Tag: au lounge

The Lounge || Sams of a Feather (1 of 4)

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Welcome to the AU lounge! A place of relaxation conceived and helped designed by all the readers and visitors to the world of Brothers Apart! Stay awhile, kick up your boots, and have some pie!

Current AUs in the Lounge:

Brothers Together (Teenager big Dean; tiny kiddo Sam; tiny kiddo Oscar)
Brothers Apart (The original Dean and Sam)
Brothers Lost (Big Jacob with the tiny bros)
Brothers Found (Big Dean and Jacob, tiny Sam)
Brothers Adopted (Big Dean, tiny Sam and tiny Jacob)

****** Departing
Brothers Asunder (Big Jacob, spritely Sam and Bowman)

****** New Arrivals

The door to the Lounge opened, and two green blurs swooped in, one spiraling around the other, who kept up a steady pace as he always did.

Sam Winchester, a knight of Wellwood, was surprised to find himself in a darker area, one that had no resemblance to his home in the forest. There, sunlight trickled in through the vibrant green leaves, giving life and warmth to the sprites who called it home.

Here, there were no trees rising up into the air. Instead, walls hemmed them in, containing a large space that was full of massive tables and chairs, laughing voices–

Sam pulled up on his glider, nearly halting in midair as he saw who was in the room.

“D-Dean?” he said in disbelief, spotting a man leaning over a pool table aiming up a shot to sink the eight ball.

Then, he nearly twisted in place, seeing another man dressed just like Dean at the bar, joking around with a slice of pie.

“W-what is this place?” Sam asked, his voice shaking.

“How about you land before asking questions!” Bowman answered, even as he banked around to take hold of the handle bars atop Sam’s glider. With his extra momentum, he dragged the glider forward through the air so Sam didn’t plummet, and aimed them for one of the many tables.

As much as Bowman wanted to meet Dean Winchester himself, he wasn’t about to shirk his duties. When Sam flew with him, they had to look out for each other.

“There’s two blasted Jacobs, too,” he groused as he lead the slow dive to their landing. A glance behind showed that the Jacob they knew was still waiting in the (annoyingly square) doorway.

“Dude, what the hell…” the newest Jacob muttered, staring around the room. Hesitantly, he stepped across the threshold so the door could close behind him, and followed the descent of the two green shapes he already knew among a room full of people he only thought he knew.

The new entrants to the room had not gone unnoticed by anyone. With their green clothing and vibrant wings, they stood out among the drab colors of a dive bar, nearly glowing in the luminescent light.

And, naturally, were recognized.

“Bowman!” one of the Deans called, the one loitering around the pool tables. A broad grin split his face as he saw the sprite landing on the table with a second winged ally.

He didn’t get the sense from Bowman that he was the same sprite they’d met a few cases back, but that didn’t much matter in a place like this.

“Who’s that with him?” Sam asked, motioning for Dean to give him a lift.

Dean scooped him up and dropped him on his shoulder with a bit more casual of a motion than normal. “Dunno,” he said, wandering towards the new trio. His eyes widened as the other person came into focus, removing belts that held him to a pair of wings designed much like Bowman’s.

“Sam? ”

The spritely Winchester looked up, briefly filled with hope as he saw there was a Dean standing there. A mountain of disappointment hit him as he saw a second figure sitting on his shoulder, his face falling. He glanced around, looking for a Dean without a Sam.

But there was none.

“What is this place?” he asked again, looking back at the original Dean and Sam.

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Aww, it would be so cute to have Mel in the Lounge!

The birth itself wouldn’t occur in the Lounge. Gabriel keeps their timelines in stasis so long as they’re inside, so John can rest easy. However long she was around if she’s pregnant, she wouldn’t go into labor.

(She probably wouldn’t like the extra time added to her pregnancy, but at least she won’t remember it when she returns to the real world)

Just imagine that kiddo getting into trouble immediately, wanting to meet all these different versions, smol and tol, of their father. None of the Deans would have any resistance to the kiddo, and even less when they found out that one of them went and had a kid.

