It's early in the saturday morning when the doorbell rings.
Adam is cooking pancakes and Michael is setting the table, quietly humming to himself Fly Me To The Moon. It's just like every ordinary weekend when Lucifer goes to check on Heaven, Michael doesn't have work and Adam doesn't have any classes or work of his own, so the two have breakfast together and watch some movies. Today they are planning to watch Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra. Michael has a newfound interest in World History ever since he read one of Adam's course books on the subject. So they go around the kitchen, working together without even needing to talk. In the familiarity of their home, they don't need words. Between the two of them, they have long learned to talk without words.
So when the doorbell rings, Michael smiles to Adam and goes to get the door.
It's just like every ordinary weekend when Adam's new books get delivered.
Except it's not the mailman who greets Michael at the door.
Michael, Archangel of God is left speechless when he faces the woman.
"I- I am looking for Adam Milligan. I thought the house was his." she says equally surprised. Michael keeps staring at the woman. It's impossible. Without divine intervention that is. So who did this? Is Lucifer playing with the souls? Michael knows how much he loves Adam especially after how the teen accepted him into his home and helped him make peace with his brothers. Michael remembers a time, not so long ago, when Lucifer wanted to do this kind of thing to show his gratitude and Adam refused. He knows what dying and coming back is like. He has lived through the very thing. He knows the Winchesters. He knows how painful it is. He doesn't want her to be involved with any of that when she is happy and peaceful where she went. So who? Chuck is sealed away. He can't mess with them anymore. Death hates the Winchesters and the Archangels. Who?
"Excuse me? Isn't this Adam Milligan's house?" Michael realises that he has spaced out. Just as he opens his mouth to speak, he hears approaching footsteps behind him. "Michael who is it? What took you so l-" Adam steps beside him at the front door and drops the spatula in his hand. "Mom?" Kate looks at her son once and tries to embrace him calling out his name. Adam flinches and steps behind Michael before Kate can reach him.
Hell.
The last time Adam saw his mother was when she was a ghoul wearing the pretty skin to trick Adam and capture him.
To eat him alive.
Litteral Hell.
Adam tries to shove the door to her face as Kate watches her son with wide eyes, without a word to say. "Michael do something!" Adam shouts and looks at Michael with so much fear in his eyes that Michael feels it would hurt less if his grace was torn in half. "Adam-" The teen doesn't hear him in his panic. "They are back! They are after us. We have to-" Michael wants to cry as he watches Adam frantically look around for something heavy and sharp to wield. "Adam it's-" He puts his hands on his shoulders hoping the physical contact would somehow help. "Michael!" Adam's hands find their way up to close around Michael's wrists and his voice trembles as Kate watches the whole thing through the cracked door, not understanding a thing. "Adam it's her. It's your mother." At that Adam looks up into Michael's eyes with his own wide and tear-filled ones. "For real Adam. I can tell." He speaks gently, trying to sooth the human. Adam stops. His arms fall to his sides and he slowly turns his head towards the door. Michael slowly pushes the door fully open again with one hand letting go of one of Adam's shoulders.
"Mom?" Adam asks again, tears already running down his cheeks. "Adam." Kate reaches a hand out and mother and son finally pull each other close in a desperate hug, both sobbing by this point.
Later, after Kate enters the house and makes her way onto their soft living room couch and both humans calm down enough, they explain it to her.
"So you died? And came back? And went to hell? And came back again?" Kate asks facing her son who only nods instead of talking. "And you are Michael, the Archangel?" Kate nods her head towards Michael. "Yes, that is right." Michael speaks calmly and slowly, trying not to say anything to set the woman off who is already in a very fragile condition. "And I came back from the dead. I got out of Heaven." They both nod. Kate closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and faces her son again. "Adam you died. We both did. We died Adam. And- And there's an angel in our house. Adam I- How? How did this happen?" Adam simply chooses to hug his mother again. He is in no shape to think about all that.
A few more minutes pass before Michael decides to leave the two alone to catch up and make a few phone calls. For an answer to Kate's question. He calls Dean. The brothers tell him they could leave and be there in a few hours. Michael refuses. Kate and Adam need space. Besides Kate seems normal and all good. There's nothing dangerous. Even if there was, Michael can protect them easily. The next to call is Lucifer. He too doesn't know anything. He didn't even notice when a soul slipped out of Heaven but he will investigate, he says. Michael tells him to be careful and calls Raphael and Gabriel too. Raphael goes to Heaven to help Lucifer out from wherever he was and Gabriel goes to help Sam and Dean research.
After he is done, Michael goes back to the living room to find Kate and Adam talking about Adam's childhood and how much they missed each other. Michael suggests that they eat since Adam didn't have breakfast yet and he guesses Kate is hungry too.
