Hershey Kisses and Salt Lines 20

Oscar flinched and he watched Sam dart away with wide, surprised eyes. He blinked a few times, glanced at the spot on his arm where Sam had tagged him, and then looked back up with an increasingly confused frown. Without even realizing he was doing it, he started to wring his hands absently.

"Um," he began quietly, feeling his face become warm and pink yet again. He had no idea what had just happened. He got the sense that it was a game, at least, but beyond that, nothing about what Sam had just done was clear to him.

"Wh-what am I supposed to do?" he asked cautiously, glancing between the two brothers.

Sam tried to skid to a halt, almost going head over heels all over again as he stopped in place next to one of the hands Dean had wrapped around a pillow. He turned back towards Oscar with a surprised frown. He’d never thought about the other kid not knowing how to play.

“It’s a game!” Sam called back to him. “I tag you like this,” he slapped a hand against Dean’s knuckle for demonstration, “then you’re it and you have to tag me! ”

Dean lifted up his hand, looking at the place Sam had ‘tagged’ him. “So, I guess this means I’m it?” he asked with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“No, Dean I was just -- oomph,”

Sam ended up flattened under Dean’s hand when his older brother joined in, ‘tagging’ Sam back and leaving his hand draped over the smaller kid. “Hey, where’d you go?” Dean asked with a smirk, feeling his little brother try to squirm his way free.

Oscar choked on an alarmed sound, his hands over his mouth. He really hadn't expected Dean to place a hand over Sam like that. And the other boy was completely out of sight. If not for the playful look on Dean's face, Oscar might have been scared for Sam. He might have been scared for what would happen next, too.

Instead, he cautiously got to his feet, leaving his bag where it was for now. He inched up to Dean's hand, noting how big it was and how easily Sam was obscured from sight. He thought about how he'd been trapped in Dean's big hands. Before he knew the human wouldn't hurt him, it had been the most terrifying experience in his short life.

As it was, now he thought he might be able to hear Sam cussing. "He's stuck," he pointed out, though of course Dean knew that already. Oscar squatted down next to the hand, trying to see where Sam was exactly. With tentative hands, he reached out and pushed on Dean's first finger, trying to get it out of the way. "C'mon," he said, almost chuckling at the human's antics.

Any attempt at hiding a grin was gone as Dean laughed at that. “Oh, I had no idea he was stuck.” He watched as Oscar tried to push his finger out of the way, fascinated at how much effort the other kid was putting into his attempt yet he could barely even feel it. And Sam’s squirms were doing him no good, even as Dean felt him finally manage to squirm his way onto his back and try and kick at the arch of the palm above him.

Oscar wasn’t giving up on getting his buddy out, and Dean felt that kind of effort deserved a reward. “Oz, if you wanted to join him so much, you shoulda let me know right off,” Dean said with a slight snicker. He moved his finger out of the way of the next push, offsetting the boy’s balance just enough.

Oscar tumbled to the cover, and with the slightest flick of his finger Dean sent him rolling under the hand to join Sam before either of the others could respond. He let his hand settle down one more time over them. “Hmm, guess I’ve got the room all to myself,” he announced with a grin at his hand, both of the others out of sight.

Oscar almost felt a worm of panic trying to wriggle into his gut. He tumbled so quickly, with help from Dean's simple nudge, that he never had time to really register what happened until the hand was settled over him and Sam again. It was dim, and warm, and muffled under there, but he still clearly heard Dean's words. He even felt them in the hand that pinned him down now.

"N-no you don't!" he insisted, joining Sam in protesting their confinement. He squirmed under the gentle weight, getting his arms in position to push upwards on Dean's hand. He still had in mind the memory of the last time he'd tried to move this hand out of the way. This time, he could push back on his fear with the knowledge that Dean was only playing.

"D-Dean, let us up!" he yelled, pushing against the teen's hand and squirming his little legs for all he was worth. His arms shuddered from the strain before he backed off with a huff. "Sam, how do we make him leggo?" he asked exasperatedly.

Sam grumbled back at him. “We can’t make him leggo,” he admitted. His older brother was to big for that. Determined, he pushed upwards on the skin above him and didn’t budge it a centimeter. Sonovabitch! Dean’s favorite curse word echoed in his mind.

