Adam and Michael were… relieved.
They were silent for the most part as they followed Lucifer through the portal, but they couldn't stifle a smile when they reappeared in the bunker's main room again. Lucifer still looked rather dazed - Michael chuckled a little every time they looked toward the Devil, who still clearly didn't know what to make of what had just happened. Adam glanced over their shoulder to watch everyone else file through, the Winchesters first, followed by Castiel and the other archangels, then Jack, Bela, Crowley, Rowena, Jesse and Amara. Neither of them were particularly surprised that Billie didn't follow; it was over now, they both pretty much expected not to hear from her again, and neither Adam nor Michael were about to complain about that. Silence fell across the room long after the portal had closed up, the last of the black goo retreating until the bunker was back to normal again. Adam, briefly, looked toward where Bela was standing.
The demon caught their gaze, a faint smile tugging at her lips, and winked in his direction before turning to sweep her gaze around again, taking in the bunker with a curious expression.
Gabriel was the first to break the silence. "Happy birthday," he told Jack, and almost everyone in the bunker dissolved into laughter - including Adam and Michael, and the Nephilim himself. He looked about as relieved as the demon and the archangel felt; they watched his shoulders droop, the weight finally lifted, and they were pretty sure they all could feel the effect it had on the entire room. Dean was the first one to drop down into a chair, deflating like a helium balloon. Sam followed at once, slumping back and letting his head fall back. Everyone relaxed one by one, gradually, and Adam felt whatever tension was left in the room fade away in an instant.
"It's over," Castiel mumbled, sinking back against the wall and dragging a hand down his face.
"So, now what?" Jesse stretched his arms over his head and made his way forward toward the table, pulling out a chair to sit down. Adam and Michael moved forward themselves after a moment of contemplation, circling around to sit down beside Sam and leaning forward to cross their arms over the table in front of them. "Are we celebrating or just sitting here shell-shocked?"
"Celebrating!" Gabriel interrupted before anyone else could reply, though Lucifer seemed about ready to go with the 'shell-shocked' thing, much to Adam's amusement. The demon lifted a hand and propped their elbow up on the table, resting their chin in their palm instead and looking up toward the others as Gabriel stepped forward, raising his hands. "Come on, it's my Nephewlim's birthday, I got my brother back-" He swept a hand in Raphael's direction, and the archangel quirked an eyebrow in the youngest one's direction in response; Adam felt their lips tug upwards as Michael smiled, just for a moment, looking toward his younger brother, but they turned their focus back to Gabriel again quickly. "And we just beat God. Let's celebrate."
"We can celebrate but I'm not moving," Dean declared, and Sam huffed out a laugh at his brother in response, lowering his head into his arms on the table and turning his face slightly so he could still look up at the others. "And I personally request a shitton of alcohol, for the record."
"Well, we can't properly celebrate without alcohol," Crowley agreed.
"I vote for champagne," Adam piped up with a grin, and he watched Gabriel's expression light up almost immediately at that, could practically see the lightbulb appear over the youngest archangel's head. Adam lifted their head slightly from their hand, and Lucifer and Raphael took a few steps forward, exchanging a glance with Michael and Adam as the three archangels seemed to realize exactly what was about to happen. Gabriel simply lifted a hand and summoned a sword - more like a katana, really - with a long, thin silver blade with gold markings all along it. Raphael retreated quickly to the side of the table where Michael and Adam were.
"Oh no. Oh, no, don't," Lucifer groaned, following after Raphael quickly and seemingly taking cover behind Adam and Michael, who ducked down a little in response with a grin. Michael was the only one of the other three archangels who didn't seem to be alarmed by what was happening, and Adam himself was much more curious than anything. Dean seemed rather intrigued as well, and even Sam lifted his head slightly to look up at Gabriel, raising an eyebrow.
