September 7th excerpt:
Sam was finally starting to recover on the other bed, huffing with the occasional laugh. “He’s older than you,” he snickered at Dean again.
“Older than you too!” Dean protested in annoyance.
“I’m not the one that decided to start calling him kid!”
“You didn’t stop me!”
June 27th excerpt:
“Well, if you’re not going to tell me your name, I’ll just have to figure out what to call you then,” Sam said glibly. “How about shorty? Short stop? Pint-size? Half-pint? I could go all day with these.” Mischief shone in his eyes.
June 12th excerpt
Jacob gripped the edge of the pocket with a frown, keeping his feet under him no matter how wobbly it became. His grip was sure. “I was doing fine,” he insisted. Then, he realized, “I don’t even know your actual name and you’re already giving me dumb nicknames? Seriously?”
“Hey! That nickname was not dumb!”
They’re on their way!
“We should scout the area before it gets dark,” Dean said, getting up and stretching. “Make sure we find a safe home for the night.”
“Right,” Jacob muttered, a more subdued smile on his face. Regardless of how much trust he’d managed to bargain for himself, the two of them would need some space to themselves. Fascinated or not, he couldn’t deny them that.
“Just keep yourselves outta trouble,” he joked, reaching out to nudge Dean in the side before he was done stretching. As before, he drew his hand back quickly to avoid the retribution that he was sure the little guy would offer. “Gotta be ready for a bit of a hike tomorrow.”
Dean recoiled in surprise, his face falling into a flat expression at the playful gesture. He threw up his arms in frustration at how quick the teenager could move, faster than he could react to. “Well unless the village is a few feet in, I think you’ll be doin’ most of the hikin’, Godzilla,” he retorted in annoyance, his Midwestern drawl thickening.
Sam tried to hide a snicker behind a hand, entertained by the innocent interactions between the pair. He hadn’t been bored once since they met Jacob. “So how far in the forest is the village, anyway?” he asked.
Squeaks McMousie, the one and only!
September 14th excerpt:
“But seriously,” Dean complained, still stuck on the height thing. “You gave me problems about my height when you’ve got this Sasquatch around?” He jabbed a thumb at Jacob. “He’s taller than Sam!”
Jacob frowned skeptically, but resisted the urge to say what immediately came to mind. Of course he was taller than Sam. Aside from being taller than most people, he had a significantly unfair advantage over the sprite-sized guy.
September 13th excerpt:
“One giant walking in the woods makes a racket, but two is almost enough to chase even the clouds away,” Bowman groused, though there was a smirk in his eyes.
“We’ve already been over my ‘stalking’ skills, haven’t we?” Dean asked sternly, the glint in his eyes belying the serious tone he’d taken. He cracked the first grin he’d had that day, glad to see their old friend, hale and hearty despite the trials of the last few weeks. Sam and Dean had very few people they’d consider friends, and Bowman was one of the exceptions who knew and associated equally with both brothers. “Good to see ya, small fry.”
July 19th excerpt:
“We both will,” came a deeper voice, and Sam gave a start, looking up to find just the corner of Dean’s eye looking towards them. It was difficult for Dean to interact with them on his shoulder, but not impossible.
Dean smirked at Sam’s surprise. “Do you really think I can’t hear you there, pint-size?” He shook his head mournfully, a joke sparkling in his eye. “I thought you knew better.”
Sam huffed with frustration, and Walt had to stifle a chuckle at his expense.
July 7th excerpt:
A smirk tugged at the corner of Stan’s mouth as Dean once again exuded that cocky air he’d gotten to know. Before he could even give it a second thought, the hand Dean had been poking swept out, catching those little bowlegs behind the knees and curling his fingers into a low awning over Dean’s head as he fell into Stan’s grasp.
“Oh, my! What have we here?” exclaimed Stan in mock surprise as he lifted his hand to his eyes to peer in at Dean. Behind his smug grin, a warm bubble of pride rose in his chest, glad to be able to do that with none of the apprehension he had before. Even if it was just to rise to Dean’s bait and tease him a bit. “You lost, mousie?”
Dean (as a human): My brother’s a borrower. *uses the nickname constantly*
Dean (as a smol): Fuck that borrower name, who the fuck came up with that shit. Stupid name. *pouts*
Brothers Apart 