Dean laughed as he pushed the pillow he was leaning on out of the way so he could peer under his hand. He lifted up the hand just enough to see their tiny forms. “So does this mean I win?” he asked with a smirk.

“Deeeaaannn!” Sam whined. “No fair, you’re not supposed to trap us! That’s against the rules! ” He managed to squirm enough to aim a swift kick at the thumb lying prostrate nearby. It didn’t even occur to him to tell Dean he was too big to play.

“Oh, my bad,” Dean said with a laugh. “Guess I’ll have to let you up then. That way you can get on with the game.” He was still snickering as he lifted his hand away, freeing the two kids back on the bedspread.

Oscar took a breath and blinked at the hand as it lifted away. Just like that, because Dean never intended to keep them stuck there. Oscar smiled faintly while he rolled over and pushed himself shakily to his feet again. He was still a bit wobbly, but once on his feet it was easier to hold onto his balance.

"I never played a game like this before," he told Sam. In truth, he hadn't played many games at all. Sometimes his mother would let him swing back and forth from his climbing rope, and he'd tried building his own supplies when he was much younger (none of them were very successful).

Apparently this one meant he'd have to catch Sam to tag him back. It sounded fun in all its simplicity. "So .... I just gotta tag you back?" he asked Sam, just to be sure. "Then what?"

Sam bounced on his heels, ready to run. “Yep!” he affirmed. “Then I’ll be it, and I’ll have to catch you! It’s easy!” He paused, bracing himself. “Of course, first you have to catch me!”

With that he darted off, heading out of the center of the bed with a laugh. Dean pushed himself up on his elbows so he’d be able to see the other two without a problem, moving his hand away from Oscar to give him room to run. It was certainly going to be an interesting game of tag. He didn’t think there had ever been another game played just on top of one bed.

Oscar flinched in surprise, and wasted no time running after Sam. The plushy surface of the bed was weird to try to sprint on, but he did his best. He even managed not to completely tumble over when he tripped, instead spinning his arms and catching his footing just in time. A smile grew on his face.

Running around and playing wasn't something he'd been able to do for around a year. Oscar, being on his own, had no one to spend time with. The mice would occasionally come and check on him, and once or twice the people from the other side of the motel came around, but mostly it was just Oscar. Oscar and his little house.

This was much better, and he found himself so grateful he had a whole month to spend time with Sam and Dean. He could actually be a kid for a while. "Almost ..." he muttered, thinking he was just about to catch up to Sam despite his much shorter legs. But a turn from the other boy led Oscar trying to match it too sharply, and this time he did actually tumble to the covers with a chuckle.

“Can’t catch me!” Sam taunted over his shoulders as he caught sight of Oscar’s tumble. It gave him precious seconds to regain his lead on the other kid, and he intended to use them.

Oscar was fast for a little guy.

It made sense, if he thought about it. The other kid had to be quick on his feet since he was all on his own. The only reason Dean had been able to catch him so easily was because at his size, any of their movements just didn’t cover enough ground to make much of a difference.

Sam would have to think smart to get ahead of Oscar and keep the lead. With this thought in mind, he angled for a specific destination.

Dean.

The teen was watching them from overhead, propped up on his elbows. His feet were kicked up in the air against the headboard, giving him plenty of room to lie down with the pillow knocked onto the floor now. And, of course, for someone as small as Sam, he offered the perfect place to climb to escape Oscar.

With Oscar recovering behind him, Sam made it to Dean’s side. He ignored the bemused expression that was watching him and scaled up to a shoulder. From there, he ran towards Dean’s back and paused to catch his breath with a smirk.

Oscar darted after Sam, but slowed at the sight of the other boy scaling up to Dean's shoulder. He'd just so casually climbed up onto a human. It was still kind of incredible for Oscar that someone might feel that comfortable around someone so much larger than themselves.

Oscar knew he probably could follow easily enough. But whether he dared to was another story. He hesitated at Dean's side, where it still rested on the bed despite Dean propping himself up and turning himself enough to watch them.

He stood on his tiptoes to see up a little higher and find where Sam had paused on Dean's back. And, of course, to stall his decision on whether or not he'd follow. He had to catch Sam somehow, after all.

