(Mostly for sofindmeasamifershipper who insisted I write something based on my earlier observation.)
—
“It’s funny that it would come to this, isn’t it?”
Sam remained silent. He had no words. He had everything to say, but his body wouldn’t work. The figure in the center of the ring of holy fire was…
“You’re not imagining me, Sam. You needn’t stare at me in such a horrified way.”
He sounded hurt. Sam blinked hard, but remained silent.
“You recruited a witch to bring me back to Earth? That seems…that’s surprising. Very resourceful. I would say that I’m impressed, but I’m more astonished than anything else.”
The figure paced closer, further into the light. The temporary flesh that tethered it to the mortal realm was wearing thin, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been the last time Sam saw it. He looked sickly, but not dead. Not yet.
“You are clever. I know that more than anyone else. They see you from the outside and can tell it. I see you from within and I can confirm it. You…you are the most curious human I have had the pleasure to meet. The only one I can say I met in a pleasurable manner, in fact.”
The figure looked behind Sam and locked eyes with something else. Someone else. His gaze’s intensity was almost tangible and could be felt by Sam, even though he wasn’t the one being watched.
“I thank you for your assistance. You have earned my respect, being able to work magic that so many have forgotten. And voluntarily teaching Sam some of your craft…incredible work.”
“I do my best,” a voice replied from behind Sam. Sickly sweet. Sucking up. Not in a bad way, though. Sam might not have been telepathic, but he could tell what the being in the holy fire ring was thinking.
The woman behind Sam was valuable. Too good a resource to waste. A neutral party fighting for herself and nobody else. A very familiar kind of person.
The figure behind the fire smiled softly at her.
“I will complete this deal. Once I am done, I think I shall reward you for your efforts.”
Sam could just picture the woman curtsying deeply, flipping her bright red hair, and turning to gracefully walk out of the room. The actions sickened him. They shouldn’t have, but they really did.
“Sam,” the figure said. “You’ve been standing at attention for a long while now. I would assume that you would have something to say to me.”
“Please speak freely, Sam. I would hate for you to call me all this way just for you to stand there and stare at me.”
The being wasn’t mocking him, but Sam still felt the need to lift his posture and appear more confident. He loosely clasped his hands behind his back and began to pace around the ring of fire. He made it a quarter of the way around before he stopped. Composure was key. He couldn’t let on to just how terrified he actually felt in that moment. Sam finally opened his mouth to speak.
“I have a proposition to make.”
“It is a last resort, I assume?” the figure asked.
“You would not be here if it was anything else.”
“That is what I assumed.”
“I need help in removing a curse.”
The figure didn’t speak. It raised an eyebrow and stared at Sam. Curious. Intrigued. Still unfazed.
“Dean has the Mark of Cain. You are the only one who can permanently remove it.”
“The Mark?” the being asked. “Dare I ask how he got it in the first place?”
“Unless it’s relevant to the cure, you’ll have to wait for that answer.”
“What are you offering in return for the cure?”
A beat of silence passed between the two of them. They stared at each other calculatingly. The figure spoke first.
“You remove the Mark from Dean. Return him to a living, human state—how he would normally be without the Mark. Don’t try to trick me. Don’t try to harm him.”
“And what do I get in return?”
Sam took in a breath, broke eye contact for a moment, and then returned to his previous stance.
The silence that followed was tense. The being in the holy fire ring broke its composure. It stared, shocked by Sam’s offer.
“This is a deal. This is not proper consent. I can't—”
“But you want to and you will.”
“Sam, I want you to think on this—”
“Why must you argue with me about this?” Sam exclaimed. “Why can’t you just take a deal when it looks good? I’m offering you what you want. I mean, you won’t take anything else, will you?”
They stared each other down. When had they switched places? When had Sam become the cool, detached, desperate one? When had the thing in the holy fire become the cautious one? This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
“You have changed, Sam,” the figure stated, almost mournfully. “And we are more alike than we ever were. You are willing to risk it all just to do what you think is right. No matter what anyone else thinks.”
“Don’t analyze me right now, please.”
“You even carry yourself like me. Look at you—walking around like a king. A wingless angel, staring down at its charge. A soldier watching its subordinate mouth off while trying to remain calm. What happened to you, Sam?”
“This isn’t how you wanted me to be?”
“No. At first, I might have. But now? I remember your strength. Your passion. The fire that burned so bright from within your soul. You let me in, and in turn I let you in as well. We were quite a pair for a sweet moment. We ripped up the rule book. You, me, your brother, your friends, your family…and for what?”
“Please. Just make a deal with me.”
“By ‘it’ I mean all of it. You need to mean every bit and piece. You need to actually be willing to follow through with this plan, Sam. I don’t want you to make choices that you will regret.”
Sam let out a heavy sigh and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. It was dark, so he stared more in the direction of the ceiling than anything else, but that hardly mattered. He concentrated on his companion’s words.
“I will give more terms, then,” Sam stated, avoiding eye contact until he heard a response.
“Please share them with me.”
Sam looked the being straight in the eyes. He was taller than the temporary flesh that encompassed it, but Sam still felt smaller. He breathed in air and smoke and heat, but also ice and ozone and electricity. He breathed out a heavy, human sigh.
“No apocalypse. We share this body equally. Anything you do with it, I have a say in, and anything I do with it, you have a say in. We must work as one being, and we can’t just trade off when you feel like it. It’s been my form longer than it’s been yours. I think that follows your laws of consent.”
“It certainly does,” the figure confirmed.
“No killing things unless I agree. You can’t hurt people unless they hurt you or someone who is in immediate danger. I will take care of the exceptions to these rules. Not you.
“We will be patient with humans. We will be kind to my friends and family. We will not destroy the Earth, but we will try to save some of it.”
The being in the ring of fire stood still and stared at Sam. He listened until Sam finished speaking. After a long pause, it moved its head, nodding in hesitant acceptance of the new terms.
“I will do this if you agree to it, Sam.”
“I am proposing it to you. I approve of it plenty.”
Sam nodded, taking his cue. He took a pitcher of water from the near end of the room and put out half of the ring of fire. The figure smiled warmly and beckoned Sam forward.
They met halfway, each of them toed the line scorched onto the floor by the fire and oil. Sam held the figure’s cool, too-soft jaw gently in his hand and brought their lips together. They parted after a moment that felt far too short.
“I missed you, Sam,” the figure whispered almost inaudibly.
