Oscar was getting more and more accustomed to paying attention to the angle of the light that made it into his small home. It wasn't always foolproof, but it gave him a halfway decent idea of when the afternoon was well underway. He could say for certain that noon had passed if the light was reaching the top of his little door.
He got a lot of weaving done during the day. Having more energy than he was used to helped a lot with getting the chores done. He almost had enough material to make himself a shirt.
But, when he thought it might be time to go see if his friends were back from school, Oscar abandoned the task in a heartbeat, hopping up from his seat on the ring box. He grabbed up his bag and was halfway out the door before he even had it secured over his shoulder.
The path to their motel room was ingrained in his head. After a few days spending time with Sam and Dean, Oscar had a spring in his steps as he traversed the dark pathways. Before he knew it, he'd slipped into the vents and jogged over to the opening into the room he'd come to be very familiar with. It was the place his only friends in the world lived, after all.
He hopped over the salt line, remembering it was there by now. He could see Dean seated at the table, and could only assume Sam was up there, too. It was hard to see what they were doing, but Oscar made his way curiously towards the looming furniture (and its human occupant).
"Hi!" he called up when he was closer, his small voice piping up as loud as he could to let Dean know he'd come into the room.
"Hey, Oz!" Dean called back, as predictable as ever with his nickname of the other kid. He squinted down at what he was trying to do, growing exasperated with Sam's constant squirms.
"Y'know, we'd already be finished if you'd just sit still," Dean griped at his younger brother, nudging him back with a finger. His other hand held a tape measure over Sam's head, trying to see how much he'd grown since the last time they'd measured him a few weeks back.
Sam batted at his finger. "Nuh-uh!" he protested. "Besides, what's the point? I'm not gonna grow as tall as you anyway, why's it matter if I grew a little bit?"
Dean threw him a look of annoyance. "The point is we need to make sure the curse didn't stop you from growing at all!" he bit back, then caught himself, remembering they had a visitor. He nudged Sam one last time for good measure. "Don't go anywhere, pipsqueak."
With that, Dean peered down at the floor, spotting the small child that was out in the open just to see them. He gave Oscar a huge grin. "Want a ride?" he offered easily. "You don't want to miss the show up here." Dean didn't pay any mind to the annoyed glare thrown his way by Sam at that statement.
"Okay," Oscar answered easily. He covered the last few feet of distance to stand near enough to Dean's chair for the older kid to be able to reach him. He'd learned the distance already, having visited so many times. Oscar didn't even mind so much anymore, accepting a helping hand from Dean.
One hand idly grasped the strap of his cloth bag as a hand big enough to be a bed eclipsed sight of Dean's face for a moment. In no time, Oscar was gathered up in that hand and lifted carefully to the tabletop, where he squirmed a little to hop down to the surface.
A very odd sight greeted him, and he glanced between the two brothers, Dean in his chair looking over them and Sam near the tape measure that Dean held. "What's the show?" he asked curiously.
"Oh, just seeing if this one," Dean poked Sam back into place as he got his hand back, "has grown at all since he got cursed. We need to make sure she didn't screw anything else up on us."
"This is stupid," Sam protested, his ears aflame now that he was the center of attention for the entire group. "You might not even be able to tell if I grew at all! You're too big." He stubbornly crossed his arms and refused to budge.
Dean snorted. With one arm he corralled Sam in so he couldn't try and escape again. That was the arm that held the tape measure up. His other hand, now that Sam was standing still, planted a finger lightly against the crossed arms. Sam ended up being forced backwards towards the tape measure until his back was directly against the yellow strip.
"We'll be fair," Dean muttered as he leaned in. In order to see, he had to place his chin against the table, squinting to see the smallest lines on the tape measure. "I'll take a turn being measured after we're done here."
Oscar edged forward, watching the display of stubbornness between Sam and Dean. He made sure to stay out of the way of Dean's hands as he worked to corral Sam near the measuring tape and hold him still up against it. Oscar didn't even glance over at Dean's face, though it rested right on the table nearby, as close to their level as the human teen could manage. He was too curious about the measuring.
"I-I measured myself once," he chimed in, his eyes wide as he looked over the tape measure that Dean held up. It seemed like it would be so heavy for him or Sam, but of course it was easy for Dean. Oscar wasn't sure why they'd bother measuring Dean, considering he was clearly far taller than anyone else in the room, and he didn't need to know the specifics. He was just tall.
"I think I'm almost ... two and four tenth inches! Not quite but I might be able to grow a little more, soon."
"Guess we'll have to give you a turn after Sammy," Dean said absently as he peered at the lines on the yellow strip. "I can even tell ya how tall you'd be if you were a human." He took his finger away from Sam's chest, freeing the smaller boy to move again as he sat back up.
