Disclaimer: The Winchesters/Weechesters, no-ot mine.

A/N: This little plot bunny would not leave me alone. So, I had to write it... Hope everyone's Halloween (if you celebrate it) is safe and lots of scary fun! As always, be 'ware of ninja typos, they are stealthy little buggers. LOL

"Little Dean's Horrible Halloween"

Sam watched as Dean's face became redder. Grumpy, check, tired, check, frustrated, double check. Dean was the all moody and mopey, the same as he had been since getting out of hell, the only difference was right now all that angst was crammed into a tiny adorable package. Bobby and he had discovered that it was some weird curse that they had been assured would only last one week, so only five more days to go. The first day had been filled continuous griping as Dean tried to figure out what had happened before they had zeroed in on the cause, the second day had been spent with Dean acting more like child than adult, complaining about being bored and needing a nap that he refused to take, while Sam and Bobby had worked to find a way to break the curse. For the most part, the curse seemed to affect his body, shrinking it into what they had guessed to be in the 5-6 age range, but his now and then his mind kept slipping into more childish behavior than normal. Sam was hoping that his brother wouldn't become a real kid in mind and body, although he might be more reasonable as a 5 year old than a 30 year old.

At the moment, they were confronted by the angels needing their help and this was the cause of Dean's face turning more crimson by the second. Castiel was standing like a stiff mannequin in front of them trying to explain in his stern, albeit awkward way why they needed the Winchesters to help them out with some demon on a rampage in this town they were passing through. Sam thought, as he watched the exchange, that Dean was looking more like a small, but highly voalitile, bottle of nitro glycerin that would only need the barest nudge to explode.

Even Sam, who always had more patience, was finding it difficult to contain his annoyance with the condescending speech. The "angels" so far, were only good at three things, acting holier than thou, throwing around dire threats, and disappearing when they were needed. For Sam, the awe of meeting actual angels had worn off pretty quickly, especially when he saw how they treated his brother, like he was just a weapon for them to wield with no care for the person he was. Sam had had enough.

Finally he stood up, interrupting in a loud voice, "Okay. We'll do it." Then while the element of surprise was still on his side, Sam did something he never thought he would do, he snatched up his small big brother and headed out the door, calling back over his shoulder to the gaping trench coated angel. "Meet you back her in a couple of hours." Sam's long legged strides ate up the distance to the Impala, so that by the time Dean was able to sort out what was happening he only had time to let loose a tiny fisted smack to the side of Sam's head that barely stung and a squeaky demand of, "Let me down!"; before Sam was easing him gently into the passenger seat. Sam folded his lips in to keep from smiling at the fractious attitude Dean had adopted; little arms crossed, rosebud lips pushed out in an exaggerated pout, and tiny booted feet kicking at the seat. How could something so angry look so adorable, Sam wondered. He knew his brother was way too small to be riding up front, even if they had a booster seat, he guessed Dean would probably barely tip the scales in the forty pound range, but being injured in an auto accident was the least of their worries right now, besides the fact that there was no way he would be able to keep Dean in the back seat, even for safety's sake.

As he settled behind the wheel, he glanced over to see if little Dean had calmed down any. He hadn't, instead he had turned in the seat to face Sam and actually growled at him with such a fierce look that it made him glad that his big brother was little right now.

"Look Dean, you know they'll just make us do this, so let's just find some sort of costume and get it over with." He tried a firm no-nonsense tone.

Dean rolled his eyes unimpressed and flopped back in the seat with a huff.

Sam stared at him for a moment and then in a cajoling tone offered. "We could maybe get some of that hot apple pie and carmel ice cream they were advertising at that cafe we passed on the way in."

Dean turned back to him with a considering look, finally giving a small nod in agreement, before staring out the side window. Sam shook his head and a smile lit his face, dimples flashing. His big brother was too cute and too hard to resist in this miniaturized size, he couldn't wait to dress him up in some sort of halloween costume. There would need to be lots of pictures taken, because this needed to be remembered.

The good mood had lasted about 30 minutes; about the time it took to consume half a portion of the delicious dessert. Even Sam had enjoyed it, finishing off his own and the rest of Dean's, but then when the shopping for a costume had commenced, the mood had shifted right back to grumpy with a capital G. Trying to find something on Halloween afternoon was a nightmare in itself. There just wasn't much left to choose from in Dean's size; a doctor, a princess, or a puppy. Puppy Dean it was. The costume was fuzzy brown with white spots and zipped up the front like pajamas. Little Dean was freakin' cute, with his big floppy ears, one of which kept falling over his bright green eyes and the short stubby tail that waggled with every step. He did insist on a plastic skull shaped bucket to carry the candy in, because if he was going to be the bait in this hunt and look like a trick or treater, then he for darn sure was going to get to keep the candy as a reward.

Castiel had explained that there was a demon in this town preying on small children and since Dean just happened to be stuck at the moment in such a small package, the angels wanted to take advantage of this and use him to catch said demon. Sam was beginning to wonder if maybe the curse on Dean was not such an accident after all.

