Selfless // Dean Winchester

26. Promises

(Brief mention of sexual abuse)

  "You didn't," whispered Y/N, fear washing over her heart. She reached forward and clasped Bela's hand. "Tell me you didn't."

   There was no response. Y/N swallowed, unsure what part of this to focus on. People were typically given ten years after making a demon deal- Dean being the only exception- so that meant Bela had been, what, fourteen when she made it? The year her parents died...

   It began to dawn on Y/N and she gasped. "You-"

   "Killed them," said Bela dully. "I killed them both."

   "How long do you have?"

   "Half a year, give or take." She looked into Y/N's eyes, desperate and terrified. "I need your help. Please, Y/N, you're the only one I can turn to because you're the only one who knows why I did it."

   Y/N knew why, all too well.

   Their shared trauma was what had brought them so close in the first place. It took some time, but one night, Bela confessed the horrible things her father used to do to her. In turn, Y/N confessed what Azazel did to her while possessing her dad's body.

   Bela Talbot was not the heartless, manipulative, stone-cold thief the Winchesters and many others believed her to be. She did what she needed to to survive, and so what if that meant putting on such a rough facade and creating such an unfeeling reputation for herself?

   Now, finding a way to break deals was even more urgent. The two people closest to Y/N would die otherwise.

   "I'll help you," she said quietly, her eyes smarting with tears. "But we need that gun. And you should probably know the hunters I've been working with are Sam and Dean Winchester."

   Bela pulled her hand from Y/N's. "They're here?"

   "Don't worry. I'd kill them if they tried to get to you."

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The motel room was silent except for the occasional clunk coming from the broken ceiling fan. Dean lay on his back on his bed, eyes shut but not asleep. Sam sat against the headboard of the other bed, trying to focus on the case while his thoughts centered on what Y/N had said in the car. Finally, he couldn't take it. "Are we gonna talk about it?" he asked, slamming the book shut.

   "Nope," mumbled Dean, not even opening his eyes.

   "You do realize what this means, right? That Y/N has probably been tagging along this entire time just to use you?"

   "That's not true."

   "How can you be so sure?"

   "I just know, okay?" Dean turned his head to glare at his brother.

   "I'll bet she's never done a single selfless thing in her life. There's always got to be some ulterior motive." Sam laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "She gave me this sob story about her childhood, a trashy excuse for what she did to Dad. I can't believe I bought into it."

   "Just shut up, okay?"

   "She's friends with Bela, for God's sake. What more proof do you need to know she's an evil skank?" Sam tossed his book to the foot of the bed. He had tried his best to cut Y/N some slack after he heard her backstory, but now there was no way of knowing if it were true. It was a shame. She was beginning to grow on him. She did save you from the witches, he reminded himself. And she seemed pretty intent on saving Dean...at first. "Tell me it was only one time, right?" he said hopefully.

   "Of course it was," Dean muttered quickly...a little too quickly. "And what do you want us to do, anyway? Ditch her?"

   "Why not?"

   "She's a good hunter. She's helping us. I just don't believe she's a bad person."

   Sam scoffed. "You like her," he said matter-of-factly. "You still have feelings for her."

   "Shut up," repeated Dean.

   Why did I have to get stuck with this idiot for a brother? thought Sam. They already had enough problems to worry about. Y/N didn't need to be creating more conflict, and they didn't need her.

   In fact, he hated her.

   The sweet, caring girl who'd watched out for him like a big sister back in '96 was gone, and no matter how many times Y/N briefly let that girl show, it wouldn't change the fact that she was nothing but a manipulator now. And she'd gotten to Dean. "You should have killed her when you had the chance," Sam said out loud, getting up from the bed and heading outside to get some air.

____________________________________________________________

Y/N and Bela spent the rest of their time at the bar discussing contacts and covens, organizations and weapons, only to confess that all the leads they'd each caught wind of had been dead ends. Y/N wished Bela would have told her about the deal sooner, but she understood why it had been kept a secret. I'm not going to lose Dean and Bela, she promised herself.

   The two women walked along the sidewalk as the sun set over Queens. The evening was warm, with a slight breeze. Despite usual city noises, the screeching of tires, the occasional shout, a restaurant they passed that was playing loud jazz, it was the most peaceful night Y/N had known in months. To contrast that, her mind was in turmoil.

   A gust of wind blew across the street, causing the collar of her jacket to flap up and down. She kept her eyes on the sidewalk, as did Bela. Neither spoke until they reached Bela's building, where Y/N turned to her, placing a hand on her arm. "I'm going to get you out of this, okay, Bel?" she said. "I'm not going to let you go to Hell."

   The look on Bela's face showed how surprised she was that someone could care about her that much, but it soon vanished and she pressed her lips tightly together. "Thank you."

   "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hug you or anything," said Y/N, withdrawing her arm.

   "I'm not sure I would mind if you did," Bela said lightly.

   They didn't hug that night, a choice Y/N regretted for a long time afterward.

Not gonna lie, I'm getting kinda attached to Y/N and Bela's friendship...