They move to the dining table and Michael heats and serves everything. All through the breakfast, Kate watches him out of the corner of her eye as if she's waiting for him to do something. It's normal that she doesn't trust him or can't believe his existence there in their home on their table, eating with them. Michael doesn't say anything and opts to watch Adam as he chats away at his mother with his eyes sparkling like Michael has never seen them do. After breakfast, Michael does the dishes and tidies the kitchen to give the mother and son more alone time. His phone rings half an hour later. It's Lucifer. Gabriel has joined him and Raphael when he found there wasn't much use for him at the bunker. Right after him, Amara turned up saying that she is their new God after her brother and asked about him.
Michael calls Adam to the kitchen and briefly explains to him that he needs to go to Heaven because Darkness, his aunt has arrived. Adam sends him off with a worried look on his face. Michael tells him to activate the wards, uncover the traps and keep an eye on Kate.
In Heaven, he sees Amara sitting with his brothers just talking about Heaven's maintenance and small issues. Like creating new angels and recharging Heaven's power. When she sees him, she stands and opens her arms, inviting him to a hug. If this happened only a few years prior, Michael would have stayed still and stood tall with his chin held high. Now, he walks over to his aunt and greets her like she wants, his manner like Adam always told him to be with family: kind and loving. It apparently pleases Amara very much because she smiles wider and kisses his cheek.
"I see that boy has done you good." She says, her voice fond and her hand caressing his cheek. Michael returns her smile and nods. "He did." Gabriel snickers behind Amara and makes a strange sound, clearly trying to imitate a whip with the throwing motion and all, again something a slightly younger version of him who doesn't know Adam wouldn't have understood. Like Raphael, Amara obviously doesn't get the joke. Still as Gabriel and Lucifer cackle and even Michael who would have punished them for disrespecting him back when the Apocalypse happened cracks a smile, she laughs with her nephews then motions for Michael to take a seat with them. As he sits down, she calls out to him again as if having remembered something suddenly.
"Did Adam like my gift?"
Gift?
It all makes sense now.
"Were you the one that brought Kate Milligan back to life?" He asks and Amara nods enthusiastically, clearly pleased with herself. "Why?" Michael asks and Amara tilts her head to the side, reaching out a hand to ruffle Michael's hair. "Why? Isn't it obvious? To make my nephew happy and reward the human who has clearly saved him from my foolish, spineless brother's brainwashing. What's wrong? Are you not pleased?"
"It's not that. We were just surprised. We didn't know you were back so we couldn't understand what happened to send her to us." Hearing that, Amara pouts a little. "Of course I didn't think of that part." Michael says it isn't important and thanks Amara both for himself and on Adam's behalf.
After that they continue the little meeting Amara wanted to hold with them. They talk about anything and everything that comes to mind. Like how Hell will be managed, what duties will the new angels have, who will take care of the fledglings, what positions will the Archangels hold now that the old God's reign is over and what will happen of the monsters Chuck created. When they are done, it is already late into evening at Earth. So Michael asks if there's any issues that require his immediate presence in Heaven. Amara tells him to go back home with a tender expression on her face. She has three Archangels with her after all. Michael would have stayed really, he would have called Adam and stayed with his brothers and aunt. But Adam's mother has just come back. Adam might need him. Even if not, Michael wants to witness the joy his human experiences. He wants to share those moments. He wants to be there for Adam.
Smiling to himself with those thoughts, Michael makes his way over to the gate he uses. Just before he steps outside, he hears Amara commenting on how happy he looks and how much he has changed. It is all thanks to Adam Milligan. All of his brothers agree. Especially Lucifer who has known the human the longest and who has witnessed his kindness from the first hand. Amara addresses to Lucifer, tells him how glad she is that he is home again and how proud she is that all of her boys are together. It should have been like this from the start, she says. Surprisingly it is Raphael who says that they owe that to Adam too. He has always had some kind of apathy against the teen. It is refreshing to know that he is getting over that and he recognizes what Adam means for their family.
When Michael arrives, he can't go any farther than the front porch. Adam sees that he arrived and disables the wards. Apparently, the mother and son were on the dinner table when he came. They haven't started yet. Adam was just about to pray to him to ask if he would be home soon. He sits across Adam, his usual place. Kate is sitting next to Adam. Again she eyes him as he takes a seat and smiles. The old Michael would have snapped a human's neck for even looking at him putting aside outright staring. But this is Adam's mother. She is family. Michael can destroy planets, he will if Adam merely asks so yet he can't bring himself to hurt an ant if it would make Adam sad. Hell, he would protect that ant with his life if it made Adam happy. Amara and his brothers are right. Adam has done him good.
