After a while of talking, and planning, Rowena finally found a spell that would allow humans to enter Heaven. It took a little more digging to find one like that for demons; she seemed a little irritated, Michael noted, complaining about how she'd have to mix up different ingredients for both to make sure they had what they needed. But in the end she had settled down with her Book and Gabriel and Lucifer had flown out on a search to bring back what she needed to brew up enough for everyone who needed entrance to Heaven who couldn't get in otherwise; Sam and Dean ended up sitting down in the main room, sharing a beer and discussing a plan of their own. Michael and Adam had joined them briefly; Michael had zoned out and let Adam take control, smiling to himself every so often as the three spoke, but he didn't say much of anything.
He was glad to see Dean was doing alright, faring well and recovering nicely after what had happened. It was nice having them all in the same place, finally somewhat relaxed - as relaxed as they could be knowing that they were about to have a showdown with Chuck any day now. Honestly, Michael found himself itching for it, longing for it, craving it. He wasn't blindly angry with his Father anymore, but that didn't stop him from looking forward to this fight regardless. Looking forward to ending it, finally, so they could all move on with their lives. Adam was still stuck on Lucifer's deal; Michael was glad for that, glad he could focus enough for both of them whereas the archangel was having a hard time directing his attention to one thing for too long. He liked the plan that was steadily brewing in Adam's head too, the determination, the image of them all rising up to defend his younger brother. Lucifer deserved that, now more than ever.
He spun the beer in their hands absently while Adam spoke to his brothers, laughing along with them about something or other - they'd gotten onto the topic of Disney movies, Michael mused, and Dean was busy explaining the plot of something called 'Frozen'. Things had settled down significantly, the tension from their earlier meeting having drained as the clock ticked the hours away. Rowena was working on her concoctions and the sword was lying on the table with a bowl of Nephilim Grace beside it, infusing into it, as they'd planned. Otherwise there wasn't much of anything to do until they were ready to march into Heaven. Lucifer was out running errands for Rowena - they hadn't gotten a moment alone with him yet, which Michael could tell Adam was irritated by, but he was coping with that. Either way it was nice to be able to relax and kick back for a moment, to listen to Adam talk about Disney movies with his brothers, and he couldn't help but grin every time the demon made a mental note about the movies Dean was telling about, clearly intending to watch them when they got the chance. He looked forward to it.
The archangel waited until Adam had finished speaking, and Dean piped up again, before lifting the beer to their lips to take a sip. It was just something to do at this point, the flavor on his tongue, the feeling of the liquid. Adam didn't seem to mind, but he'd commented silently more than once that he missed strawberry champagne. After a moment, twirling the bottle again as they swallowed, Michael cast a curious look down at the bottle in their hands. Then, with another quick twirl, he decided to test something out. His new powers made it easier than he figured it would have been, but it still felt weird to do; regardless, it wasn't long before the bottle in their hand was replaced with a champagne glass instead, rapidly filling up with the red liquid of the drink Adam was longing for. The demon paused to glance down, and grinned to himself, but the conversation didn't pause for too long. He did, however, offer a silent thanks to Michael.
Dean continued with nothing more than a glance, as if nothing had happened. Sam himself barely looked over before tilting his head back to finish off his own beer; Michael caught something about Hans and Anna, but ultimately tuned them out again after a few seconds. He did take a few sips from the glass himself, swirling the liquid around in their mouth before Adam swallowed it down to say something else to the two. But it wasn't too long before Sam was yawning, pushing his chair back and heaving himself to his feet. Michael looked up to watch him rub his hand over his eyes, clearly more exhausted than when he'd started out, and the hunter offered the three of them a genuine, warm, if not tired smile. "I think I'm gonna turn in for the night, it's pretty late. Wake me up if anything changes," he added, rubbing his face again.
"You got it," Dean replied, taking another sip. "'Night, Sam."
"'Night, loser," Adam hummed, and Michael grinned as he chimed in with a quick 'goodnight' of his own as Sam left the room, practically dragging his feet along with him. Adam stared after him for a moment, twirling the glass in their hand, before suddenly lifting it up to finish it off. He then turned his attention back to Dean, but instead of continuing their conversation, the demon commented, "you should probably head to bed too. Everyone's gonna need a good night's rest." Adam snorted, and Michael nodded slightly in agreement. "Since we're storming Heaven soon."
"Yeah," Dean agreed, but he seemed to stifle a sigh as he pushed himself up, finishing off the rest of his beer. He passed the bottle from one hand to the other for a few seconds after that, sitting still with a somewhat contemplative look on his face. Then he flicked his gaze back up to them, green eyes sparkling despite the exhaustion that lingered there, and Michael couldn't help but smile. Everyone was so excited, so happy that they were finally reaching the end - or what they hoped was the end. Honestly, the best thing about this was how hard everyone was trying to see the good in this situation, hoping for the future instead of focusing on what could go wrong. Dean's optimism especially surprised him, but he was still definitely proud of the hunter.
