Fic: Dictionary for a Dead Language; Epilogue

[britomart_is]

Master Post
Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Epilogue


Epilogue.

There are two stocky, no-nonsense women drinking antique Coronas in the booth by the door when the kid walks in, making this officially their busiest night since opening.

"Dude," Dean says. "We're cool. We're like a happening spot. We're legitimate business owners."

Sam rolls his eyes and sips from a can of Tab they found in the back closet next to a bag of pork rinds with a pull-date from 1982. "Pillars of the community. Sure they'll give us the key to the city as soon as they're through with the paperwork." Dean punches Sam in the arm. Sam grins till his cheeks hurt.

The young man is standing in front of the bar, staring at Sam. Dean doesn't like it when people stare at Sam. Sam watches Dean's hand casually drifting to rest under the bar where the shotgun is. "I'd ask you for ID," Dean says mildly, "but I'm pretty sure you were a glimmer in the long-haul trucker's eye the last time anyone was issuing government ID. I can hook you up with a grape Fanta. It's a 1995, good vintage."

Sam wishes Dean wouldn't insult people's parentage, particularly since most people's parents are dead these days.

The kid visibly shakes his head as he snaps out of it. "Sorry. I came because I heard a rumor. Wow."

Dean stiffens. He doesn't like it when people hear whispers and come to try to shoot Sam in the back when he turns around to pour their drinks, either. Sam watches Dean's hand curling tighter around the shotgun and jostles him warningly with a knee. The kid's young, swimming in a coat three sizes too big for him, oughta be at some college party, or dragging all his laundry home over break to use his parents' washer. Sam leans over the bar, tries to look non-terrifying. "What can we help you with?"

"Actually, I've got something for you." When the kid reaches into his coat pocket, Sam's afraid Dean'll shoot him, but the kid produces a harmless scrap of paper. A photo. He hands it to Sam. "I thought you'd want this back."

By the time Sam breaks out of his trance, the kid's gone.

"What is it?" Dean asks suspiciously.

"I don't know," Sam says, handing the snapshot over. "I don't remember it."

Sam watches Dean take in the photo, bites his lip at the softening of Dean's facial expression. Dean looks up suddenly. "Where'd that guy get this?"

Sam shrugs. "Don't know. Glad he gave it back. I like it." Sam takes the picture back, lovingly straightening its dogeared edges. "We look happy."

Dean wraps his arms around Sam's waist from behind as Sam turns to face the back of the bar. "We're happy now."

Sam smiles broadly as he tucks the snapshot into the frame of the mirror that spans the wall behind dusty whiskey bottles. "There."

In the photograph, a garish monument looms with styrofoam solemnity in a grassy field. A man, young and momentarily untroubled, smiles bashfully. There's a sun in the sky, and a bird perched on the Welcome to Foamhenge sign. And there are two brothers, together.

the end

Comments

[mimblexwimble.livejournal.com]

Oh god, crying again. It's 6 AM and I'm a mess and really should go to bed now. I will return tomorrow with some well-deserved feedback for this beautiful, beautiful story.

[ruthless1.livejournal.com]

So I finally got to this. And now all the non-existant hairs on my newly shaved legs are standing straight up. Maybe that is not the most eloquent compliment in the world but jaysus - what a story. You really know how to impact the reader - wallop us in fact with the depth of their relationship. This was just wonderful. Thank you so much for writing it.

[paula-lirio.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. That was so good. So good.

I know it would be good because, you know, it's you, but I was not expecting this.

It was beatiful and heartbreaking and hopeful. And excellent.

It made me cry and laugh and really feel for Dean. Just amazing.

&hearts

[sailorstarshine.livejournal.com]

THIS! THIS IS SOSOSOSOSOOOOOO MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED!... -cough- Sorry, but WAH! I'm reading this and there is so much GLEE! The Apocalypse happened! Dean and the hunters saved the world, and yeah, the world is kinda scorched but people are surviving and trading kittens for food and and just AH! I love how Sam was just a shell, but he wasn't, he just didn't know he could move by his own free will again. And while I'm sad that Sammy's been lost, he's still Sammy and and -flails- I have no words how to describe how much I love this story!

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

A very enjoyable piece. I like the starkness of it, and Sam's slow progression to being himself again. Lovely work!

[phoenixangel13.livejournal.com]

this was beautiful. i feel both sad and happy for dean, losing his sam but gaining one who he could actually be happy with. i'm really glad i took the time to read this.

[tehchou.livejournal.com]

This was amazing and exactly the balm I want for poor, post-apocalyptic Dean and Sammy.

<3

[rickj65.livejournal.com]

This was so vividly drawn, umm, I mean written, that I'm waiting for it to come out on film! I read it in parts, and found myself continuously thinking about how it was going to play out.
Excellent premise for SPN.
Thanks for providing something worthy to use my time!

[laurapetri.livejournal.com]

*bawling my eyes out* Seriously excellently done

[mdlaw.livejournal.com]

Oh I loved this. It was sweet and painful, beautiful and horrible; and filled with so much love. m ;)

[mystic-reader.livejournal.com]

Oh. My. God. That was so completely overwhelming I am practically speechless when it comes to describing how amazing it was. It was so incredibly painful at times. I swear, I barely made it through the first chapter before I was bawling my eyes out. I love fics that give such a beautiful (and in this case, heartbreaking) portrayal of just how much Dean loves Sam, and what he would do for him, no matter what.
This is definitely going on my list of fics I consider The Best Of the Best.
mystic_spn_recs

[cherie-morte.livejournal.com]

Oh, just wow. Do you have any idea how hard it is to read 20K with misty eyes? I wasn't going to read this because I'm not a big fan of apocafic but I got one rec too many and needed some good, long Wincest to read. Now I just want to beat myself senseless for waiting so long because I think this may be my favorite Wincest story ever.

