A/N: Wow! 100 reviews! I gotta admit, I'm kinda shocked o.o Wasn't really expecting so many people to end up liking this - but, thank you! I appreciate all your comments, and I'm so, so, so glad you've been enjoying the story! I hope you love my boys as much as I do, lol. Still got a lot in store for them - as Lucifer said, it's far from over - so stay tuned! Thank you all for reading! :)
Michael leaned forward, arms crossed over his knees, watching silently as the humans packed up to leave. Most of them had already gone, but there were still some lingering about. Sam and Dean were still there, as well, loading up their own car and getting ready for the journey back to wherever they were staying. The archangel sighed and tilted their head back a little, looking up at the sky for a good few seconds. His thoughts strayed back to Lucifer, inevitably, and he frowned quite a bit when they did. He didn't distrust his brother - or, at least, he was trying not to - but even he had to wonder, and worry, about what was going on with him.
Adam was silent, but he seemed to agree - at least, on the wonder part. He wasn't particularly worried, Michael could tell, but he was… confused, and both of them were itching to know what was going on, what Lucifer was planning this time. It didn't seem to be anything bad - hell, he'd helped the Winchesters stop the apocalypse, and for a while there, he'd even seemed to act somewhat civil toward them for a while, too. Actually working with them. Michael couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his brother work with someone like that. Willingly. Calmly.
"-perhaps you could come with me, Fergus." Michael twitched and raised his head slightly, just for a second, turning to watch as Rowena and Crowley exited the school. He shifted slightly on the stairs to allow them to pass, but they paused just outside the door to talk. "I would like to have the chance to… make things right with you," the witch continued, inhaling deeply as she looked up at her son. "If you would allow me to do so."
"Mm." Crowley narrowed his eyes faintly, obviously distrustful - and yet, he agreed, even then, with all his wariness. The demon raised his head, giving a barely-noticeable, yet firm nod, accompanied by a shrug. "Why not? Could be fun," he replied distractedly, "not as if I plan on heading back to Hell anytime soon, for sure." Rowena only smiled, a spark of relief entering her gaze as she turned away and continued walking. After a moment, Crowley followed.
Despite himself, Michael smiled a little bit, looking back down. He didn't know the context behind it, behind their relationship - but it looked like someone else might be getting somewhat of a happy ending. Reconciliation… there was nothing quite like it.
You're so fucking cheesy, dude, Adam complained, albeit somewhat good-naturedly; A slight smile tugged at the archangel's lips, but it faltered instantly, amusement shifting into confusion, when Crowley abruptly stopped beside them. They looked up at once, eyes narrowing on Adam's side and eyebrows furrowing from Michael's, as the other demon paused, spared a glance after Rowena, and smiled sharply.
"You go on, Mother, I'll catch up," he called after her, and Rowena hummed, smiled, and waved a quick goodbye to Michael and Adam - the former of which raised a hand to wave back in response, while Adam resisted the urge to roll their eyes - as Crowley hummed and stepped down a few more steps, turning to face them once he was at eye-level.
"... Hello," Michael spoke up, slow and uncertain.
"The fuck d'you want?" Adam demanded, cold and uncaring. In response, Crowley quirked an eyebrow, but he didn't seem particularly put-off by the abrupt mood-change, just somewhat amused. Michael sighed a little and leaned back, taking a moment to reign Adam in, and ignoring the soft snort from the demon. What? Lucifer hates the guy. I don't trust him.
I love my brother, but that doesn't mean very much, Michael protested right back, if you hated everyone Lucifer hated, then you'd hate everyone.
I do hate everyone. And, no, you don't count.
Michael blinked, falling silent. Despite himself, though, his lips twitched slightly at what that implied - but, quickly enough, he shook his head and forced his attention back to Crowley, once he and Adam had gotten settled. Adam gave in, retreating just enough to let him talk to the other demon, but he stayed in the front to listen to the interaction. "Sorry," the archangel mumbled awkwardly, taking in a breath and straightening up.
"Mhm," Crowley hummed and spared a glance over his shoulder, toward Sam and Dean. Confident nobody was paying attention, the demon turned back to the other two. "So, then. Where did Lucifer really go, hm?"