"You two should get some rest, too," Dean commented, tilting the empty bottle in their direction. Michael managed a half-smirk at that - he wasn't tired, but he honestly was considering going to sleep anyway just for the hell of it. And he knew Adam still needed to rest. "We're gonna need everyone at a hundred percent when Rowena finishes up… whatever the hell she's doing."
Michael agreed with that, for sure. Adam only grunted, but the demon clearly had no intention of sleeping; after a moment, Michael realized he intended to stay up long enough to wait for Lucifer, though the archangel wasn't sure how long it would be until his younger brother returned. Either way, he was willing to support Adam in that. He had a feeling with both Gabriel and Lucifer out there ingredient-hunting, it wouldn't take too long between the both of them to bring back whatever was needed for the spell. They'd been making back and forth trips anyway, so maybe they could catch him when he came back to drop something off. Either way, Adam wanted a moment to talk to him and Michael still needed to warn Lucifer about that punch, so they'd likely both be staying awake. "I'll probably turn in in a little bit. I'm waiting up for Luce," Adam said honestly after a moment, and while Dean gave him an odd look, he didn't pry.
"Well, you have fun with that." Dean shook his head and tossed the bottle to his other hand, presenting them with a tired but amused looking smile in response. "Don't stay up too long."
Adam smirked in response. "Yes, Dad."
"I won't let him," Michael chimed in with a grin, and Dean snorted out a chuckle.
"You'd better not. 'Night, guys." The hunter turned to leave as Adam and Michael called out their own respective ''night' and 'goodnight' respectively. The demon sank back in their chair after a few moments and kicked their legs up onto the table; Michael adjusted them into a more comfortable position after a second, reclining backwards with a smile and crossing one leg over the other. He could feel Adam's amusement still lingering, something akin to affection toward both of his brothers that brought a smile to Michael's face. He was happy the demon was growing closer to them - watching their bond grow, after believing he himself was the only thing standing in the way of Adam having a relationship with his own brothers, was just beautiful.
And even better, you've got a relationship of your own with the both of them, Adam added silently, but another smirk tugged at their lips. Adam stifled it by taking another sip of the strawberry champagne, while Michael just grinned and let their head fall back to look at the ceiling instead. "I mean," Adam added after a moment, no longer bothering to keep the conversation in their head, "Dean trusts you now and I'm pretty sure Sam's always liked you. Should've known they'd both fall for your charms in the long run, Mike."
"Oh, yes," Michael mused back in response. "You should know, horns, I'm practically irresistible." That got a laugh out of Adam, albeit a quiet one, as they settled down into their chair for the night. Michael refilled the glass when he noticed it getting a little low, and Adam responded in kind by swallowing down a few mouthfuls - to which Michael, amused, refilled it once again. Adam sipped at it a little slower after the third time, seemingly savoring the taste. Even Michael had to admit it was a lot sweeter than beer was; it kind of surprised him that Adam liked it at all, considering that while he wasn't completely averse to sweet things, his tastes tended to lean more toward sour and bitter, things like whiskey and salt. Michael himself, while most things didn't really have a taste to him, could certainly differentiate between sour and sweet things - he liked both in equal measure, and he liked the champagne they were drinking now, strong enough for him to taste it but sweet enough so it wasn't entirely overwhelming.
The wait wasn't long; they mused over entering Heaven, the spell Rowena was doing and why Chuck was choosing now of all times to make himself known, to want to face them. They knew he had to be planning something big, but rather than anxiety, they couldn't help but feel amused. The man was weakened, probably pulling whatever cards he had now thinking there was a chance he would win. Michael knew it was a little cocky - but oh, goodness, he hadn't felt like this in years. He hadn't been able to feel cocky in an entire millennia. He was going to let himself feel a little arrogant, to preen a little and mock his Father with Adam just for a moment. Chuck was going down one way or another. It was only a matter of time now.
They were discussing wielding the sword when Lucifer suddenly walked into the room from the library; neither of them had noticed him returning to the bunker, but they were both quick to fall silent when the Devil entered. Lucifer offered them nothing more than a small, if not somewhat cautious grin as he approached, circling around to the other side of the table; Michael kept his mouth shut, because he didn't want to say anything if Adam wasn't going to do anything, and, all things considered, the demon seemed rather tame. Tame, but frighteningly calm at the same time. There was no anger, no urge to punch, so Michael let himself relax a little bit, but still reminded himself to remain somewhat on guard, because at that point he knew Adam well enough to know this could also be a trick for the demon to be able to take Lucifer by surprise. But Adam surprised them both when he spoke up, as Lucifer came closer enough to where he could hear without Adam having to raise his voice loud enough for everyone in the bunker to hear. "That deal you made, Lucifer, I'm not entertaining that," he told the Devil simply, quietly.