"Two point six five inches…" Dean mumbled to himself, snatching up the pad of paper he had sitting to the side. He worked through a few numbers on the page. One of the first things he'd done after the terror of discovering Sam's curse had worn out was figure out exactly how small he was and his new scale. That way, no matter how long Sam was downsized… and Dean fervently hoped that it was only temporary… they'd know how tall he was compared to his family.
Dean held the page up triumphantly. "You'd be four foot tall and three inches, Sammy! You haven't stopped growing!" He gave his brother a grin. It was one of the fears he'd overheard from his dad and Bobby when they were talking right after the curse. The chance that Sam wasn't only stuck small, he was also not going to grow at all. But now he knew that wasn't the case. "That means you grew almost a whole inch since the last time we measured you! You hit a growth spurt."
Oscar's eyes were wide and he drifted forward to Sam. The other kid was still a decent amount taller than him, but Oscar tried to imagine him at over four feet tall. He'd be smaller than Dean, sure, but to Oscar... "That sounds pretty tall," he determined. Even Oscar probably wouldn't make four feet if he were human.
If he were human.
That was one of the weirdest thoughts that had never wandered across his mind.
But he was curious now. "You ... you can really see how tall I could be?" he asked, amazed. He almost wished he knew more about numbers, but Oscar only had the basics on that front, because they were all he'd ever needed and all he'd had time to learn. He took a few shuffling steps closer to the tape measure before looking up at Dean. "I could try too? It's hard to measure myself."
Dean bobbed his head with a slight incline of his shoulder, knowing that no matter how small the gestures he made, they would be easily visible to the kids that fit into his hands. In fact, the less he moved around, the easier it was to keep them both comfortable around him. "Sure. If you don't squirm," he shot a look at Sam who was trying to play it off like he'd never argued against being measured, "It only takes a minute. Sam just likes to extend the entire process for everyone. He can't sit still to save his life."
Dean held up the measuring tape so the end just barely brushed against the top of the table, ignoring the tongue that Sam stuck out at him. "Just stand with your back to this and we can see how big you've got since the last time you measured yourself."
Oscar grinned. "Okay!" he replied, before bounding over to the tape measure. He paused to stare curiously up at Dean's hand hovering overhead, grasping the bulk of the tape measure. It swayed just a little, but not enough that Oscar had trouble lining himself up with the slightly curved yellow tape. He shifted his bag on his shoulder so it wouldn't bump into it, and stood with his back to the thing.
He was excited to find out how he measured up. He'd never had a way to measure himself this accurately before. His usual method required string and a lot of trial and error. Oscar kept himself from bouncing a little and waited patiently for the verdict.
With Oscar going along with Dean for the measuring, it took much less time than it had with Sam. He didn't have to nudge the kid against the measuring tape at all and Oscar even straightened up for him when he leaned in. Dean held his breath as he put his chin on the table, trying to keep the discomfort to a minimum for their naturally-tiny buddy.
Dean read out loud from the measuring tape as he focused in on the tiniest of increments. "Two point two inches…" he said, trailing off as he scribbled it down on the paper he had to the side with the conversion he'd worked out when Sam had first been cursed. At the time it was more of a curiosity for him, now it was a good thing he'd done it. It gave him a way to know how tall they both would be if they were normal. "That makes you… a little over three and a half feet tall if you were human."
Oscar's expression morphed into one of shock while Dean worked out the numbers. He turned to stare at the tape measure, more than a little dumbfounded. He felt his face and ears heating up as he blushed fire. Three and a half feet was tall compared to him right now, and though it might be a dizzying height to someone his current stature, he knew it wasn't much compared to other humans.
The fact that he would still be short wasn't what colored his face so pink, though. "O-only two point two inches?" he repeated. He glanced over at the notepad that Dean scribbled on. He'd been so sure he was getting close to two point four!
"Ohhh, I measured wrong!" he blurted, sounding thoroughly flustered and embarrassed. Soon enough he covered his face with his hands to try to hide the profuse blushing there. He was even smaller than he thought and he went and made himself look like a fool.
Dean gave Oscar a light nudge in the side when he lowered down the measuring tape. "Nah," he said dismissively. "It's not like you had a ruler like we did. How old are ya, anyway? I betcha have a growth spurt coming, you just haven't gotten there yet. Sam's only just started really growing… he's been a shrimp for years." There was no way for him to avoid smirking at the annoyed glare this got out of Sam instantly. He'd always been small for his age. The curse had just made him… smaller.
Oscar peeked over his hands, peering at the brothers with slightly wide eyes but still hiding his reddened cheeks for a few extra seconds. The embarrassment started to melt away as no teasing came his way for the mistake, and his shoulders relaxed. With a sigh, he finally let his hands fall to his sides again so he could answer.
