Oscar sighed, hearing the sounds of the outdoors he'd been so nervous about that morning. Now it meant they were heading back towards something familiar. He could say a lot about life in the motel, but one thing was for certain. Knowing his surroundings made a big difference. He was exhausted and it was still only mid afternoon.

"I bet it could be real fun to learn about some of the human stuff," he admitted. Though, after the long day in school already, he might not be able to take in any new information. So much of it had tried to cram into his brain already without context or visual aid.

"Usually I just try to figure out schedules and stuff. I know checkout time, and I know when the maids go around, and I know a lot of people stay in the motel for 'skiing.' " He watched glimpses of the sky above while he listed what he'd learned about humans already, all of it influenced of course by the limited crowd that passed through the Knight's Inn.

Sam nodded along. "They like to vacation here," he surmised. "There must not be as much to do in town when it's summer and spring. Even the prices this autumn were really good, which is why dad dropped us off here. They must make their money in the winter." It made sense, if he thought about it. Colorado was a popular state in the winter. After living most of his life in the Impala, from motel room to motel room, he'd never really thought about vacationers.

After all, hunters didn't do vacations.

The closest thing to a vacation that Sam and Dean ever got was the trips to Bobby's. Of all places to wake up for the first time downsized, Sam was glad he'd been somewhere familiar. It was still terrifying, but at least he knew he was safe once he got past the holy shit my brother is a giant he just grabbed me help part.

Traffic rumbled past outside and birds continued their chattering while the hoodie swayed with Dean's hurried steps. Oscar thought for a moment, thinking of his few years aware of how the humans came and went. In the big picture, it really hadn't been that many years since he saw his first human in person (from a vent, of course).

"Y-yeah, there are a lot more in winter," he realized. "I like summer better because it's easier to keep warm, but there aren't as many people I guess. I never noticed before." The only downside to there being fewer guests was that it was less likely he'd be able to find food on a given day. In the winter, people were passing through all the time, leaving their snacks all over. It was easier pickings, but it left him more chances to be spotted so he still didn't take advantage of the dropped food as much as he otherwise might.

He looked over at Sam with wide eyes as he remembered something. "One time, my mom told me there were some that thought it was still too cold so they had an extra heater in their room. It made even the walls kinda warm to lean on from inside."

"It's cold in your home?" Sam asked. He thought about what he knew about the walls, frowning in concentration. At least if he was cold, he had Dean to rely on. He'd slept in a pocket more than once with Dean sprawled out on the bed. The older brother had plenty of body heat to share, and never rolled over while he was asleep. Sometimes the flannel shirt and the pillow just didn't cut it with the crisp fall air starting to show a chill as time passed.

The motel room, at least, was warm. Inside the walls… Sam realized this meant that Oscar didn't get much heat at all during the winter. "But… how do you keep warm at night? Or during the day?"

"Oh, I have ..." Oscar looked down at his hands and started counting up on his fingers. His lips moved a little as each number passed through his head. "Seven, no, eight blankets on my bed. It's a big piece of foam and some cloth, so it helps, too. I make sure my feet are wrapped up at night so they don't get too cold."

As for during the day, Oscar had a number of things he had to do in order to keep his mind off the chill. He always had more weaving he could do, since new clothes and shoes were a worthy effort. His shoes, especially, wore out pretty fast with all the creeping around he had to do. He also often tinkered with the supplies his mother had collected to the side of the house, thinking he might be able to set up things to keep the spiders from encroaching.

In the end, he answered half of Sam's concern. "If I wanna get warm during the day I can go in the vent when the heat is on. Or I find a hot water pipe, those get really warm."

Sam stuck out his lip, not completely happy with the answer. "I hope this winter doesn't get too cold," he said earnestly. "That way you won't have to worry about it too much." Inside, he was wishing Oscar could just come with them. That way, he didn't have to worry about being too cold, or not having enough food, or being all alone.

He could be safe.

Dean arrived at the room, and opened up the door quickly. After an entire day with the others out of sight, he wouldn't mind being able to talk to them. He'd been able to hear them whispering amongst themselves from time to time, but the voices were too soft and too far away for him to make out with the other students around him. The most he'd heard from Sam was a whispered answer during a quiz before he slipped back into safety.

Tossing his notebook onto the bed, he reached behind his head and slipped his hand into his hood. It took a few moments of fishing around, but he managed to get both kids in his hand. He curled his fingers around them and lifted them out.

"Hey, guys!" Dean said the moment his hand was in front of his face. His fingers opened up, freeing them onto his palm.

Oscar tumbled over once Dean's grasp opened up, and he squirmed a bit frantically to right himself. He sat up on his knees with his bag clutched in his arms, a look of pure surprise on his face, widening his brown eyes. After a few deep breaths and some rapid blinks, he slumped a little, disarmed from the initial scare that he'd been unable to help when a hand dove into the hood and rounded them up.

