Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“It’s not a tough job. You just have to show up on time and not be an idiot.” Dean told him on his first day. It felt so long ago now.

Somehow, his older brother had managed to convince his boss, Castiel Novak, to take Adam on as an assistant despite his lack of experience. So, naturally he had been practically shaking the entire way to the massive skyscraper they called headquarters and praying to every deity out there that he didn’t make a complete fool of himself the first day.

Castiel was surprisingly kind, if not also a bit stern. It was no wonder why so many enjoyed working under him. Despite his rough exterior and apparent lack of casual people skills, the man was more than fair most of the time. And while he expected good work and a solid work ethic from his employees, he was never needlessly cruel like many bosses could be.

Adam had found this much out fairly quickly, mostly from his older brother who was attached to Castiel at the hip, apparently. But, also through the interactions Adam had with Castiel himself as his assistant. He didn’t actually do anything too terribly difficult, and it could be anything from grabbing the man a cup of coffee from the breakroom or printing out some documents he needed.

It was boring and begrudgingly monotonous, but it was work.

Besides, being the right hand of the big boss himself had its perks. Adam was typically with Castiel, which in turn meant he was also often with Dean, in the nicer parts of the building which saved him from the humdrum of the office cubicles a few floors down. Not all were saved from such a fate, like his other older brother Sam who got stuck in the small legal area of the corporation with little more than a desk and computer.

Overall, though, working for the somewhat famous Castiel Novak was better than he expected it to be by a long shot.

The pay wasn’t too bad either, all things considered. It sure beat his last job as a barista!

Unfortunately, it also meant that each day passed with little to tell about it, and the only real space besides the high end offices he frequented either with or on behalf of Castiel that Adam could really talk to anyone was the breakroom.

It was there, however, that office gossip blossomed like a flower that couldn’t get enough of this dog-eat-dog capitalistic paradise.

“Is it true that another one of Novak’s assistants ran out crying yesterday?” A woman, Adam was pretty sure her name was Becky, not so subtly stage whispered to her table companion.

Normally he wasn’t one to jump into conversations, especially ones that almost always turned out to be untrue. This time though Adam couldn’t help but laugh a little, causing both women to stop and stare at him.

He froze and cleared his throat, pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee from the machine before he sat down.

“Sorry, I, uh…I’m Mr. Novak’s assistant, and I’m pretty sure I’d remember if I ran out of the office crying. Which I didn’t.” He clarified quickly.

The other girl, Adam didn’t actually remember her name, scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Not you. You work for Castiel, right? We’re talking about the other Mr. Novak. The big guy himself.”

“Uhh…” Adam just stared at her and blinked. “Isn’t, uh…isn’t Castiel the ‘big guy’?”

He had been here for months by now and he was pretty sure Castiel was the one who ran the place. Everyone that Adam knew of reported to him, listened to him, and wanted to stay on his good side. He had also never heard of another Mr. Novak, as each and every time Adam came across something with that name he handed it over to Castiel without a second thought and had never been corrected on it.

Miss No Name smirked.

“Sure, Castiel is the big guy here. But his older brother is the big-big guy. He’s the chief executive officer. Castiel is only one station below him, so he’s the one who gets hit with the brunt of the heavy hitting work and mingles more with us commoners when the job calls for it. Hardly anybody ever sees his brother.”

Before Adam could get a word in, Becky piped back up.

“Yeah, his name’s Michael, I think. I’ve never seen him before, but I hear that’s sort of a good thing. Apparently he’s a real hardass and kind of a dick. But what do you expect from a rich CEO that never leaves his office?” She was strangely cheery for what she was saying, but Adam didn’t comment.

“He has an office here?” He asked instead.

“Top floor.” The lady said, pointing up towards the ceiling. “The whole thing is his space, apparently. Only certain people are allowed up there. I’m pretty sure if anybody that isn’t authorized sneaks up there, Michael actually throws them out of the window and watches them splat on the ground.”

Adam shivered.

He had no idea there was even an office right above his head this entire time. Castiel’s office and those of his closest employees were all situated on the second to last floor. Really, this entire time Adam had just kind of assumed the only thing on the very top floor was storage and old holiday decorations waiting to be brought out once a year.

Apparently that assumption had been wrong.

“Aw, why do you look so gloomy all of a sudden, kid? You work for Castiel, so you don’t really gotta worry about his brother eating you alive or anything. I mean, at least probably not.” Ms. No Name grinned toothily and laughed as Adam grabbed his coffee and swiftly left the breakroom.

A couple days later, Adam found himself at lunch with both of his older brothers. It was rare that they could all actually have a day off together anymore, and even rarer that they used those days to get together. Sam and Dean were both notoriously busy at their own jobs, and Adam worked a solid 40 hours minimum, if he was lucky. More often than not he got stuck at the office doing overtime.

“Have you guys ever heard of a Michael Novak that works on the top floor?”

Both brothers stopped and stared at him, and not for the first time since discovering he had two half-brothers, Adam wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

“Uh,” Sam had stopped with an abomination of a veggie burger halfway to his mouth. “Yeah. He’s the CEO of NovakOn. Why?”

Oh. So apparently Adam was the only person in the universe who didn’t know that already.

“I don’t know. I just heard some people talking about him in the breakroom a few days ago and didn’t really know much about him. Thought I’d ask, since I’ve never seen the guy.” He shrugged.

It was the truth, even if he was a little more curious than he let on. Could a guy really be as bad as everyone said? Well, probably. Adam suspected Michael was a spoiled rich kid that grew up with everything he could possibly want and, as an adult, expected everything handed to him on a silver platter. Though Castiel didn’t act that way, the way people spoke of the two brothers was enough to know they weren’t similar at all.

Dean was the first one to scrunch up his nose and scowl. “What’s there to know? The guy’s a major dick.”

“You’ve met him?”

“Yeah, sure, a few times. He’s a jerk. I still can’t believe Cas is related to him, they’re nothing alike.” Dean grumbled before plopping a fry in his mouth.

“That’s not totally true from what I’ve heard. I’ve never spoken to Michael, but I’ve seen him at company functions once or twice. He’s really quiet, as far as I can tell. So is Cas.” Sam pointed out.

“The guy’s quiet ‘cause he only talks to people who lick his boots or can afford to be charged his rate by the hour.” Dean pointed a fry at Sam across the table and squinted. “Cas is quiet, but he’s not all high and mighty, ‘better than thou’ and all that bullshit.”

“Geez, Dean. Since when do you have it out for the CEO so bad?” Adam asked with a roll of his eyes. It wasn’t rare for his oldest brother to rant about whatever was on his mind, but he hadn’t said a word about Michael before. Now, suddenly, it was like Dean was an expert on just how big of a douchebag he was.

“Hey. I had to work for the guy a few times over the years to help out Cas when he couldn’t go up to his office himself. Each and every one of those times? I wanted to rip my hair out or jump from the window to my untimely demise just to get away from his dickbaggery.” Dean grunted.

“Wow, Dean. Just wow.” Sam sighed and shook his head.

Adam though snorted. He was sure Dean was right anyway. The chances of Michael being anything other than the most stuck up trust fund baby in existence was near nonexistent.

“So, are you the one who started that rumor that one of Michael’s assistants jumped out of his office window? Or was pushed, whatever it was.” Adam asked.

At that, Dean leaned in over his plate of burger and fries with a devious grin on his face. “Rumors all gotta start somewhere, kiddo.”

Adam laughed and decided that if he could continue ignoring the fact Michael existed at work, he would be just fine.

The following morning, Adam woke and got ready for work in his small but cozy apartment.

He lived alone for the first time in his life thanks to the fair pay Castiel gave him for being his assistant, not to mention the quarterly and holiday bonuses that didn’t hurt either. His place might not be big, but it was his and he was damn proud of it.

The other biggest plus of having his own place meant that he wasn’t sharing with Sam and Dean anymore. He loved his older brothers, sure, but he didn’t always love living with them either. No matter how welcomed they said he was, there was that air of hesitancy thick and sticky whenever he walked through their house.

He knew why, of course. He was the bastard son. The secret their father kept that didn’t get revealed until after the old man died, leaving his two favorite sons and the one he rarely visited to accidentally find each other after the funeral. Finding out you had a secret sibling as will and testaments were read was a major blow, after all.

Dean had reacted the worst to finding out John had a secret son and woman he visited for years. Sam had at least tried to be polite, but even at nineteen Adam had seen the way the revelation had shocked him too. Eventually, both brothers mellowed out and the awkwardness faded enough that, when his mother died and left him alone not long after John’s passing, Dean and Sam willingly brought Adam, who had nowhere else to go, into their home. But even then he felt like an inconvenience, a parasite, leeching in on the lives of his half-brothers and interrupting their well established normal.

Now, a few years later, Adam was old enough and made enough to go out on his own. Neither Sam or Dean had tried to stop him other than asking him if he was really sure, but when it was all said and done, he was certain his brothers were glad it was just the two of them again. Just the way it had always been, before he came crashing into their lives and unrooted everything they thought they knew about their dad.

The lingering guilt of that never quite left him, even after all the times Sam tried to tell him it wasn’t his fault. Still, somehow, living alone in his tiny apartment felt less lonely than when he lived with Sam and Dean.

Another perk of being the assistant of one Mr. Castiel Novak was that Adam had the luxury of stopping almost every morning at a local coffee shop only a couple blocks away from the office. There, he ordered not only his own favorite drink of the day, but also Castiel’s, who insisted that Adam be reimbursed for his efforts and ensured that was reflected on his paychecks every period.

“Thanks.” He chirped as the barista handed over his receipt and he stepped towards the end of the counter to wait for his drinks.

It was a pretty small place, made only smaller by the amount of people that crammed their way inside and took up every seat and stool in the building, and even the few outside too. Good thing he wasn’t planning on staying, he had to get going if he didn’t want to be late.

To his side, a handful of other people waited for their drinks too. One in particular caught his eyes, and maybe he stared a little too long for what would be socially acceptable, but he wouldn’t admit that.

But who could blame him? The guy a few feet from him was tall and despite the fact he was wearing a suit and long coat, Adam could tell the guy was strong. It was a body type that sort of reminded him of Dean, all power and strength without being obnoxiously bulky. Not to mention that his jaw was just as impressive, and a hint of blonde stubble threatened to peek through with a combed back, professional hairdo to match. It was the sort of well kept kind of face that Adam wouldn’t mind wrapping his legs around. But who was paying attention to that? He couldn’t be that much older than Adam, maybe in his mid to late thirties.

And those eyes, fuck. They might’ve been the bluest things he’d ever seen, and that was saying something considering the guy he worked for had an impressive set of blue eyes himself.

Oh wait, his eyes.

Oh fuck, he was looking back at him.

The instant he realized he got caught staring, Adam averted his gaze and glanced back at the small area the barista was hastily putting orders and calling names. He tried not to combust right on the spot from pure embarrassment and instead focused on watching the employee behind the counter work.

He couldn’t tell if the hot guy was still looking at him or if he had glanced away the second he intimidated Adam into averting his gaze, but either way he tried not to think about it.

“Michael!” The barista called as she plopped down a large cup and warmed muffin onto the counter before skittering away to continue working on the rush of people’s orders.

Hot guy -- Michael, it turns out -- stepped forward to snatch his drink and food without a word. He did, nicely enough, pull out his wallet and plop a few pristine bills into the tip jar at the end of the counter for the miserable underpaid workers though.

Adam tried not to be too obvious as he watched him as he move down the counter slightly towards the packets of cream and sugar. At least this way his back was towards him, so he took in his fill of impressive back and firm posture. Seriously, was the guy a soldier or something? The rigid way he stood, Adam was certain he should be commanding armies or something.

Eventually, or probably in actuality only a few moments later, Mr. Hot Guy aka Michael grabbed his drink and muffin, and walked off without sparing another glance in his direction.

Thank god, really. Adam wasn’t sure he could afford to be that embarrassed twice this early in the morning if he got caught staring again.

He turned back towards the counter to wait for his own name to be called when he spotted something sitting off to the side. A wallet.

“Ah, shit. Hey!” He called, raising a hand and trying to grab the guy’s attention but, unsurprisingly, he watched the dude named Michael slip out the front door and onto the sidewalk without even pausing. “Dammit.” He cursed and turned back to the wallet.

It only took him a couple seconds to make up his mind. He snatched the wallet off the counter and, after a real quick glance at the photo of the ID to confirm it was the right guy’s, Adam took off towards the door.

Once he busted his way out of the coffee shop, he spotted the familiar cut of warm blonde a few paces ahead, walking down the sidewalk.

“Hey! Hey, wait! Michael!” He called out, and this time got a reaction.

Mr. Hot Guy stopped and turned, obviously curious as to who on earth was screaming his name on the sidewalk at exactly 7:48 am. Adam couldn’t bother to feel embarrassed about it though as he ran up to him and thrusted the leather wallet into the man’s chest as he panted. Fuck, he needed to work out more.

“You forgot your wallet.” He explained between breaths, letting go as soon as Michael had his hands on it. “Ya left it on the counter back there. I happened to see it next to the tip jar and stuff. Lucky you I saw it and not somebody who would’ve taken it. You never know, people are kinda crazy.” He let out a breathless laugh.

Unnervingly, Michael simply raised an eyebrow and stared at him. If Adam didn’t know better, he would’ve thought the guy was studying him like he was trying to figure something out.

Instead of speaking, he opened his wallet and offered over two hundred dollar bills.

“Uhh, what are you doing, dude? I don’t want your cash. If I wanted to rob you I wouldn’t have given your wallet back in the first place.” Adam took a step back and held up his hands as if that could placate the entire weird situation.

Michael’s eyebrow shot impossibly higher. “You don’t want compensation for your efforts?”

Oh fuck, Adam could melt. What a voice. All deep and rough around the edges. He should have known, even his voice spoke of strength and no doubt commanded anyone around him to listen. Hot on the outside and a sexy voice? Now he was certain the universe was just taunting him.

“No, not really. I was just trying to give you your stuff back, man. I do need to get back though, I’m still waiting for my and my boss’s coffee and I don’t really have that much time before work. So…” He glanced at his phone and a new wave of anxiety flooded him. It was 7:52. He had eight minutes to get their coffee and get to the top of a fucking sky scraper. “Fuck! Alright, nice to meet you and all that, man, but I gotta go. See ya around!” He called over his shoulder, already half running back to the coffee shop to snag the two cups already waiting for him on the counter.

When he rushed out of the shop and down the street towards HQ again, Michael was already gone.

Adam made it only a few minutes past eight, panting and trying to catch his breath even after the long ride from the elevator. Running in dress pants, a button down, and a sweater in warm morning weather didn’t do much to help in that department either.

“Ah, Adam. Good morning.” Castiel greeted once Adam had entered his office and promptly placed his usual coffee order on the desk beside him.

“Good morning. Sorry I’m a little late. I uh, had a little problem at the coffee shop this morning.” He admitted. He didn’t want to make excuses, and he knew that for as nice as Castiel was, he wasn’t one to accept any lies. But he wasn’t lying, and he hoped that came across as true enough with the coffee shaped peace maker he handed over.

“Oh, were you? It’s no problem, these things happen. You aren’t typically late, and I can’t really fault you for being so if the coffee shop held you up when I am the one requesting you go there for me every morning, hm?” Castiel grinned politely from behind his coffee cup and took a long sip.

Adam released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Thank you, sir. I’ll get right to work then.”

“Oh, before you go. I do need to talk to you before you leave this afternoon. Now, you aren’t in trouble. In fact, I think you will be making even more money than you are now. But…let’s save it. Just come see me before you leave tonight, okay?” Castiel offered a reassuring smile, but it was tight. Something not quite right in the way he looked at him.

“Of course, Mr. Novak. I’ll speak to you this afternoon.” He assured, then he quickly scurried away.

The rest of his shift passed in a somewhat awkward fog. It felt as if he was awaiting the proverbial chopping block, like the end of this shift was going to be the end of his entire career. Or rather, if one could call being the personal assistant to a rich guy a career.

But call it whatever you wanted, he didn’t want to lose this job. It might be boring but it paid well and he was finally feeling like the ground had stopped being swept out from under him. He should’ve known better than to think that was going to last. Nothing good ever lasted that long as far as he was concerned.

Eight hours passed in a sludge and when his work was finished and it was time to go, his heart weighed like iron in his chest. He stared at Mr. Novak’s door with a keen sense of dread. He wanted to run, just say he forgot, but he knew that wouldn’t really do anything to help him. If he was going to be fired then he was going to be fired, there was no point in putting off the inevitable.

So, he sighed and knocked on the pristine wooden door, then let himself in when he heard his boss invite him.

“Hello, Mr. Novak. I’m here to talk?”

Castiel smiled and motioned towards the seat opposite his desk. “Yes, of course. I hope your day went well. I have something I’d like to talk to you about. Now, as I mentioned earlier, you aren’t in any trouble. However, something has come up and I’m afraid your position is being moved.”

Adam blinked. “Moved, sir?”

For the first time since he’d known him, Castiel actually looked a little sheepish.

“Ah, yes. I’m not sure if you heard, but our CEO’s former assistant unfortunately had to quit. My brother, however, is desperately in need of a hardworking hand. I don’t trust many with such an important task, and I’m afraid he trusts even fewer with it. You, however, have proven to be even better than I imagined when I hired you on. I’ve truly been impressed by your work since you arrived.” Castiel grinned.

Adam tried to take the compliment, he really did. He was pleased to know his boss thought so highly of him, but the looming uncertainty overshadowed everything else.

“I appreciate that, sir. But…what does that have to do with my job being moved?”

“Oh! Of course, I apologize.” Castiel sighed and rubbed a hand over the dark stubble on his chin. Dean was right, he was a good looking man. “Well, I suppose I should just lay it all out. My brother, our CEO, needs a new assistant that I know is capable of handling the job and he needs it effective immediately. Over the past weeks he had become aware of the work you’re doing, mostly, I admit, from my own praise. However, now that he is without an assistant of his own, the CEO is requesting your immediate transfer to his office. Of course your salary will be increased to accommodate the change as well, but that paperwork can be finalized tomorrow.” When he was finished, Castiel clasped his hands together on his oversized desk and waited patiently.

The thing was though that Adam was pretty sure he was short circuiting inside.

He was being moved to work under Michael? The same Michael that was known for pushing his assistants too far? Making them cry and quit?

“W-What about the work I do here? Who will take over for me?” For some reason that was the only question that could leave his mouth at the moment.

“Hannah can handle some of the workload until I find a replacement.” Castiel explained, looking almost regretful.

Maybe he was, though Adam didn’t know if it was towards himself or Hannah, Castiel’s private secretary. Or maybe he was mourning the fact he was having to give away his assistant and would have to train someone else at the job soon.

Whatever the reason was, Adam knew Castiel really didn’t have a say in the manner. He may be the ‘big-guy’ around, but there was still someone even higher than him and orders were orders.

“Sure, but…um…is it true that his last assistant ran out crying?” He dared to venture, though he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to answer. If he was going to be forced to work for the guy though, he wanted to be as prepared as possible, even if that meant expecting the worst of the worst.

“Oh, erm…” Castiel hesitated a few moments, until he eventually sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Technically? Yes, she did. I thought for certain I had picked a good one for him this time but she apparently had a more difficult time with Michael than I anticipated. He’s grown tired of going through so many ‘unreliable help’.” Castiel honest to god used air quotes! “Hence, why he believes you may prove to be a good fit for him. Since you’ve done so well under me and the pressures of this office for the last several months, Michael is convinced you are the best suited candidate for his assistant position. Though I don’t really want to give you up, he made it clear that the change was not optional.”

Now that made something bristle in Adam and his cheeks felt hot. Not optional? Like hell! Rich or not, he wasn’t going to just be tossed around.

“But I signed a contract for your assistant position. He can’t just tell me to move. What if I say no?”

Castiel somehow looked even more uncomfortable than he did ten seconds ago. “Well, actually, he can. It is a policy in all employee contracts, the CEO has the power to terminate or alter any current or future positions as he deems necessary. And as for saying no, well…you could, but doing so would cost you your job. Like I said, he does have the power to terminate or alter positions of individuals, regardless of what that position is. Failure to adhere to the desired changes results in immediate termination.”

Adam couldn’t help but gawk at the man in front of him like he was crazy. Really? Michael could just toss someone aside and say “thank you, next” and be done with it? Where was the regard for the employees’ feelings or their needs outside of the job?

Then again, did Adam seriously expect Richy McRichRich to give a shit about that?

“So it’s go work for him or get fired?” He asked.

Castiel nodded solemnly. “I apologize for the inconvenience, Adam. I do wish I could keep you here, you’ve done a fantastic job as my assistant. But…I’m afraid my hands are tied.”

For what it was worth, Adam believed him.

“Alright…fine. When do I start?”

“Ah, first thing in the morning. You can come to my office here like you typically would and I can escort you up to my brother’s office to introduce you. I’m sure having someone there you know will help ease the transition, a little bit.” Castiel smiled warmly.

Yeah, he was probably right. Castiel was his boss but he was still a decent person. The fact he was offering to hand deliver Adam and bring him some comfort in the process was a testament to that. As if all the gushing his older brother did over the man wasn’t enough.

“Right. Then I will see you tomorrow, Mr. Novak.” He offered as he stood up.

He felt numb. He vaguely recalled saying his goodbyes to Castiel and riding down the elevator. Then he was pretty sure he could remember getting on the bus and walking into his quiet apartment, then eventually into bed. But even as he lay there, staring unseeingly up at his ceiling, none of it felt real.

Just when he thought things could stay comfortable for once, it all came crashing down again.

Chapter Text

When Adam stepped into Castiel’s office the next morning, he brought with him the man’s usual coffee, just like he always did. He didn’t know if that was expected of him anymore or not, or if this would be the last time he’d ever have to bother, but the familiarity of the action helped soothe his nerves.

He had tried to call Dean and Sam both that morning to let them know about the change, but neither one had answered and he didn’t really feel like making an effort to find Dean in person on this floor right now. So, he went straight to Castiel’s office instead, just wanting to get this over with.

“Good morning, Mr. Novak. Are we heading up today?” He asked.

As always, Castiel scooped up the offered coffee with a grateful smile and took a long, much needed sip. “Yes, we are.” He answered and stood up. “Come, follow me. You will finalize the paperwork for your new salary and job title in Michael’s office once we get up there.”

Adam only nodded, silently following the other man into the elevator.

“I’m sure you’re nervous, but don’t be.” Castiel tried with a placating smile. It might have worked, if Adam hadn’t felt like he was walking straight to his death. “Your duties under Michael will be much the same as you’ve already been doing for me. There will be some differences, of course, but largely things should be more or less familiar to you. He may expect a little more from you, however, but try not to let it overwhelm you. You do a wonderful job, so just do your best and I am sure you will be perfectly fine.”

The elevator door dinged only a couple moments later and Adam let Castiel walk out first. He trailed behind him, curiously glancing around at the new space he had never seen before. It was as sleek and expensive looking as the entire rest of the upper offices, but even more quiet. There was no secretary near the elevator or other business men walking about like he was used to on the floor below.

In fact, it almost felt more like an apartment than an office space at first glance. The elevator opened up to a wide, open area. The entirety of the two opposite walls were made of glass, giving Adam an unparalleled view of the city below and off into the distance.

On one side there was a sitting area, with a couch, love seat, and a couple of plush armchairs. It even had a coffee table with books on it, though why anyone would want to read instead of stare out into the gorgeous view the seats gave, Adam would never know. Not far from them was a small kitchenette area, most notably with a coffee maker and a microwave on the counter but not terribly much else.

Castiel quickly stepped to a door on the the wall opposite the elevator and pushed it open, revealing a spacious hallway.

“You will become familiar with these rooms quickly. They are not dissimilar to the ones you were using on our floor. There is a printer room where you can, of course, print things or make copies if needed. It also has a fax machine. There are two conference rooms, one small and one large, depending on the meeting size. Oh, and a bathroom for when you need it too. Now, that way,” Castiel pointed towards a door at the end of the hallway. “Is what Michael refers to as his ‘brainstorming room’. You might have seen some of the others during your travels through the building. Think of it as a place to rest and relax, giving one a chance to get out of the typical office environment so they can better think things over. And here is, of course, our CEO’s office.”

They stopped in front of a large oak door, and Adam watched as Castiel knocked before pushing it open.

“Michael, your new assistant, Adam, is here.” He announced as he stepped inside.

Adam was quick to follow and opened his mouth to greet his new boss, but the words got stuck in his throat instead.

In front of him was a very familiar frame of power and neat blonde hair, and god those eyes. He could never forget those even if he tried. Only now they were looking at him in slight surprise, and he realized Michael must have recognized him too. The look only lasted a second before his face shifted back into the blank expression Adam had seen him with the day before.

“Ah, it’s you. I did not expect that.” Michael admitted, much to Castiel’s clear confusion.

“You’ve met?” He asked, glancing between the two of them with a frown.

Adam was so shocked initially that he hadn’t even noticed the impressive office around them. Large, too large if you asked him, an oversized desk, filing cabinets, a bookshelf, a few plants, and all outlined by the massive curtain wall behind where Michael was sitting.

“Yes, briefly. Do you recall the young man I told you about yesterday evening?” Michael asked as he looked at his brother. Adam was almost shocked that a person could speak to their own family in such a monotone way.

Castiel nodded and took a glance back at Adam before returning his focus to Michael once more.

“The one from the coffee shop? Who returned your wallet?” He chuckled and shook his head. “Maybe I should have realized on my own. Adam came into the office yesterday morning explaining he had a situation at the coffee shop that same morning, but I didn’t ask him to elaborate. I hadn’t considered that the situation had actually been you and your forgetfulness, Michael.” He grinned slightly and rubbed one thoughtful hand over his stubble.

On instinct Adam tensed, expecting the CEO to blow up or yell, reminding Castiel that despite their familial relations, he was still his superior and to act like it. However, nothing like that came and, instead, Michael only nodded slightly.

“It would seem that way. Well, that bears good for me. I do hope that our interaction yesterday proves that you can be trusted to be honest with me at all times.” Blue eyes flicked back at Adam and he fought the urge to physically flinch.

“Y-Yes, sir. I do try my best to be as honest as possible.” It was the truth, after all. He wasn’t much of a liar, and in the corporate world that wasn’t always a good thing. But, it never felt quite right with him to be anything but.

“Hm. I will hold you to that. Now, as for the matter of your paperwork.” The CEO grabbed a small stack of papers from a drawer at his side and placed them on the far side of the desk away from him. “Sit. Feel free to look over the new contract. When you are ready, sign at the bottom as indicated.”

Adam didn’t move at first, stuck to the spot as reality came crashing in around him. This was really happening. He was being given away and stuck with the man that everyone in the building shit themselves thinking about. The guy whose last assistant ran out of the building sobbing.

“Adam? Are you alright?” Castiel’s expression was nothing but genuine concern as he spoke. But Adam couldn’t help but spare a glance towards Michael and the man was as stone faced as ever.

He didn’t really have much choice in the manner though. So, he swallowed and stepped up to the desk. He sat in one of the chairs opposite of Michael’s across the desk and pulled the paperwork to him, licking his lips nervously as he tried to focus on the words.

“You may go now, Castiel. I know you are busy.” Michael said, but his eyes were already back to his computer screen.

“Yes, of course. Let me know if you need me for anything else.” Castiel replied then promptly left the room.

The quiet felt even more suffocating now than it did when they first walked in. Adam wasn’t sure what would kill him first, embarrassment that the hot guy he encountered yesterday was his new boss, Michael tossing him out a window, or the stifling oppression of the silence here.

He couldn’t even focus on reading the new contract long enough to make out what most of the words were saying. This hadn’t been this difficult when he had signed his contract for Castiel, but of course he had Dean by his side then who chatted to their boss like they were best friends. Really, Adam wasn’t entirely sure that they weren’t.

Unable to actually take in any of the corporate mumbo jumbo in front of him, Adam opted to get this torture over with quickly and flipped to the pages that he needed to sign instead. The second he put the pen to paper though, Michael caught his attention.

“What are you doing?”

His neck jerked up and realized his new boss was staring right at him, expression as unreadable as ever.

“I’m…signing the contract?” He tried weakly. Seriously, what else did he want from him? A parade?

“You didn’t read it.” Michael frowned and glanced at the pile of papers that Adam hadn’t even bothered to pretend to look at.

“Oh, uh…well, actually Mr. Novak, the other Mr. Novak, told me this contract was more or less the same as my last one. He mentioned the pay increase and that you would likely have extra duties for me to perform, but that otherwise things would be the same.” Adam explained. He didn’t want to tell his boss that he scared the piss out of him so bad that he couldn’t even read a stupid piece of paper.

That had apparently been the wrong thing to say though because the other man’s frown became more apparent.

“You should never sign a contract without reading it very carefully first. If I recall correctly, your brother is a lawyer here at the company, yes? Surely he has told you the same thing at some point.” Michael pointed out.

The thing was, Adam didn’t think Sam ever had. When would he? He’d only known him for a few years and the only contract he had signed in that time was for his position with Castiel and the lease for his apartment. Neither one of those times had Sam been there with him to look over the contract with him. And though Dean had technically been beside him when signing with Castiel, he hadn’t looked over it either. Instead, his oldest brother had just chatted away with ‘Cas’ the entire time. The only plus to that was having a friendly face at his side to ease his nerves and taking Castiel’s attention off of him so that he didn’t feel rushed reading and signing everything.

He didn’t have that same luxury here though.

“I-I apologize, Mr. Novak. I was just eager to get started.” Adam nearly winced at his own cheesiness. Could he make himself sound like more of a suck up?

Michael eyed him for a longer moment but didn’t comment about it. Instead, he motioned towards the papers with his hand. “Finish reading. Like I said, take your time and ensure that the terms are agreeable before you sign. I hope the offered pay is to your liking, but I am willing to negotiate something higher later on if you prove to be useful.”

Gee, thanks. Adam resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Was Michael already expecting him to suck before he even signed the damn papers? Adam felt like he might as well be looking into a crystal ball telling him he was going to be out of a job soon enough. He didn’t think anyone could live up to the expectations Michael probably had in his head.

Instead of saying that he forced a smile and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Several long minutes later, Adam had managed to relax enough to actually read the contract and sign it. He was actually surprised when he saw the sizable salary number Michael was offering him. Castiel had said he would earn more working directly for the CEO, but even this felt a little too much. And if he was good enough at the job Michael might pay him even more? Fuck, that was suspiciously good news.

Too bad he didn’t actually expect this job to last that long.

After he scribbled his name on the last dotted line, Adam neatly organized the papers back in order. He hesitated to just shove them back in Michael’s direction. He didn’t want to piss the guy off if he thought that was too forward or something.

“All finished, sir.” He announced.

Michael glanced away from his computer and towards the papers in Adam’s hand, holding his own out and taking them. After a very quick once over, he silently filed them away again in a different spot in his drawers.

“I trust everything was agreeable then?” Michael asked without bothering to look at him.

“Oh, yes, sir. The terms were very generous, thank you.” God, Adam tried not to cringe at how he sounded. He wasn’t one for sucking up to people, but it actually hadn’t felt like that with Castiel. The man was kind enough that it felt more like just general politeness being returned. With Michael, though, Adam’s entire body felt like it was on edge.

“Good. In that case, your duties start now. I need you to make two copies each of these papers here within the hour, then deliver them to Mr. Adler in finances.” A finger tapped a massive pile of paperwork at the corner of his desk. “I will also send a few things to your company email that I need taken care of by the end of the day. Did you see your work space when you came in?”

“Work space?” Castiel hadn’t pointed out anything he deemed to be Adam’s. He also hadn’t really had his own space when working for the younger brother, so he wasn’t entirely sure what the hell his new boss was even talking about.

Michael scowled a little and stood up, waving a hand that told Adam to follow. When they got back into the hallway, Michael stopped at a door just a couple down from his office and pushed the door open. It was small, but equally as nice as the rest of the floor. There was a simple desk, a chair, computer, and a small bookshelf and filing cabinet. Other than that, there was nothing that screamed of anything personal or, in fact, any personality other than capitalism at all.

“This is your private space where you can access your computer when needed. At times I will email you work that I need finished or, if applicable, you may find papers left on your desk here as well.” Michael stated boredly, as if he had a million better things to do than give Adam the bare basics of his new job. “I do hope Castiel at least showed you some of the other rooms?”

“Uh, yeah. He pointed a few out. I know where the printer and copier are, the bathroom, two meeting rooms, and something he called a…’brainstorming room’.” Adam supplied.

Michael hummed and despite his face not changing in the slightest, Adam took the sound to mean that he was pleased.

“Very well, that is the majority of what you need to know up here. In that case, I will leave you to make those copies. Mr. Adler requires them before 9:30, so I suggest you make that your top priority at the moment. You will find your other tasks in your email later.”

Adam nodded and figured it all sounded simple enough, even if a little fast paced. Nothing he couldn’t handle, he was sure.

The taller man turned to walk out then without another word, only to pause when Adam snapped his fingers.

“Oh yeah! So, about my breaks and lunch…how do you want me to take them?” He asked. Might as well get them out of the way cause no way he was giving them up, CEO boss or not.

Michael turned back towards him and eyed him. “You are legally required to have at least a half-hour lunch break and two shorter breaks in between. That was outlined in your contract, did you not see it?”

The tone was anything but friendly, and it made Adam bristle.

“I did but that’s not what I’m asking, sir. I just want to know when you would like me to take my breaks and lunch. What would be most convenient for you?” So maybe his own tone was a little short and snappy, but he tried to soften it with some carefully chosen references to his boss’s superiority.

Again the man hummed, then glanced down at the watch on his wrist boredly. “There is no specific time I prefer for you to take your breaks. Just ensure that you finish up whatever task you were working on before leaving, and tell me when you do so I know you will be gone.”

That seemed simple enough.

“If that is all, it is time to get back to work, Mr. Milligan.”

Turns out, maybe Adam didn’t give the previous hundred personal assistants Michael had gone through enough credit.

Sure copying several dozen papers in a ridiculous amount of time wasn’t the most stressful thing in the world, but trying to do that while also screening calls, sending emails, gathering faxes, and still completing all the other menial tasks Michael emailed him throughout the day was excessive, if he said so.

Not to mention having to directly deliver papers to Mr. Adler in the financials department was about as pleasant as pulling out his own teeth.

Adam knew the man from previous encounters, but most had been with Castiel as a buffer or only so briefly he didn’t actually have to make fake pleasantries. Still, he had always given Adam a sort of uneasy feeling. This time when he made it to the lower floor, papers in his arms, and walked into Adler’s office, the man looked up with a smarmy grin.

"Oh, are you Michael’s new errand boy? Stole you from Castiel, did he? They must want to squeeze a little extra work out of you before they send you packing.” Adler laughed.

Adam clenched his jaw tight enough to hurt, but managed to drop the stack of copies he made on the other man’s desk before he did something stupid like smack him upside the head with them.

“I am Mr. Novak’s new assistant, yes. He was impressed with my work with the other Mr. Novak and decided I would be a good fit.” Adam countered with fake politeness.

Adler leaned back in his desk chair and made an unimpressed noise. But, he flicked his hand in a shooing motion and that was all Adam needed to get the hell out of dodge and back up to the top floor.

Creepy financial experts aside, working for Michael really wasn’t that terribly different than working for Castiel so far. It was, however, much faster. His new boss demanded efficiency to a nearly inhuman degree.

At first it was all way too overwhelming and Adam was pretty sure he needed at least another pair of arms and another set of eyes to do half of what Michael expected out of him in one day. But, as the day whittled on he eventually found a rhythm that he felt comfortable enough in, fast paced or not.

He hardly even saw Mr. Novak throughout the day. The man kept to his office for the most part, only poking his head out a couple times before lunch to ensure Adam hadn’t already run away or was making an utter mess of everything.

Eventually, he realized it was time for lunch so after quickly finishing up a couple emails and redirecting them to the right people instead of the CEO, Adam walked out of his little office and towards Michael’s. He knocked on the door and waited for the grunted approval before peeking inside.

“I am going to lunch now, if that’s alright, Mr. Novak.”

Michael didn’t bother to look up from the papers he was looking at when he answered. “Yes, that’s fine.” And that was it.

Whatever, that made Adam’s life easier. The less attention his easily ticked off boss had on him the better, in his opinion.

With that, Adam wandered back to the elevator and hit the button for the breakroom he usually frequented. Maybe a little normalcy would help break up some of the tension he was feeling on his first day with Michael.

Not that it had been nearly as bad as he had been expecting, at least not yet. Sure, Michael didn’t talk much, that wasn’t really all that different from Castiel actually. Though Cas did tend to speak much easier and would at least give some pleasant conversation, whereas each interaction with Michael thus far had been short and blunt. All business.

Then again, he hadn’t yelled at him either. A little stern maybe, but he wasn’t the screaming man-child Adam had been expecting more of. Still, the day was only halfway over and it wasn’t like he could really judge a book by its first page. So, he was still fully prepared to be chucked out a window sooner or later eventually.

When he reached the breakroom, the first thing he did was make a beeline for the coffee machine. There was one technically in Michael’s kitchenette area on the top floor, but Adam had been too nervous to ask if he was allowed to use it. He just sort of assumed the answer was no and didn’t bother to ask.

Fresh mug of coffee obtained, he took a seat at an empty table and pulled his small lunch box out of his messenger bag. It made carrying ridiculous amounts of papers around much easier. Plus, he could keep the few belongings he actually brought to work on him without much hassle either. Like now, as he zipped open his lunch and first things first, got to munching on some carrots.

Scrolling mindlessly on his phone with lack of anything much better to do, Adam didn’t notice someone staring at him from another table until he heard snickering.

Glancing up, he saw the girl from before whose name he couldn’t remember with a big, fat smirk on her face looking right at him.

“What? Do I have something on my face already?” He asked, though when he reached up he didn’t feel anything.

The woman just rolled her eyes and shifted more in her seat to face him better. Her eyes roamed over him like she was a dog looking at a hunk of meat.

“Heard your Michael’s newest chew toy. How badly did you fuck up your last job to get that kinda punishment, kid?” The woman laughed at her own shitty joke. Adam felt his cheeks getting hot.

“Meg, leave him alone.” Becky said as she came to sit at the woman-- Meg’s -- table, just as they had done the other day.

“What? I didn’t say anything that everyone doesn’t already know is true. Nobody lasts with Michael, so if the kid was any good at his job why would they send him to the wolves to get slaughtered? Castiel must have really hated you, kid. Sucks.” Meg sipped her drink.

Did Castiel hate him? He hadn’t spoken like he did. Then again, he could have just been being polite. That was the type of person Castiel was. He was a good boss, and almost always well mannered.

“Meg, shut up. I doubt Mr. Novak would have moved Adam to his brother if it was just going to look bad on him. So he must think Adam can do at least a good enough job.” Becky tried to defend, though Adam wasn’t sure if he should be offended that his work was even up for question in the first place.

“Sure, whatever.” Meg shrugged, unbothered. “I give the kid a week before he takes off crying like the last one did. I just hope I’m around to take pictures this time. I can’t believe I missed all the fun last time.”

Adam felt a rush of cold fall over his body. He didn’t know this woman other than the occasional table mate of Becky, the secretary on Sam’s floor, and yet Meg’s words sliced deep. He already had to feel less than when he was around higher ups like Michael or Adler, and now he couldn’t even feel like a normal employee with the others either? A sick feeling twisted his gut and he threw his container of carrots back into his lunchbox and shoved it back into his bag as he stood.

“Whoa there, ready to get back to being whipped already?” Meg snarked, ignoring the smack on her arm that Becky gave her.

“Mr. Novak trusts me with a great deal of important work that he needs carried out, so I should be going back.” Adam grouched out. His hands clutched the strap of the bag around his front so tightly it hurt as he left the breakroom and headed back to the elevator.

Arriving back to the top floor, Adam looked at his phone and saw that he still had half his lunch left. He began the walk back to his tiny office, if you could really call it that and not a closet, but paused halfway through the spacious foyer. At least that’s what it acted as so that’s what he was going to call it in his head.

He turned, and after only a split second, he shifted direction and plopped down on the couch in the corner. He looked out into the expanse of the city through the glass walls, almost overcome by the view that felt all around him.

After a few moments of simply appreciating the sights, Adam pulled his lunch back out and set it out on the coffee table in front of him. It was hard to resist just staring out at the smaller buildings that surrounded them, a ways away a few taller ones were dwarfed by the distance.

Taking an eager bite of his sandwich, Adam began to dig through his bag once more until he found what he was looking for. He yanked out an old journal, somewhat worn from how often he dragged it around everywhere, and a pen. He flipped it open to the next available page and began scribbling, only pausing to take another bite of food in between. Under some of the words, he sketched a rough outline of the city he gazed out at, trying to do it some justice. Or as much as a quick doodle in his journal could give it.

He was so caught up in it that he almost didn’t notice someone was walking behind him until he heard a clang in the kitchenette not very far away. When he turned, he saw Michael pouring himself a hefty serving of coffee into a mug. He hadn’t even noticed him come in or start the machine.

“Did you go to lunch already, sir?” He asked curiously. He hadn’t been gone long but maybe he missed Michael eating at some point. It wasn’t like he was hovering around the man all day, he had been too busy trying to finish up the mountain of tasks he’d given him.

“Hm? Ah, no. I’m afraid I hardly have the time.”

“For lunch?” A short nod from the other man was all the confirmation he got, but it was enough. “You shouldn’t skip your lunches, sir. Here, do you want anything of mine? I still have half a sandwich and a bag of chips I haven’t opened.” It wasn’t much but it was something, so he shook the unopened bag of chips in the taller man’s direction.

Michael wrinkled his nose at the bag. “I’m not eating that.”

“What? You don’t eat chips?” Adam gawked, only to be more confused when Michael shook his head.

“Those are salt and vinegar. That’s disgusting.” The CEO stated as a matter-of-factly.

The gasp that Adam released had to have been a world record of some kind as he stared at his new boss from over the back of the couch. “But they’re the best ones!”

“I had no idea I had hired a monster.” Michael stated dryly.

Was…Was that a joke? Was Michael Intimidating Mother Fucker Novak, the man who made people shit their pants and shake in their boots, making a joke? His face didn’t betray a hint of humor and his voice was as monotone as ever, but that must’ve been what it was, right?

And if he was, was Adam allowed to joke back or…?

Well, no better time to figure that out, he guessed.

“And I would’ve thought a man like you would have better taste than that.” He ventured to say. He tried to be confident about it, but he eyed the man a few paces away from him warily. Michael’s face didn’t change much during any of the short conversations they had earlier, but Adam still wanted to watch out for anything that might tell him he fucked up so he could begin profusely apologizing sooner rather than later.

Instead what he saw was Michael’s slight tilt of the head and a cocked brow.

Uh oh, was that good or bad? Adam really had no fucking clue. And now Michael was staring at him in that unreadable way and Adam had no idea if he had messed up or not, so maybe he should just start apologizing now and get it out of the way so he didn’t get tossed out a window his first day at the very least and--

Michael turned and walked away without a word.

He didn’t seem upset, but what did Adam know?

Soon enough he was alone again and the alarm he’d set on his phone to indicate his lunch was over broke whatever anxiety spiral he had found himself in.

Chapter Text

A week into working for Michael and Adam had found his rhythm.

The work was fast paced and piled high, but eventually he was able to actually get the hang of managing it all with somewhat relative ease.

His conversations, or lack thereof, with Michael were always short and to the point. No good mornings, no pleasantries, just get the job done, do it fast, and do it right. Adam could do that, even if he did somewhat miss the pleasantries he had exchanged with Castiel. But over all, working for Michael had been better than expected so he did have to consider himself lucky for that.

So when his new boss called him into his office one day rather suddenly, Adam had no clue why.

“Sir?” He asked as he creaked the door open and stepped inside. He found Michael frowning hard at some papers in front of him, almost like he was trying to burn a hole through them with sheer force of will alone.

“Mr. Milligan.” Michael began and already it didn’t sound good. “I thought I instructed you to retrieve the financial reports for the week from Mr. Adler this morning?”

Adam swallowed when Michael looked up at him. Those alluring blue eyes bore into him, and suddenly they reminded him much less of a beautiful evening sky and more of a raging storm on the ocean. And Adam, he was only hanging on by a raft.

“I emailed him this morning to have the reports sent over to you immediately. Did he not send them, sir?” He asked, and he hoped his voice didn’t give away the churning in his gut.

“I did not receive an email. And by any point, I wanted the physical copies on my desk by eleven, and here it is, nearly twelve with no such papers in sight. I expect you to fix your mistake immediately, before you leave for lunch.” Michael told him firmly.

Adam immediately nodded. “Y-Yes, sir. I’ll be right back.” He promised then hurried out of the room.

He didn’t exactly want to go visit Adler for multiple reasons, some of which just because the guy gave Adam creep vibes. But, if he couldn’t be trusted to send a simple email, then he might have to see him more often than he’d like. It was more inconvenient however that he was having to rush to the financial floor when he already had a pile of other work he had to do and this little knot in his schedule didn’t exactly give him hope that he would be leaving on time this afternoon.

After the elevator dinged, Adam tried not to be too obvious as he briskly traversed the bland as cardboard financial cubicles until he came to Adler’s office in the back.

“Mr. Adler?” He called as he knocked, already pushing the door open.

The man in question glanced up, somehow looking both amused and annoyed at the same time.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of Michael’s errand boy this late in the day?” He asked.

Adam fought back a frown. “Mr. Novak requested the financial report for the week this morning. I sent an email asking for them, did it get lost?”

Disconcerting, Adler’s grin grew. “No, it didn’t. I saw your email.”

“What?” Adam had no idea what was going on then. “Then, I must ask that you send the reports again because neither Mr. Novak or myself received any emails from you this morning.”

“Probably because I didn’t send any.”

Okay, what the fuck?

“You didn’t…answer the email I sent on behalf of Mr. Novak?” Adam asked.

Adler leaned back in his chair, grin still plastered on his round face. “No, I did not. I don’t answer emails from those of a lower station than me.”

It felt like a shock of electricity burned through him at those words. This smarmy bastard actually said that? To his face? Adam grit his teeth, fighting against a hoard of annoyance and embarrassment.

“The reports were for Mr. Novak, not me. Surely an exception could be made when the reports are ultimately for him?” He faked a smile the best he could, but even he could feel that it was too tight around the edges.

Adler apparently didn’t notice or just didn’t care as he shrugged. “Yes, but Michael prefers his reports printed out and handed to him directly. I would’ve thought he trained you well enough by now to know that, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised his assistant is a little slow. I mean, you are just an assistant.” Adler chuckled.

Adam had the distinct urge to rip the man’s lips off to get rid of that ugly little smirk he sported. He could feel his face getting warm as the humiliation flooded through him.

“I would have printed them out had you sent them to me.” He grit out.

“And as I already told you, I don’t answer emails from those that aren’t worth my time. I’d say talk to me after you’ve gotten a promotion, but I’m afraid you’re at the top of the hired help list already.” Adler scoffed, but leaned forward again and pulled some papers out of his desk. He tossed them messily onto his desk. “Here are the reports. I’d hurry up and stop wasting time talking, if I were you. Michael doesn’t like to be kept waiting and you’ve already screwed this up once today. Don’t make it a second.”

Adam snatched the papers with trembling hands and rushed out of the room without another word.

The entire ride back to the top floor was grueling. He couldn’t stop shaking, from anger, humiliation, injustice, whatever he called it, it made him feel sick.

When he reached his floor again, Adam hurried over to Michael’s office only a few minutes after twelve.

“Here are the reports, sir. Mr. Adler had them printed. He insisted that he not send them by email, which was the cause of the delay.” The words felt too nice in Adam’s mouth and he wanted the choke on them. But, he didn’t think chewing Michael out about what a dick Adler was would actually result in anything so he kept that part quiet.

Michael took the papers immediately and began looking them over, without so much as a word of response in Adam’s direction. He felt his hands beginning to shake again.

“If that is all, sir, I’d like to take my lunch now.” He forced out.

At that, Michael did glance up, looking bored as ever. “Hurry back. I still expect all of your other duties to be taken care of before you leave today.” He said, then turned his attention back to the reports in hand.

Adam ducked out of the room and spent his lunch trying not to cry in the bathroom.

Going to Adler’s office quickly became Adam’s least favorite job Michael made him do.

Unfortunately, he was required to go see the man at a minimum once a week when he would grab the financial reports, and often several more times for other things throughout the week. Each and every visit Adam left with snarky, antagonistic remarks bruising his ego, but he managed to hold his tongue most of the time.

Besides dealing with Adler, the workflow only continued to be as grueling as it was the first week with no sign of slowing down in sight.

When he messed up, or more accurately when Michael nickpicked over something that Adam thought was kinda stupid, the CEO would complain about 'insufficient help' until finally ordering Adam to mix whatever ‘mistake’ he had made. It was draining, but at least he hadn’t been fired yet. Though sometimes, part of him wishes he would be.

There were moments though that were startlingly tranquil. Most often during his lunch, as he had gotten into the habit of spending them on the couch on Michael’s floor rather than venturing down to the break room since his last encounter with Meg. For the most part, he hardly saw Michael at all whenever he ate or scribbled in his journal. Most of the day the man was too immersed in his work to come out of his office at all, but on the rare occasions that he did it was to fetch himself more coffee in the kitchenette.

Today was one of those days, and Adam was still impressed by the bigger man’s ability to walk so silently.

“Writing again?”

Adam jumped, then turned his head to see his boss staring back down at him, blank as ever. When he didn’t respond, Michael tilted his head some and motioned towards the journal on Adam’s lap.

“O-Oh! Yeah, I like to write sometimes.” He confirmed quietly.

“Hm.” Michael added.

At first Adam thought that was going to be the end of the conversation. He had never realized that Michael even paid him enough attention to notice his tendency to journal whenever he was on lunch. His boss surprised him again by speaking up once more.

“You look like you sketch at times too, if I’m not mistaken? I imagine being up here is a good spot for an artist or a writer to take inspiration from.” He said, and he turned his attention to the curtain walls that exposed the entirety of the city around them.

Adam didn’t really know what to say to that. No one had ever called him an artist or a writer before, and he didn’t really feel like either. He was just a guy that liked to scratch in his journal sometimes. Well, all the time.

“Uh, yeah, I guess. The view is really nice up here. I didn’t get to see it as often when I worked for...the other Mr. Novak.” Adam pointed down, indicating the floor below them where Castiel and the other higher ups stayed. “The private offices down there take up most of the glass walls, so I only ever really saw the view in passing. Not like up here.” It was his turn to look and stare out into the expanse of the buildings around them. They were high up enough that looking into the distance was tinted with blue.

He enjoyed it for a few extra moments, only to turn back around and jolt when he realized Michael’s gaze was no longer out in the city, but on him instead.

Then, he turned with his coffee and walked away.

Adam blinked after him long after he had left the room.

Two weeks later, he walked into Michael’s office after the older man requested his presence. Adam was already mentally preparing himself for a verbal beat down as he pushed through the door, expecting the worst. If he had to guess, it was because he used blue ink instead of black to mark up his latest paperwork.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” He asked and was proud that he didn’t sound as wary as he felt.

Michael was standing with his back to him, facing out into the view of the city like he owned it. In a way, he sort of did. NovakOn wasn’t exactly just a small pinpoint in the city’s economy. The company, and by extension Michael, had its fingers in almost every aspect of the city's economy and far beyond.

“Ah, Mr. Milligan,” Michael turned around to face him then and nodded. “I require your assistance today. I am going to have a meeting in half an hour and I need you to be there to take notes for me. Did you ever have to do that with Castiel?”

Adam raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t being called in here to be yelled at but to be warned? Or prepared might be better.

“Yes, sir, a few times.”

“Good, then you should know what sort of notes will be relevant. We will be meeting in the smaller meeting room here, so meet us there at three, and bring the dictation laptop that is in your office. You’ll use that to take notes and then forward them to my email.” Michael told him then made a ‘shoo’ motion with his wrist.

Did the guy ever hear of the words ‘thank you’?

Adam waited until he was back in the hallway to roll his eyes.

When it was time for the meeting only half an hour later, he had the small laptop booted up and waiting in the meeting room as instructed. Michael was already there, at the head of the table, and Adam’s seat was situated close to his side but slightly farther back. It made him close enough to not miss a thing, but not directly at the table so it wasn’t like he was part of the meeting.

He rested the laptop in his lap as the executives or whoever they were filed in. Adam didn’t actually care who they were or what their jobs were. He didn’t need to, all he had to do was just write down all the important stuff they said.

Unfortunately, the last person on Earth he wanted to see strolled in and immediately smirked in his direction. Adler stared at him a few moments longer than should be socially acceptable before turning his attention to a couple of men standing in the back of the room. At least he was far away enough.

Life was never that fair though and Adler, the prick that he was, smirked as he plopped down into the chair just a couple feet away from where Adam was sitting the second his conversation was over.

Realizing that the meeting was going to start very soon, the last of the attendees finally piled in. Among them, Adam was surprised to see Dean, who took one of the few empty chairs left at the opposite end of the table. He had mentioned that he sometimes had to sub in for Castiel at times if he couldn’t make it, maybe this was one of those times?

Dean glanced up then and they locked eyes, a strange look passing over his face. Green eyes flitted over his form for a second then turned to glare at Michael, who paid the oldest Winchester no mind at all. Adam couldn’t help but wonder if this beef Dean apparently had with their CEO was one sided.

He was broken out of his thoughts by movement to his right, and he glanced over to see Adler had scooted subtly closer and was still smirking at him like a shark in bloody water.

Adam fought back a scowl and stood up, grabbed his chair, and wheeled it to the other side of Michael so he was now between him and a woman Adam didn’t recognize. It didn't matter to him so long as he put some distance between him and Zachariah.

It might be a little passive aggressive, and definitely not subtle, but Adler was a dick so he also didn’t really care.

It did, however, bring some attention.

Michael frowned. “What are you doing?” He asked quietly. It was more genuine confusion in his voice than anything annoyed, which Adam was grateful for.

Adam hadn’t meant to be so obvious about it though, but he figured he might as well be honest. Or honest enough. So, he leaned in towards the older man to keep the conversation between them relatively private. “I’d rather stay by your side over here, than beside Mr. Adler, if that’s okay with you.” He mumbled.

Like he so often did, Michael did that classic Novak head tilt. Thankfully, the explanation seemed to be good enough because he didn’t question it any further than that and moved onto the meeting.

When he leaned back and placed his fingers on the keyboard, he noticed two things. One, Adler’s unpleasant frown directed right at him. Two, Dean’s unhappy squint that flicked between Adam and Michael.

He ignored both in favor of doing his job and quickly typing out notes.

At some point he realized he’d been more or less zoning out and had only been typing notes by muscle memory. The sound of his brother’s angry voice snapped him out of his bored state.

“It isn’t my fault! I was with Cas-- Mr. Novak, the entire day! I had no time to finish those evaluations!” Dean complained. About what exactly Adam wasn’t entirely sure, but his hotheaded brother’s tone made him want to listen in.

“And as I have told you in the past, Mr. Winchester, your close personal relationship with my brother is not an excuse for you to ignore your professional obligations. Nor does it protect you from any repercussions should you fail to complete your work.” Michael responded calmly.

Knowing Dean, that unphased demeanor was probably just pissing him off even more.

“It’s not an excuse, I didn’t have time. I was already busy working on other things the entire day. I can finish the evals tomorrow morning and send the report as soon as I’m finished. My personal relationships have no impact on my work. I am completely professional.” Dean huffed and crossed his arms, not unlike a stubborn toddler.

Michael stared at Dean for a long moment in silence, then slowly turned his head to give a knowing look at Adam.

He couldn’t help it, Adam burst out laughing. He knew Dean had the personality of an angry bear, but it really spoke volumes that the CEO of their company apparently knew about it too. Dean was good at his job, sure, and that was the main reason he hadn’t been booted forever ago. But to complain he was nothing but ‘professional’ well, that was a stretch.

Several of the men and women around the table looked a little taken aback by Adam’s sudden laughter, and hell even he hadn’t expected it. Dean’s face was an almost comical shade of tomato red too, which made it especially difficult to fight down his grin after he stopped laughing.

Eventually, he managed to clear his throat and shook his head. “I apologize, please excuse my interruption.” He stated as professionally as he muster, still fighting a grin.

Beside him, Michael watched him for only a second more, apparently not as bothered as the others by the disturbance, and turned back towards the table to continue the discussion.

Dean, on the other hand, stayed silent the entire rest of the hour.

After the meeting was dismissed, most of the attendees filtered out of the room talking amongst themselves. Adler, unfortunately, chose to stay back to speak to Michael, and Dean was storming up to Adam as he packed the laptop back into its protective bag.

“Dean? What are you doing?” He frowned as his brother grabbed onto his arm and started tugging him out of the room.

Once they were down the hallway, Dean stopped and rounded on Adam with a suspicious look. “What the hell was that?” He snapped, trying to keep his voice down but not being very successful at it.

“What was what, Dean?”

“You know what! That, in there! You actually laughed at that asshole when he was making fun of me?” His brother accused.

Adam snorted and rolled his eyes in response. “Yeah, ‘cause it was funny. You really think you’re professional?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

The humor of this situation was wearing off fast. Dean, or Sam for that matter, hadn’t spoken to him in weeks, not even to ask him how his new job was going. And now, this was how his older brother decided to strike up a conversation with him?

Adam crossed his arms and glared right back. “It means you follow Castiel around like a love sick puppy. I’m pretty sure you should have been his personal assistant instead of me, since you’re around the guy all the time anyway. I’m really not surprised you didn’t get your actual work done. Of course Michael is gonna be pissed off when you’re slacking.”

If he thought Dean couldn’t look any more ticked off, he was quickly proven wrong. He wasn’t sure if he had ever seen his brother’s face twist that way before. Well, at least not since he first met him when he realized their father had a whole secret son.

“What I do and my relationship with Cas is none of your damn business.” He jabbed his finger into Adam’s chest. He leaned in so close he was almost breathing right on his face. “And that’s not the point. How are you gonna side with that asshole, especially over me!” Dean stepped back just to throw his hands up in the air.

“I’m not siding with anybody, Dean. He made a joke, it was funny, I laughed. That’s all there is to it. It’s really not that complicated.”

Dean squinted at him again. “Michael Novak doesn’t make jokes, Adam. The guys got the personality of a run over slug, and that’s being generous.”

Adam felt the sudden urge to defend his boss. Sure Michael wasn’t exactly the friendliest, but he wasn’t the monster everyone made him out to be. He was a strict disciplinarian that expected work to always be on time and in good order, but he wasn’t a straight up dick all the time.

And yeah, he was kind of a control freak but for the few weeks Adam had been with him, Michael wasn’t entirely bad either. He certainly wasn’t up here roasting babies over an open flame or whatever weird ass rumors people liked to spread about him. For the most part, if he wasn’t annoyed by Adam doing something wrong, he was just sort of…quiet and focused. He stayed in his office most of the day and Adam only saw him once or twice in his full eight hours sometimes. But, when he did, Michael was always busily hunched over paperwork or typing on his computer. It was like the man didn’t have an off switch and was perpetually in work mode.

Then there were those incredibly rare moments in the last couple of weeks when he found Michael not working, or more often than not Michael found him as he walked into the foyer for a cup of coffee while Adam was on lunch. Most times he wouldn’t say anything to him and would just fill his cup and go. But sometimes he would pause and ask Adam if he had drawn anything new that day, or if he preferred to write poetry over prose, or any sort of seemingly meaningless but not unwelcome questions. No one else ever asked him those kind of things before.

It was actually kind of nice.

Dean must have taken his lack of response as a victory because his hard face morphed into a pleased smirk.

Before Adam could correct that and tell his oldest brother to shove his opinions of Michael where the Sun doesn’t shine, they were interrupted by a familiar voice down the hall.

“Is there a problem?” Michael asked as he strode up to them. As always, he walked like he was preparing to lead armies into battle. Or at least that’s how Adam always saw it.

“None at all.” Dean answered, sickeningly sweet. He tossed another squinted glare in Adam’s direction, ordering his silence.

“Well then. If that is the case then I must ask you to return to your floor, and to stop distracting my assistant from his job. I believe I just spoke to you about getting distracted while on the clock, Mr. Winchester. I would hate to have to follow through with repercussions due to disobedience so soon.” Michael said, as blank faced as ever.

Dean, on the other hand, was riled up all over again and scowled. But, no doubt for the sake of his job, he mumbled a short “Yes, sir” and quickly stormed off towards the elevator where Adam saw Adler already waiting for the door to open.

As soon as the door opened and closed with the two men inside, Adam heaved out a long sigh. When he looked up, Michael was still standing there watching him, and he flinched.

“S-Sorry, sir. I’ll get back to work now.” He told him quickly and scurried off to get the meeting notes organized and sent to Michael’s email immediately.

The next week when Adam walked out of the elevator and into the spacious foyer of the top floor, Michael was leaning against the counter in the kitchenette with a steaming cup in his hand.

“Good morning, Mr. Milligan.” He greeted plainly.

It was enough to make Adam stop and stare at him. Michael had never told him good morning before.

“Uh, good morning, Mr. Novak. I don’t usually see you out here this early.” He replied. Michael was usually already holed up in his office by the time Adam arrived.

The man in question hummed and brought the mug to his lips, taking a moment to look outside.

Adam followed his gaze and was shocked to see the hazy appearance of fog dimming the grandeur of the entire city. It had been raining a little, but Adam didn’t think about what the cloudy weather would look like from this high up. He was a little mesmerized by it, until he glanced back at his boss.

“It is beautiful out there, is it not? Even through the rain.” Michael commented distractedly. Then, he set his cup down and turned to face the counter again.

“It is, sir.” Adam agreed, and he meant it. It wasn’t his favorite weather to walk through to get to and from the bus station, but the gentle sound of rain pelting on the glass windows around them was unbeatable.

“Perhaps you can draw it during your lunch. It’s been a while since we’ve had a rainy day like this, maybe you should make use of it.” Michael pointed out, and when he turned back around he had a different cup in his hand. Which, surprisingly, he stepped over and held out to Adam.

“Sir?” He questioned quietly, but took it regardless.

