Michael paced restlessly around the park, arms wrapped around himself so tight he felt like he was about to crush his own ribs from the sheer pressure. Shadows flickered dangerously at the corners of his vision, each step bringing him closer to the edge of unconsciousness. He was exhausted, completely and utterly exhausted; but he wasn't sure if he was just feeling it from Adam's end, or if he really was weak enough now to genuinely be able to get tired. He wouldn't be surprised, with how much the Cage had already drained his powers - it was completely possible that it was taking his energy, as well. The archangel breathed in through his teeth and looked down for a moment, eyes focused on the ground. The memory flickered slightly, green grass turning white under his feet, and he would have stumbled if he wasn't so used to it now.
Setting his jaw, he looked up to see Zachariah standing there, arms outstretched, a grin on his face that somehow sent chills down Michael's spine. After all this time, he hated more than ever that he had grown to fear his brother - a weak, lower-ranked angel. And Michael, the archangel, the great Prince of Heaven, leader of its armies, let him get to him like this. And it wasn't even really Zachariah, not really. Just a sick, hollow echo of him. A figment of his imagination, the Cage's way of digging the knife in and twisting until the archangel was left wanting to scream.
"Hey Mikey." Zachariah grinned, cold and empty, "did'ja miss me?"
Michael looked at him for a moment in silence, studying the danger behind the smile on his brother's face. He knew how this ended. He knew it started with beratement, and taunting, until the archangel caved and attacked first. Then Zachariah would beat him down, repeatedly, and tell him all the while exactly how weak and useless and pathetic he thought the archangel was. He felt queasy just at the thought of what he knew was going to happen to him, and his jaw tightened slightly in response while Zachariah's smile grew, seeming pleased at the archangel's displeasure, as he began to approach. Slow and steady - and Michael rolled his shoulders back, breathing in through his nose and trying to stifle the panic brewing in his chest.
You're an archangel, you're an archangel, and he is not real, he screamed at himself, blinking rapidly at Zachariah as his brother approached. There's nothing he can do to you. He is all in your head, not real. It's just the Cage. Worst fears, right? That's what Luci said. That's all this is. All it is. He shut his eyes for a moment, running his tongue over his lips, and swallowed. Silently, he almost began to berate himself over the fact that Zachariah was apparently his 'worst fear', but the realization came quickly that it might be less the angel, and more what he represented.
"... you good, halo?" Adam's voice snapped him out of his thoughts so fast he actually staggered back slightly, blinking his eyes open in surprise. Zachariah was gone; hell, Heaven was gone. He was back in the park, with Adam standing where the other angel had been just seconds before. Michael blinked a few times, completely disoriented by the sudden change, but relieved and grateful for the interruption all the same. "Yeah, uh, your thoughts were like…" Adam gestured slightly at nothing in particular, an odd look on his face. "You seemed pretty close to panicking, and I was getting sick of fighting Lucifer so I figured I'd come see what's up." The young man paused, studying him carefully. "It's getting to you, isn't it?"
Michael ran his tongue over his lips, trying to force himself to focus enough to respond properly to the human, managing a slight, shaky nod at the question. "I suppose so- yes," he began carefully, and Adam studied him for a moment before just nodding, a look of faint understanding crossing his face. It was different for the human, Michael knew; there wasn't much the Cage could do to him physically, which would explain why Zachariah seemed to take a more psychological and emotional approach when it came to torture. The beatings were simply a result of Michael starting to fight back - only then would his brother retaliate, crushing him in more ways than one until Michael was practically curled in on himself, trying to block it all out.
But Adam got the more physical aspects of it, and Michael flinched a little himself at the memories of fire lapping at the human's skin while the archangel tried to shield him, hearing the sound of bones breaking and snapping and not being able to do anything about it except heal Adam as much as possible afterwards. It was wearing on the young man - but somehow he didn't even think it was really 'physical' in that kind of sense, either. Because the Cage may be attacking his body, but the only thing that was left with the scars was his soul, itself.
