Adam awoke with Michael beside him, curled up in the corner of Lilith's chamber with his head buried into his arms, knees curled up to his chest. For a moment, the demon could only stare, not quite awake enough to feel any concern - mostly just confusion, as to why the archangel was sitting like that, all curled in on himself and in the corner. He considered the possibility that he was asleep, and had simply passed out in that position - and then Michael twitched, sighed, and raised his head again, eyes drifting over to Adam, relief sparking up in his gaze. "M'awake."
"... mornin'," Adam responded, somewhat awkwardly, still far too tired to function right then. The demon groaned a little and rolled onto his back, wincing slightly as he did so - he was so stiff, how long had he been asleep? Michael just watched him carefully, lowering his knees from his chest and stretching them out in front of him instead. "How long were you sitting there?" Adam glanced over, eyeing Michael carefully. "And, uh, why…?"
"I spoke to Dean," Michael murmured.
Adam blinked, mouth opening, then slowly snapping shut again. His eyes hardened ever so slightly, taking in the archangel's expression with extra intensity now, searching his gaze. He just looked tired - but both physically and emotionally. And, yes, that kind of pissed Adam off. He didn't like the way the hunter had spoken to Michael before, and he hadn't been there to defend him today - so he was both kicking himself and ready to kick Dean where the sun didn't shine. "So should I go straight for the kill or torture him a little first?"
Michael gave him a look, pushing himself forward a little and wrapping his arms around himself as he leaned forward and looked away, eyes drifting toward the memory of his brothers and himself, still singing to the box in the chamber. Adam turned his head slightly to watch, too, the harmonic voices distracting him only for a second before Michael's voice cut through again. "I don't know what else I can do," he sounded almost defeated. "I'm sorry, Adam."
"You're not the problem here, halo," Adam told him simply, letting his head fall back against the floor. He raised his gaze to the ceiling for a moment, then closed his eyes. "Lemme see."
It took a moment for Michael to bring the memory up, but Adam just waited in silence. He watched it all the way through, beginning to end, from the start of the conversation to the end. A bit of anger flared up when Dean called Michael a monster again - and if he could hurt a memory, he would have - but he had faltered along with his brother by the time the archangel had finished his speech. And, he had to admit, he was a little surprised when Dean still turned his back on Michael; Adam didn't think he would have had the willpower to do that. Not when it came to the archangel - not when it came to those wide, desperate, pleading eyes.
The demon blinked his eyes open when the memory had ended, and Michael sank back against the wall yet again, exhausted simply from reliving the memory. Adam looked over at him for a few seconds, crossing his arms under his head and falling absolutely silent, thinking. Finally, though, he spoke, an odd tone entering his voice. "Do you want to leave?"
Michael blinked, looking startled by that, and lifted his gaze back from the floor to the demon once again. "What?" He stared, eyes going wide, as he responded quickly, "I- if you want me to leave, I will- I mean- I have to, there are rules, but- I don't-"
"Whoa, whoa, chill," Adam insisted, huffing out a sigh and rolling his eyes slightly at the archangel - because, really, if Michael didn't know by now that the demon literally needed him around to be able to function on a day-to-day basis… - and putting his hands behind him slightly in order to heave himself up a little, sitting up slightly and propping himself up on his hands. "That's not what I meant, man. I meant, like… do you want to leave. Them. The bunker."
The amount of confusion that flitted across Michael's face was nearly indescribable. "I thought…" The archangel flicked his gaze over Adam's face carefully, searching for something. "I thought things were going well- with- with Sam, at least? Why would you want to leave?" At this, Adam gave him a deadpan look, and Michael's eyes widened as the realization set in. "Oh- Adam, no," he insisted, "no, no, no, this is what I was afraid of, of getting in the way and you leaving them and giving up because of me."
"Well, I'm sorry, Michael, but it's either you or them," Adam retorted, shifting to lean his weight on one of his hands to raise the other, rubbing at his eyes with a sigh. "And, I mean, hell, that's not even really anything I need to consider. And being here- dealing with that, that's not good for you. And it's not good with me."
Michael blinked at him, falling silent for a good few seconds. Finally, though, with a sigh, the archangel had sank back against the wall again, letting his head fall back against it. "If you want to leave… then we can. That's up to you," the archangel finally managed, sighing. "But I don't want to leave because you think it's what I want, or because you think I'm uncomfortable. I just…" He looked over at Adam, and the demon raised an eyebrow slightly, just gazing at him. "Don't give up on them because of me."
