Adam woke before Michael did.
Actually, he was a bit surprised; considering that Michael was at full strength now and didn't exactly get tired like Adam did, he'd expected the archangel to sleep very little, if at all. But he woke up to Michael curled up beside him in a half-lying position, somewhat slumped against him and somewhat slumped against the wall. It took a bit of nudging for Adam to get him to lay down on the floor instead, wincing a little at the stiffness in his neck; he really needed to find better positions to sleep in down here. The demon shifted and stood, peering down at his body-buddy briefly just to make sure he was still asleep, and content. Michael looked as peaceful as ever; once he was satisfied with this, Adam tilted his head back, rolled his shoulders back and rose up to take control. He was hungry and he wanted a shower, and he might as well check on the sword and see if anyone else was awake yet, and if Rowena was finished with her spell.
His first plan of action was the shower. He picked out some fresh clothes, settling on a dark reddish/brown suit for now. Feeling the water in his hair and soaking into his skin drained a lot of leftover tension from his shoulders; he stood under the spray for a while, head tilted back to just let the water pour down into his face. Blood that didn't really exist, and yet seemed to feel permanently stuck to his skin, washed away; it felt too nice not to linger, but he knew he shouldn't. They were on a time limit, after all, and Michael was bound to wake up soon, too.
He heard someone knocking on their bedroom door as he turned the water off, and called out a quick, "coming!" to whoever it was. It didn't take long to dry off and get dressed; he draped the towel around his neck as he left the bathroom and crossed the room to open the door.
"Morning," Lucifer greeted him as soon as the door opened, and Adam quirked an eyebrow. The Devil took a half-step forward and sank sideways against the doorway, rubbing his fist into one of his eyes with a barely-noticeable scowl. As the demon shuffled back on his feet and opened the door a little more to allow him more room to enter, he couldn't bite back a smirk; Lucifer looked like a toddler that had woken up too early. "Sam sent me to see if you were awake…" Lucifer paused to yawn, jaws stretching wide, and Adam snorted under his breath as he turned away again. He paced further into the room and turned to face the mirror, adjusting the front of his suit and reaching up after a moment to fold the flaps of the collar down. His gaze flicked up briefly to watch as Lucifer entered the room, watching him through the mirror as he walked over to the bed. "And Gabriel got breakfast," the Devil added, sitting down heavily with another yawn.
Adam arched an eyebrow at that, and redirected his gaze back to himself in the mirror, slicking his hair back and making sure his suit was straight before he turned to face Lucifer again. "Mike's still sleeping," he told the archangel distractedly, watching as Lucifer reached over to pick John's journal up off of his nightstand. He raised both eyebrows at him at this, but didn't bother to comment on it. "I could eat, though. How's the sword and Nephilim Grace thing?"
"Oh, it's done. Rowena's spell, too," Lucifer replied distractedly, flipping through the journal. Adam watched his eyes flick, barely scanning the pages. "We're just waiting to review the plan."
"Got'cha." Adam watched him for a moment, narrowing his eyes faintly. "Well, Mike shouldn't be asleep too long. I'll wake him up if he's not awake already after breakfast," he added, rubbing his hand over his face slowly. Then he reached down to unravel the towel from around his neck, twisting it up a little and tossing it onto the foot of the bed. Lucifer glanced up briefly, finally looking up at him for a moment, but he directed his gaze back to the journal quickly enough. Adam turned to take one last look at himself in the mirror, fussing with the suit for a moment; it was just something to do, really, something to distract himself from wanting to punch Lucifer. He wanted to take a different route with the Devil and his plans this time. He had an idea, something he was determined to pursue, but to do that he couldn't let himself lash out again.
"I'm gonna tell Cas and Gabe today," Lucifer finally said, and Adam craned his neck slightly to look back at him. The Devil glanced up at him briefly, quirking his eyebrows, and Adam only offered a faint nod in response. "I've still gotta figure out how to tell Jack, today, probably, since we're going through with the whole…" He lifted a hand from the journal to drag his finger across his throat, and Adam snorted slightly, but he was once again resisting the urge to punch him. He understood why Lucifer was so hesitant to tell Jack, he really did, but it'd be easier not to be frustrated with him if he'd just accept the offer for Michael and Adam to tell the kid themselves.