Adam grimaced a little, staring at him for a moment. Irritation flared up in the young man's chest, and Michael's face contorted slightly in response. At this point, neither of them bothered trying to fight off each other's emotions or thoughts anymore. After so long together, it made sense at this point, and they both just tried to ignore it for the most part anyways. The archangel let his breath out slowly through his teeth, and allowed his shoulders to drop slightly, relaxing with the realization that nothing was going to be happening, at least for the time being. And, the human seemed safe for the most part, as well, at least right now. Whenever the Cage decided to come for them later, they'd deal with it accordingly. Michael would have been concerned about Lucifer, but, the Cage didn't really seem to mess with him anymore. If the archangel had to guess, it was probably because… there was nothing else it could do to him now.
Nothing that hadn't already been done.
Adam hissed out a sigh through his teeth, bringing Michael's attention back to the present, as the human offered an exhausted look before simply brushing past him and heading for the swingset without looking back, even as he spoke up quietly, "it's been a long day."
Michael turned to watch him for only a moment before flicking his gaze up and around the park. It was silent, empty aside from the two of them. The wind swept his hair back, ruffled his clothes, as he finally brought up the nerve to trail after Adam somewhat absently, too tired to continue standing but too tense to sit down; so he simply sank his weight against one of the bars while Adam took a seat on one of the swings and leaned his head against the chain holding it up, pushing himself back a little and letting himself swing forward in silence. "Yeah," the archangel finally agreed after a few moments of silence, blinking rapidly against the sunlight before simply letting his eyes slide shut for a second. A quiet, exhausted sigh broke through his lips, and he heard a similar sound from Adam only a second later as they both relaxed.
"Hey, asshole." Michael reacted immediately to the little 'nickname' Adam had chosen for him, blinking his eyes open to look over. He knew the human didn't really mean any harm with it, and to be honest, the archangel didn't mind it either. Adam looked up at him, not moving his head. "What do you think about demons?"
Michael paused at that. Honestly, he'd never really cared for demons. He'd interacted with Lilith sometimes, even Alastair on occasion - the oldest demons, and two that had fought in the war. He had fought against many of his brother's allies, after all. He thought the same about them as any other angel did; they were abominations, abhorritions, monsters that Michael didn't entirely believe should exist. That being said, though, he also pitied them to some extent. At least the ones who went to Hell unwittingly, innocent souls that took bad paths paved with good intentions. Those were the demons Michael could somewhat sympathize with, or at least that he didn't have it in him to hate. He let these thoughts flow freely, and Adam followed along silently, nodding faintly in understanding on occasion with the archangel's thoughts, and sometimes even letting out soft hums of agreement. Eventually, the human relaxed again, and sighed.
"You're worried about becoming a demon, aren't you?" It was Michael's turn to ask, though he didn't really need to. He could tell by the mild anxiety churning in the young man's chest.
"Yeah. I guess. I don't know," Adam muttered, making a face and wrinkling his nose slightly as he pushed himself back on the swing again, a weak attempt to get himself moving. He gave up after a moment, though, simply letting himself sink back into the swing with a shrug, continuing, "Luce's got me freaked out about it, I guess. Much as I can be, anyway…" He trailed off, letting his head fall back slightly as he yawned, before adjusting it back into its earlier position. "I'm just trying to think it all through. Y'know, if I do end up corrupting or whatever, are you gonna leave?"
"If you want me to," Michael replied steadily enough, though he was slightly uncertain now. As close as he and Adam had gotten, Michael didn't think he'd have a problem sharing a vessel with him even if he did become a demon, but that begged the question of whether or not Adam would even want him around after that to begin with. And then, if they could even stay together like that; who knew what having an archangel and a demon in the same vessel would do? The archangel frowned a little, leaning his head against the bar. "But, it might not come to that."
"If it doesn't," Adam's voice was steady, despite how intense the cold, twisting terror in his chest had become with each word he spoke next, "then I'm going to die in here, Michael."