"H-hi, Dean," he greeted, releasing his grip on his bag and letting it settle at his side once more. He knew it was too much to hope the others hadn't seen his startled reaction. But hopefully they wouldn't give him too much grief over it. After all, he couldn't really help it.

Sam was a bit more used to the quick motions like that from Dean, and recovered swiftly. Knowing that the human who had him in a fist would never harm him had made it easy to get used to.

Of course, only Dean would be able to get away with shit like that.

Getting to a kneeling position, Sam put a hand on Oscar's back to steady him. "Mind putting us down?" he asked Dean, spotting how disoriented the other kid was. It was a lot to get used to.

"Sure." The hand lowered down. They were only jarred a little when it touched down against the bed. Dean smirked at them. "Been practicing your art skills on my homework, Sammy?"

Sam flushed red. He'd lost track of where he was the last time they'd worked on homework together. "Thanks for covering for me."

A finger lightly brushed his hair into a mess. "I don't think a doodle will give you away, kid. We're golden."

Oscar stumbled onto the bed, grateful to be on a surface that sat still for the most part. The swaying of the hood hadn't been completely dreadful towards the end of the day. In fact, it had taken on a sort of lulling quality.

But solid ground (or mostly solid, since the bed covers sank under his shoes) had its own charms. Oscar sat down immediately, his legs stretched out in front of himself. He lifted his bag off his shoulder and set it down before releasing a big sigh.

The faded covers were familiar. And the wallpaper, lamps, even the furniture were all familiar. The sounds of the motel were familiar, inside and out. Oscar felt the stress of the day unwinding, even though he was sitting out in the open.

He rubbed one of his eyes tiredly. "That felt like more time than it really was," he pointed out placidly.

Dean bounced onto the bed behind them, sending Oscar and Sam flying up into the air an inch. "It always does," he agreed completely, smirking as Sam tried to get back up again. The smaller brother had his arms out to the sides, trying to keep balance on the plushy surface even as he sent a glare towards Dean.

Ignoring the grumpy kid, Dean grabbed a pillow from behind them and wrapped his arms around it, laying down so he was facing the other two. He rested his head on the pillow. "What did you think, Oz?" he asked. He'd heard them talking all day but he'd never been able to catch the words unless they were said on his shoulder, and all he'd caught from the younger kid was "Ohh, too many," before he'd slid back into the hood for the rest of the day.

Oscar waited until he was certain that Dean was done moving. He'd tumbled around quite a bit, especially after the teen bounced onto the bed and sent the whole surface underneath them bucking up and down. His simple movements translated a lot into the mattress and all the covers. Oscar sat up hesitantly, making sure he wouldn't just fall right over again from a stray movement.

"I, uh," he stammered, feeling sheepish because he knew he'd been beyond nervous in the school all day. Even with Sam's advice in mind, he couldn't help but worry about the high volume of humans in the building compared to how small he felt. "I thought it was kinda loud," he finally admitted.

Sam took a few wobbly steps on the plushy surface, trying to get back over to Oscar after the earthquake with Dean at its epicenter. "You get used to it," Sam reassured the younger kid. "It's only when there's people yelling that it gets really bad." He hid a small shiver, remembering the sight of his dad yelling at Dean. It didn't need to be directed at Sam for it to be terrifying.

Even then Dean had realized it was bothering his younger (and now smaller) brother, and had scooped him up for support. The gesture had done them no favors in John's eyes, but Sam was grateful for it nonetheless. It let him know that even with his family, he had someone who'd always stand up for him. Someone who'd always be there.

He finally reached Oscar again and let himself tumble to the cover next to the other kid. "I had fun!" he said brightly. "I never get to talk to anyone else like that at school."

Oscar smiled faintly and stretched his legs out in front of himself. After sitting huddled in the hood all day, his body was a little stiff. It felt good to have some room again, even if they were at risk of tumbling over a lot if Dean decided to move.

"I guess that did help," he admitted, thinking that if he'd been in the hood by himself all day he might have just gotten himself worked up by the end of it. It could have become very upsetting, without the encouraging words from Sam.

"M-maybe I'll go again sometime," he conceded, his voice quieter and less sure about the idea he was presenting. He may never be over how scary it seemed, but at least he wasn't alone in it.

"Awesome!" Sam said, elated. "I can't wait!"

Even Dean had trouble hiding a smile at that. For a month, Sam had been withdrawn, only opening up to Dean and not even all the way. There were things he wouldn't share with his big brother, either because of fear or worry about what Dean would think about him. Whatever those things were, with Oscar there it was like they had all washed away. He was acting like a kid again, almost for the first time since he'd discovered that monsters were real. For that alone, Dean would always be thankful to Oscar for.

Dean and Oscar were both caught off guard when Sam sprang to his feet on the plushy bed cover. This time around he didn't have a problem with his footing.

Sam tagged Oscar and darted off, glancing back over his shoulder. "Tag, you're it!"

A/N

Next: January 20th