Title: Never Too Old
Characters: John, Dean and Adam
Rating: PG
Summary: Dad's away, Sam's at college and Dean decides to play Part 2 in my Adam!Verse
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
AN: I have changed the ages of the boys to suit my evol plan.* waves hand dismissively at canon *
XXX
Adam Milligan. It was a good name. Solid. It had served him well for 15 years but the past three had been living as a Winchester. It had certainly put a spin on the term alternative lifestyle.
His brothers and father treated him no differently from each other despite the fact that he joined their family at the ripe old age of twelve. At least that was what was what he thought. Or at least that was how it had been in the past.
But since Sam had left, nothing had been quite right. Everything he knew about his family was skewed in a way that he couldn't figure out. His oldest brother spent a lot more time drinking than Adam could ever remember and his father spent more time on the road, leaving Dean and him to fend for themselves. It was like whatever sutures had been used to patch up their lives suddenly found themselves dissolving in Sam's wake.
Being alone wasn't all that bad; it was almost a relief not to have his oldest brother breathing down his neck but Adam wondered what his father would say to the fact that Dean spent most of his nights gone, leaving his kid brother to his own devices.
Of course the same could be said about his father.
But when Dad left, for whatever hunt he felt he needed to follow, he expected his oldest to be there for his youngest. The fact that Dean stumbled in more often than not, reeking of whisky and sex was not something Dad was aware of.
It was not something Adam ever expected to bring to his attention either.
His big brother had covered for his ass more than once in his life and Adam figured the Sammy sized wound his brother was dealing with would eventually start to scab over, and then, well he and Dean would be good. That is if he could keep a handle on his big brother, something that did not seem to be going well as of late.
In the meantime though, he just needed to pick up the slack. To handle the shit that Dean should be handling and cover for his big brother. Which is why when Dad called just before midnight, Adam didn't think twice.
"Hey, Dad." Adam tried for a slightly sleepy voice. He was far from asleep. He could never sleep all that well by himself and had been watching Letterman, shotgun propped up against the wall, loaded with iron rounds. So he was twitchy. Sue him. Not having someone around never used to bother him but becoming a Winchester meant that he knew about the shit out there. So hell yeah, being prepared was a smart thing.
"Let me talk to your brother." Dad sounded tired. Abrupt. Not at all unusual.
"He's not here…" Adam started but was interrupted by his father's stilted bark.
"Where the hell is he?"
Adam reeled through a plausible reason that his brother was out so late when he should be sitting at home.
"I wasn't feelin' all that well, Dad. Killer headache, I dunno. We must have gone through the last of the Tylenol so Dean went out to find me a 24 hour pharmacy."
Lying for Dean was a dicey prospect at best and there was risk involved but to Adam's mind there was really no good alternative. Dad would be royally pissed at Dean's lack of responsibility, pissed enough to tear him a new one. That would be bad all the way around because while Dad was on a hunt, he needed to be focusing on the hunt, not his wayward eldest son. Plus Dean didn't need the bullshit of Dad's wrath right now.
There was a moment's quiet on the phone. Adam could almost visualize his Dad's face as it softened. The change in his voice was obvious as well. Dad never liked it when any of his boys were sick. It was funny; Dad might ream them out for fucking up a hunt. Stitches because you didn't have your head in the game could get your ass kicked, but being legitimately sick put his father into protective Daddy mode. Grant you, it usually involved canned chicken noodle soup and a cool rag to the forehead, but his intentions were always the best.
"You okay, son?"
"Yes, sir. Just tired and I wanna sleep and get rid of this headache." Adam wasn't quite sure how a headache would sound but he tried his best.
"Well, you go on back to bed, kiddo. Take that Tylenol if you are still awake when your brother gets back. Let him know I called though okay. It's not all that important."
"Yes, sir."
Adam hung up the phone. He hoped to hell Dean got home soon.
Adam woke late. Far later than he normally did. He wasn't quite sure what woke him either. The late morning summer sun was filtering through the bent window shades and striped bright slashes of sunlight on his face. He glanced over at the other bed in his room. His brother was there, snoring loudly, smelling so strongly of whisky and pussy that Adam almost retched. Dean hadn't vomited, at least not in the room, which was a blessing but damn.
