Adam sighed a little as he flipped the book shut, nibbling on a piece of bacon. Michael was still there, but he had retreated for the most part, thinking about how he could possibly mend things with Dean; The archangel was still dead set on the idea that he was getting in the way of the demon's reconciliation with his brother, but to be completely honest, if Dean had a problem with Michael, than there was no point for Adam. He was honestly kind of miffed by the hunter - because, really, if this was still about the archangel trying to possess Dean and start the apocalypse way-back-when, then he was going to be really pissed off…
Michael had, after all, changed quite a bit. You'd think that was obvious enough - the archangel wouldn't hurt a fucking fly. Sure, he'd gotten angry enough to the point where he had almost attacked the hunter - but he didn't. And, to be completely honest, it wasn't as if he wasn't justified… The demon sighed, rolling his eyes and finishing off the piece of bacon he had in his hand, reaching down and grabbing another one.
He could taste the salt in this better than he had in the tacos. It was… well, it was interesting. It didn't hurt, not quite - it was somewhat reminiscent of a… ghost pepper. Hot, tingling on his tongue, singing at his taste buds and making his entire mouth water. Not quite uncomfortable, or painful in any way, in fact, he actually kind of liked it. He marveled at it for a while, honestly, the way food tasted now, the subtle differences. He could taste almost every little thing, every small tang he had missed before. Sight and smell weren't the only senses that had been heightened by his Transformation, clearly enough, and he wasn't complaining about this. Nor was he complaining about Sam's cooking - whatever he might have against his brother, he was a damn good cook, and Adam was more than willing to admit that. In his head.
Sam was sitting across from him, beside Castiel. He had his laptop open in front of him, typing away, while Castiel had actually seemed to have fallen asleep in his chair, head tilted back at an - admittedly - uncomfortable looking angle and his eyes shut. Adam raised an eyebrow slightly, but diverted his focus back to the bacon quickly enough, finishing off the piece he had picked up and grabbing the book with his free hand, scooting his chair back and standing up. Sam looked up, but didn't speak, as the demon wandered over to the bookshelf he had taken the book from, putting it back in its place and selecting a different one before heading back over to sit down.
"You like reading about monsters, huh?" Sam spoke up curiously, brushing his hands off on his jeans and leaning forward to get a look at the book as Adam set it down on the table. It was another one of those old leather-bound books, with weird markings on the cover. The demon raised an eyebrow, tracing over one of the symbols curiously as Sam went on, "I have a few books in my room I could get for you later, if you want."
"... intrigued," Adam admitted, narrowing his eyes slightly at his brother, a sparkle of curiosity entering his gaze now. Sam's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't respond - instead, his gaze flickered to the side as Dean entered the room, the crab finally wandering from its shell; And looking no less crabby as it did so. The hunter didn't say a word to any of them, empty beer bottle in hand as he headed straight for the kitchen.
Michael frowned, but he didn't say a word.
Adam narrowed his eyes further, staring after his brother for a long moment. It was odd, how easily it had seemed to switch on him, but he found his feelings for both of his brothers were steadily changing - just not quite in the way he had wanted them to. He didn't despise Sam as much anymore, which was good. But all of that loathing was now being directed at Dean - and, hell, it was more than possible that it was because it was just slowly becoming less and less directed toward Sam… and maybe he still needed someone to hate. Wasn't as if Dean was acting very likeable recently - I mean, hell, at least Sam was trying, right?
"What's his problem, anyway?" The demon asked suddenly, before he could really stop himself; Michael snapped back to attention at once, as did Sam, lifting his gaze from the laptop once more to focus on his younger half-brother. Adam narrowed his eyes toward the kitchen faintly, then slowly turned in his seat to face Sam again, crossing his arms over the table. "With Michael?" Adam clarified, raising an eyebrow.
"Ah…" Sam's mouth twitched into a hesitant, mirthless looking smile as his hazel eyes darted toward the kitchen, then came to rest on Adam again, frowning. "It's hard to explain."