"If it's champagne you want, champagne you shall receive!" Gabriel summoned a champagne bottle next - strawberry champagne, mind you, though Adam's pleasure over that quickly dissolved when he finally realized exactly what was going on - only to morph into even more pleasure and excitement at that, perking up a little and sitting upright completely as he watched Gabriel raise the champagne bottle and the katana, taking a few steps back and getting into position. It didn't take long for whoever else was in his general vicinity to back away and retreat, but Gabriel didn't seem to care. "I've always wanted to do this," the archangel snickered slightly, tilting the bottle forward and adjusting the blade of the katana to angle it toward the cork.
"Everyone prepare yourselves," Lucifer began, shielding himself with his wings. "This never-"
He cut off with a startled gasp, and Adam felt Michael tense up more out of reflex than anything. But their reactions were for nothing; Gabriel slashed the katana upwards and popped the cork off in an instant, a flawless strike, and the demon huffed out a laugh as he watched the foam immediately fizz out from the bottle, spilling over onto the floor. It wasn't a big explosion and it didn't make too much of a mess, but Adam wouldn't have cared either way - one because that was honestly one of the coolest things he'd ever seen, and two because he was more concerned with getting his hands on that bottle, because he really wanted some champagne.
Bela clapped, and Crowley and Rowena followed suit while Gabriel raised the bottle up in victory, turning a smug look on his brothers and sticking his tongue out. "Oh, ye of little faith."
"Holy fuck-" Lucifer laughed, "he actually-"
"You actually did it," Raphael sounded impressed, stifling a laugh himself.
"Well, now I'm tempted to just break the damn thing," Gabriel commented, eyeing the bottle.
"Don't you dare," Adam warned; Gabriel's face broke into a grin almost at once, looking up toward the demon, before he shrugged and stepped forward, offering the bottle to him. He took it at once, leaning forward across the table to grab it, and sank back again with a grin on his face as he turned it over in his hands to study it. He almost considered drinking the damn thing himself, but he decided against it. They were all celebrating here, and so… "Michael, if you would," the demon chirped, looking up again, and Michael huffed out a quiet laugh in response. But he raised a hand and swept it forward toward the table, summoning an array of empty champagne glasses, and Adam was quick to push them up enough to start filling them up.
Gabriel grabbed the first glass and held it up, only to turn and hand it over to Jack with a grin. "Once again, a happy birthday to my nephew," he began as the Nephilim reached out to take the glass with a smile, blue eyes sparkling with amusement and happiness as he did so. "And a hearty congratulations to all of us, for our quest of defeating God has finally been completed."
"Hear, hear." Dean reached out to grab one of the glasses as Adam filled it up.
"Now put down the anime sword before Dean gets excited," Sam added, following suit. He stifled his grin by taking a sip of champagne; Adam paused to huff out a laugh despite himself. Gabriel just grinned, but he obliged, sending the katana away with a shrug.
Adam finally finished filling up most of the glasses, and once everyone had grabbed one, the demon finally sat back again and picked up his own. Michael smiled slightly to himself as he settled in beside the demon, content and sharing control with him once again. Adam lifted the glass, but instead of taking a sip, he simply pushed it higher into the air and cleared his throat. "Mission hashtag-put-God-in-the-hole is officially older. Let the celebrations commence!" With that, he tipped his head back and downed half of the champagne all at once, grinning slightly at the cheers that echoed through the room as everyone else raised their own glasses up in response before tipping their heads back, as one, to down their drinks with gusto just the same.
Jesse was the first to finish his off completely, clinking the glass into place on the table and running his tongue over his lips. "Well, I can stay for a few drinks, but I'll be heading off soon." The Cambion paused to glance toward Jack, and tugged his lips into a smirk. "Don't worry, I'll be staying in touch - you're welcome to join me in Australia for a bit if you want, birthday boy," he added, tilting his empty glass in Jack's direction before letting it go completely to sit back.