Adam sighed, narrowing his eyes at the archangel. He was too selfless for his own good, and it was getting to the point where it was… well, extremely concerning. But this was what Michael wanted, at least, he had said it himself - and he knew it would only make the archangel feel worse if Adam did decide to leave anyway. So, either way… lose-lose situation. Hissing, the demon let himself fall back onto the floor, scowling as he turned his head away from Michael. "Next time he says something even remotely passive-aggressive, I'm ripping his throat out."
"No you're not-" Michael started, and sighed when Adam interrupted.
"Try me, bitch."
Michael gave him an amused look in response, but he didn't say anything else. Finally, though, after a good few seconds, Adam let out a groan and pushed himself to sit up. Michael watched, silent, as the demon leaned forward, then somewhat reluctantly moved to stand. He wavered a bit on his feet, unsteady - and, in turn, Michael had stood along with him, grabbing his arm with one hand and steadying them both against the wall. Adam didn't say anything, didn't look at him, but he let a tiny bit of gratitude curl up in his chest - and the archangel returned the unspoken "thank you" with a rush of warmth in response.
They rose up to take control as one, no words spoken. Michael winced a little almost immediately, neck and back stiff from the way he had left them in the chair - leaned over the table, head in their arms. Adam didn't really care, though, despite the uncomfortable position; The demon just pushed them both to sit up straight with nothing more than a quiet grunt, flexing his arms slightly before straightening up to stretch, while Michael brought their arms up over their head.
Sam was sitting across from them, once more scrolling through his laptop, but the hunter looked up the second they sat up. Adam glanced at his brother, quirking an eyebrow in a silent greeting, while Michael dropped their arms back to their sides and sighed. "Hey."
"Mm…" Adam only hummed quietly in greeting, while Michael managed a tiny, if not awkward smile. The demon just studied his brother for a moment, eyes narrowing ever so slightly, just for a few seconds. Not quite hostile - no, he had long gotten past that point, he had to admit. It had surprised even him, for the first few seconds in which he'd realized that he didn't… well, hate his brother as much as he had used to. Hell, he wasn't even angry at that point. The guy irritated him sometimes, but even Michael irritated him a little every now and again. But other than that, he didn't exactly feel anything else toward his older half-brother, either…
A part of him ached to remind himself why he had hated Sam in the first place, but at the same time, he didn't want to - why would he? He didn't want to be angry. And yet, he was still so torn, because not being angry just felt… wrong. The demon shook his head a little, frustrated, and brought his focus back to Sam. Michael was staring at the hunter curiously, watching as Sam ate something out of a bowl - upon closer inspection, Adam realized that it was a salad.
He's eating leaves, Michael said after a moment, simple and bewildered and innocent, and before Adam could stop himself, he had started laughing. Sam paused mid-chew, looking up at them curiously, as the demon just clasped a hand over their mouth and let out a few more muffled chuckles. Michael had joined in a little despite himself, and despite the confusion swirling in his chest, there was also a large amount of warmth now.
It took a little while for Adam to calm down again, keeping their hand covering their mouth for a good few seconds before slowly lowering it again. "Those aren't- leaves, Michael," the demon gasped, and the archangel's confusion strengthened further, but the amusement did, as well. Sam, meanwhile, now had a look of realization settling across his face, and he looked equally amused and bewildered as he looked at them, then down at the salad he was eating.
"Uh, no. Not technically," the hunter chuckled a little as he lowered his fork, looking amused. "Contrary to popular beliefs, I'm not a rabbit." At this, Adam almost started laughing again, but he managed to stifle it. Michael just tilted their head, confusion returning, at least until Sam pointed the fork at the salad. "It's, uh, lettuce. Which, I mean, could be considered leaves, but it's more of a plant in itself." Adam nodded, ever so slightly, while Michael just mumbled a quiet "ohh" as the hunter further clarified, "people use it for salads, sandwiches- it's… food."
"I see," Michael said slowly, though Adam could tell he was still slightly confused, and that only made the demon want to laugh even more. He didn't, though, just rolled their eyes slightly and shook their head with a very faint, barely noticeable smile.
"Want a salad now…" The demon mumbled under his breath, and while he didn't miss the slightly confused look that flickered across Sam's face, he wasn't too concerned about it. After a moment, thinking, Adam gave a short nod and pushed their chair back a little bit to stand. Michael quirked an eyebrow slightly, a mixture of curious and amused, while Sam just tilted his head ever so slightly at his younger half-brother. "I'ma go make a salad."
