A/N
Thank you to stargazer100 and appletopine for the reviews, you guys are champs for sticking around with us!
The motel was lost in the white haze of snow behind them, but they were no more than five minutes from their room. Dean knelt down on the drifting snow, slowly taking his hand out from his jacket. "Hope you're ready for fun," he chuckled as he lowered his hand down.
Oscar barely heard the words. He was busy staring up in wonder at the tree branches so high above them. Other than the snow flurrying through the air on a gentle breeze, the whole world seemed still. The air was silent, muffled by the fluffy white snow that blanketed every surface and made the branches bare of leaves seem like harsh lines drawn against the white sky.
He didn't even leave Dean's hand right away, he was so awestruck. Oscar took a step forward, and another, his hands held out in front of himself, trying to see if one of the snowflakes would land on his mittens.
"Woah!" he blurted, when the end of Dean's hand came before he expected. Oscar stumbled off and into the snow, sinking to his knees before the packed snow held up his tiny weight. His eyes were finally drawn away from the sky as he looked all around himself.
Sam followed him off, jumping into a pile of snow. "Oof!" He fell further into the snow than Oscar, the white ground coming up to his waist. Squirming, he tried to dig his way out of the fluffy ground, but didn't make much progress until Dean pinched him by the waist and hauled him up.
Legs kicking, Sam got put down an inch from Oscar. He laughed as he hit the ground, sinking in to his ankles. "This is great!" He didn't pay much attention to the cold, too excited to be out there at last.
With the two kids safely on the ground, Dean sat back. He peered around the white expanse to make sure there was no one nearby. It was almost as though they were in their own world. Even the sound from the street had cut out, dampened by the flurries.
Sam let himself fall on his back and kicked out his legs and flapped his arms. "See, Oscar? Snow angels!"
Oscar beamed at Sam's antics, watching the shape forming in the snow around the other boy before his eyes. He tried to inch closer to watch, but found himself having a hard time with the snow, too. He couldn't pick his feet up all the way out of it, which made wading through it difficult.
Eventually, he dropped forward and sank to his elbows in the snow, gasping from the cold. His breath fogged in front of him and he found himself staring down at what had to be hundreds of thousands of little ice crystals before he squirmed enough to stand upright again.
It was like they'd left earth behind. Oscar had hardly ever been outside with the brothers before. "There's so much snow! No wonder it's a snow day. Snow night, snow week, even," he mused with a giggle before struggling to a patch of clear snow so he could flop onto it and make his own snow angel.
"Hopefully," Dean chimed in from above. He watched the two kids making their snow angels. Snow fairies. He grinned at the thought, but didn't say anything to Sam. He'd get the tiniest glare if he did.
It wasn't his fault they looked more like tiny fairies in the snow.
"The longer the snow goes, the longer we're out of school," he mused to himself. He hadn't waited to see the report on the TV for how long the storm would last, only watching to see if their school was cancelled.
While they had fun down on the ground, Dean started to push the snow near him into a mound. It was a thick, fluffy snow, the best kind for making snowballs and snowmen out of and it stuck together when he moved it.
Sam sat up, looking at his and Oscar's snow angels. "This is great! And if the storm keeps going, we might get so much snow that even Dean has trouble walking through it! One year there was a snowstorm that left like three whole feet of snow. Dad couldn't even reach the Impala!"
Oscar paused and struggled to sit himself up, his eyes a little glazed over at the thought of three feet of snow. The weight of that much snow would be unreal. Oscar hoped they didn't see that much. If something was too tough for even Dean, it'd be impossible for him and Sam.
"If it snowed that high I'd wanna stay inside," he said with a decisive nod. It'd be too much cold, too much snow, and too heavy. The world around them was muffled now. He could imagine it all standing still. "I'd hide under all my blankets and stay warm."