"I'm eight," he told them, and his voice had a mix of shyness and hopefulness all in one. He wasn't sure about how growth spurts worked, but he really hoped Dean was right. Someday he wanted to be taller, at least all enough that he could reach the high shelves in his home. "You think I'll get taller soon?"
"You're a little young," Dean said. Ever since he could remember, he'd been the one that had raised Sam. Been there for Sam. With that came knowledge he'd picked up over the years of taking care of his little brother. "You should get a growth spurt in a few years. Maybe… eleven or twelve. Then, you might catch up to me!"
He gathered up the measuring tape. "Now, it's my turn." He'd promised Sam, so he'd have to see how tall he was. It wouldn't be as easy or as accurate, not without having someone else around to help, but he'd manage.
Dean stepped away from the table and let the six-foot tape unravel. He had to face it to even have a chance of knowing how tall he was. He sent a grin down to the other two and held it up. While measuring himself there was no point in trying to read it at the same time as he worked so he hovered a hand out straight. "That level?" he called out to Sam, letting his little brother help out like always.
"You're good!" Sam said with a laugh.
Dean pinched the tape between two fingers and made his way back over to the table and his scrap paper for his conversions. "Let's see… I made it to five foot six." He gave Sam and Oscar a wink. "That's an inch taller than last time. And…" He did his calculation quick. "I'm a little over three point four inches tall if I got hit by the curse with ya, kiddo."
Oscar's mouth formed an 'O' of amazement as he pictured it. Almost three and a half inches high ... Dean was tall! Oscar began to wonder if he'd be able to hope to get that tall by the time he was grown up. Dean would end up enormous by the time his fast growth was finished. "A whole inch?" he echoed, sounding thoroughly awed. It was nearly half his height, after all. Dean would probably grow even more before he and Sam had to leave at the end of their stay. Oscar had only grown an eighth of an inch that he could tell ... and he might even be wrong about that, considering he'd been off with his measurement anyway.
Oscar stretched his hands over his head, trying to mimic a height of 3.4 inches. "That'd be real tall," he said, leaving out the fact that Dean was alreadyreal tall compared to him. "If I was that tall I might be able to reach the top of the pantry." The thought made him grin.
"Sam could always help with that," Dean said with a laugh. "He should be sprouting up anytime now." Inwardly, even though he was joking with the kids, he was trying to figure out what they'd do when Sam actually started to grow. He'd need new clothes soon… not to mention a new set of boots. The only thing he'd really been able to think of would be doll clothes, but they wouldn't be made for Sam's size. Maybe he could give someone Sam's sizes… just not tell them it was for a living, breathing person. Specialty doll. His fingers drummed absently on the table while he thought about it.
Sam didn't notice the slight shaking under the table while Dean was lost in thought. He puffed out his chest. "I'm gonna be taller than my dad andDean," he bragged brashly to Oscar. "I'm gonna be over six feet when I'm done!" He tried to jump in the air to show how tall he'd be, but slipped and fell on his butt.
Oscar let out a quiet "Oops," when Sam fell over, his hands twitching towards him. He dashed over to help Sam back up, offering a hand. While he did he thought about the height Sam aimed to be. He had to wonder if he'd be scared of his first friend if he saw him at that height.
"Six feet is a-awful big," he mused, his eyes a little wide. For someone barely more than two inches tall, a human that big was an intimidating figure indeed. Oscar wasn't sure if he'd seen a human that tall before, because he usually avoided being anywhere near them long enough to judge, but he was willing to bet someone so big could reach the ceiling. "I think I'd get dizzy up that high."
"Well, when I get to be six feet tall, you can stand on my head and we'll see," Dean said brashly, convinced he'd be at least as tall as his dad, if not taller. "That way you'll get to be the tallest, no matter what. You and Sam both."
Sam bounced to his feet with Oscar's help. "And when I'm back to normal sized, you can stand on my head, too! You'll be taller than both of us then because I'm gonna be the tallest!"
Oscar's eyes widened. He thought back to that first time Dean had plucked him up with just two fingers and set the squirming smaller kid atop his head. Oscar had needed to cling to Dean's hair for dear life and he was just sitting then. He couldn't even fathom being up there while Dean was over six feet tall and standing. His shock seemed stuck on his face.
"I-I'll have to hold on real tight, then," he decided. A smile worked its way onto his face the more he thought about it. Oscar was growing up slowly, and he'd probably always be short. Even for one of the smaller people. But, his friends were going to let him be the tallest one day.
It was something to look forward to.
A/N
The short stories have begun! Sam and Dean are curious to see if Sam has grown since his curse, and Oscar visits them and gets included in the fun.
If you have a prompt idea for the story, please tumble on over to the tumblr (link on main page) and drop it in my askbox.
Next: A Day at the Park 1, coming February 17th