So this is the last chapter

Thank you all for reviewing

This story was never meant to be happy or have a happy ending so I'm glad none of you were particularly outraged by the previous chapter and will know what to expect when reading the final few words.

If any of you have suggestions as to what I should write next, feel free to leave them in a review. (srsly, I've never struggled so much in coming up with another story)

In any case, ENJOY.

There was a pointless ceremony followed by many more things such as interviews and photographs to use as propaganda. Though Sam and Dean did get the opportunity to meet the presidents, they decided to pass. There was no way they could look at either of them nor pretend to be honoured to be in their presence. They were horrible men and they hated them more than anyone else in the world. Once all of the technicalities were done with, the brothers were finally permitted to return home. The train ride was lonely, long and depressing. Bobby's presence nor Azazel's painful jabs could sway the mood or drag either Winchester from their state of utter trance. Both were lost in their thoughts, reliving every waking moment of the Hundredth Hunger Games and wishing they had done so many things differently.

Dean wished he could have saved all of his friends. He wished he could have saved Benny, that he could have found Ash in time, that he could have found a way to save Garth, Joanna, Kevin and Gabriel but, most of all, he wished he could have spoken with Castiel one last time. He wished he could have done everything during their last day – or, at least, during their last few hours differently. He desperately wished he could have exchanged places with Castiel or protected him from the rubble that had crushed half of him beyond repair. He dreamt of that particular instance continuously though the part that stuck the most in his head was Sam slitting his throat.

At that moment, he had gotten to them just in time to see his brother slide the blade across Castiel's neck and draw a fountain of blood. The horror, the betrayal and the overall hurt that pulsed through his veins was immovable and a part of him would never forgive Sam. He didn't know what had happened, what conversation had been had in his absence – Sam didn't tell him – but nothing could ever justify what his little brother had done. This being said, Dean didn't regret – not even for an instant – having survived the Games with Sam. He simply wished that Castiel could have been there too.

Though his wishes fell on deaf ears just as all wishes do.

Sam, on the other hand, had stopped wishing for things long ago. When he had realized nothing but bad things happened to him and his family, he found that wishing for better was pointless and unrealistic. Nonetheless, he still regretted many events of the Hunger Games. He regretted not having killed Ruby the second he had crossed paths with her, he regretted not having been stronger or a better warrior and he regretted having stalled his feelings for Gabriel, believing it possible to adhere to the typical circumstances of blooming love when their predicament strongly suggested otherwise. He regretted not having spent more time with Gabriel and not having been able to save him.

One thing that he didn't regret, however, and it surprised Sam, was killing Castiel. His brother, Dean, of course, would never forgive him and would perhaps never understand why he had done it and that was okay. He had seen and heard of the secret kiss he had pressed upon Castiel's lips as the latter slept from Gabriel. He knew how Dean felt about Castiel just by the look in his eyes or the tone in his voice whenever they were directed to him. Dean was hopelessly in love with Castiel and Castiel was just as in love with Dean. Sam knew that Castiel had known that if he and Dean had met and spoken after Crowley's death, neither would have been able to let go and would have destroyed Dean. When Castiel told Sam to kill him, he knew he was acting both selfishly and selflessly. He wanted to die peacefully and avoid the grief of watching the man he love's expression break as he died just as much as he wanted to spare him from becoming an empty shell.

A part of Sam believed that last part had failed.

When they arrived to district 7, they were greeted with a large and silent crowd. None of them cheered or showed any sign of rejoice for the boys had returned to nothing. Their father had been killed and their mother had died long ago, though they now lived in a luxurious home it would never feel as such. And for a moment, they stood in front of them, staring at the individual faces of the people of district 7 in utter woe. They had all been watching, they had all seen what they had lost, and the realisation summoned the very last question Dean had been asked:

"I lose my life, but what have you lost, Dean?"

Friends.

Family.

Love.

Life.

Humanity.

The list either brothers could make could stretch for miles and still not be completed. They had lost so many things and, in the end, what they gained seemed entirely worthless and pointless.

Each member of the crowd then kissed their three fingers and raised them up high as a sign of solidarity and empathy. It took a moment for Sam and Dean to respond in the same way before they were escorted away and into their new home. There they were left to their own devices, Sam going to the second floor for a bath while Dean decided to drown himself in liquor as most tributes did upon returning home. The brothers spent a week in complete silence but nonetheless in each other's company. Neither of them could bare to be alone and so, regardless of the animosity between them, remained by the other's side.

Eventually, they began talking to one another yet again. Bobby had had an important hand in assuring such a feat. He had mentioned Ellen and the promise Sam had made to Joanna before her death. The brothers discussed it and went to meet with the woman, finding her in a horrible condition in the bar she owned. Mourning her children had taken a toll on her and, for a moment, the Winchesters thought she might yell at them and send them away out of hatred. They were surprised when she greeted them with tears and an embrace, thanking them for being good friends to Ash and Joanna and protecting them to the best of their ability. After that, Ellen moved in with them and no longer had to worry about making enough money to survive.

As time continued to pass, Sam and Dean were invited a few times to tour around the districts and inspire the newest youths to participate in the Hunger Games. Refusing hadn't been an option. It had seemed that the sacrifice Castiel and Gabriel had tried to make to demonstrate to the others just how horrible the Games were had utterly failed. They hadn't become martyrs and rather inspired mislead Capitol civilians to participate in the event for sport. Neither brother knew if it had been due to lack of empathy from the people of the Capitol or if the presidents had truly been that heartless. A new law in regards to the Hunger Games then had to be adopted so as to avoid any more casualties in the Capitol. Only members of the district could henceforth participate in the Hunger Games. Thus, the Games continued on and Sam and Dean found themselves training tributes that died in battle a few months later. This worsened Dean's drinking problem and isolated Sam all the more into his little world.

The two never regained the old vigor and nonchalance they once had before Sam's reaping. Neither smiled nor joked nor laughed at anything anymore. And Sam never found the courage to tell Dean what Castiel had asked him to tell him just before he died. He believed it would only destroy his brother further. And yet, a part of him knew that Dean already knew what Castiel had wanted him to know and so the guilt eventually washed away.