In a motel, Sam holds Dean close as Dean dreams on…

You just ... amaze me. If I ever get the chance to talk with you, I promise to try to make words. You just ... there's so much in a drabble when you write it.

Thank you very much! I knew what you meant by that, so the words worked after all. ♥

Awww ... Sam is Dean's handsome prince, coming to save him *melts big time*

There's so much bittersweetness here, for me at least-- in the typical dream sense Sam saves Dean from loneliness and (in reality, self-imposed) isolation.

And in the larger sense... Part of Dean has to wish that Sam could save him from the fate he forced down on himself. *cries*

This fairytale is all them, on so many levels. *sigh*

So glad you liked it. :)

Ooh, I kind of like the dreamy feel of this. It has a fairy tale quality to it. Very nice job. :)

It has a fairy tale quality to it.
The "Once upon a time" prompt has been in the back of my mind forever, but when combined with a request for "dreams" it suddenly clicked into place. The dream is like a fairytale as it unfolds, but the truth behind it is very much the way dreams work-- both what Sam has already saved Dean from and what Dean wishes someone (anyone) could save him from that is waiting down the road.

*is nervous for where S3 is heading*

love the fairy tale feel to it.

Thank you! That entire idea seemed to work better in a dream setting, and yet the fairy tale is an abstraction of the truth.

And once again, you have the perfect icon for the occasion!

I love the sam/dean dynamic... it's refreshing to read alongside michael/lincoln, because they have so much in common but they're also so different, that it makes me appreciate my otp even more. Your fiction captures both sets of brothers so well!

My favorite part about this is the dramatic irony... We, as the audience, know that Dean really wants to be rescued (*cough by sam*) and that Sam wants to rescue Dean, but neither of them acknowledge that about themselves or know that about the other. Hehe. Irony and I get along really well, too.

~EF

because they have so much in common but they're also so different, that it makes me appreciate my otp even more. Your fiction captures both sets of brothers so well!
Thank you! It was such a surprise to me, having two shows arrive at the same time with brothers and a dysfunctional past and present who bring out brothercest longings because they complete each other when no-one else can. And yet, the flavors are very different between the two fandoms.

We, as the audience, know that Dean really wants to be rescued (*cough by sam*) and that Sam wants to rescue Dean, but neither of them acknowledge that about themselves or know that about the other.
I think Sam knows it, but doesn't say it (for fear of Dean killing him, because to imply that Dean is vulnerable is to get your ass kicked). I mentioned above that there are so many layers of rescue here, and the one that comes through strongest in the dream (I think) is Dean being rescued from loneliness and isolation by Sam. And that one is SO unequivocally true-- Sam is the only person who CAN do that for Dean (even if the reverse is not true). Dean's only true happiness rests in Sam loving him back the way he needs to be loved, whether or not Dean even usually knows that.

And the larger issue of rescue, in Season 3... Dean's subconscious is free to want it because his waking mind doesn't dare to hope for it. *wibble*

So sweet and romantic.

It never ceases to amaze me how much of a punch you can pack into 100 words.

Thank you! This one was such a different approach, too-- with the fairytale-dream as an allegory of so many larger things Dean needs and wants from Sam, even if he would never admit them to himself. *sigh*

*SMISH*

Oh, love, this is wonderful! And so very, very wonderfully adorable...

And that last line is perfection. *adores*

Thank You!

Yay! I'm so glad you like it! *bounces*

It's a dream with many layers, more meaningful (and angsty) in Season 3 than ever before.

I was hoping it would please you-- I never would have written this one if not for your suggestion!

Many happy returns! :)

Awwww! *flappy hands*

I was hoping you'd read this one. :) I haven't gotten flappy hands in ages! \o/

Best fairy tale ever.

As ever, your ability with words is amazing.

Aww, thank you! I'm really glad people are enjoying the fairytale aspect of it, too.

I sure hope Sam rescues Dean in the larger sense from what's waiting. *is worried*

*lost for words*

*flaily hands of pure SQUEE*

YAY! Best reaction every! *is all happy now*

Per usual, your work is beautiful. I adore the idea of Sam being Dean's knight-in-shining-armor/prince. Gorgeous imagery.
*applauds*

Thank you so much! This one was so very different and fun to write, just for being in the dream and figuring out how that fairytale would unfold. :)

Oh! I always knew Dean was a pretty, pretty princess at heart! ;D

No, really though, lovely atmosphere and a ton of story packed into 100 short words. So great!

Oh! I always knew Dean was a pretty, pretty princess at heart! ;D
Hah! He'll visit you in your sleep with a dagger for that one. ;)

I'm glad you liked this one-- I thought you might, especially with the unusual tone and the more abstract approach. *bounces*

You are mine, he says.

Isn't this the whole crux of the issue. In all ways Dean has given himself over to his family, to this life, to hunting. I do distinguish between the two. Dean lives fast and loose. Decisions made in the moment and very rarely does he let regret enter into his choices. Yes, I feel he wants to be saved but the hard reality of his life is that he knows that his salvation he seeks in Sam's arms will always be a dream.

Yes, I feel he wants to be saved but the hard reality of his life is that he knows that his salvation he seeks in Sam's arms will always be a dream.
So long as Dean isn't willing to let go and be truly loved, this is true.

What hurts is that we understand why he doesn't. His mother took all of her love with her to the grave, his father left the boys alone repeatedly and loved only conditionally (and there had to have been times Dean was afraid John wasn't coming back). And Sam... Sam walked out and stayed gone for four years until Dean dragged him back very much against Sam's will.

It's hard to trust that people will love you the way you need them to when they've already hurt you.

Thank you! I've been waiting to find a really good use for that prompt for ages, and it turned out that creating a new fairytale (as a dream) worked better than adapting an existing one.

Never give up on past challenges, that's my motto!