He squirmed a little to push himself to a stand, trying not to destroy the snow angel shape he'd worked on. He almost made it, but once again had to wade through the snow he'd already churned up. Oscar watched his feet while he did so, pushing down on the fluffy snow experimentally and packing it closer. With his tongue sticking out for concentration, he managed to climb out of the rut he'd carved into the snow and walk atop it, light steps preventing him from sinking as far.
With that done, Oscar brushed his hands together to shake snow off of them before it melted and got to his hands. "Dean, what're you makin?' " he asked curiously, watching the human push a massive pile of snow around in front of himself. Oscar pointed at it with a mitten-covered hand. "That's bigger than my house!"
Dean gave both kids a huge grin. "Sam said he wanted to sled, right?" he reminded them both. "Since I think the hills around here are too big for you two to go down, I figured I'd just make you one myself." He gestured grandly at the mound of snow, then used his gloves to make a trench down the 'hill' for them. The best thing about having two kids smaller than his fingers in the snow was he wouldn't even have to drag the sled back up the hill for them when it was all over. He could just pick them and the sled up at once.
Sam struggled to get himself out of his snow angel, slightly wide-eyed at the sight. "What are we gonna use for a sled?" he asked curiously, realizing he never thought past the excitement for the day.
"Don't worry, I gotcha," Dean smirked. He dug around in one of his pockets, pulling out a plastic cup.
Or rather, part of a plastic cup.
He'd cut away most of it, making it into a sled-shaped hunk of clear plastic. The bottom of the cup formed the front of the sled, giving them a place to prop their feet up while they went down, and the sides rose up on either side to keep them from falling out.
Oscar eyed the sled keenly, recognizing the plastic cup from the ones always provided with the motel's coffee machines. It'd be enough for Sam and Oscar both to sit down in with room to spare, and the edges looked like they'd be more than high enough to prevent them from tumbling out.
He took a few cautious steps forward, careful to avoid sinking into the snow too far again. Shudders from the cold were ignored as he approached, sizing up the hill Dean had made and the sled he'd improvised. It looked like it'd be a long way to slide down, and yet it didn't come close to matching Dean's height.
Oscar reached the base of the snow pile before he turned to look back at Sam. His expression was a mix of excitement and caution and he asked "It's not scary?" Oscar knew they had Dean looking out for them, so he wasn't really too worried. All the same, his timid nature demanded he at least mentally prepare himself for it.
"Nope!" Sam declared, running towards the 'hill' to join his friend and have a go at sledding. "Not scary at all!"
Three steps in, he tripped and ended up falling on his face.
Sam pushed himself back up with a gasp, blinking and rubbing off the snow that stuck in his hair. The soft crystals started to melt when they came in contact with his skin.
Dean leaned over, a slight shadow falling over where Sam was sprawled out. He plucked his little brother off of the ground, eyebrows furrowing as he squinted to see if the younger kid was okay. Sam instantly squirmed, trying to get down so he could go join Oscar. "Quit it!" his soft voice drifted up to Dean.
With a snort, Dean plopped Sam down in the plastic cup. "Better watch yourself, pint-size," he cautioned as he lowered the cup down. "That snow's pretty deep."
Sam stuck his tongue out at Dean. He was quickly distracted when he saw that the hand was down on the snow next to Oscar. Shuffling back, he made room for the younger kid to sit in front. "C'mon, Oscar!" he called out excitedly.
Oscar smiled, perking up despite the chill that nearly made him shrink into himself and curl up. The excitement soon won out and he scrambled towards Dean's hand, tiny cloth shoes stirring up the snow as he did so. He brushed a half-melted clump of snow from his arm. At least it hadn't soaked him completely.
He stuck his tongue out for concentration as he reached the sled and swung one leg over the edge, then the other. After some adjusting, he wound up sitting in front of Sam, with both of their feet propped against the front of the sled Dean had made. Oscar's knees were bent slightly and he braced his wrapped up hands on the edge of the cup.
