his son, no matter how many people were around because walking off like that was not funny.
And Jesus he thought that his boys were old enough that he didn't have to get into the 'Don't run off' speech with them.
"I can't see him!" Sammy said, starting looking around and behind them frantically. "Where is he?"
They reached the bears and John's heart almost stopped. Dean wasn't there.
Ten minutes later and they were back by that bird building; Sammy didn't even mention wanting to go in there he was so close to tears.
John was passed fed up and edging closer to worrisome by the millisecond. He gave up on aimlessly walking around and walked over to the security stand next to the lost and found.
He released Sammy hand while he passed it through his hair, a motion he did automatically when he was anxious. He kept on talking to the security guard, not even noticing when the warm presence of his youngest left his side.
"He's wearing his dark blue Zeppelin shirt, or is it black?" John second guessed himself. He looked down to ask Sammy and met – nothing. No one was there. "Son of a fucking bitch."
"Sir?"
John looked around, angry and terrified and who knew what else.
"Sammy? He was right here!"
"Your youngest?"
"Yes! What the hell! Why do they keep walking off!"
"Sir?"
John flipped back over to him, about ready to snap at him when he noticed the man pointing at something. He turned around in time to see Sammy, big smile on his face, tugging on Dean's less pleased hand.
He sighed in relief.
"Those them?"
"Yes sir," John said, keeping his eyes firmly on his sons. "Sorry to bother you."
The security guard, Evan Kyle by the name tag, just smiled over at him and nodded.
"No trouble. Glad it was that easy, have a good day now," he said, though he was old enough to pretty much predict that the day for this family was well over.
He got the boys to the Impala before he completely lost it. He was keeping it together pretty well, but Sammy wouldn't stop whining about how they hadn't gotten to see everything yet that he just – well, snapped.
"Enough!" he roared, causing Dean to walk into his side and Sammy to jerk at his hand. "Not another word."
They reached the car and John was glad that no one was out there at the moment. The longer walk over to the car had helped some to calm him.
Both boys tensed when John unlocked the backdoor and took a seat.
"I'm not going to beat around the bush about this, boys. You two are old enough to know that running off is a Huge no-no. I have to know where you are at every minute of the day. No exceptions!"
"Yes sir," they chorused.
"Dean, what the hell were you thinking running off like that?"
Dean turned beet red, embarrassed not just in what he had done but probably in realizing he was going to get his butt blistered first, right in front of Sammy too. Oh well, John didn't have the mind to care at the moment.
"I didn't really mean to. I just went out to wait at the table."
"You weren't there, Dean, so cute the crap and make this short and sweet."
"Um, well someone was already there and, I dunno."
John felt his blood pressure spike.
"You don't know? You don't know? Your legs walk off on their own accord, boy? Because as far as I know, they need a mind behind them telling them to move!"
Dean flinched, and John realized he was maybe being a little louder than he needed to be. Sammy was crying and that was making him feel like crap. He didn't need the whole of the zoo knowing what was going on.
"I'm sorry! I just, I started wandering around! 'M sorry."
It was the wrong answer though, because the thought of Dean mindlessly wandering around was kind of scary. Goodness sakes, he was just fourteen.
John frowned and reached over, grabbing at Dean's dark green (go figure) shirt and tugging him forward until he was over his lap. Dean's feet were slightly up from the ground and his arms rested on the seat.
He dropped his hand in quick succession, as hard as he could with his position and not wanting to smack himself with the Impala's roof. He glanced over at Sammy, his tears falling freely and sniffing quietly from where he stood. John pointed to a tree, not four feet from where they were, practically touching the Impala's bumper. Sammy turned around, heading over to it and leaning his head against its trunk.
John didn't even lose his rhythm as he continued to spank Dean. He didn't trust himself to talk, but he knew that his sons both knew that they had been in the wrong.
The fact that he was spanking Dean, and that his boy was there and whole and safe did wonders in calming him. He was thinking all kinds of things, but he wasn't seeing his little blond baby boy covered in blood in some dank and dark part of the zoo either.
Nevertheless, John glanced over his shoulder, checking that no one was anywhere near them and then looked over at Sammy, making certain he was still there before slipping his hand to the back of Dean's pants and giving them a tug.
The jeans were loose enough that they didn't need to be unbuttoned to come down, but tight enough that they started taking the briefs along with them and Dean whimpered.
"Dad? Please, I'm sorry."
"I know you are, son," John told him, surprised at how calm he sounded and grateful. He didn't want to scare the boy, even as he tugged the clothing down to his knees. "But I need you to understand how completely serious I am in about this."
"I do! Dad ppleease," Dean whimpered.
"We're almost done here, buddy. You're doing great."
Dean started sobbing openly as John resumed spanking on the bare skin. The skin was already a ducky pink/lightish red and he wasn't about to bruise him. John concentrated on making a final circuit before landing the hardest and last spanks to where Dean would feel it the longest, right on his sit spots.
"There," John said, sighing deeply and glancing over at Sammy at the same time. "We're all done here." He pulled the briefs free from the jeans, pushing them slightly lower as he slowly slipped the underwear back in place and helped Dean to his feet.
He kept glancing back at Sammy as Dean undid his pants to get them in place more smoothly.
