May 20th excerpt:
Dean rubbed his face. “Okay. We can just…” He looked at the kid again. The little guy was crying while they argued. “Sam, did you hurt him?” Dean held out his hands expectantly. “Lemme see ‘im.”
That got Oscar’s attention. He looked up quickly only to duck his head again, too intimidated by the teenage human. He looked so stern. Ready to scold Oscar for sneaking around in their room to steal food.
Ding ding ding!
You’ve got it! #sb stands for Something Borrowed, and the something that gets borrowed is……..
Jacob!
(Our working titles for this were Borrowed Without Permission and An Unexpected Journey, so you can imagine how fabulous this is going to go for wee Jake).
The rumbling in the floor died out with the giant no longer in motion, and Jacob stared with wide, stunned eyes at the hand that had become a wall to him. He was less than four inches tall; that hand dwarfed him so easily it didn’t even feel real. He could see minuscule scars and calluses in the thick skin, details he probably wouldn’t even notice if he wasn’t so damn small.
Twisting around with the thought of darting back under the dresser, he found another hand blocking his way. Jacob was trapped between hands big enough to crush him with just a few fingers.
That realization settled in the pit of his stomach, and finally prompted him to look up.
Looming overhead was a giant, grinning face, smug for having caught him so easily. Jacob still couldn’t see the real motive in that face, even though he could see more than half of it now. He just saw someone smirking down at him, someone easily twenty times his own size. He was scared.
Legs shaking and nowhere to run to, Jacob held his hands up weakly. “W-wait,” he said, unsure if his voice even carried up enough for the man to hear.
Dean barely noticed Jacob talking, too riveted on the tiny teenager he’d trapped. He moved one of his hands quickly towards Jacob, knocking the kid’s feet out from under him and tipping him onto the palm of his hand with the tiniest yelp of surprise Dean had ever heard. Despite the fact that all of Jacob’s weight tumbled into his hand, Dean could barely feel him lying there.
Fascinated, Dean lifted Jacob up into the air, his intent green eyes taking in every one of Jacob’s few inches. The kid was tiny, not even stretching all the way from one side of Dean’s palm to the other. He was wearing a hoodie, slightly too large for his frame, along with jeans. Dean curiously pinched one of the tiny hands between two fingers, feeling the soft skin and precise movements of little fingers.
“Dude!” Dean couldn’t keep in the exclamation, earning a startled flinch from Jacob. “The news wasn’t kidding about you, was it?”
Since the title was guessed a bit ago, the sneak peek for M&Ms and Lucky Charms has arrived!
Before Sam could try thinking of another method, the door barged open. Jumping slightly in place, he curled his hands protectively around the tiny balled-up kid he’d found, and saw Dean sauntering back in.
“Got some grub,” Dean said, walking past Sam and tossing a package of bread on the table, followed by peanut butter and jelly from his jacket pockets. Last, he pulled out some peanut M&Ms from his back pocket and grinned proudly. “Even remembered the chocolate.”
Sam didn’t react to the food, just watching Dean over his shoulder, still sitting on the ground facing the dresser from catching the tiny kid and wondering how he was going to break this one for Dean.
Naturally, this immediately alerted Dean to the fact that something was off in Sam-land, and he narrowed his eyes at Sam.
“What? No grabbing for the M&Ms?” Dean asked suspiciously. “Whatcha doing down there, anyway?” He stepped closer to Sam, his eyes falling on the cupped hands. “What did you find?” he demanded, squatting down next to Sam. “You know what Dad says about keeping pets!” He went to grab for Sam’s wrist.
Oscar, in all the excitement of being swept off the floor, had forgotten about the other human. How he could forget about the second tenant in the room, he didn’t know. He hadn’t even considered him when thinking about running out in the open for that candy. There was a chance that he’d have been caught by the other kid instead.
The older human was loud. Oscar squeezed his eyes shut as he came nearer, and wished he could curl up into an even tinier ball so he might go unnoticed.
It was no use. He was trapped in the younger human’s hands anyway.
He peeked one eye open to chance a look past his arms, and sucked in a gasp. Another hand, bigger than the ones that held him, was fast approaching. It could snatch him up even faster, and this human might grab him too hard.
He yelped, kicking out to push as far as he could into the curve of his current captor’s fingers. More tears burst out of his eyes and his head hurt from all the pressure, but Oscar couldn’t help it. He waved his hands in front of himself weakly, as if they’d be some defense, and then the moment was over and he was curled up again in his ball of fear.
The cry of fear from in Sam’s hands galvanized him into action, and he squirmed away from Dean’s reaching hand. “No!” he cried out, protesting his older brother’s grab. He twisted out of reach, keeping his hands shut tight around the kid. “You’ll hurt him! I promised!”
There was a moment of silence, and Sam looked over his shoulder to see Dean frozen. “Sam,” Dean said slowly, his eyebrows pinching in concern. “What do you have in your hands?”
It’s time for the sneak peek earned earlier last week for our upcoming debut of Brothers Kept! Starring Stan and his new borrower, A Friend in Need is coming soon!
Under the watchful eye of Dean’s new owner, Dean tried to dodge the girl’s grab out of instinct. The sight of those hands descending sent his pulse skyrocketing.
