Blinking his eyes open, Michael felt the pain in his wings hit him at full force.

It was easier to deal with when he had retreated to the back of their mind; The pain had faded to the background, nothing more than a bearable ache in his back, something he could deal with rather easily. Now, however, taking full control again, the pain hit him all at once, sharp and stabbing, feeling as if he had put the wings through a shredder; Or, better yet, as if he had fallen, as if he had cracked every bone in the damn things, as if they had been shattered and crushed to nothing but dust. A groan broke through his clenched teeth, struggling to stand-

Only for a hand to push down against his back, pressing him firmly against a flat surface. A blur of blue drifted into his focus - enough for the archangel to realize he was back in the damn nurse's office he had taken to sleeping in when he and Adam needed to rest - but confusion flickered through his eyes for a second, his gaze darting up at once. The hand on his back didn't move - but, he noted, they were being extra careful to avoid touching his wings, and-

… It was Gabriel.

"Easy, brother. Stay still." Gabriel squinted down at him, looking faintly surprised; Whether by his lack of protest to being held down, or simply the fact that Michael was out of the Cage now, the archangel truly had absolutely no idea. Gabriel was the fickle one; Out of all of his siblings, it was hardest to figure him out. His feelings, his thoughts. He kept everything so frustratingly hidden, kept up such a perfectly shaped facade - sometimes, honestly, it had felt like he was a completely different angel, a complete flip in personality, in character.

Of course, he hadn't seen his brother in… millennia. He didn't know how Gabriel was now - come to think of it, hadn't he died, all those years ago, by Lucifer's hand? Michael's face scrunched up slightly, his confusion betraying him as his gaze flicked away from his brother.

He half-expected some loud, sarcastic remark from Adam; For the demon to shove his brother away and sit them up himself, snapping, trying to declare independence and that they were just fine to be able to move on their own, thank-you-very-much. But there was nothing, not even a spark of defiance or irritation. It was… hollow. Not even remotely peaceful; If anything, it was beyond unnerving. He could sense him, but he couldn't feel him, and that…

Well, it didn't quite settle well with the archangel. It felt like he was missing a part of himself. A big, important part. An anchor.

"Boy, you are a sorry sight," Gabriel was muttering, passing his hand over Michael's back. The archangel tensed as his fingers brushed against his aching wings, bringing to life a very small but sharp throb of pain, and Michael clenched his teeth shut tightly as Gabriel only sighed. "You know, it's just a little bit unnerving, seeing you so… weak and defenseless."

Michael glanced up at him, tired eyes roaming his brother's face.

There was no emotion evident in Gabriel's expression; He was almost completely relaxed, moving his hand back up Michael's back again. For a moment, the archangel was confused - until, finally, he managed to twist around enough to see what his brother was doing. His fingers were glowing, faintly, pausing over certain spots and roaming carelessly over others. He was healing him. Gabriel was healing him.

For a moment, the archangel almost protested, but stopped. Only because Adam might be in pain from the injuries, too - Michael certainly didn't want Gabriel wasting his powers just on him, but for Adam… well, he couldn't quite object to that. So he settled again, sparing Gabriel one last, hesitant look before he lowered his head into his arms, burying his face against the cot and letting out a low, slightly shaky sigh. Gabriel paused.

"You're so different now," his brother muttered, finally pulling his hands away. "It's weird, I… I don't think I've ever seen you so…" He trailed off, seemingly searching for a word; Michael lifted his head again and looked up at him, shifting slightly; He really wanted to roll over onto his back, laying on his stomach just felt uncomfortable as all hell, but he didn't move. The archangel lifted his gaze to the other, pausing, before slowly putting his head back down.

"Pathetic?" Michael offered up in response, his voice muffled as he pressed his face deeper into his arms. "Useless?" Adam would likely be objecting by now - hell, he'd be insulting Michael for insulting himself, to be completely honest. The archangel frowned a little, shutting his eyes.