“It’s coffee. If you want cream or sugar though, you will have to put in your own packets. I’m not sure how you take yours.” The CEO explained, as if that had been what Adam’s confusion was over. He seemed to notice the hesitancy remained however and moved away from the counter. “I noticed that you stopped bringing in drinks from the shop down the road. I know that Castiel often had you bring him his favorite from there. He now has his new assistant do it instead. But, he did mention that you used to grab your own drink as well when you went. The coffee here isn’t that, but it’s close enough.” He gave a half shrug and lazily sipped at his drink, staring blankly out the window again while Adam dared to venture closer to drop some cream into his drink.

“I…thank you, sir.” He murmured, still wholly confused. Then, a thought. “You enjoy that shop’s coffee as well, don’t you? You were there, after all. Would you like me to pick you up something from there in the mornings from now on?”

“Hm? Oh, well…now that you mention it, maybe. I would of course compensate you for the time taken outside of your usual work hours to make up for it. I would like to give you my number, if that is amendable.”

Adam froze where he was stirring his drink with a tiny, silver spoon.

The silence dragged on so long that Michael blinked and looked over at him, and Adam realized belatedly that he must have been staring wide-eyed and red at his boss like a crazy person.

“I would like to text you what kind of drink or food item I would like. Did Castiel not do the same?” Michael asked.

“What? Oh, uh, no. He got the same thing every time so I just memorized his order.”

“Ah, I see.” Michael hummed again and his gaze drifted off once more. “I can’t say that I would be satisfied drinking the same thing over and over again everyday. I’d prefer to choose on a day to day basis. So, may I give you my number?”

“I…sure, yes, of course. Just one sec.” Adam fumbled in his bag for a moment then finally yanked out his phone. He clicked a few buttons then handed it over to Michael.

The name “Mr. M Novak” greeted him but he hardly paid it any mind as he typed. When he handed the phone back over to Adam, he looked even more confused.

“Why did you put in two numbers?” He asked.

“One is for my work phone. I selected the ‘Work’ option under the type of number it is. The other is my personal cell, which I trust you will not give out to anyone.” Michael’s gaze hardened as he squinted in Adam’s direction.

“Of course not!” He assured, quickly pocketing the phone back in his bag. “I would never. Besides, the last thing you need is for Dean to get a hold of it. He’ll make your life a living hell, uh, sir.” He quickly tacked onto the end.

“Mm, of that I have no doubt. Your brother is somehow especially equipped at giving me headaches.” Michael responded dryly.

Still, the matter-of-fact way he spoke about it made Adam laugh again, just like he had in the meeting last week.

“You aren't the only one, trust me. So…er, I guess I should get to work then?” Adam said as he took his steaming mug. “I’ll go set my things down then make sure to get those reports from Mr. Adler first thing, Mr. Novak.” He promised.

Before he could leave though, Michael’s voice stopped him again.

“Actually, I don’t think I will be sending you to get my reports from Mr. Adler anymore. I have already informed him that your suggestion to email the reports so that you may print them out here is a better use of everyone’s time. He is to email them to you instead. That goes for most other work I will need from him. Effective immediately.”

What?

“I’m not going to have to go see Mr. Adler anymore?” Adam asked, perplexed. But if he was being honest, he kind of wanted to see him just one more time so he could see the look on his stupid face when the creepy bastard had to actually email someone ‘lower’ than him.

“No. I found your suggestion of emailing it and printing it out here much more efficient.”

Something still irked at Adam about that though. He wasn’t complaining, but it still felt a little too good to be true.

“I apologize if this comes out too strong, Mr. Novak, but I don’t remember telling you that I suggested that to Mr. Adler.” Adam said.

“Oh, you didn’t. Zachariah told me, after our last meeting. He was under the impression that the idea was completely ridiculous and I believe he may have been intending to insult you. However, I found no problem with taking your consideration and implementing it.” Michael informed easily.

Did miracles really happen? To Adam of all people? Finally?

Oh, he could drop to his knees and grovel right now if it meant he’d never have to look Zachariah Adler in the face ever again. At least not one on one.

Adam’s face must have been splitting in two with how hard he was smiling. “Well, I’m glad you liked it, sir. In that case, I will check my email and print the reports out here.”

“If he hasn’t sent it by now then I do hope you will tell me. I will ensure he knows this change is nonnegotiable and that immediate action is required.” Michael said, nodded, then walked back towards his office.

Adam watched him go and the second he was out of sight he almost wanted to dance. No more Adler! Save for meetings, unfortunately, but a win was a win and he would take it.

With a pep in his step that he hadn’t felt in months, hell maybe even years, Adam strolled towards his office, excited for the work day.

Chapter Text

It was easy to fall back into getting up a little earlier so he could go to the coffee shop down the road. It was also a little weird texting his boss, even just about which coffee he’d like, but after the first few days even that began to feel like just another part of the normal routine too.

He was also getting texts from Dean and Sam again, though it was in a new group chat that Adam was pretty sure Dean created solely to complain about Michael. Even though Adam was absolutely certain his brother hadn’t seen the guy again since the meeting a while ago.

For the most part he ignored it, letting Dean rant and rave as he pleased. Sometimes though it did give him a little bit of a peek into the personal world that was Michael Novak’s life however. There were a handful of times that Dean complained about Michael ‘getting on Cas’ nerves at the family dinner last weekend’ or ‘Cas said that Michael shot down another offer to go out with him again. Seriously, what a prude!’ or ‘the guy’s got an entire oak tree shoved up his ass! And apparently he’s so boring all he wants to talk about is work, even with his brothers. Cas hates it’.

Adam would read the messages but very rarely reply. Sam would usually give some kind of half-hearted response and attempt to tell Dean to let it go, which always ended up in another rant about how boring and selfish Michael was.

Naturally, Adam didn’t tell his boss anything about the group chat and carried on like normal.

That is, until one morning as he stood in line to order him and Michael their drinks, his phone dinged with a new message from Dean in the chat. Normally he would have ignored it, like he did most of the time. But his name caught his eye long enough that he had to stop and stare.

‘Adam, Cas said Michael talked about you last night at dinner’

If that wasn’t enough for a double take, nothing was.

Michael talked about him? Was it a good thing or a bad thing? Was it in passing like ‘my assistant grabbed these papers for me today’ or something with more substance?

Before he knew it he was at the register and had already forgotten the drink Michael had asked for and had to swipe back to see what it was.

After he ordered, he trudged down to the end of the counter to wait and pulled out his phone again.

‘What did Michael say about me?’ He replied then quickly deposited it back into his pocket before he got too antsy. Did he even want to know? Maybe Castiel didn’t elaborate and Dean didn’t even know. But would that even be any better?

He didn’t know if it was a blessing or a curse when he didn’t feel his phone buzz as he made his way back to the NovakOn building. Mostly because he didn’t think he’d be able to resist looking at what Dean replied and he would probably spill one or both coffees in the process.

When he stepped out of the elevator and towards Michael’s office, he found the man seated at his desk as per usual. What wasn’t so typical though was the look he was getting when he walked in and set his boss’s drink down on his desk.

“Good morning, Mr. Novak.” He tried to coax something out of the man with a kindly greeting, but Michael just continued to stare at him. Alright then. “I…should get to work.”

“Mr. Milligan, sit.”

Oh shit.

Adam did sit, and he held his own hot drink in his hands just to give them something to do other than shake.

It had been a little while since Michael brought out the ‘boss voice’ like that on him. And Adam would be lying if he said it didn’t kind of do things for him, but that was a fact he would take to his grave, thank you very much.

Really though, Michael always had an air of domination around him. He spoke with purpose and clarity, and directed those around him like a commander lining up his soldiers. Truly, everything about Michael and the way he ran things was like a well oiled machine. Always perfect, clean, and fast.

Still, lately, Adam had noticed a hint of that slipping. Well, not slipping, but calming down in certain moments. Like in the “good mornings” they now shared that they hadn’t before. Or when Michael would ask him about his latest sketch if he came out of his office while Adam was spending his lunch on the couch. He had even shown the man a few, and was pleased when Michael nodded his head in approval.

His voice was a touch softer in those moments too. Quieter. No less strong and definitely not weak by any definition of the word, but not quite so intimidating either.

So, when Michael narrowed his eyes at him and told him to sit in a way that was usually reserved for when he was getting his ass chewed out, Adam knew that somewhere, somehow, he had fucked up.

To make matters worse, Michael continued to watch him in silence even after he had already sat down, and it made Adam want to squirm.

Mercifully, he finally cleared his throat.

“Mr. Milligan, I believe you may have made a mistake this morning that you did not intend for me to see.”

A mistake? How could Adam have already made a mistake today? And that he didn’t want him to see? He wasn’t sure what that meant. He just got there and he definitely didn't do anything that he purposely tried to hide form his employer.

“Did I…get your order wrong?” He asked slowly.

Michael raised an eyebrow.

Okay. Not the wrong order then.

“No. Actually, I received your message this morning but I don’t think it was intended for me. Would you care to explain what it meant?” Michael asked.

A message?

Adam pulled out his phone and checked the last text he had sent. ‘What did Michael say about me?’ Above it, he realized with horror, was ‘Mr. M Novak’, right there over the daily coffee request.

Ah, fuck.

“U-Um, well, sir, you see…it’s a different Michael.” He blurted out. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Clearly he wasn’t even remotely believable because Michael raised his eyebrow again even higher.

“I do believe that we had a discussion on your first day here about honesty, Mr. Milligan.” Michael reminded him with a frown.

“R-Right.” Adam swallowed. How the hell was he supposed to explain this? He wasn’t about to tell his boss that Dean made an entire group chat to shit talk about him and that Adam had just gone along with it this whole time. He heaved out a sigh and deflated. “Dean sent me a message earlier saying that Cas-- I mean Mr. Novak-- mentioned you saying something about me at your family dinner over the weekend. I was curious, I wanted to know what you said about me. I guess I was just hoping it was…something good.”

If the earth could open up and swallow him whole in that moment he would die a happy man. He could feel the heat in his face as he admitted his own childish curiosity to his boss. The CEO, for god’s sake!

For not the first time that morning, Michael sat back and appraised Adam in silence. The longer he did though, the more red Adam was sure he was getting.

“That’s all?” He finally asked.

Adam nodded numbly and stared down at the cup in his lap. God, he was so embarrassed. What a stupid mistake, he was such an idiot. He didn’t even have the will to answer properly. Not that it mattered, he was pretty sure Michael was about to call him a weirdo and throw him out anyway.

“I see. Well, since you were wondering, yes. I did say good things about you.”

Adam’s head snapped up so fast he was sure something cracked. “What?”

“I had good things to say about you, so I said them.” Michael stated like it was obvious. “Though I had thought that Castiel had the mind to keep our private family matters, well, private. Clearly I misjudged just how much he says to that brother of yours. Regardless, I didn’t say anything damning about you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Adam didn’t know what to say other than “You didn’t? Really?”

Michael tilted his head. “What would I say bad about you?”

He didn’t have an answer for that. Actually, he had a lot of answers to that, but none that he wanted to burden his boss with, so he stayed silent.

“Anyway, I’m not sure what all your brother has told you or what Castiel has told him. But, my siblings do often ask me to speak about something other than numbers and profit margins at the dinner table.” Michael went on, as if he hadn’t just shifted Adam’s whole world so easily. “While it is still about work in a way, I thought they might appreciate hearing about how wonderful my newest assistant was. I also told them about your artwork that you do in that journal of yours. Raphael especially enjoys the arts, so I thought he may appreciate the sentiment. Castiel seemed more interested in your poetry though. Did he not know you wrote it?” Michael asked, seeming genuinely confused, as he finally picked up his drink after speaking more than Adam had ever heard him say before.

Finally, he felt like his brain was starting to come back online and he laughed. Honest to god laughed. He probably looked crazy but he didn’t know how to feel.

Michael had actually praised him? Not even to his employees but to his family? Did he really think that highly of him? Adam never would have guessed that, but Michael had always been difficult to read. The sound of anyone actually going out of their way to speak about him like that was beyond his comprehension. Even Sam and Dean couldn’t be bothered to ask him about his art or writing. Not that he was great at it or anything, but he did it often enough that they knew about it. The only one who had ever bothered to ask was his mom and she was long gone now.

“No, I…don’t think it ever came up around the other…Mr. Novak. I usually spent my breaks and lunches in the breakroom when I was under him, so he never saw my journal. But, it’s much nicer spending my lunches up here. So, really, I’m glad you allow me to.” Adam fidgeted slightly. He wasn’t sure how to feel. He wasn’t used to this kind of attention and it made him feel weird.

“I see no reason why you wouldn’t be able to. You clean up after yourself and go straight back to work without incident. If anything, spending your lunch up here is more convenient for you. Less time wasted going back and forth.”

And fewer assholes to make fun of him, he thought dryly. He kept that to himself though.

“So…it was all good things, then? That you said about me?” Adam dared to ask.

And for the first time since he had known him, Adam’s breath caught as a corner of Michael’s mouth twitched upwards in the barest smile. It wasn’t much, but it was the first time he had seen anything of the sort on the stubbornly stoic man.

“Yes, Adam, all good things, I assure you.”

A smile and his name?

Surely he had actually died in his sleep last night and this was all actually some sort of cosmic joke. A prank played by some kind of trickster entity. But even as he subtly pinched himself to see if he’d wake up, he blinked and continued to watch Michael’s slight smile.

And god if Adam hadn’t thought the man could get any hotter he was so, so wrong. The tough, CEO look was good too for sure, but after seeing that smile? It lit something up in Adam that he hadn’t even realized was there. He didn’t know exactly what it was either but he knew he wanted to see more of it.

When it became clear that he wasn’t going to respond due to a mental freak out, though whether or not his boss could tell that, Michael mercifully filled the silence again.

“I hope I haven’t made you uncomfortable. I can refrain from speaking about you outside of the office if you’d prefer.”

Oh, did Michael think that was why Adam was silent? He wasn’t smiling anymore either, and that realization kickstarted his desperate need to see it again.

“No, no, it’s alright. I’m just surprised is all. I didn’t think I was interesting enough for anybody to talk about.” Adam admitted with a slight shrug and a grimace. Geez, way to tell your boss you’re not even worth the breath.

Michael’s eyebrows rose though, and he looked a little surprised. “I see.”

What was that supposed to mean?

He didn’t ask though and he watched as the CEO turned his attention back to his computer. “I believe it is time for us to get back to work, Mr. Milligan.” He prompted, and that decision was always final.

Adam nodded and quietly excused himself out of the room, resisting the urge to go check the bathroom mirror to see how badly red his face was.

Later in the week, Adam was tasked with going down a few floors for Michael. It wasn’t too often that he actually had to traverse all the way down here, but this time his boss had insisted he gather some reports from the PR department. And who was Adam to argue?

Getting down there was easy of course, but it wasn’t a floor that Adam was very familiar with. Still, he managed to find who he was searching for and got the requested graphs and statistics bundled into his arms neatly.

On his way back towards the elevator, he realized several people were staring at him. That was…strange. Did he have something on his face?

He offered a small, friendly wave hoping it would stave off some of the tense he suddenly felt, but when none of the employees returned the gesture he only frowned more. What the hell?

He was so distracted he didn’t pay enough attention and ran right into a woman, effectively knocking all the papers out of his arms and all over the ground.

“Shit!” He hissed, but he wasn’t an asshole so he turned his attention back to the woman. “I’m so sorry. Are you alright?”

The lady scowled and took a step back away from him. “Watch where you’re going, kid. Are you stupid?”

“Hey!” Adam snapped back, but crouched down to start quickly gathering the fallen papers again. He’d have to reorganize them before he gave them to Michael, which would take even more time. If there was one truth in this world, it was that Michael Novak hated things being late. “It was an accident. Clearly I didn’t mean to run into you and drop all my stuff.” He grumbled.

More eyes were on them, he could feel them. But, he ignored them in favor of glaring up at the woman while picking up the last of the papers.

“Sure, whatever. I can’t believe Mr. Novak would keep a clutz like you around. I didn’t think so at first, but I guess it’s gotta be what everybody says after all.” The lady’s lip curled up in disgust, her judging eyes felt grossly invasive.

“What everyone thinks?”

She ignored him and, judging by her face, came to the conclusion she was looking for. “You are sort of easy on the eyes, I guess. Maybe they were right that there’s a reason you’ve last longer than any of Mr. Novak’s other assistants.” Her face only grew more twisted in disgust before she shook her head and stepped back some more. She finally walked away muttering something about “I would never stoop that low” until she was out of sight.

By then, several pairs of eyes were still on him as he stood stock still.

Surely she wasn’t insinuating what he thought she was…right? People didn’t actually think that Adam was still in his position because he…

He bolted for the elevator and scrambled inside the second it opened. Once in, he hugged the papers close to his chest, ignoring anyone that got on or got off on his ride back to the top floor.

Was that really what people thought about him? About Michael?

First they tried to make him out to be some sort of horrible monster with a cruelty streak, and now they were spreading rumors that he was using Adam under the table?

A wave of humiliation and anger that he had never felt before crashed over him just as the doors to the elevator slid open to familiar territory. He stumbled out and made it to his own little office in a haze, still reeling from it all.

He wasn’t really paying any attention as he tried to put the papers all back in order. Thankfully they were actually numbered so he didn’t really have to think much at all about what he was looking at. It did make it so easy for his mind to wander though and those mortifying thoughts tore through him with a vengeance.

How many people in this building thought that about them? Who would even start a rumor like that in the first place? Why? They didn’t know him. They didn’t even know Michael! Did Sam and Dean know about the rumor too? Did they believe it?

Adam clenched his teeth as heat rose behind his eyes.

Why was it always like this? Every time he thought he had something good, it slipped straight through his hands again and left him emptier than he had been before.

He enjoyed his job with Michael for the most part. Sure it was fast paced and he had to self-discipline a lot to keep up with it all, but he didn’t hate it. And Michael was fine as long as he didn’t get ticked off. Which, shockingly, wasn’t nearly as often as Adam had thought when he first heard about him.

But rumors like that about them? Could he really just ignore them knowing that hundreds if not thousands of people right below their feet were whispering nasty things about them? Though it wasn’t like he had much of a reputation of taint anyway. He didn’t have any friends here and the only people he really did know were his brothers, Michael, and kind of Castiel.

But Michael? He had everything to lose if this got too big. What if it became a public scandal? Could Adam really keep this job if it meant that Michael might end up paying the price for his own selfishness? But he liked it here, he wanted to stay here with Michael, he--

“Adam?”

Michael’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts and wide eyes snapped up. Michael was standing in the open doorway with a crease in his brow and a small frown.

“Are you alright?”

Three simple words and yet they felt like a punch in the gut. When was the last time anybody had actually asked him that?

A new rush of pressure pushed from behind his eyes but he fought against it.

No, no, no! He was not going to start balling his eyes out in front of his boss. He was better than this, he had to be.

“I…” He started but his voice cracked. The crease in Michael’s brow only deepened, but Adam refused to let him see him cry. Goddammit, he had to get a grip. “I’m…fine.”

“Adam.” Michael stared at him in what could only be called a ‘don’t bullshit me’ kinda way.

Adam sighed and looked back down at the papers he had been mindlessly sorting.

“Okay, fine. I’m a little freaked out. I ran into this lady in PR, literally, and dropped all these papers. And on top of that, she was a rude bitch.” On a normal day he would never have spoken to his boss like that but he was still pretty riled up. He swept an arm in a frustrated motion into the air as he continued to speak. “Then! She has the gall to say that ‘the rumors’ were true, which apparently means that people think that we…uh…”

Finally his mind was catching up with his mouth and he floundered. He couldn’t exactly come out and say that everyone thought he was sleeping with the boss to the boss.

He also dreaded actually looking at Michael again because he was sure he wasn’t going to like the attitude he just had. He expected an immediate write up, but instead he just got a sigh.

He looked up again and Michael had his eyes closed, slowly shaking his head.

Okay…so, not mad?

“I apologize, Adam. I wasn’t aware people would be so bold as to say those types of things to your face.” The CEO actually grimaced, and it was the most emotion Adam had ever seen on the man. “There are rumors that circulate about me all the time. I am used to it, it is part of the job. Unfortunately, that means that anyone even remotely close to me often endures the same. Everyone always assumes I take my assistants because of personal…preferences, you could say. Even Castiel has been accused of the same. But, I would have hoped that those who were cowardly enough to spread such lies at least had the decency not to shove them in your face.” Michael’s face formed into something a bit more familiar. It was ticked off, but…no, that wasn’t right either. This wasn’t the same look he got when he was annoyed or impatient or even scolding. No, this was actually pissed off.

Adam gaped at him like a fish out of water. He hadn’t ever seen Michael actually angry before, clearly, because this was an expression Adam would have remembered. He simultaneously wanted to run away and hide, but also craved to come closer and grovel at his feet like a servant to an angry god.

“So you’re…you know about the rumors?” He asked weakly.

Sharp eyes darted to his and he resisted the urge to flinch.

“Yes. As I said, there are always rumors about me. However, I would like to know if you caught the name of the ‘bitch’ that said those nasty things to you and made you upset.” Michael stated firmly.

Was he…? Surely not. Surely he wasn’t getting protective?

No, Michael wasn’t doing this for Adam’s sake. He was doing this to keep his own image clean.

“I…no, I don’t know her name. But I’m guessing she works in PR and there were plenty of people watching us. Maybe one of them will report it?” He offered.

“Unlikely. However, if I initiate an investigation then the head of that department will have no choice but to look into it and find the woman. I’ll make him look back on the security footage as well.” Michael spoke, almost to himself, and nodded as if approving of his own plans.

“Are you going to fire her?”

“If it can be proven through the investigation that she was being vicious towards you? Yes.” The older man stated as a matter-of-factly.

Weirdly, Adam didn’t feel as guilty about that as he thought he might.

In fact, something warm and tingly bubbled up in his chest, and he had to push it back down.

“Okay…” He agreed quietly. Then, he looked down and realized he still hadn’t completed his last duty. “Oh, uh. That paperwork you wanted, sir. I think I put it all back into order now.” He said as he lifted the stack and walked it over to Michael with a kind smile.

He was surprised at how much better he felt. He didn’t feel like a black hole was swallowing him whole or that the world was conspiring against him anymore. At least not right now.

No, in this moment, he was pretty sure the Sun was standing right in front of him and wouldn’t let him burn.

Chapter Text

Colder days were slowly but surely coming. Fall was approaching and it made the walk to and from the bus stops a little more of a hassle, but Adam couldn't be bothered to care.

He had worked for Michael for a handful of months now, and strangely had learned to ignore the rumors just as well as the CEO did. It was easy, of course, when Adam mostly didn’t have to interact with anyone other than Michael and a few of the other higher ups in the first place.

After the incident with the nasty woman from PR and her quick termination thereafter, Adam had noticed a lot less eyes on him whenever he did have to go out of his usual bounds of the top floor. He also hadn’t had the displeasure of running into any more walking, talking rumor mills either, which he was glad for.

Lip flapping gossipers aside, Adam did appreciate the weather cooling, and decided that he deserved something better than a microwave meal for dinner for once.

Coming home, a take out bag in hand, he slipped off his shoes at the door and walked into his apartment. It was as quiet as usual, the only sound was the faint rustling of the orange trees in the wind by the road. But, it was home.

He slapped the to-go container onto the cheap coffee table in his living room and began to dig in. He clicked on the TV, put something on, then ate in silence for a while.

He was used to it. Even when he lived with Sam and Dean, he was more often than not alone in his room, or the guest room they called it despite him being there for years. While his brothers sometimes went out to eat with him and usually offered him food if they cooked it, the end was almost always the same. They chatted with each other in the living room while Adam either went back to his room or just sat with them without actually saying much of anything.

So, he was used to this, the almost supernatural silence around him. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t still a little lonely.

It was Friday though, which meant no work for the next two days, which also meant plenty of sleeping in. That he expected, as well as the boredom of spending all his free time alone in his tiny apartment all weekend.

Come Sunday evening, as he was getting ready for bed before work the next morning, his phone dinged with a new message.

He blinked and just about felt his eyes jump out of his head at the name on his screen. “Mr. M Novak”. Michael never messaged him outside of coffee requests, let alone this time of night. Adam had no idea what his boss could want from him right now, but he anxiously hit the notification to take him to their messages.

MN [9:13 PM]: ‘I apologize for messaging you so late. However, I wanted to warn you that I’ve come down with a cold or the flu, so you won’t see much of me tomorrow.’

Huh. Not what he expected, but not bad. Well, not losing his job bad, anyway.

At first he wondered if he should reply at all, but as he got comfortable in bed and laid there, staring at the screen with the words of someone else actually reflecting back at him, he felt the strong desire to.

Fuck it. That would be the polite thing to do anyway, wouldn’t it?

AM [9:15 PM]: ‘I’m sorry to hear that. Will you still be there tomorrow or are you going to stay home to rest?’

It felt overly formal, especially as a text message, but this was still his ridiculously hot boss he was messaging so he wanted to do it right.

MN [9:16 PM]: ‘I will be there. But, I don’t expect you to come into my office.’

MN [9:16 PM]: ‘I don’t want you to get sick.’

That was it, wasn’t it? He should just end it now with a ‘goodnight, sir’ and let it lie.

But his fingers twitched with the desire to not let this go. This completely innocent, admittedly even sort of sweet, conversation from his strange, stiff, but at times considerate boss.

Common sense screamed at him to shut up and not try and drag this out, but his thumbs were moving before he could listen.

AM [9:20 PM]: ‘Are you sure you should come in if you’re sick? instead of resting?’

Hopefully he didn’t sound like a dick that was just hoping his boss would be out for a day or two.

MN [9:22 PM]: 'Unfortunately, I cannot afford to lose a day of work due to a cold.’

Or the flu, Adam supplied in his head.

It made sense though. It wasn’t like he really expected Michael Novak aka Workaholic of the Year to take a day off just cause he was sick. It didn’t seem to be in the guy’s nature.

He chewed on his bottom lip and reread the message.

Then, an idea popped in his head.

AM [9:25 PM]: ‘Can I bring you something?’

AM [9:26 PM]: ‘to help with your cold’

God, did he really just say that? His boss was going to think he was a freak.

Well, too late now. He made his bed so he had to lie in it. He really didn’t mind possibly making something for Michael though, if it made the man feel better.

MN [9:28 PM]: ‘What were you thinking?’

Oh hey, that was better than a straight up no, right?

AM [9:29 PM]: ‘My mom always used to make me the best soup when I was sick. It works like a charm, trust me. It’ll help you feel better in no time’

He actually managed to start dozing off by the time his phone buzzed with another notification. The second he heard it though he snatched it and opened the alert.

MN [9:38 PM]: ‘If you would like to.’

MN [9:38 PM]: ‘I would appreciate it.’

Knowing he could do something to help Michael after the man had been more than agreeable with him over the rumors that had been spread and allowing him to spend his lunches on his floor, something about being able to do this one little thing for him made Adam feel almost giddy.

AM [9:40]: ‘I’m on it, don’t worry :)’

He was already out of bed before he even hit send and was rushing to the kitchen. Thankfully for both him and Michael, he keeps most of the ingredients he needs stocked in the kitchen at all times during the colder months. Plus, for the fresher ingredients, he had just gone shopping the day before on his day off so he was good on that front too. He was glad since he had offered before actually thinking about whether or not he had everything.

But, as he started throwing things onto the counter to start prepping everything, he was pleased to see that not a single thing was missing.

First things first, he tossed some chicken into a pan to cook, then started a pot of broth and several vegetables on a simmering heat. From his pocket he heard his phone again and whipped it out to check it immediately.

MN [9:51 PM]: ‘Tonight? Shouldn’t you be going to bed? You have work in the morning.’

Adam couldn’t help but chuckle. Michael was sick and yet he still insisted on thinking about work.

AM [9:52 PM]: ‘You’re sick so shouldn’t you be in bed already too?’

It was a fair point, Adam thought.

He set the phone down on the counter and focused his attention back on the food just long enough to flip the chicken and stir the broth before it dinged again.

MN [9:56 PM]: ‘Again, I reject your suggestion to rest. I’m writing emails.’

Adam snorted.

It took a while but he had actually come to understand Michael’s strange, and somewhat dry, sense of humor more. So, he was pretty certain the first half of that text was meant to be a joke. At least probably.

AM [9:57 PM]: ‘Then I guess we will have to be tired in the morning together. I’ll bring coffee too.’

MN [9:58 PM]: ‘You would bring a sick man coffee and soup? How noble.’

Adam laughed again at that as he threw in some spices over the chicken and lowered the heat.

AM [10:00 PM]: ‘I’m your assistant and this is me assisting you. Someone has to make sure you stay awake to send those emails.’

This actually felt a little too easy, talking to his mega rich and stuffy boss like this. But this was the first time they actually texted outside of what Michael wanted for coffee and the occasional work inquiry.

He wasn’t sure what this even was if he was honest. It wasn’t something he expected from a man like Michael Novak. Then again, Dean and Castiel were such good friends, weren’t they? And sure Dean wasn’t a personal assistant, but Castiel was still much higher on the scale than Dean. So, if they were friends then maybe he and Michael could be too…?

MN [10:03 PM]: ‘Well, I am grateful to have such a wonderful assistant.’

Was he? Michael wasn’t one to sugar coat things, Adam had found that out incredibly quickly. He also didn’t say things he didn’t mean, or give out compliments freely, which meant he really must mean this one.

Adam felt his face heating up and he didn’t think it was from the stove.

So, he wrote the only thing he could think of.

AM [10:06 PM]: ‘you’re just saying that lol’

Holy fuck, could he have said anything cringier?

MN [10:09 PM]: ‘I am not. You are a very caring and bright young man, Adam. I am glad to have you.’

Surely he didn’t mean that? But it wasn’t in Michael’s character to say frilly words, let alone say them and not think they were the truth. Still, it made wrapping his head around it a little harder and his blush a whole lot deeper. Thank god he was alone in his apartment right now.

AM [10:12 PM]: ‘Thank you, sir. That means a lot coming from you’

It really, really did.

Someone like Michael even noticing him, let alone acknowledging his hard work, was something unknown to Adam. That’s why he began typing another message before he could talk himself out of it, so his boss knew how much that meant to him as well.

AM [10:13 PM]: ‘I am grateful to have you as my boss too’

And, send.

He really hoped he wasn’t crossing some unspoken “don’t flirt-- but not really flirting, just being nice-- with your boss” line.

It wasn’t flirting, especially not from Michael’s side of things. He was just being kind. But Adam couldn’t help but feel like it was more, even when he knew better. He wanted it to be, really. He wanted that sort of connection with someone and this was the closest he had gotten to it in a long, long time.

So no, it wasn’t flirting. Yet Adam was still toeing the line of wishing it was. And that was a dangerous place to be.

MN [10:15 PM]: ‘I am glad.’

It was simple, but honestly Adam believed it. And that made him smile like an idiot at his phone.

Deciding that he had done enough gushing over a man totally out of his league for one night, he turned his attention back to the stove to finish up the soup. Once everything was thrown in and it was heating on the oven, he dug around into his cabinet until he found some Tupperware and once he filled them, they were placed in the fridge to wait until tomorrow.

It wasn’t until he got back to bed and crawled in that he checked his phone again and saw a new message.

MN [10:21 PM]: ‘I’m going to retire for the night. Have a good rest of your evening, Adam. I will see you tomorrow.’

Sent almost fifteen minutes ago, so maybe he shouldn’t reply. But, that would be rude, right?

AM [10:34 PM]: ‘Goodnight, see you tomorrow :)’

He didn’t know why, but being able to text someone goodnight just felt right.

The next morning, after grabbing two coffees from the shop down the block, Adam walked into Michael’s office with a smile.

The man in question was where he normally was at his desk already knee deep in paperwork, and Adam realized that even sickness couldn’t distract from how handsome he was. Sure he was a little pale and his eyes were more tired, but he looked good all the same in Adam’s opinion.

“Good morning, Mr. Novak. Your coffee, sir.” He said as he set it down on the desk where it always went. “I brought that soup I promised too. I put it in the mini fridge in the kitchen, just heat it up and I promise you’ll feel a million times better. Mom always made it for me growing up and it works miracles.” He bragged.

Adorably, Michael sniffled a little and snatched up his coffee like a man dying of thirst. Adam had tried to convince him via text that morning to get one of the herbal teas instead to help his cold, but he found out that Michael apparently was a coffee fanatic and refused to sway from his liquid ambrosia.

“Thank you again, Mr. Milligan. I do appreciate your thoughtfulness.” Michael replied after a long, almost comical gulp of no doubt scalding coffee.

“It’s no problem, sir.” He shrugged. To him it wasn’t much of an issue at all, he was just giving someone what he always liked when he was sick. “Well, I’ll let you get back to work. Call or text if you need me, of course. I don’t mind taking on a little more work if you need me to while you get better.”

“Mm.” Was all the reply he got, yet Adam had a smile on his face as he walked out the door anyway.

Getting into work was relatively easy after that and he fell into the motions of the day without any trouble. It wasn’t much different than any other day where he rarely saw the man who signs his paychecks.

Come lunchtime, he sat in his usual spot on the couch, half eaten lunch of soup on the table, and his journal on his lap. When Michael walked in, Adam could hear his feet dragging just a tiny bit, and that alone was enough for him to know his boss really wasn’t feeling great after all.

“Coming to get some soup?” He asked, turning his head to watch the taller man make a beeline for the small fridge.

“Yes. I think it would do me some good.” Michael nodded and put the tub into the microwave.

“It’ll help, I promise. You do sound a little hoarse. You’re not taking calls today, are you?” Adam asked, turning his body to see him better.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Michael sighed. He was leaning on the counter, arms crossed, and looking as good as usual despite his ailment. Adam was pretty sure the suits he wore would cost his entire salary and then some.

“Should you be? I’m sure at least some of them can be emails instead? I can look at your schedule and move some things around if you want.”

At first he was entirely sure that he was going to be rejected as usual, but Michael surprised him by sighing again and nodding.

“Actually, maybe that would be for the best. Could you move some of my calls and video meetings for this afternoon to later in the week where there’s room? I hope my voice will be better by then. I hate sounding ill while speaking to my colleagues. It makes me look bad.” The CEO grunted.

Adam laughed a little. “Sir, it will take a lot more than a sore throat to make you look bad. You always look good.”

He didn’t realize what he was saying until it was already out of his mouth, but by then it was too late. He dared to glance at Michael, who blinked at him a few times. Then, he felt his entire face and ears heat up and he started sputtering.

“I-I mean, I didn’t mean to say that. N-Not to say that you don’t always look good, ‘cause you do. You really do. But--wait, I didn’t mean it like that, I just--” Adam fumbled over his words and with each one wished harder that he could just disappear.

It didn’t help that his boss was just staring at him, blinking like he was watching something he truly couldn’t comprehend. And honestly? He probably couldn't. If Adam was lucky he could play all this off as a bad joke and they could forget it ever happened, but he had to stop word vomiting first and so far he was failing at that too.

Finally, Michael reacted with something other than pure shock, or as much shock as a man that stoic could actually express, and threw his head back in a laugh.

An actual, real laugh.

Holy shit. He made Michael laugh.

He stopped stumbling over his words from the shock of it. In the months he’d known the man, he had hardly even heard a chuckle from Michael’s lips, let alone a full laugh. He hadn’t even been convinced he could laugh.

And sure, it might not be the best time with his throat sore as it probably was, but Adam didn’t have it in him to regret hearing such a lovely sound. Not at all.

The microwave beeping was enough to break the spell and Michael turned towards it to grab his food, but Adam still saw a small upturn on his lips. He closed the microwave and grabbed a spoon. Turning back to lean on the counter but instead of eating immediately, he raised an eyebrow and smirked at his personal assistant in a way he never had before.

It made Adam gulp.

“S-So…is the soup any good?” He asked nervously.

Michael just chuckled this time and leaned down to take a spoonful into his mouth. He waited a moment, like he was judging the flavors of a five star meal, before nodding his approval.

“It’s good. Thank you, Adam. It’s just what I needed.”

At least there was that much he could do right after embarrassing himself so badly.

“I’m glad, Mr. Novak. I can always make more if you need it too.” He offered up.

To his surprise, Michael didn’t immediately shut the idea down.

“Perhaps. You must be a good cook. This is quite good. You mentioned that your mother used to make this for you? Does she still make it for you now that you’re older?” Michael asked.

Adam didn’t know if he was genuinely curious or if he was asking out of courtesy, but either way he knew by the sudden frown that crossed his boss’s face that his own expression must have fallen. It always did when his mother was brought up, despite the years that had passed.

“Uh, no. She passed away a few years ago, when I was nineteen, so I just make it for myself now.” He shrugged. He didn’t mean to make things awkward but that was the truth, which was something Michael always said he wanted.

“I see. I apologize for bringing it up, I didn’t know. However, I must say, she taught you well. This really is good.” The older man offered out, and it was enough to break the somewhat soured mood and make Adam smile slightly.

“Thanks. And honestly? Don’t be sorry. It’s sorta nice to talk about her sometimes, especially about what a great mom she was. And she really was the best. So…yeah. I hope her soup helps you too.” Adam replied with a small smile. Now that he thought about it, he really couldn’t remember the last time someone wanted to ask about his mom.

“You don’t talk with your brothers about your mother?”

Ah. There was the obvious question, but still the one Adam dreaded the most.

“Sam and Dean didn’t know her. They met, like…once, when our dad died. That’s when we all found out that each other even existed. They met mom then, but then she passed shortly after and, well, now I’m here in this city with half-brothers that I didn’t even know existed until I was technically an adult.” Adam shrugged. It was shitty but he had accepted it years ago. It wasn’t Sam and Dean’s fault that their dad kept a secret family.

When he looked up, he was fully prepared to see the pitying look he always got when he told people his mother had passed when he was still a teen and that he had a shitty dad. But what he saw instead in Michael’s expression was genuine concentration. He was listening and giving Adam his full attention, like he and his sob story actually mattered. But there wasn’t a hint of pity in his eyes, just quiet acceptance, and Adam was a little stunned about it.

“So, they are your half brothers, then? That explains the differences in last names.” Michael stated logically, nodding at his own conclusions. “Still, they don’t speak of her with you? It would be a shame to not honor her memory by not talking about her.”

Adam swallowed.

“Sam and Dean, uh…no, we don’t really talk about her much.” He admitted quietly.

He went quiet after that. As much as he would love to talk about his mom and how amazing she was, he didn’t need to burden his boss with that. He knew he was just being polite in asking, and Adam appreciated that, but it wasn’t the same as genuine curiosity. Of course Michael’s expression didn’t seem fake at all, Adam just couldn’t fathom that it was actually real concern.

“Do you have anyone to speak to about these kinds of things?” Michael asked suddenly, and actually cocked his head to the side. It was a move he had seen Castiel do time and time again, and Adam realized long ago that it must’ve been a family trait. An utterly adorable family trait, but he didn’t say that out loud.

And how does he respond to that? He could lie, he supposed, but Michael would probably be able to tell. The guy could sniff out a lie from thirty feet away. Why should he anyway? It’s not like his chronic loneliness really affected Michael in any way. As long as he showed up and did his work, his boss would be happy. Anything else was just polite chatter.

It was a little embarrassing to admit the answer to that, and he hadn’t even done so to himself really. Since he moved to this city a few years ago to live with Sam and Dean after his mother died, he had no one but his half-brothers. He didn’t know anyone in this city and he hadn’t really made any friends either.

Then, getting the assistant job under Castiel, while better than expected, didn’t exactly lend itself to making casual conversation with like-minded coworkers. Most of the time Adam was just running quick errands, taking notes, or any other number of solitude-inducing work that didn’t leave much time for chatting. And those that he was most often around were higher ups in the company that had offices on Castiel’s floor, and were typically much older than him, save for Castiel and Dean respectively.

He didn’t have any friends here. His mother was gone. And his brothers only spoke to him once in a blue moon now that he had moved out of their house.

He was lonely. Still, something about admitting that to Michael made him want to curl up into a ball and hide.

“I…not really, sir. I don’t really have the time to go out and meet people my age that I can talk to.” It was as close to the truth as he could get without imploding.

Michael watched him for a few moments more in silence and Adam wanted to fall through the floor and disappear.

But again, he didn’t see pity in Michael’s eyes, just acceptance of the situation.

“I see.” The CEO said, and the hoarseness in his voice was a little bit rougher from all the use. Adam really would have to move those calls and meetings around, especially when he was the one making Michael talk more than he should right now. “I should get back. Enjoy the rest of your lunch, and thank you again for the wonderful soup.” He lifted the now empty container then placed it in the sink to be washed later.

He started to walk away, leaving Adam as usual on the couch to enjoy his journal, but paused before he made it to the door.

“Oh, and come to my office after you’re finished. I just remembered I needed you to do something for me.” And then he disappeared back into his office.

Adam spent the last few minutes of his lunch not knowing how to feel. The conversation hadn’t been bad, even if a little embarrassing at some points. But he had made Michael laugh, and that counted for something, he thought. Clinging to that thought instead of any about his dead mother and shitty father, he gathered his things as soon as the alarm for his lunch ended, and got up to find Michael again.

As promised he was in his office and typing diligently on his computer. Once he noticed Adam, he opened the filing cabinet beside his desk, flipping through some papers. When he found what he was looking for, he set them on the other end of his desk closest to Adam.

“Would you take these documents to Mr. Tran on floor forty?”

“Uh, sure.” Adam murmured. Michael didn’t usually send him that far down, especially not to the legal department. Part of him wondered if he would see Sam while he was there, though the chances of actually getting to talk to him were slim since they were both working. “I’ve never met a Mr. Tran, who should I be looking for?”

“Ah, the secretary on that floor, Becky, should be able to direct you to him. But, if it helps, Mr. Tran does stick out a little. He is quite young, close to your age, I imagine. So, look for the man who is a bit younger than everyone else.”

That was an odd description but it wasn’t like he could argue. Michael himself was known for being remarkably young for his position, a CEO of a massive company but only in his thirties, but his work was never questioned. That’s how good he was at it. He assumed this Mr. Tran guy must be a similar case too.

“Yes, sir. Of course.” Adam took the papers in his arms and was about to leave until Michael’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Also, before you go. I am aware that your brother is employed on that floor as well. If you wish, you may take a few extra minutes to say your hellos as long as it doesn’t interrupt his work too much. But don’t dwell too long, I expect you back up here within the half hour at most.”

Now that was surprising. Since when did Mr. Novak allow for anything but the most pristine workflow?

“Of course, sir. Thank you.”

Adam traveled down to the fortieth floor, one he had been on a few times but not enough to know everyone. He did, however, know Becky and walked up to the secretary to get her guidance.

“Oh, wow! You are still here!” She chimed excitedly the second she looked up and saw him.

He blinked. “Uh, where?”

“Here, at NovakOn. Meg and I haven’t seen you in the breakroom anymore so we thought maybe you quit and we just hadn’t heard. But I asked Sam a few times, and he always said you were still here. Guess he was right! Not that I doubted him, he’s super smart.” The ooey gooey eyes Becky was making over his half-brother made Adam want to barf.

“Nah, I’m still here and still with Michael. Er, as his assistant. He’s the one who sent me down here, actually. I’m looking for a Mr. Tran? Can you tell me where he is?” Adam asked.

“Oh, sure! Kevin’s over here, right next to Sam, actually! I’ll walk you over there.” She got up and started marching on before Adam could even respond. He was pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to leave her desk for something like this, but that wasn’t any of his business.

Instead, he let himself be led towards the far back, right corner of the space where two incredibly small offices sat. Sam was lucky that he didn’t have to sit in one of the cubicles, but his office was hardly much better than one in Adam’s opinion. But, until he got promoted, he was stuck there.

He watched as Becky knocked and poked her head into one of the small offices, her excitable voice carrying halfway through the building probably. “Kev! You’ve got somebody here to talk to you. Sent by Mr. Novak himself. I’m gonna let him in, kay?” She said and didn’t wait for a response before she was pushing the door open all the way and stepping aside. “I’m going to go ask Sammy what he’s doing for lunch. See you later!”

Adam shook his head and ignored what was most likely a sound of horror rather than surprise from his brother when Becky opened the office door next to ‘Kevin’s’.

“Uh, Mr. Tran? Mr. Novak sent me down here with these papers, he said to give them to you specifically?” When he walked in, he was actually surprised at how young the guy looked. He couldn’t have been much older than Adam, if not possibly even younger. He was a lawyer at this age?

“Huh?” Kevin looked at Adam for a moment, clearly confused, before comprehension seemed to dawn on him. “Oh yeah! Mr. Novak has me working on something for him. Don’t think I can really talk about it though. I’ll be sure to look these over and get back to him via email, if that’s alright?” Kevin asked as he took the pile of papers from Adam.

“Sure, I think that’s alright. I don’t think he’d mind.” Adam answered, since Michael hadn’t actually told him what to tell Kevin in this situation so he hoped an email was okay. His eyes traveled over the walls, catching on several framed degrees and certifications that hung up behind the young man. Seeing them made him even more shocked that someone this young could be on par with his older brother. “So, not to bug you or anything, but how old are you? You look like you’re younger than me but you work in legal?”

Kevin actually looked shy at that and nodded. “Ah, yeah. I graduated from high school early and joined an accelerated law program directly after. I’m 26.”

“Holy shit, man, you’re a couple years younger than me.” Adam gawked, which only served to make Kevin more bashful.

“Really? Well, I can only sort of take credit. My mom is the one who really pushed me to do it. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her.”

And man, didn’t Adam know the feeling.

“That’s awesome, seriously. I’m just a PA for Novak.” He felt really inadequate in the face of someone younger than him but who had a law degree. It was actually sort of embarrassing.

Kevin didn’t seem to think so though.

“Hey man, I think that’s cool too. Do you know how many assistants Mr. Novak has been through? You’re the only one who’s actually lasted longer than a couple weeks. You’ve gotta be up there working miracles or something.” Kevin grinned. Adam couldn’t help but return it.

“Sure, I guess so.” Adam shrugged and let his eyes fall back to look over Kevin’s desk. What he saw there made his eyebrows raise and he immediately smiled again. “Is that you as a Ravenclaw FunkoPop?”

He could see it when Kevin’s eyes lit up too. “Yeah, it is. I got it as a gift when I graduated. You got a house?”

“I’ve been told I’m a Hufflepuff, but I like to think I could be in Gryffindor.” Adam stated proudly.

Kevin laughed.

“Has my brother seen it? I bet he’d have a field day talking about Harry Potter.” Adam said.

“Your brother?”

“Oh, right. Sam Winchester’s my older brother, and Dean too, if you ever see him around.” Adam explained, pointing his thumb in the direction of the wall where Becky had said Sam’s office was.

“Oh! Dude, that’s awesome. Sam’s a really good guy.” Kevin grinned, then looked down at the little funko figure of his Ravenclaw self. “Sam says he’s Ravenclaw too, by the way. Thought he might like one of these for Christmas but I don’t really know him like that. Maybe you could get him one instead? The holidays are coming up.”

Adam didn’t mention the fact that it was only September. But, he knew some people really liked getting their stuff early. “Maybe, thanks for the idea. He’ll probably freak over it if I do.” He chuckled. He didn’t really have the time to sit around though, especially if he was going to pop in on Sam. He might need to check to make sure Becky didn’t kidnap him or something. “So uh, sorry for keeping you. I gotta go back to work too and I want to say hi to Sam real quick before I go, so I’ll catch you later.”

“Sure, man! Maybe I’ll see you in the breakroom or something and we can talk again.” Kevin offered out.

Adam just smiled and nodded, and gave a small wave before leaving the tiny office and going to the one next door.

Sam’s office was just as small as Kevin’s, and more or less decorated the same, minus the little funko pop figure. Instead, Sam had a picture of him and his girlfriend Eileen, who Adam had never actually met but had heard about in passing since they got together after he moved out. He hadn’t been invited to any family dinners since then so Eileen was more or less still a mystery to him. But, according to Sam, she was like the nicest girl ever, even if a little fiery.

“Adam! Hey!” Sam stood up and rounded his desk for a hug. “Becky said something about you being on this floor. What are you doing?”

Adam pulled back from one of the most awkward hugs of his life and watched as his brother leaned back against his desk. “Mr. Novak sent me down here to give Kevin some things. But, he said I could stop by here to see you too before I came back.”

“Novak let you come visit me?” Sam asked incredulously. If Adam didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought he had sprouted two more heads by the way his brother was looking at him.

“Uh, yeah. He said not to take too long, but he told me I could come check up with you. Is that okay?”

“What? Yeah, yeah, it’s fine. I’m just surprised. That’s not really the kind of thing you hear about Novak doing is all. But, uh, I’m glad he let you. I haven’t gotten to see you in a while. How is the new position?” Sam asked.

Adam wasn’t sure he would call his position “new” anymore. He had been at Michael’s side now for a handful months, so by now it all felt more normal than anything else. But he didn’t say that.

“He’s really not that bad, Sam. I don’t know why Dean has it out for the guy.” Adam admitted with a lazy shrug.

Sam crossed his arms and chuckled, lowering his head to shake it slowly. “Knowing Dean? Cas probably mentioned one time that Michael got on his nerves and from that moment on Dean made it his personal mission to shit in his coffee whenever he could. As if Dean doesn’t know how annoying brothers can be.” The taller man grinned toothily.

“I guess that’s probably true. Are you sure Dean and Cas aren’t secretly dating or is Dean really just going to keep pining from afar forever?”

Sam barked out a laugh and shook his head again. “Honestly? I don’t know. At this point I don’t think either of those idiots are going to make a move.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. But that reminds me, how are things with Eileen? Doesn’t she work on this floor?” Adam asked, glancing at the picture again.

“Oh, yeah, you haven’t met her yet. She’s awesome. I’m really happy, honestly. And she works on this floor sometimes, other floors other times, it just depends on where she’s needed. She’s a translator so she moves around a lot. But the pay is good.” Sam gave a half shrug. “You should come meet her sometime. Maybe next time she’s over for dinner, you can come out to the house.”

How long had it been since he was even there? Almost a year now? Possibly more?

“Sure, I’d love to meet her. But…oh shit. I gotta get back before Michael kills me. See ya, Sam!” Adam called over his shoulder, already rushing out the door and towards the elevator.

Thankfully when he got back, Michael didn’t say anything about him being five minutes late. Instead, the man just accepted the news that Kevin would email him and dismissed him to continue working on his other duties for the day.

First things first, Adam rescheduled a few calls and a couple meetings for later in the week, as promised. Then, he started working on making a few copies when his phone dinged.

Michael didn’t usually message him during the day so he pulled it out to see what he wanted. He was confused to not see his boss’s name but an unknown number staring back at him instead. He clicked it, expecting nothing but spam, but hesitated when he saw what it actually said.

Unknown [1:14 PM]: ‘Hey! This is Kevin from the legal team. Aka the Ravenclaw guy next to Sam’s office. I hope you don’t mind, Sam gave me your number. Thought you might want to talk some more? I’m tired of being surrounded by old men all day (minus Sam ofc) lol’

Adam let out a surprised laugh.

He hadn’t expected to make a friend that day, but maybe sometimes life really could dish out something good every now and then.

Chapter Text

“But you called him ‘Michael’! Since when are you two so close, huh?” Dean complained for what felt like the tenth time.

“I told you, I didn’t realize that I said that. It slipped out, but I’ve never called him that to his face.” Adam recited for what felt like the twentieth.

Being invited to eat dinner with Sam and Dean that weekend had actually been a little exciting. He had been chatting with Kevin now and then, and though they weren’t exactly friends yet, it felt nice to talk to someone so regularly. Though part of him wished he was talking to his boss that much too, but they hadn’t had another nice testing session since the soup discussion.

Now here he was, his good mood ruined, being grilled by his oldest brother about why he accidentally called his boss by his first name in front of Sam. As if it meant anything!

He made a mental note to put nair in Sam’s shampoo the next time he came over.

The one good part about all this was that Sam had brought Eileen and Adam was pleasantly surprised that she really was as nice and spunky as Sam had made her out to be.

“Maybe because he respects his boss enough to call him by his name instead of ‘ass face’ like you do?” Eileen countered, her hands moving as she did so. Adam found out early on that Sam was trying to pick up on more sign language, so his girlfriend typically signed even when no one around her could read it.

Oh yeah, Adam liked her.

Dean huffed and stabbed his fork into his steak. “The guy is a total ass face. I’m shocked you haven’t quit yet. I’m still mad at Cas for even letting Michael take you in the first place.” He grumbled around a mouthful of potatoes.

Adam didn’t point out that Dean literally just called Mr. Novak by his first name. It would be like arguing with a brick wall that could yell back.

Adam rolled his eyes. “Castiel didn’t have a choice. Besides, Michael really isn’t that bad. He’s nice to me. Why do you hate him so much again? I don’t think you’ve ever actually told me why.”

“‘Cause he’s a dick!”

“Are you sure you weren’t a dick first?” Eileen pointed out. Beside her, Sam grinned in silent agreement.

“No way, the guy’s just an asshole, trust me. Cas loves him and all ‘cause they’re brothers, sure, but he still thinks he’s too apathetic to everyone around him.” Dean argued.

Adam shook his head and sighed. It was like running in circles with Dean sometimes. Seriously, he didn’t think he had ever met anyone as stubborn as Dean Winchester.

“Well who’s the one that’s been working for him for the past few months? Me, not you. And I say he’s not apathetic, he’s just quiet and likes work to be done right. And since you always slack off, he yells at you. That’s not his fault.” Adam declared, pointing his fork at his elder brother.

“If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t have even met the guy!” Dean snapped. As if that was at all an argument for this.

“So? What does that have to do with anything? I highly doubt Castiel talks that much shit about his own brother that you feel the need to drag the guy every time his name comes up.” Adam groaned. Trying to argue with Dean was like fighting a brick wall. A brick wall that could also argue back.

“No, Cas has way better things to do than make his entire life revolve around Michael. Unlike some people, apparently.”

Adam flushed red. He was already trying to deny the fact he was pretty sure he was developing a major crush on his CEO boss, he didn’t need anyone else trying to infer anything too.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He snapped back.

“Okay, okay, you two. Chill out before we make you kiss and make up.” Sam chimed in, hands up in a placating motion. “Seriously, can the two of you talk about anything else? This is the only thing I’ve heard the two of you talk about in months.”

That only ticked Adam off even more, and this time when the red traveled up to his ears, it was from anger.

“You haven’t heard us talk about anything else because neither of you want anything to do with me most of the time. The only reason I’m here right now is because I saw you in person at work and you probably thought you’d have pity on me and ask me to come eat. But neither of you actually answer any of my calls or texts. Have you even noticed that I stopped trying to reach out at all lately?” Adam asked, more than annoyed.

He didn’t agree to come here for the first time in months just to be accused of things. Especially by brothers that barely reserved any time for him at all. It was insulting.

Dean and Sam both snapped their mouths closed and stared at Adam like he had grown two more heads. Eileen too looked shocked, but her expression was more concerned and maybe even a hint of realization. Adam didn’t blame her of course, this was the first time they were even meeting and thus far she had been great. So, if nothing else, he thought maybe she would chew Sam and Dean both out later for this.

“Adam,” Sam started slowly. “We don’t mean to ignore you, but we’re busy. We both have seriously demanding jobs, so we’re going to miss a text or call now and then.”

Adam rolled his eyes hard. ‘Now and then’, yeah right. But trying to argue with a Winchester was damn near impossible and he was already too tired to try.

“Yeah, sure, whatever. I get it.” He didn’t actually, but he left it at that anyway.

Eventually, the rest of the meal shifted back to Eileen and Sam’s relationship, how they met while working on a case together, and in turn how Dean and Castiel were planning to go out together next weekend. His eldest brother would never say it, but Adam couldn’t help but wonder if this would finally be the night that Dean or Cas actually asked the other out.

He found it hard to be excited about it right now though. Not after all the arguing they had just done.

And besides, if they did actually make themselves official, that would just leave Adam as the last brother without a significant other. He wasn’t even looking for a partner, but that didn’t make the sting hurt any less when he realized.

He left shortly after the dinner was over, opting out of sticking around to watch a movie. No one tried to convince him otherwise other than Eileen’s kind “It was nice to meet you. Next time we’ll hang out longer. Okay?”

By the time Adam got home it was nearly dark and he showered, changed, and flopped into bed with a sigh. It was still pretty early, but he was exhausted enough to not care.

He boredly swiped through random videos, very few of any actual interest, until he paused on one. An informational video, filled with vivid images and iconography, about ‘St. Michael the Archangel’ drew his attention.

The striking images of a man, tall and imposing, striking down his foe with a massive sword or lance covered his screen.

The powerful angel of good, destroyer of evil, the fierce protector, and bringer of justice.

Different images, all as inspiring as the last, flooded the screen as the man in the background talked about the history of Archangel Michael’s reverence and image symbology. And suddenly, Adam found himself climbing back out of bed to snatch up his journal and a pen, then getting comfortable once more with the book on his upturned thighs.

He hadn’t drawn anything besides the surrounding cityscape in quite a while. Which, while beautiful, did get a little bit old after so many times. Sure there was a little doodle now and then, but nothing significant. Nothing that had truly peaked his interest and brought on any serious inspiration. Until now, anyway.

Adam scribbled, using a few of the images used in the video as a reference as he sketched out a tall man with a raised sword. Below him, a writhing serpent-like creature squirmed under his foot. He even took the time to shade this one rather than leave it as a basic, sketchy outline like he often did.

When he was finished, he pulled back and stared down at the paper. The image took up an entire page, dark in contrast to the dotted lines of the white paper. The Archangel Michael looked back at him, and a new urge he couldn’t squash down started swirling in his gut.

Was Michael named after the archangel himself?

Maybe Dean was right, maybe too many of his thoughts were focused on his boss but he didn’t have it in him to care. In fact, the thought of talking to the man made a warmth bubble up inside of him anew and he was grabbing his phone before he knew it.

It was a risk, he knew that. Talking to his employer more casually than he would typically dare was one thing when it was about an offer to help him feel better with homemade soup. It was another entirely to send him a nonwork related text out of the blue, just wanting to talk.

It was just a crush, he’d get over it soon, he was sure.

But it had been so long since he felt like this, so would it really hurt to indulge just a little bit?

The worst Michael could do was shut it down completely and tell him to keep their interactions professional. To which Adam would of course agree and take the hint. The pang of hurt at just the thought of that happening wasn’t enough to stop him from swiping to his and Michael’s conversation though and he quickly typed out a message.

AM [8:11 PM]: ‘Were you named after the archangel Michael?’

He set the phone down and picked up his journal again. On the next page beside the first drawing, he started sketching a face. Strong, handsome, just a little bit of well manicured stubble. If he had been using color, he knew the eyes would’ve been a piercing blue.

Beside him, his phone buzzed with an incoming text and he swallowed the lump that jumped into his throat. He dreaded the idea that Michael would tell him to shut up and not abuse the access to his personal number, but when he risked a glance, he was surprised at the answer he received.

MN [8:17 PM]: ‘Yes, I was. My siblings and I were all named after angels. Why do you ask?’

That was a way better response than he expected!

AM [8:19 PM]: ‘I saw a video about him and decided to sketch him. And it made me wonder, is all. Hope I didn’t bother you, sorry’

He knew how busy of a person his boss was even on the weekends and out of the office. It really was like he never shut down out of work-mode, and sometimes Adam actually felt bad for him over it. The guy should rest more than he does but he was stubborn as hell, apparently. And didn't Adam know a thing or two about that?

MN [8:20 PM]: ‘It’s no problem at all. I’m actually at a family dinner at the moment, and you are keeping me from having to listen to Gabriel’s tale about his latest fling. So, really, you’re saving me from having to bleach my eardrums later.’

Adam barked out a laugh so loud he was afraid his next door neighbors could hear it.

Then, before he could reply, another one popped onto his screen.

MN [8:21 PM]: ‘Could I see your drawing?’

Oh yeah, he should have expected him to want to see it.

AM [8:21 PM]: ‘Sure, one sec’

He snapped the best photo he could of his sketch and sent it nervously. He wasn’t used to actually showing off his work, be it words or art. But, for whatever reason, he felt okay sending it to Michael despite the nervousness of wondering if he’d like it or not curling deep in his gut.

AM [8:22 PM]: ‘it’s just a sketch so its not that good but I thought it came out ok’ He added quickly.

He drummed his fingertips against the page he had abandoned working on, looking down at the face he had barely finished. It was the Archangel Michael, but deep down he knew the inspiration for the features on this one weren’t a product of old master’s paintings. No, the artistry surrounding this particular version of the angel wore expensive three piece suits and combed back hair.

MN [8:25 PM]: ‘Adam, the picture is amazing. You doubt your own talents too much.’

MN [8: 25 PM]: ‘My siblings have taken an interest in our conversation. May I show them your work?’

Oh. Adam didn’t expect that. Was Castiel there too? He realized he hadn’t actually considered that his former boss was actually there until this moment. That meant a couple things. One, that Castiel would know that Adam had texted Michael with something completely unwork related out of the blue. And two, that meant that Dean would probably hear about it in 0.3 seconds and Adam would have to hear about it later. Ugh.

Well, it was too late now anyway. Plus, he was kind of curious if Michael’s siblings, including, Cas, would care about his artwork.

AM [8:26 PM]: ‘sure, that’s fine. thanks for asking’ Something about him asking for permission was pretty endearing, actually.

It was a few minutes later and Adam still hadn’t gotten a response. Maybe they didn’t actually care about the drawing and had changed conversation topics? He tried not to be too disappointed by that.

Instead, he set his phone back down and started working on another sketch, this time below the face from last time and worked on a rough outline of a slimy demon with scales and a grotesque expression. He was so into it that he jumped when his phone actually began to ring beside him.

He glanced at it, half expecting it to be Dean trying to yell at him if Cas has already told him he had been texting Michael, but instead it was ‘Mr. M Novak’ that lit up his screen in big, bold letters.

What?

He snatched the phone off his comforter and hit the accept button before he could think better of it.

“H-Hello?” Adam greeted, unsure if this was supposed to be happening or not. It could’ve been a butt dial.

“Hey, kid! So, trying to woo my big bro with art pieces surrounding his namesake?” A voice that Adam didn’t recognize fluttered not so innocently through the phone, yet the words still made him blush furiously. Flirting with Michael had not been his intention at all!

“Who is this?” He asked instead, since he was pretty sure he would word vomit if he tried to defend himself against the accusations and make himself look stupid.

“Gabriel!” A voice that Adam did recognize shouted in the distance. “Gabe! Give me back my phone, what are you doing? Luke, get the hell out of my way. Since when do you help Gabriel with his stupid pran-”

Michael’s voice was drowned out by another, unfamiliar voice laughing, who Adam assumed to be ‘Luke’.

