Title: A Christmas to Remember (Winter Challenge 2014)

Author: Remisfriend26

Pairings: Dean/Ben

Characters: Dean, Ben, Lisa, Sam and Amelia mentioned

Type of Spanking: parental, discipline

Implement: hand

Summary: Dean isn't the only one who doesn't enjoy Christmas shopping. Ben hates being dragged round Walmart for the big Christmas food shop and makes his displeasure known throughout the store, much to Dean's embarrassment and Lisa distress.

Word Count: 2805 (for Part 1)

Written for: Winter 2014 Challenge

Team: New World Order Home

The supermarket was mobbed. It was two weeks before Christmas and everyone was out trying to buy in snacks and treats for Christmas. Dean drove round the car park for the third time, trying to find a space. He finally struck lucky and pulled in between the lines, careful to leave room for his baby on either side. He put the brakes on and let out a sigh, pulling his jacket closer around him. Outside, snow was sprinkling the sidewalk, giving the air a cold chill that made Dean grit his teeth and wish he was back home in front of the fire.

Home.

That was still a weird word. He'd spent so much of his life calling cramped, run down motel rooms home that he still couldn't believe he'd been with Lisa for a year now. He still hunted, though rarely, and he knew Sammy was the same. It was a nice change of pace for them, having beautiful women to come home to. It took some of the grimness out of the job somehow, especially when the nights were dark like they were now. Lisa took some of the bone deep chill away, and for that he would be eternally grateful.

Of course, Ben also took away some of the strain that life had placed on Dean's shoulder. Dean loved the kid like his own –still found it hard to believe Ben wasn't his kid with the amount they had in common- but he knew it didn't make a difference. Ben had inherited his love of cars and loved spending time with him, learning how to fix up the impala amongst other things. It reminded him of when Sammy was still young and had looked at him like he was some kind of God…

That had changed, when Sammy started to hit adolescence and frustratingly Ben was going through the same phase. It probably didn't help that things had gotten pretty serious, with Dean moving in and Sam and Amelia moving in further up the street. He could understand that Ben was used to having just his Mom and getting all her attention, but damn it- if he'd done have the shit the kid did when Dad was still around, he'd have been nursing a sore ass for days. Well, had spent half his young life with his butt throbbing, but he'd learnt some manners eventually. Lisa let Ben away with anything: disrespect, disobedience, plain laziness… Her parenting skills consisted of fucking reasoning with him. Dean had been a damn twelve year old boy before, and he definitely hadn't been interested in reasoning with his Dad in the midst of a huff. Until Dad pulled out the big guns, but by then it was usually too late.

Dean had stepped in a few times, when he really felt it was necessary, but generally he liked to think he was pretty laidback. Not just some hard-ass who didn't understand how the kid felt. A couple of things really got on Dean's wick though, and when Ben stepped across the line, Dean had no qualms about hauling him right back to the right side of it. He'd made that clear when he moved in, much to Ben's disgust. Lisa hadn't been sure at first, but the results had been amazing and now it was an unspoken rule in their home. Ben knew what to expect if he went too far, as did his friends. It was commonplace amongst the kids' parents to dole out a sound punishment when it was called for, just like the old days.

Dean shook himself from his thoughts as a car flashed it's headlights at him, clearly hoping for a space. He took the key out the ignition, ignoring the driver's muted cursing, and steeled himself. He's promised Lisa he'd meet them after work to help with the Christmas food shop but wasn't looking forward to it… He hadn't had much experience with Christmas shopping, and if Thanksgiving had been any kind of warning, the next two hours of his life were not going to be something he'd fondly recollect… With a final sigh, he got out the car and gave Lisa a call.

It didn't take long to find the aisle she'd told him she was at, and he walked down the next aisle, rolling his eyes at the sound of a child and mother having a heated discussion. He wasn't expecting to see Ben practically shove his mom in a show of obvious temper. Lisa's stepped back, surprised, but didn't ream him out. Dean watched in disbelief as she told him off weakly, before pointing him towards the trolley. Ben scowled and stamped over to it, arms folded.