As they eat, Adam tells Kate bits and pieces from his years after the Cage. At every mention of his name, Kate briefly glances at Michael. So he stays silent again, just listening to Adam and enjoying the carefree, almost juvenile tone his voice has with his mother there.
After the dinner they move to the living room. Adam goes upstairs to prepare Kate's room. Her old room is Michael and Adam's now. Adam asks if she wants it back. They can move everything in a few minutes tops, he says and Michael nods. He will move the whole house across the country in half that time to please Adam's mother. Kate shakes her head and thanks her son sweetly. Adam's old room is Lucifer's now so he will probably give Kate one of the three guest rooms, Michael thinks. As soon as Adam disappears on the stairs, Michael stands politely telling Kate that he will take care of the dishes.
Kate catches him by the hand and tells him sit down surprising Michael.
"What do you want from my son? What are you using him for?"
She dives straight to the topic. It's as if a whole bucket of boiling water spills over his head. Michael knew Kate wouldn't trust him, that she would assume things. Still he wasn't ready for the confrontation. He had hoped that at the very least he would have had Adam by his side when that happened. He isn't ready. He is alone against Kate. She isn't wrong at all. Michael had wanted to use Adam when they first met. That was his old self. That was before the cage. Before knowing Adam. But how is he supposed to explain that to Kate? He doesn't know how much Adam told her. He should have left out parts to keep his mother from having a heart attack.
"My son used to be a normal boy. He used to go to college. He was gonna become a doctor. Now I learn that we have both died and been resurrected. I, a decade after him. I come home and he is talking about angels, demons, hunters, apocalypses… Here stands an Archangel acting like his boyfriend and sharing his bedroom. Do you think I am stupid? I knew what John did for a living. I knew his two other sons followed his footsteps. They met my boy. They dragged my baby in this mess. And you- My son said he went to Hell with you. Hell. You dragged him to Hell and you dare to still be here, around him. So tell me one thing. What. Do. You. Want. From. Adam.?"
Michael has looked up to only two people in his whole existence. First his father who had turned into a disappointment really. Second Adam. Now he feels he has found number three. It is really wonderful and a little scary how this flimsy woman stands up to an Archangel and manages to become threatening.
"I won't let you cause any more pain to my child, you hear me? I will murder you with my own two hands before I let you do whatever you are planning to do to Adam. I don't care if you are an angel. I don't care about your rules or your Heaven. I am not afraid to throw it all away for my son."
Michael actually feels uncomfortable with the woman who now turned fully to face him and leaned closer. "I don't plan anything for Adam. I don't have any ulterior motives, I assure you. I-" Kate interrupts him before Michael can say further to defend himself. "Do you think I will believe that? Adam may believe you now. He's smart but he is a kid still. It's not as easy to trick me.-" Kate stands from her place, towering over Michael. "-What are you here for? What are you going to do to Adam?" Kate gets more and more angry with every passing second.
"I am telling the truth. I swear I-"
"Mom do you want- What's going on here?"
Both Michael and Kate snap their heads to the door where Adam stands looking at the two of them. Neither of them heard him come. When they both stay silent, Adam walks in, close to his mother's side and puts a hand on one of her shoulders. "Mom what's going on?" "We were chatting." Says the woman simply as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Adam looks at Michael than turns his gaze back to his mother's face.
"This doesn't look like chatting to me." He says and for a few seconds the room is deadly silent before Kate bursts out.
"Adam how do you not see? How can you smile and play house with him?" She nods her head towards Michael before taking her son's hand. "Monsters are real Adam. Every creature from the horror stories and myths are real. I know because your father hunts them. I know you met John's sons. I know all this happened because of that. There is a monster in our house! I know he must have made you believe him somehow but he is lying! All this Archangel crap is a ploy to get to you. Adam-" Before Kate can finish, Adam steps away from her. "Mom, Michael isn't planning anything nor does he want to hurt me." Kate starts again but Adam doesn't let her continue her monologue. "Mom please. I will tell you everything I skipped if you want. I was going to anyway, I was just waiting for you to settle and get used to being alive again. I didn't want to upset you. Just know one thing: Michael isn't bad. He would never hurt me."
Kate doesn't look convinced at all but she understands that she won't be able to speak her own sense into Adam right now so throwing one last warning look to Michael, she says she is going to retire. She really needs the rest so Adam goes upstairs with her and Michael follows a minute later to deliver Adam his mother's clothes that they kept in a large suitcase in their bedroom. The mother and son go into one of the guest rooms like Michael guessed. He hears Kate asking why she can't stay in Adam's room.
"It's Lucifer's room now. His things are there."
"Lucifer, as in the Devil?"
"Lucifer, as in Michael's brother."
Kate loudly sighs and covers her face with her hands just as Michael brings the suitcase in. Adam smiles thankfully at him and starts unpacking his mother's clothes from the vacuum bags. Michael hands him a few hangers before going back downstairs.