"No, it's not." Adam whirled his head around at once, at the sound of Dean's voice, and Sam's expression shifted into something unreadable, a mix of uneasiness and irritation as he looked toward their brother. Dean just stepped forward, ignoring Sam's quiet warnings, and the growl that had begun to rise in Adam's throat, as the hunter met their gaze boldly. "It's because that angel you got wriggling around in there? He's a monster," Dean's voice lowered, turning deadly. "A monster, a murderer, and one of these days he's going to turn against you and the rest of us and destroy the world, or try to, because that's what monsters do."
No amount of betrayal could compare to the pain that exploded in Michael's chest right then.
No amount of abandonment could compare to the fury that lit Adam's body ablaze right then.
The demon stood, slow at first. One hard kick sent the chair crashing backwards, slamming hard against the wall; In the next instant, Sam was on his feet, alarmed, and Castiel had jerked away, and Dean hadn't moved, but his eyes had darkened considerably, and he was tense, now, clearly ready for a fight. Michael rose up, struggling to take control before the demon could do something he might end up regretting, but it was too late; Adam was done.
He fought the archangel down with ease as he stormed forward, one hand grabbing the front of Dean's shirt and the other closing around the hunter's throat as he pushed Dean back as hard as possible, shoving the hunter backwards into one of the bookshelves. It rocked violently at the pressure, but didn't tip over; Dean cringed, likely because the bookshelf was now digging into his spine, but Adam didn't care. He leaned in close, lips curled back into a snarl.
"Adam, don't," Sam was insisting behind him, uttering the words at the same time Michael managed to spit them out internally, trying to gain enough control to pull away from the hunter. But Adam held strong, tightening his grip ever so slightly around Dean's throat, and a choked gasp escaped the hunter's lips as he raised his head and twisted, struggling against the demon's grip. "Adam," Sam's voice cut into the demon's thoughts, but he wasn't really listening.
"I am so done," Adam hissed, leaning forward a little bit more. "With people like you treating Michael like shit." He tightened his grip, and Michael's internal screams got louder. Dean's struggles stopped, his own glare sharpening ever so slightly toward the other - and then, abruptly, he froze. His face flickered, an odd emotion shining through his eyes, confusion, but not even much of that - more like he had seen something he hadn't expected.
Adam, no! STOP! You don't want to do this!
"I definitely want to do this, Michael," Adam roared, and Dean flinched ever so slightly, more from the force of the words than anything. The demon jerked a little, feeling someone touch his shoulder, and his head whirled around slightly to give Sam and Castiel a cold, warning glare before he turned back to face Dean again, the growl rumbling in his throat fading for a second. "You think he's a monster, bitch?" The demon cocked his head slightly, eyes widening slightly, teeth bared. At this point, Dean's face was changing in color. Adam could feel him gasping for air, throat restricting under his grip, and in response, he couldn't help but tighten his hold just a tad. "I'll show you a motherfucking monster-"
Something wet hit the back of his neck, and, startled, he loosened his grip - and then released Dean completely when a burst of hot, electric pain shot through him. The demon let out a distorted half-screech, half-roar as he reeled back, away from the hunter, who immediately covered his throat and began gasping for air the second he was able to, a bit of color returning to his cheeks. Adam only backed away, hands raised, clasping them over the back of his neck and gasping a little as he struggled to make sense of what had just happened.
"Cas," Sam hissed, already at his brother's side, prying his hands away from his throat to check on him. Adam just continued backing away, eyes darting toward the angel - he was holding a flask of what the demon assumed contained whatever he had been hit with, his initial irritation at the interruption turning to flat-out rage; But he kept his distance now, too wary of whatever was in the flask to make another move, at least for the moment.
Taking the chance while Adam was distracted, Michael had risen up again, taking control back and pushing Adam down, gentle but firm enough to ensure that the demon couldn't attack anyone again. He snarled, but he didn't protest, while Michael struggled to calm their shaking hands, still clasped over the back of their head. He stayed still, as if afraid any small movement could send Adam forward again.
