![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Title: Give Me Back The Berlin Wall
Author: Mistress Kat / kat_lair
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing: Sam/Dean
Rating: NC-17
Word count: ~ 1400
Disclaimer: Not mine, only playing.
Warnings/enticements: Incest, dubious con, dark/adult themes
Summary: Love is not insanity. It is survival.
Author notes: Although this story was written for the Soul Overturned evil!Sam Fic/Vid/Art Challenge, it really is more about Dean than about Sam, evil or otherwise. The song that inspired the fic is The Future by Leonard Cohen, and the story title and the italicised verses at the beginning of each section are all direct quotations from the lyrics. Many thanks to my marvellous beta-reader virtualinsomnia who valiantly suffers through all the angst I throw at her, and without whom this story would be painful to read for all the wrong reasons.
Now also in Russian: Read the Russian translation by eva_lain here or here.
Give Me Back The
my mirrored room, my secret life
After the crunches he does push-ups and uses the weights brought up from the hotel gym, counting the repetitions meticulously. There’s no real need to keep fit anymore, but it’s important that he does. Just in case.
He’s sweaty and tired, muscles happy with the exercise and remembered victories. In the shower Dean presses himself hard against the white tiles, all the soft vulnerable parts – face, palms, cock, the pale pink flesh of his upper thighs – crushed between the wall and his body, hurting but safe. He washes quickly and doesn’t linger on the bruises on his hips and around his arms like he once would have.
There’s a pile of clean clothes waiting on the bed and nothing but empty space in the wardrobe. The hangers weren’t replaced after Dean broke them apart and made a weapon out of the metal bits.
Morning chores done, he stands by the window for a long time before looking away.
Outside the world is burning.
Dean picks up the phone, dials room service and orders breakfast
***
you don't know me from the wind
you never will, you never did
Dad’s journal ran out of pages years ago; the last entry is dated November 2009, in
So Dean didn’t record the way his concentration slipped, because Sam’s shoulder lost contact with his for a split second. He didn’t write about the constant flicker of the naked light bulb in the bedroom, how Sam’s eyes were dark and desperate, and the first aid kit exploded open without anyone touching it. There’s not one line about the blood, running hot and thick down his neck, or the salty pure taste of it on Sam’s tongue. No word of cheap motel sheets, skin sliding against skin, and brief salvation found in sin.
These are the details Dean kept to himself. He takes them out when he’s alone, like a hidden treasure, and marvels at the colours, runs his mind over the smooth contours of the memory.
***
hanging upside down
her features covered by her fallen gown
Dean never answers. He’s not crazy.
Jess showed up once too, silhouetted in the doorway like the world’s sexiest hallucination, honey-blond hair falling in silky strands around her face. She was gorgeous, and Dean could really understand what Sam saw in her.
He almost touched her himself, kneeling on the floor, arms outstretched. His fingers brushed the hem of her white dress, a smell like sunshine filling the air, and Dean wanted it, ached for it, but she was there to take him away, and he wouldn’t go.
Won’t go. Not without Sam.
***
your servant here, he has been told
to say it clear, to say it cold
it's over, it ain't going
any further
Every evening they come to see him.
“Hello Dean,” notSam says. “I brought dinner. You should eat more.”
“Hello Sammy,” Dean says, and looks through the expensive shirt, through flesh and bone, so that Sam knows Dean’s talking to him and not anyone else. “Best not waste such a delicious meal then. Have to keep my strength up, don’t I?”
They sit down at the table.
“I could use you out there, Dean,” notSam tells him. “We’re brothers; half of everything is yours. All you need to do is take it.”
“This is actually pretty good. Guess they kept the gourmet chefs around, huh?” The steak is so tender even a plastic knife cuts through it like butter.
There’s a crash as the water pitcher hits the wall. “I’m offering you the world on a fucking plate, you stupid sonofabitch! The world!” Dean’s hand is suddenly pinned to the table, held immobile with enough force to make his bones grind.
NotSam hasn’t moved an inch.
“Remember Bobby’s cooking? You’d never think it to look at him, but that man sure knew his way around the kitchen.” Dean slowly reaches over with his left hand, extricates the fork from the numb fingers of his right and resumes eating.