It was then that he figured out what had woken him up. He could hear the heavy footsteps of his father as he headed into the kitchen and then the sound of what was surely water being drawn for coffee.
Another quick look at his brother and his heart sank. Dean was so fucked. So fucked that Adam could not even run the possible scenarios through his head. Just as quickly, Adam realized that he was in hot water too. He had lied to his father last night. Adam sat up on the side of the bed and dropped his head between his knees and then took a deep breath. It occurred to him that it would have been smart to at least have worn sleep pants to bed instead of just boxers.
This was bad.
"Dean." Adam hissed low. There was no movement from his brother's bed. "Dean." Adam tried a little louder and received a low groan for his efforts.
Adam stood and walked over to his brother, sound asleep still wearing just his boxers and what looked to be a gray t-shirt liberally smeared with red lipstick. Between that and the huge purple hickey on Dean's neck it gave little leeway as to what had happened last night. Just as he was about to kick the bed and wake his brother, there was a brief knock on their bedroom door and his father opened it slowly.
Adam jerked his head toward his Dad as the realization of how bad this looked dawned on him
"Hey, Dad." Adam backed a few steps away from his brother, bumping his ass up against the dresser.
"Adam." His father's voice was steely. "It looks like you have recovered from your illness, your brother though. Not so much."
Adam had the good sense to drop his head
"I can explain Dad."
"I'm sure you can." His father said wryly, "And I am willing to bet it's gonna be a doozy but right now I think I want to talk to your brother. That is, if he is in any condition to talk."
"I uh…I don't know."
"I'll find out in a minute. Go on, get on out of here."
"Yes, sir."
Adam slid past his father, keeping his ass well out of range and up against the wall. You could never tell when Dad might decide to impart an impromptu lesson on telling the truth.
Adam grabbed the doorknob as he scooted past, closing the door quickly behind him. He really didn't think the thin door would stop him from hearing what went on in there. And since he was just wearing boxers, it was not likely he could go anywhere so the best he could do was head toward the kitchen and pour himself a cup of caffeine and wait for the fireworks to end. He sat himself down at the scratched Formica kitchen table, circa 1960 and took a deep chug of coffee.
While Adam didn't hear the snick of his father's belt clearing the belt hoops, he sure enough heard the impact of leather on skin.
"Jesus Christ!" Dean yelled, voice thick with sleep and gravel.
Helluva way to wake up.
Adam didn't want to listen, didn't want to hear his 22 year old brother get whaled on by his father but he really didn't have much choice.
"M'sorry, Dad. Really!" Another smack and a corresponding yelp.
Dad didn't bother to lecture and Adam figured that Dean wouldn't be able to wrap his head around it anyway. There was just the methodical sound of belt on ass and Dean's yells, yips and an occasional string of curse words.
Dad didn't spank very often but when he did it was hard as shit. Still it was surprising to Adam that Dean was hollering as much as he was. Adam had watched his father dig a bullet from his brother's shoulder without a lick of anesthesia. That little half hour of hell had elicited nothing more than a few low groans from his big brother.
Finally it stopped and then all Adam could hear was labored breathing from bedroom. He wasn't sure if it was Dad or Dean but his money was on Dean.
"Now, get your ass in that shower and scrub the stink off. Be ready to hit the pavement, boy cause you gotta lot of booze to run outa your system."
"Yes, sir."
Adam watched as Dean limped out of their bedroom. His brother didn't even look in his direction. Whether it was shame or anger, Adam wasn't sure. A moment later his father followed still carrying the belt in his right hand.
Dad nodded to Adam and stepped into the kitchen, carefully laying the belt on the kitchen table.
"You wanna tell me what happened last night?"
Adam wanted to answer the questions truthfully with a no, sir but thought better of it and dove straight into the explanation.
"When you called, Dean wasn't home. I knew he was out cattin' around and knew you wouldn't approve so I covered for him. I'm sorry, Dad."
"So you lied to me."
Adam dropped his head. "Yes, sir."
"Was last night a single episode, Adam?"
Adam nervously jigged his leg under the kitchen table.
"I'm waitin' kid, but I gotta warn ya, I'm not feelin' all that patient right now."
Adam looked at his father's grim expression. There was no wiggle room there, no give and take. Shit.
