Title: More Than A Monster
Author: Loteva
Written: 01-03.12.2012
Time: Between S7 and S8.
Warning: Small spoilers for 7.01.
Summary: The beginnings aren't easy, especially when you're stranded in Purgatory. Friendship fic.
Standard disclaimer applies.
Dean didn't trust Benny. At all.
Seriously, how could he trust anything in Purgatory, let alone a monster, a vampire? He would have to be monumentally stupid, no, actually brain-dead to make such a mistake. Just a glimpse of the ghastly suit of fangs made his skin crawl. No matter that the thing saved his life choosing him over its vamp buddy, no matter that it claimed to know the way out of Purgatory – Dean wasn't going to trust it. Ever.
The monster is and always will be the monster, no exceptions. Dean would not fall for its tricks and get stabbed in the back, his arteries drained until they run dry. Benny would be watched with utmost suspicion and prejudice, that Dean could promise.
One wrong move, buddy... Dean's hand slid down the flat of his makeshift machete in a loving caress. One wrong move...
Everything about his companion irked the hunter beyond measure. True to his word, he's kept constant guard around him, never showing his back and the thing had the gall to crack a few smiles at him, clearly amused with his visible distrust and twitchy fingers frequently going for a gun but pulling away.
The most unnerving was the uncertainty. For the life of him, Dean couldn't get a read on the vampire. Benny gave away nothing. His poker face would put most professional gamblers to shame. Dean would have been impressed if he didn't have the recurring urge to perform a preventive strike and take out what he perceived as the biggest threat around him. Only Benny's supposed knowledge of the way out stilled his hand.
The monster had an advantage over him – it knew perfectly well he wouldn't kill it if there was a chance it was telling the truth. Dean didn't have such a luxury. He had no way to confirm its sincerity, to ensure it wasn't playing a game and waiting for an opportunity to slash his throat open and feed to its undead heart's content. He tried to bait it, purposely slipping up and leaving openings, but it never took any. With great reluctance Dean had to concede that the monster was one smart cookie, as it kept itself in check, never underestimating his ability to waste it, given the slightest provocation.
There was nothing to do but move onwards, looking for a wayward angel, with all too rare stops for a breather, interrogating and killing all which they encountered on their way. As they could be loosely termed as 'allies', they were on a first-name basis. The familiarity grated on the hunter's nerves even more than their easy cooperation during the fights, though Dean was loathe to admit he could work well with a vampire. However, the hardest pill to swallow was the fact that he came to depend on the thing, whose intentions he didn't fully trust, to survive.
The thing's name was Benny. But in Dean's mind it was always the monster.
Surprisingly, it was Benny who initiated their first conversation not necessarily pertaining to their quest.
'I'm sure, you've noticed a hell of a lot of the differences here from back on Earth,' he started casually.
Dean looked away from his machete, which he was wiping on the sparse vegetation. 'You mean, the no sleeping and eating deal? That's pretty hard to miss. What of it?'
'The Purgatory's gotten to you, if you still didn't catch on this,' the vampire chuckled with a gleam of a fang.
Dean's hand instinctively gripped the handle of his blade firmly, which didn't escape Benny's notice.
'Relax, friend,' he said wryly. 'I've meant no offense.'
'Then what have you meant?' Dean bit out.
'That the same rules apply to everyone here,' the vampire answered tersely, apparently wanting him to work it out himself. The hunter didn't disappoint.
'You feel no thirst? As in, you're not on some bloodsucking rehab, you just don't need it?'
'Bingo,' Benny inclined his head. 'You got it on the first try. That's what I like about you.'
Dean chose to ignore that comment, more absorbed by implications of this new discovery.
'Wait, but the monsters have been attacking me practically non-stop since I've gotten here, and you say they aren't really hungry and in mood for some human meat?'
Benny smirked. 'I said that they don't need to, not that they don't want to,' he replied nonchalantly. 'It's more of the psychological drive, the instinct to feed.'
