Adam woke up… cold.
He was in the park - the first park, the 'safe place', just for old time's sake. He had fallen asleep under one of the swings, peaceful at first… but then everything had suddenly gotten darker. Much, much darker. He hadn't dreamed of anything - truth be told he couldn't remember the last time he actually had a dream - but there was just something off, and he could feel it, even in unconsciousness. And now, being awake again, it was almost stronger. A horrible, confused twisting in his gut, the realization that something was, most certainly, indefinitely wrong, and he couldn't tell if it was coming from Michael or himself. Either way, it was unsettling.
The demon wriggled his way out from under the swingset, mumbling a quiet curse under his breath as he accidentally bumped his head against one of the chains - even though it didn't hurt - before he finally managed to make his way to his feet. He shook his head a little bit, trying to shake off the last bit of exhaustion, still clinging to him uncomfortably.
He couldn't sense anything from Michael - dammit, the archangel must be sleeping. He couldn't help the slight disappointment, even though he knew that the demon had needed the rest more than he did. He just hated the idea of being awake without him, having to function without him. Of course - of course he could, hah, he didn't need Michael to function… that much… right? Adam shook his head, too tired to even convince himself, and turned to glance around the park. No Michael; The archangel had said he'd join him, but… oh, maybe he'd just found somewhere else to sleep. It was probably nothing…
… yeah, Adam's overprotectiveness wasn't letting him believe that one.
The demon sighed, rubbing at his eyes as he headed off, slowly and dazedly, still practically half-asleep at the moment. The park faded into darkness with each step he took, bringing himself closer to the front of his mind, but not close enough to leave the swirl of memories. All of the main ones, the ones that had been brought up to the front of their mind, were empty; But, thankfully enough, Adam found Michael just as he was about to turn back to head deeper into their mind, wondering if the archangel had just stuck himself in one of the old memories, the ones that had been shoved to the far back, still collecting dust. Wouldn't be the first time, but…
No, not the case. Michael was just curled up in the darkness, completely limp. As Adam neared, though, he could tell something was off; He was laying in a rather uncomfortable position, twitching every so often, face scrunching up every now and again and his teeth clenched together tightly. He didn't look like he was having a very pleasant rest, at all.
"Even asleep," Adam muttered under his breath, slowing himself to a stop and kneeling down beside the restless archangel, looking down at him with a mixture of disappointment, irritation and concern glittering through his dark gaze, "you manage to stress yourself out…"
As if in response to his words, Michael curled up a little tighter.
The warning bells in Adam's head seemed to get a little louder as he reached out to the other, pressing one hand onto Michael's shoulder firmly but lightly. The touch made the archangel startle - the demon could feel him jolt, twitch and stiffen the second his eyes snapped open - but otherwise, Adam was able to hold him firmly in place, his hand steady on the other's shoulder and the other one raised slightly, just in case. He'd never had to wake Michael from a nightmare before, so this was an entirely new experience - as well as a concerning one.
But, whereas he was able to hold Michael steady on the outside, he didn't have the same effect from the inside. The rush of anxiety that hit them both was hell, and it seemed to be coming completely from Michael's side, growing stronger with each passing second. The warning bells turned to sirens not too long after that, the demon's head swimming with a mixture of panic, confusion and concern, and it took him a good few seconds to force himself out of it.
"Jesus, Michael, hey," the demon finally managed to snap out through clenched teeth, trying to fight his way past the dizzying amount of anxiety that was pulsing through him. Seriously, what had Michael been dreaming about that had sent him into this? "Relax, would you?"
For just a second, Michael seemed to still at the sound of his voice. He blinked, rapidly, as if he couldn't quite see, before whirling his head around to finally look up at the demon. It took him a few seconds of staring, confused eyes searching Adam's face desperately, worriedly, as if he might disappear at any given second - before a rush of relief suddenly cracked through, the anxiety slowly dissipating as the archangel faltered, and then relaxed, slowly but surely.