"Ehhh… I was going to say quiet, but that works, I guess," Gabriel replied easily enough, actually seeming amused. He reached out again, this time placing his hand at the base of one of Michael's wings. The archangel jumped at this, head snapping up again, tensing as if to turn around but not quite moving from his position. Gabriel only applied the slightest pressure, just enough to keep him down in case Michael did try to move. "Hey, easy, try'na help, here."

"It's fine, honestly-" Michael breathed, his hands shaking slightly, but he couldn't bring himself to force his brother away. Of course, he knew Gabriel was only trying to help, but his wings hurt, and the applied pressure was making it feel like they were shattering even further.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at him skeptically. "Oh, okay, so you want to be in pain for the rest of your life?" He questioned, a dry smile appearing on his face. "Michael, big bro, I can tell you from experience that a torn wing hurts like a bitch, and yours aren't pretty. So you can either relax and let me do my thing, or, you know, you can tell me to stop and I'll just let you hurt. The choice is yours, really," he added, all too casually, leaving Michael reeling.

First of all - seriously, what had even happened to his brother? For all his snark, and all his energy, there was an edge to his words now, something else simmering at the surface, some emotion bubbling up that Michael couldn't quite place. Close to the wariness Dean displayed, but in an entirely different way - if the archangel didn't know any better…

Michael stared at Gabriel, silent, but finally relaxed - well, as much as he could due to the pain rushing through his wings. The other archangel quirked an eyebrow, almost seeming smug - it almost made him want to roll his eyes at his brother, but he couldn't even muster the energy to do that - before Gabriel turned his attention back to the wings, eyes narrowed in concentration.

"So," Gabriel started conversationally, running his hand up the length of one of the wings; Michael had to bite his tongue to keep back a yelp as another sharp throb of pain rushed through him. "What's it like being roommates with a demon? Probably be a little too stuffy for me, if I'm honest. Kinda crowded, lotta conflict…"

Michael blinked at that, shoulders shaking slightly - he really, really hated feeling his brother's hands on his wings. Belphegor's words flashed through his mind - maybe you just have trust issues - and it made the archangel falter for a second. He struggled with that, the darkness threatening to rise up and take him over at any moment, he struggled with the knowledge that the maybe-demon had been right; Maybe he really was just so broken now, so twisted beyond repair, that he couldn't even trust his own brother.

The anxiety hit him all at once; No Adam there to talk sense into him, no Adam to speak for him when Michael couldn't speak for himself, no Adam to insist that he was just being crazy, panicking over nothing. No Adam to console him - in his own way - to comfort him, to calm him.

No Adam to remind him that there was someone he did trust.

"Uh, Earth to Douchebag?" Gabriel was snapping his fingers in front of Michael's face when the archangel finally managed to focus, mostly because his brother now had his other hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly but firmly, just enough to pull him out of his thoughts. It was enough to make the archangel cringe away, instantly pushing himself to sit up, the pain in his wings be damned, as he jerked away from his brother, breathing heavily.

Gabriel just stared at him, clearly completely, utterly flabbergasted. "Okay, so, that was kinda freaky. You totally just spaced on me- which, for the record, you literally never used to do before. I mean, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were having a panic- attack…" The archangel trailed off, eyes narrowing slightly as the realization hit. "Ohhh. Yeah, that makes sense…"

"I-" Michael sucked in a deep breath, holding it for a second - slowly, in and out, he tried to force himself to remember, to keep himself calm, but he couldn't. He didn't know how to keep himself steady in this situation; When it was Adam panicking, he had been able to help the demon. And when Michael was on the verge of anxiety, himself, Adam had always been able to talk him down. This was an entirely new situation; Here he was, facing his brother - who was supposed to be dead - no Adam, no demon, completely, one-hundred percent alone in his own head.

A shudder ran down his spine at the thought, visibly shaking him, and he watched Gabriel seem to tense ever so slightly in response, staring at the other archangel with a mixture of bewilderment, disbelief and shock. It certainly didn't help, having his brother's eyes fixed on him the way they were, seeing the state that the once all-powerful archangel was in now.

