April 20th excerpt:
Sam drove the final nail in the coffin of his stubborn resistance. “Dean,” he said gently, sitting on the edge of his book with his legs dangling off. “None of us can drive the Impala. If you run yourself into the ground, we’ll be helpless. Please, just eat something.” His eyes, even as small as he was, were wide and round, staring up at Dean beseechingly.
Looks like everyone’s as exited as I am to get a bit more of the BS bros out there! We left Dean hungry, time to go fix!
AU: Brothers Saved
Timeline: Sam is 10, Dean is 14; occurs directly after Brothers Saved 2
Sam’s free hand moved at Dean, and he found himself leaping backwards off the other hand to avoid the grab.
“Whoa!”
Sam froze in place, his eyes wide. There was no mischief hidden in those eyes, just concern and worry.
“You… you wanted food, right?” Sam asked softly. “That’s downstairs. You…”
He trailed off, looking away. Dean followed his line of thought, inserting his own words into Sam’s voice.
You need help getting there.
Dean’s lips thinned into a line. True or not, he was wary of hands that were as big as his entire body. Sam could pinch him between two fingers if he got annoyed, and Dean could remember them arguing on more than one occasion. All it would take was Sam getting annoyed one time, and those hands could turn on him.
They won’t, a small voice whispered in the back of Dean’s mind. He still looks up to you and always will.
Dean wasn’t interested in listening to such a voice, more concerned about his current predicament and how he’d manage to avoid being carried around like a doll. He held his hands up placatingly. “Can’t you just… bring the food up here?” he offered with hope that Sam would go for it.
Dean was allowed that spark of hope for a few moments as Sam thought it over, then it all came crashing down as he shook his head in a negative. “Dad said I can’t leave you on your own,” Sam said. “That means you have to stick with me when I go downstairs.”
Dean swallowed, growing more nervous at the reminder of stairs. Bad enough the bed was tall enough to be a building. Worse to imagine stairs that were higher, and being carried down them.
“N-no,” Dean said shakily. “I’ll wait here. I’ll be fine.”
The hand Sam had resting on the bed came to life, the larger-than-life movements catching Dean off guard and making him jump in surprise. Sam nudged Dean lightly in the side, almost playfully, though he was strong enough that his nudge almost sent Dean tumbling on the plush surface.
“Gonna live your life out on a bed? ” Sam asked, the humor not lost on him. “Dean, you’ve been sleeping for a week and I haven’t dropped you or let you get hurt. I promise I’m careful.”
Dean stubbornly stared down at the bed, refusing to meet Sam’s gaze.
“Please, Dean?” Sam pressed, this time resting his chin on the bed.
“It’s not about that!” Dean protested plaintively, turning around on his heel and walking away from Sam. He knew if he looked into those eyes there would be no saying no. It didn’t matter that his strides were so small Sam could cross the distance in seconds. He just needed space.
“Then what is it about?” Sam asked softly, hearing Dean’s tiny stomach grumble again. It had to really be bothering him if he was ignoring food over it.
“It’s just–” Dean ground to a halt. “Everything’s so big! ” he complained, waving his hand over his head. “You, the bed… It’s all so high, and I can’t do anything now, not even get to the kitchen on my own!” He gulped as he tried to imagine just how far away that would be for him without Sam’s help.
“I’ll be careful, Dean, I promise,” Sam swore, inching his hand closer to where Dean was standing. That tiny back stiffened as though he could hear it, and upon reflection, Sam realized Dean probably could. “You’re safe with me and always will be.”
As gently as he’d ever done anything, Sam laid a fingertip on Dean’s shoulder, determined to not knock him off balance but wanting to offer his support.
Asks and prompts open for this AU!
More coming tomorrow!
April 19th excerpt:
Dean tried to glare at all of them, but it didn’t work while being ganged up on from three different directions. Sam on his own was bad enough. “I’m fine,” he repeated stubbornly, digging in his heels from sheer cussedness. “I’m just… not hungry, alright?”
His stomach disagreed with him, grumbling in aggravation. Dean glared downwards, annoyed with the internal betrayal of his stubborn stance.
Traitor.
April 18th excerpt:
Later on, Bowman had to dodge a surprise projectile, a small ball of paper crumpled up and flicked at him by Dean, seeking a momentary reprieve from the constant tedium of research. Bowman, naturally, was easily riled up by this action and retaliated by retrieving the paper and lobbing it right back at the human, much to Jacob’s entertainment.
Sam rolled his eyes as Dean, a mischievous glint in his eyes, snatched the paper right out of the air, snapping it back at Bowman before the sprite had time to recover from his own throw. Bowman lucked out this time, the shot going wide and missing by a good few inches.
(( Back by popular demand! If you want to catch up on the storyline of these two brothers, check out the link!)
AU: Brothers Saved
Timeline: Sam is 10, Dean is 14
“Tell me everything.”
Dean sat close to the edge of the bed, far enough away to avoid the vertigo looking down had caused him moments ago but close enough to stare expectantly up at Sam.
Nothing in Dean’s voice gave away the fact that Sam towered over him while sitting.
Instead of sitting on the bed like his older brother, Sam leaned against it, putting his eyes only slightly above Dean’s head. There was nothing but concern in those hazel pools, and that alone told Dean how serious things were.
Normally there’d be teasing. Banter. Good-natured jibes between the brothers that came as naturally as the sun rose. Instead, the tension in the air between them was so thick it could be cut with a butter knife.
Sam took a deep breath to steel himself, the humid breeze washing over where Dean sat. Dean refused to let any of his trepidation show. He was the oldest, therefore it was his job to reassure Sam, not the other way around. There was nothing else to it. Dean had spent his entire life looking out for the kid; that wasn’t about to change just because he’d lost a few inches.