It could have been worse, he tells himself. Kate could have attacked him if she had that many doubts. Adam could have been forced to ask him to leave for some time. It could have been worse.
Adam joins him on the couch a few minutes later, leaning his head on Michael's shoulder and Michael wraps an arm around the human before pressing a soft kiss on the crown of his head. He can hear Kate walking around upstairs but pays no mind to it. They sit quietly for a while, just enjoying each other's presence. Adam is the one to talk first. "Sorry for her. She is just shaken up. She needs some time." Michael pulls him closer and nods. "You don't have to apologize. Your mother did nothing wrong. She doesn't understand this situation. She is just trying to protect you. I too wouldn't have trusted me if I was her."
"She will one day. She is a good person and a great mom. All my life, she worked hard and all on her own to raise me. She never hurt me in any way. She always supported everything I did and accepted me for who I am with my everything. When I made mistakes, she told me she loved me and helped me amend and overcome my wrongdoings. She just-" Adam sighs and presses a kiss on Michael's shoulder. "-She just came back. She needs time. But one day she will know. She will know how much I love you."
Michael reaches down with one hand to caress Adam's cheek and Adam closes his own hand around Michael's fingers. "I learned how she came back." Hearing that, Adam tilts his head upwards to look into his eyes. "Amara brought her back. She wanted to do something for us. she said it was a gift to you for saving me from God's teachings and helping our family to come back together. She is also very happy about Lucifer." Adam smiles and nuzzles his face in Michael's neck. "So Mom is here to stay. I am glad. I- I should have been nervous, on edge the whole day. But I didn't even care Michael. I got my mom back, I only wanted it to be permanent, nothing more. I got that. This is great, for both of us. I mean you at least have one parent figure who cares about you. And it was nice of her to think of us." Michael hums in agreement. He half expects Adam to tear up again. "Call her over for dinner some time you know, with your brothers. We can cook something nice and set up a big table for everyone." Michael is a little surprised by the offer but he accepts nonetheless. Adam is always one to easily like everyone after all. The human is already ready to have Amara as the newest addition to the family.
"Do you still want to watch that movie or should we also go to bed?" Adam asks and Michael choses to call it an early night. Adam also needs rest after today. So they slowly make their way to their room hand in hand.
Normally, Michael sleeps a few hours with Adam because he enjoys waking up warm and comfortable with Adam all over him but tonight he stays awake and listens. Adam sleeps peacefully with his head on Michael's chest and Michael's arm wrapped around him. He can see the serene expression on his human's face under the soft yellowish light of the nightstand lamp. After the Cage, Adam always prefers to have a little light in the room when he sleeps.
Kate on the other hand doesn't fall asleep for a long time. Around two in the morning, she goes down to the kitchen for a cup of water and walks all around the house after that. She opens the door to Lucifer's room to peek inside. She puts her ear to their door, peeks inside like with the previous room as Michael pretends to be asleep too and finally goes back to bed after listening for a few seconds.
In the morning, Adam wakes up before Kate. She sleeps until Adam starts setting the table and Michael finishes making everything.
At the table, she isn't as tense as the previous day. No pointedly glaring at anyone too. She still watches Michael and Adam's every move closely but it is noticeably less aggressive than the day before. Again Adam chats with her but he tries to include Michael too. The Archangel doesn't say much. He doesn't want to upset Kate by unknowingly saying something wrong. After the breakfast, Adam starts to clear the table and Kate helps not listening to her son's protests. Michael goes to their room to change. He teaches kids between ages eight and ten at the nearby church for their Sunday School.
He isn't who he used to be. He doesn't feel the same way about the God. He certainly doesn't believe His words anymore. But they have a new God now. Besides, helping kids learn things about the Holy Bible and helping their developments by that doesn't have anything to do with Chuck even if Michael himself couldn't comprehend that when he was first offered the job.
He still remembers the first week Adam, Lucifer and himself first moved to this house from the old, two bedroom apartment Adam had rented for the two of them immediately after the Cage. The human had found him this job as he walked around the neighbourhood to meet with the new people that came around in the last decade. Michael, still wounded after the time Castiel had shown him his father's true face, had loudly protested and asked Adam how he could offer something like that to him. Adam had waited for him to calm down to talk about the job again.
Just because Chuck did many unforgivable things, it doesn't mean all his words were wrong Michael. For example: 'You shall not kill.'. Think about it. And even if they were wrong, people still believe what's written in that book. It is your duty to help them not fall to the same mistakes as Chuck. He is still their God. They don't know his true nature but you do. You have to protect them from being toyed with by what he left behind. You have to teach them the good and keep the bad from harming them. You have to save them from being Chuck's toys. Besides being around children will be good for you. You will start to understand humans better. You will feel better. You like kids Michael. I know you do. You talk about your brothers' childhoods all the time. You watch the kids play at the mall's playground whenever I leave you alone to go into a store. I know Chuck disappointed you. You lost some of your hope. Those kids will give it back to you. They will help you heal. Give it a try. For me?
