Better than Moonshine: Epilogue

[riyku]

 

Part 4


Epilogue:

This was what a perfect day for writing looked like. It was somewhat cloudy and cool, the morning sun peeking through to reflect off of the small creek that ran lazy and twisting behind Jensen’s new place. One of those perfect spring days, muggy, a light wind pushing the clouds across the sky and carrying the promise of a warmer afternoon. Jensen wondered if the water would be warm enough for a swim later in the day.

Wisteria hung on a trellis along one wall of the screened porch, making the light take on a kind of surreal green tinge. Jared had been right: the stuff did smell exactly like honey and burnt cork.

Jared had been right about a lot of things.

The porch’s wide planked floor felt rough beneath Jensen’s bare feet. It gave a rusty groan when he settled down into his chair, dragging it up to a small desk he’d slapped together out of cinderblocks and scrap lumber. A cardboard box full of blank paper sat next to his chair, his blown glass paperweight keeping them in place. Jensen lifted it, holding it up to catch the sun. It had a small chip in it, a short crack on a path to the center, and the light caught and refracted in the imperfection. Probably a result of the move. He’d been in a rush when he’d packed, had thrown out most of what he owned and given a lot of the rest away.

The shrill ring of Tennessee’s old telephone sounded through the open window. It rang three and a half times. Jensen ignored it, downed the rest of his cup of coffee, now lukewarm. The wind changed direction, and Jensen could hear the distant sound of his closest neighbor’s music, a half a mile away down a narrow paved road. One good thing about living in the middle of nowhere was that there weren’t a lot of distractions.

An open box sat at his ankle, a couple dozen first editions of his new book were stacked neatly inside, their glossy covers starting to curl in the humid air. There were three more cases like this one, all waiting to be signed and sent out to bookstores all over the country. He pulled one out and opened it, the spine creaking and the comforting bookstore smell of paper and glue hanging in the air. Jensen thumbed through the pages. They contained seven short stories and one novella. Early reviews had come back favorable, but that didn't matter a lot to Jensen. What mattered was that these three hundred some odd pages had bought him the time to work on something that he needed to write. He paused at the dedication, the thick paper catching on his thumbnail. He skimmed the words.

for jared, because there is honor amongst thieves

The trilling noise of the spring on the screen door sounded, followed by the slap of wood on the doorframe. Jensen loved that sound. It reminded him of summertime growing up in Texas, lazy heat and his grandmother’s back porch. Sneaking sips of sweet mint juleps while his grandmother and her sister pretended not to notice.

Jensen shivered some when Jared looped his arms around him from behind. His skin was warm from the shower, a little damp still. It took a long time to dry off when the air was so humid like this. Jensen leaned into the feeling of Jared’s chest along the bare skin of his back. He reached up, touched Jared’s hand, traced along the bumps of his knuckles, the bones of his fingers. He tilted his head to make more room when Jared kissed the crook of his neck.

“HarperCollins on the phone. That PR guy again,” Jared spoke into his skin. “He wants you to fly to Tulane for that book reading Misha won’t shut up about.”

Jensen hummed his reply. They both knew he had no intention of going anywhere. Not for the time being, anyway. He was working, had been writing consistently for the last few months, and was superstitious about it. Now wasn’t the time to break the pattern.

He flicked the switch on his typewriter, the metal case offering a comforting sort of vibration under his palm. He fed a blank sheet of paper into the roller, centered it and typed a number one.

“Are you ready?” Jared asked.

“I think so,” Jensen replied. He paused, chewing thoughtfully on his lower lip. “You know, someone once told me that there were only two kinds of stories in the world. One of them starts out, ‘a stranger comes to town’.”

Jensen felt Jared’s smile on his skin. “So how does the other one go?”

“A man goes on a journey,” Jensen told him.

Jared kissed the back of his neck, giving his shoulders a final squeeze. “Okay. Then go.” He crossed the porch, had his hand on the door handle and turned back again. “And Jensen?”

“Yeah?”

“Make sure you take the long way home.”

Thanks for reading.

Comments

[anniespinkhouse.livejournal.com]

This was lovely, the characters and description had me totally immersed in their world. It was a great read :)

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'm two months late with a reply here...I guess I'll blame a lack of notifications. Sorry for that--but thanks so much! Happy to hear you liked these characters. I'm still a little in love with them myself. Thank you!

[wendy.livejournal.com]

Such a fun read! As a non-writer, it was very interesting to read about Jensen's writing trials and process. Love how much the boys inspired each other, love all that smoking sexiness (Jared holding on to the headboard while being teased? YES PLEASE.)

Thanks for your time on this!

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Goodness, wendy! I apparently wasn't getting notifications for a little while, and had no idea this comment was sitting here unanswered. Sorry! So glad you liked this one. They say that it's best to write what you know, and when I started this, I had no idea how to write. A little character bleed, I reckon. Thanks so much for the note!

[coffeegirl18.livejournal.com]

This was amazing. I'm serious. The sex scenes were sexy and a little funny at times which is realistic. I honestly think Misha would make a good publicist; at the least he'd be entertaining. Also the bit about stealing the award had me laughing so hard.