BL Dean will be flabbergasted (smols don’t have much in the way of birth control, Mel is likely far less surprised by her pregnancy than Dean would be)

We don’t have minor characters appear in the Lounge currently, but if she ever did reappear and become a reoccurring character in the series, we’ll be seeing her in there, kiddo in tow!

The Lounge || A Dean in the Hand (3 of 3)

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Dean slowly approached the table with a pair of him and a pair of Jacob standing around, then realized there was someone on the table, stalking angrily off like he had the biggest chip on his shoulder.

Past pool balls almost as tall as he was.

“Is that a mini-me! ” Dean sputtered when he realized the guy looked familiar. In fact, identical, once you looked past the handwoven clothing.

“Dude, I was gonna say that,” the taller Jacob quipped, eyeing the littler of the guys on Dean’s shoulder. He offered himself a smile, and got one in return, although the smaller Jacob was still shell-shocked by the strange place.

“Woah, wait,” he said, breaking out of his daze to notice the guy his Dean was staring at. “Is that what you’d look like if you were like us?” he asked. He waved, trying to get the smaller Dean’s attention with a greeting.

All he got in return was the bird flipped at him. “Why is everyone so fascinated by me,” the smaller Dean griped. He grabbed to the edge of the pool table and hauled himself up so he was no longer standing on the green.

“Oh, I dunno,” the original Dean drawled, placing his pool stick back on the rack. “Could be because you’re the only one of us that got cursed?”

The little Dean huffed. “I tried my best!”

Dean offered him a smile and held out his hand invitingly. “Never said you didn’t, shortstop,” he said warmly. “You’re one of us.”

“Just the smallest one of us,” said the younger Dean lurking nearby and keeping an eye on his Jacob, who continued to be on probation.

The newest Dean walked closer, his two little brothers watching avidly. “So… this place is safe for them?”

“Made for us!” Sam called from his perch with the tallest Jacob there.

That prompted the smaller Jacob to glance around and observe more closely. After trying to greet the smaller Dean had backfired, he figured he’d stick with the Dean he knew for now, but his eyes widened when he saw a miniature pool table just like the huge one laid out before them, over on one of the other tables.

“Dude, he’s not kidding,” he told his Sam. He glanced over to the bar, with its miniature stools, and even places for them to climb up with ease. “Holy shit, this is cool!”

“That’s what I said!” the little Dean called over from his place. “See?” He turned his annoyed look up at the Dean who’d kidnapped him from his chosen pool table, and got only a look of innocence back.

The newest Dean in the room chuckled at that, walking over to the table to let his smaller brothers off. “I doubt I’ll fit at the table, but you two could probably manage a game or two without me,” he said wryly.

The television over the bar rippled, and the words The Water’s Fine took over the entire screen.

The pair of cursed brothers, Sam and Dean, along with Jacob, could feel a strange echo inside them at that, and Sam glanced at the door.

“I think that’s our ride,” Sam told Jacob.

Jacob nodded. “Yeah, I guess, time to go find some trouble,” he mused. Back in the real world, they hadn’t gone on a hunt as a team yet. Hell, the Impala was fresh from all the work Dean had had him do on it. Jacob liked the Lounge, but he was ready to see what was next for them.

“Dean, wanna make bets on who’s the big hero in this one?” he joked, holding out a hand for the smaller Dean.

Once he had both brothers back to their perches on his shoulders, the tallest Jacob there bade everyone an amiable farewell wave.

Meanwhile, a much smaller Jacob was making himself comfortable in the Lounge for his stay, climbing down to the table after his Dean helped him there. He glanced between the many tall Deans around, and realized that, despite them all looking identical, he knew which one was his without any trouble. There was just a feeling.

The third and final Jacob, one who was still careful not to crowd any of the little guys, inched closer, still fascinated at the sight of a tiny version of himself. “So … what’s your story?” he asked the three newcomers.

