Adam hadn't really been aware of how much he missed his hometown, but from the moment they'd arrived, he'd been completely fascinated with it all. The demon part of him hated how connected the human part of him was to Minnesota, still, but the rest of him… He leaned his head against the window, wide eyes tracking everything as they drove by, and he struggled to keep the nostalgia from showing, the wistfulness. These were the streets he'd grown up on, buildings he'd entered multiple times, sidewalks he'd paced relentlessly. Even some of the faces were familiar - his old high school teachers, he even managed to catch a glimpse of one of his college professors while they drove past Wyoming. Or, at least, he thought so. He wasn't sure; It might just be being back in the city again, but it was all just so… intense.

Honestly, he was wondering if this might have been a mistake. If he might unintentionally allow his emotions to get in the way of what he had to do now - but he shook those thoughts off and pushed them aside for the time being. It wasn't as important as keeping Bela occupied. He still had to figure out what he was going to do when she found out there wasn't really a hunt in the area. He didn't know if feeding her any more lies would work, but it wasn't like he could stage a ghoul hunt, could he? Though, maybe with the right pressure, he could redirect her attention elsewhere. He just had to keep her content, until he had more information.

Ten years… ten years, and hardly anything had changed. People had aged, this he could see. They drove past old streets, old houses he remembered. Some had been torn down and rebuilt different, but most of the things Adam remembered still stood, and he, in equal measure, loved and hated it all at the same time. It was hard not to feel for the place where you were born and raised, the place where you spent your best days growing up and learning.

Well, maybe not his best days. His best days were with Michael and Lucifer. Even if the Cage had been literal Hell, it had brought him some pretty close friends. Friends he would give anything for. He wouldn't admit his affection for Lucifer, since the Devil still pissed him off every now and again - but Michael, he was willing to admit, he loved the guy like a brother. Maybe falling into Hell had brought more good than bad. It had just taken a little bit longer for Adam to really see it - and boy, did he see it. As far as his life went, Adam Milligan couldn't complain. It wasn't what he thought it would be, but in a way, a different way, it was better.

He smiled to himself as they drove past a diner, his eyes tracking it until he couldn't see it anymore. His mother would take him there every so often, order him a pizza, and they'd talk on her days off, during the weekend. Just talk about what was going on at school, at work, laughing and trading jokes over a warm cup of coffee and some steaming food. They would just talk, the rest of the diner seeming dead around them. The smile turned a little wistful, and despite himself, he felt his eyes mist up just a little bit, pricking slightly at the corners, tears threatening to rise but never quite getting there. He blinked them back and looked away, needing just a few seconds to compose himself before he looked back out the window again.

It still felt kind of stupid, the human part of him. The part of him that still ached over the smallest things, over the reminder of his mother, over being here, in this city, the place he was raised…

But at the same time, it was kind of like a breath of fresh air.

The demon sighed a little to himself, soft and silent, flicking his gaze across the buildings as they drove past. Every so often, though, he brought his eyes back to Bela, just to ensure she was focused on the road. She was- sort of. More or less. Though half of her focus was fixated on the radio, flipping through different channels with a slight frown on her face, seemingly struggling to find something good to listen to. Adam bit his tongue to keep back a chuckle, looking back out the window once again - and, oh, was that one of his friends from college? … time has not been kind… Adam shook his head a little, amused.

For a moment, he wondered what it'd be like. To catch up to his old friends, to say hi, to see how much they might have changed. To go into the diner he had once spent most of his time at, to visit the bars he had gone to since he was fifteen. He wondered what it'd be like to visit the park again, the real thing, instead of just the memory. Yes, Adam wondered, but… but it didn't matter anymore, now. This was the life he had left behind. He didn't even want the life back, and he acknowledged this, he accepted it - but even he couldn't keep his thoughts from trailing, letting the what if's wrap around him for the time being. What it might be like to interact with this city again, this town, and the people in it, people Adam had once known.

"Ugh, I give up," Bela hissed, abruptly turning the radio off altogether. Adam blinked, bringing his gaze back to the other demon quickly, though he spared one last glance out the window and frowned before he turned back to her completely. "There's nothing good on. Just idiots ranting about Christmas - honestly, who wants to hear all of that?" She huffed.