“I gotta say, kid. You’re not a bad artist. You said that was just a sketch? Damn, would love to see what else you could do with your hands then.” The voice-- Gabriel -- said again and Adam felt his blush tenfold.

“W-What?” He choked out. What the hell?

“Gabriel!” Michael’s voice was much closer now, followed by noisy scuffling on the other line.

Adam contemplated hanging up to avoid whatever the hell was happening over in the Novak household. But, before he could make that decision, Michael’s voice came through clearer than ever.

“Adam, I am so sorry for my idiot brother and his antics. I didn’t think showing off your drawing would result in Gabriel stealing my phone to call you. I profusely apologize.” Michael sounded more exasperated than Adam had ever heard him. More human, even. Maybe there was something to be said about him having an ‘off switch’ to his work-mode after all.

“Tell him to draw me next!” Gabriel’s shout was heard in the distance this time.

Michael half groaned, half growled. And the sound made Adam need to abruptly adjust the way he was sitting.

“For the last time, he didn’t draw me, Gabriel. He drew the archangel.” Michael called back in a tone that confirmed that that really hadn’t been the first time he had to say that this evening.

Adam didn’t know how to respond to any of this other than stammering out assurances.

“It’s fine, Mr. Novak. Seriously, I don’t mind. So, uh…you liked the picture?” He asked quietly.

“Yes, I very much did. As I said, you do have a remarkable talent for drawing. Gabriel and Luke enjoyed it as well, despite the fact they refuse to be mature long enough to admit it.” He could imagine Michael throwing a glare in his brothers’ direction just then. “And of course Raphael and Castiel thought it was remarkable. I believe I told you before that Raph enjoys the arts? Well, he was particularly interested. He said you added in quite the accurate iconography into the image, which I was also impressed by.”

Adam didn’t think this amount of hype over one sketch was all that reasonable, but who was he to argue with his boss? Especially when he was basking in the kind words from the man. He would readily beg for any scrap of praise Michael was willing to give him.

“Really? I’m super glad to hear that, sir.”

There were some sounds coming from the other side of the line and the echo of voices were only a slight distraction in the background.

“I’m not keeping you from your family dinner, am I?” Adam asked quickly.

The movement settled, and Adam realized it must have been Michael getting comfortable somewhere.

“No, not at all. Dinner just finished as you sent your art. And like I said, you saved me from having to listen to Gabriel’s story about his latest ‘conquest’.” Michael said the word in such a way that Adam could tell the man was wrinkling his nose in distaste. “Ah. It looks like Castiel is on his phone now as well. Messaging your older brother, I’m sure. Don’t be surprised if Castiel leaks all of our business from this evening, as I’ve found he tells your brother nearly everything.”

“I do not.” Castiel’s voice came through his time, but the tone was more relaxed than Adam was used to hearing from him.

“Don’t you?” Michael replied dryly. “The boy follows you around as if you raised him from Hell itself.”

Adam snorted.

“Don’t be an assbutt.” Came Castiel’s elegant response, and that was enough for the dam to break.

Adam laughed loudly into the receiver. This was the powerful Novak family that ruled NovakOn and all its countless connections?

This peek into their personal world was more telling than Adam thought possible. He had only ever met Michael and Castiel, but hearing the way they spoke and interacted with one another was so much different than Adam ever thought possible. And he certainly never thought to hear the word ‘assbutt’ out of Castiel’s mouth.

When he stopped laughing, he realized he could hear Michael chuckling lowly as well. He gently pushed the phone closer to his ear to get as much of the sound as he could.

“I’m not keeping you, am I, Adam?” Michael asked out of nowhere.

Adam shook his head quickly, as if the man could see it. “No, not really. I just got home from my own family dinner, but yours sounds like it’s going a lot better than mine.”

“Does it?” Michael asked curiously. “Why do you say that?”

Adam opened his mouth, ready to complain about older brothers that didn’t respond back to him and the rare times they did, all they wanted to do was talk about themselves or their hatred for his boss. But, he stopped himself before he could, remembering that Castiel was right here and there was a chance that he would somehow hear and relay it all back to Dean.

“I…can tell you later?” Adam said instead.

Thankfully, his boss gave an understanding hum. Adam wondered if he knew the reason and was glancing at Castiel in this moment.

“Of course.” Michael agreed and changed the subject, no questions asked. “Well, if it’s no bother then I wouldn’t mind hearing more about the art you do.”

Adam laughed, softer this time. “I don’t really do art, not seriously. I draw in my journal sometimes but that’s about it nowadays. Though, would your brother really like it if I drew the angel Gabriel?”

“Oh, he’d be ecstatic. Anything to poke Gabriel’s ego will make him happy.” Michael replied. He notably ignored the ‘hey!’ that came from somewhere else in the room.

“Well, if you think he’ll like it, I can do it. In fact, I can do a few of the different angels, like Raphael and Castiel…though I’m not sure what he’s the angel of.”

“Castiel is The Angel of Thursday.” Michael answered helpfully.

“Oh, really?” Adam blinked. That seemed kind of random. “Let me guess…he was born on a Thursday?”

Michael chuckled again. “Yes, he was.”

“Huh. Cool. So Gabriel, Raphael, Castiel, and…Luke? I thought Luke was a disciple or something?” Adam realized suddenly. But Michael had said all his brothers were named after angels?

“He was, yes. We call Luke that as a nickname. His real name is Lucifer.”

“Lucifer?” Adam gawked.

This time, Michael chuckled louder.

“Yes, it was an interesting choice on our parent’s part. So, you can see why we don’t usually call him that.” The CEO replied.

“Uh, yeah. Guess it makes sense with all the other archangel names.” Adam supposed and let it go. “Well, I can work with that. It’ll give me something else to draw other than skyscrapers.”

“Oh? Is the view from my floor not interesting enough for you anymore, Mr. Milligan?” Michael asked, but his tone was surprisingly light, like he found it amusing.

“No, no, the view is gorgeous. It’s just been a while since I’ve drawn anything else. Angels will be good practice.” Adam assured.

“Hm, good. I do hope you will show me your work when you’re finished. And if you don’t mind, I’m sure my brothers would love to see their respective angels on paper.” Michael pointed out.

Adam wondered if Michael's brothers would actually care about his sketches at all or if he was just being polite. Then again, his boss wasn't one to just say things out of the good of his heart. When the man spoke, he spoke with conviction and truth, always. So, why should this time be any different?

“Thy will be done, and all that.” Adam hummed, grinning to himself just for being able to have this conversation with Michael at all. He’d never heard the man so relaxed.

Again, the man chuckled quietly, then someone speaking in a muffled tone came over the speaker.

“Ah, Adam, I’m afraid I have to go. Thank you for sharing your art with us, I look forward to seeing more from you soon. And as always, I will see you on Monday.” Michael said.

“Of course, Mr. Novak. Thanks for humoring me. See you Monday. Bye.” He replied. He wished the talk could’ve gone on all night, but he couldn’t expect a man like Michael to have that sort of free time.

“Goodbye, Adam.”

When Adam dropped off Michael’s coffee the next morning, the man in question looked up at him with a curious glint in his eyes. It was subtle, as was all of Michael’s expressions, but Adam had so much practice trying to figure him out that it was much easier for him to see now.

“Do you have a moment, Mr. Milligan?”

Adam nodded and sat down in one of the chairs opposite him. “I have all the time you give me, sir.”

The tiniest upturn of his boss’s lips told him that his joke landed.

“Good. I don’t suppose you’ve worked on any more angels thus far?” He asked, glancing down at the messenger bag Adam had strapped around him.

So he was actually curious about that, huh? Adam had wondered if he would even bring it up again.

“I had to look up some inspiration, but I started with Gabriel. I think I’m gonna go with a trumpet as his main symbol. I thought it would fit your brothers the best out of all of them.” Adam admitted.

Again that curiosity shifted in Michael’s eyes. “And why is that?”

“Because he’s loud like a trumpet.”

Just like before, Michael’s laugh was startlingly abrupt, but Adam was no less glad to hear it this time around. He wished he could just enjoy it, but he had an inkling that his drawings weren’t the main reason Michael wanted to talk.

“No offense, sir, but is that really what you wanted to talk to me about?” Adam asked. Michael had been kind lately, more so than his usual stoic self had originally allowed for, but he was still a workaholic and he still expected Adam not to goof off while on the clock.

“Ah, no. Though I was curious about those too. I wanted to know if you had a moment to talk about what you wouldn’t say over the phone the other day?” Michael admitted, leaning back in his chair and looking over Adam slowly.

“Oh.” He mumbled dumbly. He had almost forgotten about that and he definitely hadn’t thought that Michael would remember it.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” The CEO assured when he noticed Adam’s hesitance. “However…it did sound like something you wanted to discuss, but couldn’t at the time. I understand that there may have been those around that you didn’t wish to overhear.”

Perspective as always. Should Adam be scared that Michael could apparently read him like a fucking book? Then again, the man’s job involved reading people and knowing when they were lying or trying to pull one over on him. So of course those skills would bleed into other types of relationships, such as theirs.

“No, no, it’s fine.” Adam sighed. He held his own paper cup in his lap, a finger idly tracing over the shop’s logo on the side. “Yeah, so…I went over to Sam and Dean’s place, and I haven’t been over since I moved out like a year ago. I got to meet Sam’s girlfriend Eileen finally, which was nice, but…” He trailed off.

“But?” Michael prompted.

His blues eyes focused entirely on Adam and nowhere else, giving him his entire focus. It was almost overwhelming to be so seen, especially by a man like the CEO of NovakOn. Adam sighed quietly.

“But…I don’t know, Dean’s just been a real dick lately. Ever since I took this job with you. I think he might still be all pissy about the fact I’m not under Castiel anymore, uh I mean Mr. Novak anymore.” Adam grunted but continued. “And I can handle that for the most part, honestly. It’s annoying, but it isn’t what bothers me the most. What bothers me more is the fact that neither one of them ever invite me over anymore or reply to my texts or calls, except maybe once in a blue moon. The only reason I was invited over the weekend is because I saw Sam in person when you sent me down to Legal and I asked him about his girlfriend and said I wanted to meet her!” Adam threw up a hand in frustration. Then, all the anger immediately deflated and he sagged in the chair. “I’m sorry, Mr. Novak. It’s stupid and I’m wasting your time complaining about dumb family stuff.” He mumbled.

Michael though cocked his head to the side and surveyed Adam like he was something articulate, something valuable. And Adam had no idea how to feel under the gaze.

“It isn’t stupid. Family matters are often difficult to navigate. Though, it is concerning that it sounds like your brothers do not include you very often like they should.” Michael stated.

It really must have been weird to a person like Michael whose siblings all got together once a week. Adam couldn’t ever fathom himself doing that with his brothers.

“Sam and Dean are busy, they don’t have time to babysit me. Besides, I’ve been taking care of myself for years before I even knew they existed anyway. I’m good.” He grumbled in return.

“Do you always make a habit of making excuses for other people’s poor behavior?”

“Huh?” Adam asked helpfully, looking back up to see Michael’s serious face.

“I said: Do you always ma-“

“No, no, I heard that. But what are you talking about?” Not many would have the gall to interrupt Michael but Adam had the distinct feeling that he needed to clarify what the hell the man was talking about.

Michael thankfully looked unbothered by the interruption and continued.

“You tend to make excuses where you do not need to. Your brothers, for example. You mentioned you haven’t spoken to them lately? They aren’t far, are they? They both work here and their home, as I understand, must not be very far if they commute daily. Yet you continue to say that they don’t answer your messages or calls because they are ‘busy’. That is making an excuse, Adam. And you are not responsible for the actions of others, therefore you do not need to make excuses for them either.” Michael’s face was as stony as usual, but there was an extra edge in the crease of his brows that wasn’t always there. He was upset.

And Adam…Adam had no idea what to say to that.

He stared at the man across the desk from him with big, shocked eyes. Michael’s expression never faltered from the deadly serious one he wore, so reminiscent of the no-bullshit workaholic Adam knew he often was.

Mercifully, Michael apparently understood that Adam’s mind was working overtime just to take in what he had just said and wouldn’t actually reply on his own any time soon.

“Do you understand what I’m saying, Adam?” He asked. His voice was gentler this time, even if his face didn’t change.

“I…I don’t know.” He admitted quietly.

“That’s okay.” Michael was quick to tell him. “Just think about what I said, alright? You don’t deserve to carry the burden of other people’s bad decisions. Their failures do not reflect who you are as a person. Can you agree to that instead?”

He had never heard Michael’s voice like this. It was soft, yet still so strong and confident. There wasn’t an ounce of Adam that didn’t think that Michael actually believed what he was saying. But it was still hard for him to wrap his mind around.

“I…I guess?” He managed.

Michael’s expression hardened just a touch, almost so subtle that even Adam nearly didn’t catch it. But he did and it made him squirm.

“Don’t think that your brothers, or anyone for that matter, not doing their part has anything to do with you. Not having you in their lives as much as they could is their loss, Adam. You don’t have to tell me that you agree with me, I won’t force you to do that since you seem uncomfortable by it. Just…” Michael paused, and that in itself was strange. Michael Novak did not hesitate. Finally, he sighed quietly. “I won’t make you say it. Just think about it, and know that what I’m saying is true. You’re not stupid and you deserve to have good people around you that care for you like you should be. And I am sorry that those people, apparently, are not your older brothers.”

Adam could see his hands shaking more than he could actually feel them. Michael’s words rang around in his head like a bell tolling, yet they never settled and sank in. Not really.

After a few more moments of tense silence, the older man sighed again.

“It’s okay, Adam. Go to your office and take a few minutes if you need it, I’ll still be here when you’re ready. I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable, it wasn’t my intention.”

“You didn’t--” Adam started but closed his mouth at the stern look his boss gave him.

“No more making excuses for other people, Adam. Alright? That includes me. Now, go take a few minutes to collect yourself. I already sent you your work for the day earlier, so just get started when you feel up for it.” Michael told him and his tone, while not harsh, didn’t give any room for argument.

So, Adam slowly nodded and left the office to do what he was told.

Later, when Adam had long since relaxed, Michael called him back to his office. Neither one of them talked about what happened earlier, and honestly Adam was happy about that. He didn't know if he could handle Michael trying to convince him everything around him wasn't his fault twice in one day.

“I’m having a meeting today, please get your laptop and meet us in the smaller meeting room in fifteen minutes.”

Adam didn’t need to be told twice, and scurried off to do exactly that. As per usual, he sat on one side of Michael at the head of the table, just slightly back away from the table. This time however, a new man that couldn’t have been much younger than himself sat off to the side as well, a similar laptop on his thighs.

He was sitting behind Castiel, where the raven haired man spoke quietly to the person beside him. But Adam caught him from the corner of his eye looking over now and then between him and Michael with a curious expression.

Not that Adam could blame him. He was probably wondering why Michael had actually humored Adam the other night by talking to him while at a family dinner.

The meeting itself was as boring and mundane as most were. And when it was over an hour and a half later, Adam closed the laptop and stuffed it into the carrying case. He was silently glad that Dean hadn’t taken Castiel’s place in this one. His former boss might be looking at him a little strangely for whatever reason, but at least he wasn’t silently stewing like Dean probably would’ve been.

Most of the suited men and women filed out unceremoniously, moving on to whatever corner of the building they belonged in. Only Castiel stayed behind to talk to Michael, and the remarkably young man who hardly looked a day over twenty one. It wasn’t difficult to realize who he was.

“Hi, you must be Castiel’s new assistant?” Adam greeted as he walked over to the boy. It was actually sort of weird seeing someone who was younger than him here. He was still getting used to Kevin, though he hadn’t seen him again yet they still chatted through text sometimes. Other than him, the majority of people Adam had to interact with in the office were much older.

The boy glanced up and grinned, and he sort of reminded Adam of a long, lanky teddy bear.

“Hi! Yeah, I am. You can call me Alfie.” He stuck out his hand and Adam promptly shook it.

“Nice to meet you, man. How’s the job so far? Mr. Novak isn’t so bad, right?” Adam grinned.

Alfie shockingly lit up even more. “He’s really nice! It’s a lot, but so far I enjoy it. You worked for him before me, right?”

Adam gave this personification of sunshine a quick nod. “Yeah, I did. But I switched and came up here a few months ago. It’s not bad though, I like it.” He admitted.

Instead of asking how on earth he could possibly like working under Michael Novak, Alfie just continued to smile sweetly and nodded along. “That’s great! I bet you could show me a bunch of stuff. I’m still figuring some things out.”

Adam found that this kid’s smile was contagious and returned it in turn. “Sure, dude. I can do that if you ever have the time. Or, hey, I can give you my number. If you have a question just text me and I’ll try my best to answer it.” He patiently waited for Alfie to pull out his phone, then dutifully listed off his number for him.

When he was done typing, Alfie pocketed his phone again and reached out to pat Adam on the shoulder. “Thanks! I really appreciate it. It’s kinda lonely down there, I don’t really get to talk to many people other than about paperwork and spreadsheets. So, I really appreciate you being willing to help me out.”

Adam really didn’t mind and if anyone understood that sentiment, it was him.

“I get it, trust me. But I’m here if you need me, just shoot me a text anytime.”

“I will! Thanks a bunch. And hey, maybe we can hang out sometime if you want. I’d really like to make friends around here, I hardly know anybody. Hey, do you think—“ Alfie cut off suddenly and his eyes shifted over Adam’s shoulder instead.

He blinked, not knowing why the kid’s face suddenly fell or why he was starting to shake like a leaf on a tree.

Well, until he heard someone clear their throat right behind him.

Adam turned to look and saw Michael there, statuesque face as always, and staring at Alfie’s hand where it still rested on his shoulder.

The new assistant immediately withdrew it and started fumbling over his words awkwardly. There was nervous, and then there was whatever the hell Alfie was when faced with Michael Novak apparently.

Adam decided to give the poor kid an out.

“Anyway, it was really nice to meet you. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.” Adam said, catching sight of Castiel coming to stand beside the fidgeting Alfie. “And it’s a pleasure to see you as always, Mr. Novak.”

Castiel placed his own hand on Alfie’s shoulder this time and quietly suggested he go wait by the elevator. The young man readily agreed, threw one last nervous look towards Michael, then scurried away.

“Do you have to scare him so bad, Michael?” Castiel sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

The older man stepped forward so that he was beside Adam instead of behind him now. He shrugged at his brother passively. “I didn’t do anything.”

Adam grinned. Castiel didn’t look too impressed though.

“Uh huh. He’s a good kid, don’t give him a heart attack before he’s even legal to drink. Please? Not all of us can find amazing assistants like Adam here at the drop of a hat.” Castiel’s eyes flickered over to him.

Adam just laughed a little nervously at the compliment. He had the sneaking suspicion that it was less genuine and was more about seeing what Michael would say than anything else. Maybe trying to get a hint as to what went down to have the stoic brother chatting with his assistant on the weekends.

There wasn’t anything at all, but the look in Castiel’s eyes said that he didn’t believe that unspoken truth at all.

“I didn’t do anything to the boy, Castiel. And if that is your way of trying to convince Adam to return to be your PA, I’m afraid I’m not willing to let him go.” Michael stated as a matter-of-fact.

Adam felt a blush threatening to creep up his face again. “There’s no need for that, sir. I think I like where I’m at already.”

Both Castiel and Michael looked at him, and both looked pleased with his answer.

“That’s a shame, I do miss you on our floor, Adam. But, if you’re happier with my brother then who am I to try and take you away from him?” Castiel’s gummy smile beamed a little too wide to be casual. And Adam couldn’t help but notice the words he said were a little less on the professional side and a little more like a brother trying to…

But no, Castiel couldn’t possibly mean it like that, could he?

“I should take my leave then. I will see you both later.” Castiel nodded and left the room to go find his new assistant. And to no doubt make sure he wasn’t going to fall apart with how badly he had been shaking after just a glare from Michael.

When the two were gone, Adam glanced over at Michael and found him looking back at him in return. Only this time, it didn’t startle him as bad as it had several times before. Instead, Adam grinned at him and nodded his head towards the door.

“We should get back to work. I’ll have these notes organized and sent over to you right away.” He promised, already on his way to do just that. He paused though, turned, and grinned even wider. “And hopefully you didn’t scare poor Alfie into putting his two weeks in already.”

Michael’s lips did that tiny upturn and shook his head. “I hardly did anything. Though I don’t appreciate him, or anyone for that matter, putting their hands on you without your verbal consent.”

Ah, so that was it. But surely Michael hadn’t been jealous? No, surely not. He was just being protective to a point, like a good boss.

“I wish more men thought that way.” Adam admitted. Though what Alfie did could hardly be considered anything other than friendly. Still, he was enjoying hearing his stern boss get a little protective. “But like I said, I’ll finish these up for you real quick, Mr. N.”

Michael nodded and started heading towards his own office, leaving Adam to do just that.

Chapter Text

The days were growing darker and just a touch colder, day by day.

It was officially fall and the city was filled with lush oranges and reds. The sidewalk was starting to be covered in fallen leaves and there was a crispness in the air that reminded Adam of pumpkins and hay from his childhood. His mother had always loved fall and it had been a tradition to pick out pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. Oftentimes they would even do a hay ride and drink hot cider while enjoying the chilly weather. He still missed those moments, and if he could’ve bottled up that feeling of peace to keep forever then he would have.

Right now though he looked forward to the coffee shop’s new array of festive fall drinks, and he had even convinced Michael to try their seasonal blueberry cobbler latte and cinnamon scones. Then, when that was a hit, it was much easier to get the older man to agree to try all of the unique fall flavors so they could try them together before the work day began.

There was another reason there was a slight pep in his step and he didn’t care how childish it made him seem. It was almost his birthday, dammit, and he was going to enjoy it! Sure he didn’t really have plans yet, but the day was special to him anyway. It was the one day a year, after all, that he really felt revolved around him. Not literally, of course, but he felt special anyway.

When the day finally arrived, Adam stretched in his bed and smacked the off button on his alarm.

It was like any other day truthfully, and yet he woke up feeling giddy. This was his first birthday with his own place, and there was a certain pride he felt in that.

He grabbed his phone to check it quickly before he got out of bed. There were a few messages from Kevin about the new game he was playing that he was really excited about. And though Adam didn’t know a thing about it, he still indulged the other man by letting him gush about it. Besides, it did sound pretty cool.

There was also one from Alfie. Their conversations had quickly turned friendly too, and Adam found that the kid was genuinely just really nice. Seriously, how did people that personified sunshine and rainbows actually exist?

There was another name under his notifications though that made him stop. ‘Mr. M Novak’ had sent him a message and Adam immediately clicked it to read it.

MN [6:03 AM]: ‘Adam, I won’t be in the office today but I sent you your list of tasks as per usual. I’m afraid I’m having to travel a small distance to have an in-person meeting last minute. I will be back tomorrow. Have a nice day.’

Adam swallowed back the disappointment he felt. It wasn’t the “Happy Birthday!!” text that he had been hoping for but…then again, it’s not like Michael would know when his birthday even was. He had never told him. He never told Kevin or Alfie either, so he wasn’t upset that neither of them commented on it either.

There were no new messages from Sam or Dean yet, but it was still early and they were probably busy getting ready for work just like he should be. With that realization, Adam jumped out of bed and started his normal routine, then ran out the door towards the bus stop.

Despite Michael not being there today, he still treated himself to a large macchiato and an apple cinnamon muffin. It was his birthday, after all, so he would treat himself as he saw fit!

Getting into the top office knowing he was alone was a little weird. He didn’t always see Michael in the foyer when he arrived, but just knowing the entire floor was empty save for him was a little unnerving. If he tried not to think about it, maybe he could pretend that Michael was just shoved away in his office like he so often was and it wouldn’t feel so weird.

Without him though the day passed remarkably slowly, and he worked as diligently as ever without question.

One of his duties for the day was, surprisingly, to head down to the floor below to get some things from Castiel. It was rare that Adam actually had to go back down to his old floor, but he assumed with Michael out of the office he would need the adjustment.

He took the elevator down one floor and stepped off, and it was like nothing at all had changed on the floor he used to be a part of. It was still all the same, expensive wooden accents and lines of giant offices. Yet now, for some reason, it all felt so foreign.

He gave Hannah a short greeting then made his way over to Castiel’s office and knocked. When he stepped inside, it too was exactly how he remembered it.

“Ah, Adam, good afternoon. I’m guessing you’re here for Michael? I have what he needed from me right here, just one moment.” Castiel promised.

As he rummaged through a filing cabinet next to his desk, Adam took the moment of quiet to glance around. The office was large, though maybe just a touch smaller than Michael’s, but similarly impressive. The view was gorgeous as well, and showed a few buildings that Adam didn’t usually get to see from this height given the angle. Still, he found that for as much as he used to envy such a workspace, he liked Michael’s a lot more.

“Here we are, this is everything my brother should need upon his return. Speaking of which, are you doing alright up there alone? I trust your work is still going well regardless of his absence?” Castiel asked as he handed over the stack of graphs and numbers.

“Oh, yes. I’m doing fine, sir. It’s not too different from a normal day, it’s just a little more quiet than usual. Though I admit that I’ve gotten used to speaking to him in the morning and often on my lunch. So that was a little weird not having those today.” Adam admitted but shrugged it off.

Castiel’s smile was warm and soft. “Good, good. Well, if you need anything today, you can always ask me. Alright?”

Adam’s own lips upturned kindly. “Thank you, Mr. Novak. I will.” He said and turned to go before a new thought popped in his head. “Sir, could I go see Dean while I’m down here? I won’t be long, I’d just like to say hello.”

“Of course, you know where he is.” Castiel chuckled.

“Thank you, sir.” Adam said and left the executive's office to go hunt down his brother.

He hoped that Dean wasn’t still up in arms from the other night. He shockingly hadn’t heard anything from him about talking to Michael on the phone, though he was sure Cas probably told him about that. On the other hand, it was his birthday! Even Dean couldn’t be a dick to him on his special day and the guy still owed him a ‘happy birthday’. He was always late with those sorts of things though.

With that thought in mind, he knocked on the door he knew belonged to his brother and didn’t bother waiting for a reply before he pushed it open. Brotherly privilege and all that.

Dean was clearly surprised to see him there when he walked in, but motioned for the chair opposite of him anyway.

“Hey, kiddo. What’s up?” Dean asked.

That’s it?

“Hey, uh. I was just down here to get some things and thought I’d drop in to say hi.” Adam said as he took a seat.

“Yeah?” Dean raised an eyebrow at him quizzically. “You allowed to do that?”

“Neither Mr. Novak mind, I asked them.” Okay so he didn’t really ask Michael but he was at least fairly certain he would’ve said yes anyway. Besides, he let him visit Sam so why wouldn’t he let him see Dean too?

“Huh. Well, alright. It’s good to see you, you left kinda abruptly the other day after dinner. Glad to see you aren’t giving me the cold shoulder or anything.” Dean admitted with a casual shrug.

Dean was acting completely normal, which Adam expected. Yet still that tingle of wanting more nudged at his mind. Surely his brother hadn’t forgotten what today was…? Right?

“So, uh. Speaking of dinner, maybe you, me, and Sam can go out tonight after work or something?” Adam asked hopefully.

“Oh. Well…actually me and Cas are going out tonight. And I think Sam and Eileen are doing something at her place. Sammy might let you come over though?” Dean offered up.

Adam however felt a hole worming its way through his stomach.

“No, no…that’s okay. Maybe we can go out again together a different time. It’s been a while.” He said instead and stood up. “I should get back, I’m sure you’re busy. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Sure, kid. See ya later.” Dean gave his signature half wave, half salute, and out the door Adam went.

He felt a strange numbness as he walked back towards the elevator. Even when he ran into Alfie and his bright, sunshine smile rained down on him. The conversation was nice as always, and Adam agreed to let Alfie tell him all about the book he was reading later, but still it didn’t scratch the itch gnawing at his insides.

Sam and Dean really had forgotten his birthday, hadn’t they?

The realization creeped in more after he made it back to the top floor where he deposited the papers from Castiel onto Michael’s desk.

Maybe they didn’t forget and this was just their way of telling him they were tired of him. Now that he didn’t have to live with them, he was easier to push away and ignore. They could go back to how things used to be, just the two of them, and pretend he didn’t exist.

Maybe that was for the best, but it didn’t make the sting hurt any less.

He finished up his work day and went home without another word said to anyone. He did stop and grab the biggest, greasiest burger he could get from a diner down the road from his apartment though and brought it home to gorge on his favorite food in celebration. Even if he had no one to celebrate with, he would still give himself what he wanted anyway, even if it was just a heart attack of a burger.

Before he went to bed that evening, he checked one more time for any new messages. There were a few from Kevin and a couple from Alfie, but otherwise nothing else. He tried not to be too disappointed by that as he fell asleep.

Michael returning the next day was a godsend, as far as Adam was concerned.

He didn’t expect anything miraculous, but just knowing that the man he had come to realize he was crushing hard on would be around again put his mind at least a little bit at ease.

“Good morning, Mr. Novak. How did your meeting go yesterday?” Adam asked as he set the coffee of the day down on the taller man’s desk.

“Good morning, Adam. It went as well as expected. Which is to say, horribly mundane and hardly worth the time it took to get there. But, maybe something good will come out of it in the end.” Michael replied boredly.

Adam chuckled. That was the drab sort of fanfare he expected from his boss.

“Oh, before you go.” Michael piped up and turned to mess with something to his side.

Adam watched the movement with curious eyes. More so when Michael straightened up with a colorful bag in his hands.

“As I understand it, it was your birthday yesterday. I wanted to wish you a happy belated birthday. And, this is for you.” Michael held out the pretty gift bag, stuffed with paper at the top to hide whatever was inside.

On instinct Adam took what was being offered to him, yet his brain was struggling to catch up. He had to be looking at Michael like he was crazy.

“What’s this?” He finally managed to croak out. He didn’t realize he was slowly sitting down in the chair across from the other man until he was already seated.

Michael either didn’t notice the tone of his voice or was nice enough not to mention it. “It was your birthday yesterday, was it not? All employee birthdays are in the company system, and since you’re my direct employee I programmed it to alert me when your day was coming up.” He explained. “I apologize for not sending you happy wishes yesterday. I prefer to do that sort of thing in person or over the phone whenever I can, but I couldn’t spare a moment yesterday for a proper call. So, I opted to wait until today so I could give you your gifts as well in person.”

He…Michael went through the trouble of making an alert for his birthday? Adam didn’t expect that. And he sure as hell didn’t expect anything from his boss.

“Well?” Michael lifted an eyebrow.

“W-What?” Adam froze, unsure of what his boss was asking him.

“Are you going to open it? I would like to know if the gifts are to your liking or not. If you don’t enjoy them then I can make the necessary arrangements to get you something else instead.” Michael prompted, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Adam stared wide eyed and surprised even as he slowly began pulling the tissue paper out of the bag. He set it to the side then focused his attention inside.

There were two things, both wrapped up in more tissue paper. He pulled out the smaller box first, tearing open the paper and seeing what was clearly a jewelry box. That was probably the last thing he expected but he opened it and his mouth fell open.

It was small and delicate. A necklace that, if Adam had to put money on it, would bet was real, genuine silver. But what really shocked him was the intricate imagery carved into the metal. Two hands gently reaching out towards each other. It was an image he knew very well.

“Is that the Creation of Adam? By Michelangelo?” He asked, eyes never leaving the necklace.

“It is. I happened to see it while out and about, and I thought it suited you. Not just because of your namesake, though that was part of it, but also because of your appreciation of art.” Came Michael’s easy response.

It wasn't just a random present he grabbed. He had thought about it, given it purpose. He had thought about Adam.

He swallowed around the lump forming in his throat.

“There’s one more thing in there. That one I’m most excited for you to see.” Michael admitted. And Adam wondered what on earth it could be that his boss was actually eager to see him open it.

He gulped down the feelings threatening to burst their way through his chest and carefully set the jewelry box onto the chair beside him. He turned his attention to the second gift in the bag and pulled it out, tearing at the paper hiding it from view. He tugged it out and this time he couldn’t fight the gasp that left his lips.

In his hands was a beautiful leather journal, obviously hand crafted, with a cord to keep it shut. Even the pages were faintly dotted, just like he liked. He slowly ran his fingertips over the soft leather of the cover, and down to the bottom left corner where “Adam” was burned in elegant cursive.

He couldn’t have fought it anymore if he tried.

A sob choked its way out of his throat and the floodgates were open. He felt hot tears spill out and desperately wiped them away from the expensive leather, despite knowing they probably wouldn’t hurt it at all. He pulled the journal close against his chest, heaving out sobs as if stopping would destroy the entire world.

But in just a few minutes his entire world that had been crumbling through his fingers suddenly collapsed and rebuilt itself around him. All by the hands of a man who had no idea he was creating it in the first place.

He wasn’t aware that Michael had even moved until he felt warm hands on his arms. The second he did, he cracked his watery eyes open and saw the other man kneeling in front of him with a worried expression pinching his face.

Fuck. Seeing such a strong and powerful man get on his knees before him, for him, made Adam shiver.

And that face he made. The softest he had ever seen on Michael, and it was only for him.

“Adam.” Michael’s voice was just as velvety, but equally as deep as it always was. Adam could have fallen asleep to it if he’d been allowed. Instead, strong hands gently squeezed his arms in comfort. “Adam, are you alright? What’s wrong?”

He just shook his head, and was silently grateful when Michael didn’t push the issue. At least not right now. Instead, he let Adam get the emotions that had been bottling up out. Allowing them to spill over right there in his office without a word.

When the sky came crashing back down to reality and the tears finally stopped, Adam wiped desperately at his face to get rid of the trails of moisture. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled.

“Don’t be.” Michael replied quickly and squeezed his hands on Adam’s arms again. He watched as the younger man moved then to pick up the jewelry box once more, popping it open.

Adam pulled the necklace out of the little box that held it and looped it around his neck. He looked down, and smiled at the way it looked lying against the soft wool of his sweater. Only then did Adam look up at his employer and give him a weak smile.

“You know, I was born on St. Michael’s feast day. So, it’s kinda funny you’re the only one that actually remembered.”

He could see the realization dawn on the older man’s face in an instant.

“No one else…?” He didn’t finish that sentence. There was no need to. Instead, Michael schooled his features once more and bore his eyes into Adam’s bright blue ones. “In that case, I feel more celebration is in order. Don’t you? Why don’t you join me for dinner tonight? It will be my treat, of course.”

It was Adam’s turn to stare at the other man wide-eyed and shocked.

“You want to have dinner?” He asked.

“Certainly. You deserve to have a nice birthday meal, and I am willing to provide it.” Michael replied. He gently patted one of the arms in his grasp then let him go so he could stand up. “Would 7 o’clock be alright with you? I could pick you up or meet you there. Did you have anywhere in particular you’d like to go?”

Adam felt like a fish out of water.

“I, uh…um…y-yeah. Seven is good. I can meet you there if it’s not too far. I don’t have a car so I take the bus everywhere, but I don’t expect you to pick me up or anything. That’s way too much.” He rushed.

“You don’t have a car?” Michael blinked at that.

Adam couldn’t help but blush. Geez, first he breaks down in front of his super hot boss and then he admits he doesn’t even have a vehicle. “No…not yet. I’m saving up though.”

“Then I will pick you up, if you’re comfortable with that.” Michael stated simply.

“Uh…yeah. Yeah, sure. That’s okay. I can give you my address later.” He swallowed.

“Wonderful. In that case, distance isn’t an issue. So, is there anywhere you’d prefer to go?” The taller man asked, leaning back against his desk.

Adam’s eyes wandered down and appreciated the way his button down shirt pulled against his chest and his abdomen with the movement.

“Oh, um. I guess there is a really good roadhouse on the other side of town. They have the best burgers and fries you’ll ever have. I’m hardly ever over there though so I don’t get to go too often.” Adam suggested, and he silently hoped that a place like a roadhouse bar wasn’t too lowbrow for Michael.

“Then that’s where we will go. Text me your address this afternoon and I will be there to pick you up at seven. Does that sound good?” Michael asked. Adam noticed the way the man’s blue eyes shifted downwards too, eyeing where the necklace laid upon his chest.

“Yes, sir. That sounds great. Oh! And thank you, oh my god I forgot to even say that. Thank you for the gifts, seriously, you made my whole week just by telling me happy birthday but this? You didn’t have to do all of this.” Adam rambled, touching the silver looped around his neck with one hand and still clutching the leather journal with the other.

A chuckle rumbled out of Michael and he shook his head. “I didn’t have to, no. But I wanted to and I am very glad that you enjoy them, Adam.”

A smile stretched its way over his own face as he looked up at the taller man, even as he too slowly stood. The action made them close, remarkably and certainly unprofessionally close. But he reveled in it and the warmth he could feel radiating off the other man as neither one of them made a quick get away.

Until, finally, Adam turned to gather the bag and tissue paper.

“I’m going to get to work now. But, thank you again for everything. And…I’ll see you tonight.” The feeling those words left in his mouth felt all kinds of right. So, he cast one more small, shy smile in his boss’s direction then hurried out the door to start his way, his heart pounding anew in his chest.

The rest of the workday passed mostly how it usually does. He only saw Michael a couple more times, one of them being during his lunch break. During which he eagerly showed him the newest practice sketch of the archangel Michael he had started on the front page of his new journal.

Needless to say, Michael had been more than thrilled.

After work, Adam raced home and jumped in the shower to get ready. When he got out, he spent more time than necessary picking out an outfit for the evening. They were going to a roadhouse so it wasn’t exactly a suit and tie affair, but he was going with Michael Freaking Novak so the occasion called for something a little more special than a T-shirt and jeans.

In the end, the pulled on some more casual, cotton slacks that were a nice dark green color, a belt, and tucked in a light brown turtleneck. Naturally he finished it off with a dark overcoat and the silver necklace Michael had given him that morning.

Come seven o’clock, Adam all but ran outside when he received the text that the other man was there.

Walking out, he glanced around and saw Michael leaned up against a sleek looking black car. It looked as expensive as the man waiting against it.

Adam let his eyes roam all over, taking in the most casual he had ever seen his boss. Which, truthfully, wasn’t really at all. He wasn’t in his usual suit and tie, but he still wore an air of dominance and importance all over him. He had foregone the suit jacket and tie, leaving him in just a navy button down that matched the dark oceans of his eyes, if one asked Adam. It was tucked into his black slacks and covered only by a long overcoat to protect from the wind and chill.

Adam was pretty sure he had never seen anything so beautiful.

Michael pushed off the car when he noticed Adam making his way to him and smiled, motioning towards the passenger door before he opened it up for him. His heart fluttered as he slipped inside, and Michael was quick to follow as he fell into the driver’s side. The car was just as spacious and high dollar on the inside as it was on the outside.

“Do you have the address to the roadhouse?” Michael asked, poking the screen on the console until it changed to a GPS.

“Yeah, I looked it up. I can put it in?” He offered, and smiled when Michael gave him a nodded affirmative and Adam eagerly got to pressing the required buttons of this expensive ass car.

Once the address was set and they were on the road, he quietly twiddled his thumbs in his lap. His eyes kept glancing over, admiring the profile of the man only a couple feet or so away from him. Even driving he looked like he owned the entire road and Adam would be lying if he said that his strong confidence wasn’t sexy as hell.

He also marveled at the fact that the quiet of the car wasn’t devastatingly awkward. Usually it would be with anyone else, but he and Michael had been joined in companionable silence so many times over the past few months that this came naturally and comfortably. If anything it was even soothing.

Nearly twenty five minutes later they pulled into a gravel parking lot and up to an old wooden building with “Harvelle's Roadhouse” shining on the front.

“This is it?” Michael asked. There wasn’t judgment in his voice like Adam feared, just a general sense of curiosity.

“Yep! It might look rough, but trust me. It’s literally got the best burgers. Dean showed me this place and it practically ruined most other burgers for me ‘cause theirs are just so good.” Adam grinned widely and climbed out of the car.

Michael followed suit and locked the doors behind them. “If your brother is the one who recommended this place then maybe I should retract my offer to go anywhere you choose.” He teased, the slightly upturn of his lips.

“Too late! You promised and we’re already here. Besides, if there’s one thing you can trust Dean to be the best judge for, it’s a burger. You won’t be disappointed, sir.” Adam let an extra splash of sarcasm leak into the last word, still smiling as they crossed the threshold of the restaurant.

It was exactly the same as it has been for years. Kind of dark but not bad. There were booths and tables all around, a couple pool tables shoved off near one corner, and a bar that lit up brighter than anything else smack in the middle of the farthest back wall.

Adam led them to one of the booths over against the wall and slid in, watching as Michael mirrored him and sat across to face him. Only moments later a familiar young blonde popped up, grinning down at them deviously.

“Hey there, stranger! Been a long time since we saw you here. No Deana and Samantha tonight?”

Adam chuckled and shook his head. “Nope. Just me and my boss this time. He’s taking me out for my birthday, so obviously I had to come here to see you. Mr. Novak, this is Jo. She’s a family friend. Her mother owns this place.”

Michael gave a polite nod of recognition and reached out a hand in offering, then gave it a firm shake like he would any business partner when Jo took it.

“Happy birthday, man. And nice to meet you, Adam’s boss. I hope you’re treating our boy here right.” She grinned.

Michael returned the gesture the smallest amount, but Adam knew how significant that was.

“I try to, yes. I do hope he agrees as well.” Blue eyes turned towards Adam and made him flush.

“Oh yeah. Mr. Novak is the best boss I’ve ever had. No offense to your brother.” Adam laughed and reveled in the face Michael’s smile grew just a touch more.

“None taken, but I’ll make sure not to tell Castiel.” He joked back.

Jo smiled at the both of them and handed them a couple menus. “So, what can I get you two started to drink? Any liquor for the birthday boy tonight?”

Adam laughed again but shook his head. “Probably not. Just a coke is fine.”

“Water, please.” Michael added.

“Got it. Well, I’ll give you two a few minutes to look over the menu. Not that you don’t already know what you’re getting.” She pointed her pen at Adam, smirked, then walked away.

“Let me guess. She knows you like their burgers?” Michael asked with a cocked brow.

Adam snorted. “Of course she does, I get it every time I come here. A double bacon cheeseburger with their signature fries. Seriously, you’ve gotta try it if you like burgers. It’ll change your life.”

Michael let out a surprised snort, which only made the younger man grin wider. “If you keep hyping these burgers up so much, I’m afraid I’ll be disappointed when I try it.”

“No way, not possible. But…does that mean you’re gonna get one?”

“Of course. I can’t not get it now that you’ve insisted it’ll be the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.” Michael replied.

Adam tried really, really hard not to think about that visual too much.

Saving him from potential embarrassment, Jo returned, smirk still in place. Lifting up her tiny notepad and pen, and tapping it with the pointy end, she glanced between the two of them. “Are we ready to order, boys?”

Michael motioned for Adam to go first and so he promptly gave his usual, a knowing look from Jo as she wrote it down probably more just for the sake of writing it than actually needing to.

“And you?” She asked, turning to the older man.

“I’ll have the same thing, please. Thank you, ma'am.”

Jo leaned in towards Adam and poked his arm with her elbow. “He’s real polite. I like him. You should keep this one.” She whispered not so quietly.

If eyebrows could shoot through the ceiling or a blush could explode a person’s head, then surely Adam would have been close to accomplishing both those things right now.

“Jo! I told you, he’s my boss.” Adam groaned.

The blonde just laughed loudly and walked away, leaving Adam to bask in the awkwardness of her implications.

“She’s very lively, isn’t she? You said she was a family friend?” Michael asked, seemingly unbothered by her blatant messing around. Adam was thankful for that.

“Oh, yeah. Her and her mom, Ellen. They were friends with my dad, and Sam and Dean’s pseudo uncle Bobby. They grew up with Jo, but I didn’t meet her and her mom until after dad had already passed and I moved here after mom died. So, really, I’ve only known Jo and her mom for a few years.” Adam shrugged. It was a significant time sure, but it wasn’t the same as what his brothers had with her. Still, he liked her a lot and she and Ellen always treated him well.

“Hm, that’s nice. It’s too bad you don’t get to come here too often, they must be good people.” Michael pointed out.

“Yeah, yeah they are.” Adam smiled a little softer at that. Ellen and Jo always made it easy to come around here without it feeling like he was in his brothers’ shadows. That’s something he always appreciated about them.

“It’s good to have people like that. My parents are no longer with us either, but I have my siblings and we’ve always been close. Since our parents passed we’ve only gotten closer. It’s why we insisted on starting weekly family dinner nights a few years ago. Otherwise all of us would stay too busy to actually talk to one another and we’d never spend time together.” Michael admitted.

Adam was a little surprised by that. Sure he knew they must all be busy, but when he had heard them on the phone they all sounded so close. Maybe the family dinners really did work wonders like that.

“Well, I know what you and Mr. Novak do. But, what do your other siblings do? They must live around here somewhere if you get together every week.” He asked and he found that he would hang on every tiny crumb of information he could get from the man in front of him like he was starving.

Michael hummed for a moment, thinking it over and drumming his fingers on the table in thought. “Luke, my twin, is the head for a sister company to NovakOn. So I do occasionally see him for meetings, though it’s rare. Raphael is a doctor and stays busy. Gabriel, who you unfortunately had the pleasure of being confronted by on the phone, works in…entertainment.” He mumbled the last part and that only made Adam curious.

“Entertainment?” He leaned in with a grin. He wanted to know what the truth about such a vague answer was. Not much could make the CEO of NovakOn hesitate or embarrassed after all.

Michael’s nose scrunched up like he was smelling something bad. This was clearly not something he spoke about often. But, in the end, he heaved out a long sigh and ran a hand down his face.

“Gabriel works in the porn industry.” He muttered.

The laugh that bursted its way out of Adam’s mouth was loud enough for a couple people to turn and look at him. He paid them no mind and kept his attention on Michael.

“Seriously? Man, that is really not what I was expecting from a brother of the Mr. Michael Novak.” Adam snickered. So what if he was loving the way Michael actually blushed a little bit and refused to meet his gaze. It was a good look on him and Adam wanted to savor it.

The older man groaned and leaned back against the seat of the booth in defeat. “Yes, I know. But none of us could stop him and it’s not like he would have listened anyway. Gabriel tends to just do whatever he wants and ignores the consequences of his actions.” He sighed.

Well that was kind of surprising to hear about a Novak sibling. It didn’t fit with what he knew about Michael and Castiel at all.

“That’s cool Raphael is a doctor, though.” Adam quickly diverted with a smile. “I wanted to pursue a medical degree, but I dropped out when my mom got sick, and then with the move here after she was gone…I guess I just started taking everything day by day instead of actually looking ahead.” He shrugged. It had been years now, he wasn’t as cut up about the failure to pursue his lifelong dream as he once had been.

As usual, Michael listened with rapt attention. “Medical school is an incredibly honorable goal. Maybe Raphael can give you some advice about going back to school to get your degree, if you ever chose to.”

Adam blinked. “Oh, I don’t know…I’m so busy now, and that was a long time ago. I don’t know if I could go back.” He admitted sheepishly.

Apparently Michael disagreed and waved his hand in a dismissive motion. “Nonsense. It’s never too late to go back. Besides, you’re still very young. Most schools offer online courses now anyhow, you could start with those. Go at your own pace, until you get to the in-person and lab classes. That’s what Gabriel did when he went back to school a few years ago. He was about your age, I think.” He said thoughtfully.

“He needed a degree to do porn?” Adam smirked.

Michael gave him possibly the most deadpan look he had ever seen on the man. “No. But, he did want to get a degree in film production. Pornography is simply what he chose to use it for.” He sighed.

Adam laughed again, just in time for Jo to pop back up with two plates full of grease and sodium. Just the way Adam liked it.

“Here we are, boys! We’ll make a burger lover of you yet, handsome.” She joked as she set one of the plates in front of Michael.

“Hey! What about me?” Adam whined even as his own plate was being placed in front of him. Heaven on Earth wafted into his nostrils, as far as he was concerned.

“You’re already one of the biggest burger fanatics I know, pretty boy. The only person that gives you a run for your money is Dean, but I think you might even have him beat in this department.” Jo replied with a hearty laugh and smacked Adam on the shoulder. “Enjoy, boys. Let me know if you need anything. Some candles, maybe some flowers, oh we’ve got some nice romantic wine I could pou-”

She squawked and ran away laughing before Adam could throw another ketchup smothered fry in her direction, but he continued to glare at her until she was out of sight anyway. His face was alight once more, but when he dared to look over he saw the most humored look on his boss’s face, and he was looking right back at him.

“I’m so sorry.” Adam grumbled as he turned back to his food, then promptly used his burger to hide his face as he took a bite.

Michael merely chuckled and lifted his own massive sandwich. “Don’t be. She is quite funny. It is nice to see that she is supportive of whomever you decide to bring here as a date.” He said before taking his first bite. He immediately moaned, the sound making Adam freeze and lock eyes on the man in front of him.

Holy fucking fuck, Batman. What he wouldn’t do to hear that sound over and over.

“Uhh, does that mean it’s good?” Adam asked, still holding his own as if it could block any embarrassing things his face must be making right now.

Michael set the burger down again and dabbed his face with a napkin. “Adam, that is possibly the most delicious thing I’ve ever had in my life.” He stated seriously.

Adam smiled brightly. “See, I told you!” He laughed, and finally took a bite of his own burger as Michael picked his back up too.

“I thought you were exaggerating. But I can see now that I was wrong.” The older man said after he swallowed yet another large bite.

“Nah, they’re really just that good. So, did I show you your new favorite place to eat out?” He beamed.

“I think you might have. I’m impressed.” Michael admitted. “Though, I should have known you would have good taste. Besides the salt and vinegar chips you bring for lunch, anyway.”

Adam didn’t know when the last time he laughed this much was and his face was starting to hurt, not that he regretted a moment of this. No, he would happily take a sore face and aching ribs from all the laughter he was doing tonight over being anywhere else.

The only thing he thought might be even better were the soft smiles and quiet chuckles Michael kept giving in return.

Dinner passed just as easily, with quiet banter and friendly looks.

Adam couldn’t help but wonder if this was the version of Michael that his family saw, quiet but not quite so serious all the time. He did sound like the same Michael that he heard on the phone that evening. More relaxed, less stone cold and devoid of emotions. And now, by the grace of some divine miracle, he was witnessing this beautiful man act that way with him as well.

Soon, both plates were empty but then promptly replaced by new ones with fat slices of pie.

“For the birthday boy, and birthday boy’s boss. On the house, kid, don’t worry about it.” Jo promised then went away again.

Even after those plates too were scraped clean, neither made much move to get up from their seats. Instead, they indulged in more conversation, and Adam tried not to think about how he wished this could go on forever. But, eventually, more and more late evening crowds wandered in though and so their booth was needed, much to Adam’s disappointment.

Michael paid for dinner, and left a sizable tip, before they piled back into his beauty of a car.

The ride back to his tiny apartment felt way too short, and was filled with comfortable chatter between them.

“Thank you for everything today, Mr. Novak. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.” Adam told him as they pulled in front of his building.

“It wasn’t a problem at all, Adam. I was glad to do it. Thank you for allowing me to take you to dinner, it’s the least I could do for someone who does so much for me on a daily basis.” Michael replied easily.

Warmth flooded through Adam’s blood and he had the distinct urge to lean forward and kiss Michael senseless right then and there. He didn’t, of course. He had a stupid crush that wouldn’t go anywhere, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t die to get just one kiss from the man who made his entire birthday memorable in the best way.

“I don’t know if I would say all that.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“I would. I was happy to do this for you, Adam. And truthfully, it was nice. I enjoyed my time this evening.” Michael told him.

The honesty and sincerity in his boss’s voice made Adam swallow. He climbed out of the car before he did something stupid.

“Goodnight, sir. I’ll see you in the morning.” He smiled, still silently hoping Michael would invite himself up. He wouldn't though, of course.

“Of course. Goodnight, Adam.”

Chapter Text

The following few weeks came with a slight change in routine for Adam.

Namely, he finished each and every outfit with the silver necklace Michael had gifted him. It didn’t matter which sweater he was wearing or what color pants he pulled on. In his mind, no outfit was complete now until he pulled on the finishing touch.

When he showed up to work with it in the first time, Michael had eyed it for a few seconds, then smiled up at Adam with a warmth that was too breathtaking to be fake. After that, it became a staple of his wardrobe.

Dinner with Sam and Dean never happened, not that he had really expected it to anyway. But, instead Kevin had roped Adam into coming to his friend Charlie from the tech department’s place for a game, and in turn Adam had been allowed to invite Alfie as well. The small but mighty group ended up with a regular game night that soon boiled over into the occasional movie night as well.

It felt so strange yet so…amazing to actually be surrounded by people around his own age, just hanging out. He was pretty sure he hadn’t done that since he moved to this city.

He even told Michael all about it, eagerly rambling on about how cool Charlie’s house was and all the cool sorts of things she had in it.

Michael, in turn, simply gave Adam his full attention like he so often did and nodded along. Adam had the sneaking suspicion the older man had no clue what he was talking about when he referenced most things, but he never seemed to mind being out of the loop. Instead, Michael always just listened and asked some follow up questions, most of which revolved around if Adam was having a fun time with his new friends. And each time Adam gave his enthusiastic yes.

The CEO also began to send Adam down to the Legal department a little more often to hand things off directly to Kevin, or to fetch something from him in turn. Half this stuff probably could’ve just been an email instead, but he didn’t complain.

This time when Adam stepped out of the elevator, gave a quick greeting to Becky, and started off towards Kevin’s door, he noticed him standing right outside his office, chatting to Sam.

“Hey, Adam! Here for those papers for Mr. N, I assume? Hold on real quick and I’ll grab ‘em for you.” Kevin said before he disappeared into his office, leaving Adam to stand there next to Sam.

“Hey there, Adam.” Sam greeted politely, like he usually did. It felt more like he was talking to a familiar client than his own brother. His eyes trailed down and landed on the silver that looped his neck, and for a moment Adam was glad that Sam wasn’t as antagonistic as Dean was. “That’s really cool. Is that the Sistine Chapel painting?”

Leave it to nerdy Sam to know what it was.

“Yeah, it is.” Adam said as he reached up to touch it. It was a habit he had picked up and hadn’t bothered to try and stop.

“Hey, that’s really cool. It looks real nice too. I was thinking about getting something for Eileen. Where’d you get it?” Sam asked, probably to be more polite than actually caring.

Adam thought about being nice. He really, really did. He thought about lying, or just giving a partial truth. Instead, though, he hid a smirk and glanced down at the necklace between his fingers, lightly rubbing at the polished silver under his thumb.

“Oh, Mr. Novak gave it to me for my birthday.”

The silence between them dragged on thick and just as horribly awkward as Adam knew it would. And quite frankly? He was glad. He could practically feel the cogs turning in his brother’s head at those words, until finally…

“Oh shit, your birthday!”

There it was.

“Adam, I’m so, so sorry. Man, what’s today? We can go out for dinner or something if you want. I’ll invite Dean and Eileen too, get the whole family together.” Sam rushed out and it looked as if he had actually visibly paled. Well, that was shocking.

“No, it’s fine. My birthday was last month, Sam. It’s kinda late to celebrate it now.” Adam shrugged as if it didn’t bother him at all. Or, more accurately, like the passive aggressive little shit he was being.

He could see it was working when Sam fidgeted even more.

“Oh, man. Fuck, Adam. I’m seriously so sorry. We could still go out. We could go to the Roadhouse, it’s been a while since Dean and I have seen Jo and El--”

“Mr. Novak took me there already. I saw Jo, but Ellen I don’t think was around. But it’s cool, it was nice to see her. I was kind of thinking of asking him if he wanted to go again soon. He really liked it.” Adam interrupted and the smug satisfaction he felt from the shock on his brother’s face was damn near devious.

He had thought about asking Michael if he would want to eat at the Roadhouse with him again. The only reason he hadn't was because in every situation he thought up, he couldn’t shake the feeling of it being a date from his mind. And he knew he wouldn't be.

“Mr. Novak, uh…took you out to eat?”

“For my birthday, yes. He offered after I told him that no one else bothered to even send me a birthday text.” The nonchalant smile Adam had fell and he narrowed his eyes pointedly. He wanted it to be painfully clear that Michael did for him what his own brothers couldn’t even be bothered to. “He got me the prettiest journal too, custom made with my name on it. I’ve never had another gift like it. He’s really very thoughtful, when you’re actually fucking nice to him unlike Dean.”

Okay, so maybe he was getting a little heated. Dean wasn’t even there! But Sam wasn’t much better. Sure he was quieter, but he still usually let Dean run around being an ass and accusing Michael of things that just weren’t true. Or at least weren’t if you did your damn job once in a while.

“Oh, uhh…so you, um…were thinking of asking him to go to the Roadhouse again? Maybe me and Dean and Eileen could join you this time and--”

“Here we go!” Kevin grinned as he came out of his office and shoved the papers into Adam’s awaiting arms. “Hey, are we still up for game night this Friday?”

“Sure, wouldn’t miss it if the world was ending.” Adam answered. Then, he turned back to Sam who still looked one new development in Adam’s life away from having a stroke. “Talk to you a couple months from now, bro.”

Adam gave one more small wave to Kevin then turned and left without bothering to look at the expression on Sam’s puppy dog face.

“You’re asking me if I’d like to join you at the Roadhouse again?” Michael asked curiously.

Originally, Adam was never going to actually ask. He was too scared of Michael telling him to not make things weird, as that was always a persistent thought in the back of his mind. His talk with Sam however fueled a fire hot enough to burn Hell itself to the ground, so the moment he walked into Michael’s office with the papers from Kevin, he blurted it out.

“Yeah. Have you been since we went? I haven’t and I thought it might be fun. You know, if you don’t mind. I know you’re busy.” Adam reasoned. He had tried to set himself up prematurely for rejection, so when the real thing came it wouldn’t sting quite so bad.

The older man paused and thought for a moment. Probably figuring out a way to let Adam down easy, if he had to guess.

“No, I haven’t been back since. Which is really a shame, it was quite good. Did you have some free time this Saturday? I could pick you up like I did last time so you won’t have to ride the bus so far.”

Adam’s mouth almost fell open.

“Y-Yeah, that sounds great. Thank you, sir.” He agreed quickly. Just one small thing nagged at the back of his mind. “Erm, is it really okay though? Since I’m your PA?”

Michael’s brows raised, like he was a little shocked Adam asked, then he gave the smallest shrug. “It isn’t that terribly uncommon, really. Luke takes his assistant Kelly out quite often, actually. I know of several other men and women in positions similar to ours that partake in friendly outings. However, we are under no obligation to if it is going to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, no, it’s not that. I just, well, there’s the rumors that everyone already spreads, and I don’t want you to get in trouble or anything.” Adam explained.

Now Michael actually chuckled. “Get in trouble with who, Adam? I’m the CEO. And as for the rumors, I thought I told you that I didn’t care about them. They’re hardly worth the time of day to listen to them.”

Those…were actually some pretty good points.

“Alright. I’ll see you on Saturday then. I’ll text you.” He grinned, feeling more confident about this than ever.

When Saturday arrived, Michael picked up Adam and drove them to the Roadhouse as promised. Sliding into the older man’s car was definitely something he could get used to.

“Hey, you two! Couldn’t get enough, I see.” Jo greeted with a mischievous grin as they each parked into a booth.

“Hi, Jo. You know how it is. Your mom’s food is just too good to stay away.” Adam chimed.

Michael nodded. “It was very delicious. I believe we were both eager to come back.”

Jo smirked, and leaned over to pat Adam on the shoulder, then Michael. “Glad to hear it, boys. Same drinks as last time?”

Adam didn’t question how she could possibly remember their drink orders from a month ago. He knew better than that by now.

“Yep!” He confirmed.

“Yes, please.” Michael nodded.

“Right. Be right back with those.” She handed each of them a menu, even though burgers were likely the choice, and walked off to fetch their drinks.

Michael was clearly curious about their other choices at least since he began adamantly studying the menu. It made Adam laugh a little because it was the same face of pure concentration that his boss always had while working.

“What’s so funny?” Michael asked without looking up.

Adam, however, continued to grin. “Nothing. Just you, being so serious over a dinner menu.”

At that the man across from him glanced up and raised an eyebrow. Before it might’ve been intimidating, now it only served to make Adam grin wider.

He didn’t have any time to actually respond though when Michael’s attention suddenly shifted towards the door and a hard scowl crossed over his face. Before Adam could even ask what was wrong, his employer was standing up just in time for a new group of people to walk up.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Michael half groaned, half sounded exasperated.

Now beside their table, a man who looked similar to Michael but thinner and a little less remarkable, if you asked Adam, stood there. With him was another shorter man with mischievous hazel eyes and brown hair. Then, another tall man with darker hair than the first too, much more similarly colored to the final person that Adam did recognize as Castiel.

These must be Michael’s siblings, he realized with a start.

“We wanted to come see you and join you for dinner, obviously.” The one that looked most like Michael smiled, all toothy and most certainly a little smartassy.

Michael didn’t look entirely pleased by this development, but seemed to do some sort of mental processing to realize that trying to fight this would just be a pain in the ass.

Then, surprisingly, Michael got into the same booth as Adam instead of in his original spot across from him. If he didn’t know better he would say the warning look his boss was shooting off towards his siblings was almost protective in nature.

Across the table Luke, Raphel, and Castiel slid into the booth. Gabriel, however, parked himself right there on Michael’s other side, effectively forcing him and Adam to scooch closer to accommodate.

The slippery grin plastered on the serial trickster’s face actually says that might have been his true intentions all along.

“Nice to finally meet the man Mikey won’t shut up about in person, our conversation over the phone didn’t do you justice, kid. I’m Gabriel, by the way, but you’re hot, so you can call me Gabe.” The man sticks his hand out towards Adam, right there in front of Michael as if he wasn’t even there.

Adam, confused but this amused, reached out to accept the offered hand.

It was at that moment that Michael’s own flew out and snatched Adam’s wrist, drawing it back and away from Gabriel’s where it still hung out stretched.

“Gabe. You will not shock Adam with that stupid prank toy of yours. Do you understand me?” The oldest brother nearly growled.

“Aw man, Mikey! You’re no fun at all.” Gabriel feigned a whine and pulled his hand away finally. He pulled some sort of weird, tiny contraption that Adam hadn’t noticed before off his palm and pockets it.

