CHARACTER / PAIRING: Sam x Reader, Dean x Reader (separately, can be read as romantic or platonic, depending on how you wish to interpret these)
GENRE: Angst
NOTES & WARNINGS: Impending doom, obviously implied (future) character death, hurt/comfort, mourning
A/N: Thanks to @castielscaplan for requesting this. First of all, I freakin' love "how would character A react" requests!!! Keep 'em coming, please. Secondly, I'll do this one in two ways, as in: "How would Reader react to Character selling their soul and how would Character react to Reader selling their soul?" I hope it makes sense, lmao.
CREDIT & LINKS: Supernatural Masterlist ──〃★ request here ──〃★ join the taglist ──〃★ dividers by @cafekitsune
Sam selling his soul for you:
He's convinced he can cheat death. Some loophole in the contract, a cunning way to sneak his way out of it, whatever it takes.
It doesn't matter at that pressing moment anyway. Bringing you back has priority, the rest he can deal with later.
At first he doesn't want to tell you, but he knows you'll find out one way or another. It's during a random conversation when he brings it up casually, explaining to you what happened and how you're off the hook.
Sam's not the type to sugarcoat, but he's also confident enough to brush it off, like it's no big deal. You're not sure if he's being cocky or stupid.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it. What matters is that you're back."
You beg to differ. Of course you do. He's not serious enough about it and no matter how many times he assures you that this was his decision, that it was not your fault, you can't help but worry.
Sam takes full responsibility for the situation. At the same time he doesn't argue when you say "We are in this together." When you offer to help, the two of you are a team in this. Sleepless nights and hours of research are easier to endure together.
You selling your soul for Sam:
The survivor guilt is strong in this one.
To get it out of the way immediately: He is not angry at you. How could he be after you sacrificed your life for his? He can't be upset with you, ever, even if he'd want to be. He definitely thinks it was the wrong thing to do, though he doesn't hold it against you.
That said, he's scared. He won't leave a stone unturned until he finds a way to save you from such a cruel fate. There has to be something he can do and he'll try everything.
Once you say anything along the lines of "You'd do the same for me." he has no counter argument.
Now, I think his reaction / way to deal with this depends heavily on when this happens.
- Is it after Dean has done the same for him? If so, he'll enter a straight up villain arc. He's familiar with the consequences in this scenario and there's no way he'll let you go through what his brother had to endure.
- If it's earlier than that (any time before season 3), he'll feel a lot more hopeless. Not that it will stop him from trying everything. He's not giving up. But it's a different kind of pain because he doesn't know what awaits you.
Dean selling his soul for you:
No brainer. Dean sacrificing himself for others yet again? Shocker. You're probably disappointed but not surprised.
In all seriousness, he doesn't bat an eye doing it. His #1 task is to protect you, always, no matter the cost.
His soul is stained anyway, worthless, especially in comparison to yours. What's one less soldier on the battlefield when it means his sacrifice ensures your safety?
He can't keep any secrets from you. You're too clever for that, and you deserve to know the truth.
Though, he's very uncomfortable with the conversation. He'll try and change the topic. He'll play it down. Anything to reassure you that he's not worth the trouble, let alone any tears or you being worried about him.
Similar to Sam, the timing would make a huge difference:
- Is it the first time he's selling his soul? Quite similar to how he brought back Sam. In a state of desperation, broken and willing to throw his life away in a heartbeat.
- If it happens sometime after season 3-4, the weight of his decision is even heavier. If you'd ask him (good luck on trying to get him to talk), he'll probably say something along the lines of "It's not my first rodeo, I know how to deal with it this time." Honestly, in this setting his chances might be bigger to actually fend off the hell-hounds. And even if not, he's stubborn enough to stand by what he did. No regrets.
You selling your soul for Dean:
You better hope he won't find out. Unless you want your head ripped off before the hell-hounds can even catch your scent.
It's Dean's job to take care of others, not to be taken care of. That's how he was raised. To him this is not right. Your sacrifice goes against nature because of your motivation more than because of the act itself.
He's going to lash out when he learns the truth. Which he's going to regret. He knows he'll regret raising his voice at you, but what did you expect? This man is all self-hatred and anger and then there's you, the only good thing in his life, and it's his fault that he's going to lose that now, too.
It'll take him days, if not a week or two, before he's willing to talk to you again. It'll take way longer than that until he can look you in the eyes. Not because he hates you, never because he hates you. Just because this hurts way more than dying.
After cooling down a little bit, he won't leave your side. If the hell-hounds want to rip you apart, they have to get past him first.
