![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Fic: 40 Days and 40 Nights (9/9)
So... This is it. I'm pretty sure you'll wish that I had kept the last chapeter as the final one after reading this, but... anyway. Tada?
Title: 40 Days and 40 Nights (9/9)
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
Rating: PG this chapter
Pairing: Steve (The Second Coming)/Sam (Reaper)
Summary: A crossover that I felt appropriate given the characters' circumstances. The whole fic is finished. Set after the Reaper season 1 finale. Sam encounters a mysterious stranger on the road.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own words.
“I’m leaving.”
What?! Sam gaped at Steve for a small eternity, his lips so numb that he could barely shape them around a coherent word.
“What?”
Steve had come by the Work Bench half an hour before asking to speak to Sam in private, so serious and withdrawn that warning bells automatically began blaring in Sam’s head, but he didn’t think it’d be something this horrible. They’d been doing fine. Great. Sure, there had been some awkward patches here and there during the past month, some inevitable generation gaps cropping up every so often, but Steve seemed happy and Sam was definitely happy, so why would he go?
“I’ve, um,” Steve lowered his eyes, rubbing his forehead. “I’ve got to go.”
“What? Why? Why do you have to? Is it something I did?”
An amused grin hovered on Steve’s lips for a moment, melancholy clouding his eyes.
“No. You haven’t done anything wrong. Of course not. I just need to. It’s time. I have a job to do. A purpose.”
“But... Can’t you do that later? Or here? There’s plenty of saving you could do in Washington. Lots of lost souls.”
“I’m afraid I can’t. I’m sorry. It needs to be back home. There are circumstances that demand it. I’d stay longer if I could, honestly, I would, but I can’t.”
“But... Couldn’t you have warned me earlier? Given me some more time to... I don’t know.”
“To convince me to stay?”
“Maybe. It wouldn’t have worked though, would it, if it’s not working now.”
“No. I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier. I always knew I had to go, just not when. I really shouldn’t have sprung this on you.”
Steve crossed his arms over his chest tightly, as if he were trying to squeeze inside himself, shaking his head with a forlorn shiver.
“But you don’t want to go, right?”
Steve shook his head.
“Of course not.”
“Then can’t you try to do what you have to from here? Why does it have to be Manchester? Can’t Seattle be the new Jerusalem or whatever? Surely it doesn’t matter that much.”
But Steve only shook his head and Sam felt an icy sheen scrape the lining of his stomach.
“It does, actually. I don’t even know how. I just know that it does and that I can’t change it. I’m so sorry, but I can’t stay with you.”
“With me? Specifically with me?”
“Yes.”
Sam gripped his sides, nails digging into his ribs, pain flaring in his nerves, but he, needed a distraction from the dizziness chomping through his head, mad, whispering vipers, all cackling at his desperation, stabbing , biting, jerking him away from the thing he wanted most in the world.
“But,” Sam pleaded, knowing it’d do no good, but trying anyway. “I’m not... You said I wasn’t--”
“You’re not. That’s not why. I just need to do this on my own.”
“I can’t do anything, can I?”
Sam dropped his hands by his sides, a useless, helpless gesture.
“No.”
Squeezing his eyes shut, Sam turned away, pacing back and forth on frustrated legs.
“This is what always happens, you know? Something good happens in my life and divine forces fuck it all up.”
“Sam.”
Steve grabbed Sam by the waist, pulling the boy to him, and Sam followed, kissing Steve with all the force and love that Steve sought to imprint himself.
||||
He didn’t want to go. Didn’t want to. For one lonely, desperate second, he actually considered staying, but he couldn’t. Fate wouldn’t allow it. His own nature wouldn’t allow it. He wasn’t meant to remain in this place with Sam, no matter how cruel and unjust it felt.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured against Sam’s lips, that phrase that exasperated the boy so much, yet he couldn’t stop saying it.
“It’s okay,” Sam tried to reassure him, all artificial, hollow comfort that neither can find any relief in.
