The first time Michael had seen them was while they were standing off in the middle of the cemetary on that fateful day. Lucifer had tried his hardest, pulling out anything and everything he could to try and get his brother to 'step off the chess board' that their absent Father had set out for them to play while He was gone.
It had been something he'd done since he was a small fledgling, when he got aggravated he always snapped his wings, it had been a mere flash, nothing more then a second, but he'd seen it.
He had wanted to say something but never got the chance to, Dean rolled up in his annoying little car of his and put in his unwanted two cents.
And then the ground swallowed them up.
...
He saw them next while they were locked in in the cage. Lucifer was like a caged animal, in the literal sense, he backed into a corner and curled up there silently, against contrary belief. Though he did hiss at anyone who got too close, in his opinion, Sam and Adam retreated to their own corner and hadn't moved from it in what seemed like decades.
The cage was cold, surprisingly, or rather not surprisingly now that he had time to think about it. The cage was designed to contain Lucifer, had it only been a free floating box of metal and stone he would have gotten out much sooner then he did, it expanded his grace against his own will, leaving him exhausted and docile, and Hell a freezing domain.
Expanding him as it did, it made him subject to the freeze it gave off, he felt the cold and you knew it was cold when he was cold.
Lucifer had curled them around him when he began to shiver, trying to warm himself up again and failing, but it was better then nothing.
He eyed the once pristine appendages, feeling a sense of sorrow take hold at the sight of them, the feathers had at one time been pure white, they'd glowed with power and light. Long pure, beautiful plummage, full and glowing.
Now, now they were a shadow of their former glory. Darkened and stained by constant exposure to the hellfire and burnt by the fall. Some feathers were darker then others, matted down by old spots of dried blood.
Lucifer caught him staring and sneered.
...
It was after a good hundred years had passed that he asked what was on his mind this entire time. Lucifer had taken to it as he had expected, lashing out like an injured cornered animal, Michael had backed away from him retreating back to his own corner carefully.
Lucifer watched him go and curled back into his wings.
...
He waited until the cage had worked in his favor, Lucifer was particularly out of it, stuck in that place somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. He didn't react when Sam inched closer merely to see if he was still with them.
Michael took this as his moment, pushing himself up from his corner, "Lucifer? Brother?"
"Hmm?"
He smiled softly, reaching out a shaking hand to touch the trembling wing nearest him, "Baby brother...your wings..."
Lucifer looked up at him dazedly, "Mmhmmm what about 'em?"
"May I?"
His brother looked between him and his wings, and shook his head, "No."
"Baby brother", he paused when his brothers eyes closed for a moment unsure if they'd open again, they did, Lucifer licked his lips, "They...itch..."
"I'm sure they do. I could fix that. Do you remember how I used to groom your wings?"
Lucifer nodded and Michael knew he was getting through his shell, back then Lucifer had loved having his wings groomed, they'd sit for hours in the warm glow of the sun under the fruit trees.
"Can I do it again?"
Again Lucifer contemplated it, looking between his wings and his brother, Michael held his breath. Then he nodded. It sounded nice. He liked having his wings groomed.
"Okay."
He blinked in surprise, "Really?"
"Okay."
Michael smiled at him, sitting next to him, crossing his legs and tugging his brother down. Lucifer let himself be tugged into position, folding into his brothers lap, cushioned on his leg. He smiled down at his brother still, petting at his soft blonde hair, taking this moment for what it was as there was no telling how long it would last.
"I need water."
"Water?", Sam Winchester's voice floated away from his corner for the first time in years, "Why do you need water?"
"You cannot groom wings without warm water, and I cannot get this blood free without soaking it first, come now someone needs to find some water there is no telling how docile he will remain as time passes."
"Why can't you just snap some up?"
Michael gave the hunter a look, his hand pausing in its petting, Lucifer whined softly but didnt move an inch.
"Sam, have you looked out between the bars? Hell is frozen in these parts. The cage is not. I am keeping the temperature in here moderately warm so as you two do not freeze to death. My strength is much but it is not infinite."
"I have water."
They both snapped to look at the younger boy, Adam met their gazes, "I have a bottle of water."
"How do you have a bottle of water? Where are you even carrying it?"
Adam shrugged and passed it over to the archangel, truth be told, he did indeed have a bottle of water. Michael heated it with a mere thought and poured it over the bloody patches on his wings. Lucifer hummed at the warm water, nuzzling into his brothers leg again, fingers curling into his brothers pants.
"Thank you."
Adam nodded, settling back into Sam's side, watching them both with mild interest. Michael sifted through the feathers, twisting the bent feathers back into place, straightening them back.
"How do you know how to do that?"
He looked over at the younger human, who was clearly ignoring his brothers whispers to stay out of it, and tilted his head slightly in a way that they had seen Castiel do. Clearly it wasn't only him.
"How do I know how to do what? Groom?"
Adam nodded, watching his hands move with surprising attentiveness, "Yea."
"With lots of practice. It's something that you learn with time. Every angel is different. Lucifer...he hasn't had his wings groomed since...since before."
"You don't have to say it."
He smiled at the boy in thanks, "Would you like to see something funny?"
Adam nodded eagerly, eyes wide and completely focused on the promise of something funny, Michael chuckled softly at the eagerness from the young one and scratched a few fingers under his brothers secondaries. Lucifer sighed deeply and burrowed closer, and he smiled when he heard it, the faint soft sound from deep within his brothers chest. A sound he had missed more then he thought he did.
"Is he?", Michael grinned to himself, "Yes."
He was purring. It was, well it was adorable, "Micha...Mmmm?"
"Yes little brother?"
"Can you...can you move to the left a little?"
He smiled and obliged the request, moving over slightly, and his brother melted into his lap. Chuckling to himself, and the purring from his little brother, he went back to work again. Picking the bits of dust out from under feathers, massaging the muscles to get them to relax on themselves, rubbing the smudge of dark from the brilliant feathers as best as he could. While they didn't come out as white as they once were they ended up a light gray, if he had more water he could surely wash them out completely.
Lucifer started when he tugged a few feathers out that were far too damaged to be groomed back in place.
"Sshhh little brother, go back to sleep, my apologies."
He nodded and ducked back into his brothers lap, his eyes falling closed softly, breathing evening out completely. Michael smiled down at him fondly, running his fingers through his soft blonde hair again.
"What's he gonna do when he wakes up?"