Still, he was willing to let it slide - because he understood. Despite how irritating it was, he did. He dismissed the subject for the time being, though; he wasn't going to bother with Jack himself yet, he had a plan specifically for that later on. He didn't really care who Lucifer told about it now; they were going to find out in the long run, and Adam was just determined to make sure that they didn't have to find out from the Empty itself. "Come on, I wanna get breakfast."
Lucifer simply grunted, snapping the journal shut and putting it back on the nightstand.
Admittedly, he couldn't help but laugh when he entered the main room at first. He could feel Michael stirring already by that time, starting to wake up, but Adam left him to that for now; instead, he shifted his focus to the sight before him, the food spread out across the tables. He recognized a few things; containers of Chinese food, Japanese food, buckets of chicken and salads and pies. Briefly, Adam mused that it was kind of like Hogwarts, tables full of different kinds of food. Dean was leaning over a plate filled with nothing but every kind of pie that seemed to be on the table, and Sam was digging into a salad; Gabriel was busying himself with finishing off a turkey leg that he'd already pretty much gnawed down to the bone; Rowena was nibbling a cupcake; Crowley had a donut; Amara had a container of Chinese food, some chopsticks and a glass of wine sitting in front of her on the table; Jack and Jesse were digging into a cake together, the former with frosting around his mouth and the latter taking neat bites, careful not to get messy. Castiel and Billie were the only two not eating, but judging by the cake crumbs dusting Castiel's tie, Adam figured that he'd already had his share of the 'breakfast'.
The demon waited for Michael to wake up enough to take control with him, and waited even longer for the archangel to register the scene in front of them, blinking rapidly as he glanced around the room. Lucifer ended up brushing past them and making his way over to the tables to pluck up a donut, circling around Crowley to stand on the demon's other side as he dug in.
"... morning," Michael finally muttered, rubbing a hand down their face. "This is…"
"A bit extreme," Adam finished, somewhat amused. Gabriel smirked over at them in response, finishing off the turkey leg and diminishing the bone with a flick of his wrist. He then reached forward to grab another one, along with one of the other many glasses of wine that were scattered over the table along with the food. Adam finally stepped forward just enough to reach out and grab one that was filled to the brim and untouched, taking a tentative sip. He gave in after a moment, though, tilting the glass up to swallow down a few more mouthfuls and clearing his throat once he had finished off only half of the glass. "But I'm not complaining, either."
"Hey, only the best for my Nephewlim's birthday breakfast," Gabriel commented, throwing a grin in Jack's direction. The Nephilim managed to look bashful, ducking his head with a nervous smile in response, but Michael seemed to completely snap back to alertness at that at once.
"Birthday?" The archangel echoed, looking over at Jack, then Lucifer. The Devil only nodded, gesturing his donut in Jack and Castiel's direction before lifting it back up to take another bite.
"Well, happy birthday." Adam arched an eyebrow, raising his glass slightly.
"Yes, happy birthday," Michael added quickly, a small smile appearing on their face, and Adam quickly tugged it into an amused grin when Jack simply ducked his head further and mumbled a shy, embarrassed-sounding 'thank you' to both of them. Jesse nudged the Nephilim, only to offer him another piece of cake, which Jack accepted quickly. Michael simply tilted their head back to down the rest of the wine, and Adam let their eyes slip shut for a moment, content. And somewhat satisfied, despite himself; now he understood why Lucifer was so reluctant to tell Jack today, of all days. He understood - but it still had to be done. And, hell, he doubted that the kid wanted to see his father die today, of all days; not really the best birthday present ever. Taking down his evil, control-freak dickhead grandfather, on the other hand? That was good.
"We can properly celebrate after we win," Dean commented, finishing off his pie and rubbing a napkin over his mouth. He sank back, resting a hand over his stomach, and Adam couldn't help but laugh despite himself. Sam echoed him with a few snickers of his own, prompting Dean to half-heartedly toss the napkin in their direction - which Michael sent fluttering back into his lap with a quick twitch of his fingers, which only made Adam laugh harder. It didn't take long for Dean to crack a grin of his own, eyeing them with playful hostility. "Are you challenging me?"
"Temper, temper," Michael admonished dramatically, and Adam huffed out another laugh, this time somewhat startled, as Dean's grin widened further. "I wouldn't dream of challenging you." That finally got a laugh out of the hunter, and even more chuckles from Sam, and Adam found that he couldn't quite suppress his grin as he finally pulled a chair out for them to sit down.