There was a grin on his face even as his breath fogged in front of him. Nothing had even happened yet and Oscar was already entertained. "Okay, let's go!" he said, looking over his shoulder to glance at Sam before looking up at Dean.
Sam laughed. As Dean's hand lifted in the air again, Sam wrapped one arm around Oscar to hold the smaller kid in place on his lap. The little hill Dean had made for them came into view, and then the teenager's other hand shadowed the cup with the two kids inside.
When Dean gripped the sides of the cup, it was like Sam and Oscar were in a tunnel, the top of Dean's palm arching over their heads. The other hand dropped away, replaced by the snowy hillside. The hand let go, and Sam grabbed onto the edge of the cup with his free hand, smiling with excitement.
"Ready…" Dean said, his hand touching against the back of the cup. "Set…"
It felt like time stretched on until he finally announced "Go!" and nudged the cup so it slipped into the furrow Dean had created for it.
Oscar took a deep breath and held it as the cup edged forward. At first, it was a slow slide, and the anticipation drew out for a second or two longer. Then, he let out his breath in a laugh as the makeshift sled lurched forward and began the real downward slide. Oscar pressed his feet into the front of the sled to brace himself and leaned into Sam a little.
The next few seconds drew out as the exhilaration set in, tingling in Oscar's every nerve. His stomach clenched and his eyes were wide as they raced down the trench Dean had made, the world speeding by around them. The cold wind bit at Oscar's face and he squinted, but he still grinned ear to ear. It was fun.
"Woah!" he yelped when they reached the bottom, one of his hands leaving the edge of the sled to clutch at Sam's arm around him. Puffs of fluffy snow sprayed up around them and landed on their heads.
Oscar shook his head to rid it of snowflakes before twisting around to beam up at Sam. "That ... I didn't ... wow!" he stammered out, blinking rapidly.
Sam beamed right back, just as thrilled. Getting a ride from Dean on some days could be more like a rollercoaster ride with the speeds the teenager could move at, but this was different. It was closer to the way things were supposed to be. Sledding down a hill, just like kids did in the snow.
Twisting around in his seat, Sam tried to catch a glimpse of Dean around the mound of snow. "Let's go again!" he called out hopefully.
Dean peered around, shifting his seat so he could see the bottom of the hill. "Man, carrying you two all the way up the hill will takeso much work," he joked gamely as he reached over and picked up the cup again. Sam tightened his arm around Oscar as they became airborne once more, able to see the ground drop below them through the clear bottom of the cup.
It definitely wouldn't be a way for Dean to travel.
The two kids giggled as the cup came to a halt at the top of the hill. Once more, Dean nudged them over the edge and they picked up speed quickly. Sam let out a bright laugh as the little makeshift sled came to a stop at the bottom, his eyes wide. "This is great!"
Oscar squirmed a little to sit himself up a little straighter after the second run down the hill. He kicked at the snow that had fallen into the sled, shoving it back out so it wouldn't soak into their pant legs. "I never had so much fun before!" he said in agreement.
He leaned around Sam, one arm still clutching the one holding him secure, to look back up their sledding hill. He could see the track they'd left with their sled, a semicircle of slightly packed snow in the side of a mountain. Oscar was willing to bet he'd tumble right back down if he tried to run up that track.
"Maybe one more time? Then we can make snowmen!"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Dean agreed, reaching for them one last time. The little sled fit snug into his hand, and he quickly had them back up at the top of the hill.
With a little nudge, the kids were sent down the slope for the last time, and this time Sam had one hand up in the air like he was on a mini-rollercoaster, and his other arm secured around the younger kid like a seatbelt. Since the track for the sled was getting worn in the shape of the sled, the last trip was the fastest, sending them into a small pile of snow that had gathered at the bottom. A tiny bit of snow flew up in the air, getting stuck in Sam and Oscar's hair.
Sam brushed off his hair, releasing Oscar from his tight hold with the sledding over. He peered over his shoulder, at the sledding hill and his older brother. With the rest of the world in a white out, it was easy to pretend that Dean was a giant, and they were normal-sized.