Ready to respond, Michael's mouth went dry before he could even form the words, eyes going wide, pupils shrinking, their entire body locking up with the mixture of alarm and horror.
"What the fuck…" Adam mumbled, surging up again to take control once more, since Michael had proved too frozen, too stunned, to say anything for a good few seconds. "What the fuck?" The demon repeated, abruptly pushing them to stand; Michael snapped back to his senses rather quickly, ready to pull Adam in again if needed, but he didn't move to attack, just stared. "How the hell did you- he didn't tell you…" Adam trailed off, eyes narrowing.
"Please," Crowley scoffed a little, actually looking mildly offended for a second. "He was one of my greatest enemies. We're bonded, you know. A relationship, formed purely out of hatred - the strongest emotion you can share with a person." The demon's lips twitched, curling upwards into a dry, sarcastic looking smile as he winked at them. "But it also helps that I have ears, and the ability to eavesdrop every so often when the need arises."
Adam was growing more and more pissed off with each passing second, but Michael had another issue. The archangel tilted his head, a frown settling across his face, as his gaze slowly flicked up, past Crowley, coming to rest on Sam and Dean for a moment. After a moment, realizing what the archangel was thinking, he felt Adam's own fury fizzle out, giving way to the same amount of confusion that Michael was currently feeling.
"Wait a minute," they mumbled, looking back at Crowley. "If you knew this whole time, then- what… why not say anything?" Michael narrowed his eyes, this time, while Adam squinted at the other demon. In response, Crowley tipped his head to the side, quirking an eyebrow.
"I'm an opportunist, darling," he told them blankly, looking amused. "And, besides that, I'm sworn to secrecy. Your brother can be quite convincing." Crowley rolled his shoulders back a little bit, turning slightly to glance back at Sam and Dean. "Regardless, it all worked out in the end. The boys are alright, world's saved, blah, blah, blah, we've sung this song a thousand times. Figured we could use the extra hands." He shrugged at Michael and Adam. "And figure out the rest in due time, once, you know, the world wasn't ending."
Michael didn't know whether to be relieved or even more confused, and so he settled on a mixture of both. Adam, on the other hand, while he wasn't as furious, he did seem slightly irritated for some reason. "You're saying you trust Lucifer?" The demon demanded. "Your so-called greatest enemy?"
"Oh, most certainly not," Crowley replied with a roll of his eyes. "I don't trust anybody. But there's a difference between trusting people and taking advantage of a situation. Lucifer knew what he was doing here, and how, exactly, it would all end. He was just waiting for… something. The chance, I suppose, to execute his plan." Michael blinked, eyebrows furrowing, and Crowley sighed. "He knew what to do all along, dumbass. The Crook, the souls- all of it. He was waiting."
"Waiting…" Adam trailed off, eyes narrowing.
"For what?" Michael continued, feeling slightly unsettled now. Not particularly toward Lucifer, or even toward Crowley, but just… unsettled in general.
"Who knows? He's the Devil, he's always got his own agenda," Crowley mused with a shrug, stepping backwards down the stairs now. "An opportunist, as I am. Now, Earth is saved, and he's off doing… well, I don't think you quite answered my earlier question. Where did he go?"
"We don't know," Michael replied quietly, while Adam glared suspiciously at the other demon, still not quite trusting. "But he did say he'd be back. That this isn't over." The archangel paused, wanting to say more, but he simply shut his mouth. Both he and the demon seemed to agree that they shouldn't tell Crowley too much - not that they knew much to tell - just in case. "I don't… I don't think we have anything to worry about," the archangel added, however, frowning. "I trust my brother."
"You're incredibly naive," Crowley responded, and Adam growled, just a little bit, in the archangel's defense - which actually brought a slight smile to Michael's face. Crowley didn't seem fazed, only quirking an eyebrow in response before he shrugged, innocently, and turned away with a sigh. "Well, you're no use information-wise, so I suppose this is where we part." He paused, glancing back for a second, and smirked. "I'll be in touch."