"There we go," Adam mumbled, pulling his hand away, but only so that he could grab the archangel by the front of his shirt with both hands to pull him up into a sitting position, steadying him carefully with a small, irritated, but worried frown on his face. "C'mon, asshole. Just breathe, or whatever. Like you told me, 'member? Slow and steady," he repeated what Michael had instructed him to do before, back in Stull Cemetery.
Michael only nodded, pressing his eyes shut. It took a few tries, but the archangel finally managed a deep, steady breath in, and held it for a good few seconds before letting it out slowly. Adam only nodded along, keeping quiet as he watched the archangel.
He wanted to know what had happened, what was so bad that it had brought him to this point, but he refrained from asking. More or less because he didn't want to risk him spiraling again.
"M'sorry," Michael suddenly mumbled, drawing Adam's thoughts back to the archangel. The demon only blinked, staring at the other in faint confusion, as well as mild irritation - what, exactly, was the archangel apologizing for? But Michael only shook his head, lifting a shaky hand to grasp at Adam's wrist, and pulled them both to their feet. He seemed a little steady, but that didn't stop the demon from steeling himself as they stood, ready to catch him if needed. "Thank you."
"Yeah, shut up." Adam glanced away, letting his gaze roam around through the darkness for a moment, just to avoid the awkward thank-you-you're-welcome moment that was about to come. Yeah, not on his watch, it wasn't. Michael's lips twitched, a quiet laugh escaping his lips, somewhat breathless. After a moment, reluctant, the demon spared him another glance. "So are you good now, or whatever…?"
Michael managed a tiny, if not hesitant smile, as if he wasn't quite sure. "Yeah."
The demon narrowed his eyes at the archangel, ever so slightly, almost doubtful, but he nodded. The archangel released his wrist and turned to look around as well, a faint frown settling across his face for a second; A few shapes flickered through his mind, a little blurry, some hazy voices breaking through. He caught a glimpse of the archangel Gabriel, and then Belphegor, and the words "Micha" and "Lucifer" were dropped…
Michael tensed, and Adam's gaze slowly flickered back to the archangel. He looked confused, but there was something else evident in his expression now. Close to disbelief, but simultaneously weaker and stronger at the same time. As if one part of him was aching to hope, but the rest of him was forcing the emotions down just as easily. The demon narrowed his eyes slightly as he turned, letting his gaze flicker around again. "What happened?"
The archangel opened his mouth, sighed, then simply brought the memory, playing it through in his mind and letting Adam watch through. He narrowed his eyes a little, having some trouble making out the blurry shapes and the slurred, quiet words, but by the time the memory was over, he got the basic point; Michael had a panic attack, Gabriel had failed at calming him down, then Belphegor had come in and…
"He couldn't be…" Michael was mumbling under his breath, "could he…?"
Adam stared at him for a moment, then turned his head. The way Belphegor acted toward them… well, it was starting to make sense, it was, but- Lucifer didn't lie. Didn't that include pretending to be someone else? And wouldn't he have said something to them, at least? Michael seemed to falter with each thought, but he was nodding, almost forced, agreeing, but hating it at the same time. Adam didn't particularly like it, himself. As much as he'd like to believe there was a chance that Lucifer was alive after all… he'd never been an optimist.
And he didn't want Michael to get his hopes up, only to be crushed immediately.
The archangel was silent, now, and the demon finally looked up to spare him a glance. Hope was one of the things they didn't share; While Michael didn't quite hope, he always wished for the best, regardless. Adam, on the other hand, didn't waste his time trying to hope, or wish, or anything of the sort; It was what it was, and no amount of hoping could change that. Sure, on occasion, he could slip - who didn't? - but for the most part, he caught himself.
This time, though, he found himself sharing Michael's hope. Just a little.