"Sammy, you alright there?"
"Yessir," he heard sniffing back. So Sammy was still crying, but nothing he could do there. The boy would get a few more tears of his own in just a few minutes.
"Dean," John said softly, tugging at the hem of the kid's shirt. "Please, look at me."
"I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to run off like that! I know better!" John just nodded, opening his arms for Dean to come towards him.
He hugged Dean tightly to him and then sighed in relief.
"I know you know better, and now you've been reminded to do better. That's it. We're done. Okay? I think we had a pretty good day and I rather remember that instead."
Dean nodded, sniffing at his shoulder.
"'M real sorry."
John patted at the sore bottom. Dean squirmed.
"Case closed, bud. Less you want to start from the top again?"
"No sir!" Dean pushed back then, wiping his hand over his eyes. "I'm good."
John peeked over at Sammy, saw him squirming, and looked back to Dean. His son too was looking over at his brother and he had a sad look to his face.
"Hey," John whispered, bringing his hands up to wipe the moisture off from under Dean's hazel green eyes. "His trouble is his own. You paid your price, and we're good. Right?"
"But, Sammy wouldn't have run off if he wasn't looking for me! I don't think tha-
John had Dean back over his lap, with no real intent on spanking him again, but he did place his hand on the warmed jeanclad bottom.
"If things aren't clear for you yet, son, I don't think I did my job right."
"No! Daddy please, we're clear. Honest, I see the light!"
John snorted, dropping one mild swat and then righting Dean up again, grimace still on his face.
"Oww."
"You see the light, huh? Didn't mean to kill you there, sport."
Dean gives him a weak smile but it's enough. He shrugged.
"Trade places with Sammy now."
Sammy's easy enough. The boy dashed right over to him and leaped at his neck, sobbing slightly already.
"Daddy! I'm sorry! Don't be mad at me! I'm sorry! I was sc sc scared. I I'm s sorry."
"Shh, easy, Sammy. Breathe, baby." The kid started sputtering and hiccupping before John even laid a hand to his bottom, and it was going to make the spanking just that much harder on him. Really, why did his boys have to get in trouble in pairs? He couldn't much take this.
"You're fine. That's it, just breathe." Sammy's got most of himself composed, he's sitting on John's lap, letting Daddy wipe at his tears and snotty nose with the handkerchief that smells like him so much it almost makes his youngest smile.
"Baby, you know why you're in trouble. I'm not mad at you. I just need you to learn not to take off like that. You knew I was already worried about Dean, and then you ran off just like he had. That's not safe, son, and you know that. You can't run off by yourself, I need to know where you and your brother are so I can keep you safe. Okay?"
Sammy nodded, blinking up his wet eyes at him.
"Okay then, we're almost done here."
He's had enough practice that it's easily enough to flip Sammy over and not have him hit his head on the back of the front seat of the top of the car. Like with Dean, he started spanking right away.
Dean was still there, squirming by the tree every time that John looked up to check. He was working up quite the sting on Sammy's bottom, but it wasn't nearly as bad as Dean had gotten. The smacks were more noise for both Dean and Sammy's benefit, though he knew they'd create a mad sting that would probably last him until bedtime after sitting in the car for the half hour ride back.
Once he was finished, Sammy was sobbing and he gathered him up in his arms. He noticed a few people walking to their cars, and he didn't feel like embarrassing either boy more so he called Dean back.
Placing Sammy down beside his brother, Dean's arm went across the small shoulders and he dropped a kiss on each of their warm, still alive heads.
"Alright then," John said, kneeling down to get a good look at them. "Well, that's all behind us now, and we can move on. I don't want either of you to ever wonder off like that ever again. Even for a minute. With…with what I do, I have to take special care of protecting you guys and I can't have you endangering yourselves. There are enough bad things out there; you don't need to help them out, okay?"
"Yes sir," the chorused again, their voices sweet elixir.
"Great," he said standing up and motioning towards the car. "Let's head out the-
"Daddy?"
"Yeah?"
"If we're alright now? Do you, um, do ya think we could head back in? We never got to see those bears or the armadillos or the –
Dean smacked Sammy in the head midsentence.
"Dude! You kamikaze or something?"
Sammy looked offended but shut his mouth.
John looked over at the gate doors, then at his sons, then at the car, then the gate and finally, sighing, at his sons.
"Fine."
"What?!"
"Really!"
"Yes, really, WHOAH! You two, back here, what did I just get done saying?"
John's hands were on his hips and he looked deadly. The look on the boys' faces though, made him want to just gather them up in his arms they were so cute. Their scattering though made him want to lay down a few more swats each.
Dean and Sammy linked hands, not even looking at each other but both responding at the same time. Yeah, his kids were cute.
"You behave yourself, and you stick with me. And when we get back home, you've got ten and fourteen minutes in the corner. Got it?"
"Fourteen!"
"Fifteen then," John said, shutting Dean up quickly and knowing he was being way too easy on them.
"Yes sir."
"No problem. Can we go now, Daddy?"
John locked the car door, closing it firmly behind him.
"Sure, let's go. Might as well enjoy what little freedom you guys have left."
Dual groans at the double meaning in his words made the father in him smile.
END.