Rated G
PACKMATES
Ray awoke with a small gasp and lay quietly in the bed, wondering what had awakened him. A second later his question was answered as he felt a cold wet nose nudge his ear.
Ray sighed dramatically and turned to look at Diefenbaker. The wolf was sitting next to the bed, eyeing him pleadingly.
"What?" Ray whispered.
Dief whined quietly.
"You're kidding, right? You had an entire bowl full of food at dinner time, you don't need anything else."
Diefenbaker stood up and looked over at Ben.
Ray glanced down at his lover, who was sound asleep, his head nestled on Ray's shoulder, his arms around Ray's waist.
"No! I am not going to wake up Benny and ask him for you. He needs to sleep. It was ninety degrees today and he had to stand guard duty for three hours. He's exhausted."
Dief whined again, a little bit louder this time, and Benny stirred and mumbled something against Ray's shoulder.
"Sssh, Benny," Ray whispered, brushing his hand lightly through Ben's hair, "it's okay, go back to sleep."
Ben sighed, then fell silent, his breathing resuming the slow, deep pattern of sleep.
Ray tried to fall back asleep himself, but he was all too aware of the steady gaze of the wolf standing next to the bed. Finally, Ray heaved a huge sigh. Tossing back the covers, he slipped gently from Ben's embrace and got out of the bed.
He stalked into the kitchen followed by Diefenbaker, who was now waving his tail wildly. Ray looked down at Dief's bowls, full of food and water, and sighed in disgust. "You really are unbelievable, you know that?"
Dief just stared patiently up at him.
Ray opened the refrigerator and pulled out a foil-wrapped package. "You pay and pay and pay." He muttered.
Opening the package, Ray placed a helping of the lasagna he and Benny had had for dinner into Diefenbaker's food dish.
Dief gave a quiet bark and attacked the lasagna happily.
Ray re-closed the foil and put the package back in the refrigerator, then sat down in one of the kitchen chairs with a sigh. "I don't know why I put up with you." He told the wolf.
Diefenbaker finished the last bite of the lasagna and looked up at Ray, then licked his chops and moved to his water dish.
"Really. I only put up with you because of Benny, you know."
Dief finished drinking and looked over at Ray with big brown innocent eyes.
"Nope. If you think I'm fond of you, you're wrong. You think I like having wolf hairs all over my suits and my Riv?"
Dief's tail thumped against the floor. "I should never have gotten you that damn wolf license in the first place. Don't snort at me, I mean it!"
Dief tipped his head to the side and gave Ray a knowing look.
"What? You think I like taking you for a walk so early in the morning? Oh, sure, I talk to you, tell you stuff, but that's just out of boredom.
"And yeah, I know I brush you all the time, but I'm just trying to keep your hair under control to save my clothes. Really, Dief, don't think it's more than it is."
Diefenbaker's tail was wagging rapidly back and forth, and if Ray didn't know any better, he would have sworn that Dief was smirking at him.
"Okay, okay! So I bring you those bones every couple of weeks. But what am I supposed to do, just let the butcher throw them out and have them go to waste?"
Dief gave a quiet woof and Ray shook his head. "Oh no! You have no solid proof that toy ball came from me. It could have been anyone."
Diefenbaker walked over and placed his head in Ray's lap and looked up at him with adoring eyes.
"All right, all right. I don't hate you or anything."
Ray gave a dramatic sigh. "I even like you. I've gotten used to having you around."
He started scratching behind Dief's ear with one hand while gently rubbing his head with the other. "But I don't love you. That would be too sick and mushy."
Over on the bed, unnoticed by man or wolf, Ben watched and smiled.
THE END
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