"Pity," Gabriel called out, "why not?"
"Oh, no," Sam groaned with a laugh when he finally realized what was happening, and Adam threw his head back as he finally burst into laughter, unable to help himself. "The Lion King."
"This is what happens when you get a bunch of Disney fanatics in one room," Lucifer snickered.
Michael was grinning, clearly proud of himself - and Adam, himself, honestly didn't think he'd ever been more proud of his best friend either - as he refilled their empty glass to take a sip. Adam reached their free hand forward after a moment to grab one of the donuts, swallowing down the wine to take a bite. "Well, I suppose you can blame Adam for this," the archangel commented once they'd swallowed, and Adam paused to raise his eyebrows slightly in response. "Half of our time in the Cage was spent rewatching Disney movies in his head." He paused for a moment, shaking their head slightly and grinning up at his little brothers as he added, "you don't wanna know how long we had 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King' on loop for."
"That's why you kept singing that!" Lucifer exclaimed, pointing his now half-eaten donut at them while Adam suppressed another bout of laughter, unable to keep the grin off of their face now. "I'd always wondered how you even knew that stupid song. I swear, I hated you so damn much."
"Actually, it was mostly Adam singing. We did duets sometimes, though…" Michael added thoughtfully, and Adam once again had to bite back a laugh, tilting their head back a little. Michael ended up taking another bite of the donut himself and swallowing it down with a mouthful of wine, and Adam settled, content, until he spoke, "we did 'Hakuna Matata' together."
"How…" Gabriel paused, shaking his head with a grin. "Nevermind, not gonna question that."
Lucifer snickered, finishing off his donut. Sam tilted his head suddenly, looking at Adam and Michael intently for quite some time before he turned to Dean, leaning forward over the table. "The live action movie would break them," his older brother said seriously, and Adam paused; Michael was the first to really react, jerking their head back in a startled manner and widening their eyes slightly as he stared at them in shock, but Adam was quick to follow suit. He opened his mouth, while both of his brothers spared glances between them and each other, horrified.
"Oh, you just had to say something," Gabriel groaned, sinking back against the wall. He bite into his turkey leg again, ripping off a piece and grumbling something unintelligible under his breath.
"Every live action remake would break them," Dean commented slowly, eyeing Michael and Adam, and the demon slowly lowered the donut and wine glass, staring at both of them intently. He wasn't really sure what to say at first, horrified and disgusted by the idea of a live action Lion King movie - and yet oddly intrigued by the concept at the same time, wondering how the hell Disney would be able to manage that, and if it would be anywhere near as good as the original. But another, much more horrifying thought struck him before he could venture too far on that; 'Every live action remake'. Every. Despite himself, he couldn't help but wince at the idea of them ruining his favorite Disney movie with a live action remake, but he didn't even want to ask about it, didn't even want to know if it existed. He didn't even want to know if there was a possibility.
Michael was even more horrified. "Not Aladdin," the archangel gasped out loud before he could stop himself, and Adam immediately lifted a hand to their mouth, abandoning the wine glass on the table and sinking back into their chair. His brother's reactions weren't too favorable at that; Sam visibly sank back, shrinking down as if he was trying to make himself smaller, and Dean was rather quick to avert their gaze and focus on his own glass of wine, twirling it absently.
Both Adam and Michael took a moment to reign in their emotions, struggling against waves of shock and dismay, and silence fell across the table rather quickly after that. Crowley was the first one to break it, sounding somewhat amused as he reached forward and grabbed another donut off of the table. "Well, if we're done talking about Disney movies," he began - and Adam shot him a biting glare in response, which the demon ignored, "then perhaps we should talk about something, ah… of more importance and interest," Crowley emphasized. Michael even narrowed their eyes a little, but their expression smoothed out quickly when Crowley reached behind him to grab the sword, holding it up for them to see. "Let's get down to business."
"To defeat, the Huns," Dean mumbled into his glass. Lucifer and Gabriel didn't take long to dissolve into laughter, and Adam saw Sam reach over to smack the oldest Winchester's arm. Crowley seemed somewhat amused at that, but it didn't stop him from rolling his eyes anyway.
Adam and Michael, however, were finally focused on the sword and the task at hand again.