Jack paused to sweep his gaze toward Castiel, Dean, and Sam - and then Lucifer. The first three shrugged slightly in response, nodding their heads as if offering permission, and although the Devil seemed a bit confused at first when Jack's gaze landed on him, he nodded anyway. With a grin, the Nephilim turned away again to face Jesse with a bright smile. "Sounds great."
Adam stifled a smirk, taking another sip, and only looked up again when Bela spoke, leaning forward and propping herself up on the table with one hand. "I suppose I'll be taking my leave." She paused to meet Adam's gaze, lips tugging upwards slightly. "Temporarily, anyway. But before I go…" She paused to finish off the rest of her champagne, and Adam quirked an eyebrow, before she set the glass down and pushed herself away from the table for a moment. She kept her eyes on Adam, however, as she walked forward to step around the table, to approach them, pausing a few feet away and sinking sideways against it to regard Adam and Michael with a curious glimmer in her eyes. "I do want to meet that archangel you told me about, the one sharing your meat. Michael, isn't it?" She added, quirking an eyebrow.
"That's right," Michael replied, a smile tugging at their lips as he looked up at her. Adam decided to let him handle this for now, but keeping their gaze locked with Bela's as he studied the other demon in silence, while Michael introduced himself. "It's nice to finally meet you, Bela."
"Likewise," Bela replied, amused. "I'm glad you weren't there when Adam and I met, as that would have made the sex a bit awkward for everybody involved…" She paused, and added, "though I admit two demons and an archangel would make for a very interesting threesome. Especially with the deal the two of you have going on - actually, I wonder how that would work."
The sound of Dean choking and spitting his champagne out was almost worth it. Michael froze for a second, staring at the other demon with their mouth half-open and eyes blown wide, and Adam chose that moment to retreat completely, because he didn't want to be around to see the disaster he knew damn well this was about to turn into. The moment he appeared in their shared headspace, the darkness, the demon couldn't help but double over laughing; he could still feel the archangel's horror, hear him stuttering outside as he tried to figure out what to say. Bela simply laughed her own comment off, seeming more amused with the archangel than anything, and almost everyone else had burst into laughter as well - including Lucifer, Adam could hear him practically wheezing right then. He stayed where he was for a moment, covering his face with his hands and trying in vain to suppress his own laughter and compose himself.
Once he managed to reign his laughter in somewhat, he rose up to take control along with Michael again. The archangel was still a stuttering mess, a mixture of flustered, disgusted and embarrassed, and Adam was once again reminded of how much he hated the thought of sex - and what Bela was implying didn't make the situation any better. As amused as he was, the demon couldn't help but feel a little disgusted himself, but he only shook his head with a grin and spared Bela a glare, albeit a playful one. "You haven't changed a bit, you crazy bitch."
"Nor have you, you insufferable bastard," Bela mocked, and smirked. "And it's Queen Bitch."
"Get a room," Gabriel called out.
Bela smirked slightly and turned her head, while Adam rolled their eyes slightly. Michael ended up retreating this time - the demon couldn't help but huff out a laugh, but he let his soul hum comfortingly around the archangel's Grace again, trying to ease some of his discomfort. After a moment, Bela shook her head and looked back down at Adam again, amused. "I wish I could, but I really do have to be going." She paused and pushed herself upright again, tucking her hair back and smirking down at Adam. "But I'll also be in touch." She turned away without waiting for a response, and Adam simply offered a small smile despite himself as she simply disappeared.
The celebrations went on; Jack and Jesse departed not too long after Bela left, but not before sharing a few more rounds of champagne and laughing along with the others as they joked and cheered. Amara was the next to leave, declaring that 'it was fun and all, but I'll be going back to Reno for now'. Crowley and Rowena stayed - Crowley insisting he was just there for the alcohol, and Rowena, everyone knew without needing to ask, was simply there because Gabriel was.