And of course, Adam was right. The human knew him so well that Michael sometimes forgot he wasn't an angel himself who had been with him since the creation. It was easy to forge a certificate for 'Michael Milligan'. The Head Priest was amazed by his vast biblical knowledge so he was accepted into the job immediately. What surprised him was how all the children liked him and behaved for him even at the first few weeks. They played at the garden as they waited for their parents to pick them up and Michael played with them. They drew pictures for him which were currently on their walls around the house. Adam was the one to suggest they hang those of course.
Once, on the week he had to teach the eight-year-olds about angels, Rose, one of the smallest, had come to him at the garden after the lesson. Adam was also there to check on Michael or 'bring him lunch' as he said before the next group arrived. The little girl had asked him if he was Archangel Michael and Adam had burst out laughing after the girl's mother took her away throwing a 'sorry' over her shoulder. Because Michael had asked him how a human child managed to feel his grace. Later, after calming down, Adam had explained that the little girl probably liked him very much and after learning about the angels she compared him to one. Because he had the same name 'Archangel Michael' was the obvious choice in her young mind.
Michael smiles at the fond memory as he walks down the stairs. Adam and Kate are still in the kitchen, doing the dishes and chatting. Michael calls Dean and Sam as he forgot to do so last night and learns that Gabriel has already talked to them then took Castiel back to Heaven with himself. Amara probably wanted to talk to him too.
He walks in the kitchen to tell Adam that he is leaving. He has two groups today. He will teach them about the Ten Commandments with a game he planned last week. Adam gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek after he walks Michael to the front door.
The lessons pass as usual. The kids are energetic and happy. They run around, playing and laughing. The old Head Priest tells a few that they should be quiet in God's House but Michael disagrees. The laughter of the children, their joy and their games… Those should exist in God's House. It is wrong to teach them that if they don't act a specific way, they will be judged in here. The Church is a safe haven, somewhere they should come to feel better and find strength, somewhere they are comfortable and happy. They shouldn't be forced to focus on appearances here. Michael knows how that would end up from experience. He remembers their childhood back in Heaven with Chuck and all of his rules and roles that were already written out for them. He remembers Lucifer. The kindest, bravest and happiest of them all. He remembers how Chuck forced his writing on the shoulders of a small boy who couldn't even fly far distances yet. Indeed he knows how it will end up. So he always lets the children do as they please and play as much as they want.
Michael is done only a couple hours later. He walks back home to find Adam and Kate watching cartoons together with the sound turned off. Kate dubs the characters for him and Adam laughs non stop tilting his head back. Michael vaguely remembers an old memory like this moment. Adam must have been five or six, Kate had just returned from a double shift and started playing with Adam then sat down for cartoons with him before she could even eat or take a shower. He stands in the hall for some time, just watching.
This woman, Kate Milligan is truly amazing. She raised a child all on her own, devoting everything she had, all her life to him. She never left him, never made him feel bad when he didn't want to do what she wanted for him. Even at this situation she isn't fighting him or forcing him to leave Michael behind. She has her doubts, she doesn't even like Michael, doesn't trust him but still she isn't doing anything that would only help make her son sad. Of course she made an attempt as any mother would. But she isn't pushing it. She knows that is not the way to win her son over. She is watching, waiting, daring Michael to do something, anything to hurt Adam and she will be on him, tearing him apart to protect her child. Even in this situation, she isn't losing her mind. She is calm, collected and she is there for her son. Even when she believes that he is making a mistake, she is trying to make Adam happy and feel loved. Even when she is sure that her son will fall, she is there with open arms to catch him instead of blaming him for tripping in the first place. And that much is- It is more than what the God himself did for his children. Kate Milligan, this one mere human, is simply amazing.
More so than his father ever was.
Kate notices him standing just outside of the living room door watching them with a smile. Adam stops laughing and turns to see what his mother is looking at when she stops talking and directs her gaze to Michael. And that smile that finds its way to his lips and reaches his eyes, that one belongs to him and him alone, Michael knows. This expression is the one Adam had when Michael first wrapped his wings around him to keep him safe from the Cage. It's the one Adam wore when they walked out of the Stull Cemetery a whole decade later, sharing the same body and soul. This smile is the one Adam showed him when Michael first told him all of his feelings for him and explained every beautiful thing he made Michael feel as best as he could. It is the one Adam gave him when they got Lucifer back and his brother embraced him for the first time in eons. This smile expresses Adam's happiness and shares Michael's. This is one of the many things they share. It is Adam's gift to him. And Michael loves that smile.