'What about vampires? Do they drink other monsters' blood? Half a loaf is better than none, right?'
'Some of them. But there's something which is almost as good as human blood,' Benny revealed.
'Oh yeah, I know vampires can live off animal blood, but there isn't any here, too.'
'No, not that vile, smelly stuff,' Benny grimaced. 'Vampire blood.'
Dean gaped at him. 'No way. You're pulling my leg.'
Benny shook his head. 'It's true. Vampire blood is the most similar to human blood. After all, we were born human first.'
'So, all of you here are feeding on each other?' Dean asked, half-fascinated and half-weirded out by the prospect.
The vampire looked repulsed by that notion. 'Hell, no, that's disgusting.'
'You've just said it tastes similar,' Dean pointed out dryly.
'I also hear human meat tastes similar to beef. Would you eat it?'
Dean made a face.
'So there. Cannibalism doesn't exist only for humans. Though some of you do it anyways,' the vampire remarked snidely.
'And they become monsters for it,' Dean shot back defensively, thinking about the Benders family and wendigos.
Benny gave a short laugh. 'You got me there. Though what do you think can happen to monster who becomes a cannibal? It can't become a monster again, so what's really stopping it?'
Dean didn't have time to answer, as their chat was cut short by a new vicious attack by a pair of ghouls. After they disposed of the stinkies, working together like a well-oiled machine, they resumed the search for Castiel, not returning to that particular topic, which didn't mean the issue didn't weigh on Dean's mind quite heavily.
Maybe it wasn't some kind of atrocity which was lurking behind Benny's calm, piercing blue eyes?
They were surrounded.
Three stepped from behind the trees and stood in their way. A quick look back spotted another two, both left and right were also barred by twos.
All vampires.
Dean cursed vilely under his breath, adjusting his grip on the machete's handle to the more comfortable. The odds weren't in his favour but he would be damned if he didn't make some heads roll...
'Well, well, well. What do we have here? Is that you, Benny? I didn't see you in a while,' drawled the lead vamp, pale, long-haired and sporting a slight French accent.
'Hugo. I'm always delighted to see you,' Benny's tone couldn't be further from delighted. 'Though I'm 'fraid we'll have to catch up some other time, my friend and I are in a bit of a hurry.'
Dean was busy keeping an eye on the goons, but he didn't miss the 'friend' remark. For some reason, in this moment it seemed to him more important and noteworthy than wherever Benny casually used this word to refer to him.
'Oh, don't leave us so soon. You should definitely introduce your... friend. He looks absolutely...' Hugo licked his lips hungrily, the fangs showing, while he eyed Dean, '… delicious.'
'I suggest you keep your fangs to yourself and leave,' Benny said threateningly, all pretenses gone.
'What, you don't want to share a blood bag? We're not going to give you sepsis.' Hugo didn't take the threat seriously, but instead toyed with him.
'He's my ticket out, not a blood bag.'
Benny's declaration brought a sense of warmth to Dean. Certainly, it was a huge relief to confirm that the guy didn't view him as an emergency rations.
Hugo burst out laughing. 'You still believe in this load of crap? That a human can leave this box safely and take someone along for a ride? That's a hoax, a made up story for those too damn naive for their own good! Get real, Benny, there's no escape! Better stop this fool's errand and join us!' the vampire leader reached out his hand to him in invitation.
Dean looked at Benny, knowing that this was it, the final moment of truth, in which the vampire shows his true colours. If he accepted the offer and joined Hugo's cohorts, Dean was as good as a goner. Now, he would know if the little amount of trust he has placed in his ally wasn't misguided after all.
Benny took a few steps forward, reaching out his hand to grasp Hugo's welcoming one, with a relieved smile playing on his lips... Dean's heart squeezed painfully, already feeling the burn of betrayal... then in one, quick motion Benny's other hand took a swing and his machete went through a thin neck and spinal cord like hot knife through butter. Hugo's head landed splat on the dewy ground cover, a pleased smile still fixed on his face.