Steve hugged him tighter.
||||
“You just let him leave? Just like that?”
Sam jolted upright in the car seat, then sagged with a disgruntled eye roll at seeing that man he loathed so much sitting next to him.
“Come on, Sammy, you can’t keep letting prime catches like that slip out of your hands. Look what happened with Andi, It’s embarrassing by now.”
“Get out,” Sam said, voice as terse as iron lined sandpaper as he gripped the steering wheel.
“Come on, Sam. Don’t be like that. I’m not the one making an ass of himself here.”
“This is none your business. Go away.”
“A guy like this doesn’t just come along every day, you know. Handsome,. Charming smile. Good in the sack. And most importantly, interested in you. Yet you’re going to let him walk out of your life. Give up again like you’ve done with everything else that got too hard or complicated for your diminutive brain to handle. Just another failure.”
“If you only came here to revel in my misery, mission accomplished. Please go away now.”
“And why would I do that when this is so much more fun? You can still catch him, you know. It’s only been a few minutes. He’ll still be at the line to check-in. Just a few steps away.”
“I’m not going after him, so stop—“
Sam clutched the armrest, heart palpitating in his ears as the damning truth thundered in his head.
“You were tempting him with me.”
A sly grin curled on the Devil’s face.
“Bingo.”
“I was right. But Steve said... He said this had nothing to do with you.”
“Of course he did. Did you expect him to say any different? But don’t worry. He didn’t trick you on purpose. Turns out he was so distracted by imagining you naked that he didn’t notice himself. You saved me a lot of effort, Sammy boy. I believe it was your finest performance yet.”
Nausea ached in Sam’s stomach, bile acrid on his tongue. He tempted Steve, tempted him to stray away from his truthful path, sullied him with his filthy demon born flesh. He knew it. He’d know back then, but Steve had been so certain, and now Steve was tainted. He should get away, super far away from Sam, as far as it was possible to reach. What had he done?
“And you almost had him, too.”
Stop, Sam begged silently. Stop tormenting me, please!
“ He was this close to blowing off that whole saving the world hogwash and staying with you. And he would have too, if only you’d insisted strongly enough instead of crumbling like a chicken. Shown a little leg, you know? Not that it matters much, anyway. You already pushed him close enough to the brink. All I need is one more push.”
“You bastard.”
“Well, Sam, I am the Devil. And you know whose son he is. Surely you can’t blame me for plotting my arch enemy’s demise?”
“He’s not going to fall for some stupid scheme of yours.”
“Sure about that, are you Sam?”
“Yes. I am. He’s the son of God. He’s stronger than you.”
Yet despite the strong conviction with which he said them, his words withered on his tongue as the Devil flashed one of his ominous, cackling smiles, the like that made men go mad and rip out their own eyes so they wouldn’t have to look at it anymore.
“Just keep close attention on the news, will you, Sam.”
||||
I’m sorry, the note said.
Sam stroked the edges of the soft, creamy paper, ripped from some book, an author-s information printed on the back.
I found your way out.
He read the wrinkled letters again and again and over again, pain twisting in his throat.
“No more heaven. No more Hell.”
Sam scrunched up the paper in his hands.
Title: 40 Days and 40 Nights (9/9)
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
Rating: PG this chapter
Pairing: Steve (The Second Coming)/Sam (Reaper)
Summary: A crossover that I felt appropriate given the characters' circumstances. The whole fic is finished. Set after the Reaper season 1 finale. Sam encounters a mysterious stranger on the road.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own words.
“I’m leaving.”
What?! Sam gaped at Steve for a small eternity, his lips so numb that he could barely shape them around a coherent word.
“What?”
Steve had come by the Work Bench half an hour before asking to speak to Sam in private, so serious and withdrawn that warning bells automatically began blaring in Sam’s head, but he didn’t think it’d be something this horrible. They’d been doing fine. Great. Sure, there had been some awkward patches here and there during the past month, some inevitable generation gaps cropping up every so often, but Steve seemed happy and Sam was definitely happy, so why would he go?