Michael was content to sit back and watch with Adam, but he joined in every so often when it was necessary, when his brothers nudged him into the conversation. Admittedly, with the energy and adrenaline wearing off, Michael finally found himself feeling a little tired. Not exhausted, or drained - just… content, content enough to want to curl up and go to sleep. But for now he was happy to just celebrate their victory with their friends and family, delighted to have all of his brothers in one place again, and have Adam there with him as well, feeling the demon's presence as they settled down with one another to celebrate with their loved ones.
It stretched on for a while; Gabriel threw snacks in eventually, once again filling the tables with cakes and pies and chips and popcorn and different kinds of candies, and he and Lucifer ended up setting off party poppers - mostly in Raphael's direction to cover him with confetti - until the archangel finally caved and started fighting back in earnest with party poppers of his own.
Admittedly, watching his brothers chase each other around with confetti was probably one of the best parts of the day. Michael didn't think he'd ever seen them act more like children - he remembered way back when, back in Heaven, back when Gabriel would pull pranks and Lucifer would join in, and Raphael would pretend to be annoyed but ultimately get dragged into the chaos. Michael had taken those carefree days for granted back then, even scolded his brothers for their immaturity a few times. Now he found himself grinning and laughing as he ducked to avoid a spray of confetti, flicking a few pieces toward Lucifer when they fluttered close enough. Lucifer responded by setting off a party popper in their direction, and Adam let out a good-natured, warning growl - which ultimately set off a bout of wrestling between them, to which Michael laughed and simply decided to take the backseat and let them hash it out.
They deserved to be immature. They deserved to be children. They deserved to have fun.
"Cage Wrestling!" Lucifer cheered, lifting Adam up into the air only to slam him down again. The demon let out a startled yelp as they hit the ground - and Michael couldn't help but wince - but in the next second, Lucifer was down for the count right along with them, because the archangel ended up kicking (mostly half-heartedly) at his younger brother's legs until the Devil tripped. Lucifer looked stunned for a second, but Adam took the opportunity to push them up and lunge again, wrestling the archangel into a headlock before Lucifer had a proper chance to recover.
"Not Cage Wrestling anymore," the demon commented, tightening his grip while Lucifer struggled and tugged at their arm, but they both knew he was defeated. "I win this time, Luce!"
"This time," Lucifer conceded, but it was an argument in disguise; still, he slumped back after a moment and reached up to tap the demon on the shoulder twice, grumbling out a begrudging mumble of 'uncle' until Adam released him and let the Devil twist and shove himself back, but not without delivering a few half-hearted kicks in Adam's direction - most of which didn't land. They stayed on the floor for a minute, Adam glaring and Michael unable to keep himself from laughing, and Lucifer's own glare didn't take long to fizzle out into an amused expression.
"Did you get that out of your system?" Gabriel huffed out a somewhat baffled sounding laugh, and Michael lifted their head slightly to grin up at his brothers for a moment. Raphael himself looked bewildered but not unamused, glancing back and forth between them and arching an eyebrow slightly. Sam and Dean themselves looked somewhat bemused, leaning forward over the table to watch; Gabriel simply grabbed another glass, this time with what looked like wine.
"I think so," Adam replied smugly. "I won."
"Go to Hell," Lucifer challenged, and that just started up another wrestling match.
Once they had properly exhausted themselves, Adam and Michael found themselves falling back against the confetti-covered floor with their arms stretched out, tuckered out from the fight with Chuck, the snacks Adam had stuffed them with, the alcohol and the 'Cage' Wrestling - but both of them were equally content, happy, even, as they closed their eyes and stretched out.