Lucifer's gaze snapped up to them at once, blue eyes flickering with an emotion Michael couldn't quite place. He didn't say anything for a while then, searching their gaze silently; Michael withdrew just enough control for Lucifer to be able to see whatever Adam was feeling in their eyes without his own surprise getting in the way. Once again, the demon was just calm. But there was something dark, warm and fiery flickering through them, pulsing through their veins and their chest as their heart pounded away. Adam wasn't angry, not at Lucifer, not anymore. He had shifted his focus completely to making sure that deal never went through; Michael couldn't stifle the surge of pride he felt, nor did he attempt to. Pride and gratitude - he didn't ever think he'd be able to get over the relationship Adam had with his brother, how close the two of them had grown over the years spent together in the Cage, how close they were now.
Lucifer continued to study Adam for a moment. Then, finally, the Devil turned away to tug a chair out, sinking back into it and crossing his arms over the table. The grimace on his face was almost unnoticeable, but it didn't slip past either of them. "I figured you wouldn't. Michael too," the archangel added, but he didn't sound particularly irritated by that. He just sounded tired, as tired as he'd been when Michael had faced him in Stull Cemetery. As he rose back up to take control along with Adam, settling into place beside the demon once more, he couldn't keep himself from softening in time. "It's not like I want to die. I just figured, if anybody was going to…" He trailed off and shook his head, a briefly disgusted look crossing his face, and fell silent.
"Well, nobody's going to," Adam grunted. "I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself for shit. Cassie's great and all, and between the two of you I'd honestly take you - but nobody's dying, period." The demon narrowed their eyes faintly; Michael offered a quick, short nod of agreement.
"We won't let that happen." The archangel shifted and leaned forward, crossing his own arms over the table and peering up at his younger brother. "We're figuring out a way to get you out of it, and Castiel as well. Adam has a plan-" He fell silent for a moment, an amused smile tugging at his lips when Adam silently told him not to explain it yet, and shook his head, "-which apparently you're not supposed to know about just yet, but he has a plan and it's a good one." He wanted to hug his baby brother again, but he settled for a warm smile instead. "We got it."
Lucifer cracked a tired smile in response, but didn't say anything yet.
"And you need to tell them," Adam suddenly added. His voice had gone quieter, leaning forward across the table, closer to the archangel. Lucifer's smile vanished in an instant, narrowing his eyes briefly toward the demon, but there was no hostility written there. "I know you were planning to or whatever, but I don't know when and frankly I don't care when. One way or another they're gonna find out, but they're not gonna find out from you getting dragged into the Empty as soon as all of this shit with Chuck blows over. They either hear it from you or from me," the demon added simply. Lucifer's frown deepened at that, but Michael agreed with Adam. With the limited time they had, they couldn't afford to beat around the bush with this anymore.
As much as Lucifer tried to appear angry, he caved after a while. His shoulders slumped as he sank forward against the table; Michael watched his hands shake, a fine tremor strumming through them, but Lucifer was quick to tuck them out of his sight when he caught him staring. "I'll tell them. Soon," the Devil added, somewhat bitterly. "I was going to tell Gabriel when we were out, but I couldn't…" He shook his head. "I figured I'd tell him and Castiel whenever we head to Heaven. Amara already knows… I'm not really sure I want Jack to find out about it."
"He's gonna find out," Adam grunted. He tilted their head back a little, while Michael narrowed their eyes faintly in thought, half-listening to the conversation. "Probably should come from you."
Lucifer didn't answer, but he didn't need to answer for them to understand. Michael ran their tongue over their lips, narrowing their eyes a little further in thought, then lifted their head upright again to look at his younger brother. "We could tell him," he offered once again, searching the Devil's gaze carefully, but Lucifer simply shook his head in response, and Michael sighed.
"It's hard," Lucifer muttered. "He doesn't even like me. He shouldn't like me. I'm not much of a father," the Devil added bitterly. He steepled his fingers together under his chin, elbows propped up against the table, and Michael frowned at him in response. "I just don't know if I'll like his reaction when he finds out. I don't want him to be upset, but on the other hand I don't want…" He didn't have to finish that sentence for them to understand either, and Michael felt Adam soften despite himself, and despite the way the demon made a show of rolling his eyes. Lucifer simply shook his head, an irritated look flashing across his face as he dropped his hands back to the table and leaned back, scooting his chair back to get up again. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. If we find a way to weasel out of the deal, maybe he doesn't even have to know to begin with."