“I’ve, um,” Steve lowered his eyes, rubbing his forehead. “I’ve got to go.”
“What? Why? Why do you have to? Is it something I did?”
An amused grin hovered on Steve’s lips for a moment, melancholy clouding his eyes.
“No. You haven’t done anything wrong. Of course not. I just need to. It’s time. I have a job to do. A purpose.”
“But... Can’t you do that later? Or here? There’s plenty of saving you could do in Washington. Lots of lost souls.”
“I’m afraid I can’t. I’m sorry. It needs to be back home. There are circumstances that demand it. I’d stay longer if I could, honestly, I would, but I can’t.”
“But... Couldn’t you have warned me earlier? Given me some more time to... I don’t know.”
“To convince me to stay?”
“Maybe. It wouldn’t have worked though, would it, if it’s not working now.”
“No. I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier. I always knew I had to go, just not when. I really shouldn’t have sprung this on you.”
Steve crossed his arms over his chest tightly, as if he were trying to squeeze inside himself, shaking his head with a forlorn shiver.
“But you don’t want to go, right?”
Steve shook his head.
“Of course not.”
“Then can’t you try to do what you have to from here? Why does it have to be Manchester? Can’t Seattle be the new Jerusalem or whatever? Surely it doesn’t matter that much.”
But Steve only shook his head and Sam felt an icy sheen scrape the lining of his stomach.
“It does, actually. I don’t even know how. I just know that it does and that I can’t change it. I’m so sorry, but I can’t stay with you.”
“With me? Specifically with me?”
“Yes.”
Sam gripped his sides, nails digging into his ribs, pain flaring in his nerves, but he, needed a distraction from the dizziness chomping through his head, mad, whispering vipers, all cackling at his desperation, stabbing , biting, jerking him away from the thing he wanted most in the world.
“But,” Sam pleaded, knowing it’d do no good, but trying anyway. “I’m not... You said I wasn’t--”
“You’re not. That’s not why. I just need to do this on my own.”
“I can’t do anything, can I?”
Sam dropped his hands by his sides, a useless, helpless gesture.
“No.”
Squeezing his eyes shut, Sam turned away, pacing back and forth on frustrated legs.
“This is what always happens, you know? Something good happens in my life and divine forces fuck it all up.”
“Sam.”
Steve grabbed Sam by the waist, pulling the boy to him, and Sam followed, kissing Steve with all the force and love that Steve sought to imprint himself.
||||
He didn’t want to go. Didn’t want to. For one lonely, desperate second, he actually considered staying, but he couldn’t. Fate wouldn’t allow it. His own nature wouldn’t allow it. He wasn’t meant to remain in this place with Sam, no matter how cruel and unjust it felt.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured against Sam’s lips, that phrase that exasperated the boy so much, yet he couldn’t stop saying it.
“It’s okay,” Sam tried to reassure him, all artificial, hollow comfort that neither can find any relief in.
Steve hugged him tighter.
||||
“You just let him leave? Just like that?”
Sam jolted upright in the car seat, then sagged with a disgruntled eye roll at seeing that man he loathed so much sitting next to him.
“Come on, Sammy, you can’t keep letting prime catches like that slip out of your hands. Look what happened with Andi, It’s embarrassing by now.”
“Get out,” Sam said, voice as terse as iron lined sandpaper as he gripped the steering wheel.
“Come on, Sam. Don’t be like that. I’m not the one making an ass of himself here.”
“This is none your business. Go away.”
“A guy like this doesn’t just come along every day, you know. Handsome,. Charming smile. Good in the sack. And most importantly, interested in you. Yet you’re going to let him walk out of your life. Give up again like you’ve done with everything else that got too hard or complicated for your diminutive brain to handle. Just another failure.”
“If you only came here to revel in my misery, mission accomplished. Please go away now.”
“And why would I do that when this is so much more fun? You can still catch him, you know. It’s only been a few minutes. He’ll still be at the line to check-in. Just a few steps away.”