"What d'you have against Christmas?" Adam questioned, genuinely curious. Truthfully enough, the demon didn't have much to say about the holiday. You'd think he'd hate it, with all it brought; Kids, laughter, just happiness in-general, but it actually brought up some pretty good memories for him. He associated the holiday, of course, with his mother. And demon or not… he couldn't think negatively about her, or anything relating to her. He knew he should… but he just didn't. As for Christmas, he was kind of indifferent about it now - but he didn't hate it as much as he expected. Or as much as he hated a choice few other holidays - such as Valentine's Day. Easter, even, was one he could do without. But Christmas, he couldn't say he hated by any means.

"Would you like the detailed list or the short summary?" Bela snorted, shaking her head a little bit with an irritated expression on her face. "I mean, for one, the songs."

"The songs aren't that bad," Adam defended, not sure why he was, but he was. "Jingle Bells always had a certain, ah… ring to it." Despite himself, he laughed a little at his own joke, while Bela offered him a half-disgusted, half-intrigued look, amusement sparkling through her green eyes for a moment as she just shook her head and sighed. Adam just grinned, looking back out the window. He was definitely in a better mood, after talking with Michael. "Ah, I'm funny."

"No, you're not." Bela shook her head a little, but she was smiling slightly to herself now as she focused on the road. Still slightly irritated, but a little warmer than before. Adam just grinned and sank back into the seat, glancing back out the window with a low hum. "Anyway, I'll give Jingle Bells a pass, because I'll agree that it's a tad catchy, at the very least. But the other songs? I mean, who wants to hear about a red-nosed reindeer? They don't even exist. Don't even get me started on 'Santa Claus is coming to town' - honestly. 'He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake'-" She sang out mockingly, and Adam couldn't help but laugh, simply from her tone. "Creepy, much, Mr. Claus?"

"It's a good way to scare your kids into being good," Adam conceded with a grin, crossing his arms over his chest. "They won't act up if they think the old fat man from the mall is watching them in their sleep. At the very least, they'll be somewhat decent." He shook his head a little bit, still grinning ear to ear now. "The Santa Claus song… I'll agree, yeah, sure, some creepy messages are hidden within… but almost every song is like that if you overthink it enough."

"Oh, so I'm overthinking things? Is that what you're saying?"

"No, dear," Adam sighed mockingly, rolling his eyes to the side. In response, Bela laughed a little bit, and the demon grinned slightly to himself as he looked back out the window. "Anyway, as for the reindeer - don't dis Rudolph, man. That's just not cool," he told her, arching an eyebrow slightly, and Bela gave him a mocking look in response as he went on, "I kinda liked that song. You know, way back when, at least," he added absently, mouth twisting into a frown. Bela snorted, looking ahead again. "I just don't see what's so bad about Christmas," Adam finally admitted, pursing his lips. "Even I don't hate it, and… I hate everything."

Bela let out a low groan in the back of her throat, shaking her head a little bit. "It's irritating," she insisted, scowling. "People putting their Christmas lights up right after Halloween ends - sometimes before, if they're feeling really jolly. The carolers, the singing, the damn pudding and fruitcake and candy canes and the children wearing Santa hats and elf ears-" She paused, sucking in a deep breath, and let it out in a huff. "It's revolting. All of it."

Adam stared at her for a long time, eyebrows raised, then slowly turned to look back out the window again, shaking his head. "Jeez, okay, Scrooge. Bah humbug to you too."

"Yes, laugh it up," Bela mumbled sarcastically, while Adam bit back a chuckle. Sometimes, this woman was almost worse than he was. At least he didn't loathe Christmas, as she apparently did. He had some things he didn't hate… which was good, he supposed. A part of him was a little annoyed by that, but the rest of him found it somewhat relieving. He just wasn't angry all the time, the way he used to be. "But you won't find it funny when there are Christmas lights still up in the middle of March and children still humming 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus'."

"I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus, underneath the mistletoe last night~"

"I swear, I will drive this car into that building."

"Jeez, you're worse than I am!" Adam exclaimed, laughing slightly now as he looked away. Truth be told, he wasn't sure why he was in such a good mood. He knew most of it had to do with his brief reunion with Michael, but even then, he still felt good. Better than he would have expected, considering everything. He'd have to think on it later; It just seemed like a lot of his anger had dissipated into thin air. Maybe there was a little hope left. Maybe it wasn't all blind demon-rage for him - maybe all he'd needed was to figure out how to block out the demonic side with a little more human joy. And, boy, was he feeling it. Real, genuine joy, for the first time since the Cage. A part of it might also have to do with the fact that he really enjoyed teasing Bela.

