[ fic : night swimming (supernatural) ]
Oh man, you can tell I'm really writer's blocked when I start posting fics where nothing happens :/ I wrote this for a flash fiction challenge a while ago but never posted it.
night swimming
supernatural. pg13. 866 words. Sam and Dean gen.
But Dean says swimming hole and Sam thinks summer, sophomore year of high school, Dad working a job in Shenandoah. Floundering around in early season one.
They've been driving through Iowa farmland for a couple of hours, and the sky is purple-black. Sam's eyes are closed and with the window rolled down he's breathing in the country air, trying to forget the taste and smell of smoke and ash. It's there all the time now, in the back of his throat like a curse.
He feels the car veer off the paved highway and rumble over a gravel shoulder, but he's not sure he isn't dreaming before Dean says, "Hey."
Sam opens his eyes. "Yeah?"
"Do you know where we are?" Dean asks.
"Uhh. The middle of nowhere?"
Dean kind of laughs, then he's unbuckling his seat-belt and sliding out the door. Sam shakes off his bleariness and follows his brother out of the car.
"What's going on?" Sam asks, stumbling along the gravel behind Dean. "Dean?"
"There's a swimming hole here," Dean calls. "Remember now?"
And Sam thinks he remembers, as he follows Dean's voice through the dark, but barely. He'd lost count of all the places they'd lived by the time he was ten, all the cities and one-street towns, motels and apartments, homes of near-friends and strangers. But Dean says swimming hole and Sam thinks summer, sophomore year of high school, Dad working a job in Shenandoah.
"Dean, that was..." Sam does the math. "Seven years ago!"
He catches up to Dean in front of a low wire fence.
"Must be private property now," Dean says, before shrugging and pressing his boot to the sad-looking fenceline so the wire sags to the earth with his weight. He motions for Sam to step over and Sam hesitates.
Dean laughs. "What, Sammy? You been living honestly for too long, or something?"
A ridiculous question. Sam gives him a look, but steps over the fence and follows a path of dried grass towards a rough looking slope.
"Down here, right?"
"Yeah."
The night air is warm and Dean strips his shirt off, balls it up to wipe his brow. "There," he says, and points. Sam's eyes are accustomed to the moonlight and he looks, nods. The dark water looks like glass, a black mirror, as they stumble down the last few steps towards the swimming hole.
Dean strips down silently, leaving clothes behind hanging on branches and draped over logs. Sam's pulling off his own shirt when he hears the splash, followed by his brother's whoop of excitement.
"Come in, water's fine!" Dean calls, followed by more splashing.
Sam reaches down to untie his sneakers, watching the white balls of his brother's shoulders bob up and down in the water. "How deep?"
"I dunno. Deep." Dean kicks over onto his back. "Stop stalling, Princess, get in the water."
"Figured I'd wait and see if you got attacked by leeches or not."
"Leeches? Bullshit. You're such a--"
"Shut up!" Sam kicks off his jeans. "I'm coming in."
Dean slips under the water without a reply, leaving silent ripples in his wake. Sam tosses his clothes aside and steps into the swimming hole. The water feels icy against his skin at first, but he takes a deep breath and plunges in. Water floods his eyes and ears he kicks back up to the surface, covered in goose bumps.
"Jesus, it's cold!" Sam shakes wet hair out of his face. "Why are we doing this again?"
"Um. Old times sake." Dean paddles in a lazy circle. "You don't just get to stop living, you know. That's not how it works."
"Fuck you." Sam ducks back under the water and swims past his brother, brushing his arm against Dean's shoulder. He resurfaces in a shallow spot, unsure whether to apologize for the sudden lash-out or accidental contact. He hears Dean chuckle.
"It seemed bigger when we were kids," Dean says.
"Maybe it was."
"Nahhh."
They swim past each other again, touch briefly and barely.
"Hey," says Dean, and suddenly Sam's hit in the face with a splash of water. He doesn't feel like fighting back so instead, he lets himself sink to safety. Looking up through the water he can see the moon, full and bright and rippling with his movements. Then it's gone. Sam reaches out and feels another body; pushing it away, he kicks back to the surface.
Sam blinks water out of his eyes and realizes the moon is gone. A few stars peek out through the clouds, but not enough to see by. "Dean?"
"See, Sammy?" Dean calls. "Just like we're kids again?"
Sam reaches out towards Dean's voice but his fingers touch nothing, just more water.
"Hey, it's okay," Dean says, then, like he's reading Sam's mind, "I'm right here."
Like that, Sam's fingers wrap around his brother's arm, and Sam laughs a little with relief, and at himself for being relieved.
"Think it's time to go back?" Dean asks quietly.
"No." He's trying to play stubborn, but his voice sort of cracks when he says it. Dean doesn't respond, but suddenly there's a hand reaching for Sam's like something's coming, an awful Are you okay?, where the answer isn't supposed to be no.
Sam lets go and swims down, down, down, where fire and smoke can't reach him and he can't imagine coming back up.