It wasn't long before Crowley ended up leaving, apparently with the intention of returning to Hell. Michael and Adam bid the demon a goodbye without opening their eyes, eventually curling their arms inwards to cross one over their stomach and tuck the other one under their head like a pillow. Rowena was the next one to follow; Michael, once again, didn't open their eyes, but he smiled slightly to himself as she exchanged goodbyes with Gabriel - and likely a kiss, but he didn't look - before she, too, departed. That just left the Winchesters, the archangels, Castiel and Michael and Adam in the bunker, their cheerful celebrations having calmed down and the excitement simply fizzling out to contentment and satisfaction. It was over, they were safe. Michael doubted this would be the last time they saw each other - perhaps not all in the same place and certainly not for the same reasons, but he figured they'd all be keeping in touch.
Reconciliation. There truly was nothing like it, nothing that could even compare. Their journey had been filled with it; reconciliation, reunion, redemption, reprieve. Now it had come to an end, but not really… because while it was over, they weren't over. They were still going forward.
When they finally opened their eyes and forced themselves up to their feet again, Sam and Dean were standing to retreat to their rooms for the night. Michael hadn't even realized how late it was until he saw both of them yawning, rubbing their eyes, clearly exhausted. They'd all been through an ordeal today, and even though they'd come out on top, Michael knew the humans definitely had to be more tuckered out than he felt. They certainly deserved to rest easy, knowing they'd won, to recharge and prepare themselves for what the future held for them now.
"'Night, guys," Sam murmured, clasping a hand over Adam's shoulder, and the demon offered his brother a faint smile in response. He brushed Sam's hand off, only to pull him into a hug.
Michael wasn't surprised - just happy, content, proud for his best friend as he gave his older brother a squeeze - which was returned - before pulling back with a nod. "'Night, loser." The demon smirked slightly, and Sam huffed out a laugh and ducked his head, turning to leave.
"Goodnight, Sam," Michael called after him as Adam turned to Dean.
Dean stepped forward as Adam did, accepting the hug the demon offered him in silence for the most part. Michael felt the hunter bury his face into Adam's shoulder briefly, and Adam shut their eyes for a moment as he did the same, closing their eyes and taking a deep breath to let it out in a slow, content sigh. Then Dean cleared his throat, patted Adam on the back and pulled away with a smile, green eyes sparkling with nothing but warmth. "'Night, Adam-" He paused, and smirked slightly for a moment, searching their gaze. "And goodnight to you too, Michael."
"Goodnight," Michael chuckled. "Sleep well."
"Like a baby," Dean replied cheerfully, and called a goodnight to the others before he followed after Sam, disappearing down the hallway and retreating into his room for the rest of the night.
After they left, Michael and Adam grouped around the table with the other angels. Gabriel was finally getting Raphael to try a sip of the champagne, and Lucifer and Castiel sat side by side, content with one another's presence as they simply leaned their heads back and relaxed. Adam crossed their arms over the table and Michael was quick to lower their chin into their arms, settling down with a content sigh and smiling to himself as he watched his brothers in silence. Gabriel finally took a seat once he'd gotten Raphael to sample the champagne - he didn't seem to like it, but he kept it in his hand anyway and continued to sip from it every now and again despite the faces he made as he finally shuffled over to take his seat next to Michael and Adam.
Raphael regarded them curiously before speaking, "so Adam Milligan is now a demon."
"Yeah, you can thank the Cage for that," Adam retorted, narrowing their eyes slightly as he flicked their gaze toward the other archangel. He didn't seem quite hostile or angry, which was good, but Michael knew he definitely remembered his first and last encounter with Raphael. But Adam seemed to have other concerns; he raised their head after a moment, eyeing the archangel before speaking, "so how did Chucklehead bring you back? Thought he couldn't."
"He couldn't, no. The Empty allowed him to…" Raphael waved a hand slightly, then rested it on the table. "Cut a deal to resurrect me, but it filled me in on the situation before it sent me back." A brief flicker of anger crossed Raphael's face, but it was gone after only a few seconds, calm once again as he sat back and took another sip. "Imagine my surprise; I thought he was gone."
"He is now," Lucifer grunted, sipping from his own glass.