“That one time we came back from a hunt – the male covenant in
NotSam is looking at his clenched fists and clearly not listening. It doesn’t matter though; Dean knows that Sam is.
***
give me absolute control
over every living soul
and lie beside me, baby
that's an order
Strong hands are pushing his head down, the white cotton cold like snow, his mouth split open across the bed. It’s okay, Sammy. It’s okay. You’re not hurting me. The words soak into the pillow, muffled truths given freely.
He refuses the food on occasion for fear of poison, refuses to listen to the lies, refuses to give up, but he never refuses this.
There’s the blunt pressure of teeth at the back of his neck, and Dean arches into it, shuddering. The desperate, needy noises that escape unbidden are not all his, though the blood usually is. Pleasure like thorns tears through all the open places of him, and he is drifting away, inside out and weightless.
Sometimes Dean lets himself think about that first time in Des Moines, sometimes the rest stop just outside of Albany; the feel of hot leather sticking to his knees and the dashboard digging into his back, and Sam, slick and gasping under him as Dean grinds down again and again and—
Sometimes Dean lets himself come, the memories spilling from his mouth like holy water, so Sam knows what it is that’s brought him off.
***
I've seen the nations rise and fall
I've heard their stories, heard them all
but love's the only engine of survival
NotSam doesn’t always stay the night, but Dean likes it when he does. He can talk to Sam then, without anyone else listening. Shh, shh. It’s going to be fine, I swear. Can touch him, palm skimming the lazy curve of a shoulder blade. Just hang in there, bro. Kiss the rise of bone, the long sweep of spine disappearing under the covers. For me, Sam. Please. Carefully, so as not to wake the other one, just a brush of lips against sleepy soft skin that smells so much like Sam that Dean is afraid he’ll forget the difference one day. I won’t ever. Not ever.
The mornings are always red and black, like volcanoes. A firestorm rides the world now; its epicentre, its living heart, beating right here in this room on the seventeenth floor of the last building standing.
“It’s me, Dean. It’s me!” The walls are shaking, and the air reeks of ozone. “You have to see it! You must know!”
But the years have melted Dean into hard glass, transparent and unbreakable, and the only thing he knows, the only thing he loves, is his brother, and whoever this is, it’s not him.
“See you tonight, Sammy,” Dean says, feet touching the base of the mirror. In the reflection a pair of hazel eyes catch his; one man, two men, three. Dean holds the gaze. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The door slam vibrates through the floor and into the bones of his back. Dean curls up smoothly, his body falling into the rhythm like a lover, like a promise. One, he counts.
Two.
Three.
Fin.
no subject
on 2007-08-06 08:41 am (UTC)and this... A firestorm rides the world now... I love this line so very much.
no subject
on 2007-08-06 11:00 am (UTC)And you picked a favourite line! *squirms with unabashed pleasure* You know how I feel about that...
no subject
on 2007-08-06 11:34 am (UTC)EvilSam's fic usually break me, but this gave me a little glimp of hope that every once in a while Dean gets to see his Sam...Which maybe is even worse, because he knows that he would have to deal with 'NotSam' but anyway...I loved this all ;)
no subject
on 2007-08-06 12:56 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-06 01:18 pm (UTC)I like the one-day-is-every-day structure of this, because it makes that kind of apocalypse have a more deeper meaning than just that of the world burning. Like nothing is left, not even time. So, the worst groundhog day ever.
You said in the beginning it's about Dean, and I don't know how this could work if it wasn't about him. Evil is just evil, it doesn't hold any meaning inside of it, besides the obvious. The love is survival ethos works just so because it is about Dean and his desire to keep the Sam alive who was his.
Okay, good fic. but that's an understantment again. and I've rambled on enough.
no subject
on 2007-08-06 04:52 pm (UTC)I have to give kudos to the song, which fits with the concept of evil!Sam, apocalypse, Sam/Dean etc. so very well. There is a line there, which I didn't use here, but which sold the song for me when I was doing the original fanmix. It goes "I've seen the future, brother. It is murder." and it was like a slap in the face, because I can sort of hear Sam saying that to Dean, and Dean just not caring, because... Well, because. Nothing matters in comparison to his love for Sam.
