An Attribute of the Strong Part II, A Supernatural Fanfiction

[procrastin8or9]

Title: An Attribute of the Strong (2/3)
Rating: PG-13 for language
Characters: Dean, Sam, mentions of Benny. Gen.
Word Count: This part, 3644.
Summary: Written for the prompt at hoodie-time: Whatever Dean was eating in Purgatory, it wasn't what you'd call well-balanced meals. And adjusting back to 'real' food is harder than he expected. Dean's thin

Comments

[evelyncarver]

I was so excited to see a second part! And Sam using his old lady voice on Dean :) I'm glad Dean wasn't aware enough of that to complain. I loved your descriptions of Dean's thoughts about how Sam's clothes were soft and warm and better to be sick in. And the comparisons of Benny and Sam's care were good too.

[procrastin8or9]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the comparisons. I was always uncomfortable on the show with Dean drawing those comparisons because he always used it to put Sam in a worse light, and I wanted to kind of do the opposite.

Glad it worked for you!

[dearheartxox]

Very interesting take on Sam's reasoning for not looking for Dean. It's kinda perfect actually. The whole Amelia storyline kinda messes with it a bit, but, seeing as how I've chosen to forget that that relationship EVER happened, I'm TOTALLY down with this! Lol! Seriously EPIC sick/sad!Dean with my ever-favorite side of gentle/comforting!Sam. An overall perfect "broment" to add to this glorious fandom. Thanks a bunch!!! Xoxo

[procrastin8or9]

Thank you so much!

My reasoning regarding Amelia (when I'm not ignoring her existence that is) is that she didn’t have anything to do with Dean. I could see Sam going through and having everything remind him so much of Dean that he just shuts down, but then he hit that dog (he and Dean never had a dog together) and then he meets Amelia, who doesn't know about Dean. And maybe that was something Sam could handle, because he couldn’t handle being reminded of Dean.

At least, that's my head canon because I have to think Sam loves Dean too and just shows it differently.

I'm glad the story worked for you! Thanks again!

[procrastin8or9]

I guess I should also say timing - wise, because the car was fixed when Sam met Amelia (I think) that maybe having that kind of moment could have fit in.

[katekintail]

I can't even put into words how perfect both of these parts are. I think I need to read them a hundred more times today when I'm not at work, but I absofuckinglutely love this story. Sam saying he wasn't petting when he totally was, Sam worrying until he can't stand it any more and forces change, them agreeing to not discuss the important things and then putting their hearts right out there anyway, Dean so sick and needy and helpless and every single damn thing Sam does to make him feel better, and of course Dean in Sam's hoodie. Seriously, I would quote the entire two parts back to you word-for-word if asked to choose my favorite bit.

Fantastic. So much angst and so much warm and fuzzy. This is perfect!

(Edited to add the angst comment above because I adore angst)

[procrastin8or9]

Thank you so much!

This is my first actually long supernatural fic, and it's only about the second week of my foray into writing for supernatural, so I'm glad it seems to be going okay so far! And I'm definitely going to be rereading your comment a million times when I'm not at school!

Thanks again!

[freya922]

Oh, I enjoyed Part 2 very much! I love how macho they are in their intense affections. :) Loved this line: "Sam was always the one who left, but Dean was always the one who came back." It may note be 100% accurate, but I admire any well thought out attempt to explain and empathize with what happened there when Sam didn't look for Dean between S7 and S8. (I tried to do the same in my story "Unresolved," and it's a tough point. I can't wait to see if they address it in S10 when Sam is, by all accounts, frantically trying to get Dean back.)

[procrastin8or9]

I'm glad it worked for you!

I know what you mean, they really didn't address that in the show and Sam and Dean kind of left Amelia and Benny and called it good, but I can't imagine that it doesn't still bother them. Especially Dean, who has so much trouble trusting anyway.

You're right that it's not a 100% accurate statement. It was meant to convey that on the whole, Dean is the one who is pursuing that brotherly relationship with Sam, whereas Sam is not necessarily the one trying to push that closeness. It was more of an attitude thing than anything, because obviously Sam is the one who came back in season 6, but he didn't seek Dean out immediately - Dean once again had to sacrifice something in his life for that relationship, which wasn't something Sam had to do. Also, it's from Dean's perspective, which gives it that "everyone leaves me" bias.

Definitely going to check out your fic as soon as I get home today!

Thanks again!

[deansbellyrub]

OMG, you added a second part, what a wonderful treat!!! \o/
Purgatory was such an interesting storyline for me and I'm always so happy to read stories dealing with the aftermath of it, especially when they are so well-written like yours!
Even though your VERY good explanation of WHY Sam did not look for Dean makes me pissed once again at THE SHOW for not giving us any!! Instead we ended up with Amelia.... *mumbles*
Dean remembering Sam and his hoodie in purgatory while being sick, totally got me. and thank you for this heartbreaking sentence "Because when he was sick in Purgatory, the most comforting thing he could remember was dying on Earth." Ouch. Cause it's so painfully true. *grabs a box of tissues*
Benny might have been a good friend to Dean, but NO ONE will ever take Sam's place in Dean's world and heart.
THANK YOU so much for writing and sharing this wonderful story, Chuck knows we need more of these!!!

[procrastin8or9]

Thanks!

I agree that Purgatory was really interesting. I wish they had delved more into it on the show because I still feel like we don't have that strong of a sense for what Dean went through.

I agree about Amelia, too. My only explanation for her is, as I said in the comments above, she had nothing to do with Dean and maybe that's what Sam thought he needed. I'm choosing to believe Sam was more torn up about Dean being gone than he acted like he was.

Thanks again! (Love the reference to Chuck by the way)

[strgazr04]

I agree with this completely. I think Sam couldn't go find Dean because he couldn't even find which way was up. In my headcanon, Sam was probably drunk and ready to drive the Impala off the road and the only thing that made him brake was that dog.