He caught sight of Dean and almost managed a smile. Dean caught his relieved expression and smiled automatically as the kid raced over to him. He easily caught the kid as Ben raced towards him, narrowly avoiding him knocking over a display. "Hey, kid. Careful or your mom'll kill us both…"

"Whatever… She sucks."

Dean leaned back to catch his eye and Ben scowled right back up at him. "Ben…"

"What? She does! We've been in forever…"

Dean bit back a smile. He didn't blame the kid for being bored, especially if he'd been dragged round the shop for as long as Dean expected he had. "I know, buddy. But I'm sure your mom won't be long…"

At that moment, Lisa glanced across at the trolley, noticing her son had wandered off. She glanced around worriedly, calling out his name in a panic. "Ben? Where are you?"

She turned and caught sight of Dean, a reassuring hand on Ben's shoulder and smiled in relief. "Dean! There you are… Ben, what did I tell you about staying by the trolley?!"

"But mom, I was just saying hi to Dean!"

Lisa frowned. "I told you…"

"Yeah, well, I wanted to talk to Dean."

Dean raised an eyebrow at Lisa, tightening his grip slightly. Ben winced at scowled at him, folding his arms stubbornly. Dean sighed. "Ben, watch how you talk to your Mom. She just doesn't want anything bad to happen to you."

Dean knew far too much about things going bump in the night to blame his partner for worrying. In fact, it was because of those things that he and Lisa had broken things off for a couple of years… He offered Ben a smile before the kid could say anything stupid. "Hey, Ben? How 'bout we go check out the video games and gadgets? Maybe we could see if there's anything cool to add to our collection…"

Ben's face lit up. He'd recently reached the age where games consoles were starting to become all the rage amongst his friends and Dean and Lisa were trying hard to keep up. Dean had been brought up without that stuff so figured boys could get on just fine without them, but Lisa liked to treat Ben so Dean had gotten used to the idea slowly but surely.

He stopped off to give Lisa a kiss and hug, ignoring Ben's protests. "Hey, babe. How was your day?" She greeted cheerfully, looping an arm round his neck. She loved the smell of motor oil and sweat and manliness on his clothes and breathed in the scent in delight. Dean grinned. "Sweaty. I had a machine that didn't want to play ball today, but we got there in the end… Hopefully I'll have her done by the weekend so I can take Saturday off."

Lisa beamed. Dean rarely managed to take time out at the weekends, so it was a rare treat for them. "Maybe we could go skating with Sam and Amelia. Ben's been begging me to take him to that big ice rink that's been set up in town."

Dean nodded his agreement, looking up with a frown when he heard Ben's voice snapping rudely at someone who stepped in his way. "Give me… I better go before he takes some unsuspecting old lady out. You should really be more firm with him, angel…"

Lisa pulled a face. "I hate getting mad at him. He doesn't mean to act out, babe. He's just bored. A new game for his console will cheer him right up, don't worry."

Dean raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced that was how it worked. His parents… Even when he was a toddler, his mom hadn't let him just snap at innocent bystanders at the shops. And his dad… Shit, he wouldn't have messed with the mighty John Winchester. Not in public. It didn't make a damn bit of difference to his father. Dean blushed in memory and gave Lisa a squeeze, darting after Ben who was now toe to toe with some elderly gentleman.

"…Boy, if you were mine, I'd…"

"Well I'm not yours!"

"Ben!"

Dean stepped between the two, keeping a tight hold on Ben's hood. "What's going on here?"

"Your boy's being a brat to my wife, that's what."

Dean sent Ben a questioning glance, ignoring the comment about being Ben's dad for the moment. He could mull over that later. "Ben?"

Ben scowled at the floor. "She was in my way…"

"Did you say excuse me?"

Ben huffed but didn't speak. Dean gave him a nudge, hoping to prompt an apology.

"Why should I? I wasn't the one shoving my trolley all over…"

"Benjamin Braeden, stop that nonsense now." Dean warned calmly, inserting some steel into his voice. Ben blinked, shooting a glance at Dean. Dean waited him out, meeting his gaze head on. Eventually Ben groaned, offering the couple a quiet, teenage-worthy apology.