Like nothing is left, not even time. I really love the way you've put that, because yes exactly so. There is nothing left for Dean, not even Sam, not really. What survives is Dean's love for Sam, and maybe it's enough to keep them both alive, maybe not, but for Dean it's always been the only option available.
In conclusion: Thank You so much for such amazing and insightful feedback!
no subject
on 2007-08-06 02:22 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-06 04:55 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-06 02:31 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-06 04:58 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-06 03:31 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-06 05:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Posted by(no subject)
Posted byno subject
on 2007-08-06 03:38 pm (UTC)are you happy? you know you are.
EVIL. you're just all sorts of evil. *cries and sniffles and walks away*
no subject
on 2007-08-06 05:03 pm (UTC)But you're right: I am a bit happy that my fic made you sad. 'cos that was sort of the point.
Thank you for the comment, it means a lot that you took the time to leave feedback.
(no subject)
Posted byno subject
on 2007-08-06 06:59 pm (UTC)Section 5 hurt in all the best places.
no subject
on 2007-08-07 10:40 am (UTC)(no subject)
Posted by(no subject)
Posted byno subject
on 2007-08-06 07:14 pm (UTC)well written, I loved it.
no subject
on 2007-08-07 10:42 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-06 08:24 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-07 10:42 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-07 12:35 am (UTC)And thematically...wow. I love Dean in this, how messed up he is but still retaining all the things that make him Dean. I love how you don't quite know what has happened and what Dean thinks is going on but you don't need to because this fic is perfect just the way that it is. The lyrics you've used are so good as well, I might have to check out the song.
Just...wow. I'm putting this in my memories right now.
no subject
on 2007-08-07 10:55 am (UTC)And you quoted your favourite lines! I adore it when people do that because that way I can see what worked well, and what maybe didn't. And because Dean doesn't know what's going on (or mre accurately: refuses to know) the reader doesn't either,a nd I wanted to keep both in the dark. I'm glad you found that aspect of the fic something that worked.
And definitely check out the song. I used it in my evil!Sam fanmix, which you can find here: http://kat-lair.livejournal.com/57545.html the megaupload the link still seems valid.
(no subject)
Posted by(no subject)
Posted byno subject
on 2007-08-07 03:47 am (UTC)Ohhhhh. I know not to do these things to myself. Not to read the Sammy's-gone-evil-apocofic, but... sometimes they're just done so well. And the writing's just so damn good and it's like the best dessert - sure to give you a tummy ache, but it's sooooooooo good. Too good to put down. Too good to step away from.
Which... this is. Beautiful, harsh, brutal. Dean's so fragile and barely hanging on, tempted by ghosts, broken by his brother, still _so_ in love. Sam, if he even exists anymore, can't be there for him. Won't be. Struggles maybe at night, just like Dean. Ugh. Too... heartbreaking, because I can see Dean never surrendering. Not for anything. Waiting until he can take Sam home. Wherever that is.
So, even though I'm sure to bleed to death, rest assured... it was worth it.
no subject
on 2007-08-07 10:59 am (UTC)I know what you mean about not wanting to read the angsty dark fics but not being able to help yourself sometimes... I'm glad yo utook a chance on mine and liked it enought to take the time to leave feedback. It really means a lot to me so thank you!
I love the desription you used for Dean so fragile and barely hanging on, tempted by ghosts, broken by his brother, still _so_ in love. and everything else you said because that's exactly how I was seeing Dean in this and it's amazing to see that refelcted back to me in comments.
Thank you again!
no subject
on 2007-08-07 04:27 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-07 10:48 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-07 06:23 am (UTC)I'm loving the ambiguity of it too, that depending on how you interpret the fic, either there really is a demon(?) in control of Sam, or Sam turned evil and Dean just won't see it.
