"I don't like you."

"Oh, no, I can tell." Michael chuckled, looking up toward the road and narrowing his eyes curiously before looking back at Pierce. The other man kept his eyes fixed intently on the road, but his expression was still stone-cold. And, oddly enough, Michael really couldn't sense that much emotion from him. Just a strong, desperate sense of longing for something that was so obviously far out of his reach. The despair and disappointment and rage that spun around him was almost… Familiar. Like he'd felt it from someone else before, a long, long time ago. The archangel tilted his head, glancing out the window and narrowing his eyes. "To be fair, the feelings are mutual."

Pierce glanced at him, but returned his gaze to the road rather quickly. "Good to know," he mumbled. "I'm just curious as to why you suddenly showed up, out of nowhere. And more curious as to why a "Michael Saint" doesn't really exist. Anywhere. I've checked. You're a complete fake, and I don't like fakes. Too much like Morningstar - Whom you quite obviously have history with -, popping into existence from nowhere, and getting a job in the LAPD. And I wanna know why, and I wanna know now."

Michael chuckled a bit despite himself, keeping his gaze fixed out the window. He hummed, a smirk tugging at his lips briefly as he leaned his head back. "Just…" He trailed off, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "I'm just curious - Why do you assume… That I have to justify anything to you?"

The anger sizzling from Pierce intensified, which Michael was greatly amused by. "Because you work under me, now, Saint, and I can change that real quick. So if you want to continue watching Morningstar like a hawk, I'd suggest you answer. Starting with, why the Hell are you so interested in Morningstar in the first place?"

"I am my brother's keeper," Michael replied casually, a smirk tugging at his lips. That had Pierce's attention immediately, the man's gaze flickering from the road to the archangel in an instant. "Ooh, that struck something." Michael paused, rolling his head to the side and raising his eyebrows as he met Pierce's gaze once more, tilting his head faintly. "You good, Piercey?"

"You're Lucifer's brother?" Pierce narrowed his eyes faintly, his gaze not moving from Michael's now, and the archangel glanced toward the road, eyebrows raising faintly.

"And the best of many, pal. Might wanna watch where you're driving."

Pierce didn't respond for a moment. Eventually, though, he took a sharp turn and pulled over, turning to him once the car had stopped. Michael raised an eyebrow in surprise, looking over at him and tilting his head as the man turned to face him. "You're Michael," he said slowly. "The archangel Michael."

"Oh, Sammy let you in on the little secret, did he?" Michael questioned, holding his gaze easily. After a moment, though, he tilted his head, looking curious. "Though, I mean… You seem familiar. Wait…" He trailed off, his gaze darting to Pierce's arm, then back to his face. He narrowed his eyes, going silent for a moment. No, Pierce was definitely familiar - And now, he was pretty sure, he knew how.

A grin broke across his face, meeting Pierce's gaze once more. "No way. That despair, the anger, the pain, I knew I recognized it," he chuckled, amber eyes flaming up. "Cain."

Pierce lowered his chin, never breaking eye contact with Michael, but it was enough of a confirmation.

"Aw, that's gold!" Michael exclaimed, laughing a little bit as his eyes widened. "Of course. Oh, how ironic is it that the first murderer became a cop? I find that extremely ironic, honestly. Man, my Father got you good. And judging by all that pain, man, you must be having it rough, huh? I think the punishment fits the crime," he mused, smirk widening. Pierce just continued to glare, expression not changing. "Aw, come on, now, give me a little smile. How about that devious smirk I remember, Cainy boy?"

In response, Pierce turned and shoved his door open wordlessly, getting out. And he stormed over, and Michael watched, amused amber eyes flickering with curiosity as Pierce ripped his door open and yanked the archangel out of the car. "Ooh, okay, tough boy. You really wanna do this, do you?"

"I've wanted to do this for a very, very long time, you son of a bitch," Pierce seethed, shoving Michael back against a wall as hard as he could. "And I wasn't going to, but you really, really didn't help anything by running your sorry ass mouth."

Michael offered him a lazy smile in response, unfazed. "Hit me with your best shot, baby, you can't kill me."

"Fair fight then," Pierce remarked before simply slamming his fist into the archangel's face. Michael raised an eyebrow, hearing something crack, but judging by the way Pierce jerked his hand back, it hadn't been his jaw. Michael hummed, opening and closing his mouth a few times before raising one hand and grabbing Pierce by the front of his shirt, lightly peeling the man off of him and holding him at arm's length, his other hand rubbing his jaw firmly.

"Nice hit," he told Pierce after a moment, once more turning to stare into those furious blue eyes of his. Michael's own eyes flared up, flames flickering deep within the bright amber depths as he turned and shoved Pierce back into the wall, holding him with ease. "My turn."

"Not so fast, feathers," Pierce hissed. Before Michael could respond, or react, the man had kneed him right in the crotch, causing the archangel to release him instantly. Pierce then proceeded to grab Michael by the back of his shirt and ram him into a wall - The archangel flinched, hearing his head crack against the bricks, and hissed out slightly as the man's fist connected with his back, right where his wings were. "See, I know a thing or two."

"Great," Michael huffed, gripping the wall tightly and taking a deep breath. "But you must have forgotten one thing, Cain."

"Oh yeah?" Pierce growled, curling his fingers into the archangel's folded wings. Michael snarled slightly under his breath, fingers digging into the bricks tightly, and he waited a moment before replying.

"I know more." He yanked himself back, pulling one of the bricks out of the wall as he did, and spun around. He slammed his elbow into Pierce's face as he turned, causing the man to stumble back, and when the archangel turned completely, he slammed the brick into the side of Pierce's head, breathing heavily. The man fell, blood trickling from the side of his head, and Michael slid a step back, cursing under his breath and looking around. Pierce had been smart enough to park them in an abandoned alley, go figure.

Of course, the dumbass wanted a fight all along. Michael shook his head and looked down, waiting. It took a minute or so, but Pierce eventually sucked in a sharp gasp of air, chest heaving as he scrambled to push himself back up. Michael's amber eyes flickered, blazing with fire as he stepped back and tilted his head. "Welcome back."

"You're still strong," Pierce noted, taking a deep breath and touching the side of his head, looking down at the blood on his fingers once he lowered his hand. After a moment, he nodded, looking up. "But I'm strong, too."

"Yeah, if you say so," Michael responded sarcastically, tossing the brick to the side and spreading both his arms and wings out, his gaze meeting Pierce's. "Let's go then, round two."