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Jack was allowed out to shop. Granted it was one of the nearest stores and Sam was somewhere within the building as well, but the point was, he was out of the bunker! And Sam had trusted him enough to choose the cereal himself.
He beamed. Progress.
Hmm, he ought to get that super sugary cereal that Dean liked so much. Jack hadn't tried it yet, mostly because Dean finished it off before he could even try to ask, and they'd been walking on needles with their interactions till now, as Sam had said was the phrase.
He shrugged. It was getting better.
He placed two boxes of cereal in the basket.
"I love those cornflakes!" A voice said from behind him, and a boy popped in front, a few years younger than Jack was… supposed to be. Probably way older than Jack really was. Eleven? Twelve?
The boy smiled. "Hullo!" He said. "I'm Teddy." His accent was very, very British.
Jack beamed back. This was nice. "Hello," He replied. "My name is Jack."
"Wicked!" The boy said. "Like Jack the Giant?"
Jack blinked. Um… what? "I am not sure," He admitted. "Who is Jack the Giant?"
Teddy's eyes widened. "Oh, I can't spoil a book," He insisted. "Aunt Hermione says that's a car-" He screwed up his face in thought and Jack frowned because were his eyebrows changing? No, it couldn't be. "Car-di-nal sin." He shrugged. "Uncle Ron disagrees, but everyone knows Aunt Hermione's the smartest."
"Oh," Jack said, though he had not known Aunt Hermione was supposed to be the smartest. At least he'd been told now (though a doubt at the back of his mind nagged at him that Sam was the smartest, thank you very much). "I don't have that book." He wondered if maybe Sam had it, and if so, whether he'd give it to Jack to read. Because thinking about it, he really wanted to know who Jack the Giant was and if he really was named after him.
Teddy's face fell. "That's sad," He whispered. "I've never never had a book because Aunt Hermione always has one." He looked down. "Though we had to leave lots of them behind when we moved here."
Jack tilted his head. "From England?" He asked.
Teddy nodded. "Da-" He shuttered. "Er, Harry said we had to hurry so couldn't take much." He gave a one-shouldered shrug. "We're still regrouping."
Jack raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry," He offered. "It is hard to leave your home." He should know - he'd run away, too.
Teddy nodded, and then brightened. "I have Jack the Giant here, though!" He said happily. "Would you like to borrow it?"
Jack hesitated. Could he? Would Sam and Dean be mad at him? But it was only a book. And Teddy seemed very nice.
Hmm.
There was a break in the calm music sounding over the speakers all around them, and Jack decided. "Okay," He said. "I really want to read the story.”
“Great!” Teddy looked around, seemed to realize he was in a store and not wherever he was expecting to be and blushed. “Er, maybe the next time we meet? I have it at home, actually. I could drop it off at your house!”
Jack hesitated because really, he didn’t have a house. And the bunker had no mailing address… did it? “Um,” He rubbed the back of his head.
Teddy tilted his head in bemusement.
Just then, someone took pity on Jack and there was a squeal of tires as a cart came rolling their way, Sam at the helm. He raised an eyebrow at Teddy’s presence, but didn’t seem to be overly concerned. “Hey, Jack,” He said. “Gotta go - Dean called.” He nodded towards the kid. “Hello.”
Teddy blinked and looked awed, having to crane his head to actually look at Sam’s face. “Are you a half giant?” He asked in what was undeniably a loud whisper.
Jack felt a smile quirk his lips because even though he’d called Jack in reference to Jack the giant, which was utterly crazy even in the crazy world Jack lived in and experienced with the Winchesters this was beyond imagination, the association with Sam brought a warmth in his chest that he was finding felt very pleasant, just like he always did when in association to Castiel.
Sam laughed. “No, unfortunately,” He said, and his voice was teasing. “Though I’ve been called that a lot.”
Teddy looked disappointed. “Oh,” He muttered. “I was hoping you were like Hagrid.” He sighed. “Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Jack and Mister Jack’s Father. Goodbye!” He announced, smiled, and turned away, apparently forgetting the conversation about the book that Jack had been still wondering how to respond to, which was a good thing, considering, but also made Jack feel a little bit disappointed.
Sam looked at Jack with an amused glint in his eyes. “Interesting kid,” He offered.
Jack nodded. “He just moved here from England,” He said. “He liked Dean’s cereal.”
Despite the fact that the amusement faded almost instantly for no reason that Jack could discern, Sam snorted. “Of course he did,” He murmured, and they left.