Chase might have shot back an answer, but the floor trembled. Jacob's hands moved away from their relaxed position resting on his knees and pressed into the carpeted floor to hold his weight while he scooted himself forward. Chase watched the ground with a shocked look on his face. He was reminded all over again that he was small enough to eclipse in one hand now.
"Holy shit," he murmured, echoing what had been his sentiment since he grabbed that hexbag.
While Jacob approached, Dean put a hand on Chase's thin shoulder to steady him. It was jarring to remember that not long ago, Dean had perched up there to direct Chase to Bobby Singer's place. "Just remember," Dean murmured quietly so Jacob wouldn't overhear, "no matter how big, it's still just Jacob."
"And the last person we have to worry about just grabbing us off the ground is Jacob," Sam chimed in helpfully.
Still, friendliest giant or not, Jacob was looming. Even though it wasn't on purpose, it could be off-putting for Chase while he was adjusting. Dean waved an arm up at Jacob. "Think you could tone it down a notch?" he called up. "Let's save the Godzilla act for later. You don't want to use up your best looming on us, right?"
Jacob shrugged slowly and pretended to think it over. "I guess you're right," he said after only a few seconds. "Don't wanna cast a shadow on the training."
Chase looked up from his shoes in time to see Jacob's hands planting on the floor a little more than a full-sized foot away from them. Amazingly, though Jacob did cause small earthquakes that kept coming as he stretched his legs out behind him, Chase could tell what effort he was putting into moving carefully. He'd never been overly clumsy, but he definitely hadn't moved with such care before Sam and Dean came along.
Jacob lowered himself down to lie flat on his front. His arms, thicker than any of the others were tall, crossed and he rested his chin on them with a smile. "How's that? Minimal looming and everything."
"Hey, I don't care whatcha do, so long as you don't mess with me learning to be a badass," Chase quipped.
Jacob raised one eyebrow, and then shifted one of his arms. Before Chase could put together what was happening, Jacob's hand was approaching with one finger extended. The tip nudged pointedly against his side, and Chase stumbled a few steps. The hook dropped from his hands to the floor with a quiet thump when he lifted his arms to balance against toppling over.
"Dick!" Chase groused, going to shove at the fingertip only to find it already out of reach as it retreated.
"Hey, dude, I owed you that one, did I not?" Jacob countered with a grin.
Dean chuckled as he scooped the hook back off the ground. "You can't argue with that one after the week we spent with Jacob small, now, can you?" he asked rhetorically as he handed his prized hook back over. "I think you've built up some karma there."
It was more than true. A few weeks back when they'd first found the hexbag, Jacob had been the one to grab it and Chase had come to help them out. During that week, not only was Chase's first reaction to seeing a pint-sized Jacob snatching him off the ground, much to Dean's chagrin, he'd also spent most of that week teasing his downsized buddy, which included a lot of poking.
Dean crossed his arms and took a step back. "Now, careful when you throw that hook that it doesn't come right back down on ya," he cautioned. "And don't go trying any of Sam's stunts. Not even I can do most of that after spending most of my life climbing. Kid's a natural."
Chase took the hook and turned it over in his hands to get a proper grip on the base of it. "I wouldn't dream of it," he replied, while his eyes inevitably trailed upwards to the top of the nearby dresser. It was like considering climbing up a high-rise apartment building or something. No way this will actually work. But what the hell.
"I think we'll just be seeing how high I can throw the damn thing, honestly," he finally admitted. His expression was sheepish. He noted how thick around the metal hook was in his hands, and suddenly imagined what it'd look like at his usual scale. He'd have to pinch it in his fingers.
Just like Jacob's simple act of moving had surprised Chase with how much impact it had on him, he was realizing how hard it would actually be to learn this particular skill. Chase, thanks to his condition, had never even considered trying to be athletic. He did some running for stamina, and that was about it. He wasn't strong, and he always had to be mindful of his asthma.