As a complete story, this was a complete failure, but there are still things I like about it :p
night swimming
supernatural. pg13. 866 words. Sam and Dean gen.
But Dean says swimming hole and Sam thinks summer, sophomore year of high school, Dad working a job in Shenandoah. Floundering around in early season one.
They've been driving through Iowa farmland for a couple of hours, and the sky is purple-black. Sam's eyes are closed and with the window rolled down he's breathing in the country air, trying to forget the taste and smell of smoke and ash. It's there all the time now, in the back of his throat like a curse.
He feels the car veer off the paved highway and rumble over a gravel shoulder, but he's not sure he isn't dreaming before Dean says, "Hey."
Sam opens his eyes. "Yeah?"
"Do you know where we are?" Dean asks.
"Uhh. The middle of nowhere?"
Dean kind of laughs, then he's unbuckling his seat-belt and sliding out the door. Sam shakes off his bleariness and follows his brother out of the car.
"What's going on?" Sam asks, stumbling along the gravel behind Dean. "Dean?"
"There's a swimming hole here," Dean calls. "Remember now?"
And Sam thinks he remembers, as he follows Dean's voice through the dark, but barely. He'd lost count of all the places they'd lived by the time he was ten, all the cities and one-street towns, motels and apartments, homes of near-friends and strangers. But Dean says swimming hole and Sam thinks summer, sophomore year of high school, Dad working a job in Shenandoah.
"Dean, that was..." Sam does the math. "Seven years ago!"
He catches up to Dean in front of a low wire fence.
"Must be private property now," Dean says, before shrugging and pressing his boot to the sad-looking fenceline so the wire sags to the earth with his weight. He motions for Sam to step over and Sam hesitates.
Dean laughs. "What, Sammy? You been living honestly for too long, or something?"
A ridiculous question. Sam gives him a look, but steps over the fence and follows a path of dried grass towards a rough looking slope.
"Down here, right?"
"Yeah."
The night air is warm and Dean strips his shirt off, balls it up to wipe his brow. "There," he says, and points. Sam's eyes are accustomed to the moonlight and he looks, nods. The dark water looks like glass, a black mirror, as they stumble down the last few steps towards the swimming hole.
Dean strips down silently, leaving clothes behind hanging on branches and draped over logs. Sam's pulling off his own shirt when he hears the splash, followed by his brother's whoop of excitement.
"Come in, water's fine!" Dean calls, followed by more splashing.
Sam reaches down to untie his sneakers, watching the white balls of his brother's shoulders bob up and down in the water. "How deep?"
"I dunno. Deep." Dean kicks over onto his back. "Stop stalling, Princess, get in the water."
"Figured I'd wait and see if you got attacked by leeches or not."
"Leeches? Bullshit. You're such a--"
"Shut up!" Sam kicks off his jeans. "I'm coming in."
Dean slips under the water without a reply, leaving silent ripples in his wake. Sam tosses his clothes aside and steps into the swimming hole. The water feels icy against his skin at first, but he takes a deep breath and plunges in. Water floods his eyes and ears he kicks back up to the surface, covered in goose bumps.
"Jesus, it's cold!" Sam shakes wet hair out of his face. "Why are we doing this again?"
"Um. Old times sake." Dean paddles in a lazy circle. "You don't just get to stop living, you know. That's not how it works."
"Fuck you." Sam ducks back under the water and swims past his brother, brushing his arm against Dean's shoulder. He resurfaces in a shallow spot, unsure whether to apologize for the sudden lash-out or accidental contact. He hears Dean chuckle.
"It seemed bigger when we were kids," Dean says.
"Maybe it was."
"Nahhh."
They swim past each other again, touch briefly and barely.
"Hey," says Dean, and suddenly Sam's hit in the face with a splash of water. He doesn't feel like fighting back so instead, he lets himself sink to safety. Looking up through the water he can see the moon, full and bright and rippling with his movements. Then it's gone. Sam reaches out and feels another body; pushing it away, he kicks back to the surface.
Sam blinks water out of his eyes and realizes the moon is gone. A few stars peek out through the clouds, but not enough to see by. "Dean?"
"See, Sammy?" Dean calls. "Just like we're kids again?"
Sam reaches out towards Dean's voice but his fingers touch nothing, just more water.
"Hey, it's okay," Dean says, then, like he's reading Sam's mind, "I'm right here."
Like that, Sam's fingers wrap around his brother's arm, and Sam laughs a little with relief, and at himself for being relieved.
"Think it's time to go back?" Dean asks quietly.
"No." He's trying to play stubborn, but his voice sort of cracks when he says it. Dean doesn't respond, but suddenly there's a hand reaching for Sam's like something's coming, an awful Are you okay?, where the answer isn't supposed to be no.
Sam lets go and swims down, down, down, where fire and smoke can't reach him and he can't imagine coming back up.
As a complete story, this was a complete failure, but there are still things I like about it :p