Dean grit his teeth but knew it was the best he'd get so added his own, genuine apology to the mix. That seemed to ease the elderly pair, who settled after a few more scathing comments. Eventually Dean managed to guide Ben towards the Entertainment section, pausing long enough to warn Ben that he'd better curb his attitude. Ben didn't seem happy about being scolded publicly but wisely nodded and apologised in all the right places. When Dean let him go, he dashed towards the games and DVD's, like a kid at Christmas. Dean chuckled and followed him, enjoying seeing him so animated.

Ben even managed to forget his tantrum for half an hour, up until Dean told him he wasn't get the $40 game he'd chosen out of all the options. Dean knew it was one of the presents he'd chosen for he and Lisa to give the pre-teen but couldn't tell him that. Ben glared at him in outrage, fists clenched. "I'm getting it" He announced loudly, "Mom'll buy me it."

"No she won't, buddy."

"She will! I'll ask her now!"

"Ben, I said no."

"Screw you, Dean!"

Dean squared his shoulders then, eyebrows raised. "Seriously, Ben? You really want to pick a fight with me in the middle of Walmart?"

"You're being a jerk…. Just buy the damn game!"

Dean couldn't believe what he was hearing. Admittedly, he'd said far worse at Ben's age but that had been part of a different upbringing and he'd been careful who he said those things to.

"No. Especially not when you're behaving like this. Stop it. Now…"

Ben stood and looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then turned to the shelf and very deliberately pushed a stack of games off the shelf before moving to the films. Dean watched in horror as his unofficial son proceeded to ransack and shove at things in a temper that would have made Sam proud. It took him a few minute to snap out of his shocked daze, but when he did, he was livid. "Benjamin!"

Ben turned when Dean made a grab for him, throwing the game at him. Dean caught it quickly, somehow managing to simultaneously grab the furious kid. He saw a stepladder sitting in the corner of the section and decided enough was enough.

He looked round for a store clerk, wincing when Ben went so far as to bite him, quickly deciding he'd deal with damage control after he'd brought Lisa's boy down a peg or two.

"That was a mistake, dude. If I'd done that to my Dad, he'd kick my butt so I didn't sit comfortably for a week. You're headed the same way, buddy. Either this tantrum stops now, or I'm going to drag you to the kitchen department for a wooden spoon to knock some sense into you. Dean felt a few heads turn to watch them in shock but he didn't care. He was furious. And so incredibly mortified at the mess Ben had made. He'd told Lisa to stop spoiling the damn kid!

With that, he hauled Ben over to the makeshift seat in the corner and tugged him over his knee. Ben yelped as he fell across Dean's solid thighs. When he felt Dean wrap an arm around his waist he gulped.

The first smack made him hiss and kick but he didn't have time to protest. Dean set up a fast pace and it was all Ben could do not to burst into tears there and then. He tried to hold his breath, but he could tell from the force of the swats that Dean was mad at him and he hated disappointing Dean. Dean was the closest thing he'd ever had to a real Dad and the thought of letting him down brought tears to Ben's eyes. He felt his anger starting to dwindle as Dean's hand landed again and again against his vulnerable backside and thighs. He glanced up after a few minutes and realised that a number of people had paused in their shopping to nod approvingly at him upended after his tantrum.

He didn't even dare look at the mess he'd made. He could tell from Dean's reaction it was bad.

Really bad.

He blushed bright red and tried to hide his face, starting to feel horrified. How could Dean be doing this to him? Why wasn't his Mom stopping Dean? It wasn't fair!

"DEAAAAAN! Stop already! Owwwww! I'll stop throwing things!"

Another sharp swat to his thighs.

"Owww, stop! You don't have to buy that game!"

"Damn straight I don't, Ben. And I'll decide when I'm done for now."

"But…. People are watching! Lemme up!"

"Good. Maybe that'll inspire you not to pull a stunt like that again in public."

"GET OFF ME!" Ben was close to panic. He'd never been punished in public before and he desperately wanted his Mom to come and make everything better. Dean heard the panic in Ben's voice, right before the tears and mass kicking started. Dean paused, holding Ben in place and waiting out the boy's panicked yells.