Kate clears her throat, breaking Michael and Adam from their shared daydream. Michael notices that they had been looking into each other's eyes for nearly a minute and Kate had been watching them, looking back and forth between them, trying to decipher their thoughts.
"Why are you standing there Michael, come on." Adam scoots over a little making space for him as he calls out, laughter still in his voice. Michael goes and sits down right next to Adam, right where his human wants him and greets Kate with a nod and another smile. Kate doesn't say anything instead just keeping her searching eyes on them.
"How were the kids?" Adam asks. At the last word Kate's face turns confused and Michael explains. "I teach children at the church." Then he puts his hand on Adam's thigh. "They are fine. Liam wanted me to tell you that he has decided to be a doctor when he grows up like you and Rose drew a picture for you too today." Kate is still watching them. "The children like Adam very much. He always bakes cookies for them and plays with them as we wait for their parents to arrive. They always want to give him gifts." Michael says and reaches into his pocket to get Adam's drawing out. As he gets the folded paper, something else falls out to the floor. Kate picks it up and inspects it for a few seconds. It is his fake ID, Michael sees. Once again, Kate looks back and forth between the two of them and silently passes the card back.
Adam takes his drawing and unfolds the page. There are three stick figures on it. The first one is clearly Adam with big blue eyes and blond hair. He is smiling and holding a big, rectangular object with colorful dots on it. A tray of cookies, Michael guesses. The second one is him, taller with his black suit he wears to the church and two large, cloud like shape behind his arms and a circle over his head. Right, Rose knows that he is an angel after all. The third one is a woman with eyes similar to Adam's and a cute smile of her own. Over their heads, the sun shines and a rainbow covers the top of the page.
"Who is this supposed to be?" Kate who has leaned forward to also look asks pointing to the woman. "I think it is you. Adam talks about you to the kids all the time." Both Kate and Adam look a little surprised before Adam chuckles and Kate leans back slowly. "Tell Rose that I am framing this one." Adam says as he folds the paper back. "What should-" Adam starts but Kate interrupts. "I am ready." She says and they both turn to look at her. "Adam you told me that you would explain everything if I wanted. I am ready." She says and it is so unexpected that they both can do no more than blink at her face.
"Mom what a-"
"I thought that you were trying to use Adam for something, that you were trying to pull him into a trap. But it is clear that there is more to it.-" Kate addresses Michael directly for the second time since she was resurrected. "I heard you two last night after you prepared my room. I saw what you two made of this house. I looked at all the pictures, I saw all the new books, extra mugs, sweaters left over the chairs, dress shoes that clearly isn't Adam's and everything else that wasn't here before. I saw you two just now, going a thousand miles away just the two of you as if you are talking with each other in your heads. The kids, the pictures, that ID… I called you a monster last night but if you were one, you would have killed us. I shouted at you, threatened you and you did nothing. Adam-" She turns to her son. "-I have never seen you looking at someone like that. You have a new light in your eyes. That smile you had just now, I never saw that. I- Why does he deserve to have that? How did this happen? I want you two to tell me. I am ready to hear it now."
It takes a moment for the woman's words to sink in and another for Michael and Adam to look at each other and silently debate whether they should talk to Kate now. Adam slowly nods and Michael gives his thigh a squeeze.
They start their story. From the very beginning.
"So John's sons were supposed to fight and one of them had to die while you and your brother did the same because this is...God's sense of a good ending, an apocalypse?" Kate asks looking troubled. "I still can't even bring myself to believe that there is an angel in our house."
Hearing her Adam looks at Michael and he understands. He stands up and spreads his wings. Kate can only see the shadows on the wall behind him and his eyes glowing blue but it is still enough to amaze the woman. She looks at the shadows with her eyes wide and her mouth open. "Okay, that's- okay. You are an angel, for real."
Kate needs a glass of water and a few minutes to close her eyes and calm down as if she is comprehending the reality just now. It is okay though, they will go at her pace. She is Adam's mother. She is family. She is important. Michael would do anything to help her and ensure her happiness just like Adam did for each and every member of his family. Michael loves Adam and anyone who is worthy of his human's love has his support and protection too.
Adam continues from where Michael left of and Kate becomes angry that Michael went after Adam when the Heaven couldn't persuade Dean to be his vessel. Then Adam tells her that it is all in the past now and that Michael is forgiven for everything. But even Michael is still angry at himself for that time. Whenever the subject comes up, he feels like drowning in his guilt and apologizes to Adam over and over again. The teen always shushes him and tries to comfort him with a warm hug and sweet words whispered in his ear.
"So unexpectedly, Sam managed to take the control back from Lucifer and threw himself in Hell with you three."