"I don't know about that," Bela countered, glancing ahead again. "You're rather awful. Alright, I'm going to get gas here," she decided, pulling into a gas station, and Adam glanced back out the window for a moment and nodded faintly to himself. "And then we're going to find a hotel or something, because I've been driving for hours on end and I need a shower."

"God, a shower sounds great," Adam agreed. "A woman after my own heart…"

"Keep talking about Christmas, and I'll reach in there and pull your heart out myself," Bela told him sweetly as she stopped the car, rolling her eyes while Adam just snickered. "Yes, you're a regular comedian. So funny, laugh it all up, you insufferable fool. Maybe I'll just stick my hand down your throat to get to your heart instead of going through the chest."

"Kinky. I mean I guess if you're into that sort of thing-"

"I hate you," Bela groaned, getting out of the car, and Adam smirked triumphantly as he watched her storm off toward the building, disappearing inside. After a good few seconds, the demon decided to get out, as well, just to stretch a bit - he'd been jammed inside the car with her for the past few hours, he needed a breath of fresh air and to work out some of the stiffness in his muscles, as well as clear his head as much as was possible. He stretched his arms over his head and sank his weight back against the car, closing his eyes for a moment with a yawn. He wasn't even tired - more or less somewhat bored. And he still had to figure out his plan…

The demon sighed a little, rubbing his hand down his face.

"Adam Milligan?"

Adam paused, blinked, and dropped his hand from his face, turning slowly to see who was talking to him. Admittedly enough, he didn't recognize the guy at first, and so he simply found himself staring blankly into a pair of deep brown eyes, which seemed to be sizing him up with a mixture of confusion and disbelief. For the life of him, he couldn't bring a name to mind. The face was familiar, he'd give it that, and yet it was like staring at a total stranger.

"Yeah. That's my name." Adam tilted his head to the side, still staring, still struggling. It had been ten years, but he didn't think it should be this hard to think of a name. Especially since this man seemed to know him, and rather well at that, judging by the expression on his face. Again, he looked familiar. Just in a way… as if Adam had seen his face on TV, or on the news. Familiar in the way that he recognized the face, the features, but he didn't know who was standing in front of him. Not a single thing about him. He frowned, eyes narrowing faintly in mild irritation.

"Dude, you died," the man insisted, squinting at him now, and Adam blinked, diverting his attention back to him rather quickly. "I swear you did… it was all over the news. You and your mom. What the hell…" He stepped closer, and, somewhat out of instinct, Adam stepped away, eyes darkening faintly and a low, guttural growl rising in his throat. If the familiar stranger didn't take his unspoken warning and back off now, Adam couldn't quite be held responsible for what he did next; But, the man, unfazed, continued forward, looking curious. "Jesus Christ… The hell've you been the past ten years, Milligan?"

"Here and there. Hell, actually," Adam responded through clenched teeth, narrowing his eyes slightly at the man. He was pissing him off, to be completely honest. "Who are you again?"

The familiar stranger blinked back at him, looking bewildered, then let out a low snort and rolled his eyes to the side. "Man, are you for real?" He eyed Adam for a moment, but when the demon showed no sign that he was even remotely joking, his frown returned, a little deeper. "Dude," he protested, crossing his arms over his chest now. "Come on, really? Nigel Hawke? College?"

For a long time, Adam could only stare, not quite piecing the name together yet. When it finally hit, though, it came with a rush of memories; Nigel Hawke, one of his ex-best friends from high school and his biggest rival in college. The guy had made almost every class a living hell for him, and it certainly didn't help that Nigel had been his roommate, either. They shared a dorm, and thus, there were parties every Friday night - sometimes during the week if Nigel was feeling extra rebellious - and Adam would often have to retreat outside to his truck to get any kind of studying done. Nigel was the one who taunted him, mercilessly, about not having any fun, about being all work and no play - but beyond that, looking at him now, Adam felt… nothing.

And of course he felt nothing; He didn't care about a few things that happened in college. Just an asshole being an asshole. It wasn't like the guy had left him in Hell or anything - if he could forgive Sam and Dean for abandoning him, then he could let Nigel off for being a little shit. Either way, Adam just didn't care for him. He hadn't then, and he didn't now. At least those feelings hadn't changed, and they showed no signs of doing so. After a moment, he shrugged.

"Yeah, okay. Cool, I guess," the demon said absently, turning to look back toward the store for a moment. Bela was definitely taking her time… Adam huffed a little, irritated, but he just shook his head and turned his attention back to Nigel, who was watching him with a silent look of intrigue. "Well, you made your presence known. You can go back to your pathetic existence."