[riyku.livejournal.com]

So glad that this had a realistic feel to it, and writing Misha's quirkiness was so much fun. A lot of his dialogue came from conversations I had with my beta, sorta a nod to both of us. Many thanks for the note!

[locknkey.livejournal.com]

I loved how deeply immersed I became in this world. They details were wonderful and Jared is a force of nature. :)As a writer, i could identify with Jensen's struggles. I really, truly enjoyed this.





You're quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. :)

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Goodness! So glad that this story grabbed a hold of you! Kinda feel like I wrote this one with my heart on my sleeve the whole time, and it's lovely to know that it worked.



Oh, dear--you flatter me so. Thank you!

[auroramama]

Lovely. The specific scent of wisteria, and the feeling of a late spring morning heading for a warm afternoon: the sensuality of this story was like a character. I liked the way Jensen struggled with teaching, and with the arrival of Jared in/on top of his life -- thwomp! I love the way Misha manages him: on a slack rein, hands at rest, no visible signals but emphatic weight shifts. Misha deserves every penny they're paying him, and a bonus for staying out of his pants -- not that he'd necessarily admit to having that much good sense. But it is good sense: for anyone but your Jared, your Jensen is much more fun as a fantasy than as a lover. Which is not to say I don't crave him like chocolate lava cake. And Jared! Jared in RPF can be hard to keep human, but yours stayed in touch with reality despite all the fireworks. Loved his drunken acrobatics (he has to have a certain ingrained grace even drunk, or he'd break all his bones).

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Goodness. Your feedback has blown me away. Completely, and I thank you for that. And I also have to thank you for giving me the push to read this story through again with your feedback in mind, admittedly for the first time since posting (I get a sort of postpartum depression with fics wherein I can't even look at them for ages afterward). You've helped me look this story in the eye again. So glad to read your notes on the characterizations here, particularly that of Jared--and I couldn't agree more that keeping him human is tough. Very glad you liked this, and thank you again!

[celtic-forest.livejournal.com]

Really damn good! Bravo!

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Aw, shucks. Thank you!

[shinywhimsy.livejournal.com]

this was amazing, from beginning to end *dreamy chinhands*

[riyku.livejournal.com]

Very happy you liked it! Thank you!

[sucksucksmile.livejournal.com]

THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY.

I KEPT WAITING FOR THE ANGST.
AND IT JUST.
OH I'M JUST SO HAPPY. YAY.




Okay but seriously.
The story felt like I was reading it through honey. It just moved in this intended leisurely pace that I was just left feeling like this week they're spending is suspended in time. Each interaction feels lazy in this subtle romantic way and it was just.
Delicious.

Yes yes yes yes yes.
That is my review.

[fromcainwthlove.livejournal.com]

writing is hard. writing about writing is even harder. you did both beautifully.

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

So, I dl'd the .pdf file, and it's been open on my computer for about a week now. (The beauty of finding a new author/friend is getting to read ALL THE THINGS. *g*)

This was just fantastic. It's--you have a way with characters, in your writing. Yeah, they're Jared and Jensen...but they're only nominally Jared Padalecki or Jensen Ackles. You've made them your OWN, given them personalities and histories, quirks and foibles, and they're wonderful. Jared, Jensen, Misha, hell even Reedy. They're living, breathing, 3-D characters who make me want to know more about them, the more I read about them.

It's kind of funny, that I'm reading this story right now. Or, read it, just now, really. I've wanted to be a published author for a very long time, and reading about Jensen's struggles and trials, wondering if he still had any words, any stories, left in him...it really struck a chord within me. That, to me, is the mark of a truly awesome writer (and story!), so kudos to you :)

Thank you for sharing this with us. It was a pleasure reading it :)

[jolieblon.livejournal.com]

Ah, fun way to wrap it up. Sounds like new beginnings all around.
Thank you again for sharing your considerable writing talents.

[cydsa.livejournal.com]

Writers all.

I loved that you got into the process of writing as well as gave me an engaging love story.

No huge drama but at least it felt like a slice of reality

Fantastic job

[masja-17.livejournal.com]

Sweet!

<3

[ousoonerfan.livejournal.com]

Loved your story :)

[herminekurotowa.livejournal.com]

I wish I was a writer because I'd like to have the words to tell you how completely awesome your story is.

[lucianwolf.livejournal.com]

This is perfect.

[felisblanco.livejournal.com]

I just went through your comments to check and was ashamed to see I apparently never left a comment for this story, because it's one of the few stories I reread regularly. Not only because it is brilliantly written with all the right feel good feelings and angst I love, and characters that feel completely alive and real, but because when I feel stuck and unable to write anything, for some reason reading this story manages to nudge me away from the despairing feeling of being sure I will never write again and sometimes even manages to get me writing, if only for a little while. As I was reading it for the sixth or seventh time the other day (I have it on my Kindle) I thought it about time I told you how inspirational this story is to me and how many times it has helped me over the years. So thank you for that and for writing such a wonderful story to begin with that I'm sure will continue to help me in my own writing struggles for years to come.