It made him feel even worse than he already did, so he resorted to burying his face into his hands, digging his fingers into his hair. He could feel it all unraveling now; It was like Adam had been the tape, the glue, holding him together - the only thing, now, keeping him from completely shattering into the millions of bits and pieces he had fallen apart into in the Cage. It was all catching up, as if making up for lost time; The anxiety, the confusion, the pain, the panic, the insanity. Crawling back, no longer creeping around the edges of his mind, but finally attacking, now that the demon was dormant, the glue melting, the tape peeling.

"Michael?" Gabriel spoke tentatively now, every trace of his arrogance gone, worry lacing his tone as he inched toward his older brother. Michael flinched back when he reached out, causing the other archangel to recoil immediately. "Whoa, hey, hey- just, calm down, brother…"

"Can't," was the only thing Michael could mumble, his voice shaking violently on just that one, simple word. He couldn't do this; He couldn't hold himself together. How could he? He was just- he was useless, he was weak, he was broken and alone. Hell, maybe he didn't even deserve to be able to pull himself together now, maybe he didn't deserve to be stable, maybe that's why he was like this now, coming undone, breaking apart.

Yep, no, that was it, he was spiraling.

He could feel himself sinking, desperate for something to hold onto, something to cling onto - and his first reaction was to search for Adam, to try and catch a hint of the familiar irritation, the angry, protective understanding, the reluctant worry. Adam truly was his anchor, but that had been completely ripped away. He tried to console himself, to tell himself Adam was still there, he was still there, just- just resting, resting like he needed to, but it didn't work. Each passing second was just more weight on his chest, more fire to his lungs.

If he'd known it would be so hard to function without Adam, he wouldn't have taken control again. He would've retreated with the demon, rested along with him, done anything to avoid the horrible, confusing, twisting anxiety that had flared.

"Hey- hey, what's going on? What did you do?" That voice was familiar - that voice, that voice… it was the maybe-demon, right? The one Adam hated so much, the annoying one that constantly taunted them - Belphegor, Belphegor, that was his name- well, that's what he said his name was. He sounded angry, but there was a slight edge of panic to his tone - oh, panic - the word made Michael think back to his own panic, which only caused his anxiety to intensify.

"Excuse me, I didn't do anything, he just started flipping out," Gabriel was defending himself now, sounding just as angry, but more indignant. Michael blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision enough to focus on the two. "I- who are you again? You seem- familiar- but I mean… not Jack-familiar… weird… wait a second…"

"Nevermind that, what the hell?!" Belphegor was forcing his way forward now, shoving past Gabriel, who now seemed even more indignant, as well as annoyed. Michael shuddered and shook his head a little bit, struggling to focus even further now - he was familiar to Gabriel, too? That was definitely odd. And who the hell was Jack, anyway? Michael had heard him mentioned, but he'd never really gotten an explanation. Jeez, he really couldn't keep his thoughts steady- oh, and now someone was touching his shoulders, fantastic.

"I wouldn't-" Gabriel started to warn.

"Michael." Belphegor brushed him aside all too easily, giving the archangel a light shake - he winced, more from the movement than anything, but he still couldn't quite force himself to focus yet, his mind still racing. Adam would be able to keep him on track, Adam would be able to make him focus, Adam would be able to knock some sense into him- "Micha."

Everything froze.

His vision didn't clear, but his mind did. Everything seemed to still, and then it was like his brain was rewinding, sucking all of the anxious, split-second, whirlwind tornado thoughts straight back in. That word, that one word, it made only one face pop into his head, only one person. And it left him dizzy, confusion and grief overpowering the anxiety, bubbling up over the panic, before it all suddenly seemed to go numb, too overwhelmed by his own emotions to process anything else at that moment. His breathing quickened, not out of fear, but pain.

This time, when his vision blurred, it was from the tears.

Unfortunately, though, once the archangel's panic had subsided, the exhaustion rose up again, at full force. So he only managed to choke out a quiet - "Lucifer…", only managed to catch a glimpse of the way Belphegor's shoulders tensed - before everything went black.