"No, Dad. Dean's been a bit on the skids lately. Ever since – well ever since…Sam." Adam gulped. They didn't talk about Sam. No one did.
His father took a deep breath and raked a hand across his beard.
"That long huh?"
"Yes, sir."
"So, why didn't I notice before Adam?"
"Well, you've been busy and Dean's been sneaky. I mean. He's waited until you were out of town. He may be dumb, Dad, but he ain't stupid." Adam smiled a bit, hoping it would take the smart ass out of the remark. Dad didn't like smart ass and Adam had to admit that smarting off with Dad after he had just laid into Dean may not have been a stellar move.
"So, every time that he left you alone or went on a bender or came home like he did last night, you didn't bother to tell me?" Dad's eyes were flinty.
"Jeeze, Dad. I couldn't rat him out. Besides you didn't ask so I didn't tell."
"This isn't the fucking service, Adam. Don't ask, don't tell is not gonna cut it here. Your brother has been acting reckless and foolish and you knew about it and never let me know."
Adam nodded solemnly and then cut his eyes briefly to the belt laying on the table.
"That son, is a lie of omission. It's just as bad as a bald faced lie; in fact I sometimes think it is worse. This has been going on for a while. Dean has been hurt and taking chances and you have just been letting it happen. What if your brother hadn't made it home last night? He had to have been pretty drunk. What if he got caught up in something more dangerous than possible unprotected sex? Which by the looks of things, could have easily happened. How would you feel then?"
"Bad, Dad. I'm sorry."
"Not good enough Adam. Sorry isn't gonna make this go away. But I'm gonna cut you some slack and just lick you for the lie last night. I can understand that you wanted to cover for Dean but I asked you a direct question and you directly lied. I won't tolerate that and you know it.
"Yes, sir." Adam gulped and then stood, pushing the chair back. "How do you want me?"
"Over my knee, son."
Adam sighed and draped himself over his father's knees. It was a shitty position to be in but there was not much he could do about it.
Dad lifted his arm and proceeded to spank Adam like there was no tomorrow. Adam was thankful Dad left his boxers up but they provided very little protection from his dad's big assed mitts. Dad didn't lecture him either, much like Dean's recent foray into crime and punishment, he just spanked quickly and thoroughly. Adam was dimly aware of the shower turning off but was too preoccupied to notice much more than that.
It didn't take long for him to cry. It never did. He hated crying, he really did, but it was inevitable. He wasn't ashamed by it, it was simply a fact. If Dad decided you needed your butt blistered, it was gonna hurt and you were gonna cry.
Then there was nothing but the steady application of hand to ass, punctuated by Adam's loud yells.
Finally it occurred to Adam that he was no longer being whacked. He took a deep shaking breath and pulled himself off of his father's lap. That was always a hard thing to do too, he never had been able to figure out how to gracefully climb off Dad's knees after his butt had just been smoked beyond recognition. He sometimes wished Dad would just stand up and roll him onto the ground. That never happened of course, his father could be a hard sob, but he was never mean.
"I'm really sorry, Dad I really am." Adam sniffed hard, knowing he looked a wreck standing in the kitchen in his boxers with tears rolling down his face. "I just wasn't' sure what to do…I wasn't quite sure how to handle it."
Dad pulled him into a brief hug and Adam let him, then his father pushed him back out and dropped his hand to the back of Adam's neck. He father's hand was warm and comforting, although the fact that it was warm was probably due to the fire he just started on Adam's rear end.
"If you don't know how to handle something, kiddo, come to me. It may seem like the wrong thing to do especially if you think one of your brothers might catch hell for it, but I can always help you figure it out." Dad's voice was low and comforting with no hint of the previous anger there.
Then his father did something he did not do often. It shocked Adam a bit.
He apologized.
"I'm sorry, Adam. I was as much to blame as you and Dean. I should've been paying more attention. That doesn't absolve Dean for this shit, nor does it get you off the hook but I do feel partially responsible. I think you and me and Dean are gonna have a big old conversation about this later on." Adam saw that his father started to grin when he noticed Adam's reaction to the word "conversation" "Don't worry kiddo, unless you do something really freakin' stupid between now and then your ass will be safe. Right now though, I'm gonna hit the hay. I told your brother he is gonna run, you don't have to make sure that he does but I expect you to tell me if he doesn't. "
"Yes, sir." Adam nodded, sniffling one more time. "Although I doubt that Dean is gonna disobey you today, Dad."