Nigel's eyebrows shot up, equal measures impressed and pissed off. "Wow, looks like wherever you've been gave you a pair, huh?" The man narrowed his eyes, but he seemed to have taken Adam's earlier warning to mind, because he didn't advance any further.

"Yeah, Hell does that to you," Adam ground out, rolling his eyes. Yeah, he was done with this conversation. "Bye. Have fun being a loser, or whatever," he added carelessly, and with that, turned to get back in the car. And that was his first mistake, turning his back on the 'enemy', because the second Nigel decided he couldn't do anything while he was turned away, the man strode forward, gripped him by the shoulder, and made an attempt to shove him forward. And I say attempt because Adam had tensed up the second he felt Nigel touch him, and he wasn't moving an inch further unless he allowed himself to. The demon blinked, and glanced back.

"Say that again," Nigel warned, and Adam paused, just for a second, at those three words. Then, with a smile as sharp as shattered glass, and with a tone that could cut just as deeply, he turned slowly to face the man, making sure Nigel's hand stayed on his shoulder.

"I'm not fighting you, Nigel."

"That's your problem, Milligan," Nigel snorted, shoving him slightly - or, at least, attempting to, once again - before finally giving in and pulling back. "You're just a pussy ass bitch. Always have been, always will be. Maybe that's why you ran away all this time, too," he added with a sneer. "Maybe it's 'cause you're nothing but a coward."

"It's nice to see you haven't changed," Adam noted, glancing him up and down. He wasn't pissed, and he genuinely had no idea why he wasn't pissed. At the moment, he was more or less just annoyed, but he was definitely ready to rip this guy's hand off. Here he was, back in his hometown, face to face with one of the people he'd known oh-so long ago - someone who hated his guts, to be more exact - and you'd think he'd be feeling something, but he wasn't. Just irritated that this man had the audacity to approach him, and then try to pick a fight. But he had to admit, it was such a Nigel thing to do. "But your petty comments didn't faze me then and to be completely honest, they're not going to now. So do yourself a favor and walk away."

"Or what?" Nigel demanded, eyes darkening faintly at the thinly-veiled threat.

Adam ran his tongue over his lips, then took in a breath and leaned forward, deciding that being open was probably his best bet now. "Or I will rip your tongue out and shove it up your ass."

"Thought you weren't gonna fight me." Nigel leaned forward a little, clearly unfazed, clearly not having the slightest clue that if Adam really wanted to, he could destroy him. And he was getting close to wanting to, simply because this guy was a cocky ass fucker.

"Don't make me change my-"

"What's going on here?" Bela's voice cut into the conversation, sharp and accusing, and Adam turned his head slightly, leaning away from Nigel once again and watching the other demon approach with a faint frown on his face now. Bela spared him a glance, almost scoldingly, before turning her gaze to Nigel. "Tch, don't tell me it's a 'who's-is-bigger' argument."

Nigel spoke up before Adam could respond, sounding slightly amused now. "What, is this your bitch, Adam?" He spared the demon a glance. "Maybe you should tell her to mind her own-"

Well, needless to say, he didn't get a chance to finish.

Adam strode forward, grabbing Nigel by the front of his shirt with one hand, and shoved him backwards. Now, what he'd been intending was for the human to stumble a little. But what actually happened was that the moment Adam made contact, flames flickered to life upon the fabric, and had already begun to slowly catch onto Nigel's shirt by the time Adam had let go. The force of the shove sent the man practically flying backwards, into a car - but, at least, in doing so, the flames that had caught onto his shirt had gone out. Unfortunately for Nigel, he went slamming straight into a windshield - it was kind of like watching a giant bug get hit, except Nigel didn't explode or splatter over the glass. He kind of just slammed against it, cracked it a little, and slid down the hood and rolled onto the pavement, unconscious but breathing. The sound of the car alarm - like loud, ear-splitting sirens - echoed around the parking lot, likely already alerting anyone who hadn't already witnessed the scene themselves.

"Okay, what the actual hell?" Bela demanded, stepping forward beside him. Adam just stared, not really knowing what to say. It wasn't like he had meant to push the guy that hard, and to be honest he hadn't even known he was capable of such… brutal, raw strength. But he could feel it pumping now, churning through him like adrenaline coursing through his veins. He pulled his hand back a little, but didn't drop it, staring at Nigel in complete bewilderment. Whether the guy was dead or not, he didn't even know, it was hard to tell. At least until Nigel twitched, groaned, and rolled a little, only to fall still once again, still not quite awake.