Dean would have liked Benny to say something badass, but there was no time for that, when there were eight angry vampires to take care of. The partners stood back to back, falling into the rhythm of the battle and synchronizing their movements with each other. And even though they were surrounded by enemies, their situation nearly hopeless, it felt as if they were close to invincible, able to face and overcome the highest odds stacked against them – together.
It was exhilarating.
After the fight, when the film of joy and red was lifted from Dean's eyes, he surveyed the scene of a bloodbath with disbelief that they actually took on eight vampires at once and defeated them, but eight beheaded bodies spoke volumes for the reality of that. He turned to Benny, who has just finished rifling through Hugo's pockets with no valuable finds to show, and playfully slapped his arm.
'Benny, we did it! We've wasted eight bastards!' he exclaimed giddily.
Benny returned the gesture. 'Yeah. Never liked that jackass Hugo and his cronies.'
'Me too. Guess they wanted to bite more than they could chew, huh?'
It wasn't the most witty thing to say for Dean, but it didn't stop both of them from laughing together, merrily and unrestrained, for a moment forgetting about the harsh reality of Purgatory.
The ice was broken.
Following the annihilation of Hugo's gang, Dean found it a lot easier to relax in Benny's presence. All the tension which was prevalent between them in the first days of their journey vanished.
They talked. Not much, but enough to learn more about each other and recognize they shared a lot of similarities.
'So, you're sticking with me, because I'm your 'ticket out'?' Once Dean couldn't help himself to ask.
'Well, for sure it's not for your pretty eyes,' Benny replied lightly.
As they made eye contact, the silent understanding passed between them. Sometimes words just weren't needed for two like-minded spirits.
'But, you know, Hugo had a point – how do you even know this gate for humans really exist?' Dean queried after a while had passed, genuinely curious.
'I don't. But I have my sources,' came a cryptic answer.
'Such as?'
Benny ignored the question. 'Let me ask you something in return – how do you know the angel's not Leviathan's snack by now? How do you know he can go through with us?'
Dean swallowed, struck down by the completely justified doubt contained in these words. Because, really, how many times everything worked out well for him in the end comparatively to how many times he was screwed over? How many times Cas can escape death before he runs out of his luck, mojo, reserve of second lives, whatever it is that's bringing him back?
He took a deep breath and looked Benny straight into the eyes.
'Cas is my friend. I know I can trust him to take care of himself,' he spoke with unshakable, unwavering conviction, which burned brightly in his sharp, determined eyes. 'We can and we will find him, Benny, and then I'll shove his feathery ass through that gate even if it kills me.'
'Well then, to answer your previous question, my sources weren't exactly my friends but I know they had no reason to lie to me. Besides, I had been looking for the way out since I've gotten here and I'm pretty sure this one is the real deal.'
Benny didn't break the eye contact, his gaze equally determined and convicted of the truth of his statement. They reached an understanding of two beings who gambled their whole lives on something as fragile as faith and trust. Dean had to ask himself – did it make them incredibly brave or just plain stupid?
'You know, we've gotta kick your source's collective ass, if it doesn't work,' he said in a lighter tone
'Only one way to find out.' Benny smirked.
They had been searching high and low, leaving no stone unturned, to find the information on Castiel's whereabouts. They had weathered the storms, emerging victorious from everything Purgatory had thrown at them until finally, against all odds they've managed to achieve their goal.
Dean didn't know when Benny stopped being that vampire who was tagging along with him and became a true comrade. This radical change in his view crept up on the hunter silently, undetected until it was too late to fight it. And just as he realized there was more to Benny than a monster, concurrently he knew that they were more than allies.
Of one thing Dean was explicitly sure – he trusted Benny with his life.
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.
- C. S. Lewis
A/N: I've written this fic surprisingly fast for me, with knowledge about Benny up to 8.08. I'm open for all the opinions, critiques, suggestions and advice. Also, please feel free to vote in the poll on my profile.
Would anyone be interested in a story about how Benny found out about the way out of Purgatory?