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Everything seemed to happen at once. One second, Adam was being ripped out of his own body, and the next, he was waking up on the shores of a lake, alone. But before he could even catch his breath, before he could even process that Michael wasn’t with him anymore, that he was empty for the first time in a thousand years, a billion shards of light flew from the air around him and coalesced into Adam’s center.
He burned blindingly and overwhelmingly hot for what had to be milliseconds but felt like an eternity and then suddenly - it was all over.
“Michael,” he gasped, hunched over on his knees, clutching at his chest, where the familiar sensation of grace and angelic power was focused.
"Adam?"
“What the hell just happened?”
"I don’t know."
Adam didn’t like the sound of that. Michael always knew. Michael always knew, even if he didn’t know he knew, even if he didn’t want to admit it. He’d known that his dad, that God , wasn’t all he was cracked up to be, he’d known that the end was coming, he’d known how to keep Adam sane despite all the insanity surrounding them from the moment he swooped down into the Green Room.
But again, before Adam could even stop for a breather, a kid suddenly appeared in front of them, dressed in a white jacket, a serene sort of smile gracing his features. Adam vaguely recognized him from the memories Castiel forced upon them back in the bunker all those months ago, but hadn’t there been a vision of him dying?
Michael pushed himself to the surface, seizing control before Adam could even form a coherent question. “Jack,” he said, his voice gravelly.
“Hello, Michael.” The kid - Jack, apparently - waved at them.
“What have you done?” Michael rose to his feet, slowly.
Inside, Adam was trying to get his bearings at least a little bit, taking stock of the scenery he could see through Michael’s eyes: the glowing and glitching of Jack’s power, the stretching lake and towering trees, the slumped figure on the ground feet away from them.
“I absorbed Chuck’s power,” Jack said. “Your father is human now.”
"Is that -" Adam zeroed in on the figure in the background. "Is that your dad?"
Michael allowed Adam to redirect his gaze, and he tensed when he saw the man. He looked back at Jack. “You are the new God?” he thundered. “A child? The son of Lucifer?”
“I am Castiel’s son,” Jack corrected gently.
"As if that’s any better! How does someone become God?"
“Why am I here? I am meant to be dead.”
"Wait, what?"
“You deserve a second chance,” Jack said to Michael. “I thought, after all your time within the Cage, you deserved to be good.”
"Michael, wait -"
“Who are you to decide whether or not I get a second chance?” Michael demanded, ignoring Adam. He started pacing. “Already, you are toying with life and death. Your insolent fathers should have known better than to allow a child to take on the altar of my Father’s powers. You have made a mistake bringing me back.”
“I don’t think I have.” Jack tilted his head, following Michael’s movements with his eyes. “You were imprisoned at the hands of my fathers and you were barely given a choice, in the end. While I was saving Castiel, I decided to save you as well.”
“Am I to assume you brought me back to work for you? ” Michael spat, fury radiating through his grace. “Am I expected to serve under a new God, a child God?”
"You’re really sticking with the child thing, huh?" Adam asked, giving up on asking for answers, or even half of an explanation.
“He is a child,” Michael snapped back, angry enough to say it aloud, and Jack’s smile widened.
“That’s the other reason,” Jack said. “Adam, too, was undeservedly punished. I thought it cruel for him to return to this existence alone. Michael, I don’t need you with me in Heaven. Castiel and I are rebuilding it, producing more angels to maintain integrity. I have brought you back simply so you can be. ”
Michael paused, the flurry of indescribable emotions in his grace screeching to a halt. For a moment, there was only silence. Then - “So I can… be?”
“Yes.”
“You would allow that? You would let me exist within this world, unrestrained by Heaven?”
Jack nodded. “Everyone deserves free will.” His voice was soft. “Even you, Michael.”
"This is a good thing, right?" Adam asked. " I mean, I still don’t really know what’s going on. Are we really gonna ignore your dad over there?"
“My father,” Michael said. “What… what will become of him?”
Jack spared a glance over his shoulder, his smile dimming. “Whatever he pleases. I will not control people like he did.” He turned back to face them. “Heaven’s gates will be closed. There is no need for angelic interference among humanity. I can see where things went wrong with Chuck. Amara and I will not allow the same mistakes to be made.”
"Who the hell is Amara?"
"The Darkness," Michael answered. "Absorbed by my father, and now by Jack."
Finally, one single answer. Adam ached with the relief of that sliver of knowledge.
“Heaven’s gates,” Michael said after a beat of silence. “If they are to be closed… Could I still return? If I were to stay on Earth?”
“Ah.” Jack’s gaze turned a little sad. “You can return to Heaven, of course. Adam, on the other hand, cannot, even as your vessel. Living souls are not meant to pass through the veil.”
"Why does that matter?"
“Not even once?” Michael pushed.
"So we’re back to ignoring me now?"
“No.”
Michael’s grace pooled around Adam’s soul, as if protecting him. Protecting him from what, Adam didn’t know. He could feel Michael’s disappointment from the point of contact, though, and he wondered if Michael was upset that he couldn’t go home and stay with Adam.
“I understand,” he said anyway. “I… Thank you, for this opportunity. Thank you for my second chance.”
“Use it well.” Jack waved one more time, and he vanished. Behind him, Chuck remained still. Adam couldn’t tell if he was unconscious or just… frozen.
"Michael."