"Thanks Dean!" he called up as he came to an unsteady stand on the circular sled. He offered to help Oscar climb out of the sled, since it was hard to stay on their feet.
Oscar took Sam's hands, his mouth twisted into a frown of concentration as he stood in the curved bottom of their sled. His shoes were slick from the snow that had sprayed up, and the fluffy white flakes still stuck to his mussed up hair. Some of it shook off when he nearly slipped in the sled.
"Oops," he muttered, getting his legs over the side one at a time. His outer layer of shoes was starting to soak through, and his feet were definitely feeling the chill. At least his middle was warm from all the running around and laughing. He flexed his mittened hands a few times to circulate some of that warmth to them.
Oscar had never realized he could enjoy himself while cold. It was a stark difference to the freezing nights alone in the motel, wishing the heat would reach his home.
"That was a lot of fun," he announced, grinning at both Sam and Dean. He stumbled towards the front of the sled to check out the small pile of snow it had pushed up as it sped down the hill. "Your sled worked really good, Dean!"
"As long as you two had fun," Dean said to him. He picked up the sled and tucked it into the opposite pocket from where the small supply bags were kept, just in case they wanted to sled again later on.
Sam followed Oscar, his boots doing a slightly better job at keeping his feet dry in the snow than Oscar's fabric wraps. He slid to his knees and started to gather up some snow to push around, just like he'd been shown as a kid. "Okay," he said seriously, but with a big grin on his face. "Now if you want to make a snowman, you gotta make the biggest ball of snow that you can. Like this."
Placing the ball of snow on the ground, Sam started to roll it in front of him, that way it gathered up snow as it went and started to increase in size.
Oscar watched Sam roll the ball of snow around, biting his lip absently while he did. His mouth opened in an 'O' of understanding as the snowball grew before his eyes, picking up other snow as it rolled and packing it tight. "I got it," he affirmed with a nod, before looking to the snow at his feet.
He clapped his mittens together to knock droplets of melted snow off of them before stooping to gather his own ball. It took him a couple tries to get a snowball started. When he did, it was lumpy and lopsided at first, but it didn't stop him from trying to roll it around and pack more snow on.
When the snowball was nearly an inch wide at points, Oscar tripped over his own feet and pitched forward. He managed to avoid landing on his ball of snow, only glancing to the side of it and knocking a bit of it loose.
"Ohh," he grumbled, pushing himself upright and trying to repair the shape.
"Don't worry if it gets messy," Sam reassured his friend. "It's okay. All you gotta do is add more snow to fix it." He demonstrated when his ball of snow rolled to a halt, picking up a handful and patting it against the side. "See? It's like you never bumped it! That's why snow's so much fun."
Dean busied himself rolling his own snowball while he watched over the other two. They were so small, he didn't want to take the risk of moving from his spot, so he contented himself with what snow he could reach. With Sam under three inches and Oscar decidedly shorter, it would be dangerous to leave them alone. They could slip and fall deeper into the snow, and he might not be able to find them in time. Though the area they were on was packed so they could walk, nothing was ever perfect.
Oscar raised his eyebrows at Sam and watched him fix the shape of the snowball with ease. He shifted his focus from trying to smooth out the shape of his own to adding more snow to it, and grinned as it worked much easier and faster. In no time, he had something closer to a sphere that he could roll around a little more until he thought it was plenty of snow for a snowman. Too much more and he wouldn't be able to get his arms around it properly.
"Okay, I think I'm ready," he decided. "Do you wanna put our pieces together? Maybe we can make a really tall snowman if we do that," he suggested, eyeing the way Sam's snowball was bigger thanks to his head start.
Sam sized up the two snowballs to see how they'd fit together. "That works," he agreed. He shoved his back over to where Oscar was. It was growing big enough to be hard to push, and picking up more snow the entire time. The entire ground under them was made of snow, at least for a few inches down, so every movement he took packed more snow on.