Adam inhaled deeply, surprised by the rush of relief that had enveloped him. Nigel was a dick, in every sense of the word, but even then, the thought of killing a man - well, Adam could threaten it all he wanted to, but the truth was that he'd never killed anyone before, and demon or not, he didn't think it was something he could just do casually and walk away. He'd beat the hell out of someone, and he would keep swinging if Nigel was awake, by all means, but he was pretty sure he'd draw the line at murder. With that said, though, this was probably a good time to bail…

"... for the record…" Adam started, finally dropping his hand. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"No, really?" Bela hissed, grabbing his arm and tugging him backwards to the car. Adam frowned, but he let her, his gaze lingering on Nigel. "Look, I don't care whether you kill people or not, but I do care about image, and you do realize you just made a huge scene…"

"Oops?" Adam tried, finally turning away. He spared one glance back to the man on the ground, unconscious and bloody but with people surrounding him now, as Bela opened his door for him and ushered for him to get in the car. The demon wrinkled his nose a little, but he conceded easily enough, still rather puzzled by what had just happened. Puzzled, but oddly curious. He had almost set the man on fire, too, which was definitely concerning. With just a touch, just a thought. He knew he could create fire out of nothing, as he'd seen with the torches in Hell, and the book back at Chuck's place but still, it was weird, because he'd never set anyone on fire.

"Who was he, anyway?" Bela huffed as she moved around to the other side of the car. Rather than getting in, though, she turned to the gas pump, pulling one off of the rack and turning to fill the car up. Adam watched her through the window, wrinkling his nose at the smell. A lot stronger than it would have been if he was human. He'd always hated the smell of gas.

"Just somebody that I used to know," the demon replied vaguely, frowning. "No one important."

"Important enough for you to put him through a windshield," Bela retorted, quirking an eyebrow, and Adam made a face in response and turned to look back at the scene. But that was just it; Nigel hadn't even begun pissing him off enough until he'd started talking about… well, about Bela. Only then had the fury really kicked in, and only then had Adam actually attacked - and a lot more violently than even he had expected. The demon frowned a little to himself, but he said nothing, only looking away again when Bela had finished up and gotten back in the car. "Just do me a favor, would you?" She huffed, and Adam nodded. "Don't defend me again."

Adam paused, just for a second. Great, so she had figured it out too. No point denying it, and he already felt bad for lying to her anyway, so he just grimaced and stayed silent. He didn't even know why he had gotten so mad about what Nigel had said, but it had pissed him off. At least enough to do what he had done, and… man, he had almost killed a man. Michael wasn't gonna be too happy about that, he figured… again, oops. The demon sank back, ready to turn away again, only to pause when Bela suddenly leaned forward, stretching up slightly, and he turned back just in time as her lips hovered over his, pressing down gently and applying just the smallest amount of pressure. Not quite a kiss, but intoxicating and mesmerizing enough to take his mind off of what had just happened, at least for the time being, until she pulled away.

"I will admit, though," she added slyly, "it was a bit of a turn-on." She sank back, hardly giving Adam any time to respond before she spoke again. "Regardless, I still intend to train you how to be a demon. So, buckle up," she ordered, and he rolled his eyes a little - and, after a second thought, he actually did buckle up, because she was a crazy driver. "I didn't mean lit- whatever." Bela shook her head, starting the car up again. "There better be a good hotel…"

Adam sighed, watching her for a moment, then simply looked away again as they started to drive off. He could hear sirens in the distance, an ambulance, more than likely, and he kept his eyes focused on Nigel until the man was out of sight, until they were just driving away.

Then he looked down at his hands, frowned, and curled them both into fists. That was close. Too close. He'd almost killed someone, out of pure impulse. Just a small, split-second moment of rage. And he hadn't even been that angry recently; It was sudden, and it was brief, and it had disappeared as quickly as it had come. But maybe that was the worst kind of fury…?

… in any case, Adam had to be more careful, most definitely. And maybe this training thing would be good for him. At the very least, teach him how to control himself, and these… abilities? What would he even call them? Regardless, he definitely needed that, if nothing else. Some form of self-control, so that accidents like this didn't happen again. The demon sank back in his seat, leaning his head back a little and closing his eyes with a low, silent sigh.

Just one more thing to add to the list of things to worry about. Adam's good mood was gone; It was time to get back down to business.