"We're ready." Michael ran their tongue over their lips slowly, clearing away some of the donut crumbs around their mouth. Adam finished the thing off in a few more bites and downed the rest of the wine right after, and Michael immediately filled that right back up again as he did so. But Adam didn't reach for another donut - all things considered, he wasn't very hungry at the moment, and what he'd had was satisfying enough for the time being. Instead, he kept the glass held firmly in one hand and crossed his arms over the table, looking up at the others intently.
"So let's go over the plan again."
They did, as everyone finished eating; the plan was simply to storm Heaven together at first. Billie was going to inform the Empty to watch out for her signal to open the portal, which they'd only do once they were sure they had Chuck cornered and unable to escape. They'd get him through and follow before the rift closed, and Amara would get close enough to heal the wound on his shoulder. Then whoever wielded the sword - Michael and Adam volunteered immediately once that was brought up (to nobody's surprise) - would attack, weakening Chuck just enough to get him into the Cage. And then once he was inside, the Empty would slam the door shut behind him and that would be it. He'd be trapped, asleep, unable to escape. It'd be over. All things considered, it was a pretty great plan, but Adam was quick to remind the others not to count their chickens before they hatched. Chuck clearly had a plan of his own here, as well.
But, he was as eager as they were in the long run; he couldn't wait to take the bastard down. Neither could Michael - but, they didn't have to wait too long once everyone finished breakfast.
"We're going to the playground," Castiel piped up as Jack and Jesse finished off the rest of one of the cakes, and Gabriel swept his arm through the air, clearing the rest of the food from the tables. Crowley was quick to put the sword down, sliding it across the table toward Michael and Adam, and the archangel reached out at once to catch it by the handle, nodding at the demon. "It'd be easy to transport everyone through the gateway from there. Gabriel, Lucifer and I will secure the area," he added, tilting his head toward the angels in question, and Adam shot Lucifer a knowing glance - which the Devil returned in turn. "In case there's any angels lingering. If there are any…" He trailed off. "It'd be safe to assume they're under Chuck's command." He paused for a moment, shaking his head. "Naomi told me that the gate to Heaven would be sealed given Heaven's… condition last time I was there, but I'd assume if Chuck wanted us there we'd be able to enter. Regardless, we're going to check and make sure there's nothing dangerous waiting for us once we arrive." Castiel scowled. "This could very well be a trap."
"We've got three out of four archangels and the Darkness," Gabriel added. "So if we needed to, we could break Heaven open like an eggshell. But our best bet right now is the gate."
Adam could feel Michael's blood boiling at that, and leaned their head back a little, letting his soul hum comfortingly around the archangel's Grace. Michael was quicker to relax at the reassurance than Adam usually was, settling quickly with only a somewhat unsettled sigh. But he looked up as Rowena spoke up, brushing her hands off. "Now, then." Then she flicked her wrist, and Adam leaned back slightly as a small shot glass appeared on the table in front of him, filled to the brim with purple liquid. He glanced up to see the same glasses and liquid appearing in front of Sam and Dean; Jesse caught his as it appeared in the air, and Crowley followed suit.
"These will grant a single entrance to Heaven. The effect wears off, of course, once you leave." The witch smirked slightly, seeming proud, as Adam reached out to pick the glass up, eyeing it. "You can go ahead and drink them now. We'll be able to enter Heaven with those… easy peasy." She waved her hand again, summoning a glass of her own, and downed it all at once.
"You guys can sort out transportation stuff," Lucifer added, shouldering himself away from the wall and walking over to stand beside Castiel. Gabriel was quick to follow after him, heading over to stand on Lucifer's other side and already spreading his wings out to leave. Michael glanced up to watch, while Adam lifted the glass to down the purple liquid. It didn't quite taste like anything, yet it still managed to make his tongue and the inside of his mouth tingle as he swallowed it. "Nobody enters Heaven until everybody's present. We're gonna go ahead." He glanced at Castiel and Gabriel for confirmation, and both of them merely nodded in response.
"Be careful," Michael warned.
Gabriel winked. "Always, big brother." He was gone with a flap of his wings, a soft whoosh. Castiel followed quickly, and Lucifer raised his eyebrows and sucked his lips in slightly before he followed after them. Michael stared at where they had been for a moment, and Adam set the glass back down on the table, twirling it in absent circles distractedly and narrowing his eyes.