Kate tries to make sense of what she is being told for the sake of her son and his happiness. "Then Michael and I stayed there for ten years. Sam got out not long after we were trapped. I think Dean found a way to save him. Then Lucifer broke free too. For the longest time, it was only the two of us in there." Adam tells her mother and the woman looks ready to cry any moment now. "How bad was it?" She asks, her voice low and her tone solemn. "Honestly mom, not that bad.-" Adam directs his gaze at Michael and the corners of his lips tilt upwards slightly. "-Because Michael was there with me. He kept me safe from Hell. He talked to me, held me, kept me sane in that dark place. We were still sharing the same body then. My consciousness was separate from his but we were in each other's head. We saw each other's every memory, heard each other's every thought... We started to know each other." All the while as he says this part, Adam keeps his eyes locked with Michael's. Before he can stop himself, Michael is responding. "You were the one who kept me together Adam. I, an Archangel, was forsaken there. My father didn't love me even though I spent my whole existence trying to be the perfect son for him. I prayed, begged to be saved but he never came. My brother and I had a rift between us. You were all I had, the only reason I wanted to hold on. If it wasn't possible for us to escape together, I still would have found a way to get you out even if I died doing that. Without you, I would have faded in there."
At his words, Adam smiles wider and puts his own hand over Michael's on his thigh. "You really…" Kate starts but drifts off, her shoulders sunken and her demeanor, defeated.
"When we got out of there, we went to a motel and planned to rest for a few days without talking to anyone or going out. Normally, I didn't really need to eat, sleep or do other human things with Michael there but he had used all his power flying up from the deepest part of Hell with wounded wings and with me to carry on top of that. So we slept for two days straight. After being awake for a decade in Hell, I was tired and Michael needed to recharge his grace so we needed that. On the third day, he was mostly better. Since I missed some food I liked, we paid for the room and went to a diner with all the cash I had on me. Then Michael helped me to forge our documents like my licence, some bank and hospital records and student documents to pick up college from where I left off along with his ID a little later."
Kate nods, following the story but her mind obviously on the previous parts still. "I started back on my classes and found a job in a cafe where I still work. Then Michael got this vessel for himself and we rented a flat near the college together. I didn't have the courage to come back here at the time. I had too many bad memories that I didn't know how to deal with. Michael got a job too at the cafe with me. A few months later, we found out that Lucifer had returned. I had already met up with Sam and Dean when we were estill sharing a vessel with Michael. We had made up some time around then. Of course they are not totally forgiven but still...we are brothers."
Kate only sighs softly at the mention of the Winchesters and doesn't say anything. "Whatever, Lucifer had returned almost powerless and Sam and Dean wanted to use him against God. Michael had already told them how to lock him up. Lucifer refused and Michael and I took him in to live with us back at the flat." Adam tells and Michael speaks too, he wants Kate to know how great of a son she raised. "At first, I still didn't want to talk to Lucifer. I had lost my faith in God but after all the time I spent preparing to battle my own brother, after nearly killing him for my father, it wasn't easy. Adam didn't have any of it though. Lucifer was always a bleeding wound in my heart. Adam knew that even before I realized it myself. He went to see Lucifer to where Sam and Dean live and where Lucifer was temporarily hiding without me. He hadn't refused Adam's brothers then. He did that after Adam invited him to come with us. He talked to Lucifer, told him about what we lived through together and that I was finally in a position to understand him. Then he came back home, told me to go and not return unless I had my brother with me. It was tense, awkward at first but Adam told us about you. He taught us how family and love really worked since all we knew was trying to get our father's attention and his praises. When we did things right, he would be pleased with us, when we didn't he would ignore us. He let Lucifer fall, let me turn into a creature so deprived of love that I would murder my brother for my father to love me. Physically, I had wings and angel grace. But because of my father, back at the apocalypse, before knowing Adam, I was so far from being an angel by all means. I didn't know how to feel, how to love even though it was one of God's most important commands to us. He hadn't taught us how to do that."
Kate looks at Michael with sympathy and something akin to compassion or, dare he say it, affection showing through the sorrow in her eyes. Michael now understands better where Adam got his kind soul from. He traces his thumb over the teen's fingers.
"God may have given life and wings to me but you were the one who made me a real angel Adam. Without you, I would be no more than just another creature your brothers hunt. Without you, I would be lost."
Adam doesn't say anything. He doesn't need to. Michael understands. There is this look in his eyes now. Yes, Michael understands and even Kate does too he thinks.
"The other Archangels came back to life after Lucifer too. Boy, were they surprised to see these two idiots together." Adam chuckles and Michael joins him. Sitting here with Adam, holding his hand and telling him how much he means to him, laughing with him makes a fluttering feeling appear in his chest. This is all he could have ever asked for.