Adam waited patiently for answers. Michael stayed in control for a few minutes, watching the lake, watching the pitiful form of his human father on its shores, watching the world simply exist around them. Adam watched too, waiting.
Michael’s apparition flickered into being beside him, and Adam found himself with control of his body again. “Okay,” he sighed, flexing his fingers. He met Michael’s gaze, trying to soften his own expression. “Hey.”
“Adam.” Michael smiled gently at him. “It’s very good to see you again.”
“What even happened?” Adam reached out, grasping at Michael’s hand. “Last thing I remember, we were at home.”
Michael seemed relieved at that. “You remember nothing?”
“Nothing.”
Michael tugged at his hand so they were side by side, inches away, and moved to sit in the sand. Adam followed, a bit confused. The sand was wet, but Adam couldn’t feel it having any effect on his clothes. They watched the lake for a moment longer, then Michael began his story. The world vanished. He’d gone to his church, searching for answers. The Winchesters and Jack hunted him down, asking for his help. Michael betrayed them to stand beside his father. And then he died.
“He just killed me,” Michael said, his voice tight. “I wanted us to be together again. I wanted him to care about his creations, but he didn’t. I remember him tearing me apart until I - I shattered. I remember the Empty. Everything was awake and I could not sleep, and then suddenly I was here. I thought perhaps I was dreaming.”
Adam couldn’t speak around the lump that formed in his throat, so he leaned his head against Michael’s shoulder.
"Do you still think you’re dreaming?"
“I could be,” Michael admitted. “I know very little of the Empty. Perhaps this is an illusion produced by the Shadow.”
Adam cleared his throat. “Feels pretty real to me, and I think I know the difference. You’re not in the Empty, Michael.”
A gentle breeze lifted Michael’s hair and ruffled his shirt. He looked upon Adam with such blatant affection that Adam swore his heart skipped a beat.
“I don’t think the Shadow could create the real you. I think you are too beautiful to be a dream.”
“You really know how to make a guy blush.” Adam buried his burning cheeks into Michael’s jacket, breathing him in. “Hey,” he whispered, after a moment of silence. “I’m here.”
“You are.” Michael’s grace was calmer, now, yet still tinged with disappointment.
“I’m sorry you can’t go back to Heaven.” Adam lifted his head. “Maybe you still can? If you leave my body, or something.”
“I have no desire to return to Heaven. Not now. Possibly not ever.” Michael sighed.
Softly, Adam reached to caress Michael’s jaw, dragging his gaze away from the world around them. “Why are you disappointed?”
Leaning into Adam’s touch, Michael closed his eyes. “I made you a promise.” He sounded defeated. “Your reward for agreeing to be my vessel was your mother. I should have taken you to see her before… before.”
Oh. Adam felt his hand start to fall away from Michael’s cheek, but pressed it back before they lost contact. He couldn’t let Michael think he needed a reward from him, of all people. “I wasn’t ready then.”
“And now I cannot ever take you.” Michael opened his eyes. “Unless…” He hesitated. “You could decide to go to Heaven. I could take your soul through the veil, and you could live alongside her in paradise.”
Adam frowned. “You mean, kill me?”
Grace flared up in alarm. “No!” Michael hurried. “You deserve to be with her. This is a choice for you. You are not required to… to allow me to stay. I could take you to your mother, after all these years. I could also leave you to live a normal life.” He smiled sadly. “This is your choice, Adam.”
“Stop.” Adam shook his head, fondness curling in his chest. “Michael, I don’t wanna go to Heaven. I don’t want to die, not again, not after everything.”
“But you…” Michael fixed him with a look, so confused, so hopeful. “Your mother.”
“My mom can wait,” he said softly. “Maybe you think Jack shouldn’t have brought you back, but I’m glad he did. I want to live, Michael. We’ve been in Hell for a thousand years and now we finally have a real second chance. Heaven is…” He searched for the words. “Heaven is paradise, but it’s not real. It’s not life. I’ve had enough of fake worlds and I’ve done enough living in memories to know that’s not what I want.”
“You are asking me to stay,” Michael realized. He raised his own hand, pulling Adam’s into his grip. “You want… with me?”
“Yes.” Adam tried to push his affection, his desire for life, his desire for life with Michael, through their bond and squeezed their hands together.
Michael searched his eyes. “You must understand, Adam, what staying with me entails. You will never age, you will never die. What you remember as life will not be possible, not as it was when you were… before you became my vessel. Do not make this decision lightly.”
“I’m not.” Adam smiled. “And I know all of that, Michael. And I want it. I want this life, with you. Do you remember, in the Cage, all the times you offered to put me to sleep? All the times I said no?”
“You told me that you wanted to live your life, whatever that meant.”
“I said I’d take what I could get.” Adam kissed Michael's knuckles. “And this? Yeah, I can take this. This is so much better than anything I thought I’d get. This is me and you together, for as long as the universe holds up.”
He could feel his own conviction, deep in his soul. This was Adam’s life. He wasn’t going to pass up on this chance. Besides, if he and Michael had eternity together, what were the chances they wouldn’t figure out a way to see his mom? Adam trusted Michael. He trusted them.
“Come on.” Adam tugged them both to their feet. “We have forever, right? Where do you wanna start?”
Michael looked back to his father, guilt and regret and age old loyalty swirling in his grace. Then, he looked back at Adam. “Whenever or wherever you like.”
A flap of his wings, and they were gone. Chuck remained on the shores of that lake, finally abandoned by the last of his family. He hadn’t even known they were there.