(Story 1 of the Brothers Unexpected series)
Cowritten by @nightmares06 and @neonwrite
After being attacked, Sam wakes up in a dark place, surrounded by strangers. He escapes them only to find that his life won’t be going back to normal any time soon…
Characters: Sam Winchester, Walt Watch, Jacob Andris, Mariana Andris, Nicholas Andris, Dean Winchester
Archive of Our Own || Fanfiction || Deviantart
Artwork by @creatorofuniverses!
And the winning story, with 25 out of the possible 100 votes (it was a very close poll!), is…
After being attacked, Sam wakes up in a dark place, surrounded by strangers. He escapes them only to find that his life won’t be going back to normal any time soon…
This marks the beginning of a new AU, Brothers Unexpected! Where Sam is separated from Dean, but not from humanity, despite his new curse.
Sneak peek:
The blue-eyed man brushed Sam’s messy hair back. “My name’s Walt, and this is Mallory,” he introduced, his voice remaining level. “A few days ago, you and your brother got attacked. Do you remember that?”
Sam nodded mutely.
“That lady… the w-itch…” Walt was uncertain as he enunciated the word as though he’d never said it before. “She hit you with something. Some… spell. After it was cast, your brother couldn’t see you.”
Walt swallowed thickly. “We got you out before you got hurt more… but Sam… your family. They’re gone. The witch ran and they chased her.”
Sam’s eyes started to spill over. “N…no,” he mumbled. “Dean wouldn’t leave me. They wouldn’t abandon me!” By the end, he was shouting, his thin voice going up an octave in his panic. The memories in his mind clamored for attention. They overlapped and caused his breath to hitch.
Both Walt and Mallory flinched at the sound of his shout, eyes nervously flashing to their ceiling. Mallory put a delicate hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Sam, they never wanted to,” she said in her lyrical voice. “They thought the witch killed you and just wanted to…” She trailed off, her eyebrows furrowing uncertainly.
“She cursed you, Sam,” Walt cut in gruffly. “Everyone you knew is a giant. That’s why they didn’t see you and that’s why we had to get you out of there. They’re dangerous.”
A silence stretched out between them. Sam’s hand started to shake, more of the cup crumpling inwards as a tear slid down his cheek. “G-giants?” he asked timidly.
Something in his mind clicked before Walt could get out another word. “No! ” Sam stated firmly. “Dean’s not… Dean would never…” His words jumbled and he started to hyperventilate.
Sam shoved the covers off. His water splashed out of the deformed cup. Droplets of water spilled onto the wooden flooring.
Hot. He was too hot.
The world was too cold but he was too hot.
Walt just barely managed to catch the metal cup as it fell, but it was too late.
Sam stumbled out of the bed… nest… fabric. He almost fell over to dodge a well-meaning grab from Mallory, her face covered with sympathy. Sam squirmed between the two people that had saved his life, his desperation giving him energy to escape.
He needed to go. Dean was out there, he had to be.
Sam just had to find him.
Shoving the fabric draped over the doorframe, Sam ignored the cries of alarm that came from his former room. His eyes darted around the new room, and he quailed at the sight of a penny casually kicked against the side of the wall.
It was large enough to serve as a dinner plate.
No, they’re making it up. They’re lying, they have to be!
As soon as he saw another doorframe, Sam ran for it. He had to get out before they grabbed him and put him back in bed. There might not be another chance for escape. Dean always told him to watch out for himself. A hand brushed reflexively against the knife tucked away in his soft tan jacket and Sam prayed he never had to use it.
There was a block in front of the door. It was heavy, but Sam shoved it to the side. The adrenaline filling him made his hands shaky, but it gave him energy he could draw on. He needed to get away, he needed to escape.
A dark passageway arched overhead. The panic that Sam was drowning in refused to let him really see it. He couldn’t make out the cobwebs that lurked in the unreachable corners. The nails in the wooden walls were bigger than his hand but his eyes just brushed over them. He needed to run.
And so he ran.
Wind whipped Sam’s hair into a frenzy. In the distance, the sound of boots came. He was being followed. Panic lent speed to his strides, and Sam pushed himself like he’d never pushed himself before. It was a race. He needed to find a way out of this dark world before that Walt could catch him. It was as simple as that.