"Yeah, don't force yourself," Adam replied sarcastically, and Michael offered an apologetic grin, but he didn't say anything to counter that, knowing it was no use. Crowley didn't care, anyway, only offering an amused smile before he headed off. Both the archangel and the demon relaxed, at once, as he and Rowena called a quick "goodbye, boys" toward Sam and Dean, and left. Michael sighed a little and closed their eyes, just for a moment, more exhausted by the second.
For a while, they both just stood there. Michael kept them steady, as Adam was more or less about to collapse at any given second. The demon raised their hands a little, rubbing at their eyes, and after a moment, Michael slowly sat them both back down and leaned forward, burrowing their head into their arms with a soft, tired sigh. Neither of them were even supposed to get tired, and yet the both of them were more exhausted than ever - both of them just wanted to curl up and sleep until the next end of the world came… Adam huffed out a short, silent laugh at the thought. And then, as if that had set something off, Michael started laughing, too.
"Well…" Michael huffed out a soft sigh and ran their fingers through their hair slightly, while Adam buried their face deeper into their arms, giving a soft, silent sigh. "It's over," the archangel muffled after a moment - Adam hummed - as he lifted their head again, much to the demon's chagrin. "... Now what?"
"Now…" Adam trailed off for a moment, eyebrows furrowing, and lifted their gaze toward Sam and Dean for a moment. The hunters were smiling, faintly, now, as Dean reached up and shut the trunk of the car. Michael watched, blinking slightly, and Adam tilted their head ever so slightly to the side. A bit of uncertainty had begun to brew up in the demon's chest, and Michael was about to say something - but Adam beat him to it. "Lucifer said we should stay with Sam and Dean," the demon sighed, somewhat reluctantly.
"If you're not okay with it, Adam, then we don't have to," Michael said firmly, straightening up a little bit and stretching their arms above their head with a sigh. "I don't want you to do anything that'll make you uncomfortable, or upset…" The archangel paused, glancing over at Sam and Dean as he continued, "I know what Lucifer said, but what you want- that's more important."
Adam didn't respond for a while, eyes lingering on his brothers, and Michael fell silent to let him think. Honestly, he was more surprised by the hesitance - the demon wouldn't usually have to think about something like this, Michael knew, before, he wouldn't have hesitated to take the chance to walk away. But he was hesitating now, and as shocked as the archangel was, he didn't say a word. It was important decision - more so for Adam than anyone.
"... I'm not ready to forgive them," the demon finally mumbled, and Michael nodded, ready to tell him that he understood, that he wasn't pushing anything, that they could leave now - until Adam continued on, a little quieter, "but I'm willing to try."
Michael blinked, gaze flickering up slightly. A small smile appeared on their face, slowly turning into a very slight grin as the archangel glanced back toward Sam and Dean, who had apparently reached the end of their conversation, because Dean stepped back, nodding toward his brother, then turned and headed off in the direction of the other hunters.
"I'm proud of you, y'know," the archangel mumbled, and Adam didn't reply - but the rush of warmth that flooded their chest in response was enough. Michael smiled, just a little, but he snapped back to attention when Sam suddenly turned, the hunter's eyes flickering around briefly before abruptly coming to rest on the two of them; After a long, long pause, and just a little bit more hesitation, Adam raised a hand, waving him over himself.
"Hey," the hunter greeted as he approached them, heading up the stairs to sit down beside them. He kept a good distance, though that didn't stop Adam from leaning away, if only slightly, despite himself. Michael was just silent, choosing instead to watch the two and listen, not wanting to interfere unless he had to - and yet, somehow, he doubted he would. "We're about to head out. The others are gonna take the rest of them-" He nodded toward the last of the humans, who had more or less finished packing up and were getting in the cars to leave, waving quick goodbyes to Dean and a few other hunters, "-back to the t-"
"Don't care," Adam interrupted simply, and Sam blinked, but fell silent as the demon continued, "seriously, don't care about them, couldn't really care less, to be completely honest-"
"Buddy…" Michael interrupted, a mixture of amused and exasperated. Sam paused, but he caught on a little bit quicker, and a faint smile appeared on the hunter's face despite himself, as he seemed to finally be understanding the differences between the two when they spoke, seemed to finally be able to pick apart which one was talking now.