"Then Michael, Lucifer and I finally moved here. The house was a ruin after ten years of being inhabited but we pulled it together in a few weeks. I wanted to do everything by hand so all three of us worked here every evening after classes and work. We easily settled in. Michael started to teach at the Sunday School and I found a few people we used to know. Lucifer went to Heaven to help the angels rebuild there after a while. He comes and goes these days. Michael goes to check up on things and help out sometimes too. Yesterday we learned that the new God, the old God's sister and Michael's aunt came around. Apparently, she was the one who brought you back to us. And that's everything." Adam finishes and they give Kate sometime for it all to settle in her head. They don't say anything else and just watch her take a deep breath, lean back and look up at the ceiling. It is a lot to take in they know. Honestly, the woman is stronger than Michael thought she was.
In the end, after a long while Kate looks at them again before making her final decision.
"Alright. I believe you. I- believe you.-" She says and they listen to her with wide eyes. "-It will take some time for me to completely understand you two. I don't know what exactly you lived through and overcame together. But I will try.-" She fixes her eyes on Michael. "-It will take- I will need time...to get used to...well, you. But I believe you. My son loves you. I am his mother, I can tell. And it is clear that you value him. So I- I will try to accept this. For the both of you." Kate finishes her sentence with a hesitant smile and Adam runs over to her. They hug. Adam buries his face in her shoulder. Michael knows that he is crying. Kate is crying too.
They are happy.
Adam is happy.
So Michael is happy.
This is enough for hm. He can ask no more from Kate than for her to be there for his human and try to understand what Mİchael feels for him. It is enough that he is allowed to stay.
Just as Adam starts drawing himself back, Kate pulls him close again.
Yes, this is enough. Adam has his mother back. She is here to stay.
Kate opens her eyes and looks at Michael over Adam's shoulder for two seconds as if contemplating something. But there is no anger or frustration on her face. Not anymore. She really will try. And that is just enough.
Slowly, hesitantly, Kate uncurls one of her arms from around Adam's waist and stretches it out towards Michael.
His eyes widen.
Is this really happening?
He is content with Kate being there for her son only. He expects nothing more.
When he doesn't move, Kate waves her hand towards herself and Adam.
She is calling him.
For real.
Slowly, Michael walks to them and carefully, he wraps his arms around them.
Kate slides her free arm around him loosely.
Adam makes a sound, something like laughter mixed with a sob and Michael feels his own vision blurring with a few stray tears.
This is...something else.
This is pleasant.
For the first time ever, Michael hugs a woman other than Amara.
He learns how the touch of a mother feels.
It is a beautiful, warm summer night with a clear sky full of stars.
The Milligan House is full of laughter.
Kate cooked one of her special recipes tonight. Michael helped while Lucifer and Adam went to the store for drinks, dessert, snacks and boardgames that they don't have at home on Kate's demand. She has laid out a great table for dinner. Everyone enjoyed the meal, chatting, laughing and making jokes through the one and half hours they spent eating.
Gabriel, who was quick to become Kate's 'sweetheart' as she put it with his easy nature, loving heart and sense of humour, never stops talking in his happiness.
Lucifer looks peaceful and watches everyone with soft eyes as if he still can't believe that he is in a family dinner with everyone who he loves and who loves him in return. He has a family.
Raphael is chatting with Adam about some topic in medicine, a drink in his hand and his posture relaxed for what may be the first time in millenniums.
Michael is eagerly listening to Dean explain about car motors and maintenance. He has been trying to learn more on the subject lately.
Sam and Castiel are arguing about a movie with Gabriel.
Amara and Kate are talking about their boys.
Everyone is smiling.
They play games all together after the table is cleared by Lucifer and Gabriel.
Michael doesn't remember a time like this in his whole existence ever since the Creation.
He is with family.
He is with Adam.
He is happy.
They are all happy. They have many things to celebrate tonight. First, Adam has graduated last week. He is officially a doctor now.
The Heaven has taken its final shape. There are many new angels now. Amara has decided that they shall not grow up isolated like the ones Chuck created.
Michael and Adam have decided to adopt a fledgling, a baby. Tonight the nursery that they all put together with combined effort is finally finished.
It is a beautiful night.
The Mİlligan House is full of laughter.
Michael has Adam.
Michael has Kate.
Michael has his brothers, Sam, Dean, Castiel and Amara.
Michael has a real family.
This, the wonderful and unbelievable thing has happened thanks to his human. He owes it all to Adam. And Kate too. For the first time ever, he feels he belongs to somewhere.
Adam approaches him to sit next to him in his corner where he has settled after a trip to the kitchen to bring out more drinks.
As their lips meet in the softest, most tender of the kisses; yes, Michael tells himself.
He belongs here with his human.
With family.