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
Teenager Dean dove out of the way when the leafy glider buzzed past him, and the other Dean followed suit as Sam caught the air again, flying so close to him they brushed against the spike of hair on his head. By the time they leveled out, a few feet lower in the air than when they’d started, both Deans were sitting up on the floor, looking dazed.
“Gotcha!” younger Sam called to his older brother from where he was strapped in.
Bowman had to pull to a stop to hover while he and Oscar both let out surprised laughs. Even Jacob had flinched back, though he had been spared from the Sam attack. There might be nothing more satisfying than the sight of actual giants flinching away from a divebomb.
If Oscar wasn’t already so nervous, Bowman would probably make an attempt at a second round for them. They had their eyes on the glider and would never see it coming.
As it was, he dove at a much friendlier pace. Even then, Oscar tensed up.
Bowman banked in a wide circle around the fallen Deans and smirked. “Look at that, Oscar,” he pointed out. “That’s why Sam’s a knight back home. He can take down even the biggest giants!”
Oscar was breathless from all the excitement, but there was still a sheepish grin on his face. He eyed up his own Dean to make sure he hadn’t gotten hurt when he fell over, and then chanced a short wave at him. “Sam’s s-so fast! I thought he was gonna fall!”
Bowman smirked at Dean, flitting away before the human could get any ideas, and caught up with the glider. “Sam uses dives like that all the time in the forest, too. Keeps the glider moving fast, since he can’t flap his wings like me.”
“And I gotta be fast to keep up with the fastest wings in Wellwood!” Sam called over to the others. He circled the table, giving both Deans a wide berth as he sought a landing spot.
“Do we have to land?” Sam asked from behind him, sounding disappointed.
Sam grinned. “Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to fly around again,” he reassured him. “I think Dean’s heart needs a few minutes to calm down after that last attack, though.”
The teenager Dean gave them a flat look as he picked himself off the ground, but he couldn’t hide a smile at how excited Sam was for the flight. “What’d ya think?” he asked as Sam dipped the glider’s wings right as they passed him.
“This is great! ” Sam laughed, loosening his grip around Sam’s neck. “I want to go again!”
“Maybe later,” the older Dean grumbled from the floor. His younger counterpart offered him a hand.
While the Deans collected themselves, Bowman snickered and flitted alongside the glider. This might not be the forest, but he still had to help Sam find a safe landing in case the wind changed. “What’d you think, Oscar?” he asked as they slowly angled around to pull in for a landing.
Oscar was shivering, but more from sheer adrenaline than terror. “I-I didn’t fall,” he announced happily. “It’s kinda fun but maybe I’ll watch next time…”
Bowman ruffled the kid’s hair as they swooped in to land. “You did good helping me keep an eye on them,” he pointed out. Then, his boots hit the table and he stumbled forward with the extra weight before coming to a stop.
Jacob, still sitting at the table thanks to Sam not diving at him, leaned down to offer a smile. “Have fun?” Bowman certainly seemed proud.
Oscar fidgeted as the sprite untied him. “Yeah,” he admitted. As soon as his feet hit solid ground, though, he wobbled and stumbled away from Bowman. The dizziness from swooping and flitting to and fro with Bowman hit him all at once, and Oscar finally plopped down to sit right where he was.
Sam’s landing was smooth, and he quickly unbelted himself. His younger self waited with eager impatience, unable to keep still after all the excitement of flying.
When he was free at last, he ran over to Dean. “Didja see us?” he asked, bouncing on his heels. “We went allll the way around the room!”
“You bet I did,” Dean said, unable to resist Sam’s excitement. He reached around, lightly wrapping a finger around Oscar to keep him on his feet.
Spritely Sam watched them fondly, a bit of sadness in his eyes to see a version of his older brother acting so supportive of him.
“You’ll find him,” came a voice from behind.
Sam looked to see his other self, dressed in the drab colors that would blend into the room, standing there and smiling. “Dean’s out there, I know it,” the original Sam reassured him. “He always finds his way home.”
“You’re acting like I’m some lost puppy,” Dean griped to the side, also keeping an eye on the kids to make sure they were fine after their flight.
Spritely Sam had to smile. “Ain’t you?”
On the screen above the bar, the words The Study of the Four rippled into existence.
“Make–what?!” Oscar’s voice pitched upwards into a yelp as Bowman leapt into the air in one spring, his wings powering downward to propel him away. It took some extra flaps from his wings to really get going with the small extra weight, but just like they’d said, Oscar was light. Barely a hindrance at all to a skilled set of wings like Bowman’s.
He climbed in height to meet the others as the glider dipped down, and soon was focused on the goal. Bowman darted past the teenaged Dean to meet the glider in midair and grab the bar across the top. Any boost he could give it could mean the difference between Sam staying airborne and being forced to glide back to the ground.
As the glider and sprite rose up into the air, the door of the Lounge opened, admitting Dean and his tiny brothers back into the room. They didn’t make it out of the threshold before spotting the strange sight, all three sets of eyes drawn up into the air.