"Ahh, what the hell," he echoed aloud. He took a few steps towards the dresser to give himself some space from the others in case his first throw was bad (he knew it would be). He wound up for the throw, trying to mimic how he'd seen Sam and Dean do it, and threw the hook upwards as hard as he could.
It barely sailed upwards a foot before faltering and veering downwards in a quick arc. Chase took a step backwards to avoid it landing on him, since he knew he'd never catch the thing. "Y'know that actually went better than I expected it to. So go me."
"None of us learned in a day," Sam said as he glanced up at the towering height to size it up. "Not even me," he pointed out with a grin at Dean. Of everyone, Dean had taken the longest to get the hang of climbing up the furniture in their motel, he just had the advantage of learning a few years in advance.
Naturally, the tiny edge that Dean had over Sam in climbing had evaporated about a week after his younger brother started learning.
"Here, watch how I do it," Sam offered as he pulled out his own hook. The three prongs glinted in the light as he held it at the ready, aiming. Launching it into the air, Sam took a step back to watch as it rose through the air. Thanks to years of practice, it landed without issue, clattering against the surface.
"The hardest part is getting it to catch," Dean said as he watched Sam pull it carefully to the edge. "Sam's got the advantage there. But I almost never miss." He was puffed up with pride at the fact. "That's why I'm the one that usually throws the line."
Behind them, Jacob grinned. "Dean's a crack shot with it," he chimed in. To him, watching the small hunters throw their hooks in the air might never get old. It was a tough task to throw something so high, and to actually get a hook to catch like they always did. The years of practice had served them well.
Chase glanced back while he reeled in the fallen hook. "Yeah?" He picked up the hook and hefted it in his hand again, trying to get used to the weight of it. Just one fishhook shouldn't be so heavy in his hand, and yet it was.
He looked up in time for Sam to secure his own hook on the top edge of the dresser. "I'm not sure I can actually throw that high," he mused. "Aren't you guys supposed to be like extra strong?"
Sam frowned as he considered that. He gave a tug on his line to make sure the hook was secure, then left it hanging. "If the arm wrestling tally from when Jacob was down here with us is any indication, we are," he said sheepishly. "I don't think Jacob won once."
If Sam or Dean stood side-by-side with Jacob at the same scale, they were both shorter (Sam by only a hair, Dean by a good bit), and they were both leaner from years of surviving on scraps and found food. From any cursory glance, Jacob should be the strongest of the three. He might not have had to climb and dash about to survive, but he'd grown up with a healthier diet and had worked out in high school, resulting in an intimidating physique to anyone that didn't know him.
Yet, as they'd demonstrated time and time again, either brother could heft up a person their weight without a problem. They could scramble up great heights with a speed any human would envy. And, to Dean's eternal delight, they could win against Jacob's strength with ease.
Dean shook his head. "Sure, we're stronger," he agreed. "But our adopted mom, Mallory, wasn't close to as strong as us or Walt." He hovered a hand close to his chest, indicating her height. As small as Chase was, their adopted mother was still tinier and thinner than the Chinese teen. "She didn't have as much luck as us or Walt when she got out of the house to get supplies, but she did manage to throw it up."
"She got some kind of a spin on it, didn't she?" Sam asked curiously. He'd only seen her leave a few times his entire life, and always with the same declaration that her boys had no idea how to find good fabric, or decent colors. Walt was helpless next to her when she went on a tirade, much like Sam and Dean. All the men were at least twice her size, and she had them wrapped around her finger.
Dean considered, then gave a half-hearted shrug. "Sorta, I think."
While Chase considered the hook again, Jacob stared for a second longer at the height Dean had indicated. Their adoptive mother was absolutely tiny. Sam and Dean were already small, but this woman couldn't be much more than three inches by Dean's measure. Smaller even than Chase.
He tried to think about what he knew of the family they had back at that motel. He hadn't heard much about them at all, and with a small shred of guilt Jacob understood why. They'd be protective of them; Sam and Dean were just like that.