Sam grinned up at him, beyond thrilled to know that there were other Jacobs out there besides his own, ones that managed to escape the curse, whether he’d escaped it himself or not.

“I found Jacob a few years back when he got cursed, and dragged his ass out of the line of fire, and then this guy,” Sam jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Dean, who simply arched his eyebrows innocently and poked Sam in the side, “blunders on in and sticks my adopted brother under a vase…”

The Lounge || A Dean in the Hand (2 of 3)

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The taller of the two Jacobs wandered over last, drawn by the bickering. Sam was back on his shoulder, a good perch for someone his size to still be able to see what was going on. Especially around all these other lookalike Deans. Jacob watched his step as he joined the others there, in case anyone else was also heading in the same direction to see what the commotion was.

Seeing Dean standing on the table, surrounded by pool balls that would outweigh him by several times, made him raise his eyebrows. Glancing between the two taller Deans and finally his younger counterpart, Jacob wondered at the fact that the little guy was … not as upset as he could be.

A number of lectures over his month or so knowing the cursed Dean came to mind. He was definitely taking this prank very well.

Jacob was ready to offer him a hand anyway, and get him out of the dangerous spot, but something else drew his attention. The door to the Lounge opened, and both Jacobs turned in unison to see who else was coming in.

It looked like another Dean, judging just by the posture and the spike of hair on top of his silhouette. What set him apart from the others, though, was the fact that there were two small figures on his shoulder, not just one.

The newest Dean blinked, working to focus on his strange new surroundings. One minute he was in the car, falling asleep under the stars with his two brothers– one related by blood, the second adopted into the family that day– the next, he was here. Fully clothed, his hair a sharp spike, he was certainly dressed for a night on the town.

On his shoulder, Sam wasn’t alone. Next to him was a second familiar figure clinging as Dean took a swaying step into the lounge.

“Dude, come on in!” The original Dean beckoned them over, tossing his pool stick from one hand to the other. “You’ve gotta see this place!”

With him distracted, the smaller Dean set out determinedly for the edge of the table.

The taller of the two Jacobs standing near the pool table kept an eye on Dean for a second, making sure he could get himself to safety unhindered. Then, assured the little guy wasn’t about to tumble into a side pocket, he offered the new Dean a welcoming smile and a wave as he approached. “Just be sure to look out for Oscar. He could be wandering anywhere.”

The younger Jacob forgot his manners in a stunned silence for a second. His eyes were on the new guy’s shoulder and the pair perched up there. “Dude,” he hissed, elbowing his counterpart in the side.

A third Jacob had arrived, and he was cursed-size.

“Holy shit,” both the tallest and smallest Jacob muttered, one amazed and one apprehensive.

The newest Dean blinked as he looked around the room. “Ain’t I seein’ double?” he asked the figures on his shoulder. “Is that–”

Sam shook his head, his hair flying into a mess at the violent action. “That’s Jacob!” he exclaimed, pointing at the shorter of the two, then he hesitated, his arm drooping as he looked at the second Jacob, taller and broader than the first.

As though a six-foot tall Jacob wasn’t big enough.

The Lounge || A Dean in the Hand (1 of 3)

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Welcome to the AU lounge! A place of relaxation conceived and helped designed by all the readers and visitors to the world of Brothers Apart! Stay awhile, kick up your boots, and have some pie!

Current AUs in the Lounge:

Brothers Together (Teenager big Dean; tiny kiddo Sam; tiny kiddo Oscar)
Brothers Apart (The original Dean and Sam)
Brothers Lost (Big Jacob with the tiny bros)

****** Departing


Brothers Found (Big Dean and Jacob, tiny Sam)
Brothers Adopted (Big Dean, tiny Jacob and Sam)

****** New Arrivals

Time, that endless flow that the Lounge existed without, passed outside the doors. Within, the different groups mingled, each with their own stories and tales to tell the others. From time to time, the smallest member of the Lounge, little Oscar whom even the bartender loved to see come around and peek out into view, would have to leave, called by a mysterious summons.