Sam’s eyes flashed from side to side as he searched for a way out. The dark walls were dusty, but footprints could be made out in the thick dust. Sam set himself to following them, driven by desperation. He was only ten, and his legs weren’t as long as Walt’s. If it took him too long to find help, he’d lose the race.
“Sam! Wait up, please! You don’t understand!”
Sam pushed the voice out of his mind and ran even faster, if that was possible. A wood splinter jutted out, nearly tripping the young kid up, but he only stumbled, scraping one hand against the ground. The skin was raw and red as he forced himself to run again.
He spotted a light in the distance, and a tiny bubble of hope filled his chest.
A way out.
There was another shout, but Sam didn’t even hear it this time. The wall gave way to an opening where the light was, and Sam felt triumph fill his chest as it turned out to be warm motel room light. He was safe. He could just walk out the door and go search for…
Any thought he had in mind trailed off as Sam skid to a halt.
Something was more than wrong. The room was distorted, the beds and walls arching up over his head by what seemed like miles. He’d run right past the gigantic nightstand, thinking it was just another hallway, leaving him exposed in the center of the floor.
Sam froze, his entire body filling with fear as he realized that Walt may have been telling him the truth.
You can find more sneak peeks here:
(Story 3 of the Brothers Lost series)
Cowritten by @nightmares06 and @neonthewrite
The newly-minted team of hunters runs into some downtime between cases. Sam and Dean Winchester, cursed to live at a fraction of their original height, agree to a new trip with Jacob; this time on the road home to reassure his mom he’s still alive and kicking.
An uninvited guest throws this family reunion into a mess, and suddenly Jacob’s left alone to piece together what happened…
Characters: Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Jacob Andris, Mariana Andris, Bobby Loran
Archive of Our Own || Fanfiction || Deviantart
artwork by @jennilah / @ask-tinycas
Bobby, naturally, has his own way with the kids, and likely understands how Dean is feeling a lot better. He’s here to support them both!
Tomorrow the story will continue, in Brothers Saved: Hidden Entrances.
Sam and Bobby were quick with the meal. Throughout the preparation time, Bobby hadn’t pried about what upset the young kid, his cheeks bright and splotchy while he blinked more often than usual. It was obvious Sam was trying to recover from whatever John had told him, but Bobby couldn’t hear what had gone down in the library.
Nudging Sam in the arm, Bobby winked at him. “Got some of Dean’s favorite,” he said. “Why don’t you be the one to bring it to him.”
The creases in Sam’s face vanished as he looked up at Bobby finally. Up until then he’d just been punching the ground meat and forcing it into the shape of a patty. Nothing a kid couldn’t handle.
The expression on Sam’s face was so hopeful, Bobby couldn’t stop a faint smile of his own. “You bet,” he said, answering Sam’s unspoken question. He gestured at the bag of food that he’d brought in. “Plenty of bacon he can put on his burger, and some pie for later.”
Sam’s shoulders fell again. “But Dean’s too small for a burger,” he said petulantly. “How’s he ‘upposed to eat it?” His voice hiccuped as he talked, giving Bobby insight that Sam was more upset than he was letting on.
John Winchester needed to figure out a way to relate to these kids without being so hamfisted. Bobby silently swore. One kid was too small to defend himself and the other was much too young.
“We’ll make one special for Dean,” Bobby said, trying to make light of the situation for Sam’s sake. “Just you watch.”
He chided the kid to the sink to wash up, then gave Sam one of the juice boxes they’d picked up on the way back. Considering that John had planned on just leaving the kid with the hot dogs and water for however long it took to hunt the witch down, Bobby had prevailed on him to pick up more useful provisions. Kids needed more than meat and water, whatever John thought they could survive on.
Sam sat at the table, watching with watery eyes as Bobby took one of the burgers and diced it down into much smaller segments. He tested with several, ended up with Sam eating a few of the pieces that didn’t work out, until he had one that stayed together and fit on a small pinch of bun that Bobby judged would come close to the size Dean would need to eat.
Selecting one of the pieces of bacon sizzling in the pan next to the burgers, Bobby handed it off to Sam, keeping the kid involved. “See what you can do with that for Dean,” he encouraged Sam. “He’s probably starved for some real food.”