"Well," Dean began, clearing his throat. "I'm driving, so whoever wants to ride is welcome." Jack raised his hand at that, and Michael did so too after a moment; Adam had no objections. Jesse raised his own hand after a moment, but only because Jack elbowed him in the side until he did.
"Fergus and I will follow," Rowena told them, eyes glittering. "I've got one last brew to make."
"We'll see you there." Sam pushed his chair back and stood up. Dean followed suit, though he winced a little and held his stomach as he did; Adam couldn't bite back an amused grin despite himself, shaking his head at his oldest brother as he slid back and stood up. Michael curled their fingers around the sword for a moment, eyeing it briefly. Then, all at once, it glowed and vanished, sent off for the time being until the time came when they'd need to use it. Adam figured it was probably safer that way, just in case, just so that Chuck didn't get ahold of it again. "Oh, Billie-" Sam started, turning slightly, but they looked up to see that Billie was simply gone. Jack turned his head to look, then shot the others a somewhat apologetic look, shrugging.
"Probably telling the Empty we're about to begin."
"We really need a better name for that thing," Jesse muttered, shaking his head slightly. Adam couldn't bite back a huff of laughter in time, pushing his chair back into place at the table.
"Another time," Amara mused. Michael glanced up at her as she lifted a hand, summoning a pair of sunglasses and smirking toward the others. "I'll see you guys there." She was gone without waiting for a response, promptly vanishing from where she'd been standing seconds before, and Adam arched an eyebrow faintly. But he turned back to his brothers again after a moment, presenting them both with a toothy grin, which Dean returned just as easily.
"Ready to fight God?" Adam asked cheerfully, as Dean grabbed his jacket off of the back of his chair and shrugged it on. Sam checked his pockets, pulling his phone out and checking it briefly before tucking it away again, and Dean merely smirked back at Adam, pulling his keys out.
"Oh, I'm ready." He tossed the keys up and caught them again, heading for the stairs.
Sam shrugged, but he smiled slightly anyway. "Yeah, I'm ready." He took a deep breath, and Adam offered a somewhat sympathetic smile at the apprehension that crossed his older brother's face. Sam gave a simple, grateful glance in response before once again taking another swift look around and nodding at Jack and Jesse to follow Dean before following suit after the oldest Winchester himself, with the Nephilim and Cambion not too far behind him.
Adam watched them go, glancing after Crowley and Rowena as they disappeared into the library, before finally stepping around the table to follow. "How 'bout you, Mike? You ready?"
"I'm ready." Michael's reply was instant, confident, firm. "As I'll ever be."
The ride wasn't too long; Jack sat between Adam, Michael and Jesse and Adam and Dean spent most of the ride bickering over the radio, until Michael simply ended up turning the music off completely with a simple snap of his fingers and declared, "act like children, get treated like children. Music stays off." That got a burst of laughter out of Sam - full-on throwing his head back laughter, mind you - and even Adam found it hard to wipe the grin off of his face at Dean's expression after that. He looked like a scolded, kicked puppy, but it didn't quite stop him from flipping Michael off (and Michael had to stop Adam from bending Dean's finger back, and only managed to do so by reminding the demon that Dean needed his fingers intact to drive). Still, the hunter was grinning, and so was Adam, as he sank back into his seat again. "Asshole."
"Dickhead," Dean shot back, grin unwavering.
"Both of you watch your mouths," Jesse chided. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Sam's seat, which startled the hunter for a few seconds before he glanced back to see what was happening. Jesse offered him nothing more than a bright smile and didn't bother to move away, and Sam simply ended up sitting up and leaning forward after that. "There's a child here," Jesse added, and when Adam quirked an eyebrow at him, he tilted his head toward Jack.
Intrigued now, Adam sat back and leaned his head back a little, turning it completely to face the two and studying Jack closely for a few moments before asking, "how old are you, kid?"
"Oh! Three, technically," Jack answered brightly, and Adam raised his eyebrows at that, eyeing the Nephilim with even more fascination now. He wasn't as surprised as he figured he should have been - he was pretty used to all this weird shit happening - but he couldn't say he wasn't somewhat startled. Not just because Jack didn't look three, but because he didn't really act like it either. Not as far as Adam had seen, anyway - sure, he was innocent as hell and a little naive, but he wasn't… well, he wasn't stumbling around babbling like a toddler. He brushed it off after a moment though, as Jack spoke up again, curiously, "how old are you, Uncle Adam?"