"I doubt it too." Dad agreed and then headed to his bedroom.
Adam listened to the quiet click as his father's door shut and he breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Adam rubbed his ass hard. Damn that man could hit. He grabbed an extra cup of coffee for Dean and then tentatively headed to their room.
Dean was standing by the dresser, still just wearing boxers but Adam could tell they weren't the same ones from last night. His hair was spiky and wet and there was a towel draped over his shoulders. Adam could see the bright red stripes where Dad's belt had contacted thigh. He hissed sympathetically and handed Dean the coffee.
"Thanks." Dean said gratefully "I surely didn't wanna venture out there again. " Dean nodded to the door. "Is he asleep? Or at least in bed?"
Adam offered a brief nod.
"I'm sorry. Dean." Adam spoke quietly and then waited for Dean's reaction. Mad? Beyond pissed? Or just agitated? Dean waved his hand dismissively and took a welcomed drink of coffee.
"No need, little brother. This is all on me."
Adam shook his head unconvinced. "Nah, Dean. I wasn't much of a brother. I didn't keep Dad from whaling on your ass, you would have found a way to protect me."
"That's just it Ads, there was no protection going on, but that is my job, not yours. I can't believe I just left you here, night after night all on your own. I wouldna done that to Sam and I shouldna done it for you. " Dean chuckled low. "Besides, when can any of us stop the old man when he decides to lay down the law."
Adam pondered his brother's words. "It's not the same, Dean. Sam is well...Sam. You gotta watch out for him, I understand. He's been your brother all along. Me? I'm still a newbie in the scheme of things." Adam dropped his head wondering why he felt so flushed.
Suddenly Dean's voice was hard and low. "You listen to me, ya little shit. It is my job to watch out for you. You're my kid brother and I better not hear that Sam-deserved-it–but-I-don't shit from you again. I fucked up and you suffered the consequences. I mean, look at you. Dude, you got hand prints on your thighs."
"I wouldn't talk, Dean, you got big old belt stripes on yours and if we were to compare asses, I think yours would be redder than mine."
Dean chuffed hard. "Well, maybe, but luckily that ain't happening. My red ass is staying in these boxers." Adam wasn't sure if Dean was referring to curtailing his sex life or just making sure that Dad didn't find out about it. Dean swallowed the end of his coffee and grabbed a pair of sweats out of the dresser.
"So, I gotta run. I don't feel much like it but I sure as hell am gonna do it. Wanna come?" Dean grimaced when the soft sweat pants touched the backs of his thighs.
Adam shrugged and pulled out his own sweat pants. "Yeah, why not. I don't wanna sit around here and besides I like running you down. You don't have my young teenage speed old man."
"Well, I gotta admit, I ain't gonna be firing on all cylinders this morning but I think you know that I can run laps around you on a usual day."
"I think that is just wishful thinking is what I think- but hey, if it helps you to sleep at night."
Adam dropped his ass on his bed with a yelp as he slipped on socks and shoes. His brother eyed up his own bed and tentatively and carefully sat down as well, lacing his shoes up as quickly as he could.
They finished in silence and headed for the bedroom door.
"So Dean? When does this ass beating stop? I mean, I knew Dad would be pissed but I really didn't expect him to tan your hide."
Dean quirked an eyebrow at his brother. "I dunno, dude. Dad hasn't given me 'what for' since I was a teenager. I figured I was pretty safe in that department. " He rolled his eyes and then ruffled a hand through Adam's hair "Apparently I was wrong. Helluva time to figure that shit out huh?"
Adam rolled his eyes as well. This meant that he had at least another seven years of possible butt whippings. "That is not a comforting thought."
"True, but dude, by the time you get to be my age, the old man will be well…old. Maybe he will have mellowed out or something."
"You don't really think that is the truth do ya? " Adam sounded far too hopeful to not really be asking the question.
Dean laughed, a deep belly laugh that sounded good. He clapped his hand hard on Adam's back as they trotted down the steps.
"Hell no, little brother. Hell no."
end