Every single word here made me ache. I loved that you were never maudlin--all of the emotion was so subtle but so much more real and appropriate to Dean because of that. All of the little moments he remembered when he was taking care of Sam, Jesus Christ, I was in *agony* over Sam just because of the way Dean remembered him. I loved the way you characterized this Dean--he still felt like The End!verse Dean, but you gave him such depth and brought him back to the Dean we know and love.

And Sam, POOR Sammy. God, you made everything he was thinking and feeling so clear, even when he was hardly moving, it was incredible.

I also really adored that you didn't make the cross into a romantic relationship overwrought. We got Dean's delicious shame, which is always fun, but it still happened like this inevitable snapping of a twig under too much weight. You didn't need constant kissing and graphic sex scenes to make their love so palpable I almost couldn't stand it, and I feel like that was really genuine to the way Dean would be telling this story.

I just...I don't even have words to express how much I loved this story. Your writing style is impeccable and you did so much right by their relationship that I am in awe.

[veronamay.livejournal.com]

Ohhhhh, this is beautiful. Just what I wanted to read tonight. I love that despairing self-awareness Dean has, that there really isn't anything Sam could do that would make Dean forsake him.

[rachelismo.livejournal.com]

This... it hurts SO GOOD!

I am in awe of you and your narrative, you have a grasp in your story telling that is so rare nowadays! I think I need to give you my first unborn child, now o.o

That is how amazing this was.

You ROCK HARD.

[ancastar.livejournal.com]

I've slowly been catching up on my BB reading and this one has quickly leapt up near the top of the list (I can't choose a single story for #1!).

Your Dean is so amazing. You make him vulnerable without having him lose his bad-ass Dean-ness, and he loves so deeply. It's a beautiful thing.

And Sam, poor Sam. If there's one thing I regret it's that he didn't get his memories back in the end. Maybe that was a blessing, given what had happened to him with Lucifer. Still I wanted him to know what his life had been like with Dean. Thank God you gave them a future together.

You made me cry. Thank you for that. :-)

[timian.livejournal.com]

After reading the prologue soon after you'd posted the story, I thought OMG that is fucking amazing, but also too heavy for me at the moment. So I put it aside and resolved to come back to it when I was in a more receptive mood. And oh, I'm so glad I did. This was amazing. I can't get over the tsunami-like tragedy that followed Sam's mistake, and how unmoored he became, losing so much of himself. What an enormously brave choice for you to have made, and to have stuck with. And Dean, man. He ends up pseudo-Sam but even scraps are enough for him. Scraps are plenty.

Oh, pfft. I totally fail at leaving feedback for this story. But rest assured that it was amazing and incredibly memorable. One of the best SPN fics I've read. Truly.

[pattyposh.livejournal.com]

i'm pretty sure i adore you for writing this.
just..AWHHHH it was all so good.
and so sweet!
and TEH SCHMOOP!!!!
i love the idea of them in a whole
post apocalyptic domestic type of scenario.
and it was all so well written.
and the parts where Sam was asking
dean all those questions just like broke my heart
but i really loved how easy the conversation seemed.
i would really seriously LOVE to podfic this
if you don't mind.
*mems*
=D

p.s *POINTS TO ICON*
=]]]

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Wow. This story tore me apart and put me right back together again more times than I can count.

You've reminded me of what I adore about Dean, his devotion and stubborn refusal to give up on Sam regardless of the many reasons that he's been given to do just that. I'm reminded of a passage in a McCarthy novel: 'When one has nothing left, make ceremonies out of the air and breath upon them.' Well, Dean never stops breathing. He doesn't know how. Neither does Sam.

And Sam. Honestly, one of the parts in this story that caught me was your description of a basically essentialzed Sam, devoid of memories and everything else that would make him Sam, but nonetheless himself. That this essentialized Sam is one who would want to make his brother breakfast and carry him down the stairs and can't imagine ever leaving his brother. Yeah...just, yeah.

Stunning story. Many many thanks.

[ai-kizu.livejournal.com]

This was brilliant and beautifully well done. The pacing was wonderful and I could just imagine it happening.

[kros-21.livejournal.com]

I stood stolid (and by that I mean I managed not to cry) for the whole fic and then you broke me with the the last two lines. the picture was really too much.
I feel a bit sad Sam doesn't remember is life before Lucifer but it's so nice to think he managed to find happiness again with Dean.
this was really good. I loved it.
very well done.

[thanatoseve.livejournal.com]

Thankyou

[violateraindrop]

This story was definitely different from what I normally read. Darker or sadder. The ending was kinda open and not something what most people would call happy.

I know that doesn't really sound too positive, but I enjoyed this story. Just in a different way than I enjoy most other stories (does that make sense?).
The way you write is really great and kinda absorbing. I could imagine the world you created here.

[rockstarpeach.livejournal.com]

This was such a neat idea and you did a beautiful job with it.

Very cool.

[mistyzeo.livejournal.com]

Gaaahh, you slay me. This is so gorgeous. It's frustrating and optimistic at the same time, and I was on the verge of tears over and over, feeling for Dean. Well done. I love that Sam came back to himself not as himself, and how they dealt with it. I love the end! God. Perfect.

Thank you!