Oscar clung as tightly as he could and shuddered. A part of him marveled that, on the other side of the leaves just below him, Sam was suspended in the air.
Having fun. He’d even wanted Oscar to join him on this daring stunt.
“M-maybe a little fun,” he admitted. Even so, his voice was louder and higher pitched than he’d meant, and it turned into a squeak even as Bowman let go of the glider and swooped to the side to fly alongside the others.
“What do you think?” Bowman asked, directing the question to both Oscar and the younger Sam.
The former hid his face behind his hands, but answered anyway. “Real high up! Feels weird!”
“It’s awesome! ” Sam yelled, trying to be heard over the wind. His arms were tight around spritely Sam’s neck, at this point the older man’s hand on his arm merely preventing him from tightening his grip too far and keeping him from breathing.
“The air in here is pretty good!” Sam called over to Bowman, using his one remaining hand to bank the glider around. “I thought it would be as flat as at night, but this is like being in the village on a good day!”
The one creating the small updrafts that kept the little glider in the air and helped the sprite show off his prowess watched, forgotten in his corner at the bar as he slowly wiped a glass clean. He watched the out-of-place pair with some amusement, finding them very entertaining.
Bowman agreed, and didn’t dare question it. There was a lot about the place that he’d call strange (the closed in walls and corners near the top of that list). He welcomed a bit of familiar as well.
“Oscar, let’s see if we can find an updraft for them,” Bowman encouraged, curling an arm around the young boy tied to him. He got the kid’s attention and saw a question in those wide eyes. A question, and a little fear, but no outright refusal. “I feel out the air to find Sam the best path so his glider doesn’t lose too much air,” he explained. “Come on!”
With that, he pulled ahead of the glider in a familiar motion, one that he and Sam had practiced time and time again. Bowman couldn’t meander as much as he usually did without risking Oscar, but his wings felt out the air nonetheless.
He grinned when he felt it up ahead, and was pleased to notice that they’d caught some attention since their flight began. While everyone watched, Bowman banked slightly to the side, and then soared upwards in an updraft, guiding the other two behind him right into it. He kept his arm curled around his passenger for extra safety, especially when Oscar was brave enough to try to see behind them to watch the others.
Both Sams were grinning madly, matching expressions on their faces as the glider soared around the room, banking gently to overlook the tables. On one, Sam could swear that there was a smaller version of Dean standing and watching them. At another, a different Dean was curiously rifling through a deck of cards to see if they were marked in any way while a third Dean continued to watch from the doorway, not to mention the fourth and fifth close by to their starting point.
“Let’s have some fun!” Sam called over his shoulder to the kid.
The arms around him tightened, and he heard Sam’s voice in his ear. “Whatcha gonna do?” the kid asked, but there was no nerves in his voice, just excitement.
“Watch,” Sam said, letting the glider take itself back to where they’d started. Bowman followed without being prompted, but held back to see what Sam had planned.
He knew it was something.
Both Deans, young and old, were watching the flight of the Wellwood pair and the children. Though there was slight concern in the older Dean’s face, he didn’t seem overly worried they’d get in any trouble.
“Now!” Sam said when they were overhead, dipping the glider forward.
Bowman heaved a sigh. A child wasn’t as light to him as to Sam, though even Oscar was much thinner than he expected. At least, judging by the way Oscar clung the best he could, they didn’t need to worry about him falling off.
Oscar had his eyes shut tight and they hadn’t even gone anywhere yet. A hand settled on top of his head and he looked up in surprise to find Bowman smirking confidently at him. “It’ll be alright, Oscar,” Bowman told him. “I’d never let Birdie fall, and I’ll never let you fall, either.”
There was a pause in which Oscar considered his options. He didn’t have many. He was already tied securely to the sprite. He glanced over as spritely Sam finally began the work of hooking himself into his own glider. They were going to do this. It was a lot more excitement than he’d met with in the Lounge so far, and he wasn’t sure how brave he’d be for it.
“I-I’ll try it for a little while,” he stammered, clinging even tighter. “May-maybe it’ll be fun.”
Bowman snickered. “That’s the idea,” he confirmed. Then, he fanned his wings impatiently. “Soon as Sam gets himself ready over here, we can get going.”
Sam rolled his eyes, the last strap clicking into place. “I’ve got an idea,” he said. He shifted his shoulders. “Hang on, alright?” he told the kid positioned right above him, safely nestled between the canopy and where he hung, hands tight on the bar.
“ ‘Kay!” his younger self said with a big grin, wrapping thin arms around Sam’s neck. It was hard to believe he’d once been that small and light before.
Sam wrapped one hand around his younger counterparts arm to get a good grip on him, then called up “Dean! Mind giving us a hand?”
He was looking at the teenager sitting at the table, staring in awe at his little brother strapped into a tiny glider. “Uh, yeah!” Dean stammered, caught off guard by the sudden attention.
“Just lift us up over your head so I can get some air,” Sam coached, knowing his Dean would want in on this if he was around, so he might as well get Sam’s Dean as involved as he could be.