Their family probably wouldn't want anything to do with him. He was big enough to scare off some humans. If they ever made the trip back to Trails West, Jacob imagined he wouldn't be spending much time getting to know anyone new. Even so, he logged away the thought of going back to visit sometime soon. The brothers had been away for a long time.
"Chase, haven't you seen, I dunno, some kinda movie where they do that?" Jacob asked, getting his small friend's attention. "Just kinda whirl it a little before throwing it straight up, maybe that'll work."
Chase rolled his eyes. "Shit, yeah, I've seen movies. I was getting to it," he boasted, before turning back towards the dresser. He frowned up at how high Sam's hook was. It was a long way to throw something. Especially for someone who never really gave much thought to something like this. He'd never had a reason before.
Even so, he let the hook drop about an inch so he could grip the thread. After a few test swings back and forth, he concentrated and gave the hook a few hesitant spins. Then, he wound up and let the hook fly upwards. With the extra momentum, it went a bit farther, but it angled forward and bounced off the dresser before falling back to the floor again.
"Neat," he said dryly.
Sam laughed. "It's probably not something you'll get right away," he reassured Chase. "We all had to take time to learn. That's okay, though. We're gonna be with you the entire time. If anything comes up, we should be able to handle it."
"Once we're finished with the case there's plenty of time to practice," Dean said, and it would be a lie if he said he wasn't hopeful about that.
For once in their lives, they had a chance to be on an equal level with humans, after thinking that time was long over with.
As nice as it was to spend time with Jacob and Chase normally, and how much they trusted both humans, even going so far as to hunt with Jacob and let Chase pocket them, it felt different to have the guys down at their size. More equal. It was easier to see that the teens looked up to them, and that gave both brothers confidence they needed after a life of being small enough to be stepped on by accident.
"Didja want to try climbing at all? Or throw it a few more times?" Sam asked.
Chase reeled in the hook once more and gave a thoughtful hum. He looked up at the top of the dresser, so impossibly far away, and it struck him all over again what he was doing. He was tiny, shrunken down to pocket sized, and he'd done it by choice. He could actually learn a little bit about what it was like to live at this size.
One step at a time, anyway. Like Dean said, they'd have more time later, and Chase wouldn't be throwing something several stories up today.
He coiled up the thread the best he could so he could hand the hook back to Dean without tangling it. "Guess I'm just sampling everything today, so maybe I'll give the climbing a try. If I make it ... five inches up, Jacob owes me a coke."
Jacob threw him a flat look. "Hey, thanks for volunteering me for your deal," he mumbled. He didn't need to speak loudly at all for them to hear him. Even his voice vibrated through the floor as much as the air, with him lying the way he was. Despite his words, he was interested in seeing how well Chase would do. "If you make it a foot up I'll hit the diner later. Now everyone's counting on you, dude, how's that?" he teased.
"That trip to the diner better include pie!" Dean shot back at Jacob as he tucked away his rope. Since coming back to Jacob's family house to visit, they hadn't taken any trips (or sent Jacob out) to the diner, and now that Jacob had brought it up, Dean jumped right on the idea. There was nothing quite like the charm and greasy food of a local diner.
Despite the fact that he was getting better at asking for food, Dean still didn't ever bring up the subject himself. Sam wouldn't even ask, or think of asking. Living in this house meant that they had ready meals everyday, and why should they ask for more? This was better eating than they'd grown up with, even before their curses.
"Just ignore them," Sam advised as he offered his line to Chase. "Use your feet as much as your arms and focus. It's easy to get distracted while you climb, the trick is ignoring everything but the rope. Anything else might end up with you falling."
Chase nodded, the fishing line clutched tightly in his hands. He didn't really feel any pressure to get very far up, but all the same he was just as curious as anyone would be. "Hey, I already owe Dean ... what was it, two pies? I can cut into my debt if I pull this off."