But he always came back, and always went back over to his young Dean and Sam, who were delighted to see him and managed to take away the sadness that fell over him each time.

Between serving whiskeys and pies and mysteriously bussing tables without ever being seen, Gabriel kept a sharp eye on the TV suspended above his bar. On it, the flashing colors belonging to each AU switched between different polls, and he was surprised to see the same group get voted in a second time. Family Ties turned into First Hunt, glowing its win.

Over at the table with the two Jacobs sitting, they watched the tiny Winchesters go through a few games, Dean quickly putting up a better fight now that he knew Sam was his equal at the game. It grew more heated between them, but all in good fun with the occasional call to “Rack ‘em, loser!” when one won.

The original Dean of the crew came strolling over to watch the game, his mouth quirked into a smile as he saw his tiny counterpart clearing the table with one stroke after the other.

Then, to the smaller Dean’s eternal consternation, Dean swept him right up off the table with a shit-eating grin right after his winning stroke sunk the eight ball in the corner pocket.

“What’s the big idea?” Dean griped up at his giant counterpart, batting at the fingers around him. As fast as this Dean was, his grip was always surprisingly gentle.

“Oh, nothing,” Dean said innocently. “Just figured you might want to see how the big boys play.” With a grin, he plunked tiny Dean right down on the pool table, still a mess from an earlier game with the solid balls still on the table, all the stripes gone.

“Jackass!” Dean shot up at him, shoving a yellow 1 out of his way as he stalked for the edge.

To the side, Gabriel watched all the happenings between the groups, always alert for any actual danger between the different sizes. Danger was discouraged, but jokes and pranks…

Well, those were fully encouraged and endorsed.

Both Jacobs were just as surprised by how quickly the larger of the two Deans had just swept up his tiny counterpart. The younger Jacob, still sporting a black eye that was doing a lot better since he came into the lounge, stood from his seat to wander over to the pool. Behind him, the other Jacob held out a hand for the Sam who’d been left on his own.

Young-Jacob stared at the 1 ball as it rolled slowly to a stop only a few inches from where it started. The mini-Dean looked so small among the normal-sized pool balls.

Ever wary of how his own Dean didn’t want him around the little guys, Jacob didn’t immediately move to offer a hand. “I think this table’s more of a football field,” he mused.

“A football field with a jackass giant!” Dean griped up from where he was walking. The edges of the table had places he could climb down without his hook and thread, so that’s where he headed.

The larger Dean chuckled, lining up a shot with the cue ball and lightly nudging it towards the 1. It was barely a love tap, sending the ball into Dean’s way as he stalked by. With a swear, the smaller Dean kicked at the ball.

A second Dean strolled over, his hands in his pockets as he looked over the pool table. “Mini-me’s having some issues there,” he commented to the Sam on his shoulder.

The original Dean frowned at him. “How old are you, anyway?” he inquired as he took aim at the yellow 1 again.

Dean scowled. “I’m 26, dude!” he griped, looking annoyed at the question.

Dean chuckled as he tapped the cue ball again to piss of the smaller Dean. “I’m 27.”

“Yeah, well I’m 28 which means I’m in charge around here!” the little Dean snapped, shoving the cue ball back at his larger counterpart only to make the man chuckle again as he steadied the ball.

While they bickered by the pool tables, the screen above Gabriel flickered, and this time there were four names listed above, flashing as it was decided which one would post next.

Like a Moth to Flame

Sam of Wellwood

The Water’s Fine

Bothering Bowman

Gabriel mused that if Dean couldn’t find his way off the pool table by the time the vote ended, he’d get a free ticket off if his story came up.

The Lounge || Time to Go, Champ

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Interlude

The Lounge was a lively place, but for once Oscar didn’t mind. Back in the motel, if a room was full of humans being loud or boisterous, he had to avoid them at all costs. They couldn’t find out he was there, or he’d be in danger.