“You just gonna take that?” Dean asked with a grin, spotting the hesitation coming from the younger kid. It wasn’t hard to imagine where it was coming from, considering the sheer size difference between the oldest in the room and the youngest. Oscar couldn’t be taller than his pinkie was long. But Dean knew how to keep still (when he wanted to) and he knew exactly where Sam was the entire way. The slight tickle along his back where his younger brother was climbing was a dead giveaway.

Shifting position to free one of his arms, Dean smirked when he felt Sam go tumbling down the slope. He lightly nudged Oscar’s back with his index finger, propelling him forward an inch.

“C’mon, you can’t just let him win without a fight. Show him who’s boss.” He winked at the kid before settling down again so he was motionless.

That didn’t stop Sam from stomping a foot into his back when he managed to pull himself to his feet again. “Jerk!” came the soft response to the movement.

Oscar stumbled towards Dean, still hesitating. But, after the encouragement, he tried to view the slope before him as just another obstacle. Not a being several times his size who could throw him off with barely more than a twitch if he wanted to. It was lucky he didn't want to do that.

Oscar took a deep, slow breath and muttered "Okay," to himself. Then he stepped forward and got hold of the fabric of Dean's jacket, hauling himself up the human's side hand over hand. At least it was easy, like climbing the curtains or the bedspread. It just had the added sensation of steady breathing behind it as well as the body producing lots of heat.

Once he made it onto Dean's back, Oscar returned to a wobbly stand. Now he'd been on a human's hand, shoulder, head, and back. All of them were strange to him. Still, he grinned, proud of himself. "I made it," he mumbled aloud, before looking up from his feet to see where Sam had ended up.

Sam grinned gamely back at Oscar when he saw the other kid actually make it up to Dean’s back. “You did it!” he said, feeling pride that his new friend already trusted his brother enough to come up on his own for the first time, instead of being plucked or scooped off the ground by Dean.

Regardless, they were still playing a game and Sam wasn’t about to make it easy for Oscar to catch him.

From where he’d landed all the way down Dean’s back after the tumble, he angled towards the opposite shoulder from where Oscar had climbed up. “Still too slow!” he called out with a laugh, challenging Oscar to catch him. He felt a laugh rumble up through the surface he was standing on. Dean might not be able to see them, but he could follow what they were doing just from what they said and where they went.

Oscar's first few steps were hesitant. He was walking on a surface that rose and fell with Dean's breathing, though it was surprisingly steadier than he'd expected. Dean was trying really hard not to send the two of them flying. Oscar was grateful, because it was hard enough to walk around like this as it was.

"I-I'm not too slow, you just got a head start," he pointed out, running towards Dean's shoulders. But he paused when Sam passed out of sight behind the tall folds of the hood as it rested against Dean's back. Their hiding place of the day was now hiding Sam from Oscar's pursuit.

After a beat of hesitation, he decided to double around it, to avoid tripping over bigger folds of cloth before he had to. It was tough enough to catch Sam as it was.

Sam giggled to himself as he reached Dean’s shoulder. His older brother could actually catch sight of him from here, one green eye twinkling with just as much mischief as Sam’s were. His lip quirked upwards as he saw Sam duck down to use the hoodie for hiding.

Instead of darting off in another direction, Sam crawled over the small ledge of fabric that the hood formed on Dean’s back. He used the mounds of fabric around him to hide his passage to the other side. Dean’s neck formed a backdrop for his secretive journey as he traversed the strange landscape while trying to keep out of Oscar’s line of sight.

Once Sam was gone from sight, Dean tried to crane his neck more to see if he could spot the other kid that was playing around on his back. It was strangely endearing to watch them have so much fun close by, especially after a few weeks of Sam being nervous around him more often than not.

Oscar frowned in concentration as he rounded the hood, focused more on making it up the slope than anything else. But, as he should have guessed, Sam was out of sight. Oscar stumbled once on his way up, and then found his way to Dean's shoulder where Sam had been standing moments ago. He sighed exasperatedly, peeking over the edge at the short drop to the bed. He didn't think Sam would have jumped down there.