Two large hands approached from either side, slipping beneath the glider. Sam’s feet left the ground as Dean cupped his hands, and he prepared himself as they lifted into the air. Two green eyes peered under the wings to see where Sam was secured, and the young kid eagerly waved at his older brother.
“Check this out!” Sam called to Dean, stretching his legs and arms (or at least the one arm Sam wasn’t holding tight) straight out to show off. “No hands!”
The twin green orbs briefly rolled. “You’ll take care of him?” he asked Sam seriously.
Spritely Sam nodded, perfectly serious. “Won’t harm a hair on his head. Now hold on!” he coached the kid braced against his back.
The hands rose up into the air, and Sam kicked off Dean’s skin, jumping off the edge like he was up on the ledge of a cliff.
Down on the table, Bowman grinned and tensed. “Alright, Oscar, let’s go make sure they don’t crash,” he announced.
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) ****** Returning Brothers Asunder (Big Jacob, spritely Sam and Bowman)
Sam busied himself checking the last of the belts, giving the last one a sharp yank to confirm it was tightly sealed.
The kid hanging from the makeshift harness laughed as he swayed in place, kicking out a leg to see how solid the belts hold on him was.
More than one person was watching Sam in concern as he went about rigging up his glider so it would soar with a second passenger. Both Dean and his younger, teenager self hovered close by, peering under the glider’s wings to see ten-year-old Sam.
“You sure this’ll work?” the teenager asked, nudging his little brother with a finger and sending him swaying all over again.
Sam grinned confidently, pushing his rapier to the side as he fixed his own belts. “Of course! Normally sprites carry the kids themselves with their belts if there’s an emergency. I always keep extra supplies on hand in case we find someone that needs a lift.” He batted at Sam’s leg and set him swinging a third time, only getting giggles from the excited kid, eagerly awaiting their flight. “The glider will handle his weight no problem.”
“Then we get to fly!” Sam declared from where he was harnessed.
Jacob watched with fascination as the littlest Sam was fastened in. It might never get old to see such tiny harnesses and belts put to actual use. The few times he’d held the glider, it had felt delicate enough to break in a harsh breeze.
But he’d seen it in action. A breeze was just what that glider used to soar like the sprites that took Sam in.
“You’ll fly alright,” he commented. He was as endeared as anyone by the sight of little Sam rigged up in the glider. It was oversized for him by far. “That thing gets some air.”
Oscar, who had held back until then, curiously approached the glider and eyed the belts holding Sam in place. He had to double check. “Might even get too high for a pin and string,” he realized, “so you better hold on tight, Sam!”
“You bet Oz!” Sam giggled, forgetting himself and using Dean’s nickname for the kid. He gave his older counterpart his biggest puppy eyes. “Think Oscar can try after I’m done? Please?”
“Hmm,” Sam pretended to think it over as he gave the glider a few last minute checks. To all eyes, it was in perfect condition. None of the wear from the last few flights out in Wellwood were showing, leaving him to wonder if this strange place they were on had anything to do with it.
“I think we can do you one better,” Sam decided. “We can take both of you up together. Oscar’s small enough for Bowman to carry, no problem.”
Oscar, who hadn’t planned on flying, straightened and stared up at the spritely Sam with wide eyes. “I-I, um,” he stammered, all while his cheeks turned pink. He looked over to where Bowman stood with an eyebrow raised for Sam. “Can you?”
Bowman broke out of his flat look at Sam and offered Oscar a smirk. Volunteered or not, he wouldn’t deny anyone a chance to try flight. “Sure I can,” he said, sizing the kid up. “I used to take Rischa flying all the time.”
“Oh,” Oscar muttered, vaguely remembering who Rischa was. Then he eyed the belts securing Sam in. “Do ya have, um, any extra belts? I don’t wanna fall…”
“Don’t even need one,” Sam breezed past Oscar’s concerns, reaching over and giving a sharp yank on Bowman’s yellow scarf. Bowman didn’t have a chance to grab it back before Sam had claimed it.
The fabric was bright yellow to contrast the greens of the Wellwood outfits, and made to withstand flight. It was exactly like what they used to use for Rischa when she came flying with Bowman, back before her wings grew in.
In a smooth motion once he had the belt in his hands, Sam hoisted Oscar up and held him out to Bowman in spite of his surprised squirms. Bowman rolled his eyes at Sam’s antics, but held out his arms to carefully accept. The moment the sprite was holding the kid, Sam looped the fabric around them both, tugging it until Oscar was firmly held to Bowman’s lean torso. Quick loops around the kid’s arms and then another around them both, and Sam tied off an expert knot he’d learned in Wellwood, sure to pull it tight.
“There we go!” he said cheerily. “Light as a feather.”
“How old are you, Sam?” John asked while he looked around for something to continue Sam’s path. With the kid so open with him, he allowed himself to indulge in the curious questions he hadn’t had time to ask the night before.
“Ten,” Sam answered offhandedly, distracted by his new surroundings. Then, corrected it to “Ten and a half.”
Brothers Apart 