"Okay, okay…" Adam sighed a little, almost irritated, but not quite - he was probably too exhausted, right then, to properly be irritated, Michael realized with a mixture of amusement and sympathy, because he was just as tired. "Listen, Michael and I were wondering…" The demon trailed off, seemingly now having trouble figuring out how to word what he wanted to say. Sam just furrowed his eyebrows, but he was silent now, waiting patiently for Adam to continue while he hesitated, mulling over his own thoughts with a frown.
Michael was just as patient, settling down easily enough and tilting their head faintly to the side while they waited for Adam to figure out how to phrase his request. Finally, the demon cleared their throat and looked up again, a little more confident, despite the internal hesitance.
"You said to let you know if there was anything you can do to try and make up for… everything," Adam started, and Sam's expression seemed to light up - if only slightly, just for a second - but he was silent, only nodding, and Adam continued a little slower, "well… Mike and I don't exactly have anywhere to be, nor anywhere to go, so we thought…" He trailed off, frustratedly, unable to complete his request - but Sam seemed to already know where he was headed.
"Right. Yes. Of course- done," the hunter replied, relief tainting his words, and Michael couldn't resist smiling. Adam wiped it away quickly, grumbling internally, put off and unnerved by the chick flick moment that the conversation had turned into, but that only made the archangel want to laugh. "You're- both of you, you're welcome in the bunker whenever." Sam paused, sparing a glance toward the car, and then Dean. "Just, uh, give us a moment to finish up here and you can ride back along with us."
"Sounds good," Michael murmured, since Adam was now adamant not to say anything else, the demon already embarrassed and annoyed at himself at his own decision - but, it was too late to turn back now. Sam only smiled back, a mixture of awkward yet relieved, as he stood up again and brushed himself off. He hesitated, as if wanting to say more, but, luckily - because Adam was seriously about to snap again at any given second, Michael could already feel the snarky comments in his head, ready to break free to counter what the hell he had just done - Sam refrained, giving them nothing more than a nod before he turned and headed off again.
"Oh, that was so fucking painful," Adam groaned once he had gone, burying their face into their arms again. Despite himself, Michael actually laughed a little. He was honestly extremely proud of the demon - he had, somehow, made it through a mostly civil conversation with one of his brothers. Now, that… that was definitely something. "Shut up, Michael…"
"You gotta stop saying that when I'm not even speaking," Michael chuckled back in response, raising their head, only to rest their chin on their arms again with a smile.
"... shut up," Adam mumbled, not seeming to know what else to say, too tired to really think of a good comeback. Michael just shook his head a little bit and fell silent, biting back a yawn and lifting a hand to rub at their eyes - a habit he had unconsciously picked up from Adam. The demon turned their head to the side slightly, resting their head in their arms with a tired sigh.
And they sat there until it was time to leave; Until Sam and Dean called them from the car. Dean looked reluctant, wary, as he flicked his gaze over them - but the younger Winchester seemed content, excited, almost. Michael fought back another yawn, rubbing their eyes again, and pushed them to stand. Adam had retreated, for the most part, but he was still awake, still watching - just too exhausted to take control. Regardless, Michael paused slightly before he finally headed down the stairs to wander over to the Winchesters. "You ready?"
As I'll ever be, Adam muttered back, sounding just as tired as the both of them felt. Michael hummed back softly in response, rubbing their eyes one last time and sparing a glance back at the school, before turning back and continuing on his way to where the Winchesters were waiting, one of the back doors opened and the boys already settled in the car, ready to leave.
The archangel paused, eyes flicking up, toward the sky, just for a second, before he turned and carefully got in the car, shutting the door and sinking back against the seat at once. The hunters didn't say a word; Sam glanced at them in the mirror, and Dean simply turned the car on, silent.
Both Michael and Adam were asleep before they were even halfway down the road, lulled by the rumbling purr of the engine and the soft, rocky movement of the car.