"I didn't know you liked salad," Sam replied curiously, and Adam shrugged.
"Learn something new every day." The demon paused, looking around, then jerked his thumb in the direction of the kitchen - or at least, what he figured was the kitchen. "That's the kitchen, yeah?" Sam nodded, opening his mouth as if to speak, but Adam simply turned and headed off before the hunter could respond further, despite Michael's internal protests. "You're a really annoying conscience, you know," the demon grumbled dryly as he entered the kitchen, and Michael offered a small snort in response.
"Someone has to be," he responded, good-naturedly, and Adam huffed out a surprised laugh.
"Touche', douche'."
It took the demon a moment to figure out his way around the kitchen, more or less struggling to figure out where everything was. But, when he finally managed to get everything figured out for the most part, he set to work; Salads were always fun to make when he was a human. Sure, he liked all of the good stuff - burgers, bacon, fast food. But, as a pre-med student, and with his mother being a nurse, he also had an appreciation for healthier things. He remembered, she would buy him all sorts of fruits and vegetables, and teach him how to mix them in with the things he liked to eat when she had the time. Veggie burgers were one of his favorites, chicken and vegetable soup…
For just a moment, Adam faltered. Just a moment.
… Adam? Michael asked quietly, and the demon shook himself out of his thoughts quickly. That hadn't happened before - he hadn't thought of his mother in a very, very long time. And he didn't want to start now.
Setting his jaw, Adam turned away and started putting stuff back, having already finished making his salad. Lettuce, tomatoes and cheese covered in French dressing; And yet, as much as he wanted it, a part of him had also completely lost his appetite. "M'fine, halo," he muttered begrudgingly when the archangel continued to press, and, while most certainly not satisfied with that answer, Michael seemed to understand that Adam just didn't want to talk about it. At least not right then. The demon took in a deep breath and turned, grabbing the bowl and searching around for a fork before he had back into the main room, taking a bite on the way.
He felt a lot better once he had entered - and raised an eyebrow upon seeing that Sam had disappeared from the table, laptop still open, his own salad only half-eaten. The demon spared a look toward the laptop screen as he passed, but it wasn't anything interesting like porn - just some kind of news article. Adam rolled his eyes and took his seat at the table again.
Are you okay? Michael asked suddenly after a few moments of silence. Adam paused mid-chew, and swallowed hard, looking up for a second. He was already halfway through the salad, appetite regained the moment he had started eating - go figure, he had missed salads just as much as everything else. The demon sighed.
"I told you, I'm fine," Adam insisted, and the archangel didn't respond for a good few seconds, almost hesitant. The demon narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, then, with another, defeated sigh this time, he gave in, deciding to set his poor body-buddy some slack. "I am. Really. Just started thinking about things that I'd rather not think about okay?" He raised an eyebrow, and Michael, while silent, gave a faint nod of understanding. "Just… relax. I'm good."
"Okay," Michael relented, finally satisfied that, whether he had been before or not, the demon was as alright as he was capable of being now. Adam nodded once, satisfied, himself, and turned back to what he was doing, ready to take another bite. Only to pause, looking up, when Sam entered the room again, this time holding something - a book, by the looks of it.
Adam stared, torn between the food and his own curiosity - he chose curiosity. Putting the fork back down, he leaned forward a little, trying to catch a glimpse at the cover of the book - but it was blank. The book, itself, was leather-bound, brown, with a latch sealing it shut. Papers and pamphlets were spilling out from the edges; It was a journal, not a book, and Adam had many, many mixed feelings about that - whereas Michael was just curious.
"That your diary, princess?" Adam asked sweetly as Sam sat down, and the hunter spared him a look, half-amused and half-exasperated, though he seemed to have been expecting something of the sort - either that or he had just heard it many, many times before from others.
Michael just sighed, but he didn't bother to scold him.
"No. Not mine." Sam turned the journal around to face Adam and put it down on the table, sliding it over to him, much to the demon's surprise. "It was Dad's." Before the demon had time to respond at all, the hunter continued hurriedly, "I don't know how you feel about him now, and I know you weren't exactly, uh, fond of him before, but - I don't know, I thought you might like reading through, since you seem to like reading about monsters. It's got some information on hunts he's been on before - hell, Dean and I have added some things, ourselves."
Despite himself, Adam had to admit that he was tempted, solely because the journal apparently contained information about monsters. He wasn't sure why he was so interested in learning about things like that, as he never had been before - but, hell, maybe it was just being a demon. Being one of the things, making him curious about the others.