Okay, maybe more than a few, Dean admitted to himself like he would admit to no one else, watching Sam fidget in place. The kid could star in Godzilla vs Mothra if he wanted to. Still doesn’t change a thing.
“You… you jumped in front of her attack,” Sam said, softening his voice when he saw Dean flinch. “The room turned white, and when it stopped… you were gone.”
Dean frowned at that. His own recollection from before waking up on the pillow at a fraction of his height was sketchy at best, but that light– an all-encompassing illumination– had haunted his dreams until it became his entire world.
“Dad broke the door down, and everything got real crazy,” Sam went on, looking down. “Everything was loud, she was trying to stop him… and I saw you. Just lying on the floor, barely a scrap of cloth. I… I almost didn’t grab you. I didn’t know it was you until I saw your hair.”
“That’s over now,” Dean said sternly, drawing Sam’s eyes back up to himself. Those huge hazels locked on him, making him stiffen in place.
Dean did what he could to suppress that instinct. This was Sam. They were still brothers. From the look on Sam’s face, the last thing he had to worry about was being in any danger in that gaze.“Yeah,” Sam whispered. He took a deep, steadying breath and his voice was more solid as he continued. “When Dad hit her, her hold snapped, and I fell. I grabbed you, then Dad hauled me up and out of the room.”
Dean didn’t say a word, and he worked to keep any emotion from crossing his face, but he turned slightly ashen to hear how close it had come. Giants fighting, John tossing himself into the fray in his somewhat reckless manner– especially when it was Sam in danger.
“We didn’t think you’d wake,” Sam trailed off. His fidgeting resulted in a hand reaching for Dean, then jerking back like he’d been burned. Remembering Dean’s first reactions to him after waking.
Dean hauled himself to his feet, gesturing for Sam’s hand. Sam hesitated, then put it down next to him. Instead of just touching it with a hand, Dean decided to lean on the hand like it was an offered seat.
“I’m awake now,” Dean said, his tone kind for Sam. “You did what you had to do, and got me out of there. That’s what matters.”
A smile edged its way onto Sam’s face, and Dean knew he was getting through to him.
“Whatever happens, it happens to both of us,” Dean said firmly. A finger beneath him rose up, briefly nudging him off balance, but instead of falling over, Dean found himself sitting further on the back of Sam’s hand. He snorted, then laughed out loud at how ridiculous it was. Dean Winchester, sitting on a hand.
Sam joined in, his laugh deeper and more rumbling than it was before, but just as warm and kind.
As they tapered off, a different sound came, and Sam blinked in surprise.
Dean reddened, holding his stomach. “Do you have any food?” he asked weakly.
Sam’s eyebrows went up as he held in a grin. “Sure thing. Bobby’s got hot dogs in the kitchen,” then snickered.
Some things never changed.
April 16th excerpt:
Jacob looked up in awe. Dean’s boot alone would be impossible to see over. Hell, just the rubber sole was almost as high up as Jacob’s current stature. The towering, jean-clad leg above the boot stretched high overhead. Jacob could scarcely imagine what it’d look like to see Dean standing from a view near his feet. The thought almost gave him vertigo and Jacob had to stare at his knees for a few seconds to let the moment pass.
Unbothered by the size of the boots and the limb before him, Sam came right up to the heel and started the easy climb up to Dean’s knee. He scrambled up the towering leg, fingers easily finding purchase in the thick threads. Jacob was amazed by how quickly Sam climbed up that tower of denim. It was practically second nature to the guy after spending a year around humans. Jacob could even recall a time or two when Sam had climbed up his leg like that.
April 12th excerpt:
Sam was holding his handcrafted knife in front of himself in a defensive position, legs bent in one of the stances Dean had taught him. If he had brighter clothing on, he would fit right in with the action figures they sold at the toy stores around the country, only he was far more realistic.
Dean’s voice went on overhead as Sam started to sweat. “This one we had custom made.”
April 11th excerpt:
Dean went on. “That’s one of our smallest toys. My brother just keeps it around because our dad gave it to him before he passed. I mean, when you hold it up to,” his hand reached into his pocket, “this, there’s really no comparison.”
His fingers looped firmly around Sam’s body. He could feel his little brother trembling even as he was withdrawn into the light. Regret hammered in Dean’s chest in an accusatory pattern. He knew from experience that a child finding him and treating him like a toy scared Sam more than almost anything else, and here they were, pretending he was one. At his size, he looked like a super-realistic action figure. At the moment, it was the only chance they had.
Once Sam was out of the pocket, he froze up. Every instinct in him was screaming at him to get away, get under cover and hide! One human had a hand wrapped around him, another was staring greedily at him like he was the world’s coolest toy.
April 10th excerpt:
“Great,” Dean hissed. He wasted no time scooping Bowman up into his grasp as the explanation sank in. He held the sprite close to his chest, keeping him hidden under the jacket while he scanned their surroundings with paranoid eyes to make sure Bowman’s clumsy, worried entrance had gone unnoticed. None of them could afford him being spotted when everything else was already going wrong.
April 8th excerpt:
“Well, hey, Dean, it looks like you’re ready for some light summer reading,” Jacob quipped while he appraised one of the thicker books, feeling strange that even in a library he had to speak up to have any hope of being heard. The landscape of books was almost cool from this angle, creating a labyrinth of immovable blocks that might as well stretch on forever.
Dean rolled his eyes at that, opening up one of the books for Sam to peruse. Jacob backed away cautiously, keeping himself out of the way. “At least I won’t have a pop quiz to worry about when I’m done.”
Brothers Apart 