This got Sam’s first real smile since Bobby had come, and while he finished up the last few burgers, Sam sat there, biting his tongue and delicately putting together the smallest burger so it was just right. A sliver of tomato, the tiniest bit of lettuce, several crumbs of bacon, and the bun pinched around everything.
Bobby was glad to see some life in the younger Winchester boy as he worked diligently on the food for Dean. When he finished prepping the other sandwiches, he handed one off to Sam. “Don’t forget to bring Dean some ketchup,” he advised, adding a bottle cap to the pile and a second juice box. “He’ll feel the better with food in him.”
” ‘Kay,” Sam replied blithely, the pad of his feet running to the library echoing behind him as Bobby followed, suppressing a smile as he heard Sam loudly proclaiming the meal they had ahead of them.
Then Bobby was in the room, handing off a burger to John before he could say a word to Sam about only bringing food for the two of them.
“Hey, Dean,” Bobby said, keeping his voice soft.
Dean glanced up, obviously stiff as he nodded in Bobby’s direction. “Thank you for the food, sir,” he responded.
Bobby had to hide a frown of disapproval at the formal way Dean was talking. It wasn’t like the kid, normally so cocky and full of confidence.
Not a word was said when they shared out the food, but Bobby could see the way that Dean inched his seat closer to Sam’s, sticking close to the person he knew the best.
Bobby would have given anything to be a fly on the wall while Dean and John had been in there alone, just to hear what the man had told his son, considering how fragile Dean’s position currently was and how delicate his state of mind must be.
And we’re back!
It’s been a while since we visited the Brothers Saved pair, and we left them before John Winchester returned home with Bobby Singer, which is right where this fic pics up!
Tomorrow the story will continue, in Brothers Saved: Burgers and Bacon and Bobby.
You can find the rest of their story at Archive of Our Own.
“Sam, we’re back!”
The thunderous voice echoed around the Winchester brothers. Sam perked up as he glanced towards the front door, not noticing the way Dean stiffened to hear their father’s deep voice for the first time since he’d woken up just a few inches in height.
John was an intimidating figure on the best of days, and with Dean’s height cut down to a fraction of his original, that would only be heightened.
“In here!” Sam called, letting the hunters know they were in the library.
Without the ability to go picking through the junked cars out back, there was very little that Dean found interesting to do at Bobby Singer’s house. Due to John’s orders given to Sam before leaving, Dean had stuck close to Sam the entire time since waking up. It helped them both, in a way. Sam didn’t worry so much when Dean was in sight and Dean used it to reassure himself that things weren’t as changed as they felt.
Times like this made Dean doubt that assertion.
Thudding footsteps made their way through the house. One set split from the other, and Dean could hear Bobby in the kitchen, likely fussing over all the calls he’d missed since joining up with John to help the Winchester family.
Part of Dean wished that Bobby had come to see them in the library, the other part of him knew he would have a hard enough time with just one new giant, never mind a second.
He’d adjusted to Sam over the last two days, spending a lot of time within arm’s reach of the younger Winchester kid. Sam had stayed true to his word, and kept the amount of handling Dean to a minimum, letting his older brother decide if he wanted to change rooms or stay where they were. Only a few times had Sam forgot himself and reached for Dean before offering a hand.
They were both adjusting, as best as they could.
When Dean has asked about John and Bobby’s extended absence, Sam had shrugged. “They checked in once a day before you woke up, and Bobby made sure to keep the kitchen stocked,” he’d explained. “They’ll be back soon.”
Now that they were, Dean wasn’t ready.
Plodding footsteps preceding him, the threshold of the door to the library filled with John’s formidable figure. Just over a week ago, Dean was only half a foot shorter than him. Now, he found himself craning his head back to just keep his dad in sight.
“Hey, Sammy,” John said, exhaustion in his voice. “How’re things with–“
Trailing off, John’s brown eyes focused on Dean. Having expected to see the small teenager comatose, it was almost comical to see him do a double-take at the sight of his elder son sitting up on his own, clearly alert.
“Sam! I told you to call us if Dean’s condition changed!” John scolded.
Sam hung his head, his cheeks changing to pink as he flushed. “I forgot,” he mumbled at the ground.