Adam wasn't sure whether he was more caught off guard by the 'Uncle' part or the question. It wasn't the first time Jack had called him that, but it still managed to startle him anyway; still, he merely shook his head slightly and narrowed his eyes, thinking about that for a moment. "I…"
He didn't actually know how to answer that.
He was nineteen when Michael possessed him. Nineteen when he fell into Hell. Years had passed before he'd Transformed, and even then he hadn't completely 'Transformed', had he? He was still somewhat human, and part archangel along with being a demon. But he didn't know how many of those years had been real - though, at the same time, even Hell years were real years, right? They certainly felt real enough to him. Either way, he didn't know how many Hell or Earth years it had taken for him to stop aging. He just knew that he had stopped aging, eventually. "I guess technically I'm nineteen. I haven't really aged physically…" He trailed off.
"Although," Michael piped up, albeit hesitantly, "we were in the Cage for over a millennia."
"Hell years, anyway," Adam added. "Ten Earth years."
Jack stared at them for a moment, wide blue eyes filled with nothing but sympathy, until Adam started feeling somewhat uncomfortably at the kicked puppy look he was offering them. Honestly, the demon felt like he'd mostly come to terms with his time in the Cage. He wasn't bitter about it anymore, he wasn't angry, he wasn't scared. Michael seemed to share that particular sentiment; maybe it was just in the moment, or maybe they'd both recognized that as horrible as it had been to be locked away as they were, they still got something good out of it. They still got each other out of it, and that made the experience better than it would have been. The demon frowned for a moment, twisting his mouth thoughtfully, but he glanced back up again when Jack finally found the words to respond, his voice softer. "That sounds… really awful."
"Maybe," Adam agreed. He paused for a moment, studying the Nephilim in front of him. Then he shifted slightly in his seat to face him, stretching his arm over the back of the seat and turning his full attention to the kid. "I guess it was pretty awful sometimes. I mean, it's Hell, it's not exactly supposed to be great. The Cage itself wasn't supposed to be a vacation spot." He rolled his eyes despite himself, and Michael snorted, albeit internally in response. Jack just frowned, still staring up at him with those wide, blue, puppy-dog eyes. "But it wasn't all that bad, either. Hell, at least we weren't alone in there. Michael and I had each other. Had Lucifer too, at first." He quieted slightly for a moment, studying the Nephilim's expression for a few seconds. It didn't change by much, aside from a faint furrowing of his eyebrows. Encouraged, Adam continued pressing a little more, still scrutinizing Jack's reactions. "Lucifer was down there alone a lot longer than we were down there together. It's a wonder the guy isn't batshit," he added honestly.
Jack's expression finally shifted, but there was no anger or hostility for his father there. A flicker of realization, maybe even an ounce of concern. His eyebrows furrowed even further as he fought to understand, and Adam softened his tone a little despite himself as he coaxed him on, "and, you know, even though I had Michael down there, I was still pretty… pretty pissed off," he added, glancing ahead briefly to where Dean and Sam were. "I thought they just left me behind," he told Jack, letting his gaze linger on his brothers. Sam glanced up at him through the mirror, and Dean spared a swift glance back himself before he focused on the road again, frowning. "But they didn't. It wasn't their fault." Adam lowered his gaze back to Jack. "It was Chuck's."
"Yeah," Jack agreed quietly, watching him for a moment. Understanding finally flickered through his intense, sorrowful gaze. "A lot of things were his fault. You were lucky to have each other."
"Yeah." Adam nodded, studying him. "My point is, it put a lot of things in perspective for me. Realizing how many things really weren't my brothers' fault, how many things were out of their control, how they were just being strung along as part of a story." Jack nodded again, even more understanding cracking through his expression. "Your dad had kind of the same fate. As them, I mean," he added, nodding toward Sam and Dean. "Forced to play a role he didn't want."
Jack quieted for a moment at that. Adam could see the gears in his head turning as he stared at them, eyes flickering as the Nephilim studied their expression. He could feel Michael's hope pounding strong, and even more so when Jack finally sighed, nodded, and ducked his head. He didn't say anything else after that, but Adam took that as a win anyway - because he'd gotten the kid to think, to consider that, and that was more important than trying to convince him right away. He'd have time to contemplate this, have a chance to reach a conclusion on his own. Adam was content just knowing he'd helped the kid along. So he sat back, settling back against his seat again, and spared a quick glance up at Jesse - who offered him a knowing smirk and an approving nod - then back up to his brothers. Sam simply smiled at him, slightly, through the mirror, before he looked away again; Adam bit back a grin and glanced out the window.