Silence fell for a moment, while Michael desperately tried to reign in his own thoughts. Honestly, the way his heart sank at the words made him feel oddly weak, if only for a second. Here he was, panicked over a human - but, then, how could he not be? The discomfort eased a little as he reminded himself of how much they had been through together throughout all these years, and how much they relied on each other, whether they'd admit it out loud or not. The archange bit his lip, closing his eyes for a moment. The idea of Adam Transforming was scary, but…
But the idea of Adam dying was unfathomable.
Michael blinked a few times, then allowed his eyes to drift shut for a second, breathing out softly and leaning his head back once again. Rather than responding to Adam's words, however, the archangel decided that changing the subject would be a better course of action in this particular moment, knowing that the current one wasn't one either of them were ready to touch on right then. Adam, because he seemed about ready to pass out - and Michael because he just still hadn't had the chance to really let either idea sink in just yet. He just needed a moment to gather his thoughts and breathe, to think as much as was possible before anything happened.
"When's the last time you slept?" He blinked his eyes open and turned to walk over to where his companion sat, unmoving on the swing. Adam offered a non-committal shrug and grunt in response, as Michael hesitantly lowered himself onto the swing beside him, wrapping his arms around the chains and looking over at his body-buddy, who head turned his head slightly to watch the archangel, still as silent as ever. "You should probably rest," Michael suggested quietly, frowning slightly back at the human. "That's a thing humans need to do to survive, right? I mean, all this talk about dying- you'll get there sooner if you keep forcing yourself awake," he added as lightly as possible, trying not to think about the fact that it was a genuine possibility.
He watched an amused grin crack across Adam's face despite the exhaustion, and felt a rush of satisfaction, lips twitching slightly in response as the human sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know that. But, hey, it's not me forcing me awake, it's your fuckin' brother, man. He's gone crazy, I swear," Adam huffed and rolled his eyes, and Michael's smile faltered just a little bit, just for a second. Yeah, he knew Lucifer wasn't adjusting too well to the human in the Cage. He'd never dealt with anything of the sort before, after all. And… the archangel, while somewhat surprised and most certainly perplexed, could appreciate his attempts to keep Adam safe.
Even if he was doing so with some… odd methods.
"Well, he's not in here," Michael told him wryly after a few moments. "So you can rest now, if you'd like." After a moment's pause, the archangel added, "I'll watch over you, too."
"My own personal guardian archangel," Adam muttered, letting out a few sleepy chuckles. Michael couldn't help a slightly wider smile at that, despite himself, as the human let out another yawn and sank sideways in the swing, seeming too tired to get off and lay down somewhere else. "Alright, if you say so." After a moment, though, the human added, "you could rest too, though. You know, it doesn't make much of a difference - nightmares'll catch up to me either way. And I know you're tired." Adam sighed, eyes drifting shut once again. "So you can sleep."
Yeah, Michael didn't think he'd be sleeping.
"Suit yourself, asshole," Adam snorted, and the archangel chuckled tiredly. "'Night, I guess."
"Goodnight, Adam." He watched Adam for a moment as the human began to drift off. If he could sense Michael's gaze on him, or if he could tell in some other way that Michael was watching - which, to be honest, he probably could - he didn't say anything, or make any kind of effort to protest. Just stayed still and silent, whatever tension was left in his body draining as he relaxed into the swing. When he began tilting backwards, however, the archangel quickly extended a wing to steady him, golden feathers spreading out behind the human and wrapping around him carefully to keep him up on the swing. Adam sank back against the wing with a sigh, and, just like that, he was asleep; his thoughts went blank, the only emotion stirring in his chest an odd but gentle sense of contentment. Michael watched for a moment, leaning his forehead against one of the chains on his swing, and let his own eyes drift shut - careful not to fall asleep.
Michael couldn't do much anymore, but there was one thing he could still do for the human; he could still just be there, sit with him, watch over him as carefully as was possible. And he thought he was still pretty good at it, too.