Motion to the side caught his eye and he gasped. If he stood up on his tiptoes, it was easier to see over the folds of fabric as Sam traversed to Dean's other shoulder.

Of course.

Oscar let out a frustrated "Oh," as he hurried to climb over the edge of the hood himself and give chase.

He was just feeling proud of himself for keeping his balance this long when he finally tripped. The thicker fabric of the hood was harder to keep his footing on. The result was Oscar pitching forward, just behind Dean's neck. Thanks to the slope of the human's back, Oscar rolled over just enough times to start a real tumble. Before he knew it, he'd fallen into the bottom of the hood again, where he'd already spent most of the day.

"Ohh, now I'll never catch you," he groaned, starting his climb back up with one hand while trying to push the cloth off his head with the other.

“Can’t give up that easy!” Dean said, still trying to catch a glimpse of them. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he’d felt Oscar’s tumble down his back.

Sam cracked up, hauling on the edge of the hoodie to try and open it up around Oscar again. “I don’t know about that. I am pretty fast!” The heavy fabric wouldn’t give way beneath his hands, but he didn’t give up. He gave it another good yank, trying to help the other kid out.

His own footing slipped and he stumbled back an inch before landing on his butt in surprise.

Oscar pulled himself out of the hood and found Sam sitting nearby. His expression became one of surprise to find the other kid still so near, and he jolted as the objective of the game came rushing back. He scrambled up, kicking back at the edge of the hood to free himself of it completely. The fabric was thick, but thankfully it wasn't heavy enough to weigh him down.

Once he was at a shaky stand, he hopped forward and tagged Sam on the arm like the other boy had tagged him at the start. "I got you," he said proudly, shuffling backwards a bit to avoid Sam catching him again right away. Oscar was beaming, enjoying the game despite never having played before and despite it being a lot of work just to keep up with the other kid. He couldn't remember the last time he had fun.

Of course, all fun aside, he was still standing on a human's back, near the many folds of cloth that made up his hood. So it was little surprise that Oscar tripped on a fold and toppled over, though at least he didn't fall into the hood this time. He squirmed around and got his bearings enough to scramble down behind the hood again, hoping for a head start on Sam.

Sam clambered to his feet. “It won’t be for long!” he declared with a laugh. He was off in a flash, ready to catch up with the younger kid and get him back. He was getting better at running on the strange surface of the shirt, hopping over a fold into the hood. It shifted under his feet, almost throwing him off balance.

Dean apparently never got the memo about how hard it was to balance on his back. He shifted in place, trying to catch sight of the others. This slight shift sent Sam sprawling on his own, but a fold stopped him from slipping into the hoodie like Oscar had.

“I think it’s my turn to be it!” Dean announced with a glint in his eye. Using only one arm to prop himself up, he reached his other arm around, trying to grab the others off of his back.

The shifting surface of not only the hoodie but the body wearing it was entirely new terrain for Oscar. He didn't hold onto his balance for long as Dean moved to grab at them. After a few tumbles, the tiny kid managed to get a secure grip on Dean's jacket before he fell right off of the teen to the bed.

Of course, his pause in motion left him wide open when a hand snatched him up. The hoodie fabric left his grip and he immediately wriggled against his bonds, formed by fingers bigger than he was. He was, once again, a little disoriented by how fast Dean moved.

"Hey, no fair, I was getting away!" he complained.

“You were!” Dean grinned down at him. “But now I’m it, and the game just got a lot more fun!”

Sam was still clinging to the hoodie, so for the moment Dean lowered Oscar down and dropped him next to his other hand. He twisted his arm back, trying to snatch off the other kid. His first attempt missed. Sam let go of the shirt, sending himself sliding down the steep slope in a last-ditch attempt to escape Dean’s grasping fingers. After a few weeks of goofing off, he’d come up with a few new maneuvers to counteract the size discrepancy between them.

It didn’t do him any good, anyway. He didn’t get far enough down to dodge the second grab. Dean’s hand swung in, scooping him up onto the fingers and sending him rolling into the palm while the fingers curled securely around his body.

Dean brought his hand around to the front, opening it up as soon as he could. “Up for round two?” he asked the two kids with his eyebrows raised.

It was good to be the oldest.