Just beautiful :)
no subject
on 2007-08-07 10:45 am (UTC)depending on how you interpret the fic, either there really is a demon(?) in control of Sam, or Sam turned evil and Dean just won't see it. - exactly so! I wanted to leave that bit to the reader's own interpretation even though I have my own opinion on the matter...
no subject
on 2007-08-07 09:18 am (UTC)*moth wonders why her f'list flutter off to mysterious fandoms leaving her in the dark*
Still - congratulations! If I didn't understand and I thought it was good it must be GOOD.
no subject
on 2007-08-07 10:44 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-07 11:17 am (UTC)God. I don't know which is more powerful - that Sam/demon!Sam keeps Dean alive because he wants SOMETHING from him, or that Dean is convinced, against all the evidence, that Sam is still there somewhere, or that Sam might be, or that he might not be. I completely buy that Dean would never give up, because while there's Sam there's hope (and vice versa).
This is really excellent writing, it fits hauntingly into canon (or potential canon), but I think it stands alone as well.
Awesome.
As you can possibly tell, I liked this a hell of a lot.
no subject
on 2007-08-08 11:23 am (UTC)Dean would never give up, because while there's Sam there's hope - yes, and I think this is where the ultimate tragedy lies, because hope can be blinding too. And even empty hope is better than none.
I'm really impressed with the depth of the comments I've received; they're all like mini-meta posts... Yours is no exception, thank you!
no subject
on 2007-08-07 06:56 pm (UTC)I love the ominous glimpses of the world outside. I love Dean not giving up.
Amazing story. ♥
no subject
on 2007-08-08 11:28 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-20 09:01 pm (UTC)These are the details Dean kept to himself. He takes them out when he’s alone, like a hidden treasure, and marvels at the colours, runs his mind over the smooth contours of the memory.
That piece just made my throat tighten up, I'll be honest with you. I can just see Dean taking the memories out and running his mind over them, as you would a journal with your hands.
The other one was:-
NotSam is looking at his clenched fists and clearly not listening. It doesn’t matter though; Dean knows that Sam is.
I wonder with this whether Dean actually believes that Sam is there or whether he's simply fooling himself. Has he gone crazy? I couldn't decide I'll be honest with you although I was leaning towards crazy myself.
Anyway, after all of that I loved it.
no subject
on 2007-08-21 04:18 pm (UTC)Has he gone crazy? I couldn't decide I'll be honest with you although I was leaning towards crazy myself. - I'm really pleased the ambiguity worked for people. It's something I wanted to leave for the reader to decide so I won't tell you my own conviction here. I've talked about what I think is going on with my beta (she was curious too!) and if you want I can e-mail you the same answer I gave her...
Anyway, thank you for such awesome feedback! *hugs*
(no subject)
Posted by(no subject)
Posted byno subject
on 2007-08-26 08:15 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-26 06:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Posted byno subject
on 2007-10-18 12:09 am (UTC)Wow.
I am in utter awe of your use of language, the turns of phrase - that, more than anything else, has me loving this fic. God. You are so skilled, that my evil green-eyed monster is coming out to scan the fic and jealously try to figure out just how the hell you did it. *grins* Awesome job!
no subject
on 2007-10-18 03:39 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-10-18 10:51 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-10-18 11:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Posted byno subject
on 2007-10-26 06:06 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-10-26 06:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Posted byno subject
on 2007-12-07 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-12-07 11:06 am (UTC)no subject
on 2008-01-09 05:16 am (UTC)no subject
on 2008-01-09 11:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Posted byno subject
on 2008-02-01 03:41 am (UTC)I'd guess that mom and Jessica are around because the YED killed them so their spirits are closely connected to Sam and what is going on in the world now, so Dean isn't going crazy at all.
I liked the bit about making weapons out of the hangers. That is SO Dean *g* And taunting notSam with all the irrelevant chatter about food, which at the same time is meant to comfort Sammy.
I'm not quite sure I get the title reference though... or is that the title of the song whose lyrics you quote?
no subject
on 2008-02-01 10:05 am (UTC)Yeah... what I said about ambiguity... so it's great to see you make your own connections what is going on in the fic.
The title is one of the lines from the song, and, er, it makes sense in my head. The Berlin Wall was an artificial barrier, erected in an effort to keept people with different ideologies apart. It didn't work, of course, but while it was there it made things simpler. In my mind (which, arguably, works in mysterious and convoluted ways) this is equivalent to the mental barrier Dean has regarding Sam, wherein he sees Sam's "evilness" always as something external, i.e. demon possession, and not something that is perhaps an integrated part of what and who Sam is.
Re: Berlin Wall
Posted by