Jacob rolled his eyes and grinned, but said nothing. Chase was already preparing himself to actually try the climb, and he didn't want to distract him. Jacob had never thought to try to learn. The week he spent at the brothers' size was filled with trying to get used to seeing things the way they did. That, and Rumsfeld insisted on helping him get around most of the time ... so long as they stopped at the counter for a treat first.
Chase took Sam's advice to heart as much as he could. Of course, once told that it shouldn't focus on anything else, his brain wanted to zero in on everything that wasn't the line in his hands. The slow, steady gusts of wind that came with Jacob breathing, the looming height of the dresser, the shadows under the bed, the sheer amount of open space around them ... he shook his head.
He wasn't quite tall enough to hold onto the rope securely enough while planting his shoes against the front of the dresser. He wrapped both hands securely around the fishing line and pulled himself upwards just enough to clumsily clamp his shoes over the line, too. He managed to go hand-over-hand three times and lift himself about two inches off the ground before his arms shook from the exertion.
"Ah, fuck it," he hissed, letting himself slide partway down before letting go and stumbling into a landing back on the floor.
Sam caught the fishing line as it swung from Chase letting go. "No one learns in a day. All the kids our size start learning when they're little, so you've got some catching up to do." He gave a flick, sending a ripple up the long line and expertly jarring his hook free.
It fell, and Sam caught it with a practiced motion, not missing a beat. He started to coil it around his arm so it wouldn't tangle in his satchel. It was second nature to do so. Both brothers owed their lives to their hooks, for escaping if they got caught along with finding food while they lived in the motel.
"Time's ticking," Dean reminded them. "So if we want to get Chase a look in the walls now, we should get to it. And then it's time to head out and get to the bottom of this case before anyone else gets attacked."
Chase brushed his hands off and practically bounced on his feet. Things were still unsettlingly big all around him, but he was getting better at dealing with the size as the minutes ticked by. His first impression aside, he thought he was doing very well.
Knowing what was coming, and knowing there would be a way to back out of it made a lot of difference. He could afford to be curious, with Sam and Dean looking after him.
"Maybe you'll get to fight a dustbunny," Jacob quipped.
Chase shot him a flat look. "Usually I'm the one with the bad jokes here, you moving in on my turf?"
"Just go check it out for a bit. I'll wait right here for you guys. Maybe take a snooze," Jacob shot back, snickering.
Sam rolled his eyes. "I think you're both trying to move in on Dean's turf," he said, joining in on the banter almost effortlessly. That caught him off guard. Normally he felt awkward around both of the humans. Though he was getting better with Jacob, it still felt odd interacting regularly with people who could close him up in a hand. With Chase down at their level, it was growing easier.
"I'm hilarious," Dean grumbled in protest as Sam led the way towards the wall. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
They filed past where Jacob was lying on their short journey towards the entrance Dean and Sam used to slip into the walls. A step or two for a human was a good distance for the trio, but the brothers would never think to ask for help for something so simple. They lived for their independence. They might let Jacob help by driving the car, but they could survive on their own. It was a point of pride, especially for Dean.
Jacob was content watching the three of them trek across the floor in front of him. He had learned very early on that the brothers didn't need or want his help getting around if they could do it themselves. He'd never been one to pressure them otherwise, and now was no different. He waited loyally.
A/N:
Chase is doing pretty good with this so far!
There will be a brief break in posting, next week's update will be the last one until May 31st.
Next: May 10th, 2023 at 9PM
Adding in this author's note for all my followers here, and will keep it on all chapters going forward:
If the worst happens and fanfiction shuts down, you can find all my stories on both archive of our own and deviantart, posted under the nightmares06 account. You can also find our story tumblr, which contains a ton of information and answers that are only posted on that site, along with artwork for the stories and future plans we have. That can be found under the brothersapart tumblr account. I can't put links in chapters, but googling "Brothersapart tumblr" should bring it right up!