writingbyebonio: (Default)
[personal profile] writingbyebonio
Title: Love in Focus
Author: [livejournal.com profile] eboniorchid
Fandom: Supernatural
Characters: Sam Winchester/Jessica Moore
Prompt: "004-Photo/Picture" for [livejournal.com profile] samw_mrperfect's second March prompt!fic over at [livejournal.com profile] dramaticmuses.
Word Count: ~1050 words.
Rating: PG-13 for implied sexuality and violence.
Warnings/Spoilers: Het. Angst. Schmoop. Character study. Missing scene. Character death (canon). Implied sexuality. Implied violence. Spoilers for the "Pilot" (01x01).
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Really. Nothing.
Summary: Sam and Jess and laughs and photographs, but also words for beginnings and silences for endings.
Beta: [livejournal.com profile] traffic_west was my beta demi-goddess. ♥
Author's Notes: This is set before, during, and after the "Pilot" (01x01). It is also my first purely Het piece! 0_o



He and Dean had so few photos. Maybe ten if they combined their resources. The whole family before the fire. Mom and dad wrapped tight around each other. Him and Dad and Dean on some hunting trip he no longer remembered. And he had that picture of Jess.

It was strange because he didn't have much in his wallet that was real. His credit cards and IDs all had fake names. Even the cash in there, though real, hadn't really been earned in any conventional sense. At least, not unless he could call himself a professional dingy bar-corner gambler.

It was her senior year photo, funny, or perhaps not, because that batch had only just arrived from the photographer the week before she died. She'd torn the package open with more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary and hmm'ed at the proofs. He'd come around behind, all arms, (man, he was skinny back then) and folded her close, looking over her shoulder.

This one had been his favorite. Simple, yeah, but perfect. It was a close up with some kind of wind machine effect and it just captured who she was so well. Her blue eyes sparkled with a shade of intensity that said she was just as deep and smart as she was pretty. The white of her smile and the curve of her lips said that she could be quirky sometimes, that she teased a lot and laughed a lot and tended to see the good in most everything, even him. That flush in her cheeks, though? That tilt of her head? They said she didn't really know all the reasons he had to love her, that she didn't understand just how beautiful she was.

He'd pointed to this one as the one that he wanted for keeps, but made sure she knew that every one of them were gorgeous. She'd protested, of course, because apparently she could never quite see herself clearly, even when her contacts were in and even when the evidence was so undeniable. He felt it was his duty to help her understand, help her see the light. And he'd done it with laughter.

He took the photos from her hands and set them gently aside. Then he'd turned her in his arms and initiated his surprise tickling attack, taking her down to the floor squeaking with giggles until there were tears in her eyes and she had to shriek 'uncle'.

He made her say that all the pictures were beautiful and that none of them deserved to be hidden away. It seemed like maybe she believed him, at least a little, but he had to make sure. So, the tickling continued until she promise-promise-promised that she wouldn't throw any of them out or pretend they didn't exist. The smiles on his face and hers were huge right then and just thinking about it now made him grin almost just as wide.

He'd let her tickle him back, though, just to keep things fair. He'd even let her win, tumbling onto his side with belly laughs so deep they almost hurt. Then when they both could breathe again, she'd leaned over and kissed him, soft at first, then deep, and his fingers got lost in the blond silk of her hair.

They didn't do much with photographs that night and didn't even make it properly to bed. They woke up tangled all together on the couch, still smiling and silly like the fun had only just ended. He forgot about classes that day, on purpose of course, knowing he wouldn't be missed, but that he'd be missing her. He even kind of forgot what had triggered it all.

Hence the surprise when he'd gone to grab take-out two nights later and found the photo he'd chosen wedged in one of those little plastic folders made for such things. There was writing on the back, but he was paying for their food and holding up the line, so he resolved to read it later.

But later came a day too late.

He'd come home from the hunt to find homemade cookies and a note signed with a heart. He'd settled in to wait, soothed by the sounds of the shower, with a smile on his face. But then she'd been bleeding down on him and burning over him and he'd lost himself in grief.

There was nothing left for him there but flame and ash when Dean had dragged him to the car. His tears were stuck, though, hardly spilling, as he shook off dreams of something better, something more, and focused on the justice that needed meting out.

They drove as far away as they could get that night before they pulled off for a room. He knew he couldn't sleep, though, and didn't even really try. He just sat and watched his brother breathing for a while, the rise and fall of something real and present reaching through the haze.

He found himself staring out the window some unknown minutes later, hardly noticing the sunrise. His hands were tense around an item, though, something flat and delicate and her. He had no memory of reaching for his wallet or carrying the picture to the window, but then he was blinking down at it and his fingers were turning it over and he cracked right down the middle, things held back pouring out over his arm.

Dean never asked him why his tears were fresh when he woke up or why his anger burned so bright. Dean thought he knew, thought he could maybe understand, but he didn't and he couldn't and he wouldn't ever really. It wasn't just about loss, about lives taken and destroyed. It was about being moments away from having everything he'd ever really wanted only to be shoved back into a world filled with nothing but duty and darkness.

Sam,

I love you and I think you know that.
So, I hope that you'll believe me
when I say that I don't need
formal clothes or fancy dinners
or even candlelight.
All I need is you and your love.
So, if you're waiting for the right time,
know that any time will do just fine.
So, go ahead and ask me, you dork.
I know that I'll say yes.