Michael doesn’t grace his younger sibling with a response, and instead let out a quiet sigh. “What are you four doing here anyway?” He asked.

This time it was Luke’s turn to grin with something that had to be close to evil. “Well, twinsy, you said you were going back to that amazing restaurant you just couldn’t shut up about last month with that PA of yours. So, Gabe and I stole your phone when you weren’t looking and got the address to meet you here!”

Both Luke and Gabe howled with laughter. Adam was a little worried that Michael might actually spontaneously combust as his eye twitched.

He glanced over at the other two and saw Raphael looking impassive as he’d ever seen a person. It might be even more impressively neutral than Michael’s typical look. Castiel at least was a familiar and friendly face though, and he smiled politely at Adam even if there was a curious glint in his eyes as he looked between him and Michael. It was him who spoke up next.

“It’s wonderful to see you again, Adam. You’ve made quite the impression on our big brother, I must say. He hardly ever goes out to eat unless it’s for a business dinner.” Castiel chuckled, then pointed at the man closest to him. The one with dark, raven hair that matched his own. “Introductions are in order. This is Raphael. And this is Luke, otherwise known as Lucifer, usually when he misbehaves.” He gestured towards the blonde man at the farthest end of their booth.

Adam laughed a little, even though he was pretty sure Castiel wasn’t entirely kidding.

Next, Cas pointed across the table at the would-be prankster himself. “And as he so kindly introduced himself, yes, that’s Gabriel, or Gabe. You of course know myself and Michael already.”

“It’s nice to meet all of you.” Adam said politely. There was a giddiness bubbling up in him at meeting Michael’s family properly, dimmed only by his nervousness.

“The pleasure is all ours.” Raphael spoke for the first time, and reached his arm across the table.

This time when Adam went for a handshake, Michael didn’t stop him. Apparently Raphael could be trusted more than Gabriel, he noted.

“Hell yeah, it’s about time. Mike’s been gushing about how great you are for months. It’s actually fucking gross.” Luke commented almost distractedly as he looked around the bar. Adam couldn’t help but wonder if he was impressed or judging, it was hard to tell. Maybe both.

“I do not gush.” Michael frowned hard. “I simply give compliments where they are due. Adam does a wonderful job as my assistant, which is why we are here.”

“Since when do you give compliments so freely?” Gabriel scoffed. “I’m more likely to get eaten by a bear on set than you actually give me a compliment.”

“That’s because you’re insufferable and annoying.” Michael responded blankly.

Gabriel didn’t appear bothered by the slight and continued looking at his eldest brother and Adam in turn. “That might actually be one of the nicest things you’ve ever said to me, big bro.”

Michael groaned again.

Just in time as always, Jo wandered back over, surprise written all over her face. “I didn’t know we were having a party. What’s the occasion?”

“Budding romance. Ow!” Gabriel rubbed the spot on his thigh where Michael had undoubtedly pitched the living shit out of him.

Jo raised an eyebrow at that but it wasn’t the strangest thing she had ever seen in her time at the Roadhouse so she ignored it.

“Well then, what can I get the rest of you started to drink?” She asked, setting down one water and one coke already in front of Michael and Adam.

Jo dutifully nodded as she memorized each requested drink, then momentarily disappeared to grab the rest of them menus. When she dropped them off, each of the siblings grabbed one and went right to the burger portion.

“So, these are the burgers that are supposed to be better than sex?” Luke asked, eyes focused on the little letters in front of him.

“Those are some high expectations, Mikey.” Gabe said.

Castiel chimed in, but looked no less interested in the array of food options. “I don’t recall Michael ever saying it quite like that.”

“He might as well have. It was either the food or the company that made him want to come back so badly. Maybe both.” It was Raphael this time, quiet just as before.

Adam noticed the betrayed look in Michael’s eyes as his middle brother spoke.

It was almost a little dizzying trying to keep up with so many people talking one after the other. With his own brothers it was usually just Dean and Sam talking back and forth, occasionally including Adam if he interjected or they asked him a question. This was much different than that.

“For what it’s worth, I think the company I had last time made the experience much better too.” Adam spoke up. He didn’t expect all five pairs of eyes to snap up at once and turn to him.

There was something in the way the siblings looked at him, all curious and searching. Michael’s eyes however spoke of genuine surprise at the compliment, subtle as it was.

Then, as soon as it had happened, the brothers were focused on their menus again.

“You shouldn’t encourage them, you know? You’ll only make them more obnoxious, especially these two.” Michael said, pointing between Luke and Gabe.

Adam just laughed a little and gave a lazy shrug. “I’m not encouraging anything. I’m just telling the truth. You already know how much I value honesty, sir.”

“I do and I appreciate all the honesty you have shared with me so far. Unfortunately, I’m afraid my fool hearted brothers will read too much into it.”

“Pish, posh, as if.” Gabriel leaned back against the booth and let his menu fall onto the table. “It's been a million years since you’ve talked about anything other than business at the dinner table, let alone anyone, but now it’s like this kid’s all you can speak about at all. You might be able to fool yourself, big bro, but you can’t fool us.”

Adam wasn’t sure what that meant. Still, a familiar warmth coursed through his veins knowing that apparently Michael liked him enough to bring him up at dinner sometimes.

“Oh, yes. Michael mentioned you were taking the time to draw the other archangels. I am very curious to see them, if you don’t mind.” Raphael said, also setting his own menu down.

“Huh? Oh yeah, sure. I’ll have to take some photos and send them. I’ve been doing more studies than actual sketches, that’s why it’s taking so long. Didn’t want them to come out ugly and anybody be offended.” Adam chuckled.

“I’m sure even the studies look good, Adam.” Michael piped in again almost immediately. He pointedly ignored the looks the rest of his family gave him for his quick defense of the younger man.

“Sure, I guess so. But I’d rather have some better pictures to show off instead.” Adam rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. He never thought his quick sketches were all that great, but Michael never seemed to share the sentiment whenever he saw them. “It’s kinda funny though, I mean. Raphael, the archangel of healing, and you become a doctor. It’s almost fate.”

For the first time that evening, Raphael’s face moved just a little into a slight smile. It was impressive, actually. He might give Michael a run for his money in the ‘scary Novak stoicism’ department.

“It is rather perfect, isn’t it? And from what our dear older brother told me, you were interested in the field once.” Raphael stated, rather than asked.

Adam nodded anyway. “Yeah, a while ago. But life happened and I had to quit school, then just never felt like it was the right time to go back. But that’s alright, I really like the job I have now.”

“Bet it’s not the only thing you like about the job.” Gabriel mumbled under his breath, earning another righteous glare from Michael.

Raphael continued on with the conversation like nothing happened at all. “Things often happen differently than we hope or expect. However, if the field still interests you, I don’t think it would be wise to forget it completely.”

“Oh, yeah, it still interests me a lot. You should see all the biology books I’ve got back at my place.” He chuckled a little. “But I don’t know. I just don’t see it actually happening, is all.”

“Yet it might.” Castiel jumped in with an encouraging smile. “You have a keen eye for detail and you don’t do anything other than your best in all the endeavors you take on, no matter how small. That’s the exact kind of person that should be working in a medical field.”

Huh. Adam hadn’t ever really thought of it like that but Castiel sounded so genuine when he said it that maybe he should take it into consideration. Of course there were other more real life concerns too, like time and money, to consider too.

“What made you want to go to medical school anyway? Was your interest that strong?” Raphael asked. Just like Michael, his attention was on Adam like nothing else mattered in the world.

“That was part of it, for sure. But also, I guess I just wanted to help people. I hadn’t decided yet, but I always thought about being a pediatrician. I thought that might be the most fulfilling for me. Ya know? My mom was a hospital nurse so she taught me a lot too growing up, and it only made me more curious.” He shrugged.

Raphael nodded. “Nursing is an admirable career as well, perhaps you could consider that, if you wanted. After all, us doctors would be nowhere without our nurses. They are the backbone of any medical facility.”

Now that made Adam beam. He had heard more than his fair share of horror stories growing up from his mom about ungrateful, even abusive, doctors that took advantage of the nurses that were way too overworked. Hearing a doctor now say the complete opposite made Adam’s heart swell with the excited desire to tell his mother, even though he couldn’t.

“They really are. But I still think being a doctor was always the end goal for me. Or at least the dream.” Adam said.

Raphael just nodded, seeming to understand perfectly. “Well, if you ever do decide to pursue it once more, I’d be more than happy to offer my assistance however I can. It isn’t the easiest field to study or even understand how all the programs work. However, the university here in the city has a nice medical program. I graduated from here several years ago.”

“Yeah, yeah. Dr. Raph talking about scalpels and diseases again, what a shocker.” Luke groaned.

“I was not.” Raphael responded as eerily calm and unbothered as before.

“Uh huh.” Luke didn’t sound very convinced.

Jo returned with a pen and tiny notepad in hand, going around the table starting with Adam for orders. Her eyebrows raised more and more each time the next person asked for a double cheeseburger with bacon and fries.

“Seriously? What’d you do to these people, Adam? Drag them here against their will to make them eat your favorite food? Not that I’m complaining, but the cook might come out here just to see what the hell is going on when I put in an order for six burger meals.” Jo was barely concealing her amused smirk as she pocketed the pen in her apron.

“Afraid the kid didn’t do anything, we just heard so much about how good the burgers here were that we had to come check them out ourselves.” Luke explained casually.

“If you say so. It’ll be right out in a few minutes, guys.” Jo promised before she wandered off towards the kitchen again.

When they were alone again, Castiel leaned in towards Adam a little. “So, Dean told me it was your birthday a while ago. I’m sorry I missed it, but I’d still like to tell you happy belated birthday.” His former boss said.

Castiel was always so genuine in everything he did and said that it was impossible to be offended over the fact he was a month late. Honestly, it was just nice of him to say anything at all despite his tardiness.

“Thanks. I’m surprised Dean mentioned it to you though, since he never said anything to me.” Adam mumbled.

At that Castiel’s face fell and took on a colder expression. One that Adam had only ever seen whenever businessmen were trying to one up him. “Dean didn’t wish you a happy birthday?” He asked slowly.

“Nope.” Adam popped the ‘p’ at the end and crossed his arms comfortably on the table. He didn’t really care at this point that he was potentially going to make Cas mad at his brother. The dickhead deserved it as far as he was concerned. “I don’t think he even realized. Sam sure didn’t until this morning when I saw him down in Legal. He commented on my necklace and I told him Mr. Novak got it for me for my birthday. All of a sudden he was telling me how sorry he was for forgetting, but to be honest, I wasn’t really interested in listening. My birthday was a month ago, it was too little, too late in my book.”

Castiel only frowned harder and his eyes narrowed. Adam could almost see the lecture he was going to give Dean, and possibly also Sam, at some point over this. Score one for Adam.

“Those your brothers?” Gabe asked. A quick nod for an answer and the shorter man was listening dramatically. “Damn, kid. That fucking sucks. If one of us forgot another’s birthday, Mikey here would skin us alive. Shoulda known he’d on top of you--I mean, on top of your birthday.”

The shit eating smirk Gabriel gave in response to Michael’s death glare was damn near diabolical. Unfortunately for the older man, his twin apparently was on the same page as Gabriel.

“That’s true. Mike keeps us all in line, and never lets us forget each other’s birthdays. He’s real serious about that kind of stuff when it comes to the people he actually cares about, so you must be one of the lucky few to make it onto that list.” Luke said.

Adam could feel his face heating up.

Gabriel chimed in again. “Yeah! Pretty sure that list is the four of us and now…you. Ain’t you special, huh? You gotta be if Mikey gave you a gift.”

“Two gifts, actually. Dean mentioned the necklace and a journal with Adam’s name on it.” Castiel added in.

Both Luke and Gabriel whistled lowly like they were impressed.

“Let’s not forget he also took Adam out to dinner as well. That is how he discovered this establishment in the first place.” Raphael pointed out helpful.

Beside him, Adam saw Michael cover his face with his hands. He had never seen him this embarrassed before but something about the fact his family could so easily poke fun at him and joke around with such a normally expressionless man was sweet.

“I am very lucky to have Mr. Novak as my boss.” Adam finally said.

“Ugh, gross! ‘Mr. Novak’, bleh. Call him Michael instead. Mr. Novak just sounds like our old man.” Gabriel’s nose wrinkled.

“Gabe, don’t be rude.” Michael spoke again firmly. Gabriel, as per usual, was unphased.

“What? It’s not like pops is here to be offended anyway. Listening to the kid call you ‘Mr. Novak’ and ‘sir’ is giving me flashbacks to dad. I’d rather eat glass.” Gabriel crossed his arms.

A sudden silence overtook the table and Adam stared as Michael worked his jaw, clearly upset by whatever Gabriel was implying. He was holding back something, that much was obvious.

It was Luke that saved them from the abyss of quiet they had found themselves in.

“Michael’s basically our dad anyway. He did more to raise us than dear ol’ pop did.” The blonde reasoned, apparently not at all phased by Michael’s steely gaze turned onto him next.

Adam decided to interject before things got uglier.

“I thought you two were twins?” He asked. It was a little weird for Luke to say Michael was like their dad when he was the same age as him after all.

“Oh, we are.” The blonde answered. “But Mikey’s always been the parental figure type, even when we were young. Anybody has a problem? Go to Mike. Need help with your homework? Ask Mike. Who tucked everybody in at night and checked the closest for monsters? You guessed it, kiddo.” Luke raised a brow and tilted his head with a look that couldn’t have said ‘need I say more?’ if he tried.

This was mostly news to Adam though. Michael didn’t talk much about how he grew up, and maybe, he realized belatedly, that was because he had ‘grown up’ a long, long time ago. Much earlier even than he should have had to.

He glanced around at the other siblings, and noticed none of them were making an effort to dispute what Luke was saying. It only solidified the truth of it.

And Michael…Michael was weirdly quiet, his gaze almost far off somewhere entirely different, far far away from here.

He wanted to ask more questions and dig deeper into the mystery that was Michael Novak. But, he wouldn’t do that here in front of his family. Even if they did all agree with Luke’s sentiments.

Instead, he swallowed and put his hand on Michael’s arm. When the older man snapped out of whatever world he was zoning off into and turned to look down at him, Adam put on a small smile and squeezed his hand just a bit.

“Well, it looks to me like you did an amazing job raising your family.” Adam offered quietly. Then, he motioned vaguely towards the four siblings sitting around them. “I mean, four college grads, a freaking doctor, for god’s sake. Two highly successful business men, and a man that isn’t afraid to go after his dreams and make the kind of content he enjoys making. I don’t think anybody could have done a better job setting them up for success.”

The table was quiet again, but this time the mood was light and even hopeful. Adam didn’t look away from Michael’s shocked face, but he was pretty sure the others were staring at him a little surprised as well. That was fine. He meant what he said, he just hoped they knew that.

Then, Michael’s expression softened into something bordering on devotion. “Yes, I think maybe you’re right.” He said quietly.

He turned his gaze away from Adam and looked around at each of his siblings, taking in their genuine faces of pride and appreciation. He never once doubted that they were thankful for all the sacrifices he made for them growing up, but to see it now painted all over their expressions made him swallow.

Adam watched and could see the pride in Michael’s eyes as he looked between each one of his very successful siblings. He hoped that the older man was also seeing his own successes as a brother and father figure in them as well.

“Thanks for dinner, guys!” Gabriel laughed as the group walked out into the chilly, night air.

“You weren’t really invited, but sure. You’re welcome.” Adam replied playfully, grinning even wider when Gabriel feigned an offended gasp and dramatically smacked his palm to his chest.

Luke chuckled as he came up, and shoved Gabriel towards an old vintage car towards the end of the parking lot. “I like this kid, he’s cheeky.” He said more towards Michael than anyone else.

The older man in turn just grunted. Adam could still feel that lightness about him though, even if his face didn’t show it. Ever since Michael had looked around and seen the love and success of his younger siblings, even Luke who Adam learned was only a few minutes younger but younger nonetheless, he just had a certain brightness to his eyes. Adam hoped he could see more and more of it.

Luke pushed Gabriel towards his car while Raphael and Castiel both waved and climbed into their vehicles too.

Once all the siblings had disappeared into their cars, Michael bent down the couple inches required for him to speak quietly into Adam’s ear, as if telling a secret.

“It’s late. Let’s get you home.” He spoke quietly, and the feeling of his breath on his ear made Adam shiver.

He barely had time to get his brain to wrap around that before he felt the press of a warm palm against the small of his back, gently urging him forward.

He walked towards his boss’s car with his mind trying to catch up to what was happening. The touch itself wasn’t anything innately serious, but Michael had never touched him even remotely like this before.

Adam never wanted it to stop.

Unfortunately though it had to, as he was guided to the car and the other man opened the passenger door for him. He slid in, mourning the loss of his touch, yet still just as eager to have this time alone just the two of them in the safety of Michael’s car.

“Tonight was fun. I know you didn’t plan for your brothers to show up, but I really like them. They’re all very nice…even if Gabriel did try to shock me.” Adam laughed under his breath.

Michael hummed his agreement. “It was nice. We have family dinners often, as you know, but we rarely go out anymore. Though I could have gone without hearing Gabriel say that he had a ‘mouthgasm’ after he bit into his burger.”

Adam laughed for what felt like the hundredth time that evening.

“Still,” Michael continued. “It was nice. I was pleased to have you there with us. I believe my brothers enjoyed your company as well.”

“Yeah? It was nice. Maybe…we can do it again at some point?” He ventured slowly.

Blessedly, Michael tilted his head to glance at him for a moment before back to the road, but a hint of a smile stayed on his lips. “I think that could be arranged, Mr. Milligan.”

Adam smiled all the way back to his apartment.

Chapter Text

Castiel, much to Adam’s amusement, chewed Dean a new one for forgetting his birthday soon after the dinner at the Roadhouse. At least someone’s brother was out here acting like they cared, even if it was the brother of his totally hot boss that he was crushing on. The youngest Novak sibling told him all about it at the Roadhouse the next month. An arrangement that, apparently, all the siblings agreed should happen since they all showed up the second time too.

That was how Adam found himself sitting once again squished against Michael’s side in a booth surrounded by all of his siblings.

“I can’t believe Dean! He can be crass and he can get in his head about things, but I’ve never known him to be heartless. If I didn’t love him so much I would have strangled him while trying to get through his thick skull.” Castiel sighed.

Adam laughed.

Finally his older brother and Castiel had made their relationship official a few weeks ago. It was about time. The two danced around each other for so long it made even Adam want to lock them in a room just to make them to get on with it.

“It’s ‘cause he hates Mikey so he acts like an ass and takes it out on Adam. But that’s alright, Michael’s got a different Winchester that likes him way better.” Gabriel sang like a song, totally off key.

“Adam isn’t a Winchester. He’s a Milligan.” Michael promptly correctly, casting what had to be the twentieth glare in his second-youngest brother’s direction tonight.

Gabe put his hands up in response and had the courtesy to look sheepish. “Sorry, sorry. I’m just used to hearing about Cassie’s boy, I forgot. Sorry, kid.”

“It’s alright.” Being mistaken for a Winchester wasn’t exactly something Adam found much joy in, but at least Gabriel and the rest of the Novak siblings accepted the fact of his distaste for the name fairly easily. He turned his attention back to Castiel. “Dean did end up buying me a gift card. And Sam and Eileen came over to my place and brought Chinese food shortly after you yelled at Dean. So at least they acknowledged me after you handed his ass to him.”

“It shouldn’t have taken that in the first place.” Michael grunted.

“Ooo it’s hot when you get all protective.” Luke poked at his twin’s arm until Michael snatched it away.

The thing was, Adam couldn’t exactly disagree.

“Don’t touch me.” Michael grumbled. There was hardly any malice in it though.

Having dinner for a second time with his boss, his former boss, and their other siblings probably should’ve been weirder than it was. But, apparently, this was his life now.

“Oh hey, that charity thing is coming up. Who are you taking?” Castiel spoke this time, looking across the table at his eldest brother.

A charity event? This was the first Adam heard about it. Not that he expected to be able to go, but he was still curious anyway.

Michael dabbed his lips with a napkin then set his eyes on the youngest Novak. “No one, I was planning on going alone.” Apparently, that was the wrong answer. Luke, Gabriel, and Castiel all had varying degrees of response, but the one thing for certain was the collective groaning.

“You can’t go alone again. Don't you remember all the articles that came out? ‘NovakOn’s Most Famous Bachelor: Alone Again’. Ugh, seriously, no one wants to see those again.” Gabriel whined.

Adam took a big bite of burger and watched the family interact curiously.

Michael scowled a little. “I don’t care about the articles. They have no impact on my life.”

“Except,” Luke cut in. “The fact is, you look like a miserable, old CEO with people problems on a good day. Going to the event with a partner would help you appear more approachable to the public and other business associates. You might actually look human for once.”

Michael didn’t reply but he didn’t look happy. If there was anything that made him stop and listen, it was almost always to do with business.

“You need to bring someone that is polite and kind.” Castiel mentioned slowly.

“Oh yeah, and cute too. Someone attractive.” Gabriel added quickly, a smirk already in place.

“And someone who is preferably already familiar with your business, in case anyone asks them questions.” Luke drummed his fingers on the table.

Adam continued to eat.

“What are the three of you talking about?” Michael sighed. The fact that the three in question have varying degrees of grins on their faces spoke volumes.

“There is one person we might’ve thought of. One that you might like to take to the charity auction and that fits all of those categories.” Gabriel nudged at Michael’s side with his elbow.

“Excuse me? You discussed this previously without me?”

“That’s not the point! The point is, there is someone who would be perfect for you to take.” Luke’s smile was downright devious.

“Yes? And who would that be?” Michael asked. He clearly felt suspicious.

The sibling trio went quiet, but looked between each other smiling as if they were waiting for Michael to figure it out on his own.

Raphael, on the other hand, jumped in, in his usual quiet, not at all interested tone of voice. “Take Adam, Michael. He’s the perfect partner for you to take to the event.”

Adam froze when four pairs of eyes fixated on him, making him pause in his chewing midway.

Him? Go to a charity event? With…Michael?

Michael squinted at his siblings. “You think it would be acceptable for me to take my assistant as my plus one?”

Luke laughed. “Sure! I’m taking Kelly. I’d bet my money we won’t be the only ones either. And if we are? Fuck ‘em. I don’t really give a damn anyway.”

“You are not exactly a good basis for anything appropriate, Lucifer.” Michael deadpanned.

Castiel readily agreed with his other brothers though. “I’m also taking someone who works in the office. Dean, obviously. It’s not entirely different, even though he doesn’t work quite so directly under me like Adam does you. But that’s okay, that way there will be more than one person from the office there besides the two of us, Michael.” He reasoned.

“Uhh, guys? Do I get a say?” Adam asked with a raised brow. Sure the prospect of being invited anywhere by Michael was exciting and he was probably going to say yes anyway, but they were carrying on the conversation as if he wasn’t even there. He'd had enough of that to last a lifetime from his actual family, he didn't need it with Michael's too.

“Of course. I apologize, Adam.” Michael said quietly.

Castiel too looked a little sheepish and smiled apologetically. “Yes, we’re sorry. Do you know about the event we’re referring to?”

“No, actually. What is it?” Adam answered. He really was curious, after all.

“The charity event is something that is put on every year around the holidays. Mostly it’s just a bunch of rich people that get together, make bids on things, then all the proceeds go to the charity of choice that evening. It’s a high profile event, so I am expected to be there, but unfortunately that means everyone likes to be in my business when they don’t need to be.” Michael explained, clearly not all too impressed with the idea of his every move being watched.

“Oh, so I would go and basically just get to watch you do rich people things.” Adam grinned a little. That didn’t sound so bad. It actually only made him more curious.

“Essentially, yes. Some people may come up and ask you questions about NovakOn or even about yourself, but for the most part it is a quiet event. The majority of it is simply people bidding on things for the charity.” The older man said.

“Will there be free food?” Adam asked. He ignored the way Gabriel and Luke busted out laughing. He was pretty sure it was more friendly than making fun of him at least.

Michael however smiled much softer and nodded. “Yes, there is dinner provided, as well as dessert. Though I’m afraid it might not compare to Ms. Jo’s burgers here.”

“Oh yeah, I bet. Nobody can beat Jo and Ellen’s burger recipe. Not even Dean, but he’ll try to tell you otherwise. Feel free to tell him I said that too, Cas.” The nickname slipped out before Adam realized what he was saying. He had never referred to Castiel so casually, at least not to his face. But Dean’s habit of doing so had rubbed off. “Oh, wait, sorry. I didn’t mean to call you that. I know I’m not Dean, Mr. Novak.”

Castiel only looked confused for a moment. Then, an odd sort of familiar fondness crossed over his features. “It’s alright. We aren’t at work, so it’s hardly a bother. If I could get your brother to be half as polite as you and call me ‘Mr. Novak’ like he’s supposed to while we’re in the office then I would be more than pleased.” Castiel grinned.

“Oh, so no special boyfriend privileges? How heartless, Cassie.” Gabriel piped in.

“Well, I didn’t say that.” The dark haired man’s smile turned a little mischievous, a look that Adam had never seen on his face. Maybe he really was related to Gabriel and Luke after all.

“So, kid, you interested in the event? Free food and watching us do ‘rich people things’?” Luke butted in, steering the conversation back to where it needed to be. He clearly wasn't about to let Michael get off scot-free. “It won’t be so bad with people you know there.”

“That’s true. I might want to show up too, who knows? Maybe I’ll even convince Raphy to go.” Gabriel hummed. The older sibling in question squinted at his younger brother ever so slightly, but otherwise said nothing.

“Yes. You will have me, as well as Castiel, Dean, and Luke regardless. If Gabe and Raphael decide to join us, you will have even more familiar faces. Does that help? I don’t want to pressure you into something you would hate to do.” Michael said.

Adam quickly shook his head. “I don’t feel pressured, don’t worry. Really, I’m honored you all want me there so bad and I think I’d like to. Even though I feel like I’ll stick out like a sore thumb there.” He didn’t exactly come from money, after all. His childhood was the result of a single mom who worked relentlessly long shifts at her nursing job.

“Ooo shopping spree!” Gabriel chirped with an excited clap of his hands.

“Huh?”

“Kid! You’re a genius. You, me, and Mikey can go out on the town and take you shopping for some new threads. I bet you’ll clean up real nice. Not that you aren’t real cute now, I'd bet money there's some guy...s around here that would love to eat you up.” Gabriel’s grin was so wide it looked like it might hurt.

Okay, that was a little odd but Adam opted to ignore it for the bigger issue.

“Uhh, I don’t know. I doubt I can afford whatever fancy clothes you guys wear to a charity auction.” Adam mumbled, fiddling with a loose string at the end of his sweater.

“Bah! Don’t worry about that. Mikey here will cover the cost.” Gabriel slapped his older brother on the shoulder, but Michael looked so overly used to it he barely moved.

“What? I can’t…no! You can’t do that. No way I’ll let you buy me some fancy outfit.” Adam said quickly.

Michael on the other hand didn’t appear to be phased by the idea at all. “Why not? It is the least I could do since you are, in a way, doing me a very large favor by accompanying me there in the first place.”

“Dude, the suits you wear have got to be like, a few thousands of dollars. That’s too much to spend on me for just one night.” Adam complained.

“A few thousand? Try over twenty thousand. Mickey here doesn’t like to spare any expenses for his clothing, kid.” Luke laughed.

Adam is pretty sure he felt his soul leave his body. “Twenty thousand for a suit?” He wheezed.

Luke and Gabriel laughed louder. Even Castiel looked several shades of amused by the reaction. Michael, thank god, had the decency to actually look a little embarrassed.

“If I’m to spend all day wearing something, I want it to be comfortable.” He reasoned through a mumble.

“Michael.” Adam turned as much as he could towards the other man, which wasn’t much considering the lack of space in the booth they were in. He stared him down hard. “Twenty. Thousand. For a suit?” He tried not to think about how many of those ridiculously expensive suits the man had and how much they all added up together.

“Well…some are only around fifteen.” Michael pointed out.

Adam rolled his eyes so far back he might’ve pulled something in his head. “And you want to buy me one? Hell no.”

“I insist.” Michael stated, voice firmer this time, yet nowhere near the tone he used when he was in work mode. This was more of a righteous conviction.

“No.” Adam said, just as firm. They locked eyes and glared at one another long enough for it to get awkward, and even still Adam refused to turn away.

It wasn’t until Gabriel interrupted their little staring contest that Adam relented. Or more accurately, was embarrassed into submission.

“Aww, your first lovers spat and you’re already arguing like an old married couple. How sweet is that?” The jokester cackled.

What could Adam even say to that? Nothing, apparently, except turn red. Thankfully he didn’t have to say anything because Michael snapped his hardened gaze at Gabriel instead, who reacted by only snickering louder.

“Very funny.”

“I try, I try.” Gabe waved a hand dismissively. “Anyway, kid, you gotta let Mikey hook you up. We’ll take you to one of our favorite shops, help you pick something out, get it fitted, then you’ll walk out of there like a man who was born to go to a charity auction and drop a stupid amount of money on shit nobody actually needs for the good of humanity or whatever.”

“But I won’t even be able to bid on anything.” Adam complained. Why look the part when he wasn’t actually going to participate?

“Doesn’t matter. Again, that’s what Michael’s for.” Luke reminded.

“It’s true. I don’t expect Dean to participate, and I’m sure Luke doesn’t expect Kelly to either. Though he’s more likely to bet on her behalf on anything she wants anyway. Michael isn’t the only one who likes to give his assistant gifts.” Castiel said.

Adam still wasn’t sure how he felt about letting Michael spend a ridiculous amount of money on one outfit for him, but from the sounds of it none of the Novak siblings were even batting an eye at the idea. He was actually a little surprised. He expected there to be some push back, if for no other reason other than not wanting their elder brother to get taken advantage of. Did that mean they trusted him enough to not do that? Did they know that money wasn’t why he was nice to Michael?

“Alright, fine.” Adam sighed. If the way each of the Novak’s lit up at his agreement said anything, that was the right choice.

“Great! Mikey and I will take you sometime in November, how about that?” Gabriel offered.

How could Adam ever hope to refuse?

As it turns out, Gabriel was also really into designer suits. Though, as Adam learned, his tastes varied from Michael’s a great deal.

He had a keen eye for the details that Adam hadn’t expected for a man that acted as silly as him sometimes. He also critiqued the ones he didn’t like with an amount of uncharacteristic seriousness that Adam realized that all the Novak siblings must have inside of them to some degree. It was almost a little terrifying.

Speaking of, his boss was looking between two suits that, to Adam, looked fucking identical but Michael insisted they weren’t. Adam was pretty sure he was full of shit but what did he know? This wasn’t his area of expertise.

Instead of arguing how two navy suits really couldn’t look all that different, Adam moved through the store a bit boredly. Eventually, he began entertaining himself by guessing at the outrageous prices of different suits then checking the tag to see how close he was. Each and every time he was shocked. He just couldn’t get used to the idea of one outfit costing a good chunk of his yearly salary.

Eventually, he came upon a rack of suits of varying greens. This was a holiday event, wasn’t it? Sort of? At least they had said it took place around the holidays every year, so maybe green was the way to go. He flicked through several different emerald greens, some smooth and silky, others more textured and coarse. Until, eventually, he found one that was a little different than the others.

He pulled it out to get a better look at it. It wasn’t quite so dark like most of the other suits in the store. Instead, this one was a tasteful, natural pine color that looked and felt soft to the touch with tweeded material. The waistcoat paired with it was a light brown with a hint of design with horizontal stripes going across it. A darker brown tie and a white shirt to tie it all together and Adam felt like this was the nicest looking one he had seen so far. Plus, he was sure it would go well with whatever holiday theme the event might have.

“Whatcha got there?” Gabriel’s voice made him jump.

He turned and saw the satisfied gleam in the shorter man’s eye. Adam huffed.

“What do you think about this one?” He asked, holding it out. If there was something Adam had learned about Gabriel, it was that the man wasn’t afraid to give his honest opinion on anything. If he thought what Adam picked out was ugly as all get out, he would say so. Instead of that, the man hummed and put his finger and thumb to his chin as he surveyed the suit Adam held carefully.

“It really…suits you, kid.” He answered finally, shit eating grin already in place.

“Oh my god.” Adam groaned.

“Gabriel, you’re going to end up making Adam run for the hills before we can get him to the event in the first place.” Michael said as he walked up. He turned to look at what Adam had in hand, and suddenly he was a little more self conscious about his choice.

“Is this one good? I haven’t tried it on yet or anything, but…”

Michael continued to assess the fabric until finally nodding. “I think it would look very good on you, Adam. You can try it on, but of course the tailor will fit it to match your dimensions much better. Why don’t you go to the fitting room and see if you like it?”

“Yeah, I think I might.” Adam agreed. Michael's words gave him a little hope that he didn't pick out the worst thing in the whole store.

“We’ll come with, so you come out and show us the goods so we can see.” Gabriel said, already trailing behind with Michael as they followed Adam towards the dressing room.

Adam tried desperately not to think about ‘showing the goods’ to his boss right now. Instead, he managed to focus on getting the suit on. He stared at himself in the mirror, turning his body this way and that as he took it all in. Holy shit. He looked…good. Really, really good. Once he was ready, he pulled back the curtain and stepped out. Immediately, Gabriel whistled.

“Damn, kid! You made a good choice, don’t you think, Mikey?” Gabriel elbowed his older brother in the side with maybe a little too much force than necessary.

Maybe it wasn’t, though, as Michael didn’t even react and instead kept his eyes on Adam in a way that made him want to both curl up and hide and to strike a pose.

“Do you like it?” He asked his boss, turning to look at himself again in the full length mirror hanging beside the dressing room curtain. He could see Michael’s eyes lingering on him in the reflection.

Again, Gabriel jabbed his elbow into his brother’s rib and this time it was hard enough to get a grunt.

“It…it looks very good on you, Adam. Amazing, even.” Michael said as he rubbed his side, yet his eyes stayed on his assistant.

Adam secretly hoped that he couldn't see the way his cheeks pinkened in his reflection. “You really think so? I didn’t check the price of this one though. I can pick out another if it’s too much.”

“No, it’s fine. This one suits you too much to let it go simply because of a price tag that I hardly care about anyway.” Michael stated.

Adam froze for a moment. Then, he slowly turned and squinted at the man. Gabriel too was staring at him with a big grin and eyes that sparkled with pride.

“Did you really just repeat Gabe’s suit pun?” The twitch of Michael’s mouth on his otherwise carefully neutral face was all the answer Adam needed. “Oh my god, you did. And here I thought you would drive me crazy by working me to death, but no. My demise is going to be at the hands of a man that makes suit puns.” Adam groaned.

“My apologies. Perhaps it would suit you better if I tailored some other kind of jokes instead?” Michael asked, way too straight faced for what he was saying.

Adam balked at him. Who was this man and what did he do with his boss? Then, before he could help himself, he snorted and shook his head.

Gabriel snickered in delight. “Alright, alright. Let’s get the tailor to take your measurements so he can work on fixing you up. Mikey and I still have to pick out our own duds while we’re here.” He raised a hand and waved over an older man in a well tailored suit with a flexible measuring tape in hand. He gestured towards Adam, and the man immediately nodded and got to work measuring just about every part of his body. In the meantime, Gabriel and Michael both went back to shopping for themselves.

In the end, the CEO decided on a sleek, burgundy suit that's jacket was akin to velvet while the pants were simple and untextured. Underneath, the shirt was white and instead of a tie there was a simple, black bowtie to pull it all together. Adam almost couldn’t stop his mouth from hanging open.

Gabriel came out in something a little more flashy but no less elegant. Also red like his brother’s, but his was a bit brighter and silky enough to reflect in the lights overhead ever so slightly. He paired it with a black pair of pants and he too went with a bowtie.

Next were shoes, but thankfully those didn’t take even half the time to pick out. Simple black for all and, once they were done, they finally managed to exit the shop at a quarter to two in the afternoon.

“Alrighty, youngins. I gotta get going, but you two crazy kids go do whatever it is you do together. Go have some fun, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Gabriel punctuated his sentence with two finger guns pointed their way. Neither Adam or Michael pointed out that Michael was several years older than him.

“Have a good afternoon, Gabriel. Thank you for coming with us today.” Michael said instead. It was subtle, but Adam saw the way the shorter brother’s face softened just a touch.

“Sure thing, big bro. It was fun watching you spend all that money while pretty boy gawked behind you.” He smirked.

“Wha--I did not!” Okay, yes he totally did. But Adam had thought nobody noticed.

Gabriel just waved the argument away. “Sure, sure. Anyway, see you two at the event in a couple weeks.” He grinned. It was crazy to think it was already nearing December. Adam was pretty sure the year had actually flown by.

“Sounds good. Thank you for today, Gabe.” Michael said, while Adam waved at the other man. They watched him back away, then turn and make his way back to his car down the street. When it was just him and Michael left there together on the sidewalk, Adam couldn’t help but roll back and forth a little on the soles of his feet. Now what?

As if reading his mind, the older man cleared his throat and glanced down at him. “It’s a little late, but perhaps we should get something to eat. We were in the store for a long time.”

“Sure, that sounds great. But I’m paying.” Adam said.

A comically affronted look crossed Michael’s face. “Absolutely not.”

“Uh, absolutely yes. You just spent a stupid amount of money on a suit for me. At least let me buy you a meal.” Adam wasn’t going to budge on this and, after another small staring contest, his boss relented.

“Fine. I think I saw a cafe a couple streets over. Would that be amenable?”

“Hm. I would ask if you’re just suggesting that ‘cause you don’t want me to spend a lot of money at an actual restaurant, but I am well aware of the fact you are an actual caffeine addict. So, for you, it makes sense.” Adam nodded and began to trek down the street.

Michael chuckled as he followed. “Guilty.”

When they reached the cafe and ordered hot coffee to fight against the chill in the air outside, a couple sandwiches, and a pastry each, they sat at a small table by the window to watch the world go by. People bundled up in scarves and jackets strolled by as they ate.

“It’s almost Christmas, isn’t it? I can’t believe it. It feels like just a couple weeks ago that I started working for you, but really it’s been a few months already. Can’t believe I lasted this long.” Adam admitted with a half shrug.

Michael on the other hand shook his head. “I had faith that you would be different than my previous assistants. You had done so well under Castiel, and he constantly praised your good work. I felt a little bad about taking you from him when he was clearly so happy with you, but I couldn’t see any other viable option at the time. Everyone else that I had hired for the position couldn’t keep up.”

“But I can?”

Michael nodded. “Even better than expected. You work extremely hard and, actually, I wanted to remind you that you will be receiving your holiday bonus soon.”

Adam lit up. “Oh yeah. That’s great, can you tell me how much it is yet?”

“For you? Roughly…half the price of the suit we picked out earlier.” Michael had that hint of playfulness in his eyes again.

This time, Adam’s mouth did fall open. “Wait. You don’t mean…that my bonus is, like, 10k do you?”

Michael simply hummed and nodded.

Adam thought he might combust.

“No way!” He had gotten a nice holiday bonus while under Castiel, and he had been grateful for the sizable amount he got back then. But ten freaking thousand? For an assistant job? He was pretty sure Sam and Dean’s bonuses weren’t too far off from that and their positions were way higher than his! If they even got that much!

“Mm. Like I said, you have done a fantastic job for me and I am grateful for it. So, I do hope this will aid you. Perhaps you can get that car you mentioned wanting?” Michael’s smile was small, but kind. Adam could stare at it for hours.

“I…seriously? Thank you so much, sir. I can’t begin to tell you how much this will help.” Adam really couldn’t believe it. He knew that despite everyone else’s thoughts, Michael was a kind man underneath the hard, professional exterior he usually displayed. However, he was being almost excessively nice, in his own sort of way.

“There’s no need. In my opinion you’ve earned it, and as I’ve told you before, I like to reward those who do good work for me.” The older man reasoned as he glanced out the window.

Adam was practically buzzing with excitement though. An extra 10k would help a lot, and like Michael suggested he could even potentially get a used car so he wouldn’t have to take the bus to work everyday anymore. That alone was cause for celebration in his opinion.

“Still, I want to say thank you.” Adam was nothing if not a stubborn SOB. Michael knew this much by now.

“Then, in that case, you are welcome.” Yep, he knew better than to argue.

Sandwiches and pastries gone, Adam held the lukewarm coffee in the palms of his hands. By now it had lost most of its heat, yet he still liked to hold it in favor of not embracing the warmth it brought.

“Would you like to go anywhere else?” Michael asked suddenly. His words snapped Adam out of the deep trenches of thought he inadvertently caught himself in. All revolving around one specific blue-eyed man.

“I don’t know. This is…sort of nice, if I’m being honest. Being out with you, I mean. But if you have somewhere else to be, I won’t stop you. I can always catch the bus home.” He said.

Ocean eyes flicked over to him again and Michael looked mildly puzzled for just a moment before he schooled his expression once more. “I would not expect you to take the bus home when I drove you here in the first place. I simply meant if there were any stores nearby you were interested in visiting, or anything of the sort.”

Adam blinked. “Oh, well…honestly, I don’t really know this part of the city very well. It’s a little more high end than I can typically afford.” That and he didn’t really go out with anyone and hang out in the city. Except for the few places he frequented on his own and the places Sam and Dean have brought him, he really didn’t know it all too well.

Michael seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding. “There is a shop not too far away that I think you might enjoy. We can walk there, if that is alright with you. You do still look a little cold.” His eyes were trained on the way Adam’s fingers wrapped around his cup of coffee like it was his own miniature heater.

“Oh, sure. I’d love to go. And don’t worry, I’ll survive.” He chuckled, and wiggled his fingers for good measure. They weren’t falling off from frostbite yet.

“Hm, perhaps. But how about we warm up a little bit more first.” Michael suggested and then he was getting up. A hand stopped Adam from following, and instead he watched as the taller man moseyed on over to the counter again and, a couple minutes later, was returning to the table with two new cups of steaming liquid. He set one of them in front of Adam as he sat back down.

“What’s this?” He asked, quickly finishing off his lukewarm coffee and replacing it with the new cup around his fingers. The heat was nearly painful against his cool skin and he loved it.

“Hot chocolate. I figured you could use a little something more before we head back out.”

A smile spread across Adam’s face and he lifted the cup for a big sip. Sure it burned a little on the way down, but what good was a hot drink if you didn’t scorch yourself on it a little? Thankfully, Michael only looked mildly concerned as he held his own cup.

“Alright, so. Ready to head out then? I want to see this store you’re so sure I’ll like.” Adam stated.

Michael raised a curious brow. “Is that a challenge, Mr. Milligan? I’ll have you know, I am known for being quite competitive.”

“Maybe. I’m known for being incredibly stubborn, so I guess we’ll just have to see who wins.” Came the easy reply.

They walked out of the cafe, steaming cups in hand. Adam watched as his breath curled into the air in front of him with the cold. He brought his drink up under his lips to breathe in the warm steam wafting from it as they walked.

“Oh? And what is it that we’re playing for?” Michael asked.

Adam thought for a second. He could think of a few things he wouldn’t exactly mind having from his boss, but none of them were exactly family friendly. There was one thing he wouldn’t mind though.

“How about…another outing like this? Whoever wins, they get to choose where we go. Separate from the Roadhouse, I mean, since your brothers insist on us all going there anyway. I mean a separate outing from that.” Adam said. He peered over and took in his boss’s features. All handsome and well put together, the epitome of masculine elegance, if you asked Adam. Actually, if you asked him, he’d tell you Michael was smoking hot. Gorgeous. Handsome. Utterly perfect.

“Hm, I think I can agree to those terms.” Michael turned then to smile at the younger man. It was entirely soft and, dare he say it, possibly even fond.

Adam couldn’t help but wonder how Michael felt about him in return. He didn’t have time to ponder this for too long before a light touch upon his arm stopped him in his tracks. Michael’s hand on his arm was incredibly warm even through his sweater, and Adam didn’t think it had anything to do with the hot cup he had been holding.

“We’re here. What do you think?” Michael asked. All Adam could focus on though was the feeling of his large hand still gently gripping his arm.

He couldn’t stand there looking like an idiot in front of his way too far out of his league crush forever though, so he turned his head to see where they were. The shop was at the corner of the street, lit up with warm, yellow lights that almost looked more like Victorian lanterns than anything modern. Two large windows were filled to the brim with books of various colors and sizes, piled high in stacks. Some were facing out, showing off the covers to the outside world. A handwritten sign advertising ‘Holiday Sale! Everything 25% off!’ was stuck in front of one of the mountains of novels facing the street against the window. He looked up. A sign with “BOOKSTORE” printed in massive, white letters hung over the door. Under it, smaller words reading “New & Used Books & More!”

“A bookstore?” Adam asked curiously. Out of all the places he thought Michael might take him, this had not been it. He hadn’t known what to expect, actually. Gucci maybe? Not a new and used bookstore that Adam could already tell was going to smell like worn out pages and old leather.

“Yes. I like it here. Did you not want to go in?” Michael asked. Adam hated the small frown he could see cross over his boss's features. He hated that he was the one who put it there even more. Most people probably wouldn’t have even been able to see it, but he had spent so much time with Michael and learning him over the last several months that to him, it was glaringly obvious.

“No, no. I mean, yes! Yes, I really want to go in. Let’s go.” In a moment of boldness, and perhaps some stupidity, Adam moved his arm out of Michael's light grip. Instead, he twisted it and caught the other man’s hand in his own and dragged him through the shop’s door.

The beloved smell of old books and faded ink hit him immediately, just like he knew it would. He took in a deep breath. The store itself was a little small, but the space was packed full of books as far as the eye could see. Several shelves were squeezed between the brick walls, some were in barely neat piles on the floor, and small tables and baskets were placed around to hold even more things.

It felt like home.

Adam didn’t realize he was actually still holding Michael’s hand until the taller man gently squeezed them. But before Adam could properly freak out and apologize for not letting go, Michael spoke first.

“This shop is one of my favorites in the entire city.” Michael told him. “They often have things the chain stores do not. Plus, I enjoy the atmosphere here.” That was a little surprising. Michael, the big, bad CEO of NovakOn whose office stood tall and proud on the top floor of a freaking skyscraper liked the atmosphere of…a little used bookstore. Huh. Something about that revelation had Adam’s heart fluttering.

Maybe he was reading too much into this. But, it felt like he was getting a deeper peek into the real Michael. Adam had realized a long time ago the man wasn’t like how everyone described him. Sure, he could be at times. He was ruthless in meetings and he was quick to put an underling in their place if they spoke out of line, but he wasn’t cruel. He wasn’t a monster. Not really. Adam felt fortunate enough to see the other side of Michael, the side that only his family apparently knew. The kindness that laid underneath the cold exterior. The genuine care he could have, when he allowed himself to actually give a damn about someone. Adam, he was pretty sure by this point, had the privilege of actually being one of those few people.

And if the way Michael didn’t separate their clasped hands told him anything, it was that his normally carefully reserved boss trusted him enough with this side of him to actually risk showing it. Adam vowed to himself that he would never hurt Michael if he could help it.

This time, Adam squeezed their conjoined hands, and he smiled up at the older man with a look of undisguised reverence. “Want to show me some of your favorite genres?” He asked quietly.

Michael glanced down at him, and Adam knew the soft smile he was being given was mirrored back on his own face as well.

Chapter Text

The day of the holiday charity event came faster than Adam could have expected. Mercifully, it was being hosted on a Saturday, which meant not having to worry about getting up early for work the next morning after what would probably be a social nightmare.

The main saving grace in his mind was that Michael was going to be there by his side the entire time. Plus, Dean, Castiel, Gabriel, Luke, and Raphael were all planning on being there as well, which helped to put his mind at ease as he dressed for the occasion. He would have plenty of people that he already knew, which helped.

He still couldn’t believe the fancy suit Michael had bought him even as he pulled it on and inspected himself in the mirror. He did look damn good. $20k good, if he said so himself. A big part of him hoped that Michael thought so as well.

The knock on his front door startled him out of his thoughts. Quickly, Adam rushed to the front door and all but tore it open to see who was there.

There on the other side stood Michael, somehow looking even more elegant and desirable than usual. Adam had seen him in his new suit when he first tried it on at the store, but whatever witchcraft the tailor had used to fit it perfectly to Michael’s body had worked an actual miracle. The cloth hugged in all the right places, and emphasized each and every one of Michael’s many flattering attributes perfectly.

Adam had never been so jealous of an outfit before in his life.

There was one small thing that drew his eye however. Something that hadn’t been there when Michael first tried the suit on at the store. There on the lapel of his burgundy jacket hung an incredibly festive looking boutonniere. It looked like a short piece of pine, mixed with a small pinecone and tiny red berries, all pulled together by a bright red bow and fake snow. If anything screamed ‘Christmas time’ it was this.

Blue eyes followed his gaze and in turn, Michael smiled. “Do you like it?” He asked.

Adam blinked and lifted his eyes back to his boss’s face. He hadn’t meant to stare but the entire outfit, accessories included, were just so startlingly beautiful on the man that he almost couldn’t help it. “I do. It’s perfect for the event, isn’t it?” Adam asked.

Michael nodded. “It is. That’s why I got you one as well.” He reached into his pocket and what he pulled out, as promised, was the splitting image of the same boutonniere he had on.

They were going to match.

Oh my god, they were going to match in public.

A wave of giddiness flushed through him at that little realization.

“Thanks so much. Would you, uh…mind putting it on for me? I want it to look perfect.” He also just wanted those strong hands anywhere near or on him, but who was paying attention to that?

Michael gave the slightest smirk like he knew a secret Adam hadn’t even told and nodded. He stepped forward, carefully securing the accessory to the front of Adam’s suit jacket with practiced fingers. When he went to pull away though, he paused.

“What’s that?” He asked. His hand was already moving before Adam had the chance to ask what he was talking about. Michael’s fingers brushed against the side of his neck and made him shiver. It was gentle and slow, yet still ended way too soon. When his boss pulled back, he had a silver chain in his hand.

“The necklace I gave you? You’re wearing it?” He looked somewhere between shocked and marveled. A sparkle of surprised astonishment in his beautiful blue eyes.

Adam smiled. “Under my shirt, yeah. I thought about leaving it off since no one will be able to see it anyway, but…I just feel naked if I don’t wear it when I go out now.”

Michael’s eyes lifted from the little charm in his palm up to Adam’s sincere gaze. He was so, so close. Only a breath away and if he really wanted to, Adam could lean forward and close the gap completely. It would only take a few inches. He could just start to lean in and--

“I’m flattered, Adam. Truly, I’m glad you liked your gift so much.” Michael’s voice broke whatever kiss hungry spell he had just been under. When he focused his eyes away from the other man’s lips - when had they gone there? - and back to his eyes, he found an incredibly soft look directed at him. Like he was the only thing that mattered in the world.

Adam swallowed.

“Y-Yeah. Yeah. I really do like it. It’s special to me.” He admitted before he could stop his big mouth. He might as well scream it from the rooftops that he had a big, fat crush on his boss!

Michael’s face, subtle as it always was, still shone with a sincerity that made Adam’s knees weak.

“Again, I’m very glad.” He murmured, twirling the silver pendant in between his thumb and forefinger like it was something precious. Then, he carefully let it go so that it fell back against the tie Adam was wearing. “My apologies. I didn’t intend to distract us.”

Adam reached up and tucked the necklace safely back under his shirt where it was noticeable. “It’s fine. We don’t want to be late though, so maybe we should get going?”

“Of course.” Michael nodded and stepped away from the door, back down to the sidewalk while Adam closed the door and locked it. There was a now very familiar warmth buzzing under his skin as he got into the passenger seat of Michael’s car. A feeling he wanted to bottle up and hold onto forever. Instead of admitting to whatever that was however, Adam filled the silence of the car with casual chatter. It was so easy to talk to Michael now. Even though the CEO was still incredibly quiet, it never felt judgy or weird. It just was, and it never really bothered Adam anymore. He could talk enough for the both of them anyway, and actually having someone around that actively listened wasn’t exactly too bad either.

Truthfully, maybe he should have taken some of that time in the car to ask Michael what to expect driving up to the event though.

When they arrived, he stared out the windows at the towering skyscrapers and other buildings Adam had never been inside of. Until, eventually, they pulled up to one that was a little bit shorter but no less impressive. The building looked like a collage of several different types of triangles and all sorts of rich and snobby. The over the top grandeur of it all was only emphasized by the line of equally expensive looking cars they pulled into. At the front, Adam could see people exiting their vehicles while valets took the keys and sped off with them.

When it got to be their turn, Michael quickly held up a finger for Adam to wait a moment before he climbed out of the car. In only a couple seconds, he had rounded the car and opened the passenger side door for him and held out his elbow.

“This can be overwhelming. I didn’t want you getting out on your own.” Michael explained quietly as Adam slipped his hand into the crook of his elbow and stepped away from the car after Michael handed off his keys.

Without the buffer of the car windows to hide exactly where they were, Adam stared up at the impressive building with wide eyes. Then, he glanced around. There were a few people standing off to each side with cameras and tiny notepads, carefully herded behind lines of velvet red rope. Reporters, he belatedly realized. Some other people in fancy dresses and nice tuxedos stood around talking amongst one another or to the press. Some were even posing for pictures that the journalists readily ate up.

He almost didn’t realize they were getting closer to them until he heard one of them yell.

“Michael Novak! Who are you here with tonight?” A woman called, camera already raised.

Adam tried not to cringe as it flashed in their direction. He glanced over, and caught sight of Michael’s steely expression and was reminded of the tough, cold CEO most others knew him as. He pointedly ignored the bellowing reporters as he guided Adam past them and into the building.

The inside was just as impressive as the outside if not more so.

They stepped into a spacious front room, decorated with an explosion of greens, reds, silvers, and golds. He imagined this must be what it felt like to walk straight into Santa’s workshop in the North Pole. In the center of the massive welcoming room sat a tree that nearly reached the excessively tall ceiling. It too was covered with a variety of ornaments and tinsel. A large star shone brightly at the top.

This room was littered with even more people than outside. Each and every one of them looked like they belonged there with impressive outfits, jewels, and overdone hair styles. Adam didn’t think he had ever felt more out of his element in his entire life. A warm hand cupping his where it still held, perhaps a little too hard, onto Michael’s arm brought him back to the man beside him. Michael was looking down at him with subtle concern.

“It’s alright. This is the part where everyone is still waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive. Some people will likely come up to talk to us, but you’re not obligated to speak to anyone you don’t want to. Here, would you like a drink or some of that free food I promised before?” A slight grin crossed his features.

Adam couldn’t help but mirror the movement. “That sounds great.”

He hung onto Michael like a lifeline as he was led over to a row of tables covered completely by a variety of different foods and desserts. Michael handed over a plate and Adam reluctantly let him go so he could begin to fill it. He was promised free food and so free food he would have, dammit.

After they each had a plate full and a way too extravagantly decorated glass, they found a table where Adam saw Luke and a woman he had never met already sitting. When they got closer, he realized little name cards with ‘Novak’ typed in cursive letters sat at each spot. Michael sat beside his brother and Adam followed suit on his other side.

“Ah, Michael, you made it. And I see you brought your little date along too. Adam, it is good to see you again.” Luke grinned toothily at him. “Kelly, this is Michael’s assistant Adam. Adam, this is my assistant Kelly.”

The brunette woman with kind, motherly eyes sent over a smile.

"Hey, nice to meet you." Adam said nicely. If he had been closer, he would've shaken her hand, but no one looked perturbed that he didn't.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Adam. Luke has told me a bit about you and your outings to that burger spot. Actually, to be fully honest, he won’t shut up about it.” She mock whispered. Adam grinned at her.

“That’s what we said about Mikey!” Luke laughed instead of being offended.

Michael just shook his head. “Any word on when Gabe, Raph, or Castiel will be here?”

“Should be any minute. You know Cassie hates being late, though I think that new boyfriend of his might distract him enough to make him be.” Luke hummed, sending a knowing smirk in Adam’s direction.

“Ugh, do not even go there. I don’t want to hear about how my big brother is going to ‘distract’ my former boss.” Adam’s nose wrinkled just at the thought.

This time, Kelly joined in with Luke’s laughter.

“Sorry, kid. Anyway, Raph is around here somewhere. He was chatting it up with some associates from the medical board, I think. I imagine he’ll be over here soon enough. And Gabe, well. You know how he is.” Luke shrugged. Adam could imagine what that meant already.

“Unfortunately yes, I do. Sometimes I think we should leash him to get him to places on time.” Michael sighed.

It was Adam’s turn to laugh, mouth half filled with some sort of apple tart.

Several minutes passed and more and more people filed into the large room. Round tables were spread out all over, and they were filling up quickly. Adam took the time to stuff his face and take in the sights. The room they were in had a sizable stage at the front where he imagined the auction would take place. There was a podium up there too, but not much else at the moment. He noticed on the tables, including their own, were little signs with names and numbers. One sat on the table between him and Michael, the name ‘M. Novak’ in bold printed on it.

Shocking to just about everyone, Gabriel was the next to arrive. He plopped out right next to Adam in the empty chair at his side.

“What’s up, kiddo? How’re you enjoying living the high life, so far?” He asked with a massive grin.

Adam just chuckled. “It’s a little weird, to be honest. But it’s bearable so far.”

“Bearable, huh? Is that why my brother has his arm wrapped around the back of your chair like a bodyguard?”

What?

Adam blinked and took a glance back. Sure enough, Michael’s arm was resting on the top of Adam’s chair. He hadn’t even noticed.

“Gabriel, how kind of you to show up on time for once.” Michael said flatly. His arm didn’t move an inch.

The younger brother’s playful expression only grew. “And miss out on watching you go all guard dog on the kid? No way in hell, big bro.” Gabriel snickered, but turned to shovel a spoonful of…something into his mouth. Adam didn't know what it was, but it looked like it might put him in a sugar coma.

Adam watched the younger Novak for a moment, then turned his head to notice Luke in a similar position with Kelly a couple spaces over. His arm too was draped over the back of her chair, but his was closer, even more intimate. His arm partially pressed against her shoulder blades. He wondered what that meant for him and Michael, when it looked so affectionate when it was Luke and Kelly. Did it look that way with them too?

His pondering continued for a few seconds until coming to a screeching halt when he felt Michael’s thumb press into his shoulder and begin to lightly rub. It was a small movement, but the implication was clear. It was comfort and protectiveness all wrapped up into one tiny gesture. All Adam wanted to do was lean into it, but his mind felt like it was throwing up an error screen instead.

“Ah, Raph found us Cassie and his boy toy!” Luke announced just in time for both brothers and Dean to come into view.

Adam watched as they all sat, taking up the rest of the empty chairs that had been reserved for them. It was hard not to notice the narrowed way Dean was staring at him, directly firmly on the spot where Michael’s thumb stroked gently into his shoulder. Adam prayed that his brother didn’t start any drama at an event like this of all places.

“The auction should be starting soon. I trust everyone is comfortable? No need to get up during the event?” Michael asked the table. A round of quick affirmatives were the answer.

As promised, a short man in a smart, striped suit and an extravagantly dressed red headed woman walked onto stage only a few minutes later.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Fergus Crowley, as many of you may know. We are incredibly pleased to be here tonight to host and support tonight’s charity of choice.” The man spoke into the microphone.

The woman stepped up next, her accent even thicker than the man’s.

“Hello, everyone, and welcome. I see some familiar faces in the crowd already, but for those who may not know me, my name is Rowena Macleod. I hope everyone is having a lovely time in my establishment so far. We are incredibly proud to be the host for this year's holiday charity event. Now, Fergus and I are pleased to announce that tonight’s charity supports and helps fund the local school systems in underprivileged neighborhoods.”

There was a round of polite clapping all across the room.

Again, Crowley spoke. “Yes, so remember, all proceeds of tonight’s auction are to help those in need in our city. We will also be taking donations after the event to fund holiday dinners for those without the means to provide them this year. So please, consider donating at the counter in the front room before you leave.”

Another round of clapping. Adam awkwardly joined in. He would like to donate, and he would, but he was pretty sure his few dollars would be a speck in the sea of the amount other people here would give.

“Great! Now, it is time to start the main event!” Rowena cheered then motioned for a couple of workers to bring the first item on stage.

The man, Fergus Crowley, played the part of the auctioneer. Even though Adam had never been to one of these before, he had to admit that the man was well suited for the job. He listed out numbers like they were burning his tongue, and just as quickly signs all across the room were raised up, lifting the bids higher and higher.

By the time the first few items were officially sold, Adam felt dizzy just thinking about the amount of money already accumulated. He was so engrossed in Crowley spewing out a ridiculously large number that he didn’t notice Michael had leaned in close.

“How are you liking it so far?” His breath brushed against the shell of his ear, hot and incredibly close. Adam jumped only slightly before turning his head, only then noticing how close they were.

“It’s interesting. This is a lot of money for the charity too, and we just started.”

Michael looked thoughtful as he nodded.

“It is. This is one of the biggest charity events of the year. It always brings in a lot of donations. They’ll announce the final number at the end.” He informed quietly.

“You haven’t bid yet. Not seeing anything that interests you?” Adam ventured to ask.

At that, Michael’s gaze sharpened on him like a hawk. “Not on stage, no. But there is something here that interests me greatly.”

Adam’s tongue poked out to wet his suddenly very dry lips. He watched as Michael’s eyes flicked to watch the motion.

On stage, Crowley hit the podium as a final bid was made and the current item was hauled off to be replaced with another.

Adam turned his attention back to the stage in time to see a man walking up with a picture in his hands. It was framed in an ornate, beautiful gold. Behind the frame’s glass, an impressionistic painting of a colorful park was on display. But one building in it was unmistakable. The image was broadcast even bigger on a screen behind Crowley, making it easier for everyone to see.

“Hey, that’s Como Park!” Adam gasped.

“What?” Michael asked, though his eyes weren’t the only ones on him now. The others at the table turned curiously at the excitement in Adam’s voice too.

“Como Park, it’s in Minnesota, where I’m from. Mom took me there a few times growing up. We actually went not too long before she passed away. Man, it’s been years since I’ve been there. It’s really great.” It’s been years since he’s been home to Minnesota at all, but he had no reason to go back now anyway. The only person he had there had been his mother and she was long gone.

“That so?” Gabriel piped up. He thrust his hand up, raising his bidding card high in the air. Crowley’s attention immediately focused on him and called out a new price.

