Hiraeth: Sabriel Oneshots

A Dawn and a Sunset

Hey guys...

So, this one is not happy. In the slightest. I know that y'all probably enjoy the happier stuff, but I needed to write something sad to get some things out...

Just, be prepared for bad things. Some things might be triggering, so just be careful, ok?

I'm also really, really sorry for the lack of updates. Times are crazy and I'm trying to work through some things.

Dawn. The sun rises, peaking over the horizon. It splashes an array of reds, oranges, and yellows across the paling blue sky. Navy melts away into soft cerulean, stars vanishing to leave a canvas for fluffy clouds.

A dawn is a beginning. A new day starts and birds begin to chirp. The alarm goes off and away people run, on their way to whatever the day holds.

Falling in love was also a dawn. Specifically, falling in love with Sam Winchester was more spectacular than even the brightest, vibrant dawn could be.

They'd been young then, in their last year of high school. Gabe hadn't expected for it to happen, not then and quite possibly not ever.

It had been his birthday, celebrating his eighteenth. Gabe had been alight. The entire day was full of him and his friends going to various places, determined to make the most of it.

At the end of it, Sam had been the only one to stay the night. They'd watched movies, laughing and crying over whatever they'd found on his brother's shelf. Somehow Gabe had ended up cuddled against his side, cowering into Sam's chest, stricken after a horror movie.

Sam had gently lifted his head up, brushed his hair back, and smiled at him. He'd shushed him, telling him that monsters weren't real. His lips had been so soft and gentle when he'd leaned down and kissed him.

Gabe had calmed down after that, and when Sam pulled back, going to apologize, the smaller of the two had pulled him back in.

The dawn had been bliss. Their brothers had been so happy to hear it, so much so that Dean had been forced to pass Cas a twenty. They'd walked with their fingers twined, matching grins on their faces.

Of course, there were always the storms they had to get through. And at first, they were just little rainshowers.

Those times were small things, like the memory of their lockers smeared with horrible writing or when they'd gotten send to the office for getting into a fight with some kid for harassing them. They were only tiny things. A bit of rain.

But everyone knows that there's worse. Sam and Gabe hit their hurricane when Sam was sent to the hospital.

Gabe was lost the first few days. He didn't know what to do without Sam at his side at school. He was so used to hearing him singing along to the songs on the radio that suddenly the car rides were silent. Nights usually spent talking were quiet, Gabe's eyes trained on the ceiling.

When the doctors would finally allow him to see Sam, he forgot about school completely. From then on, he was sitting in a hospital chair, hand in hand with his love.

Sam was ok when Gabe first came. He would smile and ask about his day, inquire about his friends and family and Gabe would respond with stories and comments. The Winchester would laugh along, eyes shining just like Gabe had always known them to.

As the days dragged into weeks, and finally into months, Gabe watched as the grin slipped as his tiredness won the battle. As Sam would barely make a sound, only because he couldn't get the words out anymore. His laughter no longer echoed through the room, leaving Gabe to talk to him with no hope for response besides fragile nods and head shakes.

And finally, the vibrant green of Sam's eyes faded.

Gabe would make him promises, tell him how much he loved him. He would make sure to say this at least twice a day, as Sam would forget the words had been said. He'd play with his pale, sickly fingers, speaking softly, trying his best not to cry when he had to explain himself on the days Sam couldn't remember him at all.

Sam would gingerly reach up at the end of each day, touching his lips as if to remember a kiss that he had placed so long ago. Gabe would close his eyes and only open them when the cold of his love's fingertips was gone.

The sunset came when Sam couldn't see anymore. He couldn't speak, and he would stare at the ceiling blankly. Gabe would continue with his routine, and Sam would still find a way to touch his lips after the day had gone.

Gabe remembered the sunset being slow. It had been a descent into the darkness, the beauty of the last moments squeezing him until he was drowning in the water from the hurricane as it filled his lungs.

The last time he visited Sam, his fingers had touched him deliberately, eyes clouding with tears as if he knew what would soon happen. He made a small sound, the first Gabe had heard in weeks, touching his lips with a loving, sad brush.

Gabe had whispered to him, crying, telling him that it was ok to go. He had known it was selfish to want to keep Sam here when he was hurting so much. He said goodbye, telling him he loved him before his sobs left him with no voice, crying into Sam's shoulder until the beaping from the monitor had the nurses dragging him away.

He cried when the white sheet was pulled over Sam's face. He sobbed into Cas's shoulder as he was comforting his husband, none of them knowing what to do.

Gabe had fallen to the ground, chest hurting too much to keep himself up. He had doubled over, pain wracking his system.

This was the sunset. The dark blue had leached into the colors, stars dappling the sky.

Sunset marked the end. It was the end of the day, and the end of Sam on earth.

It wasn't the end of love, though. Sam waited for Gabe all those years until they could be reunited in their own little heaven.

Their sunset was followed by another dawn. They were together, forever and long after.

At each dawn, Gabe would tell Sam he loved him, and at each sunset, Sam would touch Gabe's lips and smile.

I'm crying so hard.

Did I make anyone cry? Because I'm literally sobbing.

I'm so sorry. I blame me watching A Walk to Remember.

I'll be working on other updates now...

~Gabe