It wasn’t the same in the Lounge, where they all knew he was around and they all seemed willing to look out for him. He could walk across the open floor safely, and the most he’d get was a hello from a Dean or a Jacob standing high overhead. He could explore as much as he wanted, and even go get food whenever he felt like it.

When he got a strange feeling in his core that he had to leave, he didn’t like it at all. His eyes strayed to the tall doorway and he frowned.

Beyond this strange place, he would be alone again. Left behind just when he thought he might get to leave his motel and not be afraid anymore. He’d go back to hiding away from everyone and hoping he might find enough crumbs to eat every day.

He didn’t want to leave. It was just like his Dean had mentioned so early on, when others first started arriving. He didn’t want to leave.

Oscar glanced around to see what the others were doing, but no one else seemed to notice anything amiss. With a sigh, he found a space under one of the tables and huddled down. Maybe, if he didn’t come out for a while, it would be like he had left, without actually going anywhere. Maybe.

A pair of shiny black leather shoes and black slacks ambled towards the table. They definitely didn’t belong to any of the Deans or either of the Jacobs. Those guys all wore jeans. Oscar wasn’t the only one, in fact, watching the progress of those steps with rapt attention.

The bartender never came out from behind the bar, it seemed. Until now.

Oscar huddled even smaller as the steps came towards the very table where he hid. He tried to scoot around the base to put something between them, but stopped just as the footsteps did. As he watched, the man knelt down so he could see under the table.

Golden eyes that usually lit up with some hidden mischief fixed on him right away, and Oscar froze. There was almost pity there. He was so surprised that he didn’t even argue or try to squirm away when a hand reached under the table to scoop him up. He clung to the bartender’s thumb as he was lifted up, out from the shadows.

“Hey, champ,” Gabriel greeted him, smirking at the kid. Even to him, a head shorter than any of the other human-sized folk in the Lounge, Oscar was small when seated on his palm. “You got a job to do.”

Oscar huffed quietly and pushed himself to his feet. He felt like it hardly made a difference at all; he still looked so tiny on a hand. Whoever was still watching from other tables could probably hardly see him.

“I … I don’t want to,” he admitted, his voice breaking in the middle. His eyes stung and his vision blurred, but he tried to keep it together. He really tried.

The bartender’s eyebrows went up and he shrugged in a ‘what can you do’ manner. “I know it, kid. I put together a pretty sweet place to hang out. But right now you gotta go.”

Oscar took a steadying breath and some quiet tears raced down his cheeks. He couldn’t quite find the words to explain just how lonely he would be if he left. Here, he had multiple copies of his only friends in the whole world, and then some. Here, he was warm and safe and fed.

“I don’t wanna leave,” he echoed. He didn’t even try to brush away the tears this time and he sniffled. “Why can’t I just stay here?”

Gabriel sighed and his invisible wings shifted uncomfortably. He was all about playing pranks whenever possible. He reveled in the kinds of things humans could come up with on their own, and when it called for it a playful nudge was always ready. And, when he thought they needed to be taught a thing or two, he was right there with a lesson tailor made to them. Just desserts, like a cake with their names iced on the top right before he tossed them into a wormhole (to name one of his simpler examples).

This kid … as far as he knew, there wasn’t a lesson he needed to be taught. He’d definitely earned a chance to stay in a place as awesome as the Lounge, but…

“Sorry, kid. I don’t make the rules … well, I did. But they’re like that for a reason.”

Oscar stared imploringly for a second longer before ducking his head and brushing at his eyes. It only made room for more tears to come, as he all but gave up on his argument. He didn’t have it in him to fight hard like the Winchesters did.

“Woah, woah, buddy,” Gabriel said, interrupting the kid’s crying and ignoring the others completely. “I didn’t say you couldn’t come back, now did I? You just gotta go take care of something and then,” he snapped the fingers on his other hand, “you’ll be back and your friends will be waiting.”

Oscar didn’t look up, but he nodded anyway. He knew the Lounge would welcome him back, but he wished he didn’t have to go. Not back to what he had in his actual reality.