"You done?" He asked quietly when Ben seemed to have settled a bit.

Ben nodded then shook his head. "P…please let m…me up. I'll be good!"

"Are you going to behave until we get home and can talk about this properly?"

"B…but… D…D…Dean… You c-can't!"

"Watch me. You've been a brat ever since I got here, and it doesn't look like you'd been doing any better before then. Ben, you know better than to carry on like this. What if you'd thrown something and it had hit a kid and really hurt them? Or if someone had slipped on one of those box-sets and fallen?"

Ben sniffed, feeling well chastened. Dean sighed, rubbing a hand across his stubble. "Ben, I'm really disappointed in how you've behaved this afternoon. I know you're a better kid than this."

That did it.

Ben felt the tears trickle down his cheek, but didn't try to stop them. Dean felt the kid slump and had to hide his wince. He patted Ben's back quietly for a moment before speaking again.

"Come on, it'll be alright. You've earned yourself an early night but it's not the end of the world. We're gonna pick up all the stuff you've thrown on the floor, together. Okay? Then we'll go find your Mom. Sound good?" Dean asked, carefully helping Ben up and pulling the miserable boy into a hug.

Ben nodded silently, sniffing.

"Okay, good boy."

"Ben? Sweetie, what's wrong?"

Ben looked up at the sound of his Mom's voice, reaching for her automatically. Lisa pulled him close, cuddling him close. "Mom…"

"I'm here, it's okay. What happened? Are you okay?"

"Dean hit me…"

Lisa shot a glare at Dean, eyes quietly accusing him.

Dean me her gaze steadily. "Ben, maybe you should tell her the whole story…"

Ben whimpered. He didn't want his mom to be mad at him like Dean was…

Dean slammed the door as he arrived home, trying to let out some of his frustration before Ben and Lisa got back. Lisa had been livid with him for spanking Ben, even though he'd openly told her he'd do it if Ben needed it. Worse yet, Dean had told Ben they'd talk properly at home, but he already knew Lisa was going to refuse to let him take Dean in hand.

Shopping had been awkward at best. Ben had clung to Lisa when Dean suggested he tell her the full story, and even after Ben had admitted his crimes, Lisa had still taken the kid's side and given Dean the damn cold shoulder.

They'd managed to combine forces enough to distract Ben and calm him down, but Lisa had told him under no uncertain times was Ben going home with him so he'd come home himself. He was hurt that she'd reacted; it had been commonplace for spanking to be used as a form of punishment so he didn't get what the big deal was.

Dean sighed, dragging a hand across his stubble. He needed to shave. Lisa preferred when he only had light stubble but right now he didn't give a damn. He decided to get started on dinner, pausing to flick the heating on. There was a chill in the air that made even Dean feel it, which was a rare novelty. He put on his favourite ACDC cd and started making his specialty, chili.

By the time Lisa and Ben arrived home, Dean was feeling a little calmer. The table was set and Dean was in much higher spirits. He was looking forward to dinner being finished so he could chill out with a movie and a beer and forget about his stressful afternoon.

They talked while they put groceries away, but Dean could quickly see that Lisa still had a bone to pick with him for taking matters into his own hands. Ben was still pretty subdued, trying to stick close to both adults without making it obvious what he was doing. Dinner was a sombre affair, and not even the pie could salvage things.

Eventually Dean sighed, putting down his fork. "Lisa…"

"Yes, honey?" Lisa asked levelly, looking at him expectantly.

Dean fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Oh come on, Lis…"

"What is it Dean?"

Ben sat silently, but as their conversation progressed, he started to get wound up. He made sure to scrape his plate loudly, clutching his fork so tightly he was convinced it would bend out of shape. Both Dean and Lisa noticed, but they were too annoyed with one another to tell him off. Eventually he slammed his own fork down, breathing heavily.

Dean and Lisa stopped abruptly, looking at him. "Stop it!"

"Ben?"

"Sweetie…"

"NO! Just stop it! It's my fault!" Ben snapped, pushing his plate away and standing up.

"Ben, honey…"

"Ben, could you go up to your room for a bit, kid? Get ready for bed and someone'll come up soon. Aright?"