"Mm…" Adam stared down at the journal for a moment, considering.
Could be interesting, Michael encouraged him, and Adam raised an eyebrow. I mean, hey - maybe if you learn enough, we can go on a hunt with them one of these days.
Okay, he had to admit, that was a somewhat tempting thought, though the demon wasn't sure how he felt about that, either. Regardless, he reached out and placed a hand over the journal, pulling it just a little bit closer to him and sparing his older half-brother an odd look. "A'ght. Cool," he grunted, the closest thing to a "thank you" that Sam was going to get, and the hunter only smiled back ever so slightly in response before he turned away, back to his laptop and food. After a moment of staring, the demon turned his attention back to his own food, sparing a glance at the journal every now and again, but not moving to read it yet.
They were all silent, then, as they continued to eat; Sam was scrolling through his laptop again and Adam finally flipped the book open. He skipped ahead a few pages, not really caring about the first few entries, only slowing down when he finally reached the parts about monsters. He wouldn't admit it, either, but the drawings were actually impressive.
However, they all looked up when Dean entered; The hunter simply passed through to the kitchen, still not looking at anybody, and Sam had only spared a slight glance after him in return before rooting his gaze right back to the laptop. Adam wasn't too interested, but Michael stared after the oldest Winchester with a deep frown written across their face, before the demon managed to redirect their attention back to the journal. Don't waste your time on him, asshole.
Silent as ever, Michael just frowned a little deeper and fell silent. Adam sighed, but, knowing there wasn't much he could do to console the archangel on that front, he flipped a page and continued reading, trying to distract Michael by pointing out another one of the drawings. It worked, if only for a second, before their attention was once more redirected to Dean, who ducked out of the kitchen with a beer in his hand.
Adam raised an eyebrow, ready to look back down, but even he paused when, instead of heading back to his own room, the hunter stopped, glanced down the hall, then abruptly turned and walked over to them. No words were spoken, despite the surprised glance Sam threw their brother's way, and the stare Adam and Michael were currently giving the hunter; Dean just pulled a chair out beside Sam and sat down, popping the top off of his bottle in complete silence and taking a long sip.
"... and over here, we see a Dickhead emerging from its lair," Adam piped up after a good few seconds - causing Sam to promptly choke on his salad - and Dean merely spared a glance up. Michael immediately began chiding the demon, anxiety rising up in their chest as the archangel struggled to reign him back in; And, so, driven to say even more now that Michael was trying to get him to stop, he continued with a slow smirk, "finally come out of hibernation at last. Are you tired of hiding out in the Douche Temple, or is it mating season?"
Dean took another sip before he responded, lowering the bottle back to the table and looking Adam right in the eyes. "Both." And Sam choked again, but this time it was because he was trying to laugh and eat at the same time.
Michael paused, blinked, and retreated a little bit upon realizing that a fight wasn't about to break out, at least not right then. Adam, not really having much of a response to that, as he hadn't been expecting an answer, much less the one he had gotten, just stared at Dean for a moment longer, raised his eyebrows, and nodded slowly before turning his attention back to his own food and the journal, flipping a page and taking a bite in silence.
Maybe I did get through to him… The archangel's voice cut into his thoughts, and Adam only gave a slight hum of agreement as he scanned a page in the journal - something about… wendigos, which actually looked kind of interesting. Whatever, he didn't really care either way, whether Michael had gotten through to Dean or not; Even if he hadn't, as long as the hunter was done spitting insults at the archangel, then he wasn't going to rip his throat out. So.
"What'cha got?" Dean asked after a moment, his question directed toward Sam, who turned the laptop toward the other hunter in response. Dean leaned forward to read whatever was on the screen, and, after a few seconds, Adam turned back to what he was doing, uninterested.
And, so, he was able to read a little bit more, easily getting through half the journal before the door opened. The demon sighed, irritated, ready to just take the salad and journal back to their room, while Michael looked over toward the stairs. Dean turned slightly in his seat, and Sam spared nothing more than a glance upwards before turning away again, typing rapidly on the laptop, as the door shut again and Castiel appeared, walking down the stairs with a frown.
"Hey, Cas," Sam mumbled without looking up, and Castiel opened his mouth slightly to respond, eyes darting toward Dean, as he ventured further into the room.