“I’ll getcha to the door, kid. You just gotta walk through it,” Gabriel told him gently. Oscar swayed on his hand as he moved, but Gabriel had steadier hands than any human alive. He knelt smoothly by the door to let the kid step off, never once jostling him on the way.

Oscar stood in front of the huge door while the bartender stood back to his full height and pushed it open with one hand. No one could really tell what was beyond that threshold. It was just outside the Lounge. Nothing more, nothing less.

Oscar glanced over his shoulder to see the others in the room one last time before he faced forward and walked through it.

Follow up question to the Lounge one, will adult Brothers Together Sam, or Wellwood Sam, be taller than the other Sams because he didn’t have to survive on scavenged food since childhood?

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They will not. We’ve kept all the Sams to the same height in the various AUs. Spritely Sam and BT Sam both ate well growing up, much like Sam in canon, and there was never any plan to make Sam different when the series started out, so they’ll all either be 4″ or 6′4″ tall. Taller than all the Deans, and that’s what matters.

I’m rather curious when the 2 human sized, adult Winchesters arrived at the Lounge. That Dean finding out he’s actually shorter than the other human sized Deans because they had access to more food when growing up… at least small Dean won’t be completely alone at being shorter than the others =P

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He’ll only really have to worry about BT Dean, the rest of them retain their original height. And you can bet that BT Dean will be lording it over BA Dean after all the times he told him he couldn’t have a beer at the bar. Getting him juice and sitting him down at the kiddie table. He is never going to let BA Dean forget that he’s the tallest now.

BL Dean and BC Dean will be like fuk you both.

The Lounge || A Jacob a Day (5 of 5)

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Dean replaced the cue ball on the table, and Sam attempted the shot again, this time hitting the ball off one of the solids and sinking it in the pocket. He grinned.

“We found Godzilla,” Dean corrected the younger Jacob, looking away from Sam’s lesson. “Or at least, his pie.”

The so-called ‘Godzilla’ smirked again and shrugged. “Looks like us Jacobs have trouble with first impressions,” he pointed out. “And yet Dean here still gave me a job as their driver.”

Younger Jacob’s eyebrows went up. “You got to drive the Impala?” It was obvious to anyone who saw Dean near that black-and-chrome behemoth that it was important to him. The care that went into that car was meticulous.

“Jacob helped rebuild the Impala,” Dean corrected again as Sam took another shot. “Since Dad didn’t have the heart to drive her anymore.”

Sam sunk a second ball, straightening proudly. Now he was closing the gap between him and Dean. There was a chance he could turn this lesson around on his older brother. He lined up a third shot while Dean was distracted lecturing two Jacobs.

“And now he’s part of the team,” Dean finished, “since we needed a driver. Hey–!”

Dean finally spotted Sam as he sank a third ball, huge grin on his face. “You were saying about lessons?”

The older Jacob smirked. Sam always had that way of keeping Dean in check, especially since his size made him extra hotheaded. Inwardly, he was proud all over again that he’d gotten enough trust to be invited along on hunts with the small Winchesters. His younger self would probably get his own Dean’s trust, eventually.

For now, he was welcome to hang out with them. Older Jacob leaned down slightly to count out what remained on the pool table with Sam slowly turning the tide in his favor. “Got some catching up to do, Dean,” he quipped, knowing it would just rile him up even more.

Younger Jacob cracked a grin of his own. He reached down to the stand where the unused pool sticks waited. It took some work, but he managed to pinch one in his fingers without knocking the others over.

“I got next game,” he jested, brandishing the little thing proudly.

Dean gave Jacob a flat look back, but Sam chimed in, “You bet!” as he sunk his fourth in a row.

“Since when are you a sniper?” Dean bitched as he sized up the table, and Sam missed his fifth hit. “You didn’t even know what chalk was a few minutes ago!”

Sam shrugged. “Beginners luck?”

And he grinned.