Adam heard snickering to his left and when he looked, Luke was holding his own sign up, raising the price even higher.

Beside him, Michael damn near growled. He snatched the sign with ‘M. Novak’ off the table and held it high into the air.

“Another Novak! Going for $14,000. Do I have a $15,000?” Crowley’s voice rang out over the microphone.

Immediately, Gabriel’s hand flew up again.

“$15! Do I have a $16,000?”

Michael again, this time. He was glaring daggers at his younger brother across from Adam, who was pretty sure his jaw was on the floor.

What the hell was going on?

“We have $16! Do we--oh! $17,000! We have $17! What about $18,000?”

Luke’s grin as he lowered his hand was anything but innocent. If looks could kill, Adam was pretty sure both he and Gabriel would be dead on the spot from the glare Michael kept sending them. He just didn’t know why or what the sudden interest in this painting was.

“What are you doing?” Adam finally asked after Michael raised his hand for the fifth time. The price was over $20k at this point.

Michael’s eyes landed on him again and immediately the fire in them lessened a bit. “I’m ensuring you get the painting you like.” He said simply.

“What!” Adam squawked so loud a few people turned to look in their direction. He didn’t even care. He was staring at Michael like he was a madman dancing in the street.

Gabriel’s card went up again.

“What?” Michael echoed, much softer.

“Michael, you can’t be serious.” Adam gaped even as he watched his boss’s hand raise again without even looking at the stage. He resisted the urge to grab it and drag it back down.

“Do we have $26,000, gentlemen?” Crowley’s voice called in the background of Adam’s mind.

“Why not? You like the painting, do you not?” Michael asked, his head tilting.

Luke’s hand raised again in his peripheral.

“I do like it, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend a ridiculous amount of money on it to get it!” Adam’s voice was still alarmed, but at a more reasonable level. Maybe he could talk some sense into Michael before it was too late.

Michael’s arm raised again.

Okay, maybe he couldn’t actually talk any sense into him.

“$27,000! Gentlemen, are you satisfied with your bids? Going once…going twice…sold! Awarded to Michael Novak. Congratulations!” Crowley announced. As soon as the painting was taken off stage, he began with the next item's bid.

Adam, however, was still staring at Michael with eyes as big as saucers.

“What?” The older man asked with a bored look on his face.

“Michael, you just spent almost thirty thousand dollars on a painting because I liked it!” Adam hissed.

“Yes?” Michael, again, cocked his head like he was confused. “It was a painting that reminded you of where you are from and a place where you have many happy memories with your mother. No one else in the audience would have appreciated it the way you would.”

Okay, maybe that was true. But still! He opened his mouth to argue but Michael shook his head.

“The price is meaningless to me. If I did not want to buy it for you, I wouldn’t have, Adam. But, if I can make you happy by giving a piece of your mother back to you, then I will do so.”

And just like that, all the arguments on Adam’s tongue shriveled up behind his teeth.

Having a painting of a place his mother used to take him growing up did sound amazing. More than that, actually. It would be the single most incredible thing anyone had ever done for him. Like so many times before, Adam was slammed with the depths of Michael’s heart. He didn’t wear it on his sleeve and he certainly didn’t let it show on his face, but he knew it was there. When Michael cared, he cared incredibly deeply, and the genuineness of his kindness made Adam’s throat tighten with emotion.

He could never repay such kindness even if he tried.

He went quiet after that. Across the table, he could see Dean with a frown on his face and fire in his eyes. Even that couldn’t burn away the intensity of what he was feeling in his chest at the moment.

What made it all the more was the slow, comforting motion of Michael’s thumb back on his shoulder. Slow strokes that eased him through the rest of the auction.

When all was said and done an hour and a half later, the grand total nearly made Adam combust. No one else at the table looked shocked though so he opted not to voice how crazy it was that a number that high could even exist.

By the end of the auction, Michael had ended up with another painting of his own liking depicting some Biblical scene and some hella old sword from a century Adam couldn’t remember, he just knew it was old. Luke had gained some sort of exclusive “sip and paint” thing that apparently Kelly had been interested in. Raphael ended up with a crate of ridiculously expensive, foreign wines, and Gabriel had a new, vintage car and a box of exotic sweets Adam didn’t think he could ever pronounce. Castiel hadn’t seen anything of interest apparently, but promised to make a sizable donation at the counter for holiday meals later.

“When do you get the items you won?” Adam asked Michael as they stood up from the table. He felt the pressure of the other man’s hand press against the small of his back, guiding him forward.

“The items will be transported to my home this evening. Rowena already has my information since I’ve been to these events before.” Michael answered simply.

Adam had to wonder what it was like to be this kind of person. The type that said the word and the world immediately twisted itself to obey.

With the auction over, groups of people began to form just as they had before the event. Chatter echoed through the main room and the welcoming area as the richest of the rich in the city conversed together. Unfortunately, Adam hadn’t considered everyone who could show up this evening.

“Michael! It’s wonderful to see you here. You managed to snag a few beautiful things, I noticed.” Adler’s voice grated in Adam’s ears.

“Ah, Zachariah. I didn’t know you were attending.” Michael replied boredly. The question of how he got invited in the first place not spoken, yet still somehow so obvious.

Adler apparently didn’t notice. “Yes, you know I wouldn’t miss something like this. It’s a good look to come to these things, after all.” His eyes landed on Adam, then to where Michael’s arm disappeared behind his back in distaste. Adam felt a smug sense of satisfaction in that moment.

“Quite. I am well aware of how hard you try to uphold your reputation for the sake of your image.” Michael said, tone flat.

“Unfortunately that is what is required of men like us.” Adler replied almost like it was a chore to come to a charity event meant to help people poorer than him. In fact, it probably was in his eyes.

“So you say, Zachariah.” Michael looked bored as ever, hardly even looking in the other man’s direction anymore. Adam thought it was kind of funny really.

Then, Adam turned his own gaze away as the conversation happening in front of him moved on to something about money and distribution rates. Blah blah blah, boring boring boring. Adam’s line of sight found the dessert table again and suddenly he realized that the best cure for having to listen to a man like Zachariah Adler speak was chocolate cake with cherries on top.

“Michael,” he said quietly and felt a sense of pride when the older man’s attention immediately shifted from Adler to looking down at him instead. “I’m going to go grab something sweet. Did you want anything?”

“Ah, I’m fine. Thank you, Adam. I’ll be right here when you’re finished.” Though he hardly looked happy about it when he turned back to Adler. Michael’s hand fell away from his back and Adam took the opportunity to go over to the dessert table to snatch a new piece of cake before it was all gone.

He was halfway through the slice when yet another familiar face came forward. Somehow, this one was both a relief and a curse. Dean was frowning at him. Like usual, Adam noted.

“Cas told me you were coming with Michael but I didn’t believe it until I saw it. What the hell is that about?” He grabbed his own plate and promptly covered it in three different types of pie.

“What’s there to tell? I was invited, I came. That’s really kind of it. I don’t see how it’s any different than Cas bringing you, or Luke bringing Kelly.” Adam said. He stepped away from the dessert table in favor of leaning against a nearby wall out of the way of the other patrons.

“First of all, me and Cas are dating. So obviously that’s different. Unless you and Michael…?” Dean’s brow raised, though he didn’t look very intimidating with chipmunk cheeks full of pie.

Adam sighed. “No, we are not dating.”

“Good. The guy’s a dick!” Dean grumbled with a mouthful.

“He’s Cas’ brother, I really don’t get why you dislike him so much.” Adam finished off his cake and let an employee come take the dirty dish. Man, rich people service was something else.

“I’m telling you, Adam. The guy is bad news. You should listen to me, I’m the older brother, that means I’m always right and you should listen to me.”

That struck a chord Adam thought he had buried a while ago.

“The older brother? The older brother?" He hissed lowly. "Dean, you and Sam haven’t bothered to talk to me in weeks. You forgot my birthday! I appreciate you letting me live with you guys after mom died, I really do. But beyond that? You’ve never acted like a big brother to me, either of you. If anything you treat me like an inconvenience until Michael’s around and then suddenly you want to pretend like you actually give a shit.” Adam threw his hands up. He shouldn’t pick this fight. Not here, not now. But Dean trying to play the ‘big brother’ card made him just want to strangle him.

“Hey! Don’t bring Sam into this.” Dean’s voice reached a new low that Adam rarely heard. It just pissed him off more. Because of course that was the one thing Dean actually picked up on out of everything.

“It’s always about Sam with you. Nothing else matters. No one else. Not even me, your other brother.” Adam couldn’t believe Dean couldn't see that. It hurt more than he wanted to admit. But he knew that if Dean ever had to make the choice between saving Sam or saving him, he wouldn’t stand a chance. Dean would choose Sam every time, even if it meant leaving Adam in the darkest pits of Hell alone forever.

“We did everything we could for you the best way we knew how at the time. We can’t go back and fix it, it’s too late now.”

“For you, yeah. You get to move on. But for me? It stays with me, Dean. Being unwanted by the only ‘family’ I have left fucking stays with me, everyday.” Adam pushed the balls of his palms into his eyes. Seriously! His brother was so goddamn selfish sometimes. The level of crippling codependency Dean and Sam had for one another would have been a little comical, maybe even endearing, if he wasn’t on the crap end of it.

“You think you’re the only one? Sam and I found out after dad died that he had a whole secret family. You don’t think that hurt us?” Dean grit out.

“Of course it did but that wasn’t my fault. Be mad at John, not me.” Adam groaned. God, trying to talk to Dean was always so, so exhausting. “If mom hadn’t died I wouldn’t have been dumped on you guys, but she did, so I was. I can’t help that either. I was nineteen, I needed help. I had no one else! Sometimes, I still need help. So why is it so hard for you and Sam to give it to me since you want to play the big brother role so badly? Or does only Sam actually get that and you just tell me I get it too to make yourself feel better while I feel like shit?”

“Our mom is dead too, Adam, so don’t even play that card.” Dean’s finger jammed into his chest so hard and so suddenly it made Adam wince. “And you don’t get to guilt trip me and just pretend like you belong with us when you weren’t supposed to exist in the first place.”

And just like that, the world stops.

Only for a second, and then it starts again. But it’s enough. It’s enough for Adam to understand this is how Dean really feels, finally coming out after all these years of pretending otherwise. It was both a relief and a horrifying devastation.

Yet, the world kept turning even when it felt like it was crumbling around him.

“Fine.” He forced out as he smacked his half-brother’s hand away and stormed off.

He went straight to the one person he knew could warm this icy feeling that was burrowing itself deep within his chest. The one person he could trust with the world that was slipping through his fingers. The one person who--

“The boy that works for you, he doesn’t really belong here, does he, sir?” Adler asked with a smarmy grin.

Adam stopped in his tracks, just behind his boss.

“No, he doesn’t.” Michael agreed as easily as talking about the weather.

Adam felt every piece of himself shatter and pile onto the floor at his feet.

He’s so stupid. How could he possibly have thought that Michael actually wanted to bring him here? He was the last choice, clearly. The final ditch effort to have someone on his arm at such a prestigious event where going alone would cause more ruckus and rumors than simply bringing along your PA.

He felt sick.

Just as quick as he had come, Adam turned on his heel and walked away until he found himself outside. He didn’t know where he was going but he didn’t really care either. He kept going, ignoring the cold, evening air that cradled him like a casket. He rounded the building and, once he was in the shadowed alleyway away from prying eyes, he let himself lean against the brick and curl in towards his knees. He was so fucking stupid coming here. For thinking he could have a good relationship with his brothers. For trying to have someone as out of his league as Michael Fucking Novak.

He heaved in a gulp of frosty air and tried to calm down. What he wouldn’t do to have his mother here to wrap him up in her arms and tell him it would be okay. He would do anything to see her again if he could. He’d make a deal with the devil if it meant he saw his mom again at that moment.

He didn’t hear anyone walk up to him. He was too far gone into his thoughts to notice until a voice broke the spell he was under.

“Hey, kid. What’s the matter?” Gabriel asked in a voice devoid of any of his usual humor. Instead, it was sweet and lighthearted. Exactly like a worried sibling should sound like, Adam thought. Or at least, he imagined that’s what it sounded like. He wouldn’t really know.

Gabriel came over and gently squeezed Adam’s shoulders, and it snapped him out of his panicked spiral enough to speak.

“I…I don’t belong here.” He blurted.

“Don’t belong? Kid, of course you don’t belong here. The only people who belong here are liars and cheats. People that see others as dollar signs, rather than actual human beings. I wouldn’t like you half as much as I do if I thought you belonged here, cause I sure as hell don’t either. I just come for the free booze and to piss everybody else off by showing up.” Gabriel gave a lopsided grin.

That didn’t exactly make Adam feel better, but he got what Gabe was trying to say.

The older man didn’t let the grip on his shoulders go though and continued to watch him like he was a scared baby deer threatening to run. “What’s got you all worked up about ‘belonging’ with a bunch of pretentious asswipes anyway?” He asked.

Adam started fidgeting. Unfortunately for him, Gabriel was stronger than he looked and his grip was relentless. So finally, Adam sighed and his shoulders slumped, giving up the fight.

“I heard Michael and Adler talking about me. They both agreed I don’t belong here.” He mumbled.

“Adler? Like, that dickhead in Finance that Michael can’t stand?” Gabe frowned.

“Uhh, yeah I guess?” Michael never did seem like he cared much for the guy but Adam didn’t know it was to the point he was complaining about him to family. Then again, Adler was a dick.

The shorter man sort of looked like he ate a bad lemon for a second.“Kid, I don’t know what they said, but I do know my brother. And there is no way in hell he was agreeing with Zachariah Adler of all people about you the way you think he was.” Gabriel frowned.

“You didn’t hear them.” Adam argued.

“Uh, yeah. And I don’t have to. Listen, whatever you think you heard, you didn’t. Alright? Michael isn’t the type to just agree with what dickbags say for no reason. Besides, have you seen the way my big bro looks at you? You might as well have hung the moon, kid.” A cheeky grin curled its way onto Gabriel’s face. It was a little funny, what with the way his skin flushed with the cold.

Adam wasn’t quite so sure about that though. Sure he thought Michael liked him okay enough, and maybe he had been letting certain thoughts of potentially having more with his boss run wild in his head. But…now he wasn’t so sure.

Clearly his hesitation showed because Gabriel patted his shoulder. “Look, Adam. Just talk it out with Michael before you freak out. Okay? The big guy is a lot more sensitive than he looks.”

Weirdly, Adam could believe that. Though he still didn’t think he was the one that could really make Michael feel anything special. He was just a PA. The final choice to bring to the event. A nobody.

“What’s it like…having an older brother you can look up to?” He asked quietly.

The question looked like it took Gabriel off guard, and he couldn’t blame him. Listening to him talk about the eldest Novak though made the ache in Adam’s chest twist a little deeper. He knew whatever the answer was, he wouldn’t be getting it from Dean or Sam.

“Well…it’s kind of annoying sometimes. Big brothers always think they know what’s best for you.”

Adam scoffed. Wasn’t that the truth?

Gabriel continued anyway. “But, mostly, it’s…safe feeling. I mean, I’ve got Mike, Luke, and Raph. If I need something, I know they’ve got me. They always have and always will. Just like I know if they, or Cassie, need something from me, I’ll do whatever I can to give it to them. It’s what brothers do. It’s what family does.”

“Not every family, apparently.” Adam mumbled bitterly.

Gabriel was quiet for a few moments after that. Adam didn’t want to look him in the eyes so he continued to stare down at the pavement under their feet instead.

Eventually, the shorter man spoke again. “Kid, sometimes family sucks. Sometimes, it sucks really, really bad. But, the good thing is, you don’t have to be blood to be family. You know that, don’t you?”

Finally, Adam looked up and the genuine smile on the older man’s face was the most serious expression he had ever seen on Gabriel. He had no idea how to respond to that. He didn’t think he had ever thought of anyone other than his mom as his genuine family. He tried for years with Sam and Dean, but the rift between them could just never seem to be fixed. His brothers just weren't interested in considering him family, despite how hard he may try.

“Adam!”

He startled hearing someone calling his name. Both he and Gabriel turned in time to see Michael’s frantic expression come into view as he rushed around the corner of the alleyway. The second his eyes landed on the two of them, he let out a breathless “oh, thank god” and hurried forward.

“Adam, you disappeared and then I couldn’t find you. Raphael told me he saw you heading out the door and I didn’t know what happened. I thought maybe you left or that something bad had happened or you had an emergency or…I don’t know.” Michael’s words came in quick, breathless spurts followed by small gasps of frigid air in between. The poor man looked like he had seen a ghost.

What startled Adam even more so was the sudden touch of warm hands upon his face. Michael’s eyes were searching for answers he wouldn’t find, yet they continued to flicker across his face anyway as if searching for danger. His large hands cupped impossibly gentle and warm against the skin of his jaw, holding his face in his hands like he was the most precious thing thing the world.

“You’re freezing, Adam. We should get you warmed up. Do you want to come back inside or…?”

Adam stared wide-eyed at the man. He was so close. Their breaths mixed in the air with each frozen puff, but neither one of them paid it much mind. It wasn’t lost on him that Michael wasn’t telling, he was asking. He didn’t even know what was wrong and yet here he was, giving Adam the power.

He shivered and Michael’s face only twisted with more concern.

“I…” He started. What did he want? He wanted a lot of things, but some of them even a man as rich and powerful as Michael couldn’t give him.

Then again, it wasn’t the rich and powerful man that gave him hot chocolate because he didn’t want him to freeze. It wasn’t the rich man who took him to a tiny bookstore simply because he thought he’d like it. It wasn’t the powerful man that took the time out of his busy days to buy birthday gifts for him with such genuine thought it made him cry.

Those weren’t the rich and powerful version of the person standing in front of him with his hands cupping his face. That was all Michael. The real Michael. Kind, sweet, generous Michael.

“I want to leave.” Adam whispered. His voice came out thick and hurt. It was a guess even to him as to why. The betrayal he felt from Dean or the sudden influx of unfiltered affection for the man in front of him. Maybe both. It didn’t matter though. Only moments later he was wrapped up in strong arms against a firm chest. A hand cupped the back of his head, and another roped carefully against his back. He felt like he was being embraced by the Sun.

“We can leave right now. I’ll call for the car.” Michael said.

Adam could only nod.

“I’ll tell Raph, Luke, and Cas that you’re leaving.” It was Gabriel’s voice this time. Adam had almost forgotten he was even there.

“Thank you, Gabriel.” Michael voiced from where his cheek pressed against Adam’s temple. “Let’s get going. The car should only be a second.” Reluctantly, Michael pulled back but this time he kept his arm slung tightly around Adam’s waist as the three of them left the alleyway.

He was pressed impossibly close to the man beside him, and Adam found that he couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be. Well, other than far away from here where Dean and Adler no doubt were still prowling around. What would they think if they saw them like this?

The world passed him by in a blur as Michael stepped up to the curb. He vaguely recognized that a valet had come forward, left, then came back with their car. He realized Michael was gently coaxing him into the passenger seat the moment the heat from the vents hit him in the face and he shivered. A concerned hand lightly rubbed his upper arm for a moment before Michael closed the door and hurried to the driver’s side.

Back on the road, the silence was sticky and uncomfortable between them. Adam knew that Michael likely had a million questions he wanted to ask. Just like he also had ones himself that were dying to fall off his tongue. Yet, he couldn’t make any of them come out. He was too afraid of the answers he would get.

“Are you okay?” Michael finally broke the silence. His eyes stayed carefully focused on the road in front of them.

It took a second for the answer to come.

“I don’t know. Just take me home?” Adam answered equally as quiet.

A short nod and the silence was back.

Chapter Text

They pulled up to his apartment under the dim lights of the streetlamps.

Adam felt numb despite the heat of the car having thawed out any chill in his bones. It didn’t matter, what curdled deep in his chest wasn’t so easily fixed.

Dean’s words still rattled around in his head. So many sleepless nights after his mom died came rushing back. Moving to an unfamiliar city with no friends, no mother, and two half-brothers that didn’t want him there but felt obligated to help him. Truthfully, they were okay sometimes. Sam was always polite and he tried harder than Dean to involve Adam in things that, before, had only been himself and Dean like going to eat at the Roadhouse or going to the shooting range.

Dean on the other hand had a much harder time accepting that Adam even existed. He had been angry, and Adam had been on the receiving end of more angry tirades than he could count. And though he relaxed in time, the wall that separated Adam and Sam in the oldest brother’s mind had never quite crumbled completely. There would always be a difference between Sammy and the bastard son that was kept a secret for nineteen years.

Adam turned his head and stared up at the small apartment he rented. He was still so proud of it. Being out on his own, having his own place for the very first time, being independent. It also represented his freedom from the oppressive feeling he had tried for so long to ignore when he lived with his brothers. The feeling that tonight, Dean had carved into him and forcefully ripped out into the open. He didn’t belong with Sam and Dean. They weren’t his family, not really. Despite how he tried, apparently they never really were.

He heard a car door open and close before he could realize he had just been sitting there looking at his apartment building in silence. Then, his own door was open and Michael was there unbuckling his seatbelt and slowly helping him out of the car. He didn’t say a word as they moved from the street up to his door. Nor when Adam fumbled with the keys in his pocket, instead letting the older man take them from him with a tenderness he was unused to, and unlocking the door for him.

Adam stepped inside, and only then did he notice that Michael had let him go. He turned back around and saw him lingering outside the doorway with a pained look on his face.

“Adam.” His boss began slowly. “I’m not sure what happened tonight but I want to apologize. Had I thought something there would upset you, I wouldn’t have asked you to come. Hurting you had not been my intention.”

Michael didn’t even know why Adam was acting like this and yet he was apologizing. That gnawed at something in Adam, painful and guilty. Maybe Gabriel was right. Maybe, for once, Michael needed someone to look at him less like the sole protector of the universe and more like someone who also deserved protecting too.

“Do you want to come inside?” He asked, motioning him forward.

Michael hesitated. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You won’t. You aren’t. You asked me what I wanted, earlier. I want you to stay with me for a while.” The conviction in his voice surprised even him.

Uncertainty still reigned over Michael’s features but something else in him must have won out instead because he nodded and cautiously stepped inside. He slowly closed the door behind him and toed off his shoes after watching Adam do the same.

After he was in and the door was shut, Adam flicked on a light, illuminating his incredibly modest apartment. A tiny living room and a kitchen small enough to almost be classified as more of a kitchenette than an actual full kitchen. The furniture was all old hand-me-downs that he had found at yard sales or at the donation shops. A few personal items laid around, though. Some photos hung on the walls, which Michael took to looking at immediately. Mostly ones of him and his mom were on display. He had taken all her more sentimental items and photos after her death and brought them to the big city. There wasn’t much, but they meant everything to him.

“Is this your mother?” Michael asked even though it had to be obvious.

Adam glanced up from where he stood in the kitchen pouring two mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows. “Yeah, that’s her.”

“She’s very beautiful. You have her eyes.” Michael replied thoughtfully. He looked half transfixed by the images in front of him. Adam couldn't help but wonder what it was that he was seeing in them.

He hadn’t really ever thought about it before but…Michael was right. He did have her eyes. He had her blonde hair too. He didn’t really get anything from John, and for that he was grateful. Even after all these years without her, his mom was still giving him her everything.

“Thanks. She would have really liked you, I think.” Adam said as he wandered over, offering one of the steaming mugs.

Michael took it with a cautious smile. “Do you think so? What makes you say that?”

The answer came even easier than Adam expected.

“Because you’re kind and smart. She always valued education, but the most important thing to her was always kindness. She was always giving to others. That’s why she became a nurse, to help people. And when she had me, she worked even harder to give me what she could even as a single parent. She was the best mom. I miss her all the time.” He said quietly. He stared at the framed images on the wall in front of them and for the first time in a long while actually looked at them. Oftentimes he went right by them, refusing to look for too long or else he would start to miss her too much. But now, seeing her smiling face reflecting back at him and Michael, he longed for something new.

The desire to introduce his mother to Michael hit him straight in the heart. He couldn’t do that, of course, but the urge to was so sudden and so new that it almost hurt. He had never thought about introducing someone to his mother before. Not since high school and he had short term girlfriends that he thought were something more than they were. But this was different. This was so real it felt damn near tangible.

“I would have been honored to meet her, Adam.”

And just like that, Adam was smiling. It was small and a little sad, but it was a smile all the same. “She would have said the same exact thing about you, you know?” Adam chuckled.

It only took a moment for Michael to join in.

“Thank you, by the way…for buying that painting. You really didn’t have to do that.” Adam could still hardly believe the price tag that came with it despite the fact Michael hadn’t even flinched at it.

“You don’t have to thank me but you are welcome. I was happy to get it for you.” He hummed in response. He sipped the instant hot chocolate that was way less fancy and delicious than the one he had bought for them at the cafe a couple weeks ago without complaint and…yeah, Adam knew then and there that his mom would’ve liked his quiet, kind of awkward, but incredibly sweet boss.

Speaking of the auction though reminded him of reality. Michael was here because he was worried about him after finding him freezing half to death outside and clearly upset over something that happened. Gabriel had told him to talk to him though…maybe he should? Trying to talk to Dean and Sam never quite went how Adam wanted it to go. Things never felt resolved and oftentimes it only made things worse, usually when Dean was involved. But Michael wasn’t his brothers.

“After the auction…” He began slowly. Immediately, Michael’s eyes flicked to his face to give him his full attention, just as he always had. Adam licked his lips and continued. “After the auction, when I went to get that cake I wanted, I was talking to Dean. We kinda…got into it. He said some things that upset me.” He watched as Michael’s eyes immediately narrowed. He didn’t interrupt though so Adam continued. “Anyway, so I walked away and was coming back to you but I…um, I heard you and Mr. Adler talking about me.”

“Talking about you?” Michael repeated. His head tilted and his eyes were far away for a moment, like he was trying to think back on what exactly Adam was talking about.

“Yeah, uh. Adler said I don’t belong there and you…you agreed. It bothered me, I guess. Dean telling me I shouldn’t exist and then you--”

“Dean said what?” This time, Michael’s face contorted in fury.

Adam hadn’t realized what he said until the taller man had put his mug down and immediately grabbed him by the shoulders. Michael leaned down the inch or two it took to reach his eye level and stared at him with a seriousness that was remarkable even for him.

“Adam. Dean told you that you shouldn’t exist?”

“I-I, uh…yeah?” He stumbled out.

Something contorted in Michael’s eyes then. A barely concealed rage that for most might be difficult to see considering how stoic his boss looked, but Adam had learned his tells. Michael’s brows furrowed slightly, his eyes narrowed, and his jaw was clenched so hard it looked painful. His hands squeezed where they were placed on Adam’s shoulders. Michael looked like he was running through every possible scenario ever to exist in the history of forever in his mind right now, some possibly about killing Dean if the look in his eyes was any indicator. Until, finally, Michael moved his hands. Down, down they went, ghosting over Adam’s arms, until they stopped over his own. Michael’s bigger hands covered Adam’s where he was still grasping at his mug and held them.

“He shouldn’t have said that to you. No one should ever say something like that to someone, but least of all you, Adam. You have been a treasure to know and it has been a complete honor of mine to have met you.” Michael told him firmly. There was still a burning fire deep in his eyes, but it was dimmed by something else. Something softer and more…protective.

“Michael, it’s fi--”

“It is most certainly not fine, Adam.” The older man stated firmly. Adam snapped his mouth shut. “Nothing about that is ‘fine’, and quite frankly I have half a mind to go find your idiot brother and tell him as such. He’s so fucking stubborn I doubt he would listen, though, unless I keyed it into the side of that stupid car he loves so much.” Michael grumbled.

That made Adam laugh and a lightness fell over them that hadn’t been there a moment ago. He was grateful for it.

“Dean would actually kill you if you did that.” He pointed out.

Michael raised an eyebrow. “Either him or Castiel because I hurt his boyfriend’s feelings. Not that I’m particularly worried about Dean’s feelings at the moment.”

Adam chuckled again. This time when he moved, he set his mug beside Michael’s on the table, then immediately grabbed his hands again so that they were being held properly. “I would love to see Dean’s face when he sees his Baby all scratched up.”

“Hm. You aren’t talking me out of the idea.” Michael quirked a brow.

Adam grinned and stepped a little closer. Michael's hands were warm in his and they stabilized him. He felt more grounded than he had in the past couple of hours and he didn’t realize how badly he had needed it until now.

“So,” Michael’s smile fell a little but his voice was soft. “Dean upset you and he said something no brother should ever tell another. But, there was more. You said something about my conversation with Zachariah?”

It was sort of a relief to have someone that actually wanted to talk about what they did wrong. Or thought they might have done wrong, anyway. Dean always just refused to acknowledge his mistakes and Sam would apologize but it never felt very real. More placating than actually wanting to correct anything. Not with Michael though. Everything about Michael was so…real. The look in his eyes as he watched Adam was so genuine.

“Yeah, I…I was walking back up after my talk with Dean and I heard Adler say I didn’t belong at the charity event. I expect something like that from him, but then…you agreed. It freaked me out. I turned and ran outside and then Gabe found me out there. He helped talk me down a little, I guess.” Adam admitted.

Realization dawned on Michael’s features. His brows lifted and his lips parted as he remembered the part of the conversation Adam was referring to.

“Oh, Adam…I apologize, truly.” Michael shook his head, and Adam could tell the motion was more towards himself than at him. “I didn’t intend it that way. Adler certainly did, but not me. I agreed with him though because it was true, but not how you were probably thinking. People like Adler come to those events to boost their own image, but most of them are snakes in the grass. Most of the people you saw there weren’t there to contribute to anything other than themselves. Donations to be written off as tax exemptions, ensuring their names are in the press as attendees supporting charity, that sort of thing.” Michael sighed and shook his head again.

He looked so tired, Adam realized. He wondered how often he had to mingle with such people just to get by with his day to day.

“Anyway, when I agreed and I said that you don’t belong there, it’s because to me you don’t. You weren’t there for selfish reasons, quite the opposite in fact. You were there to support me, and you never once expected anything in return. I know that.” Free food aside, because Michael knew that Adam would have been there with or without the included dinner. “That’s just the kind of person you are, Adam. You are kind and give so much of yourself to others to make them happy. So, believe me, it would have been a much worse insult if I had tried to tell Zachariah that you do belong. Though I would never think to compare you to a man like him. You are so much better.”

Gabriel had been right.

Adam stared at Michael with wide eyes. Michael didn’t think of him as lesser. He didn’t view Adam as just someone trying to be something he wasn’t or who was being nice to him just to get something out of him.

No, Michael really and truly cared for him.

Like he hung the moon. That’s how Michael was staring at him right now. It was soft and warm and Adam just wanted to crawl into that feeling and stay there forever.

And why couldn’t he?

He swallowed and shuffled closer again. This close, he could feel the heat from Michael’s body soak into his own. When he tightened his hands in Michael’s, the other man repeated the motion and smiled a little more.

“Can I tell you something else I want?” Adam asked quietly.

Michael’s head did a little, curious tilt. “Of course, Adam. Whatever you’d like.”

He nervously wet his lips again, and he didn’t miss the fact Michael’s eyes darted down to follow the motion. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

Michael’s gaze snapped back up and their eyes met again. It was searching and serious, and Adam realized that he was waiting to give him a chance to back out. He was being given the opportunity to turn away, pull back, say nevermind. But Adam didn’t want any of those things. He pushed closer still and it was enough to close the gap. His chest pressed against the other man’s and his head tilted automatically in the opposite direction that Michael’s was.

“I want to kiss you.” He repeated in barely a murmur.

The only reply he got was the push of Michael’s lips against his.

The warmth that had been simmering inside of him for months now suddenly burst into a nearly unbearable inferno. Every nerve ending shot with need and his fingers tightened impossibly more against Michael’s own. The touch of Michael’s lips against his own was simultaneously everything he had hoped for and yet even more.

Adam shifted, pushing himself even further into the other man. One hand released, and immediately found a new home gripping onto the firm bicep underneath Michael’s suit jacket. He could feel Michael’s own hand curl up and into his hair, pulling his head impossibly closer and deepening the kiss. Each kiss was followed immediately by another then another then another, until Adam was dizzy with it. When Michael finally started to pull away, he opened his eyes and saw the look of utter adoration the taller man had directed towards him and couldn’t help but smile.

“Would you…like to stay a little bit longer?” Adam asked.

Michael chuckled, and this time leaned in to press a long kiss to his forehead. “Of course I would, Adam. As long as you will have me.”

The PA could have swooned all over again. “Good. I’d like to keep you here a little longer at least.”

Michael looked humored again and allowed the younger man to pull back. Adam shrugged off his suit jacket to hang up by the door, which the older man quickly followed, then collected the two half finished mugs and shoved them back in the microwave to reheat. When he came back, he and Michael sat down on the old couch close enough that their thighs pressed together.

“So…how does this work?” Adam ended up asking.

“How does what work?”

“This.” Adam motioned between them with one hand. “A…relationship, if that’s what this is…if that’s what you want out of this, I mean.”

“I would like nothing more, I thought that was obvious.” If anyone else said it like that then Adam might’ve been offended. But the gentle look in Michael’s eyes and the subtle smile tilting his lips told him that he was being genuine.

“Good, good. Well, me too.” He smiled a little more as the reality really hit him. “So, how does this work? You won’t…get in trouble for dating your PA?”

At that, Michael let out a thoughtful hum and leaned back against the couch a little. “I wouldn’t ‘get in trouble’, no. There is no company policy forbidding relationships in the office, as you know. However, I do imagine some would speak ill of me for it. Some will no doubt accuse me of taking advantage of you or forcing you into something you don’t want, since I do technically hold power over you in the workplace which directly impacts your day-to-day and your finances…that…is that an issue for you?” The shift in Michael’s tone was quick as he realized the implications.

“Are you worried that I think I can’t say no to you?” Adam asked.

“Yes.” Michael suddenly looked uncomfortable. “I don’t want you to say ‘yes’ to me just because you think that’s what I want. Not ever, I want you to know that.”

Adam reached over and placed a hand on the other’s thigh. “You should know me better than that by now. We’re honest with each other, remember? You made that clear the first day I walked into your office, Mr. Novak.”

Michael chuckled deeply. “That I did. So, you don’t feel that way?”

“I assure you, Michael, that you won’t hear me say ‘yes’ to anything I don’t want. But what I do want is a lot more of what just happened in the hallway.” A mischievous grin passed over his face.

In turn, Michael threw his head back and laughed.

“I would like more of that too, Adam.” He agreed. A hand moved to cover Adam’s where it rested upon his thigh. “But to answer your question properly, no. I won’t get in trouble. Neither would you, of course. There may be backlash, but nothing concrete. Just other people’s opinions of us.”

“Yeah, ‘cause I really care about that.” Adam rolled his eyes and Michael smiled.

“I know. Still, it may be better for the both of us if we don’t openly advertise it either. I’m not very worried about how it will impact me, I am more than used to having rumors spread about me, as you know. However, it would be unfair to you for people to judge you negatively due to the relationship you chose to be in.” Michael sighed.

Adam knew he was right too. People would more than likely see him as a gold digger more than anything else. He also hated the idea of anyone attacking Michael’s integrity, whether he was used to it or not. “Well, we did just go to a big event together with cameras and press taking photos of us. It might be a little late for that?”

Michael groaned. “Yes, that is true. Though the best they have are speculations. We are under no requirement to confirm our relationship to anyone, inside or outside of the company. Of course I would like to tell my brothers…?”

Michael’s hesitancy was endearing. But of course Adam was fine with that, he was even a little excited.

“Man, Gabriel and Luke are going to freak out when you tell them.” Adam laughed a little. He could picture it already. Those two might even try to throw a party.

Michael’s thumb stroked slowly across the skin of Adam’s hand as he hummed. “I do believe so, yes. Raphael and Castiel will be pleased as well, though that does bring up the question…as soon as Castiel knows, it is safe to assume your brother will as well. Would you be okay with that?”

Now that was something to consider. His brother, who just told him that he shouldn’t exist. Did he really care what Dean thought, especially after that? Of course he had a big mouth and if he knew then soon so would Sam and possibly many others, but he already started rumors about Michael anyway. Who would seriously believe the guy with a personal vendetta against the CEO that he was openly loud about? No one that was worth their time, that was for sure.

“That’s fine. I’m not looking for his approval. Or Sam’s.” Adam answered.

Michael squeezed his hand again. “He doesn’t deserve the energy. But alright. We can tell my brothers together at the Roadhouse tomorrow evening? If you’d like.”

Now that was a good idea. “That sounds awesome. I can’t wait to see their faces.”

Once again, Michael let out an easy laugh. And once again, Adam felt like he was floating with the sound.

“Me either. They’re going to be very happy, I’m sure. I’ll message them now to make sure they know to come.” The CEO said as he pulled out his phone.

Adam on the other hand found the remote and clicked on the old TV, navigating to Netflix, and so totally not having ‘Netflix and Chill’ thoughts in his head as he found them something to watch. “This show okay? I think it’s about, like, monster hunters or something.”

Michael pocketed his phone and shrugged. “It sounds interesting enough. Though I fear there is something here that may distract me quite a bit.”

Adam hit play and let the opening scene start, but his attention was pulled to Michael and that little smirk he was wearing. “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just an incredibly handsome man with his hand on my thigh.” He leaned in.

Adam met him half way and pressed their lips together again. “Is that right? Well if he’s so distracting, maybe he should go somewhere else.” He feigned pulling away, but an arm wrapping securely around his waist and tugging him even closer ensured that he stayed put. Adam laughed again. “Or not. Guess you just have to be distracted then.”

“That’s fine with me. Even if I don’t watch the television, I have something even more wonderful to look at.”

Adam tried not to let such a cheesy line fill his stomach with butterflies and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. If you say so.”

“Oh, I do.” Michael grinned, but eventually turned his head to watch the show Adam had put on for them.

It took a couple hours before Adam truly began to realize how tired he was getting. Sitting there, curled up and wrapped in Michael’s arm was the warmest, safest place he thought he’d ever been. He certainly felt the most at home now than he had in years. He pulled his phone out to check the time, only to frown at the alert he’d missed on it.

“Severe Weather Advisory: Recommended Not To Travel Unless You Have To” lit up his screen.

“Huh.”

“What?” Michael glanced at him curiously.

“Says the weather’s bad. I haven’t heard anything though.” Adam reluctantly pulled away to go peek out the window. What he saw was a flurry of thick snow tumbling down, filling the street with a plush cloud of white. “Oh, wow!”

Michael was behind him in a second, looking over his shoulder and out into the dark street. “I...did not anticipate that. I didn’t realize it had called for snow tonight.” He said.

“Me either.” Adam admitted, dropping the curtain. “Guess that means you gotta stay here tonight.”

It was almost comical how fast Michael’s brows shot up. “You want me to stay the night?”

“Uh, yeah. I’d rather my boyfriend stay with me than go accidentally driving himself into a tree or something just ‘cause he was too stubborn to not drive in a freaking blizzard.” The word ‘boyfriend’ slipped out of his mouth so easily Adam was almost giddy with it.

“Hmm, and I would hate to make my boyfriend upset when he’s being such a gracious host and letting me stay with him.” Michael’s fingers hooked into the belt loops of Adam’s pants and gently tugged him closer. “I can think of a few ways to pass the time though. If my boyfriend is kind enough.”

Adam was biting his bottom lip so hard it stung, yet a smile tugged on face regardless. “I think I can too. Wanna make out?”

Oh, if only he could have captured the look on Michael’s face at that moment. The older man’s brows shot impossibly high at the boldness. Then, they both busted out laughing while simultaneously grabbing at one another and pulling the other closer. In the end, Adam won out, and walked backwards until he was sitting on the couch again. Michael followed, plopping down beside him and immediately latching their lips together like two teenagers eager for after prom.

The show on TV was quickly forgotten when every part of Adam’s being was consumed by his need for Michael Novak. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that his boss would ever want this too, yet here he was, cradling Adam’s head in his hand like he was the most precious thing on Earth. All the while Adam held onto Michael like a lifeline, as if his own breath could only come from the other man’s lips or else he’d suffocate. When he finally started to pull away, he tugged Michael’s bottom lip between his teeth and reveled in the shiver it earned him.

“It’s late.” Adam murmured even when Michael pressed their foreheads together.

“Unfortunately, you’re right. Though I am in no hurry to move, I don’t want to keep you up and I think we both need the sleep.” Michael sighed quietly. “If you have an extra blanket I’d be happy sleeping here on the couch.”

“What? No way. No boyfriend of mine is going to be banned to the couch his first night over.” Adam declared.

“Then where do you suppose I sleep?”

A crooked grin crossed over the PA’s face. “Where do most people sleep, dummy? My bed is big enough for two. Come on.” He stood up, snatching Michael’s hand and pulling him the short distance into his bedroom. It too was incredibly small and most of it was taken up by the full size mattress in the middle of the room. It might be a little bit of a tight fit with two grown men but…it wasn’t like Adam was going to complain about that. “Hold on a sec, I’ll find you some clothes to wear. Okay?” The next second Adam was digging in his drawers and pulling out clothes for the both of them. “I have a few things that are a little big on me, I hope they’ll be alright.”

When he turned back around, he froze. Michael shamelessly began to undress right then and there. He watched as practiced fingers popped open buttons one at a time. The dress shirt was shucked off and only an under shirt remained, showing off more skin than he had ever seen from the man. Broad shoulders were no less impressive with the lack of fabric covering them and Adam had to resist the urge to go grab his biceps and squeeze.

Then, his boyfriend - boyfriend! - went for his belt and Adam snapped back into reality.

“Whoa, whoa! Not that I’m complaining, but warn a guy before you give him a strip show, alright?” He laughed as he dropped the pile of clothes on the edge of the bed. He moved to the other side, setting his own pile down and following suit as he pushed open the buttons of his ridiculously expensive shirt.

Michael had paused, hands still holding his belt buckle but not moving, eyebrow raised and smirk set on his lips. “I’m sorry, I didn’t take you for the shy type.” Michael said.

Adam tugged his shirt off and quickly followed it with the undershirt, leaving his torso bare. “Uh huh. And I didn’t expect the big shot CEO to be such a damn tease in the bedroom.”

That was either the best or worst thing Adam had ever said in his life because the grin that spread over Michael’s face in that moment was even more devious than any he had seen on Luke or Gabriel’s. Maybe those two weren’t the only ones in the family to worry about getting up to no good.

“I assure you, my dear, you have no idea how much of a tease I can be.” Michael all but purred, low and rumbling. The sound went straight to Adam’s dick.

Fuck.

Were his knees giving out? Was that his heart exploding? Would he even survive the night?

“Hmph.” He responded elegantly and turned his back to the other man to finish undressing. Behind him, Adam heard Michael’s deep chuckle and shivered. Thankfully, however, he managed to pull on his pair of flannel pajama pants and T-shirt without further embarrassment.

When he turned back around, Michael had also finished dressing and his suit was now folded neatly on the dresser by the door. He stood there patiently, clad in a shirt that was a little too tight and loose fitting pants that hugged at his hips. And damn, if he didn’t like what he saw.

“Is it…is that alright? The shirt isn’t too tight, is it?” He asked. He for one didn’t mind looking at the way it stretched slightly across Michael’s chest, but that didn’t mean he’d want to sleep in it if it was uncomfortable.

Michael just shook his head and smiled. “It’s fine, Adam. I appreciate you allowing me to borrow some clothing from you tonight. I much prefer this to, what did you say earlier? Accidentally driving myself into a tree.” He chuckled.

Adam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, shut up. Come on then, I’m pretty sure I’ve got a spare toothbrush from the dentist in the bathroom. You can have it.”

After a quick detour to his single bathroom, both men managed to brush their teeth and finish some semblance of a nightly routine. Adam fell backwards onto the bed at the same time Michael sat down and pushed his legs under the covers. It was a tight fit, but neither one of them were willing to complain about it.

Flicking the lamp off, Adam settled down into the sheets beside Michael and only then did reality begin to actually sink in. He was here in his bed, shoulder to shoulder with his boss after a serious make out session and admitting feelings.

He wasn’t entirely convinced he wasn’t dreaming yet.

The thing was though, Adam had way too many things buzzing around his head to actually sleep. He could feel heat radiating off Michael and he was sure that he could feel the same. He was at least pretty sure his boss wasn’t asleep yet either, judging by his somewhat stiff posture and slow, meticulous breaths that hardly made any noise at all. If it wasn’t for the other worldly silence permeating from the frozen streets outside, he probably wouldn’t have noticed them at all.

Adam stared up at the dark ceiling, trying to remember the last time he felt the touch of another person in his bed. He had no idea and, honestly, he realized he actually didn’t care. Not now, when the only person that mattered was beside him right at this very moment. The man next to him lifted the heavy weight of loneliness and forgottenness from his shoulders long enough for Adam to breathe. It had been so long he hadn’t realized he was suffocating under it until now.

“Michael?” He murmured into the quiet.

“Yes, Adam?”

He bit his lip and, without seeing, felt around under the blanket until his hand caught Michael’s. He immediately felt fingers curl between his own and hold him tight.

“Are you okay?” Michael asked quietly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. It’s just…”

“What is it?”

Michael wouldn’t judge him, Adam was sure of that.

“Could you…” Adam tugged on the hand he held and shifted his position. He turned away, pulling his boyfriend’s hand with him until he maneuvered his arm over his waist and held the hand against his chest. “Is this…okay?”

Behind him, Michael’s breathing was still carefully controlled but Adam could hear the minute shutter of it. He also noticed that despite being in the position to spoon, the older man wasn’t nearly as close as he could be.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just, I don’t know…I thought of you holding me and…” Adam trailed off and loosened the grip he had on his hand. He wasn’t about to make Michael feed into his neediness, especially not their first night together.

Michael’s hand tightened around his again in response however and he scooted a little closer. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He murmured. His breath tickled the shell of Adam’s ear and made him tremble.

“You aren’t, I promise. Trust me enough to tell you if I don’t like something, alright? ‘Cause this? This I like. A lot, actually.” Adam replied. To prove his point further, he wiggled backwards and pressed his back fully into the heat of Michael’s front. He couldn’t help but notice that he fit perfectly there too.

At that, the body behind him began to relax and soon Michael’s arm tightened ever so slightly around his waist. “I do trust you. You’ve always been honest with me.” He murmured, letting his lips brush against the skin of Adam’s neck.

“Good, ‘cause I trust you too.” He could already start to feel his eyelids struggling to stay open. Adam basked in the feeling of Michael in a way that was almost biblical. He craved every inch of the man cuddled up behind him like it could bring him salvation, and he would willingly devote himself to it each and every day.

“Good. Now…go to sleep, sweetheart.” Michael’s voice came in behind him, but Adam’s mind was already falling fast into the best sleep he had in years.

Chapter Text

Waking up next to Michael easily shot up to Adam’s number one favorite things ever to happen to him.

The only thing that possibly made this moment better was, when Michael realized that he was awake, he began to pull him closer until Adam turned in his grasp to face him. He wrapped his own arm over the older man, letting his palm flatten against the firmness of his back. He slowly ran his hand up and down over his spine, marveling at the intimacy of it all.

“Good morning, Adam.” Michael smiled slightly. His sleep rattled voice was even deeper and more rough around the edges than usual. Adam wanted to listen to it forever.

“Good morning, angel.” He mumbled sleepily.

“Angel?” Michael questioned, but a hint of humor tinted his tone.

“Well, yeah. You’re my angel, angel.” Adam grinned as he pressed himself closer. His forehead pressed against Michael’s cheek, basking in the heat as his nose brushed against his jaw.

Against his skin, he could feel the light puff of breath as Michael released a small chuckle. His chest rumbled slightly from the motion against Adam’s and it only made him squeeze himself even closer against him.

“I wonder if the snow is still bad or if they cleared some of the roads already.” He murmured.

“Trying to get rid of me already?” He could feel Michael’s grin when his cheek moved against his forehead.

“Oh hell no. I was just wondering if you’re going to have to suffer through my shitty instant coffee or not this morning, Mr. Big Shot.” Adam replied easily.

A louder chuckle gently shook Michael’s body. “Thankfully, there is someone here that I think will distract me plenty from the taste of cheap coffee.”

It was Adam’s turn to laugh a little then. He almost couldn’t believe how easy it became to talk to Michael now. When they first met, the man barely spoke a word and when he did, it was work related. But, slowly and surely, the persona of a terrifying CEO slipped and Adam could still hardly believe that what lay underneath was a person as sweet and beautiful and thoughtful as Michael. The real Michael. Long fingers pushed into his hair and Adam damn near melted under the soothing touch.

“Oh, you like that. Good to know.” Michael sounded almost mischievous, and Adam couldn’t help but wonder how much more he had to learn about the man. He was convinced that Luke and Gabriel had learned their behavior from someone. Hopefully, however much he was able to learn, he could keep peeling back layers upon layers until he knew the entirety of Michael Novak, his wonderful angel on Earth.

“There’s a lot of things I like that I wouldn’t mind showing you sometime, old man.” Adam grinned wider as he pulled back to peer down at his newly made lover. The look that crossed over Michael’s face was pure comedy.

“Old man?” Michael balked.

Adam barked out a small laugh and started to sit up. The arms that caught around his waist and trapped him there refused to let him.

“Don’t think you’re getting out of this, Mr. Milligan. You just called your employer an old man. I believe you have some explaining to do.”

Adam willingly leaned down, letting his hands fall against the sheets so he could hover over Michael without totally squishing him. “You don’t like it?”

“No.” He grunted. “I’m not that much older than you, you know?”

“I don’t know, seven years seems kinda long. Don’t you think?” Adam hummed thoughtfully.

Michael grumbled something unintelligible under him and his arms tightened, drawing Adam in closer. He pressed his face into Adam’s neck, mumbling something about ‘not that old’ and ‘brat’ but the words were lost against his skin.

Adam laughed again anyway and just let Michael do as he pleased. “Well then, if you’re ready, I’ll be happy to make my ‘not old boyfriend’ a cup of shitty coffee?”

It took a few moments but eventually Michael pulled himself away enough to give a coherent answer. “Yes, please.”

Reluctantly, Adam pulled out of Michael’s grip enough to stand up and stretch. “Good. I’ll get the coffee going and something to eat. You can use the bathroom in the meantime, if you want.”

Michael sat up, looking a little rumpled and sleepy. It was a look Adam would’ve loved to take a picture of. “That sounds like a good plan. I will do that.”

While Michael zombie shuffled into the single bathroom, Adam busied himself by turning on the coffee maker and slapping a pan onto the stove. A few cracked eggs and strips of bacon later, and the smell of a hearty, all American breakfast and dark roast filled the small space of his apartment.

“Mn, smells good.” Michael’s voice commented quietly behind him. Only moments later, slow arms wrapped their way around his middle and Adam was pulled backwards against a strong chest.

He grinned as he let Michael latch onto him and promptly put his chin on his shoulder to watch him cook. In turn, Adam tilted his head to lean slightly on the other man’s.

“Thank you for making breakfast, Adam.”

“No problem, angel. Coffee’s ready too if you want to pour you a cup. Mugs are in that cabinet above the coffee machine and there’s a couple different creamers in the fridge.” Adam told him.

Instead of immediately letting go like the coffee fiend he was, Michael turned his head to press his face against the side of Adam’s neck. Then, slow, lazy kisses were pressed into the sensitive skin there. “Have I told you before that you are amazing?” Michael asked in a sleepy mumble.

Adam just snorted. “Shut up and go make your coffee. I know you can barely function without it.”

Remarkably, Michael obeyed and let Adam go to pour two cups of steaming coffee. He filled one to his preference with creamer, then dutifully filled the other under Adam’s verbal guidance.

“Thanks.” Adam hummed as he took the offered mug. “Breakfast is just about ready.”

“Mn.” Michael mumbled into his cup and took a massive sip of his own drink. He really was dead to the world before his morning coffee.

After grabbing some plates and dishing out the food, the pair sat at the kitchen island where two stools were placed. It was the closest Adam had to a dining room, which is to say he didn’t actually have one at all. It had never been an issue before though since didn't have anyone he wanted to come over. Now that he did, he was a little self-conscience about it.

After breakfast, Adam showed Michael the wonders of all the movies he had never seen. Which, in Adam’s opinion, was basically a crime against humanity.

They started with the 90’s Jurassic Park movies, to which Adam had to pause and explain something every so often. He found out very quickly that when Michael didn’t understand something, he was not afraid to ask about it. For the most part it was actually endearing and showed just how confident and smart Michael was, which Adam adored about him. On the other hand, watching a movie wasn’t nearly as exciting when you had to explain things every few minutes.

“But dinosaurs didn’t look like that in actuality. They would have been more akin to birds than reptiles.” Michael complained for at least the fourth time.

“I know, babe, but I can’t change the way the dinosaurs in movies look.” Adam reminded him again, trying not to groan. “Not the point anyway, pay attention to the story and all the action!”

“I am, though I find it difficult to believe a human would be able to outrun a--oof!” The older man stopped when an old throw pillow smacked him in the face.

“Michael, shut up!” Adam said through his laughter. If throwing a pillow at his couch companion was what it took to make him stop asking so many unnecessary questions then so be it.

In turn, Michael snatched the pillow from his face and glared over it at Adam as he laughed freely at his expense. A man as competitive as the CEO however is not to be underestimated. Michael grabbed Adam by the ankle where he had his feet resting upon the couch and pulled until the smaller man was closer. Adam was laughing even harder as he was manhandled into Michael’s strong grip.

“Michael!” Adam practically screeched through a massive grin. He continued to be pulled until his legs rested upon Michael’s thighs, partially bringing him into his lap. “What are you doing?” He snickered.

In return, the taller man grinned right back and leaned in to plant a quick kiss onto his forehead. “I am bringing you closer so you cannot throw more pillows at my face.” He stated simply.

“Maybe not, but I can still smack you with them at close range.” Adam declared as he snatched up the offending pillow.

“Don’t you dare!” Michael caught it before Adam could bring it back down on his head, leading to a stalemate.

Adam couldn’t remember the last time he actually just fucked around with someone like this. He didn’t realize he had missed it until he had it again, and now he never wanted to let it go. This was all so easy with Michael and he felt a lightness in having someone around that really cared about him and was willing to goof off a little, something that he hadn’t known in years.

“It seems we are at an impasse, Mr. Novak.” Adam said.

Michael narrowed his eyes suspiciously but nodded anyway. “We are. Can I trust you won’t attack me with a pillow again, Mr. Milligan?”

Adam didn’t let go of the pillow he still had hanging in the air. A pensive look crossed his face though. “Hmmm…maybe. What do I get out of my corporation?”

“If I offer you one kiss and fewer questions during movie time, will that suffice?”

“Make it two kisses and you’ve got yourself a deal, sir.” Adam grinned brightly. Michael’s eyes trained on the way his lips pulled over his white teeth.

“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Milligan. However, I admire your negotiation skills. I accept these terms.” Michael nodded and leaned in. Their arms pushed up more to accommodate for the movement since neither of them were willing to release the pillow yet, but they didn't complain at the somewhat awkward angle.

After they pulled apart, Michael let go of the pillow so Adam could toss it behind him onto the couch. Then, he resituated his position to be more comfortable while keeping his legs on his boyfriend’s thighs. As a result, Michael gently rested his hands upon the younger man’s legs as the movie started up again. As promised, he didn’t immediately start up with the questions and managed to ignore the historical and scientific inaccuracies for the most part. Once he did, it was much easier to just sit back and enjoy.

By the end of the first film, Adam had only grown closer until he was curled up into Michael's side. His arm was wrapped around him now, holding him there comfortably against him. Adam was absolutely certain that something that felt this good could melt even the coldest snow outside.

As the credits rolled on the second movie, the last of the 90’s classics, Adam informed, he stood up and stretched his arms and legs. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever known you to stop working this long. How’s it feel?” He grinned down at his boss.

Michael chuckled. “That is true. It is unusual for me to take this much time for relaxation. You might prove to be a large distraction, my dear.” He reached out and placed his hands on the other man’s hips where he stood in front of him. Adam returned the gesture by placing his own on Michael’s arms. It was like they just couldn’t keep their hands off of each other, light and soothing as the touches were.

“A distraction or a much deserved respite for a man who works way too much?” Adam corrected.

“Or that.”

Adam shook his head and gently patted the other man's hands on his hips before he stepped away, headed for the kitchen. “So did you text everyone to ask about meeting at the Roadhouse tonight?”

“I did. Everyone is in agreement, and will meet us there at 6:30. Is that okay?” Michael asked as he stood up to follow.

“Sure, sounds great. Question is, are you ready to tell them about us?”

“I believe they will be ecstatic. Though I fear Gabriel or Luke might be a little too enthusiastic.” He admitted.

“What do you mean?”

Michael grimaced a little. “My brothers have been wanting me to find a partner for a long time. They will be very happy for us, I know that. But they can also be…a lot, sometimes.”

“Hey, that’s alright. I won’t mind if you don’t. I’m just glad they’re supportive.” Adam said. He pulled out a few things from the fridge to set onto the counter beside him. “Sandwiches okay for lunch? I know it’s nothing fancy.”

“I do not need fancy, Adam. A sandwich is fine, thank you.” Michael replied. He took the bread that was placed on the counter and opened it to pull out a few pieces just to be helpful. Then, after quickly asking where the plates were, he pulled two down while Adam started working on making them food.

“Well…I’m glad.” Adam couldn’t deny that he was a little self-conscious. As much as he hated Zachariah, he was right that Michael’s station was well above his own. It was in small moments like these that that difference really buried itself deep. When all he could do was offer Michael shitty, instant coffee or a simple turkey sandwich with mayo and lettuce. “Hey, I want to ask you since you mentioned it. You haven’t had a partner in a while? Why is that? I mean, you’re…you.”

“Me?” Michael’s brow quirked but his lips twitched in bemusement.

“Uh, yeah. I mean, look at you.” Adam motioned at him with the mayo covered butter knife. “You’re fucking hot, angel.” Michael’s grin grew wider. Adam continued. “Plus, you’re mega rich. Which, I don’t actually know how much you make, and that’s cool ‘cause I’m not really worried about all that. But still, I’d think you’d have suitors like, crawling all over you all the time. I even thought about asking for your number before I even knew who you were, back when I chased after you and handed you back your wallet.” He admitted.

Michael’s brows both rose curiously. “Did you?”

“Well, yeah. I thought you were super handsome, like way out of my league handsome. If I hadn’t been in a rush to get to work on time I might’ve even asked. Would you have given me your number if I had asked back then?” Adam glanced over with a hint of vulnerability in his eyes, like he was scared of the answer.

“No, I wouldn’t have.” Michael answered. Adam immediately deflated. “But. But, not for the reason you’re probably thinking. As you mentioned, I haven’t had a partner in a long time. A large part of that is due to my work schedule. I spend so much of my time at the office and, as you’ve also reminded me, much of my free time working from home as well. My schedule is not particularly conducive for a healthy relationship. But more than that, I hadn’t found anyone I thought was worth the time. Most people I find myself around are more interested in my salary than my interests or hobbies. They see me as a paycheck and not much else. I think after a time I eventually gave up on anything related to relationships and focused even more of my time on work. I hadn’t given much thought to finding a significant other, well, until a few months ago.”

Adam perked up a bit at that. “A few months ago?”

“Yes, I think it might have been when this handsome PA walked into my office and introduced himself as my new assistant.” Michael grinned toothily.

Adam let out a loud laugh and slid two sandwiches onto the plates. He handed one over to the other man and guided them over to sit at the island again. “Is that right?”

“Oh yes. I didn’t realize it at first, but that young man with startling blue eyes and a beautiful laugh was very quickly going to become someone very special to me. He reminded me that there are things in this world besides work.” Michael slid into the chair beside Adam.

Already Adam knew his face had to be tinged pink. He hadn’t thought that Michael would actually have a crush on him back. He wondered just how long it had been and if maybe they could’ve gotten to this point sooner. But it didn’t matter, not really. He was more than happy that they were here at all.

“Well, I’d say that guy is a very lucky man to have you.”

That evening, they arrived at the Roadhouse a few minutes before 6:30. The rest of the Novak siblings trickled in at varying times, first with Raphael and Cas, prompt as always. Next came Luke and Gabriel, an unsurprising fifteen minutes late.

After Jo had confirmed everyone’s orders and left to put them in at the kitchen, Luke threaded his fingers together and hummed.

“Is there a reason you asked us all to come here again so soon? Not that I haven't missed you guys since I saw you, you know, last night. But, it’s not like you to ask us all to dinner again so soon, Mikey. What’s the occasion?” Luke’s eyes were flickering between both Michael and Adam as if he already knew. Maybe there was something to be said about twins and being able to read each other’s minds.

Michael straightened in his seat like he was preparing a business speech. It was strong, confident, and probably not at all intimidating to the family that sat around him. Adam could tell it wasn’t meant to be though, not really. This was how Michael acted when he was serious or being particularly confident. Then, he cast his blue eyes in Adam’s direction for a short moment. It was only a couple seconds, but it felt like a lifetime, before Michael cleared his throat and addressed the table.

“Adam and I wanted to inform you that we are now dating.”

The reaction was immediate.

“Hell yeah?” Luke smacked a palm down on the table in his excitement.

“It’s about time! You’ve been harping over the kid for months!” Gabriel cackled, throwing his head back.

Castiel’s smile was big and toothy, and possibly the widest Adam had ever seen it. Even Raphael had a hint of a smile on his face.

“Yes, yes. We made it official last night.” Michael explained.

“Made it official, huh?” Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows. “Mikey, you dog.”

Adam sputtered out a laugh of his own when Michael gawked at his second-to-youngest brother. “Do not make it weird, Gabe.” He warned.

“I’m not!” He held his hands up innocently. As if Gabriel was ever innocent.

Michael leveled him with a stare.

“Aw, man. I haven’t even looked up your horoscopes or nothing.” Gabe fake pouted like the man child he was. He was nothing if not constantly committed to whatever bit he was performing though, so he whipped out his phone and started typing. “Mikey’s an Aquarius, what are you Adam?”

“My birthday is at the end of September, you tell me.” Adam raised an eyebrow. He was pretty sure he knew it when he was younger, but wracking his brain right now was bringing up next to nothing.

“Fuck if I know, kid. I’m not actually into this stuff. But, it’s fun to mess with sometimes.” Gabriel snorted.

“Adam is a Libra.” Castiel chimed in helpfully. He too had his phone in his hands now, apparently aiding in whatever weird teasing Gabriel no doubt had planned with a prompt google search.