"There," he said, satisfied as he shoved it to a stop right next to Oscar. "Now all you gotta do is put on your piece, and we'll make a little one for the head! That's all it takes to make a snowman!"
Oscar smiled and nodded, practically bouncing on his feet. It almost made him sink a little in the snow, so he had to stop himself from moving too much. The cold made him shiver up and down instead, but he ignored it to kneel down and try to get his arms wrapped carefully around his ball of packed snow.
With Sam's help balancing it, Oscar lifted it up and set it down on the larger base. They had to pack some snow between them so it wouldn't roll off and make their snowman fall apart. "He's already so tall," Oscar commented with a grin, his breaths coming in shaky patterns as the cold demanded some modicum of attention.
"And now he'll be taller!" Sam said as he gathered up one last snowball. He quickly packed in the snow, starting to feel the cold as much as Oscar was. The head ended up being a half inch in diameter, and he hefted up triumphantly to place it on top of the body they'd created.
Face screwed up in concentration, Sam made sure the head was exactly in the right place, then poked holes in it to make eyes and a mouth, and formed a protruding nose out of more snow. He grinned in triumph as it all came together at last, proud of their creation.
Sam sent a proud look up at Dean. "Whaddya think?" he asked with a grand gesture at the snowman.
"Hmm…" Dean said, leaning forward a bit so he could see the white snowman, silhouetted against the white ground, better. "I think a pint-sized snowman is perfect for you two. It's just right."
Oscar walked curiously around his first ever snowman, noting every detail. This was something he didn't want to forget. The snow was piled up as tall as he was. The head of it would probably melt really fast if Dean had tried to pick it up in two fingers.
He crouched in front of the snowman and busied himself pushing snow around for a few seconds, diligently packing it into the shape he wanted. When he was done, he stepped back proudly to look at the two shapes he'd added. "Now he's got boots on," he explained with a giggle, before boasting "I bet if we had more time we could make a snowman taller than Dean! "
Sam laughed along. "Yeah, definitely! " He spread his arms wide. "We could make it from the sledding mountain!"
Dean chuckled, and held a hand out next to them. The two kids were both starting to shiver, so it was time to go in. "Maybe if the storm keeps going tomorrow we can try a bigger snowman," he said gently. His other hand pushed aside the balled up snow he'd been playing with while they built their tiny snowman.
Oscar's teeth chattered for a second before he made his way to the offered hand once more. Once upon a time, such a big hand just moving would have made him flinch in fear. For most humans, that was still the case. Oscar was glad to have a friend among all the giants that ran everything. It made the world seem smaller.
He clambered onto Dean's hand and plopped down in his palm, shaking his head to get rid of any snowflakes clinging to his hair. He flexed his hands, the makeshift mittens curling into tiny fists, a couple times. "My h-hands are moving slow," he commented. "It's too bad snow is so cold."
"Once we get inside, they'll warm up in no time," Dean said reassuringly as he lifted the children off the ground. He tucked the hand with the kids into his open jacket to shield them from any wind. There were tiny boot- and footprints covering the little area around the tiny snowman, so Dean brushed them away to hide any indications of the kids. There was no point in taking chances, he knew better than anything. Taking chances with kids was what had got Sam cursed in the first place.
With the area clean of any trace of people the size of his fingers (their snowman still stood proud, Dean didn't have the heart to destroy it), he bit one of the fingers of his glove to tug it off. He stuck the glove in his pocket, then cupped his bare hand around Sam and Oscar to warm them up a little with the body heat he had left. Compared to the skinny kids, Dean was still warm. They hadn't been outside long enough for him to really feel the icy chill the way Sam and Oz had.
A/N
Snow angels and sledding! My favorites!
Reviews are love for writers!
Next: Snow Day 3, coming March 28th
Story wraps up March 30th, prepare yourselves.