“Or just a good hustle,” the older Jacob muttered, his own grin widening. He hadn’t had much chance to get to know this Sam yet. He did know, however, that Sam knew all the precise buttons to push to needle his brother. Growing up together with almost no one else around would do that.

“Good thing you didn’t put anything on the line for this game,” younger Jacob added in.

“Maybe next time,” Sam said, sauntering to the side.

Dean took a few more shots, glowering when he scratched on the second, and Sam took his place. The game was quickly over between the brothers as Sam took out each of his balls one after the other, and the last was a double, and then the eight ball in the corner pocket.

“Rack ‘em, loser,” Sam said jauntily.

The Lounge || A Jacob a Day (4 of 5)

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Jacob mirrored Sam’s smirk, though he tried to make sure Dean didn’t spot it. He took his leave of their table and felt less like he was looming over Sam and Oscar so much. Even up on the table, they could easily fall into someone’s shadow.

He wandered closer to the entertainment area where his counterpart stood. The kid on the arcade machine was intent on it, and Jacob noticed belatedly that someone else was on the mini-version of the arcade console, too. The systems were put together so well that Jacob couldn’t even tell who was playing who.

Getting closer, he realized there were two small figures at one of the tiny pool tables. The other Jacob was absently watching both games, hands in his hoodie pocket.

“Hey,” Jacob greeted, unsure. He couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk to himself face to face, but wasn’t actually sure what he’d say.

The older Jacob grinned. “Hey, dude, good to see another me around. But who gave you the shiner?”

The newcomer Jacob touched faintly at the bruised skin around his eye. “I uh. The Dean I know actually decked me pretty soon after meeting him. Didn’t … make a good impression on him.”

“Score one for the Deans!” Dean called up to the Jacobs as he bridged his fingers on the pool table, pulling back and striking at the cue ball. The tiny clinking of pool balls could be heard from down on the table as he took the first shot, scoring two balls in the pocket holes. “Awesome!” he declared, prowling around the side of the table to size up his next shot.

Sam was standing to the side, absently rubbing the tip of pool stick. Having shrunk at ten, he only remembered a few vague lessons from Dean on the game, all done furtively at the bar while their dad was busy. Dean had declared it time for some overdue lessons the second he discovered there was equipment tailored to their size, including pool sticks aplenty to choose from. He’d tested the heft and weight of a few, finding one that felt perfect to him and had Sam test out some.

Dean lined up his next shot, and sunk it in the side pocket. “See that, Sammy? Just gotta learn from the master,” he said, just this side of preening as he took another shot. This one bounced off, and he surrendered the table to Sam.

“So, Dean got the best of you?” Dean called up to the new Jacob by their table, smirking. “Godzilla over here is regretting the first time he grabbed me, let me tell you.”

The taller Jacob rolled his eyes, but didn’t deny it. Instead, one hand emerged from his pocket and he held it out to show off two healing scars. One adorned his fingertip, and the other had been a nasty gash closer down on his arm. “They definitely make an impression, these Winchesters.”

Younger Jacob’s eyebrows shot up. He held up his thumb, displaying the bandaging wrapped tightly around it. His ‘impression’ from his own Sam was much more recent. “Sam really caught me off guard with his knife,” he agreed mulishly. He knew he’d earned it.

“Looks like your Dean had something to say, too,” older Jacob said with a grin. “Don’t worry. If he’s anything like this guy,” he pointed a thumb down at the tiny, smug Dean on the table, “he’ll probably come around eventually.”

Young Jacob nodded, glancing between the three of them. “So … I’m guessing you found them together?” he asked his older self. “I just found Sam, we had to go find Dean.”

Sam focused on his shot, trying to ignore the banter around him. His pool stick hit the cue ball, and the white ball jumped.

“Scratch!” Dean said sternly. He picked up a tiny blue square from the edge of the table and tossed it at Sam. To either Jacob, it would look the size of a grain of rice, but for the brothers it would serve its purpose. “Don’t rub the chalk off the tip,” he chided as Sam begrudgingly chalked his pool stick. “Try again.”