Dean couldn’t stop reaching out and patting the arm Sam had resting near him. With everything going on the last few days and the adjustments he was making, Dean was as much to blame for forgetting to call as anyone. He didn’t want Sam shouldering the blame on his own.
Yet there was a small amount of intimidation that coiled in his stomach and prevented him from speaking up about it as John walked to the table.
All of that fled Dean’s mind as John sat down in the chair next to Sam. Compared to the scrawny ten-year-old, John Winchester was massive, and he leaned over to get a better look at Dean.
Sam sheepishly moved his arm out of the way, trying not to fidget in the seat where he was nearly forgotten about in the wake of Dean’s miraculous recovery.
“How ya feelin’, dude?” John asked in an uncharacteristically soft voice. It was a tone of voice Dean couldn’t remember ever hearing out of the man, at least as far as he was concerned.
Dean clenched his jaw, forcing himself to meet John in the eyes. “I’m fine, sir,” he said stiffly. “No injuries, and Sam’s been careful the whole time.”
John nodded, reaching a hand towards Dean. Dean didn’t let himself flinch away, hating how helpless he felt near his dad.
None of this was right.
All John did was carefully check Dean’s arms and chest for injuries, much like he did with either kid after they took a particularly big fall. Dean had seen him do the same after a hunt, and had even helped patch John back together several times.
Fat lot of good he was now. A needle would be half his size.
John pulled back, and his face clouded over. “I told you to keep us updated while we were gone,” he scolded his younger son, resuming the same conversation as though they’d never stopped.
Sam’s shoulders slouched. “I didn’t mean…”
“You can’t go forgetting something like that,” John said sternly. “Now go help Bobby get the food together. I’ll help Dean.”
Blinking fast, Sam scrambled out of his chair and nearly ran from the room.
Dean watched Sam leave, an odd feeling weighing down his heart.
Not once had John asked him about how things were over the last few days.
Almost as though he didn’t trust Dean.
Betmyfortune asked:
Since you have a Sherlock AU, will the brothers every bump into the Doctor? Because that would be absolutely bonkers.
@borrowedtimeandspace – Bonkers is definitely a word for what that situation would be.
One of our first attempts at a collab was actually a crossover with BA and Doctor Who, with the Tenth Doctor and my borrower OC Zepheera. It was one of my first tries having her play with others, so her and the Winchesters butted heads a little.
Which isn’t to rule out the idea altogether; far from it. I’m sure if we come up with an idea for it, there’s every possibility that everyone’s favorite Time Lord could show up some day. I know I’ve personally grown as a writer since our very first collab, and I feel like I’d be more up to it than when we gave it our first go.
@nightmares06– Since we’re not sure if we’ll ever get back to it, we can give everyone a little peek at what we had in mind!
There’s every possibility that we’ll revamp Brothers Spaced in the future, so don’t count the doc out!
The Doctor entered the room prepared for action, wielding his sonic screwdriver for all the good it might do. He was ready for anything and anyone that might be on the other side of the door, no matter how big or scary they might be.
His brow rose when his eyes fell on the table and found two people that were the exact opposite.
“Oh,” he whispered, frozen in surprise for a moment. Despite having Zepheera for a companion, they rarely ran into more people her size. And the Doctor was certainly not used to being threatened by such a person, however futile the warning might be given the obvious advantage he had over the smaller man.
The Doctor, of course, would never even think of using this advantage to harm the man with the knife or the other that was making himself scarce. He raised his hands in a peaceful gesture and was about to explain that there had been a mistake, but Zepheera beat him to it.
For her part, Zepheera’s heart sank at the sight of two of her own people, clearly only after the food left on the table. She was all too familiar with the emotions she was picking up from them now, the fear and uncertainty that had been ingrained in her since childhood. She should have recognized the signs immediately, but she’d been apart from that life for too long and simply didn’t take everything into account. Now she was partially responsible for their distress, and she decided it was up to her to rectify her oversight.
“Stop!” she called, jumping to her feet and moving along the Doctor’s shoulder to where she could clearly be seen. The Doctor flinched a little at the shout right next to his ear, but he was otherwise motionless.
“Please, we’re not gonna harm you,” she went on. “This is all just a huge misunderstanding.”
Dean tensed at the sight of the tiny girl on a human’s shoulder. He didn’t relax his stance a bit, knowing that all he could do to control the situation was control his own reactions.