"Guess we should be heading back…" Michael trailed off, seeming a little nervous about that. Adam raised his eyebrows slightly at the archangel, forcing himself out of his own thoughts and taking another brief look around the darkness. Then, giving nothing more than a nod, he stepped toward the archangel, sparing him a glance and quirking an eyebrow.
"Let's go then, halo."
The archangel's lips twitched, and Adam carefully fought back his own smile as he turned away, easily bringing himself back to full control. He retracted it after a second, only slightly, just so Michael could rise up to share with him. And, while he waited for the archangel to do so, the demon heaved them both up into a sitting position, keeping them propped up with his hands behind him on the cot. He recognized the nurse's office, at once, of course.
Gabriel and Belphegor were still there, and it was somehow startling, and yet not, at the same time. The archangel was pacing in front of the door, while the maybe-demon was standing leaned back against the desk, arms crossed, a scowl written across his face and his head inclined downwards. However, both he and Gabriel turned the second Adam had sat up, both wearing identical yet different expressions of relief.
Michael took half control barely a second later, seeming oddly content - only for it to melt into a disorienting amount of confusion when he saw the scene in front of them. Adam quirked their eyebrows at the other two, while Michael's gaze immediately went straight to Belphegor, who seemed to visibly pause for a second before shouldering himself away from the desk and taking a step toward them. "Good, you're awake. Liiiiisten, clearly, we need to, uh… talk-"
"Hey- no," Gabriel abruptly snapped, shoving himself away from the door and taking a few steps toward them. Belphegor's head twitched in his direction, an irritated expression replacing the disbelief. "Nuh-uh, you, other side of the room," Gabriel demanded, pointing back toward the desk. "I still don't trust you. Michael's weak enough."
Adam didn't miss the way Michael seemed to falter at the words, easily redirecting his attention to the archangel's brother. He practically snarled, seeming to startle all of them - Michael included - as he leaned forward and bared his teeth at Gabriel. "You wanna fuckin' die?"
Gabriel narrowed his eyes back down at him, recovering easily. "I'm a bad bitch. You can't kill me." At this, Belphegor actually snorted, as if that was funny - Adam and Michael were just left completely bewildered, glancing between the two. The tension returned easily enough, at least, the second Gabriel had redirected his attention to Belphegor. "What'd I tell you? Go."
"I don't think you can make me, Gabriel," Belphegor responded dryly.
"That's not something you want to test me on," Gabriel warned, a very faint spark of blue entering his gaze before it had faded. Belphegor quirked an eyebrow, but for the most part, he seemed more than unimpressed. Finally, however, he seemed to brush the archangel off and turned away, back to Adam and Michael, who were both becoming more and more confused.
"I've got a lot of explaining to do. I don't have time to squabble with you," he told Gabriel, taking another daring step toward Adam and Michael - the former of which started to snarl again, but Michael shushed him quickly - and turning his head slightly once more to look toward Gabriel. "Maybe later, though, you know. You'd have time to make yourself some candy cane swords."
"I don't do that anymore-"
"Sure you don't."
"Okay- okay," Adam interrupted, honestly growing irritated now, watching the two of them bicker back and forth. Michael was silent, for the most part, almost puzzled, and yet somehow understanding at the same time. The realization was slowly creeping in, for both of them, and yet both of them were hesitant to believe it. "Can one of you just…"
"Explain?" Michael cut in, more pleading than irritated, more desperate for information.
"Before I rip both of your throats out through your mouth?" Adam added, narrowing his eyes, and Michael took a moment to reign him in again after that, radiating both disapproval and, yet, strangely, an odd amount of relief at the same time. Gabriel just stared at them, almost blankly, while Belphegor - smirking all the while - turned away from the archangel once more to focus his attention on the other two, approaching the cot once more despite Gabriel's protests.
"Well, to put it bluntly." Belphegor raised his hands slightly, his smirk easily turning into a wide, somewhat wild grin - one that irritated Adam, and worried Michael. "Hey, big bro. Big bro's pet demon. Luci here."