There was no use in dodging. He stood a very slight 3.82 inches tall, as his records listed, and under 14 ounces. There was no way for him to fight back against even a single wisp of a girl.
The fingers closed in, expertly pinching around his chest to prevent him from running off. The ring finger and pinky curled around his stomach and waist, and he was left with only his legs dangling free, both arms sealed to his sides.
Dean struggled, his face going white as she plucked him up out of the cage and he saw the yawning abyss stretching out under his feet. Probably no more than two feet up in the air, low enough down to have to look up at everyone, but more than ample a height for Dean to be severely injured if her grip slackened. She could even claim it was an accident if she hated him enough.
The box appeared underneath, and those thoughts vanished as Dean was dropped inside, hitting the ground with a small cry of pain he tried to stifle. He leapt to his feet but was too late to try and get out as the darkness over his head sealed him in, blocking out all light except the four slim slits cut into the box for air, one on each side.
Stan somehow managed to turn his grimace into a friendly smile when the attendant stood and handed him the tiny box. He had to remind his stiff arm to relax enough to take it from her.
“If you’ll be needing supplies, you’ll find we have a wide selection of just about everything to take care of the little things. Plenty of nutrients in the food brands we carry, and state-of-the-art–,”
“Actually,” Stan interrupted her again, hoping he looked less green than he felt, “I just remembered, I’ve got frozen goods in the boot, I really should hurry home. But I’ll take care of it soon!"
Flashing her a grin, Stan tucked the box against his middle and headed out of the store before he could be physically ill. He paid no heed to her startled "Take care!” after him.
Artwork and inspiration for the story all from @wolfie180g!
@kajensen07 asked
san – Sam and Nicholas? Even if this isn’t right, I am looking forward to learning more about Jacob’s dad!
You got it!
In Brothers Unexpected, Sam has a lot to get used to. Including Jacob’s father, Nicholas Andris, the person Jacob resembles the most when he grows up, especially in height.
While Sam is but a two-and-a-half inch tall kiddo.
(If anyone’s missed it, there’s a special short story about Jacob and his late father over on deviantart. It happens later along the timeline than where Brothers Unexpected is at thus far. Check it out here and the second part here.)
Nicholas froze in the middle of relaxing into the couch’s worn, comfortable cushions. His heart skipped a beat and he processed what he’d heard, the tiniest little noise that he might not have noticed. Before they found Sam, he definitely wouldn’t have registered the sound.
He glanced around, turning his head to scan the room. He knew Sam hadn’t been on the couch when he came in, so he could at least do away with the frantic worry that he’d nearly crushed the kid. That didn’t write out the possibility that he was under the couch or somewhere near enough that Nicholas’ careless action could have hurt the tiny kid.
“Sam?” he called out cautiously. His deep voice was quiet, but he knew that to Sam it still rumbled overhead. If the kid was hurt or scared, he probably wouldn’t answer.
April 24th excerpt:
Sam looked back to find that the tiny kid he’d discovered running for hiding, and his hunting instincts kicked into high gear.
The kid might look small, and might be harmless, but as John Winchester had told Sam a thousand times, might meant nothing if someone got killed over it. If Sam couldn’t find out for sure this kid was harmless, he needed to treat him as a possible threat. And that meant he couldn’t let him vanish into hiding and possibly lose track of him.
(Story 5 of the Brothers Apart series)
Footsteps follow a girl up the stairs in her apartment and fate hands the brothers a very strange case to solve. While on the hunt, Sam has to come to terms with his size in new ways.
Characters: Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer
Archive of Our Own || Fanfiction || Deviantart
(Story 4 of the Brothers Apart series)
A disturbing dream drives the brothers back to the one place they never thought they’d go again…
Home.
Characters: Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Missouri Moseley, Mary Winchester
Archive of Our Own || Fanfiction || Deviantart
“Dumbass,” Jacob agreed with a sleepy grin. While Dean copied the license plate and navigated to a page where he could track it, Jacob shifted where he sat. He lay down slowly on his back, his head still angled towards the screen as Dean worked. The computer was so huge that Jacob never risked missing much; the internet browser might as well be the horizon.
Exhaustion settled over him like a blanket while warmth radiated up from the computer below. Jacob had been through far too much for one person in the last several days. It was hard to truly get any rest when everything loomed overhead and every shadow promised some kind of threat. In plain view of Dean and surrounded by protective hands … Jacob felt a little safer. Everything still loomed and the shadows still threatened. but at least he knew he didn’t need to be afraid of Dean.
The exhaustion combined with his sense of momentary safety and Jacob fell asleep right there on the laptop, heavy eyelids fluttering closed. His hands rested idly on his stomach until he rolled over on his side in his slumber.
Dean caught sight of the movement down below. A warm smile appeared on his face at the sight of Jacob curling up to sleep. He certainly deserved the rest, after what he’d been through. Dean would make damn certain that nothing happened to him on the laptop. Seeing that Jacob was trusting him like that so freely, Dean felt the weight of his responsibility settle over his shoulders.
Family…
Artwork by @mogadeer
(Story 3 of the Brothers Apart series)
After a routine salt and burn the boys decide to take the night off. Drinking with a four inch tall brother ends with some interesting times.
Characters: Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester
Archive of Our Own || Fanfiction || Deviantart
Artwork by @homeiswheretheheartsare !
Brothers Apart 