Jess ♥

Date: 2007-03-28 09:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] missyjack.livejournal.com
hear that? sound of my heart breaking. *hugs you and poor Sammy*

Date: 2007-03-28 02:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Aww, honey. I'm sorry. *snuggles into MJ+Sammy hug* Thank you.

Date: 2007-03-28 10:54 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lostandalone22.livejournal.com
Poor Sammy. *hugs him* Beautifully written.

Date: 2007-03-28 02:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Yeah. *hugs Sammy too* Thank you!

Date: 2007-03-28 11:58 am (UTC)
epeeblade: (Default)
From: [personal profile] epeeblade
Wow. That was lovely.

Date: 2007-03-28 02:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Thank you very much.

Date: 2007-03-28 02:41 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] taniapretender.livejournal.com
Oh. My. GOD.

Jess' note to Sam just BROKE ME. This is...god, this hurts too much. Gotta pull myself back now, and study for exams.

Thanks anyway, for reminding me how much I love Jess...

Date: 2007-03-28 03:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Aww, I'm sorry I broke you, hun. I'm glad, though, that this was a good reminder of your Jess!love. Thank you for the feedback!

Good luck with those exams!

Date: 2007-03-28 02:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lady--vaako.livejournal.com
*sobs* That was really beautiful... Could you post the link at [livejournal.com profile] sammyed_away? Thanks! :-)

Date: 2007-03-28 02:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lady--vaako.livejournal.com
Just ignore the request because I just saw your new post. :-D

Date: 2007-03-28 02:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Heh. No need to ignore it. It was the reason I posted over there. I just posted before I commented back over here. :)

And thank you so much for the lovely comment. I'm glad you liked it.

Date: 2007-03-28 03:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] anli.livejournal.com
this is beautiful, I really like it.

Date: 2007-03-29 02:14 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it.

Date: 2007-03-28 06:06 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] broken-lullaby.livejournal.com
That was gorgeous and beautiful and sad. *sniffs* Great job.

Date: 2007-03-29 02:14 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Aw, thank you very much. *hands you tissues and chocolates*

Date: 2007-03-28 11:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cutedevil666.livejournal.com
awwww how sad and beautiful was that! Great job, loved the ending.

Date: 2007-03-29 02:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Thank you! I'm so glad the ending worked for you. It's my favorite part. :)

Date: 2007-03-29 06:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] coell.livejournal.com
Awwwwww!~!!

Date: 2007-03-29 06:52 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Thank you! :)

Date: 2007-03-30 02:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] somersaulter.livejournal.com
♥!

Recc'ed over at [livejournal.com profile] crack_impala in this post (http://community.livejournal.com/crack_impala/10925.html).

Date: 2007-03-31 01:40 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Oh wow, thank you very much! :D

Date: 2007-04-01 03:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] traffic-west.livejournal.com
*loves all over you and this*

Dude, you put so much into this and it totally shows. Still love it. YAY YOU.

Date: 2007-04-02 09:52 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Aww, thank you honey. It wouldn't have been half as awesome without all your awesomeness added in beta-goddess-style! ♥

Date: 2007-04-03 01:40 am (UTC)
ext_847: shep actually asleep by ciderpress (dean is awesomesauce by extremefangirl)
From: [identity profile] miriad.livejournal.com
Oh. My. God. I love this. You have broken me into tiny pieces. Because as much as I am a Sam/Dean OTP'er, I can see what Sam had with Jess, that he loved her greatly and she loved him back and the loss of that breaks my heart and makes me cry. This is wonderful and heartfelt and rings incredibly true, based on what we saw of them together and how he's held on to her for so long. Awesomesauce.

Date: 2007-04-24 07:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Oh, thank you! I'm so glad that the piece seemed to fit the characters and that it broke your heart a bit - I know it broke mine in the writing. *sigh*

Date: 2007-04-19 04:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fanficmistress.livejournal.com
awe. awesome story.

Jenna

Date: 2007-04-24 07:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Thank you! Glad you liked it!

Date: 2007-05-06 12:45 am (UTC)
ext_11786: (samflashlight)
From: [identity profile] dotfic.livejournal.com
Yep. Made me cry.

That was lovely.

Date: 2007-05-12 02:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Thank you! I'm sorry it made you cry, but I'm glad you liked it!

heartbreak party of one!

Date: 2007-09-16 04:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] asaneismrnuts.livejournal.com
*finds broom and starts sweeping up the million pieces my heart just broke into*
Oh my that was just too beautiful! That note killed me dead!

Re: heartbreak party of one!

Date: 2007-09-22 02:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
*helps with the broken-heart mess* I'm sorry I broke your heart, but thank you for the feedback. I'm glad the piece had an impact on you. :)

Date: 2007-11-29 03:12 am (UTC)
ext_44587: Sam from "It's A Terrible Life" (Sam Close Up)
From: [identity profile] contrary-lady.livejournal.com
Aw, That was so beautiful and sad!

~ It wasn't just about loss, about lives taken and destroyed. It was about being moments away from having everything he'd ever really wanted only to be shoved back into a world filled with nothing but duty and darkness.

I think that sums it up nicely. Poor Sam. :(

Date: 2007-12-15 05:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] writingbyebonio.livejournal.com
Thank you! *pets poor Sammy*

Profile

writingbyebonio: (Default)
writingbyebonio

December 2016

S M T W T F S
    123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 14th, 2025 09:58 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios