Michael just watched, careful, as Adam turned back to him. There was something deeper, something heavier mixed in with the emotions swirling around inside of the demon. Something much more complex - but something had changed. The archangel just couldn't tell exactly what, not yet. But it scared him, on some level - part of him wondered if, this was it. If Adam maybe finally wanted him to leave; Of course, if he did, Michael would, that was just a given - he still followed the rules - but it didn't make him any less anxious, it didn't make it hurt any less.

"Michael…" Adam grumbled a little, the expression on his face easily shifting back into that familiar irritation, and Michael almost smiled despite himself - he would have, if his own anxiety wasn't literally crushing him to his very soul right then. The demon only shook his head, seemingly trying to shake off his own annoyance, and took a step forward. "Calm down."

"Sorry," Michael mumbled, staring at him. All the things that he wanted to say, that he still wasn't sure how to say, they were right there on the tip of his tongue. So many things, so many words that he still couldn't figure out to express. He hated it - it had never been so hard to talk to Adam before, and this was just painful. Still, as the demon took in a breath and opened his mouth to speak, the rush of anxiety was overpowering; He needed to say something, anything, before the demon could speak, before the demon could ask him to leave, before it really was over. Michael knew he had messed up, but he wasn't ready for this, not now.

So, he spoke, he said the one thing that came to his mind. And he meant it - but he faltered, because he wasn't expecting for Adam to have said it at the same time: "I'm sorry."

They both paused, blinked, and recoiled, staring at each other.

Michael was… stunned. Genuinely. He hadn't been expecting that - not from Adam. And the demon, well, he didn't exactly look shocked, but still mildly surprised, and a little miffed at the interruption of his own apology. Michael opened and closed his mouth, but at this point, there was nothing else he could say. An apology was the last thing he had thought he would get from the demon. He hadn't wanted one - and he certainly didn't believe he deserved one.

"Wow," Adam deadpanned after a few moments, just staring at him with a look of mild confusion, but there was also definitely some irritation sparkling through his eyes now.

"You're- what-" Michael could only manage that, not quite sure what to say afterwards. Adam only managed to huff out a quiet, half-hearted sounding laugh, tearing his gaze away from the archangel and looking around wordlessly. Michael continued to stare even then, trying to catch Adam's gaze despite the fact that the demon seemed to be avoiding looking at him at that point. "Adam…?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Adam repeated, a little more desperately this time. He spoke almost angrily, but there was no fury swirling through him, no rage bubbling up. In fact, there was only a deep sense of uncertainty, confusion… fear. The demon scowled a little, dropping his gaze.

Michael was definitely relieved that he wasn't being asked to leave, but beyond that, yeah, he was most definitely more confused than when he'd started out. The archangel paused, just for a second, before taking a few steps forward. Adam didn't move, didn't even tense - hell, he didn't even look up. "Okay…" The archangel started, bewilderment evident in his tone. "... why?"

Adam's gaze lifted slowly, a deadpan expression replacing the frustration. "... Are you fuckin' kidding me?" He demanded icily, eyes narrowing.

Michael just stared, thinking back to the argument. In response, Adam had dropped his gaze rather quickly, eyes darkening considerably, while Michael only frowned. "... Adam, I-" The archangel paused, inhaling deeply, and shook his head. "I appreciate that, I do, but I'm not- I'm not angry about…" He stared at the demon, almost quizzically. "I shouldn't have butted in where I didn't belong. That- That was my fault, not yours. You shouldn't…"

"Don't tell me I shouldn't be sorry, asshole," Adam groaned a little bit, his gaze snapping back up at once as he glared at the archangel. "After what I said, I'm surprised you can even look me in the eyes now. You're really going to stand there and tell me that I didn't hurt you with that?"

At this, Michael faltered. No, it definitely had hurt, but hadn't he deserved that?

Adam just stared at him, a mixture of disgust and horror flickering through his eyes now. "... nobody deserves to- okay, listen." The demon took several steps forward. "Apology out of the way, I'm not fuckin' saying it again while I have just a little bit of pride left. But I don't get it, Michael, why- why do you think so lowly of yourself, huh?"

"What?" Michael furrowed his eyebrows, taken aback by that. Adam just groaned a little and shook his head, burying his face into his hands for a good few seconds and falling completely, utterly silent. It took a while for Michael to realize what the demon had meant, but even then, it only made him more confused. "I don't… know, Adam, I…" He hesitated, watching as the demon looked up again. "But this isn't about me. Are you… okay?"

"No, I'm not okay," Adam insisted, looking even more bewildered now. "Because of that. Even after everything, you're still worried about me! How do you- why do you-" He stopped, quite obviously struggling, and Michael took a few more steps forward, his concern intensifying. "Why do you care so much?" The demon finally demanded, desperation lacing his words. "Why do you care so much about- about me, when… when…" At this, he stopped, unable to continue.

"Because you're my friend," Michael insisted, only really knowing how true the words were after he had said them. He went silent for a moment, blinking as he thought that over, and Adam had fallen silent, as well. He looked startled, if only slightly, wide eyes meeting Michael's. The archangel hesitated a little, but he didn't say anything else.

"... No- no, I mean- I mean, how-" Adam started again, seeming to lose his nerve just a little bit after that. He took a second to compose himself, and Michael took an instinctive step forward. The demon just shook his head, not quite relaxing, but he spoke a little clearer now. "How do you care more about me than my own brothers?" He sounded almost desperate, confused, looking up and searching Michael's face desperately.

Michael blinked. Adam only faltered, recoiling again, and looked away once more, rooting his gaze to the ground instead. It took a while for the archangel to be able to respond, not really sure what to say to that. "I…" He swallowed, hesitating, before asking in response, "I don't know, Adam. How do you care more about me than my own Father?"

He didn't know if that was the right thing to say, but Adam had actually choked out a slight laugh at that for some reason, albeit a bitter-sounding one. And the tension seemed to have left him, so that was even better. They were both silent for a while after that, and Michael only watched as Adam's eyebrows furrowed, as the gears in his head turned, seemingly searching for an answer to that. Finally, bringing his arms up to cross them behind his head, he did respond.

"... because you're my friend."

Michael's lips twitched slightly, wanting to smile despite the way his eyes stung sharply at those words, despite the heat that had brewed up, the tears just waiting to surface. Adam didn't look back up, mouth twisting slightly, almost a frown, but not quite. Michael only gazed at him for a few moment longer, eyes searching the demon's carefully. The things he wanted to say seemed a little less impossible now, but he still didn't know how to put them into words. Judging by the way Adam shifted, opening and closing his mouth, he was having the same problem.

"I'm sorry…" The archangel started without quite thinking about it, and he hesitated as Adam's eyes flickered up almost immediately. "I'm sorry," Michael started again, frowning. "For… for butting in where I don't belong, trying to interfere with you and the Winchesters."

Adam only huffed out a quiet but sarcastic sounding laugh and looked down again, screwing his eyes shut and shaking his head desperately. "I wish you knew how much I've been wishing you'd start interfering again," he muttered breathlessly, and Michael's eyebrows furrowed slightly, watching him. "I just- no, you know what…" The demon swallowed, opening his eyes and looking up again. "You don't interfere. It's your business as much as it is mine."

Michael blinked, eyebrows furrowing slightly in confusion at that. "But…"

"You're a part of my life, too, Michael," Adam interrupted, his voice quieting a little bit. He looked away, only to quickly redirect his attention back to the archangel immediately. "Hell, you're- you're a part of me, okay? I- you've been…" The demon trailed off, swallowing, and continued, "you've been more of a brother to me than… than they have. Sure, maybe- maybe it was annoying, but I'd rather- I'd rather have you in my life than not."

That was all Michael needed to hear for him to be able to relax, the rest of the tension between them seeming to dissolve all too easily. He blinked a few times, struggling to clear his vision as it blurred. No tears had welled up yet, but it was getting close despite his efforts to fight it back. "Oh," was all he mumbled, despite the relief that flooded through him.

Adam glanced up at him again, eyebrows furrowing slightly. After a while, he seemed to relax, himself, shoulders dropping as he lowered his arms back to his sides. "You know, it's funny," he admitted, a dry, mirthless smile tugging at his lips, "it's only been a day, but it feels like it's been forever since we've been able to actually hold a civil conversation." He rolled his eyes. "Hell, forget that, it feels like all we've done since we've got to Earth is fight…"

"Yeah," Michael agreed quietly, lips twitching slightly despite himself. He raised a hand to rub at his eyes, shrugging a little bit. "It's because we suddenly have things to disagree about. It's not all black and white anymore, the way it was in the Cage." He fell silent for a moment, smile fading. "Guess we're not always going to be able to get along now."

"We're just going to have to get used to that," Adam sighed. Michael let out a low, quiet hum of agreement and looked away, diverting his eyes to the sky. He let his gaze flicker over the stars, and, after a few seconds, Adam tilted his own head back to look up, speaking up again quietly. "I'm not ready to forgive Sam and Dean, Michael."

"I know." Michael fell silent, hesitating a little. "I just want you to be- I want what's best for you, Adam. Whether you forgive them or not, I just hate seeing you so…" He trailed off and shook his head a little bit. But the demon gave a quiet hum of acknowledgement, letting the archangel know that he understood. "And… I hope you know I'm with you," he added, looking back down. "Whatever happens."

"I know," Adam mumbled, a very faint, relieved smile appearing on his face for just a second. "And I'm… I'm grateful, Michael. Even though my sorry ass has a horrible way of showing it."

"Oh, hush…" Michael protested, but his own smile was tugging at his lips now, despite himself. Adam only shrugged in response, looking away, but his smile didn't fade for a while after that. When it did, Michael took a deep breath and finally crossing the distance between them. "So, are we…" He furrowed his eyebrows. "Are we… okay?"

"I hope so," Adam mumbled, "because I've had enough Earth-shattering revelations and roller-coastery emotions for one fucking day."

Despite himself, Michael cracked up.

Adam just rolled his eyes, looking up at him in silence for a moment. What happened next was unexpected, but certainly welcome all the same; The demon stepped forward and reached out, grabbing the front of the archangel's shirt and pulling him into a hesitant but firm hug.

It didn't take too long, at all, for Michael to wrap his arms around the demon in response, despite his initial shock. He must have really needed it - they both must have - for Adam to have initiated it, because he most certainly wasn't one for physical affection. The demon was silent, face buried into the archangel's shoulder, and the relief and contentment radiating from him was almost just as stunning. But, after a moment, that shock fizzled out, turning into something much warmer. It was the closest thing to happiness that he'd ever felt from Adam, which was both relieving and so, so pleasing - the realization that, yes, he was capable of being happy, or at least something close to it. So maybe, just maybe, he could help him after all.

Michael closed his eyes, leaning his head slightly against Adam's and letting out a slow, content sigh, and Adam finally relaxed completely in response.

"Thanks," the demon mumbled after a while, his voice muffled. "For not giving up."

"On you?" Michael almost laughed, the thought was absolutely ridiculous - here stood his best friend, the one he thought of as a brother, the one person in the world he was actually truly connected to in every sense of the word, and he genuinely thought there was a possibility… "Never," the archangel sighed, pulling away. "I can promise you that."

Adam rolled his eyes a little bit as he pulled away, himself, taking a step back. "I'll hold you to that, halo," he warned, but there was no edge to his words.

"You do that." Michael paused for a moment, looking around. They'd both took turns sleeping on and off throughout practically the whole day - needless to say, Michael actually felt rather energized. Not quite enough - and definitely not enough to be at full power, or anything close to it - but he definitely wasn't tired. Adam seemed to both agree and yet disagree, which was actually somewhat amusing, on some level.

"By the way, would you mind if I punched your brother?" The demon asked suddenly, eyes narrowing.

Michael paused at that, sparing Adam a curious look and quirking an eyebrow slightly. "Which one?" He tilted his head, and Adam shrugged.

"Lucifer."

"... Adam, do you have a death wish?"