"I can't believe the Empty was willing to bring you back, but wouldn't let Cassie off the hook," Gabriel complained suddenly, making a face as he crossed his arms behind his head. "Ass."
Silence followed for a moment before Lucifer mumbled into his glass, "assbutt."
Castiel let his head fall forward with a somewhat startled laugh, and Michael and Adam snickered slightly in response. Oh, they both remembered that fateful day, the day Castiel called Michael an 'assbutt' - honestly, what the hell even was that? - and proceeded to set him on fire. Admittedly, the only thing it had hurt was his pride; well, the fire itself had kind of stung, but Michael hardly cared about that now. He'd protected Adam from the blast and was more annoyed and irritated than hurt, considering he had to repair their vessel before he returned. Looking back now, Michael could appreciate Castiel's attempt to stop the stupid feud between him and Lucifer. Even if he had insulted him and molotov'd him with holy fire.
"I don't get it," Raphael mumbled.
Lucifer smirked, tilting his glass toward Raphael. "No one gets it."
"Castiel called me an assbutt and set me on fire," Michael explained to his younger brothers. Gabriel's eyebrows shot up at that, and Raphael's eyes widened slightly, looking startled.
"He molotov'd his ass," Lucifer agreed, grinning. "You should've seen it."
"Yes, and then Lucifer killed me," Castiel cut in bluntly, and Lucifer seemed to visibly pause at that, turning his head slightly to look over at the younger angel before sinking back with a somewhat sheepish expression. "After saying, and I quote, 'no one dicks with Michael but me'."
Lucifer shrank down under the stares he received at that; nobody spoke until Gabriel suddenly let out a quiet coo of 'awwwhhh' and reached out to poke his older brother in the side, which immediately caused Lucifer to yelp and twist away from him. "Luci-goosey turned all overprotective," Gabriel crooned, leaning back with a cackle to dodge a half-hearted smack from the archangel in question, who looked a mixture of embarrassed and amused.
"It actually is kind of sweet," Michael admitted, and Lucifer's expression went right back to embarrassed, shooting his oldest brother a glare as he sank down into his seat again. Adam laughed and Michael shook their head slightly, but he couldn't bite back a chuckle of his own. "Especially considering that, at the time he did that, we were about to kill each other." Lucifer arched an eyebrow at that, and Gabriel huffed out a laugh as he sank back and shook his head, letting it roll against the back of the chair with an amused grin. Raphael simply shook his head as well after a moment, and while he looked more baffled than anything, he still smirked.
"I still don't understand what an 'assbutt' is."
"The world may never know," Lucifer replied dramatically, widening his eyes. Raphael laughed at that - the sound startled Michael, honestly, but only for a moment, before the surprise melted away into delight. He hadn't seen Raphael like this in a long time; his demeanor had changed so drastically after Gabriel had left and Lucifer had been sent to the Cage. He went from the innocent, sweet younger brother Michael knew to… someone cold, and distant, and… bitter. So it was a blessing, Michael knew, to be able to see Raphael like this now. Like he used to be.
There were still things to figure out, but for now, they were content in each other's company.
When Adam yawned, however, Michael finally decided it was time for retreat for the night. He was tired, himself - and as much as he loved being with his siblings, he wanted nothing more right then than to curl up beside the demon and fall asleep together as they usually did.
"I think we should turn in for the night," Michael murmured out loud, and his brothers paused to glance up at them, flickers of understanding crossing their faces. Adam only grunted slightly in agreement, stifling another yawn, and the archangel smiled slightly to himself as he pushed their chair back to stand up. Raphael stood up along with them after a moment; Michael turned his head to look up at him, and offered a warm smile to his younger brother as he met his gaze.
"And I should probably…"
"Come on, stay," Gabriel interrupted, and Raphael paused, glancing over at him, Lucifer and Castiel. Neither of them seemed to object to that; Lucifer finished off another glass of champagne and filled it right back up again with a grin while Castiel merely nodded at Raphael. "There's time for all that other, boring stuff later. I think we've all got a lot of catching up to do."