“Cool! Now, let’s see…” Gabe hummed a little tune as his fingers worked across his screen. When he must have found whatever it was that he was looking for, his eyes glistened excitedly. “Well, well, well! Good news for the happy couple, you two have incredibly high compatibility. Your match was even written in the stars, or whatever.” He laughed.

“Astrology is not real.” Michael rolled his eyes.

“Party pooper. I’m actually really glad you finally got with Adam, he makes you more fun.” Gabriel stuck out his tongue at the slight glare turned in his direction. Then, he put his attention back to his phone and scrolled a little more. “Oh! And you two have ‘amazing sexual compatibility’ too!”

The horrified look that crossed over Michael’s face in that moment only served as more ammo as Gabriel and Luke howled with laughter. Even Castiel joined in, albeit much softer.

“What’s that look for, Mike? You’re not usually one to be a total prude.” Luke interjected, pointing a fry at his twin.

The man in question straightened and cleared his throat. Then, he glanced to the side and saw the somewhat perplexed expression Adam was sporting. Quiet, waiting, and…curious? Hopeful? There was something wanting in Adam's features, but the young man wasn’t giving him any verbal cues.

So, as usual, he chose to be honest.

“We have not discussed anything…intimate. It is much too early in our relationship and I would prefer not to make Adam feel uncomfortable or, worse, feel pressured into anything he may not want right now.” He stated as a matter-of-factly.

“That is wise, Michael.” Raphael pointed out.

“Thank you. At least someone in this family has a little sense.” Michael huffed.

Adam stared at him with a mix of surprise and admiration. Gabriel liked to talk about how Michael apparently looked at him as if he ‘hung the moon’, but at this moment Adam knew that if that saying referred to either of them, it was Michael. Perhaps, there was something to be said about the stars and their relationship after all, because Adam was absolutely certain that his boyfriend hung each and every one of those too.

“Alright, alright, fair point.” Gabe relinquished and pocketed his phone. “Still, just sayin’. When you are ready to get it down, it’s gonna be hella good.”

“Gabe!” Michael groaned. Adam, however, only laughed.

Dinner with the Novak's was still a little surprisingly nice to Adam. If someone had asked him months ago how he felt about the idea of being surrounded by Michael and his family, he would’ve probably been shaking like a leaf. Now, he actually thoroughly enjoyed it. He would even venture to say that he was beginning to consider the Novak siblings his friends in their own right. Gabe especially was easy to talk to, and as Adam had learned could be no less serious or genuine in his care as Michael. He imagined that, in their own ways, each of the Novak siblings had that same authenticness to them. But maybe that shouldn’t have been surprising in the slightest, given what he’s learned about Michael practically raising them all despite not being that much older himself.

In short, Adam welcomed their now semi-regular meetings with the Novak siblings and more often than not his face hurt from so much smiling and laughing after they were done. This time though, he was a little eager to get out of there.

Because this time, he was walking out the door hand in hand with his amazing significant other.

And this time, as they headed towards his car, he knew he was going to ask Michael to come inside again instead of just driving away.

“Cas?” A voice cut off whatever impure daydreams Adam was starting to delve into and his eyes snapped up to catch sight of Dean, Sam, and Eileen walking towards them.

A rock plummeted into his gut and made him feel sick.

“Dean? What are you doing here?” Castiel wasted no time striding up to his boyfriend, wrapping trench coat donned arms around him and leaning in for a quick kiss.

“Hey, babe.” Dean returned the gesture, hands on Castiel’s hips, before his eyes flicked over to the rest of the group. “We came here to grab a beer and eat. Since when do you come here? I thought you didn’t know about this place until I told you about it.”

“Oh.” Castiel looked sheepish for a moment. “I didn’t know about it, actually. This is only the third time I’ve been. I originally showed up after Gabe and Luke convinced Raphael and me to join them here, to surprise Michael and Adam.” He explained. The look on his face was a little uncomfortable, like he was guilty of something.

“Man, you came here without me? You know I love this place!” Dean complained. The bite was hardly there in his words though. If anything, there was a hint of disappointment underneath.

“I apologize, Dean. I will accompany you here whenever you would like me to.” Cas rectified easily.

“You better, sweetheart.” Dean eyed his boyfriend for a moment. Then, his gaze turned to the rest of the group. His eyes landed on Adam and lingered there, before narrowing in on the way his hand was connected to Michael’s. “These are your siblings?”

“Oh, yes! Dean, you already know Michael. But, meet his twin, Luke, then my other older brothers Raphael and Gabriel.” Castiel motioned with a hand to each one of his brothers in turn with varied responses of greeting.

“So you’re the Dean we keep hearing about so much. Cassie won’t shut the hell up about you.” Luke chuckled. Adam watched as his former boss’s face went pink.

“I do not.”

“Uh, you totally do, Cassie.” Gabe interrupted. “You’re totally goo goo eyes for the guy. You might even be worse than Michael is with Adam, and that’s saying something.”

There was a shift in the air that Adam might have been the only one aware of, except Michael tensed minutely beside him. It was probably unnoticeable to anyone else, but Adam felt it and the way his hand stiffened in his. It wasn’t fear. Adam would never say that Michael was afraid of Dean, because he wasn’t. That much was very clear. Michael was, however, vastly more aware of the strained relationship Adam had with his older half-brothers, and his relationship, or lack there of, with Dean was undoubtedly the worst out of the two.

More than that, the words that he had been told at the charity event were still fresh in his mind. He could tell just by looking at the narrowed eyed frown that his boss was giving Dean at the moment that they were fresh in his mind too.

“So you two are together now?” Sam asked with no lack of surprise. “Since when?”

“Yesterday.” Adam answered shortly, his own frown pulling at his lips. He really didn’t want to hear whatever questions his brothers had about this. It wasn’t like they had bothered to ask him how his personal life had been going in the past year, why bother now?

“After the charity auction.” Michael added expressionlessly. Yet his gaze wasn’t on Sam as he answered, but carefully set on Dean.

“Oh, the one you and Cas went to? You didn’t tell me Adam was there, Dean.” Sam crossed his arms.

“Adam was there with me.” Michael informed without his expression revealing a thing about whatever was going on inside his head. Adam could still tell by the rigid way he stood and the slightly too tense way his fingers squeezed against his hand that he was very unhappy. “To explain about how we ended up together, Adam and I had a discussion after the event. A couple things happened there that he…wished to talk about and, in the end, we both realized we had feelings for one another.”

The nearly clinical way Michael spoke about their getting together might have been off putting if it was anyone else. On Michael though it was his typical business persona. The flat, hardened mask of a man not to be fucked with and who could squish an opponent under his shoe like a bug. Adam could tell his gaze was still locked unwaveringly on Dean.

“Huh. Well, uh, congrats.” Sam said. It was hardly convincing.

“Congratulations!” Eileen chimed in, hands moving excitedly in front of her. She was clearly much more pleased with the development.

“Thank you.” Michael nodded politely in her direction, finally taking his eyes off Dean in the process.

“Uh huh. Adam, can I talk to you for a sec?” Dean frowned.

“No.” Adam’s answer was immediate. He watched as shock, then annoyance, crossed over his oldest brother’s face. Beside him though, he could practically feel the pride radiating off Michael. “What is it you want to talk about, Dean? We can do it here.”

A little surprisingly, Dean didn’t immediately agree. Normally his brother was too proud to care if anyone was around to hear him bitching about something, but being in the presence of Castiel’s other siblings must have been enough for him to at least pause and consider it. In the end, he scowled and crossed his arms. “Whatever, it can wait. I’ll drop by later or something.”

“I think it’s for the best that you don’t.” Michael said quickly.

Immediately, everyone’s eyes were on him.

“What the hell? You just started dating and now you’re telling him who he can and can’t see?” Dean spat.

“Dean.” Castiel’s voice was low but firm.

“I am not and will not ever forbid Adam from doing anything he would like to do. He is his own person. However, considering the poor way you choose to speak to him, I would ask you to reconsider ‘coming over’ for his sake.” Michael said.

Adam shifted between his feet a little. The bitter cold of the evening air wasn’t enough to fight off the warmth in his cheeks, though whether it was more from embarrassment or anger he wasn’t sure. The nerve Dean had to act like he had any right to Adam’s time!

“I agree. I think it’s probably best that you don’t come over.” Adam stated. Now, he could tell just about everyone was gaping at him. Save Raphael, whose face was as passive as ever, but even his eyes betrayed a hint of curiosity.

Dean, on the other hand, looked even more ticked off than before.

“What the hell!” He snapped.

“Dean, calm down. Adam isn’t going to want to talk to you if you can’t control yourself.” Castiel chastised lightly. He was stroking long, soothing lines up and down Dean’s back with his palm, a gesture that seemed to dampen the fire at least a little bit.

Dean’s expressions were at war with one another as they switched between annoyance, worry, and righteous anger. He still carefully eyed the way Michael’s hand held onto Adam’s like they would suddenly reach out and bite him or something. Adam just thought his brother was being dramatic.

“What’s the big deal, Dean? How about we all go out for dinner next weekend, we can all chat then. Would that work, Adam?” Sam suggested.

Adam opened his mouth to answer, or lack thereof since he was going to say that he needed to think about it, but once again Dean’s big mouth beat him to it.

“I’d rather talk about this in private.” Dean stated.

It was crystal clear by now that the awkwardness of this entire interaction had permeated the previous good mood and replaced it with something heavier.

“Dean.” Adam sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand and shook his head. “Look. Thanks for whatever protective older brother shit you’re trying to do right now, but I don’t need it. Okay? I’m literally almost thirty years old, I don’t need it.”

“Being the big brother is my job.” Dean huffed, and something almost fond crossed over Castiel’s face. No doubt he thought the sentiment was endearing.

Adam, on the other hand, found Dean’s unreliable familial attitude anything but.

“If anyone here can talk about being a good big brother, it’s Michael.” Adam frowned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dean’s somewhat pacified stance was out the window just as quick as it had come.

Adam couldn’t believe he was actually going to have to explain this. It should be so obvious. But of course, he wasn’t Sam, so Dean never bothered to think about him more than he had to. “It means I really don’t see you as my big brother. You’re just a guy that likes to pretend he is when it’s convenient for him. But really, the only reason you even give me a second of your time is because our dad finally admitted he had a whole secret son for almost twenty years and you still can’t let go of being his good little soldier, so you tolerate me for the sake of his memory. But the guy was a real shit dad, so I honestly don’t know why you pretend like he wasn’t or why you pretend like you even like me just cause I’m his son too.”

The silence that crossed over the group was strangling in its trepidation. A multitude of emotions crossed over both Sam and Dean’s faces, and Adam could tell the others were equally as shocked at the admittance as well. Even Cas looked a little hurt, possibly on Dean’s behalf.

Then, Dean stepped forward, his face contorted in a rage. “You didn’t really know him, so don’t talk about him like that!”

Immediately, Michael let go of Adam’s hand and positioned himself halfway in front of the younger man to block Dean’s path. “You should leave.” He stated firmly. There was no room for negotiation in his voice.

“Like Hell, you fucking creep. Stay the hell away from my little brother.” Dean snapped. Even the other Novak siblings tensed with offense at the insult towards their eldest brother. Michael on the other hand looked as unphased as ever.

“Dean! That’s enough. I don’t know what your issue is but you can work it out somewhere else other than the parking lot of a restaurant.” Castiel looked pissed off this time too.

“Castiel is right. This is not the place to discuss your issues with me or my relationship with Adam. We were just leaving, so we will leave you to your dinner for the evening.” Michael stated with a finality that most other people would heed. Dean, of course, was not most people.

“So you still think you’re better than me? That you can just excuse me from your presence like I’m your goddamn butler or something? You’ve always been an asshole executive with a superiority complex. But now you’re messing with my baby brother’s head to think you’re a better brother than me too?” Dean scowled but he didn’t react much more than that. Most likely thanks to the stare Castiel was pinning him with. Dean Winchester would be nothing if not stubborn though.

“Dean, that’s enough. We don’t have to do this right now, okay? Let’s just eat.” Sam sighed.

“I am not doing anything to ‘mess’ with Adam’s head.” Michael frowned. “If he has inferred that I am a superior brother, that is from his own observations. Not my words.”

“You’re full of shit. You can call me a lot of things, motherfucker, but a shitty brother isn’t one. You can ask Sammy!” Dean gestured towards the taller Winchester.

“Hey, man. Back off.” Luke nearly growled. Gabriel and even Raphael looked just as upset.

To everyone’s surprise, it was Michael that surged forward a step.

“Don’t you dare act as if the way you treat Sam is anything like how you treat Adam. Your blatant favoritism, and disregard for how you make your brother feel, is nauseating and disgusting. I don’t care how Adam came to be a part of your family, he is still your brother, just as much as Sam is. Yet you insist on acting as if…” Michael bit out harshly, stopping only to heave out a long, grounding breath.

Adam stared at him from his spot halfway behind him with wide eyes. Did Michael really feel that strongly about how Dean and Sam treated him?

Then again, should he really be surprised by that? Since getting to know him better, Michael had proven to be many things. One which triumphed over them all, however, was the familial pride he took in his siblings and the role he played as the oldest among them. He treated his position like an honor. So of course he felt that righteous fury on behalf of Adam for the injustice of not having the loving, caring sibling relationship he should have gotten. Of course he was pissed. Michael was in Dean's position as the oldest brother too, yet they acted totally different towards their siblings.

He was pissed because he cared about Adam. More, probably, than Dean or Sam ever did.

Dean’s fists clenched. “Don’t tell me I’m a bad brother, you son of a bi-”

“You told Adam that he shouldn’t exist!” Michael seethed through clenched teeth, throwing his hands up like he wanted to grab Dean and shake him. His body was tight like a coil ready to spring. One wrong move and he would no doubt pounce on the eldest Winchester with all the holy fury of an angel wronged. "You're an absolute imbecile if you think that constitutes being a 'good' big brother!"

A part of Adam wanted to watch it Michael rip Dean a new one. But, he also knew Dean wouldn’t be one to go down easy and he didn’t want to watch his boyfriend get hurt or get arrested for assault tonight either. He grabbed Michael’s arm, firm but not forceful, and lightly tugged. “Michael. Don’t.”

Before the older man could actually respond though, Castiel’s voice cut through the awkward silence sounding like he’d watched a calamity. “You told Adam what, Dean?” He sounded horrified. He looked it too, with wide eyes that reflected genuine shock.

Then, when Adam looked around, he saw equally appalled faces all around their little group.

Apparently Castiel’s voice was enough to snap Dean out of his rage induced glare long enough to blink and glance over at him. In a moment, realization washed over his features, but he kept his face as hard as he could regardless. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He mumbled.

“Didn’t mean it like…Dean!” Castiel snapped. There was anger in his face now, something that Adam realized with a start that he had never really seen on the normally calm man’s features.

“Dean, what the hell?” Sam piped up this time and even Eileen had a narrowed look to her eyes.

“What!” Dean threw his hands up. “Don’t gang up on me now, I know you thought the same thing too when we found out about him, Sam.”

“No I didn’t!” Sam replied, exasperated. There was a gleam of guilt in his eyes though that Adam didn’t miss. Maybe he would never admit it, not even to himself, but Adam knew. Deep down he always knew.

“Like hell! You weren’t happy about it either.”

“I was in shock, Dean. Dad had literally just died, and we find out we’ve had a baby brother this whole time? Was I not supposed to freak out a little?” Sam huffed.

“As touching as this trip down memory lane is,” Michael interrupted sharply. He still looked half a second away from ripping Dean’s eyes out of his skull. “I think it would be best if you took your leave. If you insist on reflecting on how poorly you’ve treated Adam the last several years, you should do it away from him. Then again, you should have had this realization a long time ago.”

At that, Castiel put a palm to his boyfriend’s shoulder and pushed until Dean was taking steps backwards away from everyone. “I do believe you’re right, Michael. It seems I have some things to talk about with Dean, and Sam, that would be best to discuss in private.” His former boss’s voice was cold and his gaze sharp as shattered glass.

“But-” Dean started, but an even firmer glare from Castiel immediately made him snap his jaw shut.

“I apologize to everyone. Adam, I hope I get to see you again soon without all this…mess.” Castiel’s words rang true despite the fact he was all but shoving Dean and Sam in the opposite direction. Behind them, Eileen stormed after them, looking ready to give her own verbal lashing. If there was anything left of the boys after Castiel was done with them, anyway.

In the now sudden silence that fell over them, it was Michael that spoke first. He turned around as soon as the others were far enough away and turned his entire attention back on Adam. “Are you alright?” He asked quietly. His hands came up to gently clasp Adam’s shoulders, slowly rubbing up and down his arms and squeezing in intervals.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. You get used to Dean’s temper after a few years of living with him.” Adam mumbled.

“You should not have to get used to something like that.” Michael frowned hard.

In turn, Adam could only shrug. “Maybe not, but I had to anyway. Besides, I don’t live with them anymore so I’m good.” His boyfriend didn’t look convinced but he, blessedly, didn’t push the issue either.

“Geez, that’s who Cassie’s dating? The guy he’s all coocoo for coco puffs for? What the hell?” Gabriel complained.

“Agreed. We may need to hold an intervention about his choice of men.” Raphael stated dryly.

“The guy likes his car a lot, don’t he? Some real nice vintage Chevy? I can key it while they’re inside, or slash his tires.” Luke offered as easy as giving away a piece of gum.

“Ooo yeah, good idea, Luci.” Gabe clapped his hands together with a grin a little too big to be innocent.

Adam couldn’t help himself, he started to laugh.

Chapter Text

Returning to work after starting to date his boss was a little more weird than Adam expected. He arrived as he usually did, promptly at eight in the morning, two coffees in hand from the shop down the street. It was weird because it all felt so normal and yet not normal at the same time. The actions he did were the same, but there was an underlying feeling there beneath the surface anyway.

He was giddy. Excited, even, to see Michael. And where before he was always happy to see the older man and exchange their typical good mornings, now it was just…more. So much more.

“Good morning, sir.” Adam said as he pushed his way into his boss’s office like clockwork. He set the large coffee onto the mahogany desk and smiled down at him.

“Good morning, Adam. Thank you.” Michael took a long sip of his drink and, after he set it back down, a crooked smile crossed over his own features. He bent a finger in a ‘come here’ motion and Adam was powerless to resist the temptation. As soon as he was within arm’s reach, Michael wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him in close. “And I believe a good morning kiss is in order, if you don’t mind, Mr. Milligan.”

Naturally, Adam’s face felt like it might split in two with the way he grinned. “Of course, sir.” He supplied as he bent down to connect their lips. Pulling back, Adam couldn’t help but think about crawling into the man’s lap or under his desk between his legs. Fuck, what a sight that would be. It was way too early in the morning to start daydreaming though. “If you are satisfied, Mr. Novak, I think I should go get started on my tasks for the day.”

Michael chuckled but released him. “You’re right. I’ll see you during your lunch later.”

Adam beamed at that promise and left Michael’s office with even more excitement than when he came in. Walking the short distance towards his own small office, Adam paused in the doorway when he noticed a particular pop of color that wasn’t usually there.

A sizeable array of vased flowers sat atop his desk.

Adam was sure his face must be the same ruby red as the roses.

Besides the stolen kisses, longing glances, and purposeful touches, working under his significant other actually proved to be more or less the same as before. Michael continued to be overwhelmingly polite and kind, just as he was before, yet still the perfect business man that buried himself in his work for most of the day.

Adam, for his part, didn’t allow his newly found relationship with his employer to dwindle his work ethic either. He was just as quick and proactive as before. The only difference now was he got a quick morning kiss when he gave Michael his coffee and during his lunches they were able to chat much more freely. Before he would leave for the evening, he would drop by the other man’s office for a quick goodbye and a kiss, and miraculously, a couple times he even convinced Michael to put the work down and leave at a reasonable time for once. Those were the times Adam was most proud of.

In short, working under his boyfriend was remarkably easy.

“Are you going to the company holiday party on Friday?” Adam asked as they stepped out of the elevator and into the stairwell that connected to the employee parking garage.

“Hm? Of course, I attend every year.” Michael answered with a curious look.

Adam walked through the door Michael held open for him, still trying to think back on the party last year. It had been a little awkward since he didn’t really know anyone other than Dean or Sam, but he was sure that if he had seen tall, blonde, and handsome that he would’ve noticed.

“Really? I don’t remember seeing you last year. I mean, I was still pretty new back then. But I feel like I would have definitely noticed you if I saw you.” Adam said.

Michael’s car unlocked with a quiet click and a quick flash of the lights. “I was there, but…I admit that I am known as being a bit unsociable. Castiel tends to make fun of me for standing around watching more than talking.”

“Really? I mean, you are pretty quiet. But still, I’d think everyone would be trying to talk to the CEO.” Adam said. He shut the passenger door behind him once he slid in.

“Surprisingly, no. I have been told I can be…intimidating.”

“Ha!” Adam cackled as Michael pulled out of the parking spot and towards the exit of the parking garage. “That is true. I don’t think you even realize you’re doing it sometimes.”

Michael raised a brow. “It comes in handy sometimes.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean it keeps people from annoying me all the time. Castiel is much more approachable, why do you think he’s often so busy talking to other associates?” Michael asked.

“Uhh…Dean kinda made it sound like you just sorta dump it all on him.” Adam admitted. Now that he actually thought about it though, that didn’t sound like Michael at all.

In record time the older man’s face morphed into something offended. “I do not!”

“I know, I know!” Adam raised his hands. “I know that now, anyway. And I guess it actually makes sense too. You’re already so busy, Cas can handle most of the direct interactions, while you arguably get stuck with the even worse part which are the emails and the paperwork afterwards.”

Michael sighed quietly. “Sometimes, yes. It’s a finicky process and sometimes my involvement is required depending on the issue. Thankfully I can rely on Castiel. I honestly don’t know what I would do without him.”

“Well, I hope you’ve got a big Christmas present ready and waiting for him to show your appreciation.” Adam teased. That did make him wonder what the Novak holidays looked like. Did the siblings all get together like they did every week for a family dinner? Were significant others invited or was it only for the five of them? Adam didn’t want to assume anything. That bared the question of his own Christmas. Chances are, he would be spending it alone. He didn’t exactly plan on going over to Dean and Sam’s, he didn’t even know if he would get them anything. Then again, maybe he would. They were douches but they were still his brothers.

“I have made arrangements for all of my siblings’ gifts, as well as yours.” Michael stated.

Adam’s eyes snapped over him. “Wait, mine?”

“Yes.” Michael glanced away from the road for a second to cock his eyebrow at him. “Did you not think I would get you something?”

“O-Oh, well…I don’t know, I didn’t really think about it. I guess I just thought I wasn’t getting anything for Christmas this year.” He didn’t expect anything from his brothers after all and for some reason he had just assumed that Michael wouldn’t get him anything either. That was kind of dumb of him now that he thought about it.

“What? Of course I’m getting you gifts.” Michael frowned. He actually looked a little offended that Adam would even think that he wouldn’t celebrate the holidays by giving him something.

“Nothing too expensive though, right? You already got me this necklace and that journal, plus that painting from the auction.” Adam touched the silver pendant that was loyally looped around his neck as always. The painting of Como Park now hung proudly near the old photos of him and his mom in his apartment. Michael had helped him find just the right spot for it and even suggested its placement. The moment he said it, Adam knew it was perfect.

“Would something expensive bother you?” Michael asked.

“Dude, you’re not gonna like, buy me a car or something, right? I told you, I’ve got plenty saved up now and that bonus you gave me was more than enough for a down payment.” Adam stared at Michael’s profile, trying to get his point across. “Besides, I don’t really care about expensive things. I just like knowing you thought of me…like with this necklace and the journal. They were both really sweet of you.” His tone grew soft at the memory. Getting presents had been nice, but getting well thought out, meaningful ones had meant the world.

Michael gave an acknowledging hum. He knew this well enough about Adam by now. He was never after the newest thing or the highest price tag. Once he had found out how much the bouquets Michael had been bringing into the office cost he had looked close to a heart attack.

Equally as stubborn, Michael loved the way Adam’s eyes lit up when he received something thoughtful. Be it flowers, a drink at a cafe, a dessert when they went out to eat, or something more substantial like his birthday presents. Each and every time it had meant something because each and every time Michael had given it with a purpose. Adam was cold? A hot chocolate. He wanted to try the new pie flavor at the restaurant they went to? Michael would request it.

Michael already knew it wasn’t really about what he got or how much it cost. To Adam, it was all about being seen. Truly, genuinely seen.

“I have not gotten you a car, no. Maybe next year?” Michael glanced over at him.

Adam snorted in response and lightly smacked him on the arm. “Shut up. You better not, I’m serious.”

A laugh bubbled out of the older man, but thankfully he relented. For now, anyway. Adam might have to remind him later.

“So…you want to exchange presents then?” Adam poked at the subject. He had a few things in mind he wanted to get Michael even before they started dating. Now though it felt even more important to show him just how special he was to him. “When did you want to do that?”

“Hmm, we could do so at your apartment if you would like. Or, my siblings are coming to my home for Christmas day, you are welcome to join us as well.” Michael offered.

“Wait, really? You’d let me come over?” Adam hadn’t been to Michael’s house yet. He wondered if it even was a house at all and not like a mega mansion filled with butlers and maids or something. What was more surprising however was how easily Michael invited him to come spend the holiday with his family.

“Of course. You are welcome to come over whenever you would like. You just enjoy your apartment so much I haven’t felt the need to mention my place yet, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t still welcome to it.” Michael was well aware from multiple conversations with Adam that he was very proud of the small but cozy apartment he lived in. It was his first real step into independence and the first place he ever lived on his own. Of course it was special to him and Michael wasn’t going to compromise that.

“Huh, well…I would really like to see your place.” Adam admitted almost sheepishly. “Though, I kind of like the idea of us having our own little private time to exchange gifts, ya know? It’ll be special and all that.”

“If you would prefer to have a private exchange then we can do that, Adam. And, you are still more than welcome to join us at my home on Christmas day regardless. I would love to have you there, and I know my brothers would too. They like you a lot, in case that wasn’t clear.”

Adam could hear the swell of pride within Michael’s words, as he often did whenever he spoke about his younger brothers. They meant the absolute world to Michael, so knowing that he had gained their approval as well filled Adam with his own sense of pride and joy.

“I would love to come over, sweetheart. You just tell me when and I’ll be there.” Adam promised. The smile on Michael’s face when he glanced over was small but so incredibly soft. There was a fondness in his eyes that was almost overwhelming until he cast his gaze back to the road.

“Thank you. We can exchange gifts after the company party, if you’d like? You can come over to my home for Christmas, or for however long you’d like. I’m not putting a limit on how long you can stay. You’re welcome to spend the night if you’d like, even come the day before and stay over. Whatever you’d enjoy, my dear.” Michael told him.

The old fashioned ‘my dear’s Michael gave him were incredibly enamoring. It was just so Michael, in the best of ways. Adam loved it.

“If you’re willing to let me come over and spend extra time with you then of course I gotta say yes, Mike.” Adam chuckled. He watched as they pulled into the parking lot of an Indian restaurant that Adam had once mentioned wanting to try. Michael being Michael had immediately promised that they could get dinner there later in the week after work.

Really, Adam was starting to wonder if he should be worried about getting spoiled.

During dinner, his mind raced with all sorts of ideas for gifts he could get for Michael. He had a couple in mind that he thought would be good, but he wanted something more. Something that would really show how much Michael meant to him.

Across from him, his boss’s fingers thrummed on the time-worn wood of the table. Between his own fingers, he twisted the silver necklace in a rhythmic motion with his index finger and thumb. Then, like an epiphany, he got it.

He knew exactly what he was going to get Michael for Christmas.

With only a couple weeks left to get everything together, Adam had to work fast.

The second he was dropped off at his apartment after dinner, and after the ensuing make out session at his front door, he was on his laptop searching his heart out. He knew what he wanted to get his boyfriend, he just had to find the perfect one. A couple other things were more or less easy to order, express holiday shipping was a real blessing, and then he continued on his hunt for his main prize.

Eventually, he found just what he was searching for.

At the same time, doubt crept in fast and relentlessly. What if Michael hated it? What if he thought it was weird or that it meant something it wasn’t supposed to? Adam didn’t want to freak him out. Then again, Michael wasn’t that type of person. He was kind and understanding underneath that tough, unyielding shield he put on. So surely he would understand what this meant when Adam explained it?

“Fuck it.” After a couple minutes of a grueling back and forth, he quickly hit the checkout button on the screen before he could try and talk himself out of it again.

Gifts bought and ordered, Adam felt the now familiar buzz of anticipation under his skin. His first holiday with Michael and he would make sure it was a good one, especially in front of his family.

The company holiday party was right around the corner and though he wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, he was excited to see Kevin, Charlie, and Alfie there. He only occasionally saw Kevin at work when Michael would send him down to the Legal floor, Alfie was only ever around on the rare occasions Cas sat in for a meeting, and he never saw Charlie since she was all the way down in the tech department.

He did enjoy going to their regular game and movie nights, but even that was only every so often. So, he was excited to see them all together at the company party and probably hang around them instead just following Sam and Dean around like he had at last year’s festivities. He wasn’t sure exactly how he was supposed to act around Michael though. Sure they weren’t flaunting their relationship around and shouting it from the rooftops, but they weren’t hiding it either. Adam wasn’t sure if his boss would even want him to talk to him, or if he did it would probably be best to do so as a normal employee and nothing else. Yeah, that was the plan.

When the time for the company party rolled around, Adam showed up in his favorite burgundy sweater and a pair of old, dark green slacks that he had forgotten about until he was digging through his closet the other day. Around his neck hung the silver necklace, as always.

The thing he was possibly most excited about for tonight though was that Michael was letting him come over for a couple days. He could spend the night, they could exchange gifts, then spend Christmas day with the other Novak siblings.

“Hey, man!” Charlie beamed as Adam walked up. Kevin and Alfie were already there and each giving their own smiles as well.

“Hey, guys. Starting without me?” Adam grinned. He gladly accepted the cup of punch that Alfie offered over and took a sip.

“Nah, dude. We would never.” Charlie sang. “So, did you see that new game coming out in January?”

Talking with Charlie, Kevin, and Alfie was incredibly easy. Over the several get togethers they had, Adam would even classify them as friends now, and the thought rolled into his mind easier and easier every time. It had been so long since he considered anyone an actual friend that it was actually a little…weird to consider them anything but coworkers for the first few weeks. Then, with startling realization, he began to understand that a fondness was growing for their little group and he genuinely cared about each of them.

Who would’ve thought, a quick trip to the Legal department and a polite greeting to Castiel’s new assistant would lead him to three new friends?

Being friends also meant that it was easy to catch a change in one of their moods. Most obvious of all, though, was Alfie. The kid was easier to read than a first grade library book.

In the midst of a tantalizing tale about Charlie’s newest DnD character she was creating, Alfie’s face suddenly fell and his eyes went wide as plates. It was a look Adam had seen on him a couple times now, and it was always the same man that caused it.

“Good evening, everyone. Adam.”

He turned when Michael stepped up beside him, face as impassive as ever. He stood there, back straight as a soldier’s and stiff as a board. It would actually be pretty uncomfortable, if Adam wasn’t already so used to Michael’s general, towering demeanor. The same probably couldn’t be said for his friends though. Oh well.

Also just as normal, the CEO’s choice of suit and tie was breathtaking. It was a sharp, crisp green, almost dark enough to be considered black. A red tie topped off the subtly decorated white button down underneath. When Adam looked close enough, he could see the incredibly faint design of tiny snowmen on it.

Huh. Michael was a festive guy after all.

“Hello, Mr. Novak.” Adam greeted kindly. The tiny smile he got in return was still enough to make him fill up with warmth.

“I hope you are all enjoying the party. Is everything to your liking thus far?” Michael’s gaze lingered on Adam a few seconds more before he tilted his head at the other three as well. “Mr. Tran, it is good to see you again. Excellent work on our project, I have hope that your work will continue to impress me.”

“O-Oh, yes, sir. Of course.” Kevin was quick to say. “And the party is great! Thanks for putting it on.”

“Yeah, it’s really nice. The food and punch is great!” Charlie chimed in. She was smiling but Adam could still see the hesitation in her eyes.

Alfie, unsurprisingly, still looked like a deer caught in the headlights, just like he usually did when Michael was around.

Unfortunately for him, Michael's eyes turned to him next. “That is good to hear, I’m glad. Just as well, it is good to see you again, Mr. Johnston. Castiel has told me all good things. He is very pleased with the work you’ve been doing for him the last few weeks.”

The sudden compliment from the rigid CEO seemed to make Alfie’s brain fry completely. There was a quick exchange of emotions on his face, from fear, to shock, to realization, and finally to hesitant acceptance. A small smile pulled at the young man’s lips and he shyly clasped his hands in front of him. “Th-Thank you, sir. That means a lot! I do try to do my best for Mr. Novak.” Alfie answered.

“I can tell. We are both very happy with your work.” Michael commented. Alfie beamed under the unexpected praise like a flower in need of the Sun. Then, dark blues shifted over to the redhead of the group. “I don’t believe we have ever met before, but I must go on the assumption that you are Ms. Bradbury. Adam has told me a bit about you, so it is nice to finally make your acquaintance.”

Adam blushed a little bit at the admittance. He had never really told his friends that he talked about them and their meet ups sometimes to Michael.

Charlie’s brows raised and she quickly cast Adam a look that he couldn’t decipher before putting her attention back on Michael.

“It’s an honor to meet you too, Mr. Novak.” She took the hand Michael offered to her and gave it a firm shake. She had a curious grin on her pale face and that look gleaming in her eyes was worrying. It always meant she was up to something. “Though I gotta say, I didn’t know Adam told you about me.”

“Oh, yes. Adam is very fond of you three, he speaks highly of you.” Michael explained.

Oh Lord. Why did it sound more like a parent talking to his middle school peers than his boyfriend exchanging pleasantries with his friends? Adam’s face continued to heat up. “Yeah, well, what can I say? When a guy’s got cool friends like I do, ya gotta brag about them a little bit.” He shrugged. It wasn’t not true.

Everyone looked like they knew exactly what he was doing but let it go regardless. For the moment at least.

“Well, I won’t keep you. I am glad that you’re all enjoying the party, please continue to help yourself to the food and drinks as much as you’d like.” Michael offered out. Then, he tilted his head and gave Adam one of his small, but meaningful, smiles before he nodded slightly and walked away.

The second Michael was out of sight in the sea of other employees, Charlie pounced on Adam. She grabbed into his arm and shook him.

“Dude!” She practically squealed.

“What?” Adam managed to get her to stop shaking his arm like she was trying to rip it off and leveled her with a look. “What is it?”

“Dude, he’s totally into you!” Charlie whispered with the biggest grin on her face.

“W-What?” How on Earth did Charlie get that from this interaction? Even Kevin and Alfie looked confused.

“I’m serious. I have the best gay dar, so I know.” Charlie tapped her temple with a finger. “And Mr. Novak definitely has the hots for you.”

Oh god.

“I don’t know…” Alfie started but trailed off quietly.

“Yeah,” Kevin agreed slowly, a slight grimace on his face. “I mean, I know you say he’s nice to you and all, but he’s still your boss. It would be kind of weird, wouldn’t it? Like a breach in what’s appropriate, given the power dynamic between you?”

Adam knew Kevin had a point there, he had thought of that too. Michael was incredibly kind and respectful, but at the end of the day he was still his boss.

“I mean, yeah, but…he is seriously the best, guys. Like, he’s really a good guy.” Adam defended immediately. Even though they technically didn’t know that he had a reason to defend their relationship in the first place.

“Mr. N is a good guy money wise too. His nose is clean in that department.” Charlie pointed out.

Adam frowned. “What do you mean?”

A wicked smirk crossed the woman’s face and she punctuated it by wrapping an arm around his shoulders to draw him in close. “I mean I checked it out a while ago, and keep an eye on it now and then. Mr. N doesn’t do anything shady with his or the company’s money ‘cause I looked. Admittedly I expected to find something and I was gonna redirect a few hundred thousand dollars to a few charities around, but when I looked…the guy does that on his own anyway! And not the shitty kind of ‘charities’ that are really just a face for money laundering, I mean he gives a shit ton to actual, good charities all the time. NovakOn is giving some serious bills to support LGBT, women’s rights, impoverished youth programs, feeding the poor, you name it, Novak’s got some money in it. The guy is like his own walking charity funder!” Charlie said excitedly.

That was a lot to take in. NovakOn was a proud supporter of multiple charities, so that much was obvious. It also didn’t really surprise Adam to learn that Michael gave his own money to various charities as well, since that’s just the type of guy he was. But, the thing that he really didn’t get, was how the hell Charlie knew so much about all that.

“You…you hacked into Michael’s accounts?” Adam gaped.

“Hey! Not so loud!” Charlie shushed. She had the mind to look a little embarrassed. “But, uh…yeah. It’s easy to do if you know how. I was going in to see what kind of dirty money he had and I was gonna move some of it around to better causes, ya know? But instead I didn’t find anything but a guy already giving it to all the right places. So…I left it alone. I didn’t touch anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Adam was most certainly still worried, though hearing that she didn't actually move any of Michael’s money around was a little comforting.

“Oh yeah, didn’t you and Mr. Novak go to that charity event just earlier this month?” Alfie asked. He looked a little too unphased by Charlie’s admittance.

“Uh, yeah, actually. How’d you know?” Adam asked.

“I saw it in a news article. Castiel told me about the auction and I googled it later to see. Your picture was in there and I recognized Mr. Novak with you. It was talking about how much money was raised and who were the top donors. Mr. Novak and his siblings were some of the highest.” Alfie supplied with a big smile. “I saw you in the photo with him, but I didn’t really question it. I just thought he wanted you there to make notes on his bids or something.”

A new gleam twinkled in Charlie’s eyes. “You’re saying you went on a date with Mr. N and you didn’t even tell us?” She fake gasped.

“It wasn’t a date!”

“It sounds like it was a date.” Kevin pointed out.

“It wasn’t!” Adam groaned.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Doesn’t matter, the guy clearly likes you. I mean, did you see the way he looked at you?” Charlie’s grin was almost blindingly bright.

Adam sighed. “Everyone keeps saying that.”

“Do they?” Kevin asked curiously.

Ah, fuck. Well, what’s the harm in telling the truth? He and Michael both agreed not to be a secret and these were his friends. If he couldn’t tell them then how was he supposed to tell anyone?

“Alright, alright, look.” Adam raised his hands. Immediately three pairs of way too excited eyes were trained on him. Mindlessly, his three friends leaned in when he subtly motioned them forward as if for a secret. “Okay, so. Don’t…go around telling everyone, okay? But, Michael and I…are dating now.”

“I knew it!” Charlie threw her head back and laughed. The arm around him squeezed and brought him even closer. “I could tell he had the hots for you, Addy.” She said much quieter, thankfully.

“Whoa, seriously?” Kevin asked, eyes big. “And you’re sure he’s not, like…taking advantage of you or anything?” He was clearly uncomfortable just asking, and Adam might’ve been offended if he didn’t know it was coming from a place of genuine worry.

“No, he’s not. Seriously, he’s, like, the best guy. He makes me really happy. Our relationship is still really new though, it’s only been about three weeks so…don’t go telling everybody, okay? It’s not a secret, but we also don’t want it to be a big thing, you know?”

“Sure, that makes sense.” Alfie smiled warmly.

Charlie and Kevin nodded as well.

“You’ve got my approval.” She beamed. “I mean, you could definitely do worse than a mega hot CEO with a heart of gold, even if he is kinda scary.”

Adam rolled his eyes and snorted. “You’re a lesbian, what do you know about hot guys anyway?”

“Hey, I might not ride that ride but I can still appreciate the aesthetics of it.” She cackled.

Adam laughed with her. He felt a relief he didn’t realize he was holding onto wash over him now that his three closest friends knew about his relationship with Michael. Their support meant more to him than he realized until this moment.

“Okay, time to celebrate. Let’s get some more punch.” Charlie raised her empty glass and when the queen spoke, it was final.

After Charlie and Kevin excused themselves to talk to other people from their respective floors, Adam and Alfie decided that maybe it was time to find their bosses. Chances are that Michael and Castiel would be together after all, and as luck would have it they were. The Novak brothers were chatting with a small group of higher ups that Adam couldn’t be bothered to remember besides their last names. None of them ever really paid him any mind besides Castiel anyway, and quite frankly that was all well and good with him. The last thing he wanted was to get stuck chatting it up with a stuck up executive that thought they were hot shit.

Fate was a cruel mistress sometimes though and before he and Alfie could reach their employers, a new voice grated his ears.

“Ah, it’s Michael’s errand boy. Did you enjoy playing dress up at the charity event the other week?” Adler’s voice cut into the serenity of Adam’s previous joy. Now, he scowled and ignored the concerned look he was receiving from Alfie. “Oh, and is that Castiel’s errand boy too? I should’ve guessed that the two of you would become close. It’s only natural, given your…particularly unimpressive qualifications.”

Zachariah was annoying on a good day. This, however, was not a good day. Not anymore, when the man in front of him was being so blatantly rude. And not only to him, but to Alfie! The kid was practically sunshine and rainbows incarnate!

“I’m afraid my relationships are really none of your business.” Adam grouched out. He watched as Adler’s eyebrows rose, a little shocked and a lot offended. Adam was kind of proud of himself for ruffling the older man’s feathers.

“Utterly irrelevantand rude. That’s a poor combination, you won’t get far in life with that.” Zachariah scowled. “It’s a wonder how Michael can work with someone like you. He must be an even more generous man than I realized if he’s dealt with your attitude this long.”

Seriously, what was this guy’s problem? Did Adam royally piss him off at some point without realizing it or was his personality really just the equivalent of the shit end of an ass? Adam might not be a man of ‘high standing’ or whatever bullshit Adler believed in, but he prided himself on being a good person.

“Fortunately, Mr. Novak is incredibly generous and he knows a good worker when he sees it.” Adam’s words came out barbed at the edges. He returned the glare Zachariah sent in his direction.

“I can see that. Michael is the type of man to pick up stray dogs off the street begging for whatever scraps he’s willing to drop. He picked you up, after all.” Adler spit back. His eyes traced Adam up and down distastefully, making the wrinkles in his face appear even deeper.

The insult was not lost on him at all. Adam swore his face burned red.

“Does he often speak to you like this?” Michael’s voice interrupted, hard and clipped.

When Adam whirled around, he was met with eyes as ice cold as a morgue. Suspiciously stable despite the danger thundering loudly in his glare, like the eye of a hurricane. Michael stood there tall and imposing, simultaneously an unstoppable force and an immovable object all at once.

Zachariah immediately paled, but was still stupid enough to clear his throat and motion towards Adam. “Yes, he speaks to me like that often. It is quite annoying, sir.”

Michael’s face hardened impossibly more.

“I wasn’t speaking to you, Zachariah.” He stated firmly. When his eyes cast over to his assistant however, there was the most minute shift within them. Something softer, though no less serious. “Adam, does he speak to you like that often?”

With a start, Adam realized all eyes were on him now, not just Michael’s. His boyfriend unwillingly commanded the presence of everyone around him without even trying at any given time, but when he was angry? This was the sort of high stake drama people like Meg would die for. Something about feeling the pinpricks of curious, drama hungry gazes on him and knowing fully well that his boyfriend would back him up in regards to Adler made Adam straighten. No matter what anyone saw, no matter what rumors began from this, he would never give them the satisfaction of seeing him cowering at the likes of Zachariah Adler.

“Yes, sir, he does very often. It’s highly unprofessional.” Adam answered.

Adler gaped at him. Then, his face started to redden in anger. “I say nothing that is not innately true. Who are you to speak to me with such attitude, you’re just a personal assistant!”

Immediately, Michael took a step forward, nearly bringing him into the older man’s personal space. He towered over Adler and commanded silence with nothing but a look. “You are a maggot burrowing its way deep into something that does not belong to you. And as I’m sure you know, I have very little patience for measly worms trying to tell me how to run my business, Zachariah.” He rumbled.

The look that crossed over Alder’s face was priceless. He went white as a sheet and started sputtering the moment Michael was finished talking.

“B-But-! Sir! I have worked loyally under you for and for your father for over twelve years, no one is better suited for my position. I--”

“You,” Michael cut in. “Are replaceable, though you seem to have forgotten this fact. Your so-called ‘loyalty’ to me and my father does not excuse a lack of integrity on your part, nor does it excuse your apparent habit of verbally abusing employees. In fact, something tells me, Zachariah, that if I began an investigation at this very moment into how you conduct business with your underlings that I would become aware of a multitude of inappropriate behaviors. This is something I cannot allow to continue at my company.”

“Wha - you can’t be serious! I’m--”

“Fired.” Michael finished for him, face neutral. “Please leave this employee only event and empty out any personal belongings in your office. Your services will no longer be needed here.”

Adler sputtered and gasped, red as a beet left out in the sun. When Michael didn’t so much as blink at his stumbled out pleas and indignant rambling on why he should be able to keep his job, Zachariah finally turned and stormed off through a crowd of wide eyes.

Once he was gone, Michael turned to Adam and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you alright? I knew Zachariah could be rude at times but I didn’t know it was to this extent. Had I known, he would have been terminated a long time ago.” Michael frowned hard. He was clearly upset by the fact this behavior had been going on for some time, and by the way he was watching Adam’s face like he was trying to figure something out, he was clearly bothered that some of that vile behavior had been towards him.

“I’m fine, sir.” But Adam was staring back at his boss with an awe struck gaze. His lower lip caught between his teeth as he worried it, keeping his eyes on Michael and not even caring about who saw.

That was the hottest thing Adam had ever seen.

Holy shit.

“A-Actually, I am a little upset. Could we talk about it more in private? I could make an official report.” Adam said, but really he just wanted to get away from all these people. He knew they were being stared at but he didn’t care. He just needed to get Michael alone.

Michael nodded. “Of course.” Then, he turned to address the sea of people around them. “I apologize to everyone for the disruption. However, let this be a reminder that NovakOn does not tolerate abuse or insults of any kind, towards anyone. Please, go back to celebrating and enjoy the rest of the party.” He turned his gaze to Alfie then who looked still as a statue and spoke softer. “Are you also alright? Did he say anything to you?”

Alfie startled for a moment, apparently not thinking the CEO would turn his attention on him like so. “U-Um, I’m okay. He was a little rude but he was worse to Adam, sir.”

Adam tried not to look too uncomfortable as Michael nodded and looked up at Castiel when he came walking over.

“I apologize for the scene, Castiel. Please, ensure Mr. Johnston is fine and have him write an incident report at his earliest convenience if he is willing. I am going to take Adam to the garage for a few minutes to cool down.” Michael said, already moving the hand that had been on Adam’s shoulder to wrap around him instead.

Castiel didn’t bat an eye and nodded firmly. “I will make sure everything is in order here and that Zachariah leaves without incident, don’t worry. You just take care of Adam.”

A thankful look passed over the eldest Novak’s face and then he was leading Adam out of the crowded room.

Adam didn’t really think he needed to be treated like a fragile doll just because Adler was rude to him. But, he also wasn’t going to give up this opportunity to get Michael alone right now either. He was barely holding it together as is.

The second they were in the parking garage, Michael guided them to his car for a bit of privacy.

“Are you really alright?” He asked as he slid into the driver’s seat. He didn’t get a moment to actually be worried however as the second he shut his car door, Adam was crawling over the middle console and smashing their faces together.

The CEO let out an undignified grunt at the sudden assault, but as Adam’s hands cupped his face and dragged him even closer, he could only melt into it.

The PA shifted his body. It was a little bit of an awkward angle but he wasn’t in the mood to care right now. All he needed was Michael and he needed him like nothing ever before. A low moan slipped from his throat even while his tongue was down Michael’s. Eventually he had to pull back just enough to breathe, but even then he mourned the loss of contact.

“Fuck, you are so hot.” He panted. He could feel Michael’s equally labored breath against his chin, drawing him in once more.

“Adam, we are still at work.” Michael tried to look stern, Adam was sure. However, the way his pupils expanded into the far reaches of his iris and the way his large hands crawled slowly up his sides, under his sweater, said anything but.

“Let’s leave then. Take me home. I don’t care about the party.” Adam mumbled even as he surged in for another kiss. When they split apart again, he reveled in the conflicted look in Michael’s eyes. Like he was fighting a losing battle in his own mind.

The older man’s hands squeezed against Adam’s sides. “Fine. Sit down and buckle in. I won’t risk you getting hurt if you try to jump me while I’m driving.” He gave his PA a pointed look.

Excitement thrummed in Adam’s blood and he eagerly sat back. His hands worked faster to buckle in than they had ever done anything in his entire life.

Michael in the meantime straightened again and fixed his rumpled clothes. “Good thing you put your gifts in my trunk this morning. I’m not sure you would be patient enough not to grab me if we had to go back to our floor for them if you hadn’t.”

Our floor.

It was their floor now.

“Shut up and start driving.” Adam grinned.

Michael laughed as he pulled out onto the road.

When they pulled onto a secluded road, Adam was almost vibrating out of his seat. The street was quiet and largely wooded, with only a handful of houses littered in the trees, acres apart from one another. A couple minutes later, they pulled into a paved driveway that split between the trees. At the end of it, a large house came into view. Or more accurately, a small manor.

It was beautiful, carefully maintained and standing proudly amongst the trees. Around it was a well manicured lawn, some trimmed bushes, a stone fountain, and an array of flowers surrounding it.

“Wow!” Adam stared at the building in awe. It was gorgeous, and just as classy and old money type as he expected from Michael. It screamed of elegance, wealth, and an appreciation for the style of older buildings. He felt like he was about to walk into the Great Gatsby or something.

“Do you like it?” Michael asked as he slid the car into the garage.

“Michael, are you kidding? It’s gorgeous.” Adam laughed. He immediately climbed out of the car and back outside. Even in the dim light from the sunset behind the trees, the manor was beautiful. “Is there anyone else here?”

“Hm? No, it’s just us. My brothers don’t live here anymore.”

“Anymore?” Adam asked. He stopped admiring the massive fountain that stood amongst the flowers and looked back to his boyfriend.

“Yes, this was our childhood home. After my parents passed, I kept it. My siblings have their own homes, but they’re nearby. We passed them on the way here actually.” Michael explained.

Adam’s brow furrowed. Then, realization dawned. “All those pretty houses on this street, those are your brothers’?”

Michael smiled. “Yes. Or at least, their main houses. They each have at least one other. Gabriel has one in California, Castiel has one by a lake…” Michael shrugged as he let his explanation trail off. “But their main residences are here, yes. My father owned this entire section of the forest, and with time gifted a portion of it to each of us.”

Adam’s mouth dropped. He knew that Michael came from money. His father had been the CEO of NovakOn before him and, with his death, Michael had stepped up to take his place despite his relatively young age. He didn’t know he still lived in his childhood home though. Part of him wondered what that felt like.

“It’s gorgeous.” He reiterated just to watch the way Michael’s eyes softened in gentle pride. “But…I see something else I want to get my hands on before I get the grand tour.” He was already stalking towards the taller man as he spoke.

Michael laughed again and, somehow, managed to make it to the door and unlock it even with Adam’s hands all over him.

The second they fell through the door though, Adam shoved at him and had Michael pushed against the nearest wall with the full weight of his body. Again a hand cupped his lover’s face, the other tangling in his normally slicked back hair and making a mess of it.

Michael didn’t fight the possessive hold. Instead, he tossed his keys onto a nearby shelf and immediately grabbed onto Adam’s hips to bring them tight against him.

Adam moaned into the other man’s mouth and slowly started to rock his hips. Against him, he could feel the twitch of Michael’s trying to push up into him too.

“Oh, fuck.” He groaned. His head tilted to the side the second he felt the older man’s lips against his skin. Michael nipped and kissed and licked his way under Adam’s jaw and over his throat, leaving a trail of love reddened skin in his wake. “You…you’re so hot. Fuck, the way you talked…god, the way you looked…all that righteous power.”

Michael groaned against his neck, low and deep. The vibrations tumbled through Adam’s chest and made him shiver.

“For you, it’s all for you. Every single part of me. I will never let anyone speak to you like that, ever.” Michael rumbled into the flesh under his ear. He slowly nosed upwards, letting his lips graze against the tender flesh. “I don’t care who it is, they will respect you. They will treat you as you deserve or so help me I will ruin them.”

“Fuck.” Adam groaned. The slow, tender touches were soft but possessive. He could feel it under his skin.

The low tone of Michael’s voice was more akin to thunder in a raging storm than a man’s threatening promise. And yet, his hands were slow and methodical. Offering Adam perfect salvation from the rain.

“Michael,” Adam sighed out a breath. He still rocked his hips slowly, feeling the press of his lover and marveling at how he fit perfectly against him. “Michael…please, I…” When he didn’t finish the thought, the taller man lifted his face from his neck and began kissing upon his face instead.

“What is it, Adam? My perfect Adam…Whatever you desire, you simply say the word and it is yours.” Michael murmured quietly.

Adam almost wanted to whimper. Instead, it came out as a breathy moan.

“I want…to do this right. I don’t want to rush this. I want to be in your bed, to be surrounded by you. I want all of you.” He answered. Adam peered up and found Michael staring back at him intently. Being under that piercing gaze was breathtaking.

“Of course, my dear.” Michael agreed quietly. He slowly extracted himself from Adam’s body, and in turn grabbed one of his hands to lead him. “My room is on the upper floor. I’ll take us there, and give you the ‘grand tour’, as you say, tomorrow. Will that be okay?”

“Baby, that is more than okay right now. Just get me to your room.” Adam chuckled quietly.

As they traveled through the large home, Adam found it nearly impossible to actually focus on anything other than the man guiding him along. Sure, everything was impressive. There were beautiful accents running along the walls and every corner was met with new, beautiful decor. Yet all of its beauty still paled in comparison to Michael.

When they reached his bedroom, Adam shut and locked the door behind him. They might be alone but it only took a couple meetings with Gabriel and Luke to know it’s better safe than sorry.

Michael clearly didn’t mind as the second his hand let go of the lock, he was on Adam and crowding him against the door. For his part, Adam immediately circled his arms around to draw him in closer.

“How do you want this, sweetheart?” Michael uttered softly. He placed slow kisses around Adam’s face before finally landing on his lips, lingering there.

“What do you mean?” Came the somewhat dazed reply.

Michael chuckled, a sinful, deep sound that might’ve made Adam’s knees buckle if he hadn’t been leaning against the door behind him.

“We haven’t discussed this, and while I would love to simply take you, I would hate myself if I accidently hurt you. So,” Michael pulled back enough to look down at Adam, giving him a warm smile that paired ridiculously well with his serious gaze. “How far do you want to take this?”

“You have to ask? I want you.” Adam couldn’t help but return the loving look he was being given. As much as he wanted Michael to just jump his bones right now, the tender love and care he was getting was equally as endearing.

Another chuckle fluttered through the air as Michael leaned in to press another kiss, this time to the shorter man’s forehead. “I take that to mean you would be fine going all the way? In that case, I want you to go lie down for me. No, don’t look at me like that. I fully intend to join you momentarily.”

Adam didn’t particularly want to separate from his boyfriend but the urge to comply was equally as strong. Once Michael stepped away, he was powerless against the pull to listen and headed towards the bed. He was nothing if not a stubborn man though. Before he reached the massive king sized bed, Adam started to shed his clothing. First he toed off his shoes and socks, then let his sweater pool onto the ground next to them. A couple more steps closer to the bed and his belt was gone and his buttons were undone.

By the time he had one knee on the mattress, his button down shirt was wide open and his slacks were annoyingly tight. One glance over showed him that Michael was in a similar state of neediness, the blue of his eyes almost entirely replaced by inky blackness as he watched Adam undress.

“Did you like that? I’ll let you do the fun parts.” Adam grinned toothily at the other man, gesturing towards the pants he still had on.

Michael’s eyes raked over his form, slow and focused. Then, as he watched Adam crawl onto the bedspread and half lean against the pillows there, his own fingers worked to unbutton his suit jacket.

Immediately Adam’s eyes darted to the movement. He shifted in his spot a little as Michael’s suit jacket fell from his shoulders. Then his belt, his shoes, socks, until he too was in a similar state of undress. Adam took in the expanse of toned skin that he could see in the crack between his open shirt. He soaked in the sight, wanting it to last forever, but also wanting more, more, more.

In only a few short strides, Michael was by the bed and digging around in the nightstand beside it. A moment later, he put a familiar bottle and a small box on the table top, and sent a look in Adam’s direction. “Is this still okay?” He asked.

Adam stared at the lube and condoms for a few seconds more. This was real. This was really about to happen. He never wanted anything more in his own life. He nodded quickly and leveled Michael with a slight glare. “If you try to stop now, after teasing me with those, I’ll be very upset with you, sir.”

Michael let out a small laugh and finally, blessedly, joined him on the bed. He crawled over and immediately placed himself over the younger man, hovering over him with a playful look. “My apologies, my dear. I didn’t mean to tease.” He all but purred.

Adam could hardly complain when he was looking up at his boss, desire swirling in his eyes that he was absolutely certain were reflected back in his own too.

Then, the older man brought a hand down and slowly ran it up and down the exposed breach of skin on Adam’s torso, spreading the shirt further to reveal more until his abdomen was nearly completely exposed. He complimented this exploration with small, tender kisses across Adam’s front. In turn, the younger man’s hands started their own journey across Michael’s much too clothed back. Still, he could feel the muscles contract and move under his palms, giving him the urge to sink his nails into the skin there and leave marks.

“Michael.” He breathed, squirming a little.

“Hm?” The other man glanced up from where he was currently leaving a trail of kisses over Adam’s navel. The slow, loving attention was clearly driving Adam crazy in the best of ways. “Impatient, are we? Yet here I wanted to worship you, just as you deserve, my perfect Adam.”

Fuck. Adam couldn’t help but keen a little.

“But,” Michael continued. “If you insist.”

Next thing Adam knew, the remainder of his shirt was being meticulously pulled off and thrown to the floor. After, Michael’s hands were firm but gentle as they slid down the zipper of his slacks and, in a motion that was ridiculously elegant, the older man had tugged his pants and boxers down and off his legs. They too fell onto a thoughtless pile on the floor, yet Michael paid them no mind. Instead, stormy blue eyes trailed all over Adam's newly exposed skin. His hands roamed up and down Adam’s now bare thighs as he sat back on his haunches between them. Under his gaze, Adam squirmed ever so slightly.

He knew his face was flushed a deep red yet he couldn’t help but bask in the feelings that were washing over him.

Michael’s gaze still flickered all over, soaking in every bit and piece of him to be had.

“God. Do you have any idea how gorgeous you are?” He murmured like a prayer. As if Adam were the key to his very salvation.

And what could he say to that other than a stuttered out moan.

Deft hands reached out then to clasp onto his boss, tugging and pulling at his shirt as well. Michael chuckled at Adam’s sudden eagerness to get him naked and obliged his impatient assistant.

With a little help, Adam got Michael out of his shirt and, with a little more effort, his pants as well. Once he had the other man naked and hovering over him, Adam ran his hands shamelessly over the smooth muscle that he had longed to see for months.

“Fuck, angel. I don’t think I’d say that I’m the gorgeous one here.” Adam said quietly.

Michael’s gentle smile grew a touch wider and he leaned down to connect their lips once more.

“You have no idea the way I see you, Adam. You are everything to me. Beautiful, handsome, strong, resilient, kind…I have never met another person like you. I want to cherish you for eternity.” Michael breathed against his lips. He let out a low groan when the man under him arched up and into his body, rocking them together lazily.

That was enough of a hint for him to move his hands, letting them guide Adam’s legs a little bit wider so that he could adjust his position between them. Several prolonged kisses and eager touches later, Michael grabbed the lube and condoms from the bedside table.

Within minutes they were rocking together. Adam clasped onto the strong muscles of Michael’s back, letting his nails leave small, red trails in their wake. The thought that his marks would be on his lover was enough to push him closer to the edge.

Michael, unsurprisingly, was an incredibly attentive lover. He paid attention to every move Adam made, each sound that left his lips, and wringed pleasure out of every portion of his body.

When the older man collapsed beside him, panting just as much as he was, Adam immediately curled up into his side. He pressed his temple against his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his torso, ignoring the fluttering of his heart as it beat wildly in his chest.

Michael too curled an arm around the younger man, tilting his head down to rest his cheek on the soft tufts of Adam’s blonde hair. He would get up to get a warm washcloth in a moment or two. But for now, he would allow himself to sun in the blinding light that was Adam Milligan.

Chapter Text

The next morning found the pair with wrapped limbs and warm, sleepy good morning kisses. After dragging their feet to the bathroom and getting Adam’s suitcase and wrapped gifts from the car after they abandoned them there last night, they dressed for the day.

Simple but comfortable, Adam pulled on a pair of soft, cotton pants, a T-shirt with a print of Sunflowers by van Gogh, and a green sweater. He observed as Michael got ready in clothes more casual than he had ever seen him.

The older man completed his outfit with a simple, red T-shirt that hugged all the right places and a pair of grey sweatpants. Adam didn’t know which one he liked on the man better.

After getting ready, Michael guided Adam down the stairs once more and this time into a new area of the house he hadn’t seen before. They entered an expansive kitchen that almost looked as big as the entirety of Adam’s kitchen and living room combined. It was all sleek, marble countertops and up to date appliances. Nothing like Adam’s kitchen at all, in short.

“Here we are. I will have to start cooking later this evening to get some things ready for tomorrow. For now though, it’s time for breakfast. How does french toast sound? Then I can give you the tour.” Michael pondered aloud, already in the fridge.

Adam was a little nervous about the next day. Today it would be just him and Michael, but Christmas with the other Novak siblings was right around the corner. As much as he enjoyed their company and was starting to consider them all friends, there was a certain…expectation he felt to be the best he could possibly be. Now that he and Michael were officially together and even going so far as to spend his family Christmas together, Adam wanted to make this holiday season the best it could be for Michael and his family too.

“French toast sounds great. Do you need help?” Adam asked.

Michael cast him a smile over his shoulder.

“What’s that look for?” Adam asked suspiciously.

His boyfriend chuckled and shook his head, pulling a few things out of the fridge as he went. “Always wanting to help. I admire that about you, you know?”

As always, Michael never failed to make Adam blush. “I’m just trying to be nice to my boyfriend. Is that so wrong?” He asked, taking the package of brioche he was handed.