"Sam." The angel paused, his blue eyes flickering briefly over the hunter's face, before he cleared his throat. "Dean." Castiel's gaze strayed over to Adam and Michael, and he nodded faintly toward them when the archangel raised a hand to wave over at him, while the demon just narrowed their eyes ever so slightly, his irritation growing with each second.
"Where you been?" Dean asked suddenly, and Castiel's eyes widened ever so slightly in obvious surprise as he looked back over at the hunter. Michael blinked, while Adam only quirked an eyebrow ever so slightly in his older half-brother's direction before he looked away again, redirecting his attention back to the journal, despite Michael's slight glances up every now and again.
"Searching for Belphegor," the angel sounded almost dismissive - Adam's grip tightened around his fork, as he had lifted it to his mouth to take another bite - as he braved himself enough to continue into the room, pulling out one of the chairs and taking a seat carefully. "Actually, that's why I came back. I was tracking a new power source - but it wasn't Belphegor." An odd tone entered Castiel's voice. "Do either of you remember Jesse Turner?"
Adam didn't react, but Michael did. The archangel snapped their head up at once, whirling it around so fast that the demon almost got dizzy in response. Ass.
"Jesse?" Dean raised his eyebrows and exchanged a look with Sam, who wore an identical expression of confusion. "Yeah, that, uh… that demon kid." Dean's eyes narrowed faintly, and Sam spared his older brother an exasperated look as he corrected him.
"The Cambion," Sam sighed, eyes flicking back toward Castiel. "What about him?"
"It's probably nothing," Castiel muttered, though he looked uneasy. At this point, Michael was on full alert, eyes flickering across his brother's face - and Adam, while annoyed, could tell that this was important, at least to the archangel, and so he stayed silent, and still, in order to listen. "I've simply noticed a bit of a… flare-up, I suppose. I haven't been able to sense him, not really - not since… well, not since L-" The angel abruptly paused, eyes darting in Adam and Michael's direction, "-but…" Castiel cleared his throat, looking back toward the hunters. "His powers. I can sense them again - stronger than ever."
For a long time, everything was silent. Sam and Dean just stared at Castiel, then looked back at each other. Michael leaned back a little, eyes suddenly growing wide, and Adam just sat still, not quite understanding what was going on.
The Cambion… Oh, no.
Explain, Adam demanded, and Michael tore their gaze away from Castiel, rooting it to the journal instead and swallowing hard.
A Cambion is a hybrid. The child of a human and a demon. Their powers grow stronger when Lucifer's nearby, the archangel explained, and Adam only blinked, leaning back slightly in their seat as he flicked their eyes over the page, not quite reading, not quite paying attention now. Or basically on Earth at all…
Admittedly, it took Adam a good few seconds to process that information. … wow.
"Well, it shouldn't be a problem, right?" Sam spoke up after a few moments, causing everyone - including Adam, now - to look up over at him. "The last we saw of Jesse - he was doing alright. Had a good enough handle on his powers, at least," the hunter added, glancing between all of them. Dean didn't reply, but he raised his eyebrows slightly, as if to say well, yeah. "I mean, is he- is he hurting anyone? Has he done anything, in specific?"
"No," Castiel responded simply, eyebrows furrowing. "But you're not understanding me, Sam, he hasn't been active since then, and Lucifer's death should have permanently removed his powers." This time, both Dean and Sam seemed to understand what Castiel was implying.
Every muscle in Adam's body tensed, but whether it was from him or from Michael, neither of them knew, nor did they care.
"... Whoa, hold on-" Dean finally managed to speak, a mixture of disbelief and confusion written across his face, while Sam looked a mix of horrified and concerned. "You don't- you're not saying…" He stared at Castiel, and the angel only stared back at him grimly. Dean's eyes hardened ever so slightly, leaning forward a bit. "Cas. We saw Lucifer die. I-" The hunter stopped, froze, and spared a glance in Adam and Michael's direction.
Adam just narrowed his eyes, knowing what Dean had been about to say, but that was the least of his concerns right then. This was bad - this was very bad.
"When does anything ever stay dead?" Sam whispered, his horrified expression seeming to deepen further as he looked over at his brother, who stared back at him, silent. "And, I mean- after what Nick was trying to do, after what he did…"
Dean didn't respond, but his disbelief was fading fast, into an equal amount of horror.
Shit… Adam and Michael mumbled, heart dropping to their stomach at once. The archangel was just worried, while the demon was steadily growing pissed - at his brothers, at himself, at Lucifer, at the freaking Cambion kid…
"He could be alive," Sam mumbled.
Adam snapped the fork in half, and Michael's blood ran cold.