OOO

As the sky darkened, all the little ghouls and monsters came out, armed with colorful, holiday inspired bags and plastic buckets ready to be filled with treats guaranteed to induce one hyper and or ill child before the sun came up. When the brothers had met back with the angel, he had directed them to a specific part of town to play bait in. So, here they were, the Winchesters- mighty hunters of evil, surrounded by screaming, happy sounding, costumed children, walking along tree lined streets of apple-pie suburbia, lit by hazy streetlights and bright porch lights. Here they were, participating in the beloved childhood tradition for the very first time and as Sam glanced at his little puppy brother, clutching his skull bucket and practically hugging his leg, he could barely stand all the cuteness of Dean.

"Ya okay there kiddo?" He asked with a smile. Dean seemed to be a little nervous about the whole thing. Shadowed green eyes met his, but he didn't make a sound in reply. In a gentler tone, Sam continued. "You ready to get your candy and catch this thing?" For his trouble, he received a squinty eyed scowl in return. Sam smirked, his brother would be fine.

Dean pushed one of the droopy ears out of his face, straightened narrow shoulders, and gave his bigger brother a nod, before marching down the sidewalk in the direction of the first house. The plastic skull bucket swung and the brown tail swayed wonkily, with every step. Sam quickly snapped a picture and stifled his amused chuckle before Dean caught him.

As Sam followed behind, he contemplated the quietness of the approximately six year old Dean as opposed to that of the grownup Dean. It was a little lonely not having his brother making jokes and smart remarks about anything and everything. Sam was almost ready for the curse to reverse, right after he got a few more pictures. He couldn't wait to share the gems with Bobby.

OOO

After trailing along with a group of noisy, giggling middle schoolers, Dean had his bucket half filled and was falling behind. He looked worn out and it was no wonder, with those short little legs, he was having to take 3 or 4 steps to Sammy's one, just to keep up. Dean seemed really small for a 5 or 6 year old, but that just made him cuter. Sam was starting to think that the whole thing was a bust and was studying the people and houses around them, when he heard a high pitched shout that still managed to be recognizable as Dean's. He turned just in time to see his big/little brother falling, ending up in a heap in a dirty puddle of water near the sidewalk. A small woman dressed as Hello! Kitty, no less, was standing menacingly over his downed sibling. Before Sam could get more than a few steps closer though, Castiel appeared beside the woman and then just as quickly, they both disappeared. With a disgruntled huff, Sam hurried over to the little wet lump, who was making pitiful whimpering sounds and trying to sit up.

Sam eased him up and studied his pale face in the less than bright lights lining the street. He felt anger rise, towards the stupid angel and the kitty-impersonating demon, for having the nerve to cause his little brother to be in pain. A purple knot was already swelling near Dean's hairline and a tiny trickle of blood ran from his bottom lip over his chin, where his teeth had bitten it when he fell.

Dean stared balefully up at his bigger brother, button nose wrinkled, mouth pulled into an angry pout. "I got beat up by a stupid cat and I smell like wet dog Sammy." He grumbled in a squeaky voice.

Sam had to admit, there was a distinctly unpleasant odor emanating from his injured brother, but he was relatively sure it was from the dirty water that was soaking into the costume's fur and not from the costume itself.

"This whole thing was stupid. I don't think they even really needed us." Dean muttered, attempting to stand.

Sam silently agreed, that it did seem a little anti-climatic, as he helped his decidedly soggy brother. Dean seemed mostly all right, just a little shaky from the ordeal. This tiny body was fragile and unable to endure such rough treatment. As Dean mumbled about how much he hated Halloween and angels and demons, Sam spied the skull bucket nearby that had somehow, after being tumbled around, seemed to still contain most of the candy they had gathered throughout the evening. If anything could save this night from being totally miserable, that bucket filled with sweets could.

OOO

After they had arrived back at the motel, cleaned and bandaged Dean, given him a bath (which was a battle royale), and dosed him up on children's acetaminophen, the little guy was sitting like a prince, dressed in yellow pajamas, surrounded by his treasure in the middle of one of the room's saggy beds. Sam watched as he pawed determinedly through the pile of brightly wrapped treats, searching for the perfect one.

A minute later, one little arm shot up in triumph, a bright black and yellow, cellophane encased prize clutched tightly in a mini fist. "Look Sammy, Batman gummies!" He announced loudly, eyes sparkling, a smile lighting up his wan little face. He was still pale, the knot on his forehead deep purple and the usually barely noticeable freckles more pronounced than usual, but the smile made up for it. Sam couldn't even remember the last time he had seen his brother smile like he meant it. He gave his brother a thumbs up and a smile in return.

"Want one?" Dean asked, as he anxiously ripped the package open to get at the bat shaped confections.

"Naw." Sam shook his head, content to just watch his brother as he enjoyed the novelty of having fun. All this sugar would more than likely make for a hyper child later and a tummy ache in the morning, but for now, there were smiles and excitement and a few giggles. The price of a smile might be steep, but worth every bit of the cost, Sam decided, as he settled on the bed next to his brother helping to dig through the colorful pile, in search of the next perfect sweet.

~The End- Thank you for reading and reviewing. Please leave me a "treat", not a trick, if you enjoyed my little ficlet. LOL