“I’m not going after him, so stop—“
Sam clutched the armrest, heart palpitating in his ears as the damning truth thundered in his head.
“You were tempting him with me.”
A sly grin curled on the Devil’s face.
“Bingo.”
“I was right. But Steve said... He said this had nothing to do with you.”
“Of course he did. Did you expect him to say any different? But don’t worry. He didn’t trick you on purpose. Turns out he was so distracted by imagining you naked that he didn’t notice himself. You saved me a lot of effort, Sammy boy. I believe it was your finest performance yet.”
Nausea ached in Sam’s stomach, bile acrid on his tongue. He tempted Steve, tempted him to stray away from his truthful path, sullied him with his filthy demon born flesh. He knew it. He’d know back then, but Steve had been so certain, and now Steve was tainted. He should get away, super far away from Sam, as far as it was possible to reach. What had he done?
“And you almost had him, too.”
Stop, Sam begged silently. Stop tormenting me, please!
“ He was this close to blowing off that whole saving the world hogwash and staying with you. And he would have too, if only you’d insisted strongly enough instead of crumbling like a chicken. Shown a little leg, you know? Not that it matters much, anyway. You already pushed him close enough to the brink. All I need is one more push.”
“You bastard.”
“Well, Sam, I am the Devil. And you know whose son he is. Surely you can’t blame me for plotting my arch enemy’s demise?”
“He’s not going to fall for some stupid scheme of yours.”
“Sure about that, are you Sam?”
“Yes. I am. He’s the son of God. He’s stronger than you.”
Yet despite the strong conviction with which he said them, his words withered on his tongue as the Devil flashed one of his ominous, cackling smiles, the like that made men go mad and rip out their own eyes so they wouldn’t have to look at it anymore.
“Just keep close attention on the news, will you, Sam.”
||||
I’m sorry, the note said.
Sam stroked the edges of the soft, creamy paper, ripped from some book, an author-s information printed on the back.
I found your way out.
He read the wrinkled letters again and again and over again, pain twisting in his throat.
“No more heaven. No more Hell.”
Sam scrunched up the paper in his hands.
no subject
Although I will say this. I'd be a little worried about Sam, um, "disappearing" along with Heaven, Hell, and all assorted souls and minions. I mean, would Nina...other!Steve...Tony...crap, this is depressing me. I mean the original movie depresses me, that part of it at least, but...yeah.
Anyway. This was a great crossover, and you had the voices down so perfectly it was a lot of fun to read. Even...when it got depressing.
no subject
Yeah... I've avoided thinking about that, actually. It is a bit... yeah. That is... true. Let's not dwell on that, shall we?
Thank you so much! I was so worried while writing this that it was going to be crap since I'd never written these two before, much less together, so I'm very glad it worked.
no subject
I'm going to comfort myself with the possibility that Sam, being so much more human than Hell/Heaven touched (whereas Steve genuinely seems to be the son of God, a la Virgin Birth et al) would probably not die. Maybe Steve and Tony and Nina could become human. Maybe. Something. Stop thinking about this.
It worked very, very well ;)
no subject
That sounds sensible. Though Steve is human, right, just, a bit of an exceptional type of human. And that's a whole religious debate right there. I honestly didn't think about that. I needed to get it done to get back to the novel, a bit of a cheat on my part, but there are so many fics to do.
no subject
Yeah, the actual genetic/theological make-up of the Son of God is one of those things that actually varies from sect to sect, so...yeah. Bah, I totally understand. And the story is fantastic as it is.
no subject
I've read about that. Very hairy, deeply philosophical business. Thank you again. :)
no subject
Seriously. Wars and everything. Oh, religion.
no subject
Madness. Why can't we all just get along?
no subject
no subject
Thank you! I'm really happy you guys like it. It was a little touch and go for a bit there.
no subject
This was an ending that I knew was inevitable but I kept hoping it would somehow be changed. Still it was a wonderful story (however heartbreaking). Thank you for posting.
no subject
Thank you for reading! I'm really glad I finished it