“You are kind to everyone. However, I do appreciate when all your attention is on me.” Michael grinned a little as he cracked a couple eggs into a bowl.

“Yeah, yeah. Lucky for you, I don’t want my attention to be anywhere else.” Adam loved the quick look the other man sent him but he didn’t say anything.

As it turns out, Michael did not employ cooks, or butlers, or maids, as Adam had feared. At most he had a cleaning service that came in weekly, but the man himself was quite the chef in the kitchen.

“I often had to feed my brothers growing up, so I learned to cook well.” Had been the explanation when Adam asked him how he was such a natural in the kitchen. For not the first time, Adam was left wanting more information but not wanting to pry.

Michael was a fantastic cook however if Adam had any say so. He devoured his french toast and paired fruit like a man starved. Plus, the coffee Michael had in his house was divine, and two cups of that later Adam was ready for the tour.

“So, this is where you grew up?” He asked as they walked out of the kitchen. They made their way back towards the front door where they came in the night before. He vaguely remembered some of the pictures on the wall and the soft rug under their feet.

“Yes, we did. I’ll show you the bedrooms when we get upstairs. Everyone actually still has their old rooms, except for me. I moved into the master after I inherited this property. My brothers however each still have their own rooms from childhood, on the off chance they decide to spend the night for some reason. You’d be surprised how often Gabriel and Luke can drink themselves into a stupor and no one wants to drive them home.” Michael chuckled as he explained.

They moved through the first floor first and Adam was captivated. Everything was beautiful, and just screamed old and rich. Though the manor looked like it must have been historic to some capacity, it was well maintained both inside and out. He was actually a little thankful it wasn’t some soulless, minimalistic hellscape like rich people often had these days. This was more akin to an old Victorian lord or something, he thought.

In the amazingly spacious living room, Adam’s eyes widened at how welcoming it looked. There was a set of couches, a love seat, and chairs around a coffee table, that much was normal. A large, stone built fireplace to one side and an empty space on a wall where Michael informed him a television was hidden. Apparently just a press of a button and it would come out. Rich people things! Perhaps Adam’s favorite thing about the room however were the giant windows on one wall, almost like those in a cathedral. They were tall and ornate, and peaked at the top of the ceiling all the way from the floor. Outside of them, the backyard revealed more stretch of woods, a pool, and a walkable garden. The evergreens surrounding the home were littered in a dashing of white snow, truly making it was most beautiful winter scene.

Back in the living room, he looked at the tall Christmas tree that sat in one corner near the windows. It was as beautiful and elegantly decorated as he would have expected from a man like Michael. Under it, though, he smiled when he saw the wrapped gifts he had brought in that morning. Michael must have moved them under the tree at some point. Beside them were a few others, ready and waiting to be opened.

“It’s beautiful in here, Michael.” He meant it too. His boyfriend stepped up beside him and leaned in to press a slow kiss against his temple.

“Thank you, Adam. You are welcome here whenever you want.” Michael reminded.

Adam swelled with affection all over again. “We should definitely come back down here later. But I want to see the rest of your house first.” He said, gingerly grabbing onto his boss’s hand and smiling at him.

In turn, Michael returned it with one of his own. “Of course. Follow me.”

Half an hour later, they walked back into the living room hand in hand.

“I can’t believe you have a whole home theater and a library!” Adam laughed. “Like, who has that! I can’t even wrap my head around it.”

“If it helps, you are more than welcome to them. In fact, I know Raphael still has many of his old medical and biology books in a section of the library. We can ask if you could borrow some.” Michael offered. He let go of Adam’s hand when the younger man flopped down on the couch, looking a little confused when Michael didn’t immediately join him. “I’ll be right back. You stay here.”

Adam looked even more confused, but when Michael came back with two mugs of hot chocolate in hand, recognition flickered onto his face.

“I thought you’d like to get into the spirit of things a little more.” Michael said as he set the mugs on the table. Then, he moved over to the tree in the corner and raised an eyebrow. “Are you ready for your gifts?”

Adam sat up a little straighter, curiosity clearly sparkling in his eyes. “You that excited to open what I got you, babe?”

Michael’s head tilted and his smile grew a little. “I am. I admit, though, that I’m even more excited to watch you open up what I got for you.” Adam’s smile was blinding, and that was enough for Michael to make his decision. He grabbed the gifts he had gotten and brought them over to the couch. Then, he grabbed the ones Adam had brought for him and walked with them as he sat only a couple feet away on the other end of the couch.

Beside him, Adam was practically buzzing with excitement or nervousness. Perhaps both.

“Who’s going first? Wait, you go first. I want to watch you open what I got you.” Adam said quickly. He turned on the cushion so that he was facing him and giving his complete and utter attention.

“Very well.” Michael wouldn’t argue about this. Not when Adam was looking at him with those big, blue eyes filled with excitement and anticipation.

“Open the bigger one first. I want to save the smaller one for last.” Adam said suddenly just as Michael’s fingers brushed against the small box.

He paused, glanced up at that kid-in-a-candy-store look, and nodded. “Whatever you wish.” He assured, then moved on to the gift bag instead. He brought it into his lap and slowly pulled away the tissue paper hiding the gifts underneath. When he pulled out the first item, he let out a deep laugh. “A variety set of coffee syrups?” He asked in good humor.

“Do you like it? There’s more in there too! They go together.” Adam urged, motioning with his hand.

Michael chuckled but moved on. Next out of the bag was a container of “gourmet coffee beans: freshly roasted and sustainably farmed”. Adam looked at him expectedly.

“It’s ‘cause you’re a total coffee nut, you know that, right? I’ve never seen someone so dependent on the stuff, and I’ve worked for your brother!” Adam leaned back against the side of the couch as he laughed. He looked back at the bag of beans in Michael’s hands though and calmed into a simple smile. “Seriously though, I know how much you love it and how much you enjoy trying a different variety of flavors. I thought some new syrups and some real fancy beans would be something you’d like. I had to order those off some website in Europe!” He looked ten shades of proud as he beamed at the older man.

As simple of a gift as it might seem on the surface, Michael knew how much care Adam must have put into it. He really was a ‘coffee fiend’ as he put it once, not that Adam was any better. And he really did love trying new varieties, as Adam had quickly discovered upon his morning coffee runs at the office.

“Thank you, sweetheart. Had I known I would have loved to try them this morning.” He said.

Adam shrugged. “It’s fine, we can always try them tomorrow. It’ll be special to start our Christmas day.” He smiled. “Oh, but there’s one more thing in there. It goes with them too.”

“Oh?” Michael peered curiously into the bag and sure enough there was something wrapped carefully in more tissue paper hiding at the bottom. He pulled it out and, after ripping off the blocking paper, let out another loud laugh. Adam joined in too, eyeing the mug in Michael’s hands.

“‘My Boyfriend is Hotter than my Coffee’? Really?” Michael read off the mug and shook his head. Not that he could exactly disagree with that statement.

Adam’s toothy grin was infectious. “Hell yeah he is. Now you have a cool mug to drink all your ultra fancy coffee in.”

“I will truly treasure this gift forever.” Michael deadpanned, only making Adam burst into laughter again.

“Okay, okay, so…last thing. You can open the box now.” Adam actually chewed at his lower lip this time and visibly subdued. His eyes tracked Michael’s movements carefully as he set the coffee related items on the table and switched them out for the little box instead.

The taller man got to work pulling off the offending wrapping paper to get to the prize inside. What he didn’t really expect was a jewelry box, not unlike the one he had gifted Adam for his birthday. However, when he lifted the top, he saw not a necklace but a ring.

He froze.

Eyes wide and unblinking as he looked down at the gift in his hands. It was a simple band, but he could tell the quality was there. Silver, no doubt real, but the words engraved in elegant cursive caught his attention before his brain totally short circuited.

“Quis ut Deus”. He knew those words very well.

When he glanced over at Adam, his eyes were even bigger than before and he was biting his lip so hard it looked like it might cut the skin. Suddenly, blue eyes flickered from the box in his hands to his face and Adam squirmed a little where he sat.

“It’s not, ya know…it’s not an engangment ring, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m not insane.” He laughed lowly, but it was quieter than before. Less sure of himself. “I wanted to get you something really nice, like the necklace you got for me. Except, I didn’t think you’d really like a necklace, and I couldn’t really see you wearing a bracelet…a ring was the only thing I thought you might like. I got it custom engraved to say ‘Who is Like God’ in Latin, you know, like the Archangel Michael.” The longer he spoke, the more he deflated like he was hearing how stupid he sounded to his own ears.

Michael on the other hand only stared at him in greater shock.

“Quis ut Deus, yes. I know it well.” He did, after all. It was the Latin vocabulary of the archangel he himself was named after and a phrase he had been raised with. Only, he was shocked Adam had thought of giving him a ring with it.

Adam still fidgeted, this time twirling the pendant of his necklace in his fingers. “Yeah. So…I don’t know. I guess it’s kinda stupid when I say it out loud, but I wanted to get you a piece of jewelry that meant something to you and connected to your name. Like the necklace you gave me, and the Creation of Adam. But you don’t have to wear it if you don’t li-”

“Adam, I love it.” Michael said quickly.

His blonde head popped up and blue eyes stared back at him in shock. Never would Michael let Adam think that he didn’t appreciate his thoughtfulness, especially not when it was so very clear how much thought he put into this. Besides, he really did like it. It might have been a shock to see a silver ring at first, but now he understood what this was meant to symbolize. It connected them in a way, silver trinkets meant to symbolize who they are. It was divine, in Michael’s eyes. Just as Adam was.

“I love it.” He repeated. He pulled the ring out of its box and slid it onto the fourth finger of his right hand. It fit perfectly. “How did you know my ring size?”

The question seemed to knock Adam out of his stunned daze and he uncurled from his somewhat sunken position a little. “O-Oh! I guessed, actually. I know what my size is, and your hand is a little bigger than mine so I just made a guess. Er, does it fit okay?”

“It’s perfect. Thank you, sweetheart.” Michael moved the box out of his hand and leaned into the empty space between them. Adam dutifully followed suit, allowing Michael to clasp his chin gently between his index and thumb. Michael let the finger now donning the silver ring caress against Adam’s jaw as he pulled him in a little closer until their lips connected. He lingered there, placing several slow, unrushed kisses against the other man’s mouth. When he pulled back, he opened his eyes to see the way Adam’s own eyes flickered dazedly open as if under a spell. It made him smile.

“I appreciate the idea of matching jewelry as well. I didn’t know you were so romantic.” Michael teased lightly.

Immediately the light burned back in Adam’s eyes and he surged forward to kiss him again. “Damn straight I’m romantic. My boyfriend deserves it, after all.” He declared.

Michael shifted closer so that they weren’t so far away, instead letting their knees touch and his arm to fall behind Adam’s shoulders on the back of the couch. “It’s your turn then. Let me be romantic and watch you open your gifts too.” His hand moved just enough so that he could rub his thumb over Adam’s shoulder.

“Sure, okay.” The assistant smiled a little shyly but grabbed the two boxes in front of him.

The first one he shook a little, hearing the curious rattle that came from inside. He eyed Michael for a moment but the passive look he received in turn said that he wasn’t going to spoil the surprise. So, with that, Adam began ripping off the paper and turned the item around in his hands to see what it was.

“Whoa!” His big smile was back as he stared down at the professional grade pencil set in his hands. He already knew these had to cost Michael a pretty penny, not that it would put even a dent in his wallet. But still! “Man, these are so nice. I can’t wait to try these.”

“Mm.” Michael hummed in agreement. He moved his hand again, this time to brush his fingertips through the soft hairs at the base of Adam’s neck. The younger man shivered as a result.

Adam set the pencil set down, still eager to rip them open to try them out right here right now, but he resisted in order to keep opening his presents. The next one was in a bag, and he pulled it out equally as thrilled with the result.

“I know you enjoy your journal, but I thought you may also make use of a larger sketchpad. The papers are meant to withstand more sketching and shading, as I understand.” Michael said as he watched Adam flip through the blank sheets.

“Yeah! I can use this for some of my bigger pieces. I still need to finish drawing all the archangels, all I’ve done so far are studies of them. This way when I’m ready, I can draw them on something really nice.” Adam beamed, all teeth and adorable freckles.

“That sounds wonderful, sweetheart.” Michael agreed readily. It wasn’t much of a surprise at all that the first thing Adam thought to do was to use his new sketchbook to draw something that would please others.

Adam nodded in turn and set the sketchpad to the side along with the fancy pencils. The final present was wrapped with a neat little bow. Adam pulled it onto his lap and began pulling at the paper eagerly. When he pulled the gift out of the shredded paper, he let out a little gasp.

In a simple, black frame rested an artist’s rendition of buildings Adam knew very well. Flat, brick buildings lined all together, old shop signs over their doors, and the street running along at the bottom. It was downtown Windom. It even had the old, worn down movie theater with its nearly ineligible signs at one end. Even more than that though, Adam’s eyes fixed on the only two people painted into the scene. A short blonde woman and a young man, walking side by side.

“Is that…?”

“You and your mother, yes.” Michael answered softly. “You loved the painting of Como Park so much, I thought you would like something similar of your actual hometown so I had this commissioned.” He explained.

Adam however felt wetness in his eyes, his gaze lingering on the two figures walking casually down the streets of Windom, just like they used to do all those years ago. Then, he was being pulled into a warm chest and held so gently it made the lump in his throat worsen.

“Michael, this is…” He started quietly. How could he ever hope to put what he was feeling into words? If ever there was a doubt of how perfect Michael Novak was, it would be shattered in this very moment. “This is beautiful. Thank you.”

“I’m pleased that you like it…I suppose we both had gifts that we were a little worried about giving today.” He replied.

Adam let out a watery chuckle and nodded his agreement. “Yeah, seems so. I really love this though, I can’t wait to hang it up with my other pictures of mom.”

“I’m glad, sweetheart.”

Later in the evening, after letting Christmas movies run continuously on the massive television, Adam joined Michael in the kitchen to help him prepare for the following day. Apparently, he was in charge of making a large roast with seasoned potatoes, carrots, and onions or else “Gabriel will skin me alive”, as Michael put it. As such, the eldest brother got to work preparing his portion of the meal that would need to be prepped that night, then allowed to cook slowly throughout the night.

The other Novak siblings were tasked in bringing their own dishes to share, something Adam had never really experienced before. Had he known, he would have liked to bring something. When he voiced this, however, Michael assured him it was unneeded and that he was helping him, which definitely counted.

“We’ll make cookies tomorrow. Gabriel always brings sweets, but he also always eats half of them himself. So, I’ve learned to make something extra for dessert just in case.” Michael told him. “You can help with those too, if you want.”

With the roast prepared and entering the slow cooker, Adam followed Michael back up the stairs to the master bedroom. Walking into it without immediately wanting to jump his boyfriend’s bones was a little weird, but he’d get used to it. Instead, he now took this time to admire it for what it was. The room was just as large and beautifully decorated as the rest of the house, except it distinctly had the hint of Michael’s favorite cologne lingering in the air. He was silently glad that all the family photos were outside of the bedroom. The last thing he wanted to think about next time he and Michael were going at it was his family staring back at them from the past.

He fell into bed easily, having stripped down to a pair of pajama pants and forgoing a shirt. Michael was his own personal furnace anyway, as far as Adam was concerned. Speaking of, the older man joined him mere moments after and wasted no time wrapping his arms around him tightly.

“Are you ready for tomorrow?” Michael asked.

Adam shifted closer until his head was tucked under Michael’s jaw. “I think so, yeah. Just a little nervous.” He admitted.

“Why are you nervous? You already know my brothers like you.” Michael sounded amused at the idea.

Still, Adam huffed. “I know but this is different than just eating at the Roadhouse. This is more...personal, I guess. I mean, I’m kinda inserting myself into your family time.”

“Adam.” Michael sighed quietly. A moment later, slow fingers brushed through his hair and lazily scratched. “You're not inserting yourself into anything. I invited you because I want you here, because being around you makes me happy. My brothers know this already, and they’re excited you’re coming. So, don’t worry about ‘inserting’ yourself. Okay?”

Between the words and the soothing motion of Michael’s fingers in his hair, Adam was powerless to argue.

“Yeah, alright.” He agreed. Sleep was rapidly starting to overtake him, making his eyelids heavy and weighted. “For the record, I’m always really happy when I’m around you too.”

His answer was a long kiss pressed to his forehead before sleep overtook him.

The next day, Michael finished up the roast dinner just before his siblings started to arrive.

Raphael was the first to get there, prompt as always. Castiel followed not far behind though and Adam helped both of them carry in boxes and bags of colorful paper to set under the tree. Luke and Gabriel arrived together, almost twenty minutes after they were supposed to even though they literally lived right down the road. Michael complained about it but his words were lost on the pair, as always.

As the house started to fill up with chatter and noise, Adam found himself starting to relax more. Once they got into their normal conversations, it almost felt like it did when they were all at the Roadhouse together. As promised, each Novak brought with them a dish or two to pair with Michael’s roast. When it was all set together on the table, Adam was honestly impressed. It had been a long time since he saw this kind of feast for a holiday. Not since he and his mom used to go to his grandparents’ house for thanksgiving.

“It might not be your burgers, kid, but Mikey is a great cook. He makes this roast every year.” Gabriel said as he plopped down in one of the dining room chairs.

Everyone was filing in and taking a seat, and Michael led Adam by the hand to sit beside him near the end of the table. “I make it every year because Gabriel threatens me with physical violence if I say I don’t want to.” Michael sighed.

“It’s so good though!” Gabe exclaimed, already helping himself to a hearty portion of it.

“It does smell amazing. Sure beats microwave macaroni which is what I probably would’ve had if I hadn’t come here.” Adam shrugged. He was spooning a serving of homemade mashed potatoes and gravy onto his plate as he spoke.

Michael glanced at him and sent him a small smile of thanks, which Adam readily returned tenfold. Just getting Michael to smile at all was reward enough for him.

After a few moments of companionable silence as everyone finished filling their plates, Castiel cleared his throat.

“I didn’t see the two of you return to the company party after you walked out. I assume that you left together?” He asked, eyeing both his oldest brother and Adam with a twinkle in his eye. The bastard knew exactly what he was doing bringing that up in front of Luke and Gabriel.

Naturally, they took the bait.

“Oooo! A company scandal between the CEO and his PA! How saucy. You know, that would be a good plot for one of my porn fi-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” Michael poked his fork at Gabriel’s shit eating grin and glared.

“He’s not wrong.” Luke pointed out with a shrug. “Besides, the bigger question here is, where’d you two love birds go, hm? Did you fly off into the sunset and elope under the stars? Just to come back here for Christmas so we wouldn’t get suspicious?”

Michael rolled his eyes so hard it looked painful.

Adam snorted. “You’ve been watching too many bad Christmas rom-coms, man.”

Luke’s grin only grew. “Maybe you’re right, kid. Though, I couldn’t help but notice, Mikey over there is wearing a nice, new ring and I know for a fact he didn’t buy it for himself. So, you over here showering our big bro with gifts already?”

Adam did feel his face pink a little bit. But, he also wasn’t ashamed of it either. “We exchanged presents yesterday, yeah. We wanted to do it just the two of us, and I’ll just watch while you guys do your family stuff later. If that’s cool.”

This time, Raphael glanced up and cocked his head. Yep, definitely a family trait. “But you will be opening your gifts as well this evening.”

Adam shook his head. “Nah, Michael and I already gave each other the gifts we got. So, I opened mine already. Sorry if that comes off rude, we didn’t mean it like that or anything…” Maybe they should have waited, though he did really love his private moment with Michael.

Raphael shook his head though. “You still have gifts to open. We brought some for you as well.” He informed.

Adam froze and stared as his mind tried to do a mental reboot.

“We…?” He finally croaked out. Around him, he watched the other Novak siblings. Castiel was smiling so big it was nearly blinding, and Luke and Gabe had grins of their own.

“Mikey told us you were gonna be here. What? Did you think we were gonna leave you out?” Gabriel asked.

“Plus,” Luke butt in. “You finally got our big ‘only ever thinks about work’ bro to actually live a little. Seriously, I think we all owe you. I don’t know when the last time we saw Michael this happy…if ever.”

This time when Adam blushed, he wasn’t the only one. Beside him, Michael’s face was as impassive as ever yet his cheeks were starting to burn a slight pink. He was still a little confused about one thing though. “You guys really got me presents? But I…I didn’t know we were doing that, I didn’t bring anything for anyone…” Besides Michael, obviously, but that was a given. The siblings all gave various nonchalant responses though.

“That’s alright, kid, we don’t really care about that.” Gabe responded.

“Yes, that’s true.” Michael spoke again, this time looking down at Adam almost shyly. “Besides…I may have had the forethought to know that they would bring gifts for you, but I didn’t want you to feel pressured into doing the same. So, that’s part of the reason I asked you to help me pick out several of their presents. So that they are technically from both of us.” He admitted quietly.

Adam stared at him like he had two heads. “Really?”

“Yes. I apologize for not explaining that, but as I said, I didn’t want you to feel pressured.” Michael sighed, cringing slightly. He looked like it was actually paining him to even admit to somewhat deceiving Adam.

And maybe Adam should be more upset about being kinda lied to. But, he really wasn’t. He could see what Michael was doing and why he did it. He was being kind, in his own unique way, just like he so often was. Adam couldn’t be mad about that. “It’s alright, babe. You don’t have to look at me like a kicked puppy right now.” Adam smirked.

Michael’s eyes immediately lit up a little more when he realized his boyfriend wasn’t upset with him.

“Ooh, got bumped up to ‘babe’ now, has he? Our little Mikey is growing up so fast. That dick must’ve been really good.” Luke interrupted the tender moment in possibly the most untender way possible.

Without missing a beat, Adam swiveled his head towards the other blonde and leveled him with a deadpan stare. “It was the best dick I’ve ever had, actually. Best night of my life.”

The drink Michael had been sipping on was suddenly being spurt across the table. Everyone else’s eyebrows were nearly at their hairlines as they gaped at him. Then, laughter flooded the dining room as Luke and Gabriel burst into uncontrollable howling. Soon after, Castiel joined in and even Raphael had one of the biggest smiles on his face that Adam had seen thus far. Michael was at least five shades more red now and the poor man was busy cleaning up the water he had accidentally spit everywhere only moments ago.

Suddenly, Gabriel smacked his hand down on the table mid crazed laughing fit. “You two owe me twenty bucks! I told you they’d fuck before Christmas!” He pointed a finger towards Raphael and Castiel.

The two accused simply nodded, still grinning, and pulled out a crisp $20 each and passed them down the table. Gabriel snatched them up and stuffed them unceremoniously in his wallet.

“You made bets!?” Michael half screeched. If he got any redder, Adam might start to fear he’d pop.

“You betcha! Luke refused to bet against me though. He said you guys were gonna go at it like rabbits the second you got here.” Gabriel cackled. “So…did you?”

“That’s none of your business!” Michael sputtered.

“That’s a yes! Ha!” Gabriel threw his head back in a brand new fit of hysterics and Michael could only groan.

Adam had mercy on him and reached over, letting his hand rest upon the taller man’s arm. When Michael glanced over, Adam offered him a small smile and a content look in his eyes. It felt so good to be around a family that could just…be happy together.

His soothing must have worked because Michael took a deep breath and visibly relaxed his shoulders. Then, he sent one last glare towards his brothers before he started eating again.

Adam lifted his spoon again but paused. Maybe he could turn this around a little bit and spare Michael anymore probing questions from his siblings. A devious thought formed and it was decided. “Like I said, best night of my life. Actually, since you’re so curious, I don’t mind telling you. So, Michael does this really great thing with his tongue where h-”

“No!” Each of the Novak siblings shouted at once. Even Raphael.

This time when the laughter started up, it was Michael and Adam who were convulsing with it.

Later in the living room, Michael made it his own personal mission to pass around the presents from under the tree. After a few times of insisting he could do it on his own, he finally relented and let Adam help.

“Man, you’ve got him so whipped.” Luke grinned as Adam plopped a small box onto Luke’s pile.

Adam laughed and ignored the glare Michael sent his brother’s way, continuing to disperse gifts until the bottom of the tree was empty again. When he sat down on the loveseat next to his own pile, Michael was quick to join him. Their legs pressed together even though there was more than enough room for them to be apart. Yet neither of them mentioned it.

Adam was surprised by the amount of presents he got. Maybe not as much as the siblings, but the handful of boxes and bags by his feet were nothing to shy at either. A little embarrassed still from being surprisingly included, he lifted up the first box on top. It was from Gabriel, and he already was wary before he even started pulling the paper off. He half expected it to be some sort of toy that jumps out and scares you, or even worse a glitter bomb, or some kind of talking toy without an off switch that he’d have to beat with a hammer to get to shut the hell up.

Instead of that though, he was surprised to see a small card on top when he opened the box. He opened the envelope and a simple but pretty Christmas card was revealed. He opened it, silently grateful it wasn’t one of those ones that made noises, and read the words it said.

They were simple, but made his heart stop for a moment.

“Welcome to the family, kid.

- Gabe”

Once again, Adam was reminded of just how serious and thoughtful Gabriel could be when he wanted to be. Adam swallowed the lump in his throat and glanced in the other man’s direction. Gabriel was smiling at him from one of the chairs across the coffee table. It was the same knowing smile that he had given him outside that night at the charity event.

It was at that moment that Michael leaned over a little to read the card stuck in Adam’s hands. His brows raised a little, and then his face quickly softened. He too looked over at his younger brother with an appreciative smile before returning his attention to Adam. He reached over, caressing one side of his face, then using that same hand to draw him in a tiny bit closer as he pressed his lips to his temple.

“He means it, you know? Gabe doesn’t say things like that lightly.” Michael whispered into his hair. It was probably obvious that Adam was getting a little overwhelmed with emotion again, so the older man kissed him again and gently took the card out of his hands. “Let’s hope the rest of his gifts are just as kind. I’d be careful opening whatever else is in that box.” He joked. Or at least was probably joking. Mostly.

Adam took the out when it was given and nodded with a shaky smile. “Yeah. Okay.”

The rest of the gifts turned out to all be really nice, save one pair of lace underwear that Gabriel thought would be hilarious to put in Adam’s things. It backfired though when Adam started talking about how he could wear them tonight for Michael, and that was enough for Castiel to jump in and stop the conversation all together.

After all the gifts were opened and the trash cleaned up, everyone sat together with hot chocolate in hand and the fireplace going only a few feet away. It was the most scenic Christmas Adam had probably ever seen. He spoke a little to Raphael about the gift he had given him, a biology textbook that was apparently one of his favorites in college. Adam was thrilled with it all the more to know it was one that Raph personally enjoyed and recommended.

In the midst of their conversation though, he was catching bits and pieces of whatever Michael, Gabe, Cas, and Luke were talking about.

“I’m not saying that I don’t miss dad, Mike. I’m saying that if he were here, he would’ve thrown a fit about Adam being here and ‘upsetting the Christmas tradition’ or whatever.” Luke said, exasperated.

“He may not have, we don’t know that.” Michael defended immediately. He was rigid where he sat against Adam, and it only made him more concerned. The turn of attention must have compelled Raphael to also turn his head to tune into what his family was saying.

“Uh, pretty sure we do. How many times did one of us try to get the old man to let us bring our boyfriends or girlfriends over? He always said no.” Gabriel noted.

“Those were different.” Michael frowned.

“How?” Luke rolled his eyes. “Just admit it, dad cared more about tradition than letting us be happy. You should know that better than any of us.”

Michael’s fingers twitched and his face hardened more. Adam reached over and placed his hand over his wrist, feeling the elevated thump of his boyfriend’s heartbeat at his pulse point.

“Dad was big on tradition.” Castiel sighed. “He loved us, of course. But…he wasn’t one to deviate from what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it.”

“Uh, yeah. It was always his way or the highway.” Luke agreed. Blue eyes looked all around the room, but they were somewhere else entirely. Likely this same exact place, but a different time long ago.

“He was our father. He had his reasons.” Michael grit.

“And yet you always worshiped him like he was god. Well, he’s not and he’s dead now. So when are you gonna finally stop defending how shitty he was, Mike?” Gabriel asked boredly.

Michael on the other hand fumed. He stood up abruptly, successfully ripping Adam’s hand from where it had sat placatingly on his arm, and clenched his fists at his sides. Without a word, Michael turned and stormed out of the room. A door slammed somewhere down the hallway, and Adam remembered vaguely that that was the direction of the library.

Silence weighed heavily in the air, where the only sound was the consistent crackling of the fireplace.

Finally, Gabe sighed and shook his head. “Dammit, this happens almost every year.”

“You should know not to bring up father.” Raphael chided.

“Well, he’s been dead for years. How long is Mike gonna hang onto him without admitting to himself that he wasn’t a good dad?” Gabriel frowned and crossed his arms.

“Just give him time. He never stays angry for long. He just needs a little time to cool down.” Castiel said quietly. Then, his blue eyes cast over to Adam and he could see the apology swirling around in them.

Quiet rained down on them once again.

“Could I go talk to him?” Adam asked gently. He couldn’t stand the thought of just sitting there and not checking on Michael. He didn’t want to disturb him if he really did just need some time alone, but every instinct inside of him was screaming at him to go check.

Castiel looked unsure. “I don’t know, Michael often likes to be alone when he’s upset…”

“He likes to be away from us.” Luke corrected. He peered at Adam for a few quiet moments, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. “You though…Mike’s never had someone other than us to comfort him, and when it comes to dad, he doesn’t really like to talk about him with us. But you…you’re different. You might actually get him to talk instead of shutting down completely.” He said thoughtfully.

That was a fair point. Adam didn’t know the full story or why all the other Novak siblings seemed to agree that their father was pretty terrible. He also didn’t know why Michael was apparently the only one to so readily defend him. He wanted to though. He wanted to know all of it.

“I’ll go talk to him.” He decided quickly. He stood up, leaving his mug on the table, and walked down the hallway in the direction that Michael had gone. When he creaked open the library door and peeked in, he found his boyfriend pacing back and forth in front of a different fireplace roaring with heat. He slipped inside and quietly closed the door behind him.

Now that they were alone again, Adam tried to be careful about how he approached. He had never seen Michael this upset before, furious he’d even say, and he didn’t want to make it worse.

“Michael.” He ventured softly once he was only a few feet away.

The result was immediate. Michael stopped pacing and stared at Adam like a deer stuck in the headlights. His face morphed from surprised to a mix of pain and regret. The pinched look he gave him made Adam want to run up and just hug him. He was still being cautious, though.

“Adam, I am so sorry for my outburst.” He said quickly. Clearly he was hit with the sudden realization that he had shown a part of himself that he hadn’t hoped to, and on Christmas no less.

Adam however didn’t care about any of that. He stepped forward again until he was right in front of the other man, reaching out and clasping their hands together and squeezing.

“It’s fine, angel. Everybody gets mad sometimes.” He reminded quietly. “Did you…want to talk about it?” He wouldn’t force it, but he knew better than most how just talking could heal the wound. Michael had been there to listen time and time again for him, he was more than ready to return the favor.

The taller man deflated with a long sigh. “It’s complicated.”

“We have time.” Adam replied.

Michael eyed him almost warily, like he was afraid Adam would bolt and never come back. That was a ridiculous assumption of course. If anything, Michael was going to be stuck with Adam forever, at least if he had any say in the matter.

“I want to listen. I want to know why you’re upset, if you’re willing to tell me.” Adam added after the moment of silence.

Michael sighed again, but this time shifted their hands so that they were properly holding each other. Slow, easy strokes of his thumb caressed against Adam’s knuckles.

“My brothers and I do not share the same view of our father.” He started lowly. Adam nodded encouragingly. “He was an incredibly busy man, and spent most of his time working. As you are aware, he was the former CEO of NovakOn.”

Adam nodded again.

“My brothers came to…resent him for how often he stayed in the office. He was rarely here, and as the oldest it was me who ensured that everything ran smoothly while he was away. It was my duty.”

“Oh, that’s why your brothers sometimes say you’re more like their dad than their brother.” Adam noted softly. He saw the slight wince on Michael’s face and squeezed their hands again. “And why you always had to cook for them and help them with their homework.”

Reluctantly, Michael nodded this time.

“Yes. If not me, then who? I was the oldest. Luke wasn’t responsible enough to take on the role of caregiver. He’s mellowed out with age, but growing up he was a nightmare. It was the worst when he was a teenager, and he ended up getting into a lot of trouble. Eventually, Luke stopped calling our father ‘dad’ for a long time after he ended up in juvenile detention. I don’t think he started calling him 'dad' again until after our father died.” Michael looked pained, like just saying these things was burning his tongue. Adam knew better than most though about shitty, absent fathers.

“Why did going to the detention center make him want to stop calling him dad?” He asked.

“Because our father never came to visit him there because he was disappointed in him. Luke was there for over a year, after an unfortunate outburst in his anger. We didn’t know it at the time but Luke was undiagnosed with bipolar disorder. He’s treated for it now, and is doing much better. But as a teenager it brought him a lot of hardship. Our father didn’t believe me at first when I told him what the psychiatrist at the detention center had said about the diagnosis.” Michael heaved out yet another sigh. He looked grim. “Eventually I convinced him to approve Luke for treatment. He started medication and regular therapy, which continued after he got out. He got better with time. Our father never acknowledged it though, and Luke stayed angry at him for it for a very long time.”

Adam stared up at Michael’s pinched expression. He was all hard lines and unrelenting frowns. Adam hated seeing such a look on his handsome face.

“But you made sure Luke got the help he needed. You might have even saved him, Michael.” Adam pointed out. He stepped a little closer until their chests touched, just to have the contact. “Gabe doesn’t seem to like your dad any more than Luke does either.” Even Raph and Cas didn’t, though they were less vocal about it.

“Gabriel has always been upset by our father’s long absences. When he wasn’t spending long hours at the office, he was away for days or weeks at a time on business trips. There were several holidays and birthdays that passed without him.” Michael admitted and shook his head. Adam didn’t have to ask, he already knew in his heart that those holidays and birthdays, and probably all others, were only celebrated because Michael organized them instead of their father. “Raphael and Castiel also suffered from not seeing him often. They are less openly resentful than Luke or Gabe though.”

Adam could see that. They may be upset, but they weren’t going to dwell on it as much either. There was one question he couldn’t shake though. “Where’s your mom in all this? Wasn’t she around?” He asked. Another grimace crossed Michael’s face and Adam almost wished he hadn’t asked.

“She passed shortly after Castiel was born. We were all so young, we don’t remember much of her. Castiel and Gabriel don’t remember her at all.” He answered simply.

Oh. That made sense, but it didn’t make it sting any less. Adam chewed at the inside of his cheek for a moment. He wanted to wipe that sad look off Michael’s face but he couldn’t. All he could do was be here.

“Do you miss her?” He knew the feeling of having a mother long gone, but at least he had nineteen wonderful years with her. Michael and his siblings didn’t even get that.

“I think I miss the idea of what she could have been.” Michael answered. “I don’t remember enough about her to miss her, not in the sense you must miss your own mother. But, I do wish I had gotten to know her more, and that my brothers could have grown up having her.”

Always thinking of his younger siblings. It was Michael’s default mode. Who, though, was there to think about him first instead? Adam would make sure he was the one, so Michael would always have someone putting him first for once.

“That makes sense. When I miss my mom, I try not to think about the end. I think about all the good times we had. Maybe you can do that instead. If you remember any times you had fun together, think about those instead. And when you think about your brothers, don’t think about how they missed out on her. Just remember all the good times the five of you had together instead. All the good times you made happen, by the way. Because despite her being gone and your dad always being away, you made sure your brothers had everything they needed. You made them happy. You stepped into roles you should have never had to as a child, yet you did anyway and you did so amazing, baby. So amazing. And you’re still doing it! You’re still giving so much, and I can see how much your brothers love you. And, maybe too much was put on your shoulders when you were too young, but you still fought on and made something beautiful out of it. The way your brothers look at you, they love you so much. So, no matter whether your dad was around or not, you made sure you all had each other, and baby, I think that’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen a person do. You are so good. So, so good, and you deserve so much.” Adam spoke softly but with an unwavering conviction. He wouldn’t let Michael stand here regretting a past he couldn’t change. He gave everything he had to his siblings his entire life and he deserved the world for it.

A new wave of emotion passed over Michael’s face as he listened. First shock, and then in a moment, he was crumbling like ancient ruins. Adam quickly gathered the taller man into his arms, and for a moment Michael didn’t seem so big and imposing like he usually did. As he curled into Adam’s chest and heaved out a watery breath, he busied himself by gently running a hand through Michael’s blonde hair. He didn’t say anything about the wetness he felt against his collarbone or the way the other man’s hands were trembling where they clasped desperately at the back of his sweater.

Instead, Adam stood there, holding Michael and letting him feel things he was absolutely certain he had spent years repressing.

“I’m right here, my angel. My wonderful, loving angel. I’m here.” He whispered against Michael’s temple until the trembling started to waver and the sounds of his crying began to slow. Adam’s other hand ran soothing lines up and down his back, using every piece of him to bring comfort to the man in his arms.

After several more minutes, Michael’s form finally began to emerge from where he had been curled into Adam’s chest. He was stiff from the awkward position as he straightened out, and his face was stained with tear tracks and his eyes were red, but still he was the most beautiful person Adam had ever seen.

He reached out and framed the other man’s jaw with his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away the excess tears on his face. “How do you feel, baby?”

“Better.” Came the immediate answer, even if his voice was rough. “Thank you.”

Adam’s smile grew a little and he leaned in to peck Michael on the lips. “Do you want to stay in here for a few more minutes or are you ready to go back out to the living room?”

“Perhaps…I should go to the bathroom to wash my face. However, I’ll join everyone in the main room directly afterwards.” Michael said quietly.

Adam nodded. “Alright. I’ll meet you back in the living room, but if you need me again you call me, okay? I’ll be right there.”

“I know. Thank you, sweetheart.” This time it was Michael that leaned in to bridge the gap between them, pressing his lips to Adams for a long, drawn out kiss. When he pulled back, he smiled. “I'll be right there.”

With that, Adam walked with Michael out of the library and towards the bathroom only a couple doors down. When they separated, Adam walked alone back to the main living space and smiled sadly at the eyes that immediately fixated on him. “Michael will be back in a minute.” He told them.

“Is he doing okay?” Castiel asked warily.

“Yeah, he’s alright now. We talked.” Adam went back over to the loveseat but didn’t sit down yet. It didn’t feel right without Michael there yet.

“Man, I didn’t mean to make him upset.” Gabriel sighed. Apparently Michael hadn’t been the only one ruminating.

“Maybe not, but it happens with families sometimes, right? Just talk to him. You’ll forgive one another.” Adam offered out. In response, Gabe sent him a wary but appreciative smile.

When Michael did come back into the room a couple minutes later, he looked much more put together than he did before they left the library. Immediately Gabriel was up and out of his seat, walking over to his eldest brother and giving him the biggest hug Adam thought he had ever seen.

Michael, though clearly surprised at first, returned it.

When they pulled back, Gabe smacked his brother on the arm and poked his chest. “No matter what we say about dad or how much we complain about how we grew up, you’re still the best big bro any of us could ever ask for. You know that, right?” He grinned.

Michael faltered for a moment, and stole a glance at Adam who smiled encouragingly. Then, he slowly nodded and smiled down at his younger brother with a fatherly warmth.

“Yes. I know.”

Chapter Text

Luke, Raph, Gabe, and Cas left late in the evening. After the initial disruption earlier in the day, no other had come around to ruin the mood. For that, Adam was grateful.

Once the others were gone, they found themselves back in the upstairs bedroom. Here, Michael slid down to his knees between Adam’s opened legs where he sat at the edge of the bed.

He leaned back on his hands, staring down at the older man kneeling there below him with a dark twinkle in his eye. In this position, he looked more akin to an incubus than the angel he was named after. The way Michael raked his hands up and down his thighs, making them spread wider made Adam shiver.

Michael was an incredibly attentive and patient lover. Perhaps even a little too patient. By the time he got Adam stripped of his pants and finally, blessedly, put his mouth on him, the younger man was a panting, babbling mess of “please, Michael, please” over and over.

Love bites littered the inside of his thighs by the time Michael finally gave him the pleasure he desired. And fuck, fuck, fuck! He should’ve known a man that could command an entire room of people with just his voice would have such a talented tongue.

Adam panted out hot breaths, quick and half strangled, as one hand held on for dear life to the sheets below him. The other was threaded tightly in strands of blonde hair, disrupting their usual perfectly neat flow. The uncharacteristic, disheveled look it gave Michael only helped push Adam even closer to the edge until he was chanting his boyfriend’s name like a prayer.

When it was over, Adam fell backwards against the bedsheets, trying to catch his breath. He could feel more kisses being pressed into the sensitive insides of his thighs over and over, then up, up, up. Slowly Michael’s lips connected with his exposed skin higher and higher until he was all the way back up to Adam’s neck where he nibbled at his throat.

Now with his boyfriend hovering over him, being all lovey dovey and very obviously painfully hard, Adam smiled dopily. Well, he couldn’t have that, could he? He craned his neck, exposing more of it for Michael to kiss and mark up as he pleased. At the same time, his hand moved southward to pull at the elastic of his lover’s sweatpants. God bless grey sweatpants season.

Michael’s breath hitched the moment Adam’s hands breached the elastic of his pants and wrapped around him. His hips twitched at the steady rhythm the younger man started up, making him groan loudly.

The sounds Michael let out almost directly into his ear made Adam start to pant again. “Come on, sweetheart. I’ve got you. Yeah, that’s it.” Adam murmured into the other’s hair.

The second the words left his mouth, Michael’s hips were moving more desperately, brushing against his abdomen and rocking against the rhythm he had made with his hand. Adam could tell by the way Michael’s thrusts were starting to falter and his groaning was getting louder that he was almost there.

When it happened, Adam smiled against the tufts of blonde hair tickling his chin as the body over him went boneless and slumped over him. He chuckled, retching his arm free and using both to hold Michael close against his chest. After a few moments of catching his breath, the older man looked up and Adam took the opportunity in a heartbeat. He grabbed a hold of Michael’s face and began peppering small, loving pecks all over his face. His lips, his cheeks, his nose, even his eyelids which made the man have to close them and simply accept the attention. When he was thoroughly and unashamedly kissed all over, Adam grinned down at him.

“Ready for a shower, big guy?”

The initial response was a brief grunt, but Michael slowly climbed off of him and helped him up once he was on his feet.

A hot shower was a blessing and, now clad in flannel pajamas, they crawled back into bed together as if they had done it a million times before.

If he were lucky, Adam really hoped they would.

He wasn’t particularly excited to go back to work a couple days later but it wasn’t a total loss. This time when Adam arrived at the office, it was in the passenger seat of the CEO’s car. He didn’t even have to run down to the coffee shop today because Michael had prepared both of them tumblers of steaming, gourmet coffee with one of the syrups Adam had gotten him. Needless to say, he thought both turned out to be great Christmas presents.

He had, shockingly, received a “Merry Christmas!” text from Sam, and by proxy Eileen apparently, while he was staying at Michael’s. Dean even messaged him too, though he wondered if that was because the original message from Sam had actually been sent in their ‘Dean hates Michael to a weirdly obsessive level’ group chat that hadn’t been used in weeks.

Either way, he had been shocked to get anything at all. And, as much as he wished he was at times, he wouldn’t consider himself much of a spiteful person. Petty, maybe. But not spiteful. So, despite Michael’s questions about it, he had actually gotten Sam and Dean gifts. He might not be willing to meet up with them outside of work right now to give it to them, but he had convinced Michael that the best course of action was for him to use his lunch break that day to go down to Castiel’s floor and to Legal to quickly drop off the gifts. Despite the distaste on his face, his boss agreed, which would make it a hell of a lot easier on Adam if anyone asked if Mr. Novak knew that he was bothering his brothers while they worked. He’d be quick.

When noon came around and Adam clocked out for lunch, he popped into Michael’s office to let him know he was going. He punctuated it with a kiss, just to get rid of that grumpy look on his face.

“Tell me if they act out of line. I was serious about no one being allowed to verbally abuse you, or anyone, especially not while in the office.” He said with a frown.

Adam shook his head but smiled. “I know, I know. Believe me, you’ll be the first one to know, so long as I don’t throw them out the window myself.” That put Michael to a little bit more ease, thankfully. So, Adam took the opportunity to slip out, grab the two gift bags, and punch the numbers on the elevator.

His first stop was Sam since he was farther away. This way Adam could climb the elevator back up to Dean and only be one floor away when it was time to go back. When the doors opened with a ding, he stepped out onto the Legal floor. He actually had a few things for Kevin, Charlie, and Alfie too, but they all planned to meet up later in the week for their regular game night and would exchange things then. Knowing that would make it much less awkward if he accidently ran into his friend down here too. He didn’t, though, and made it to Sam’s tiny office without an issue. He knocked and pushed his way inside without waiting.

“Hey, Sam.” Adam greeted a bit plainly. He lifted one of the gift bags before setting it onto the wooden desk in front of his brother. “Merry Christmas. Open it.”

Sam looked all sorts of caught in the headlights from staring at Adam’s sudden presence to the gift he was presented. Eventually, his brain must’ve comprehended what was happening and he tentatively took the bag in his hands.

“Man, thanks, Adam. I, uh, don’t have your stuff with me here at the office. I can give it to you later, maybe drop by sometime?” Sam offered with a sheepish smile.

Adam seriously wondered if his brothers had actually gotten him anything, but that wasn’t the point right now. “Sure, we’ll figure it out later. But open your gift, I'm on lunch and I still gotta go give Dean his.” He said.

Sam nodded, still looking all kinds of awkward and unsure, but slowly ripped the tissue paper away and pulled out the little box out of the bag.

“Oh, man! Adam, is that me?” Sam’s smile looked a little more genuine this time around as he took in the figure in his hands. It was a funkopop of him as a Ravenclaw, just like Kevin had suggested a while ago.

“Yep, that’s you. Kev told me you were a Ravey. Thought you might like one of those.” Adam shrugged.

“Dude, that’s seriously so cool. Thank you. I’ll text you later so we can meet up and I can give you your gifts too.” Sam grinned. It was almost brotherly.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get mushy on me.” Adam snorted. “Look, I’ll talk to you later. Actually text me this time, kay?”

Sam looked bashful again at that but nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

Adam nodded, waved, then left the office for the elevator again. The climb back up several floors to Castiel’s was boring, but it’s not like it wasn’t something Adam did every single day to get to Michael’s. When he stepped out, he waved at Alfie when he saw him from afar but made a pointy motion and mouthed a quick ‘sorry!’ since he couldn’t stop to chat.

Nice as ever, Alfie only smiled and nodded in understanding. Adam took that moment to wander towards Dean’s office. It was bigger than Sam’s by a fair margin, but somehow even less personalized.

“Dean,” he said after opening the door.

The man in question startled when he glanced up from his computer. “Adam? What are you doing here?” He asked.

“I came to drop off your Christmas present. And before you ask, yes Michael is fine with me being here.” Adam said as he placed the bag on the desk.

Dean eyed it like it was a crazed animal for a moment. As if he seriously couldn’t comprehend its very existence or why it was there in front of him right now. It would be funnier if Adam wasn’t sure it was because Dean thought he hated him now.

His older brother took the bag and threw the paper off to the side to get to what was underneath. He pulled out a new Led Zeppelin T-shirt and an old tape of theirs that Adam had come across while thrifting. Since Dean was probably the only guy left in all of America who actually still listens to cassette tapes in his impala, snatching up one of those rarities was a no brainer. Even if his brother was a jerk sometimes.

“Dude, that’s awesome!” It had been a while since Adam actually saw Dean smile that big.

“Yeah, I thought they were good finds.” Adam shrugged. “Anyway, I just came to drop those off. My lunch is almost over so I gotta get back, but Sam said something about getting together soon. I guess we’ll text you.”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks, kid.” Dean said, stuffing the shirt back into the bag for safe keeping.

“No problem. Just let me know.” With a short wave, Adam turned back around and continued on back to the top floor.

The second he stepped out, he saw Michael leaning against the counter of the kitchen. Their eyes locked and he smiled with a cocked head, a worried look in his eyes. All the tension in Adam’s body flooded out of him in an instant as Michael opened his arms to invite him in.

Much to his genuine surprise, Sam and Dean did actually come over the following week to give him his gifts. Though Adam still wasn’t totally convinced they didn’t buy them until after he gave them theirs, he didn’t voice that. He also had to assure Michael that he didn’t need to come over. As much as he loved having his boyfriend around, he’d rather avoid the inevitable dick measuring contest that Dean would try to initiate upon seeing him.

Thankfully, Eileen accompanied Sam and if the Winchesters were scared of anyone, it was her. Sam especially, as one look from her and his proverbial tail was between his legs. Eileen was as pleasant as the first time they had met, and this time was kind enough to surprise him with a box of cookies she’d made as a late Christmas gift. Adam wasn’t exactly one to deny food, so she was a winner in his book. Perhaps it was her presence that made bearing his brothers’ so much easier this time around.

“Cas said you guys had a lot of fun over Christmas. I’m a little jealous you got an invite but I didn’t. I’m dating a Novak too.” Dean damn near looked pouty.

“You were with Sam and Eileen that day. Plus, Michael was hosting. If it had been at Castiel’s house then I’m sure you would’ve been invited.” Adam left the ‘because you try to fight Michael every time you see him’ left unspoken.

“Yeah, yeah. Still hurt.” Oh, Dean was definitely pouting now.

Adam rolled his eyes, yet a smile crept its way onto his lips regardless. He hadn’t smiled because of his brothers in…forever. “I’ll be sure to tell Cas that the next time I’m invited to something without you.” Adam said.

“Hey!”

It was easy to get back into the new routine of things over the course of the next several weeks. After spending a few days at Michael’s home over the holidays, Adam started to come over more often. Likewise, Michael too joined Adam in his apartment, never once complaining about the sheer magnitude of their different lifestyles.

It was also remarkably easy to figure out when Michael’s birthday was once he acquired all of the Novak siblings’ personal numbers. Strangely, his and Luke’s birthdays were incredibly close to Dean’s which made gift buying a little weird, going from brother, boyfriend’s twin, to boyfriend, but Adam didn’t think about that too hard. Knowing he was an Aquarius, thanks to Gabe’s less than subtle probing at the Roadhouse, Adam was prepared to shower his boyfriend with gifts, kisses, and a very good time in his bedroom later that evening.

Come February shortly after, Michael surprised Adam with a trip for Valentine’s Day.

“Where are we going?” He was immensely curious. He had gotten into Michael’s car without even knowing where they were headed, though the flowers and chocolate handed over was a pretty nice prerequisite wherever it was.

“Somewhere special I’ve been wanting to take you for a while.” Michael answered, vague as ever. He was currently munching on a little espresso infused chocolate that Adam had gotten him. The coffee addict in him truly knew no bounds.

“Uh huh. That’s what you said last time I asked.” Adam whined.

“And it is what I will tell you the next time too. Now hush, it’s a surprise for a reason.” Michael grinned over at him.

Adam could do nothing but obey and wait to see what this mysterious surprise was.

Eventually, they pulled into a parking garage in the next city over, and Michael grabbed Adam’s hand to guide him onto the street.

“Now will you tell me where we’re going?” He asked.

“We’re almost there.” His frustrating, but also amazing and wonderful, boyfriend said instead.

When they arrived in front of a large, glass building that had corners going in every direction possible, Adam gaped. The sign on the front of the building hung proudly for all to see, including him.

“An art gallery?” He gasped. When he looked back at Michael, eyes huge and unbelieving, the man had the audacity to look smug.

“They’re having a travelling exhibit on Michaelangelo and his work on the Sistine Chapel that I thought you might want to see. It looked interesting.” Michael shrugged with one shoulder, as if he wasn’t currently rocking Adam’s entire world.

That was okay though. Adam knew how to rock his tonight.

Something that didn’t change as the weeks turned into months, opening the door into the Spring, was the persistence of rumors. Adam didn’t hear many of them himself since he was only rarely off of the top floor, but Kevin and Charlie who worked around more people kept him updated. Or, more accurately, they got pretty heated over them and would bitch about them during game and movie nights regularly.

Since he and Michael weren’t exactly being secretive about their relationship, it wasn’t so much the rumors about him sleeping his way to the ‘top’, whatever that meant, that bothered him. The ones that really dug their claws into his mind and stayed with him were the ones about Michael.

Michael was the most kind, genuine person Adam had ever met. He was attentive, loving, and overall the most amazing boyfriend he could have ever asked for. However, most people weren’t privileged enough to see that side of him, even now. Michael was still the stone faced, elusive CEO that stayed most of his days on the top floor of the building, not directly interacting with anyone outside of meetings and his PA. Adam knew this, yet the rumors still hurt. He knew that Michael wasn’t coldhearted or cruel. He knew that he wasn’t getting taken advantage of by him. He knew that Michael wasn’t the type to extort or threaten him with termination in exchange for a sexual relationship.

He wanted to scream from the rooftops.

He didn’t bring it up with Michael much anymore though. Adam had once, but his boyfriend had readily assured him that he really didn’t care about the rumors, just as he’d done the first time they got brought up after the PR floor incident. Though the ones that focused more on Adam as a money hungry slut had bothered Michael more than any about himself. Unfortunately, tracking rumors and reprimanding employees for trash talking had its complications. There was only so much they could legally do, especially without proof. So, they had to endure.

And while Michael wasn’t bothered by the words that painted him as a vicious monster, they still got to Adam. After all, the rumors had never been this bad until he came along. Right?

What if the news caught wind of it and it became a scandal? He wouldn’t know how to handle that. Was he supposed to come out on live TV and say that yes, he was dating his rich and powerful CEO boss, but no he wasn’t coerced? How well would that even go over? He knew he wasn’t bribed into this relationship, but even if he said it, he knew many wouldn’t believe him. How could he convince the world of the truth when it had already decided to believe the lie?

And, if he was being honest with himself, he knew the rumors about him were getting to him too. It didn’t exactly feel good to hear whispering behind his back every time he stepped out of the elevator and onto one of the lower floors. Or knowing that the stares he received from curious eyes were more worried about whether or not the hickies on his neck were actually out of love and not just him sleeping with Michael for extravagant gifts.

It…

That is what it was, wasn’t it? Love.

He loved Michael.

He had come to that realization a while ago. He wasn’t sure if it started when the man had kneeled down before him as he cried after giving him his birthday presents, or maybe when he fired Adler to protect his honor, or even when he took him to the art gallery on Valentine’s Day.

Or, maybe it had been in the smaller moments. Each tiny smile that Adam now recognized as significant, or the genuine compliments and questions about his artwork and writing, or each time Michael remembered that he liked extra cream in his coffee.

If Adam had to pinpoint the exact moment he fell in love with Michael Novak, he’d be at a loss. Instead, he’d argue that he had been falling in love over and over for the better part of the last several months and only realized it after lying in bed one night, feeling Michael’s slumbering breath under the palm of his hand where it rested on his chest.

Ever since this revelation, Adam had become both overly ecstatic and horrendously nervous. Was he really worthy of being loved by Michael? His sweet, perfect Michael. He didn’t even know if Michael felt the same way, they hadn’t said it to each other yet, so maybe…

Could he really say that he loved him when just his very existence brought shame and nasty rumors to Michael’s front door step, though? He didn’t know what to do with all the guilt of it. For his part, his beautiful and amazing boyfriend never said anything even remotely shaming. No, he was always as loving and affectionate as Adam knew he didn’t deserve.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Michael asked.

Adam snapped out of his thoughts, realizing he must have been zoning out again. That had been happening a lot lately.

“Oh, sorry. Just thinking.” He answered, same as always. “Hey, I was thinking about getting a car really soon. If I showed you some of the ones I was looking at, do you think you could help me decide?”

Michael still looked a little worried, but with a new duty to complete in order to make Adam happy, he was eager to complete it. As always. “Of course, Adam. Come here.”

The younger man complied in an instant, snuggling up against Michael’s side on the couch and letting his arm drape over his shoulders. “Okay, so here are the ones I’ve been looking at. They’re nothing super fancy, but what do you think?”

Michael took the phone when it was handed to him curiously. He swiped through a few saved photos of mostly four door sedans, humming all the while. “These are good, Adam. I think any of these would be a nice fit for you, but this one seems to have more space on the inside.” Michael stopped scrolling when he landed on one of the options.

Adam peeked over at his phone and nodded. He did have a good point. “That’s true. I would like to have plenty of space. Looks like there’s plenty in the back too. So, ya know, if we ever wanna go crazy back there or something.” He grinned victoriously at the shocked look that crossed over his partner’s face.

“Adam!” Michael huffed out a laugh. And hey, that wasn’t a ‘no’ to the idea.

“What? You don’t like the idea of christening my new car in the backseat?”

Michael’s face twisted into something conflicted. “I didn’t say that…” He grumbled after a moment.

In return, Adam laughed.

Adam ended up with the car Michael had picked out. He was ecstatic about finally, finally having his own vehicle. Not that he didn’t love being driven around by Michael in his fancy four door, but it still felt good. Now, he could even return the favor and insisted on being the one to drive them around for the better part of the next two weeks without pause after he first got the car.

Naturally, Michael humored him and even joined him on a “ride to nowhere, angel!” as Adam had called it. In reality, it really was more or less that. A simple ride for the sake of it with no destination, where Adam enjoyed his new car and the company of his boyfriend. And, if they ended up back at said boyfriend’s extremely private home where Adam could finally make good on that promise to use all that extra space in his back seat, well, that was neither here nor there.

Spring hit with a flourish of colorful flowers and blossoming trees. With it, springtime coffee flavors for Adam to get in the mornings to bring back to Michael so they could try them together before work started. Something exciting to try really could not have come at a better time in Adam’s opinion.

The warmer weather and blooming flowers brought in more than just seasonal flavors, after all. The office was abuzz with busy workers, even more so than usual. Statistical reports, financial prospects, executive meetings both in and out of the office, and yearly goals for the next several months were all concerns on Michael’s plate at the moment. Every time Adam walked into his office for one reason or another, the man looked haggard as he studied over whatever graphs or numbers he was grueling over.

Adam couldn’t do much to help him other than bring him his coffee, which was always a must for Michael, and do his assisting job without fucking it up.

First things first though, Adam delivered freshly brewed ambrosia in a paper cup straight to his boss’s desk, just like normal. Once it was plopped down, he leaned over for a kiss, another change in his routine that he and Michael had readily developed immediately after they started dating.

The older man mindlessly grabbed the large cup without even looking at it. His pinched expression was fixed on the papers scattered across his desk, more messy than Michael would typically allow. But, when he saw Adam drawing closer for a kiss, he quickly turned his head and accepted it, all without ever really taking his eyes off the excel sheet he had been studying.

Adam frowned at the nonchalance of the kiss but didn’t say anything. It wouldn’t be fair to Michael if he did. He’d been stressing for the better part of several weeks now with the first quarter almost over and the start of the second right around the corner. This also meant he was spending more time at the office and less time together outside of it.

It wouldn’t last forever though. Once the second quarter started and things calmed down a little, Adam was confident they’d go back to making time to hang out.

“I got us each a lavender latte with honey sweetener. It’s one of their new Spring flavors.” He informed.

What he got back in response was a short grunt. Michael didn’t even look up at him, or the drink as he brought it to his lips. He sipped it loudly, which was unusual, and Adam took that as a nonverbal ‘go on’ and frowned more. This was fine. Michael might be his boyfriend but he was still his boss. He still had a job to do, just as much as Michael did. Or, rather, Mr. Novak at the moment. He wasn’t really Michael in Adam’s mind when he got seriously into work mode.

Slumping a little, Adam left the office and turned towards his own instead. Maybe on his lunch they could talk more, that is if Michael even left his office long enough to make it to the kitchenette. At this rate Adam wasn’t even sure about that.

However, work was work and he had plenty to do. Michael had already sent him a list of things that needed to be done for the day, on top of all his daily duties that he could perform with his eyes closed at this point. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t actually see Michael at all for the next few hours.

Come lunch time, Adam sat himself on the couch in the foyer as he usually did, sketchbook in hand and a half eaten lunch on the table in front of him. He almost didn’t hear it when Michael came walking in until he heard the coffee maker turn on. Adam glanced over the back of the couch and saw his boyfriend staring blankly at the coffee machine like he could make it work faster by sheer force of will. He couldn't, of course, and Adam fully intended on using these blessed few moments of relaxation to his advantage.

“Do you want to come sit with me for my lunch?” Adam asked. Michael’s attention snapped over to him and the puppy dog look he was trying his best to give. At least he hoped that was the look he was giving.

Then, the CEO sighed and shook his head. “I can’t. I have to finish this report before 1:30.”

Okay. No biggie. He expected that.

“Okay. But, we’re still good to go to that restaurant tomorrow though, right? You promised since we couldn’t make it the last two weeks.” And by that he meant that Michael had cancelled their plans twice in a row because he was drowning himself in work. If Adam wasn’t seeing it first hand himself, he would still be able to tell from the dark circles growing under the older man’s eyes.

Michael cringed with the slightest grimace. He had forgotten. Again.

“I’m not sure.” He answered after a few seconds had passed. “I’m very busy, Adam.”

The PA knew that. He did! He respected his boyfriend’s work ethic and his need to complete his tasks. But, he didn’t want him to neglect himself either. Michael was the type to work himself into an early grave, and Adam wasn’t about to sit around and watch that happen any time soon.

“But this is the third week in a row if we cancel again. You need to take some time off, Michael. You haven’t taken a single day off in weeks.” It wasn’t healthy. Even Castiel had mentioned he was getting worried. The unspoken consensus between the Novak siblings appeared to be the fear that Michael was turning into their father, always working without any time for family or friends. Or, in this case, a relationship.

Michael frowned. “I have work to do, Adam. I can’t start slacking, I have deadlines.” He stated firmly. It was his no bullshit, CEO voice, but Adam had grown used to that. It was also significantly less intimidating when he’s shared said CEO’s bed.

“You’re working yourself into oblivion, babe. Take one afternoon off, we can even leave the office late. I don’t mind. But all this coming in early, leaving late, then still working even when you get home until you go to bed and then wake up to do it all over again is not good for you. It's been going on for weeks.” Adam returned the slight glare he was being given.