"It was necessary," Castiel replied to Sam, stepping forward in front of the brothers and facing Adam. He didn't look particularly angry, nor really upset - but he was definitely wary, definitely protective, and definitely willing to use that flask again. Adam bit back his snarl, while Michael finally brought up the courage to move them back a few steps, breathing heavily.
"I'm sorry, I- he just- he can't control-" The archangel tried to explain, tried to defend, but he stumbled over his words too much for them to make sense of what he was trying to say. Well, the hunters, at least; Castiel seemed to understand, and he sent his brother a reassuring look before turning away again, deeming it safe to turn his back on the archangel and the demon and making his way to Dean's other side. His hands rose, hovered, but never made contact, as Dean had leaned away from the angel the second he had gotten close enough.
Adam gritted his teeth slightly, struggling to calm himself now. He tried to do so by recalling the last time he had gotten this angry, but even then, he couldn't force himself to relax. So he gave in, surrendering all control to Michael, much to the archangel's relief.
It's okay, Michael was trying to reassure, mouth snapped shut as tight as possible, wide eyes fixed on the three in front of them. Adam didn't respond, feeling the way they shook, wondering if it was still him - but, no, it couldn't be him, he wasn't in control anymore… the demon stayed silent, rage and frustration mixing together, confusion and disbelief, irritation and pain. It's okay.
Adam didn't reply, for fear of snapping back at the archangel. Michael seemed to understand that, but he didn't stop his quiet reassurances. His attempts to calm the demon down fell upon deaf ears, however, as Adam only stared, the rage flickering through him not letting up a bit.
Finally, Dean pushed himself forward, away from Sam and Castiel, the former of which was attempting to steady him, while the latter just stayed close, in case he was needed. The hunter stumbled a few steps, but caught himself quickly, inhaling deeply and glancing up at Adam and Michael. He seemed a little less cold, a little more resigned, but there was definitely nothing warm or welcoming about his expression now, no trace of friendliness in his eyes.
"You wanna know what my problem is?" The hunter questioned, taking another step forward. "I've been down this road before, pal. I've had enough of any Michael to last me for a long time," he spat. "Maybe you're not the same. Maybe you're not that Michael, the one from that universe. I know that. But I got a bad feeling about you - and I can't shake it. For the life of me, I can't shake it." Dean took a deep breath, shrugging Sam off completely. "You're the problem. You. Michael. That's it." With that, he shoved past his brother and the angel, veered sharply around Adam and Michael, and left the room. A moment later, they heard a door shut. Hard.
There were so many things that didn't make sense about Dean's speech, but Adam had to admit that the one from 'that' universe was on top of that list. The demon stayed silent, confusion replacing the fury, as Michael glanced behind them before turning back to the other two, his own bewilderment rising as the words echoed through their head.
"What did he mean…?" Michael breathed out, eyes flickering from Sam to Castiel and back again. The hunter was silent, exchanging a look with the angel, who just blinked, looking puzzled - even though, most definitely, Michael and Adam were the ones who should have been confused right then. "What did he mean- that universe?" The archangel added shakily, "what universe? What does that mean?"
He sounded so helplessly confused, and for a second, something in Adam seemed to crack. He pushed it down, pushed everything down, and slowly rose up to control again. Michael let him, now that Dean wasn't nearby - Adam didn't have a problem with Sam and Castiel, at least, not enough to where he was going to get physically violent. Regardless, the demon was still quiet, just watching and listening as Sam took a breath in, sighed, and stepped forward.
"Is Adam okay?"
"Fine," the demon mumbled shortly, his own voice quivering, whether from fury or otherwise, Adam had absolutely no idea. Michael ran their fingers through their hair, and Adam just fell silent again for a moment, swallowing hard before speaking again. "We would… very much so like an explanation now, please."
"Yeah." Sam shook his head and glanced back at Castiel, who was putting the flask away on a shelf now, silent as ever. The hunter cleared his throat, turning back to Michael and Adam, and gestured toward the table with a strained expression on his face. Wonderful, the day had actually started out somewhat decent, and now they were all stressed to the max, Adam included. "You, uh, you're gonna want to sit down for this."