"Yeah, if you say so," Adam huffed, but Michael could tell he didn't entirely disagree with that. Still, it irked the demon regardless, but the archangel did his best to soothe that irritation, letting his Grace buzz comfortingly, warmly, reassuringly around the demon's soul until Adam relaxed again. They'd figure out a way to get past this; ultimately it was Lucifer's decision as to who he wanted to tell, but Michael knew Adam, and he knew that while the demon would likely let the matter drop with Lucifer, he wasn't going to give up on this particular subject that easily.
"We should be able to head out in the morning," Lucifer commented, clearing his throat as he changed the subject. Michael arched an eyebrow at him knowingly, but he let his gaze trail toward the library after a few seconds, furrowing their eyebrows faintly in response to that. In the morning. In just a few hours they'd be marching into Heaven, ready to face Chuck, to finally execute the plan and lock him away and be free, and done, and finally just have it be over. Adam's gaze flicked toward the sword, noting that the bowl was almost empty. That would probably be finished before Rowena was. Once again, Michael found himself excited at the idea of squaring up against his Father with the weapon in his hand, the chance to get back at him for everything he'd put the people that he loved through - everything that he'd put him through.
"Then we should all get some rest." Adam finished off the rest of the glass and Michael diminished it in one fluid motion while the demon scooted their chair back to push them up. Lucifer looked a little skeptical at that, but Adam merely raised an eyebrow. "You're exhausted."
"Yeah, you're not fooling anyone there. Even I can see the bags under your eyes, brother," Michael chided, and Lucifer heaved out a sigh in response. "You should get some rest, too."
The Devil stared at them for a moment before relenting with a short, subtle nod.
Adam took a moment to bask in his triumph at that, and Michael couldn't bite back a grin. He stepped forward, clasping a hand over Lucifer's shoulder as they passed the archangel; he didn't lean into the touch, but he didn't quite pull away, and after a moment, he even lifted a hand to pat Michael and Adam's back in return, turning to call after them. "'Night, you two."
"Goodnight, Lucifer," Michael called over his shoulder.
Adam grunted. "'Night, big shot."
They made their way back to their room and Michael smiled at it despite himself, the familiarity of it all. They hadn't stayed in the bunker for too long, but the room itself felt like home to him. This was where he and Adam were meant to be, not in Heaven; no, the archangel certainly didn't plan on returning for good. He shut the door behind them and Adam flicked the light off, shuffling forward and turning to collapse backwards onto their bed with a sigh. The demon was the first to retreat, retracting his control as their eyes slid shut and escaping back into the corners of their mind again, but Michael stayed where he was for a moment - just relaxing in the darkness, content, feeling Adam with him again - before he retracted his own control to follow.
He found Adam, of course, back in the memory of Hell, listening to him, Gabriel and Lucifer singing. He smiled to himself as he crossed the room to sit down beside the demon, leaning back with his back against the wall and his knees drawn up to his chest. Adam crossed his legs and looked up for a moment, contemplative, but he turned his gaze back to Michael quickly. "That went about as well as could be expected," the demon commented. "I didn't punch him."
Michael chuckled slightly at that, glancing over at him in return. "And I appreciate that."
Adam grinned and settled again. He leaned his head back against the wall with a sigh, then suddenly sank sideways to rest his head against Michael's shoulder. The archangel shifted to lower his legs back down, leaning his head against Adam's in response, and closed his eyes. "Can't let him die, Michael," Adam grumbled. "Thinking we lost him was bad enough already. But I think I'd go on a rampage or something if we got through all of this and got rid of Chuck, only to lose Lucifer in the end. That would be…" He huffed, and Michael nodded slightly in agreement. Adam didn't need to finish with words, the archangel could feel the anger finally stirring in his gut, the uneasiness that came with the thought of losing Lucifer. In a way, Michael knew, Lucifer was kind of like a brother to Adam himself. He'd protected him in the Cage.
At the very least, they were friends, and Michael knew Adam had already lost enough recently. As for Lucifer, he simply didn't deserve to die in the first place; giving himself up for Castiel, just so they could be happy, it was a grand gesture in itself. One that proved exactly how worthy Lucifer was of redemption, if Michael hadn't already been convinced of it from the beginning.
"He won't die," Michael murmured after a moment. "We're too stubborn to let him die." Adam chuckled a little bit at that, but nodded his agreement almost immediately. The archangel wasn't entirely joking; he was willing to do just about anything to ensure his brother lived after this, long enough to bask in the glory of Chuck's defeat and the fact that he was free from his Father's clutches once and for all, long enough to embrace the life he should have led so long ago. Long enough to decide who he wanted to be, without their Father getting in the way of it, stepping in to turn Lucifer into the villain as he had done time and time again. Long enough to be his own person, his own angel, the archangel he should have been. Long enough to just be himself.
"Yeah." Adam exhaled, heavy and long, and cleared his throat. "'Night, halo."
"Goodnight, horns," Michael murmured. "Sweet dreams."