Raphael puffed his cheeks out, staring for a moment, then cracked a smile and shook his head. "Very well. I suppose I can stay for a while longer." He paused, glancing back over at Michael and Adam, and the oldest archangel simply beamed in response, opening his mouth to reply. But he didn't have the chance to, whatever he was about to say immediately falling from his tongue as Raphael suddenly stepped forward to hug him. He was startled - but not too startled to react, wrapping his arms around his brother in return and offering a quick, gentle squeeze. He felt just about to burst from the happiness he was feeling right then, the contentment he felt threatening to drown him, break him and repair him again all at once in the same split second.
Raphael pulled back and clasped a hand over their shoulder, squeezing slightly. "Rest, brother."
Michael smiled back at him in response, glancing over at the others briefly. Lucifer finally looked up, and offered a warm smile to his oldest brother after a moment. Gabriel merely winked at them as he reclined backwards and propped his legs up onto the table. "'Night, boys."
"Goodnight," Michael murmured.
"See you weirdos tomorrow." Adam eyed Gabriel for a moment, and Michael huffed out a laugh, glancing at Castiel. The younger angel simply nodded at him, offering a faint smile to them after a moment but not saying anything just yet. Michael took a deep breath, glancing back up at Raphael, and ducked their head slightly in a nod to his younger brother before turning to leave.
He made his way back to their room, leaving the door open. He let himself fall forward onto their bed this time, and retreated immediately along with Adam, retracting all of his control.
They met somewhere they hadn't in a little while, not together like this. The park was a familiar sight, and certainly a welcome one to Michael; he found himself standing beside the demon, lifting his head slightly to trail his gaze around, watching the swings move back and forth with the imaginary breeze, listening to the leaves rustle. It was still, silent, peaceful; Michael smiled slightly, furrowing his eyebrows and turning his head to look toward Adam. The demon was silent for the most part, simply sweeping his gaze around for a moment longer before he looked up, lifting his blue gaze back to Michael's in response. He looked as tired as Michael knew he was, but the grin that split across his face was full of energy, full of life, and pure, unadulterated happiness; it left Michael breathless with a rush of excitement and joy of his own, as Adam turned to face him completely and grabbed the archangel by the arm, tugging him into a hug.
Michael held him close, clutching the back of his suit firmly and burying his face into the demon's shoulder. Adam hugged him tighter than he ever had before, and Michael simply pulled him as close as he was physically capable of, letting the contentment and warmth engulf him.
"We did it," Adam murmured. He pulled back, still grinning, still practically glowing with happiness, and Michael couldn't help but laugh. He laughed out of relief, out of joy, out of excitement, and Adam was quick to join in. He chuckled and ducked his head, still holding onto Michael, and the archangel wasn't quite ready to let go of his best friend anytime soon yet. Only when Adam finally pulled away, but only so he could fall back into the grass beneath them; Michael grinned, looking down at him, then lowered himself to the ground to lay beside him.
Side by side, shoulder to shoulder, they settled on their backs with their arms crossed over their stomachs, and looked up at the sky above them, content. Together. Like they should be.
Michael smiled and let his eyes slip shut, heaving out a gentle sigh.
A/N: And... it's over.
80 chapters, a shitton of character development and redemption arcs, resurrections, hashtag-putting-god-in-the-hole and my boys, my favorite archangel and demon and a lot of (admittedly) poorly written fight scenes... and it's finally over.
I wanna thank everyone who's been reading this from the beginning! It was pretty touch and go for a while but I promised you all I'd finish this, which I didn't think I'd be able to do - but I did, thanks to you guys. I wouldn't have been able to finish this without all your encouragement and support, so thank you, everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the story.
You can expect a lot more from this universe, don't worry X3
Thank you all for reading!