Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or their characters - these were created by Eric Kripke or Joss Whedon - I'm just borrowing them. I'm not making any commercial gain. No harm or infringement intended.
Sam looks back on a journey, where he left the past behind him and opened up to new possibilities, which transformed his life forever. Pre-Sam/Buffy.
This is a birthday gift for Woman of Letters and is a prequel to her story "The Hardest Thing is Living" (which itself is a WiP so this could get Jossed!). Not a drabble, it's still part inspired by this week's E/O Challenge word "fool".
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Fool for the Woman
"He sang, 'Ships in the ocean, rocks in the sea, blonde-headed woman made a fool outta me'" – 'Black Cat Bone', Laika
It had just been some random bar they'd happened to be passing. Some days Sam would wake up in a cold sweat, turn and stare at the sleeping figure beside him, and shiver at the notion. It was a thought that filled him with horror; that they might never have met, their paths so easily never crossing, and so their lives ending up so differently.
He laid a large, possessive hand on the petite, sleeping woman and let his mind drift back to the memory of their first meeting.
He and Dean had been a wreck; a walking car crash of almost cosmic proportions. They should have had some kind of procession ahead of them, ringing a bell and proclaiming out loud, so as to clear the way for the walking wounded, the plague carriers, the unclean. Back then it had seemed like they had some sort of reverse-Midas effect; everything and everyone they touched died. How different things are now.
They'd entered the bar, pleasantly surprised to discover that inside it seemed so much less seedy than the exterior had suggested. There was a warmth about the place, although, even in his condition, he'd noticed that several of the patrons had slipped out quietly through the back door. It was strange how the more benign elements of the supernatural world would often congregate. He was too weary to chase after whatever it was the creatures were. Instead he wondered if there was something about his and his brother's appearance that seemed to scream 'hunter'. Maybe it's all the plaid?
When he'd approached the bar; that's when he saw her. It was like the rest of the world fell away, and the lights of the bar were aimed to point solely at her; all that long blonde hair like a golden aura that floated around her. He felt the breath catch in his throat and, for the first time in a long while, he felt a pull of want twist in his heart and his gut. Oh, but how he just wanted something for himself.
Even distracted, old habits were hard to break; he gave an instinctive glance over to his brother. Dean had already scoped out the potential threats, identified the exits, and had found himself a quiet corner, somehow even managing to get himself a drink.
Typical, tutted Sam.
Sam gazed at the woman, almost laughing out loud as he realized he could hear her muttering to herself.
"Someone for Sammy?" asked Lucifer nastily, whispering in his ear. "You know it's not going to happen, why delude yourself? How long till she discovers just how broken you really are?"
Some girls go for that, Sam thought, scowling.
"Ha, you keep telling yourself that! There's broken, then there's the broken, shattered mess that you have left for a mind."
Shut up! Just shut up! Sam stopped and looked around, unsure if he'd spoken aloud or not.
He turned back to the bar, the bartender was already staring at him. It wasn't a friendly look. The man cut a significant glance between Sam and the woman sitting, now hunched over, at the bar.
"I don't want no trouble, y'hear?" he growled, pouring Sam a drink.
Sam nodded, trying to plaster a friendly grin on his face that wasn't going to fool anyone. I can do this.
"You're the fool, if you think she's going to help you," Lucifer spat in irritation.
Where did that come from? For a brief moment it had sounded almost like his ever-present hallucination was scared of the young woman.
"Something's missing. Something I had once... before I was pulled out..." the woman mumbled under her breath as she downed a shot and held her glass out for a refill.
"Ew, a whiskey drinker. And doesn't she sound exactly like someone we know?" whined Lucifer, nodding his head over in Dean's direction, with a sour look on his face.
"Yeah, well, that someone kicked your ass back to Hell," snorted Sam. He turned his back on Lucifer and took a step towards the woman.
His first step on a journey that would transform his life.
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A/N: Continued in "The Hardest Thing is Living" (www DOT fanfiction DOT net/s/8953398/1/The-Hardest-Thing-is-Living) by Woman of Letters
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