Nice going, Michael murmured. I'm proud of you.
Adam smiled slightly, shaking his head.
Sam was quick to alert them when they reached the playground; admittedly, Adam had zoned out quite a bit, retreating into his mind with Michael, but they both rose up to control quickly when the hunter spoke up. Adam took a moment to adjust to their surroundings, looking around the playground as Dean slowed the car to a stop and parked, and Michael was quick to redirect their attention to where Lucifer, Gabriel, Castiel and Amara stood up ahead. Once glance told Adam all he needed to know, that the Devil had gone through with his plan to tell them. Gabriel looked positively livid, arms crossed and pacing as he glared at the ground. Castiel himself didn't look too happy, but he also seemed more shocked than angry; they were all quick to look up, however, at the Impala's approach, and Adam watched Lucifer's shoulders tense slightly.
They climbed out of the car slowly; Adam and Michael weren't the only ones who noticed Gabriel's stormy expression, because Sam was quick to call ahead to them, "everything okay?"
"Peachy," Gabriel spat back in response, still glaring at the ground.
Lucifer shot Adam and Michael a somewhat helpless look, and Michael frowned as they approached, sparing a swift glance toward the youngest archangel. Gabriel only looked up when they got close enough, studying their expression, and then Lucifer's. The realization didn't take long to settle in; Gabriel offered Michael a somewhat hurt expression, and the archangel flinched slightly in response. Adam almost - almost - snarled at that, but he bit his tongue.
"We're working on it," Michael murmured, keeping his voice low as Sam, Dean, Jack and Jesse approached. Gabriel offered a disgruntled glare in response, but his expression seemed to soften upon meeting the archangel's gaze again. He stared at him, and then back at Lucifer, then Castiel. But it seemed like he couldn't stay too mad for too long, because the tension in his shoulders seemed to unravel as they drooped, and he leaned back on his feet before ultimately walking over to stand beside Lucifer and Michael again, though he kept his arms crossed. "Adam has an idea," Michael added, but he bit their tongue when the others grew close enough.
"The gate is open," Castiel was quick to divert their attention, though Jack looked somewhat curious and worried as he glanced over at the archangels, but turned his gaze to the sandbox in front of them again after a moment. Adam and Michael redirected their gaze down to it after a moment, and a glimmer of recognition stirred in the archangel's chest, gazing at the half-drawn sigil in the sand. He took a step forward, but he didn't venture too much closer to the sandbox.
"Now we wait," Dean sighed, and took a seat.
One by one, slowly, the others appeared. Crowley came with Rowena, and while Billie took a little longer, she was quick to give everyone the thumbs up when she arrived. "Let's do this."
Adam did a quick headcount and Michael checked to make sure everyone was close; if they weren't already, they certainly huddled closer when Castiel crouched down and reached into the sandbox to finish drawing the rest of the sigil. Michael's shoulders jerked when he finished, and the sand began glowing, as if he was resisting the impulse to back away; Adam did his best to soothe the archangel in response, as best as he knew how, letting his soul hum comfortingly around Michael's Grace in response and settling in closer to the archangel in their head again. Michael seemed to relax a little at that, if only slightly, as they watched the portal glow and open. Admittedly, Adam couldn't keep his eyes from widening slightly, watching the sand rise and curl upwards, dissipating into a cloud of tan smoke, almost grey. Castiel was the first to step forward; he disappeared as soon as he did, the smoke curling around him and taking him away. Lucifer followed after him, and then Jack. Gabriel stepped forward, as if to follow - but he hesitated.
Michael took a deep breath, and Adam retracted some of his control, allowing him to take the lead on this one. The archangel finally braved a step forward beside Gabriel, reaching out to take the youngest archangel's hand and offering a light squeeze. He startled at the touch, but he didn't pull away as he glanced over at his oldest brother, simply sucked in a breath and nodded.
They stepped forward together; Adam felt the smoke curl around them, warm against their skin. Michael squeezed Gabriel's hand once before letting go, and the smoke carried them away.