“That’s just what you’d say, bright eyes,” Dean snapped at the girl as he backed towards the wall, “if you wanted us to drop our guards. We’re not gonna be turned into some human’s pets.”
anonymous asked:
I was looking at varaciouspanda’s art in deviantart and i noticed you commissioned them to have a big ol dean being checked by a small john Watson. You ever going to do anything with that?
You bet we will be! (Though it’s Sam and not Dean in the pic)
We commissioned this picture of big Sam and tiny John Watson doctoring him, and there are plans in the works for a future story with these two (and of course some others).
Once @borrowedtimeandspace escapes from school, we have many plans we’ve been cooking up that we hope to get to, and I just had to commission voraciouspanda / @justanothergiant when they opened up commissions, they’re perfect at this style scene!
For anyone that hasn’t seen the art–
Sam’s looking pretty sick, and John’s gotta doc!
Artwork by @justanothergiant
thepoisonlily asked:
Does (human) Dean ever buy a kindle or nook for (little) Sam so he can finally read books for fun again or does Sam just use the computer?
Dean hasn’t thought of it, and Sam doesn’t know they exist yet.
Kindles didn’t really become ‘mainstream’ until 2007, and it was a few years after that where they really became popular. Brothers Apart, like Supernatural, starts in 2005, so Dean still has a flip phone during the first few years, and they’re operating on a bulky laptop that he’s had for quite some time.
Sam does take the time to look up books on the computer when he can, and he’s gotten half decent at not getting stuck in books if they start to flip closed on him (Dean’s had to rescue him more than once during research).
It’s just around 2007 as Brothers Apart enters season 3, which is where we left off during the season finale.
anonymous asked:
How does the dynamic of Big Sam/Smol Dean interact with people like Bowman, Jacob, or Nixie?
Lol, these two will be a fun pair once they grow up!
Sam tends to be a bit more hands-off with smols compared to BA Dean. He’s far less likely to just grab, unless they’re a possible threat (he hasn’t dealt with any winged smols, so they’ll get nabbed).
Meanwhile, smol Dean is hyper and very likely to pounce on a stranger, he wants to know where they came from and why they’re here, and they better not be getting into his stuff!
Dean’s had a few less savory experiences with borrowers by the time he’s grown in that AU. People just keep mistaking him as Sam’s pet and trying to ‘save’ him! He’s quite happy sticking with his little brother. Who else is supposed to take care of the kid?
If Jacob’s human-sized, it all depends on how they meet. Dean is still as stab-happy as ever if he gets grabbed, but he’s also conditioned to interacting with humans more than borrowers, so he’s not going to be put off by the kid’s size. He grew up with a Sasquatch, after all.
anonymous asked:
If the brothers got stuck in a djinn dream, what would their dreams be? Would it be different in the particular AUs?
It would certainly depend on the AU in question.
In Brothers Apart, Sam’s biggest issue is the fact that he blames himself for Mallory getting killed. Meanwhile, Dean wishes that Sam had never been cursed and definitely blames himself for not finding Sam before he was dragged from the room.
Every djinn dream would be different, and none of them would be perfect (djinn are so good at that). Like if Dean wished that he’d saved Sam in time, he might end up living in a different version AU… for instance, where he saves Sam at his own expense, or instead of leaving Sam behind, he’d see him and grab him.
Are stories like Brothers Saved and Brothers Together djinn dreams? Are we all in a djinn dream now?
Oh, hey. So I went back and looked in my old BA ideas, and apparently had a bit scripted out for Sam falling into a djinn dream, so have an old drabble!
It’s a bit short, but I like it.
“Dean!” Sam cries out, desperately running along the banister.
I have to reach him… have to help…
He almost doesn’t see the attack coming. A tattoo covered hand tries to sweep him from the railing and only misses when Sam dodges to the side at the last second. Another hand tries to snatch at him as Sam sees Dean rise up, using the distraction provided by his borrower-sized brother to grab the blood-soaked knife from where it fell during the struggle.
Even as Dean plunges his knife into the creature’s back, the fingers brush against Sam with an almost loving caress.
The world fades before he even realizes he’s falling.
~~~
“You haven’t had nightmares like this for years, Sam.” – Mallory in the dream.
Brothers Apart 