“I have no choice, Adam. I have deadlines, I can’t just ignore them.” Michael scoffed and swiped his hand in the air in a frustrated motion. The second the coffee machine finished, he pulled the mug out and dumped creamer in it. With that, he turned to leave and return to his office, but Adam’s voice stopped him again.

“Seriously? I talk to Cas, you know. He said you’re freaking out for no reason. All your numbers look good! You’re ahead with your deadlines too, he told me. He’s worried about you…I’m worried about you. Don’t you want to spend time with me?”

Michael whirled around so fast coffee splashed out, landing onto his hand and coat. He cursed, wiping the burning liquid off his skin and glaring down at the small stain forming on his suit.

“Of course I-!” He started only to stop and take a long, deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, he was giving Adam that same, impassive look. “Of course I want to spend time with you. But, the only reason we’re ahead right now is because of the hours I’ve put in recently. If I fail to continue finishing my work in advance, eventually I will fall behind and th-”

“It’s one afternoon, Michael!” Adam threw his hands up in exasperation and groaned. “One afternoon won’t hurt. I’m not even asking for a full one either. Just a couple hours after work, enough to get to the restaurant, eat, talk a little, then leave. That’s it. I haven’t really seen you in almost a month.”

“You see me everyday.” Michael squinted at him.

“You know what I mean. We haven’t had any dates, I haven’t come over ‘cause you’re working the whole time, and you haven’t come over to my place either ‘cause, again, you’re working. You hardly even text me back because you're so engrossed in your work. Your own brothers reply to me more than you now.” Adam pouted. He didn’t want to be needy. He didn’t want to whine. But a few weeks worth of having his boyfriend not act like his boyfriend was…exhausting. Especially when he was taking his work way too seriously. Castiel really had said that everything was good. Michael was just taking it all too far, like their father had, apparently.

“My brothers don’t have half the amount on their plates as I do.” Michael hissed. It wasn’t the first time Adam had heard that tone from him, since they were a couple and couples squabble sometimes, but it was rare. It still stung a little.

“Yeah, but they still know you and they’re worried. We all are.” Adam insisted. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to help any.

“I don’t need you to worry, I need you to do your job and not distract me from mine, Mr. Milligan. That is what you are here for.” Michael snapped, turned, and stomped out of the room back towards his office.

Adam stared at the empty spot Michael had just been standing moments ago like a fish out of water. His eyes were big and his jaw dropped open. Mr. Milligan…? Michael hadn’t called him that seriously in private in…months? Before Christmas, he was sure. It was like a jolt to the system and left him feeling cold.

After his lunch, Adam went right back to work. He didn’t dare go into Michael’s office to try and talk to him. If he wasn’t even willing to speak to him at lunch, he sure as hell wasn’t in the mood to allow for any distractions now. Unfortunately, he did still have to face Michael when the 3pm meeting occurred. It was awkward to sit by his side and not be able to talk before the meeting or even throw him a smile like he usually would. At least once the meeting actually started he could just mindlessly type and zone out for a while. The one thing that did make this one a little better was that Castiel was there with Alfie.

Like usual, when everyone was dismissed, the younger Novak stayed while the rest of the meeting goers filed out and to the elevator. Adam took his own moment to talk to Alfie, but even he had to go sooner rather than later. After walking Alfie to the elevator and waving as it closed behind him, Adam made his way back towards the conference room.

“-ause you’ve been acting like an ass for the past few weeks, Michael! It’s not fair to us and it’s not fair to Adam!” Castiel hissed under his breath. He wasn’t being very quiet though. He also wasn’t usually one to get riled up, so he must’ve been genuinely upset.

“I’ve already spoken to Adam, he knows I’m busy. Just as you are and should be getting back to work.”

Castiel let out a frustrated groan. “There’s busy, and then there is neglecting yourself and those around you. What you’re doing isn’t healthy, Michael. You’re acting like dad right before he di-“

“Don’t!” There was a bang, and Adam realized it must’ve been a fist on the table. “Do not use our father’s death against me. I expect that kind of behavior from Lucifer or Gabriel, but not you, Castiel.”

There was a tsk and then the scrape of a chair. “Perhaps I wouldn’t compare you to our father’s final days if you weren’t acting just like him!”

Adam didn’t realize the sound he was hearing now were footsteps hurrying closer. He scrambled to turn away and run so he wouldn’t be caught eavesdropping, but the door opened to reveal two pissed off Novaks before he could escape.

Castiel looked a little surprised and maybe even a little embarrassed, like he had forgotten he and his brother weren’t truly alone. Michael on the other hand only glared harder.

“Are you not finishing those notes from the meeting?” He asked sharply. Adam almost flinched. For a disgusting moment, he actually thought he sounded like John when he got really angry. Dangerously calm on the exterior, like right before the wave comes crashing down and swallows everything whole.

“O-Oh, sorry. Yeah, I’m on it. Was just coming to grab the laptop.” Adam feigned a smile and rushed past them into the meeting room. In his peripheral vision, he was pretty sure he saw Castiel giving his older brother the stink eye.

Adam didn’t take the time to ponder that though because he snatched the laptop bag and started heading for the door again. He couldn't help himself though. How could he? He had Castiel here this time who he knew agreed with him about how badly Michael was treating himself. He should take the opportunity when it was given.

“He’s right, you know? You are working too much.” He ventured to say as walked back to the door.

Michael’s expression impossibly soured even more. “Mr. Milligan, I should remind you that your job is to be my assistant, not my therapist.”

This time when Adam gaped at him, Michael stood his ground. Castiel on the other hand looked downright furious.

“Alright, no.” The younger Novak leveled his brother with a death glare, arguably the scariest one Adam had ever seen on the man’s face. “Just because you’re stressed out doesn’t mean you take it out on him, or anyone for that matter.”

“I’m not taking my stress out on anyone, I just want my assistant to do his job.” Michael grit out. He started walking away, but Castiel was hot on his trail. Just outside of his office, the siblings were caught in a staring contest with enough pent up anger to power a nuclear reactor at this point. Then, Michael huffed and pushed the door open.

It was true, he was Michael’s assistant. And yet…that wasn’t all he was. He was his boyfriend too, but it hadn’t felt like it at all the past few weeks. If even his siblings thought he was acting weird then maybe there was more going on. A sense of dread chilled his blood. Michael had been insistent on referring to him as his assistant and his name lately. No ‘boyfriend’ or pet name in sight. He also barely looked him in the eyes or talked to him, opting to focus on work instead despite Castiel saying all was fine.

Was Michael…sick of him already?

Adam wanted to throw up.

Before both Michael and Castiel could shut the door behind them, no doubt to continue this stalemate of a conversation, Adam awkwardly cleared his throat. It was enough to make both men pause and look over at him.

“I-I,” he stumbled over the word. His voice was suddenly hoarse and he had to force it out to continue. “I’m going to take my fifteen minute break. I’ll make sure to finish up those notes as soon as I get back, Mr. Novak.” He wasn’t looking at either of them anymore, he couldn’t. Instead, he numbly turned to walk down the hall to his own office. He heard Michael’s door bang shut a little too loud and cringed. So this was the infamous CEO everyone feared, wasn’t it? Maybe he should just be grateful that it took this long for Michael to want to be rid of him.

His steps faltered and he grit his teeth.

Adam stood in front of his office door and froze. He had pictures of him and Michael in there. He had little gifts Michael had given him and a couple books he got from that used bookstore downtown. The entire space screamed that he was in love. In love with the man that was going to kick him to the curb sooner rather than later.

He swiftly turned on his heel and kept walking. He refused to go to the conference room or the smaller meeting room. Both were way too close to the not-so hushed argument happening behind Michael’s door. He also didn’t want to hide out in the bathroom where one of the Novaks might walk in on him.

That left one door, at the very end of the hallway. Michael’s ‘brainstorming room’.

He actually didn’t know what was in there. Michael never used it, probably because ‘brainstorming’ sounded a whole lot like ‘slacking’ to a guy like him. Whatever, all the better for him right now since that meant there was next to no chance of Michael finding him in there. Not that Adam expected him to take even a second off his work to bother checking on him.

Fuck it.

Adam rushed over to the mysterious door and thanked a god he wasn’t sure he believed in when it wasn’t locked. He slipped inside and shut the door behind him, glancing around.

It was simple, but surprising. There were some lounge chairs and low tables around. It sort of looked like a casual meeting room, except the chairs weren’t facing each other. There were some plants too and both walls on either side were massive windows pretty enough to rival the ones in the foyer. As much as he would normally love to curl up in here and get to sketching the city at these new angles, he didn’t have the heart at the moment. So instead, he slunk over to a chair and pulled his knees up to his chin.

Again, like what always happened when these moods hit, Adam had the distinct urge to call his mom. It burned in his chest knowing that he couldn’t and he held himself tighter. It was a poor substitute to the warm hugs she always used to wrap him up in. He didn’t care that he was nearing thirty, he still wanted her. She died when he was nineteen, and in his mind he would always be that skinny, round faced kid with the best mom ever when it came to thinking of her. He didn’t have anything else.

He couldn’t even talk to anyone right now. He sure as hell wasn’t about to tell Sam or, god forbid, Dean about this. His brother would come storming up here to either knock Michael’s teeth in or to tell him ‘I told you so’. Maybe even both. Neither of which were very appealing. He also didn’t want to bother Kevin, Charlie, or Alfie at work right now, or make them think badly of Michael as a boss or a boyfriend. So they were out. He certainly wasn’t about to bitch to Michael’s own siblings about how their big bro was being a douche either. So that left…nobody.

Maybe Dean was right. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to exist?

The thought curled into his chest and simmered there, making him ache yet he couldn’t find the willpower to reach in and draw it out. Did he really want to anyway? He was constantly fighting that nagging in the back of his mind, threatening to drag him under. Sometimes it was easy, sometimes it was hard, and sometimes it felt damn near impossible.

What if it was right and he should let it fester? What good has fighting it ever really done for him, anyway? He still lost his mom, he still quit school and his dreams of being a doctor, he still ended up stuck with two brothers that would rather him not be there, he still became a burden to those around him, to those he loved.

The thought of that alone made him have to fight off a choked off sob.

Was that all he was? A burden? He knew deep down that Michael could do better. He was a goddamn CEO for fuck’s sake. Adam wasn’t the real deal, he was a blip in the life that was Michael Novak. A side character to the rich and powerful. A distraction from his dull day to day, though now that was coming to bite him in the ass now that his boss decided he didn’t need that anymore. Adam shoved the balls of his palms into his eyes and clenched his teeth.

Fuck, what the fuck?

A part of him always knew things with Michael wouldn’t last. How could they? Michael was so far out of his league they weren’t even playing the same damn game. It was laughable really. No wonder people talked and made up rumors. He almost couldn’t believe they were together either.

Rubbing at his eyes now, Adam dropped his hands and let them fall to his sides. It was then, as he stared blankly out into the room, that he registered another door on the far wall. The hell was that? A closet maybe? He got up and upon closer inspection, there were a couple signs on the door. Odd but he paid them no mind. Instead, he pulled it open and…there was another door? But this one was at the top of a handful of concrete steps and was made of steel.

Adam frowned and walked the short distance up the steps.

He wasn’t sure what he was about to walk into but he decided what the hell. It’s not like Michael could get more pissed at him if he went snooping, right? Well, actually, he probably could, but Adam was hurt and ticked off so he didn’t care. He pushed open the steel door and gasped the second he stepped through.

He walked farther out and stared in awe at all the buildings around him. He had never seen anything like this, even from the windows. But here? He could see everything. He was on the fucking roof of NovakOn! He could see the entirety of the city below, though just getting close to the edge made him want to puke. So, instead he kept a safe distance and walked around exploring instead.

There was a massive water tank up there, some metal boxes of something he didn’t know, probably electrical stuff, the air vent…nothing of particular care to him. Just this view. He was shocked he had never thought about how anyone got up on the roof for maintenance work before since Michael’s office was on the top floor. Now, he realized, this must've been the maintenance door.

“-dam? Adam?” He heard vaguely below. It was Michael.

Adam quickly checked his phone. He still had three and a half minutes left on his break, so if Michael was trying to tell him he was late he could shove it. He didn’t answer and decided to lean on the edge of the water tank with his arms crossed instead. He wanted to enjoy this insane view while he still had it.

“Adam?” The voice was much clearer now and considerably more concerned.

It almost made him want to call out, but he didn’t.

Eventually, Michael’s head popped out of the steel door with a dire look in his eyes. It was a far cry from the pissy jerk he had been earlier.

“Adam!” Michael gasped the second he saw him. He shoved out of the doorway and walked up to him. Adam didn’t move. “What are you doing out here? No one but authorized personnel are allowed to come up to the roof. Even I’m not really supposed to be up here. How did you even find this?” Michael looked a little out of sorts by this development but no less drained. Then, he sighed.

Adam didn’t say anything. Rather, he squinted at him with a mix of apprehension and confusion. Michael didn’t seem as ticked off as he did only a few minutes ago, and if he was being honest it seriously threw him off. He was talking like his genuine self again, or at least close enough.

“I’m on my break.” Adam finally answered, arms still crossed and still making a point to frown. “Is that an issue, Mr. Novak? Or do you not want me to have those either now?”

At the use of his last name, Michael visibly cringed. He had the decency, or the audacity, to look hurt by it. It almost made Adam want to apologize right then and there, but he stood his ground, stubbornly as ever.

“Adam…please, let’s go back down so we can talk. We shouldn’t be up here.” Michael asked, didn’t order, Adam noted vaguely.

As much as he didn’t really want to talk right now, he also knew this was the first time in a while that his boyfriend had actually initiated anything of the sort. Then again, the pit grew inside his stomach. Maybe Michael was about to break up with him or even fire him because working with your ex would just be way too awkward.

“Adam?” Michael asked after he didn’t say anything for a while.

At that, he snapped out of it enough to steel himself for the inevitable and nodded. “Fine. We can talk, Mr. Novak. My break is about to be over anyway.”

With that, Adam pushed off the water tank and started stalking back towards the open door, Michael silently behind. When they made it back down and the CEO had closed both the steel door and the one leading to it, they were left in the Brainstorming room. Adam didn’t know how to feel being in this silent room with Michael right now. He was a mix-match of emotions ranging from relieved, hopeful, sad, pissed off, and fearful. Despite how things had been going lately, he didn’t want Michael to leave him. He loved him too much for that.

“Adam,” the older man started as he walked over to him. He looked more like a person trying not to startle a bear than the scary CEO he had just been only half an hour ago. “I am so sorry.”

Oh. That’s not what Adam had expected. He blinked and looked over at him warily. What was he sorry for? Breaking his heart into a million pieces like he was surely about to d-

“I shouldn’t have treated you that way. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that either. You’re right, I have been working too much and the stress of the quarter ending has been a lot, but that’s no excuse for my behavior towards you.” Michael sighed and shook his head. Was he…disappointed? Though it looked more towards himself than at Adam. “I sincerely apologize, I never should have talked to you like that or neglected our relationship or your attempts to talk to me.”

This time, Michael looked even more uncomfortable but he took a step forward, hesitantly, and slowly reached for Adam’s hand. He let him take it, but didn’t squeeze back. He was still way too confused. Michael seemed to get that, or at least just wanted to fill the looming silence.

“I am so sorry. Castiel lectured me in my office after you left on your break, and…he made me see things from your perspective, as well as his own. I have been ignoring you way too much and I never should have. If you still want to…I’d be happy to take you to that restaurant you wanted to try tomorrow like we planned. And, maybe we can do something afterwards too. You’re welcome to come over, we can watch a movie or…” He trailed off, still staring uncertainly at the younger man when he still didn’t react or talk. “Adam?”

But Adam didn’t know how to to respond. He didn’t even know how to think right now. A million different thoughts swirled through his head and each one of them ended up with him more confused and shocked than before. In the end, the only thing that was a constant within the stream of unorganized thoughts was:

“You’re…You’re not breaking up with me?”

Michael’s eyes must’ve nearly popped out of his head they shot open so wide. “What? Of course not, why would you-” He paused, then scrunched up his face like he was in pain. “Is that what you thought this whole time? That I wanted to leave you?”

Adam looked down at the floor. The way Michael was talking, it was like it had never even crossed his mind. And maybe it really hadn’t? Though that too was hard for Adam to comprehend right now.

“I mean…you stopped wanting to spend time together, even here on my lunches, and you haven’t wanted to hang out or go on dates or even text me, and…you haven’t called me anything but my name in at least two weeks.” Adam could feel the emotion rising in his throat and behind his eyes all over again, so he kept them firmly planted on the floor off to the side. He hadn’t realized how hard in love he had fallen with hearing Michael call him ‘sweetheart’, ‘my dear’, or ‘beloved’ until he had stopped. Adam had found his old man pet names endearing, just another sweet quirk to add to the list of who Michael was when he was really allowed to be himself. But then they stopped, replaced with his name, and today…well today he was hardly even ‘Adam’ either, he was ‘Mr. Milligan’. It hurt.

When the silence stretched on for several beats, Adam finally risked a glance at Michael to see his reaction. Was he being unreasonable? Would he think he was crazy or annoying? But when he looked, he didn’t see anything like that on Michael’s face. Instead, he looked…broken. Like Adam had just ripped out his heart and drop kicked it off the roof and into the streets below.

“Adam…” Michael’s brows were furrowed together and his eyes were strained, like he didn’t know what to say. Maybe that’s why instead he pulled Adam closer and wrapped him so tightly in his arms, holding on for dear life. “My dear sweet, wonderful Adam, I am so sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t realize I was hurting you so badly. If I had known that you actually thought…” He stopped and tightened his hold around him. “Had I known, I never would have continued behaving like I was. I thought you knew, my poor mood lately hasn’t had anything to do with you. It has been entirely work related, but Castiel told me how badly I have been taking my stress and frustrations out on you and how poorly I’ve been treating you. I hadn’t even realized how bad it had gotten until…” He sighed again, pressing the side of his face against Adam’s temple.

Adam didn’t know what to say either. This wasn’t how he thought this conversation was going to go, and he definitely didn’t expect Michael to apologize. Then again, he had been kind of an ass lately, but Adam had assumed it was because of him…but apparently not. He took Michael’s words and actions and twisted them into something even nastier than the older man intended, and that was his own fault, not Michael’s.

“I didn’t realize I was really hurting you until I saw the look on your face when you said you were going to your break. I thought you were disappointed because I cancelled our dates, but I didn’t know you thought I wanted to leave you. Adam, my most precious, of course I don’t want to break up with you, and again I am so sorry I made you think that way. I…I will understand if you don’t want to go out tomorrow evening. If you need some time or some space away from m-”

“No!” Adam suddenly jerked, pulling his head back to stare directly at his boss. Their faces were so close it was actually a little hard to look at him but he didn’t budge either. “No, I don’t want space or time away from you! That’s all I’ve had for the past, like, month. I’m sick and tired of having time away from you.” He held tighter onto the back of Michael’s suit jacket, and only then realized that he had wrapped his arms around him too at some point. “I want to spend time with you. I want to talk to you and text you and not have things be so fucking tense 24/7 like they have been.”

Michael grimaced at that. “That has been my fault. You’ve tried over and over to talk to me and I neglected to return the sentiment. That was wrong of me, but I will make it up to you.”

“I don’t want you to make anything up. I just want you to act like my boyfriend again.” Adam pushed forward, enough to rest his forehead against the taller man’s collarbone. In turn, he felt Michael brush his fingers slowly through his hair.

“We can go out tonight if you’d prefer. Or both. We can go out tonight after work and then go somewhere else tomorrow. Would you like to do that?” Michael asked quietly.

Again, Adam hadn’t expected that and swallowed. “Yeah…yeah, I really would.” He felt the brush of the other man’s lips against his temple and the press of kisses in his hair.

“Then we shall do that. You have no idea how sorry I am, Adam. I never wanted to make you feel unwanted. You are everything I want and more, more than I ever could have asked for or ever hoped to deserve.” Michael murmured. Slowly, they began to uncurl from one another, and he brushed the back of his fingers across Adam’s cheek. “You can take another break if you want. Or, you can even leave early if you need to. It’s alright, the work will still be here tomorrow and I’ll finish what I can in your absence.” It wasn’t anything he hadn’t done before. Before Adam came along, his personal assistants hadn’t been half as good or he hadn’t had one at all because they either ran out or were fired. Adam had made his life ten times easier, just as much as he had made it ten times happier too. “I can pick you up tonight around seven? We’ll go wherever you’d like.”

Faintly, Adam’s eyes lightened up a little when he pulled back again to look up at him. “Sure. That sounds good. And no, I don’t need to leave or take another break or whatever. I’m good.” He smiled faintly.

Michael returned it and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Then I’ll be there. And, if you’re really sure…” He didn’t seem convinced, but Adam just continued to smile lightly and shook his head.

“I’m good, I swear. Actually, this is probably the best I’ve felt in weeks.”

That made Michael internally wince a little all over again, knowing damn well he was the reason Adam hadn’t been doing well. All he could do was continue to apologize and do better, though. He didn’t want a repeat of this and see that hopeless look on Adam’s face ever again like he had when he thought he wanted to dump him.

“Alright, my love.” Michael would trust Adam with this. He saw the look of shock that crossed over his face when he said it, but he wouldn’t take it back. Not now, not ever.

It wasn’t an ‘I love you’ like he really wanted to say, but it was damn near close.

Chapter Text

Much to Adam’s relief, Michael did get better like they talked about. He still worked a little too much in Adam’s opinion, but at least now he was easier to pull away from all the numbers and worksheets. He also made more of an attempt to text and call when they couldn’t be together, and spent at least half of Adam’s lunches with him again just like he had before.

Adam was still reeling from Michael’s newest pet name for him as well. He was consistently calling him ‘my love’ or ‘love’ on a normal basis now, and though those weren't the three little words Adam longed to hear, it still made his heart flutter.

Things moved on fairly normal after that. The first quarter ended and the second began, meaning a significant influx of work slowed and Michael no longer felt like ripping out his hair every moment of every day with stress. Plus! He even admitted that taking a break and relaxing with Adam made being productive even easier when he got back to work. Adam did not spare him the ‘I told you so’s.

Michael’s siblings were also very obvious about their relief. When Adam convinced Michael to go to the Roadhouse for dinner one night, he also invited the rest of the Novaks, just like they usually did at least once a month. The relief on all their faces that their eldest brother was out and about and not trapped in his office was palpable.

Unfortunately, normal for them wasn’t always that amazing. The rumors still circulated throughout the entire office building, relentless and uncaring of who heard. Michael still insisted that they didn’t bother him, he was used to them and they were nothing but empty words in his eyes, but Adam had a more difficult time brushing them off. He had never really been the topic of vicious rumors before. He had always been the one people ignored or forgot even existed. Now, suddenly, he was thrust into the limelight by Michael’s side and everyone apparently wanted to know why. Or, they wanted to make up their own reasons that were entirely untrue.

Michael stopped sending him to the lower floors as often after the third time Adam brought up the rumors. While he had enjoyed going down to see Kevin, and sometimes Sam, relentless whispering and stares always accompanied those trips now. It felt like each and every eye of the company was on him the second he stepped out of the elevator. So, most of Kevin’s work was shifted into email instead, allowing Adam a reprieve from going down to the lower floors as often. He still met up for regular game and movie nights, and they still texted, so it’s not like their friendship took a hit from it. Kevin understood.

Still, it was very inconvenient at best and infuriating at worst that all that talk made him feel like he couldn’t even go see his friend. Not for the first time, he wondered if Sam and Dean ever heard any of the rumors. They texted him a little bit more since Christmas and had even invited him over for dinner and a movie a couple of times, notably on Sam’s birthday and one time when Dean insisted on cooking BBQ on the grill in the backyard. It wasn’t much, but it was more than he had gotten the year previous so he guessed that counted for something.

It was hard not to wonder if they believed the rumors though. Dean probably did, at least. They hadn’t spoken about what he told him that evening at the charity event, even after Cas had apparently ripped him a new asshole for it. Adam sort of wished he had been there to see it, but mostly he was glad he didn’t have to hear whatever justifications Dean had used for his behavior.

Instead, like most things, they didn’t talk about it again and it got put onto the backburner of Adam’s mind to fester and boil when his thoughts started to get too dark.

He hated when he got like this. He shouldn’t get like this at all, he thought! He had an amazing boyfriend and yeah, they had a tough month of it earlier but they got through it. Michael was still the best partner Adam had ever had, not that that was a lot, but still! Sam and Dean actually replied to some of his texts now, not all but some, which was something too. He also had the other Novak siblings, as well as Charlie, Kevin, and Alfie. He had great friends, sort of okay brothers, and the best guy ever sleeping in his bed. What more could he ask for?

The fact that doubt and uncertainty coiled in his gut like a parasite only made him feel guiltier.

He wasn’t doubting the fact he loved his friends or Michael. Those things he knew with absolute conviction. But, he was less confident about how everyone felt about him. Maybe he was being ridiculous, but he also couldn’t help it. It only got worse when Charlie came stomping into the living room during one game night, her phone clutched in her hand like a vice.

“This is bullshit!” She said as she paced in front of the TV. The Empire Strikes Back was currently on, but no one had really been watching it. They were more focused on the new DnD characters Charlie had drawn up for her campaign idea and were huddled around the coffee table.

“What’s bullshit?” Kevin asked.

“This!” Charlie stuck her phone out and pointed at it as if that offered any explanation. When the three only looked at her in confusion, she groaned. “This dude from my department really just asked me if I’m friends with Adam just so I can have a good word in with Michael and get that promotion I’ve been wanting. As if I’m not the best techie on the whole floor! If I get it, I earned that promotion more than anybody else, not ‘cause one of my best friends is fucking the big boss!”

“Hey!” Adam flushed. For a raging lesbian, Charlie sure didn’t mind bringing up his and Michael’s sex life. “Of course you’re the best. You’re the smartest damn person in the Tech department…probably the smartest in the whole building, no offence.” He winced as he glanced at Kevin and Alfie.

“None taken! Charlie is super smart. Then again, so is Kevin, but in a different way. You two might be the smartest two in the whole building together.” Alfie offered out helpfully, a smile on his face like usual.

Charlie snorted. “Thanks, Al. Anyway, not the point! The point is, this guy is a major douche but even that is pretty low for him.”

“That is pretty shitty.” Kevin offered out.

“Yeah, are you sure you shouldn’t report it?” Adam asked. One plus of being the one ‘fucking the big boss’ was that Michael could start up an investigation.

“Nah.” Charlie sighed. “I’ll just ignore it like I usually do.”

Adam paused. “Like you usually do?” He watched as Charlie froze, then quickly looked over to Kevin who also looked a little spooked. Adam frowned and looked between them, waiting for an explanation. Finally, Kevin relented and squirmed.

“So, Charlie and me sometimes get asked stuff like that. Like, you know, if we’re getting anything out of being friends with you.” Kevin admitted quietly. Suddenly, his lap was really interesting to him.

Adam looked at him incredulously, then back to Charlie. She looked just as guilty, and if he had to guess it would be because they never told him this before. Finally, Adam looked over to Alfie but the boy just smiled a little sadly and shrugged.

“I don’t really see anyone other than Mr. Novak or the other executives, so no one else really talks to me.” He admitted.

Okay, that was…good, Adam guessed. At least Alfie wasn’t being bombarded with accusations, at least not to his face. Kevin and Charlie on the other hand had to work with dozens of other employees on a regular basis. Adam wondered how long this had been going on without them saying anything.

“It’s not that bad.” Kevin said quickly when he saw the look on Adam’s face.

Charlie was quick to jump in too. “Yeah! It’s annoying, sure, but we’ll live. We know the truth, and that’s all that really matters.”

That’s similar to what Michael always told him too. Still, Adam felt that deep pit inside of him gnawing and tearing, growing bigger and bigger by the second.

Adam had been very quiet lately. Michael first noticed it on one of their dates, one of their new regular go-to spots where they sat in the very back corner of a Chinese restaurant. He had been talking about the new travelling exhibit he saw online for the art gallery they had gone to on Valentine’s Day when he glanced over and saw Adam staring blankly at the table in front of him. He stopped talking, and Adam still didn’t move.

“Adam?” He asked. He reached over and lightly took one of the younger man’s hands where it rested limply on the wooden surface. “What’s wrong, my love?”

This seemed to jerk him out of whatever thoughts he was trapped in because Adam immediately jumped and looked up. “Wha-?”

“Are you alright?” Michael frowned.

For a moment, Adam grimaced, but ultimately nodded and forced a smile. “Yeah, sorry. I really zoned out there. I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

“I was telling you about the new exhibit coming to the art gallery that you liked. They’re having a new one come into town soon, I thought you might like to go together.” Michael said. His thumb ran slow, soothing lines across the side of Adam’s hand.

“Oh, yeah, sure. That sounds fun.” He replied quietly.

Michael only cocked his head and stared. This wasn’t the response he expected. Normally, Adam would be much more excited to do anything involving going out and doing something together, especially to a museum or art gallery. This time however his eyes didn’t light up in that way that made Michael swoon and his smile didn’t really reach his eyes. Eyes that, for some reason, looked a little less brilliantly blue than usual.

“Well, it’s not here quite yet, but it will be in a few weeks. I’ll buy us tickets and we can go on a weekend. How’s that?”

Adam’s small smile was lopsided. “Sure, that sounds nice.”

Michael spent the rest of their date trying to figure out what that subdued look in Adam’s eyes was that never quite went away.

Adam really should have seen this coming.

Sure, Dean had been a little less of a bitch about Michael since Castiel chewed him out at the Roadhouse, and Adam was grateful for that, but he was still tense whenever he was brought up. It made talking about his day a little awkward, but at least Sam and Eileen didn’t look constipated as he told them about how he and Michael had hung out at his house that weekend and tried out a new recipe they found online.

The four of them were now sitting at the Roadhouse, during their third family get together since the holidays. It was already late Spring. Something about that fact vaguely reminded Adam of John, and how he would pop up once, sometimes twice, a year to play dad before he disappeared again for months on end. He shook those thoughts out of his head and refocused on Sam, who was giving an explanation about a similar recipe he and Eileen had made last month. Or rather, he said it was similar, but it sounded more like a much healthier, way grosser version of what Michael and Adam had made.

Anyway, again, he should’ve seen this coming. Dean was nothing if not a ticking time bomb with his anger, all it took was the right thing to light the fuse and he would explode.

“So,” Sam started slowly. He took a long sip of his drink, but his eyes kept glancing over at Adam where he sat beside Eileen in the opposite booth.

“So?” Adam echoed. He sipped at his own drink just for something to do.

Sam looked embarrassed. “So…I heard that, uh…I heard Michael bought an engagement ring?”

The drink in Adam’s mouth was spit out at a supernatural speed. Light itself had nothing on the velocity of which Adam’s drink shot across the table and nearly drenched Dean in spit and coke. He could hardly think about that right now though as his wide eyes turned to Sam with the most incredulous look on his face.

“What!?” He squawked, ignoring the cursing Dean was doing as he wiped soda off his shirt.

Sam cringed and Eileen glared at him from across the table. “Why would you tell him? That should be a surprise!” She signed angrily at the same time she spoke.

Sam looked like a kicked puppy. “It’s just a rumor! I don’t think it’s true, but…I don’t know. I heard it a little while ago, so I thought maybe he had proposed and you hadn’t told us or something…I wanted to ask, see if he had.” He admitted, moving his own hands now.

“And if it was true and you ruined the surprise!?” Eileen’s hands moved at mach speed.

Meanwhile, Adam’s brain was melting out of his ears. “What if it is true?” He whispered.

Somehow, between seriously quick hand gestures and bickering, Sam and Eileen both heard him and stopped.

“Do you not want it to be? I mean, I doubt it’s true. There’s so many rumors that go around that are obviously fake. But, if this one wasn’t and he really did buy a ring…aren’t you happy?” Sam asked carefully.

Of course he was! Right…?

Was he?

Adam didn’t know, and the horror of that shook him to his core. Why wasn’t he excited? Why wasn’t he jumping for joy, even if it was just a stupid rumor? He loved Michael and yeah, a few times his mind had jumped to the future and what it might hold for them. Maybe he would move into Michael’s place and maybe, maybe he even thought about what it would be like to pop the question. And each time those thoughts had come to the surface, Adam had been positively giddy like a school girl kicking her feet and giggling.

So why now was he feeling such a sense of dread?

“It’s just a stupid rumor!” Dean said suddenly. A handful of soaked napkins sat on the end of the table now, both from his clothes and from wiping up the wooden surface between him and Adam. “You don’t want to actually marry Michael anyway, right?”

Annoyance flickered hotly in Adam’s chest. “Why wouldn’t I? He’s kind, he’s sweet, I…I’m pretty sure he even loves me.” He defended.

“Pretty sure?” Dean made a face.

“Yeah.” Adam said defiantly.

Dean snorted and rolled his eyes as he leaned back against the booth. “Doesn’t sound very sure to me. You’ve been together, what? Like half a year now, maybe a little more? And you don’t know if he loves you yet?”

“Dean.” Sam said with a glare. “You of all people know how hard it can be to say ‘I love you’. It took you years to come to terms with the fact you had fallen head over heels for Cas, let alone say it out loud. And I know for a fact he says ‘I love you’ more than you do. That’s just how the two of you are. He’s more open about his feelings, that’s all. You’re more closed off about them, same as Michael.”

That was a fair point, Adam thought. Still, Dean did have a point too. He knew he loved Michael, even if he hadn’t said it out loud either. Maybe it had been a long time without admitting it to each other. Should he really risk saying it though?

“Don’t compare me to Michael.” Dean scowled.

Sam just rolled his eyes. “Why? You’re more alike than you ever admit.”

“We are not!”

“Yeah, you kinda are.” Eileen pointed out with a shrug and a nod.

That only made Dean’s stink face worsen. Adam on the other hand didn’t want to think about his boyfriend being anything like his eldest brother so he quickly changed the subject.

“Whatever. Anyway, so…who told you he bought a ring?” He asked warily, turning his attention back to Sam.

“Oh, uh…I don’t really remember. Like I said, it was a while ago. I don’t really give much credit to any of the rumors, I just thought I’d ask in case you, uh, got engaged and didn’t mention it.” Sam admitted.

Maybe that shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did but Adam couldn’t help it. Did his brothers think he would just ignore them if something major like that happened in his life? Sam sure seemed to think so, anyway.

“No, he…hasn’t proposed.” Adam said slowly.

“Good!” Dean grunted. He crossed his arms, looking like a child that just got told no. “I’ll go up there and kick his ass, Cas’ brother or not.”

Adam was pretty sure his eye twitched. “Can you shut the fuck up about hating my boyfriend for once? Plus, I’m pretty sure Michael could definitely beat your ass.”

Dean’s nostrils flared. “As if!” He yelled.

“As if you’d find out, asshole, ‘cause I’ll kick your ass myself if you even try to fight him!” Adam shouted back.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on, hold on!” Sam grabbed onto Dean when he made to get out of the booth, keeping him from getting up. Adam on the other hand didn’t have that problem since Eileen didn’t know him well enough to actually touch him. So, he got up instead.

“Seriously, what’s your problem with Michael anyway? You get a massive stick up your ass just from talking about him!” Adam looked down at Dean and for once, his brother actually looked smaller than him. Neither one of them were small and they were actually the same height, yet Dean had always made Adam feel so, so small. But right now? Adam glared down at him and felt miles high.

“He’s a dick!”

“To you because you don’t do your work. You just run around following Cas all day. Cas liking you is probably the only reason you haven’t even gotten fired yet.” Adam scoffed.

Dean looked even more pissed off at that. “Yeah, so what?”

Adam blinked. He didn’t expect that response and he didn’t really know what to do with it. Apparently that didn’t matter because Dean straightened up, even with Sam still holding onto him, and glowered right back up at Adam.

“You wanna know why I hate Michael so much? Why I hate the idea of you being with him? It’s ‘cause that asshole tried for years to tell Cas that I wasn’t good enough for him, to even be his friend. Cas didn’t listen, because of course he didn’t, but the fact remains that Michael hated the thought of me hanging around his little brother from the get go. Said I was too ‘blue collar’ or whatever the fuck. I wasn’t good enough for Cas. Eventually he gave up, I guess, since Cas kept telling him to fuck off about it and hung out with me anyway.” Dean smirked at that. He likely had some sick sense of spiteful satisfaction that he was now dating the youngest Novak too.

Adam though wasn’t sure what to think. That didn’t sound like his Michael at all. His Michael was sweet and thoughtful and never once made Adam seem lesser than. So, why did the thought of it hurt so much?

“So, you can defend that dickhead all you want, but I’ve seen the truth. He thinks everybody is below him and his family. Everybody, especially people like us that didn’t grow up with jackshit. And if I couldn’t even get his approval when I worked my ass off to get to the top of his fucking company, what the hell makes you think that he would want to marry a personal assistant?” Dean sneered.

Adam stared at him, frozen. Was all that really true? Oh god, what if it was? His mind flicked back to all the times Michael had to drive him around because he didn’t own a car yet. To each time the older man paid for their food or movie tickets because he insisted Adam save his money. The ridiculously expensive suit he had bought for him, just so he would fit into the crowd they were going to be in during the charity event. Maybe that had been less for Adam's benefit and more just so Michael wouldn’t be embarrassed if he wore a cheap rental or something. Maybe--

“Dean, what the hell is wrong with you? Michael is so obviously head over heels for Adam!” Sam complained, seemingly unaware of the storm raging in his younger brother’s head at the moment.

“You don’t hang out with them, how would you know?” Dean scowled.

“Uh, I can hear it in the way Adam talks about them. Besides, Cas hangs out with them pretty often and he sure thinks his brother’s smitten.” Sam pointed out.

Dean grumbled something but Adam didn’t catch it. He was barely listening to anything at all anymore except for the blood rushing in his veins and the heartbeat trying to burst its way out of his chest. It felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“I-I should go.” He said suddenly. All three pairs of eyes looked up at him where he still stood awkwardly by the table instead of retaking his seat. “I’ll see you later.”

“Wait!” He heard Sam call out but Adam was already speed walking to the door and didn’t look back.

Getting back to his apartment, Adam immediately began pacing the living room. Just like his office, he now had pictures of him and Michael around, gifts Michael had given him, memories etched into the fabric of the couch and kitchen chairs. Everywhere he looked, Adam was reminded of Michael. Usually that would be a comfort and he relished in it, making him feel all sorts of warm and gooey on the inside. Right now though it felt more akin to a stab in the heart.

Should he ask Michael directly about it? Then again, would he tell him if it was true? Adam was pretty sure he would, Michael was always honest. But, did he want the truth anyway if it wasn’t what he wanted to hear?

He paused his frantic pacing in the entryway where the photos of him and his mom, and the painting of Como Park hung proudly together. The lingering hurt of wishing he could call his mother up and talk to her churned in his chest, yet for this there was no relief. No amount of friends, family, or even Michael could fill that Kate sized hole in his heart. It had been ten damn years since she’s been gone, he shouldn’t still be lamenting it like this, he was sure. It hadn’t hit him this hard in a long time though.

Fuck, he wished he could see him mom again. Just once, that’s all he’d ask for. If he could make a deal with the angels to let him see her just once, he would do it in a heartbeat. He didn’t care what the terms and conditions were.

He should talk to Michael, he could hear his mom reasoning in the back of his mind. She would always push him to do the most sensible thing. She was blunt at times and would say what she meant, and she always tried to convince Adam to do what was right. And that was being honest.

With trembling fingers he pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit Michael’s name. It was always at the top of his lists now, never far. It rang only a couple times before he heard his boyfriend’s voice on the other line.

“Hello? Adam, what is it, beloved?” The confusion was clear in Michael’s voice, and Adam supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. He had told him that he was going out to eat with Sam and Dean that evening and he probably didn’t expect that to be over already.

“Hey, uh…hey.” Adam cringed at himself. On the other line, he heard Michael shift in his seat.

“Is everything okay?” He asked softly.

No. He thought immediately but squashed that down. He didn’t want to worry anyone, least of all Michael.

“Yeah, everythings fine. I just got home and wanted to call you.” It was a half truth, but a truth all the same, he reasoned.

“Did dinner go well?” Michael was clearly unsure, and for good reason. It seemed that almost every time he did anything with his brothers things went tits up.

“Yeah, I mean…I guess. You know how Dean is.” Adam sighed. A small grunt of reluctant agreement was his answer. “Anyway, I uh…I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Oh?” Michael sounded wary. “What did you want to talk about, sweetheart?”

The pet name twisted the knife just a little more. Surely that wasn’t fake, right? But even if it wasn’t, did Adam even deserve it?

“Um, well…” The ring? The rumors? The fact he was so below Michael in every way possible? He swallowed thickly. “I-I, um…”

“Adam? What’s wrong?” Michael sounded more serious this time and Adam could imagine him frowning at whatever it was he was looking at right now.

“Nothing! Just, I…did you really tell Dean that he doesn’t deserve Cas?” He finally managed out. It wasn’t what he really wanted to ask but it was the closest he could come without totally falling apart at the seams.

“What?” Michael shifted again, Adam heard. “What’s this about? Did your brother complain about me again? He’s really very rude to do that in front of you while we’re dating.”

While we’re dating. Did that mean Michael saw this as a short term thing?

Thankfully Michael wasn’t there to see how his face fell.

“But, to answer your question. Yes, I did a few times, actually. Your brother was constantly annoying me, even before you came to the company. He was always hanging around Castiel and, quite frankly, I hated it. Dean refuses to show even a modicum of respect for those in positions of authority to him, and he’s crass and rude to a fault. What Castiel sees in the man, I will never fully know. He could do so much better than someone like Dean Winchester.” Michael grumbled the last bit with a bit of defeat.

Adam felt his blood start to run cold.

“Why do you ask? Did he complain about that too? I simply told him the truth. Just because he didn’t like it, didn’t make it any less of a fact.” Michael stated pointedly.

Was it true? Adam didn’t think of Dean as any less than Cas. They were happy, isn’t that what matters? Then again, he felt absolutely sure now that Michael could do so much better than him. He had known that since the beginning, even if he tried not to acknowledge it. Now, here it was, flayed out and dissected at his feet.

“He, uh…yeah, he complained about it. But you’re right, of course.” He said quietly.

On the other end of the line, Michael huffed.

“Of course I am. Now, did you want to tell me about the rest of dinner? Surely it wasn’t all terrible, or at least I should hope. Or would you rather talk about something else?”

Adam chewed on the inside of his cheek. He wanted to ask about the rumors involving the ring, but he also didn’t want to sound like a total idiot when Michael tells him it’s not true. How would anyone even know he had bought one anyway? It doesn’t make any sense.

“No, I…actually I’m really tired. I just wanted to talk for a second before I go to bed.” Adam murmured. For a few, long seconds he was scared that Michael hadn’t heard him or that the line went dead, but when he looked it was still there.

“Oh.” Michael’s voice finally came back through the speaker. “Okay, I won’t keep you then. I will talk to you in the morning. Goodnight, sweetheart.”

Adam squeezed his eyes shut.

“Goodnight.”

The next morning, Michael texted him and told him not to worry about grabbing their usual coffees. Great. Still, Adam wasn’t exactly feeling up to it anyway and despite needing the energy, he drove past their usual coffee shop anyway. He hadn’t really slept that night and he felt half dead on his feet. But, he didn’t have it in him to try and find a parking spot on this busy street and run inside to get himself a drink even if Michael didn’t want one.

Making his way up to the top floor of NovakOn, he tried not to close his eyes for too long lest he seriously fall asleep standing. When was the last time he had slept that bad? Probably not since right after mom died, he was sure. When the elevator popped open, he walked out and caught sight of Michael standing in the kitchenette. The second he saw him, the older man smiled softly and turned to grab something. In his hands were two large cups, jingling with ice. Adam could smell them from here.

“You got us coffee?” He asked dubiously.

“I did. I thought I’d give you a break from getting them, so I stopped earlier on my way into the office. I hope you don’t mind that I picked the flavor, but it’s the one you said you liked the best out of the spring ones.” Michael said as he handed one of the cold brews over.

Adam didn’t mind but he also didn’t fully know how to feel about Michael getting them. He had never done this before, so it was odd. It also weirdly made Adam feel like he fucked up despite not having done anything. That was sort of it though really, he didn’t feel useful when he wasn’t the one doing something.

Michael was smiling at him though so on reflex he returned it and took a long sip. It was the flavor he had liked, with extra cream. Just like he liked it. “I needed this.” He sighed.

In response, Michael chuckled a little and stepped forward to press his lips against Adam’s hairline. “Then I’m glad I could get it for you, my dear.”

When Adam walked into his office a few minutes later, he was greeted with the sight of a new bouquet of flowers in the vase Michael had bought just for his desk. In the doorway behind him, the older man smiled at him again and, after a few more stolen kisses, finally went back to his own office to work.

For some reason, Adam was seeing grey instead of the red of roses.

Sometime after lunch, Adam was spiraling. He didn’t know why and he also didn’t exactly care. All he could focus on was the intense mess of his thoughts whirling in every which direction, none of which were good.

He was sitting at his desk and hadn’t touched his computer in at least an hour, possibly more. He couldn’t remember anymore or focus long enough to figure it out.

Numbly, he registered that he was pulling out a pen and paper. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he understood that he shouldn’t do this. But what did he always do when he couldn’t talk about something? He wrote in his journal. This time, he substituted the journal for a piece of blank copy paper.

He wrote without really thinking about it half the time. There were apologies in there, he knew, but he didn’t allow himself to dwell on them for long or else he might change his mind about all this. He didn’t realize he was crying until he saw droplets falling onto the paper, smudging some of the words and making them blurry. It only made him cry harder.

When he was done, Adam placed the folded paper on top of his desk like it was a centerpiece. Impossible to miss, which is what he needed right now. This one last thing to go perfect, even if nothing else ever felt like it did.

Then, he stood up, wiped his face, and walked silently out into the hallway where he was met with an eerie quiet. Michael was in his office, and he forced himself not to think about that as he walked past it. He couldn’t stop, not this time. He wouldn’t burden Michael with this. Not his sweet, thoughtful, utterly far above him Michael. Adam wanted him to be happy.

Michael frowned when he glanced over at his personal phone where it sat innocently on his desk. He typically didn’t check it during work hours, but when he saw Adam’s name on the screen it made his brows furrow. It was unusual for him to be messaging during the work day, and he was absolutely certain it wasn’t time for his break yet.

Grabbing his phone, Michael opened the notification, only to grow more confused.

AM [1:49 PM]: ‘I’m sorry. It’s on my desk. I love you.’

Those random string of words made no sense. What was he talking about? And what was he sorry for? Michael didn’t know what was supposed to be on his desk.

But, even more pressing at the moment, Adam…told him he loved him.

Michael’s heart thumped loudly in his ears. He knew he loved Adam dearly, but they had yet to actually say it to one another. He wanted to be the first to confess it out loud and wished he hadn’t been such a coward about it so far when he knew the truth of it, but he had never been the best with that sort of thing.

Now, here was Adam typing it in a text message for the first time like it was no big deal. Or, it seemed that way. The rest of the message left Michael with more questions than answers and, despite being in the middle of typing up a report, he stood up to go figure out what on earth was going on with his boyfriend.

Michael was surprised when he didn’t find Adam in his office. He was certain he doesn’t usually take his last break this early but maybe he needed it. His lips twitched into a frown as he thought about something being wrong. He would have to ask Adam if he was feeling alright when he got back. He was curious, however, and stepped forward despite the room being empty.

Something was on his desk, just as promised, a folded piece of paper with ’Michael’ written on the front. He only grew more confused by that and plucked the paper off the desk to open it.

He squinted at the letters scrawled across the page, and even more at the obvious wet spots that looked suspiciously like tears. When he finally got over his confusion long enough to read it, Michael flicked his eyes across the scratchy writing. It wasn’t Adam’s usual neat lettering, which was odd in and of itself. However, his frown grew deeper as he started to actually read.

It started off normal, all things considered. It sounded like Adam and his usual, sweet words. Again, he insisted that he loved him, which made Michael’s heart squeeze. As he kept reading, however, the words began to get more emotional and more scratchy. They quickly started to sound less like his Adam and like a person that was afraid of something. Michael didn’t notice the way his fingers were crushing the sides of the paper from the way he was clutching it so hard.

By the time he got to the bottom of the letter, he understood what this was. The moment he did, a chill ran through him and the cold realization wrapped its hands around his throat, into his soul. Like a bucket of freezing water over his head, Michael was certain he had never once felt terror latch onto him like this before.

“Adam!” He yelled. He dropped the letter and immediately ran out into the hallway. He rushed from room to room, not seeing anyone, and with every empty space that cold fear gripped him tighter. “Adam! Adam!”

With shaky fingers he did the only thing he could think to do at that moment. His mind was whirled with panic and he realized he could barely breathe when Castiel answered the phone and he could only wheeze.

“Michael?” Castiel’s voice betrayed the fact that he automatically knew something was wrong by the way Michael was taking shuddering breaths into the receiver. “Michael, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

That snapped something in him. The part of him that was still lucid enough through the fear and panic to know he needed help. “Adam! It’s Adam, he-” He choked on the word, gripping his shirt tight over his heart. The ache there was only continuing to grow into a full blown stabbing feeling.

“Adam what, Michael? What’s wrong?” There was a sound on the other end of the line, and he was sure Castiel was already throwing himself out of his chair and storming towards the door of his office. He had never heard Michael’s voice like this, ever.

“Adam, he…he wrote a fucking suicide note. And he’s gone, I don’t know where he is! I can’t find him! He might’ve already left the building, o-or, I don’t know, he’s not here!” Michael pulled at his hair and paced the hallway without any direction. He couldn’t think or pull himself together long enough to actually do anything productive. His nerves were too shot, his heart pounding too hard in his chest.

On the other end of the phone, there was a deep intake of breath. Then, Castiel spoke again, even more serious than before. “I’ll get Dean and call the police. You try to call Adam, see if he will answer. We’ll find him Michael, we’ll find him.”

“Okay.” Michael croaked. His throat was burning as if he’d chugged lava.

“Okay. Dean and I will be right there, we’ll figure this out. I’m going to hang up to call the police now, you call Adam.” Castiel said again, pushing the command into his brother’s frazzled brain, then hung up.

Michael had trouble getting to Adam’s name under his speed dial list. His hands were shaking so much they looked ready to fall off completely. Somehow he managed to press the name ‘Dear Beloved ❤️’ despite his tremors and waited with bated breath. It rang and rang, and with each ring that went by, Michael’s heart sank lower and lower.

When he was sent to voicemail, he immediately hit redial and called a second time. Then a third and a forth.

“No, no, no!” Michael gasped. He hit the call button for the fifth time, walking to nowhere down the hall. It wasn’t until he was closer to the end that he heard something. He glanced up, listening to the faint ringing of a cell phone somewhere nearby but he couldn’t quite tell where it was. He kept walking and the sound grew vaguely louder, and he noticed the door to the Brainstorming Room hadn’t been closed right.

Only allowing himself to be confused for half a second, Michael immediately shoved the door open. The ringing was louder here, and he followed it quickly towards the open exit door that led to the roof.

All of the worst possible scenarios were going through his head as he took the concrete stairs two at a time. He burst through the steel door and into the chilly, thin air of the roof and looked around wildly. Very quickly, his eyes landed on the lone figure standing on a ledge. His back was turned partially to him, and Adam was staring down at the busy street below with a hauntingly blank look on his face.

Without a second thought, Michael threw himself in Adam’s direction. He charged, running faster than he probably ever had, and the second he was close enough his hands were reaching out.

Adam turned with wild, terrified eyes at the sound of someone’s footsteps running towards him. Michael didn’t let that deter him though, as the only thought going through his mind right now was get Adam the hell away from that ledge!

Without a second thought, he grabbed onto Adam’s arms and yanked him backwards, causing him to stumble off the ledge and nearly fall face first into the floor of the roof. Michael caught him, though, and the second he had Adam in his arms he wasn’t about to risk letting him go again.

“Oh my god, sweetheart!” He gasped. His legs gave out and he went down like a sack of bricks, but his arms were stubbornly strong so Adam went down with him. On his knees, Michael cradled his boyfriend tight, a hand cupping the back of his head and bringing his face in against his neck, the other securely around his back ensuring he couldn't get out of the hold. He couldn’t dare risk letting Adam out of his arms now that he had him, safe and sound.

Adam was strangely limp in his hold, but Michael could still feel the way his body began to minutely shake. It started small, but quickly progressed into full on tremors as sobs began to wrack through Adam’s boneless body.

Michael brushed his hand over his blonde hair, not taking for granted a single hair on Adam’s head at the moment. “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay, I have you. I have you, sweetheart, you’re okay.” He whispered into his hair where he pressed kiss after kiss atop the younger man’s head.

Vaguely, he registered the sound of footsteps and someone calling his name. Then, suddenly, there were people on the roof with them. Castiel was there, as were Dean and Sam, and several officers all watching them in shock.

Castiel was the first onto the roof when he noticed the door to the Brainstorming Room wide open. Michael never used that room, and to his knowledge hadn’t even told Adam about it because it hadn’t been relevant. Now, however, he was running into it and up to the roof.

The sight he came to was as painful as it was shocking.

There, huddling on the cold ground of the roof, curled up into Adam was his big brother. The man he had spent his entire life looking up to. Michael had always been the strongest out of all of them, physically and mentally. He was big and tough in every sense of the word, but now…now Castiel watched as his powerful, strong-willed, resolute big brother held onto his sobbing lover for dear life, slowly rocking them back and forth as if he didn’t even realize he was doing it at all.

When Michael looked up at them, his eyes were huge and terrified. Tear tracks streamed down his face and into Adam’s hair, and he looked like a man half wild in his terror.

Castiel glanced over at Dean and Sam as a couple of the police officers slowly walked forward to talk to his brother. It was clear that Adam, on the other hand, wasn’t going to speak right now as he buried his face completely against Michael’s neck and gripped onto his shirt like a vice.

When Castiel took in the faces of both Sam and Dean, he saw the abject horror and fear there too, similar to Michael’s, like they couldn’t comprehend what they were seeing at all. And likely? They couldn’t. Not right now.

“Dean, Sam.” He spoke. Both men startled out of their wide-eyed stares and looked at him helplessly. “Let’s get back downstairs. We need to help these officers get Adam to the ambulance.” He said. The unspoken truth of it was that he knew both brothers would want to see Adam safely into the ambulance, but also having them there to block from any nosy eyes was also important. Of course, Castiel would glare anyone into submission that dared to try and get a peek at Adam or Michael right now.

Soon, Michael was standing on wobbly legs and bringing Adam with him. The young PA still refused to let go of him, clinging to his side and half curled up into him even as they walked with the officers’ help back towards the stairs.

The ride down the elevator was unnerving. At times it stopped on a random floor, where people waited to get in, but Castiel, Dean, and Sam were there at the opening to stop anyone from coming in until they made it to the bottom. Once there, Michael helped Adam out the front door where the officers led them to the waiting ambulance.

EMTs were on them in an instant, which was to be expected. Michael got Adam into the back of the vehicle and away from prying eyes, blocking the open back with his body as much as he could. Castiel couldn’t completely see what was happening anymore but he could hear Adam crying loudly about having to let Michael go at all. The pained expression on his brother’s face as he stood at the mouth of the ambulance made him look like he was being tortured just by the sound of hearing Adam beg for him.

He had to let him go so the EMTs could look him over though, and that was possibly the worst part. That despite how badly Adam wanted him to hold him, even though he was only a few feet away and as close as he could be, he was crying for him like not having him there was causing him to shatter.

Once it was determined that Adam was physically fine, the next step was to get him to the hospital. By some divine interference, Michael was allowed to ride in the ambulance with him and Castiel watched his brother disappear farther into the ambulance the moment he was given the okay. Michael and Adam had their arms around one another the second they were close enough, and he could see now how the PA was sobbing into the collar of his brother’s shirt. Michael didn’t look much better off himself either.

After the doors closed and the ambulance zoomed off, Castiel turned back towards the building. He saw curious faces peeking out of the windows, and his blood began to boil. He apparently wasn’t the only one to notice however because to his side, Dean started yelling.

“What the fuck are you fuckheads looking at! Huh!?” He screamed, and several employees and people on the street jumped back in shock. For once, Castiel wasn’t of the mind to really stop him from his outburst. “This is none of your business! None! Fuck off, all of you!”

Even Sam looked somewhere between pained and pissed off at the curious eyes. He didn’t yell or start to pace around like a wild animal in a cage like Dean was, but his glare was no less dangerous.

Quickly, all the nosy faces disappeared as they scrambled away. Belatedly, Castiel realized his own face must have been betraying the fact he would murder anyone who dared to ask about what just happened.

Chapter Text

72 hours. 3 days. That is the minimum that Adam had to stay in the hospital, if not more, in the psychiatric ward. He’s allowed visitors, thank god, but only during certain hours so Michael had to wait until then before he could see him again.

The second they arrived at the hospital, Adam had been transported to an upper floor for evaluation. Michael hadn’t been allowed to follow him, and the result had been Adam breaking down all over again after he had finally gotten him to calm down on the way over. There was nothing Michael could do to help him as he was led off by the staff though, and that hurt worse than anything. To want to help but not be able to bring the comfort Adam needed had stung unbearably.

Instead, he was sent to the waiting room at the front of the hospital for further information about when and how he could expect to visit Adam, and any information the hospital was able to legally provide to someone who wasn’t a family member.

That last part churned in his gut. The idea that Sam or Dean Winchester could possibly get more information about how Adam was doing made him feel sick. He knew that was the last thing Adam would want.

At some point while he sat in a corner of the waiting room, staring blankly down at his hands as they rested in his lap, Castiel and the Winchesters came rushing through the door. The second his younger brother spotted him, Castiel walked right up to him.

“I brought you your car. I thought you’d want it here instead, it’s in the parking lot.” Castiel informed as he handed over Michael’s keys. He must have gotten them from his desk after he left in the ambulance with Adam, and for that Michael was grateful. “Now…what’s going on?”

He only had so much he could say. The nurse hadn’t come back with any information yet and had only given him the bare minimum that she could before they knew more specifics. Still, what he did know, he relayed in an effort to get at least a hint of that worry out of his brother’s face. Sam and Dean he really didn’t give a fuck about though so he didn’t bother looking at them.

Ater explaining all he knew, Michael went back to staring blankly at his hands. A million things were running through his mind, but most of all he wondered how they even got here. He thought things had been good. Did he do something to make Adam want to…? He shivered just thinking about it. Instead, he worked through a mental checklist of everything he thought might have led them here. Yes, there was that short period that he accidently made Adam feel unwanted and he still hated himself for ever doing that. But, he thought they had moved past it. Since the moment they talked about it, Michael had diligently worked to fix his wrongdoings and they hadn’t had an incident since.

His mind wandered through every tiny, itty bitty instance between him and Adam, trying to see something that maybe he had missed before. Adam had been very quiet lately, he realized. He had just thought he wasn’t feeling very well or just wasn’t in the mood to talk. Michael would’ve understood that, of course, he often got like that and Adam never judged him for it. But maybe he hadn’t dug deep enough or asked if he was okay enough times. Maybe if he had, Adam never would have done this.

He clenched his teeth at the thought but continued working through everything in his head. Things with his friends had been well, he thought. Adam did mention some rumors that his friends had been subject to though, and he had also fretted over the rumors revolving around him and Michael too. He hadn’t thought much of the rumors since…he never did. Michael was used to them and hardly paid them any mind. Clearly, Adam hadn’t had the same luxury of being able to just tap out of them the same way. Again, Michael blamed himself for not realizing.

But soon his thoughts began to wander down a different path. As the Winchester brothers stood there, Dean pacing obnoxiously back and forth, and Sam with a pained look on his face, Michael felt a rush of heat to his face. These two had the audacity to be here? Now! Now, when Adam was finally at his lowest when for years they had treated him like he barely existed!

Michael wanted to jump up and scream, or start throwing punches, but before he could a nurse walked up with a strained smile.

“Hello. Mr. Michael Novak, you came in with Mr. Milligan, correct?” She asked.

Immediately, Michael stood up and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I did. How is he?”

The nurse had an apologetic yet calming look in her eyes.

“He’s stable at the moment, and he’s calmed down enough to talk to us now. Mr. Milligan is going to be treated here for the next few days, we will have to wait for the psychologist to confirm the exact duration of his visit, though. But, we have your number down as his emergency contact and his express permission to receive updates about him, so we will call you when we know more. I know you mentioned wanting to visit him, and visiting hours are in the afternoon. I wrote down the exact hours for weekdays and weekends here for you, as well as some other information like what you can and cannot bring when you come to visit.” The nurse smiled as she handed the paper over to Michael who eagerly took it like it was a sacred treasure. “Visiting hours are actually open right now, but Mr. Milligan is currently in processing and still talking with our healthcare providers, so it will be a couple more hours at least before anyone can see him.”

It was at that moment that Dean cleared his throat, and Michael shot him a glare. He ignored it and pressed on anyway.

“What about us? We’re his brothers.” Dean said firmly, motioning between himself and Sam. “We want to be updated too. Don’t we get first dibs on visiting hours?”

The nurse grimaced a little and shook her head.

“Are your last names Winchester?” She asked. Dean nodded sharply and crossed his arms, but she continued unphased. “I’m afraid Mr. Milligan asked us not to allow you access to any of his personal or medical information, or allow you any visitation hours. Only individuals that Mr. Milligan approves are allowed to see him during his stay here, and as of right now, Mr. Michael Novak is the only one he has given access to.”

The speed at which Dean’s mouth dropped would’ve been comical if Michael had been in any other mood. Instead though, he was just ticked off that Dean or Sam thought they had any right to see Adam right now.

“Thank you very much, ma’am.” Michael turned his attention back to the nurse and mustered up the best smile he could. He knew it wasn’t very convincing. “I’d like to visit him as soon as I am able this afternoon, if that’s alright.”

“Of course it is. We’ll give you a call once you’re able to come up.” She promised, gave the Winchester brothers one more side glance, then turned to walk away.

The moment she was gone, Michael whirled on Dean.

“How dare you!” He snapped.

“Me!?” Dean was immediately on the offensive.

“Yes, you! You think you can treat him like he’s worthless for so long just to come in here pretending to be worried now? You’ll only make things worse for him by being here. You always make things worse for him! It’s all you ever do!” Michael threw his hands up and clenched them into fists when he forced them back down to his sides. The desire to slam them into the nearest wall, or Winchester, was astonishing.

“Fuck you! You probably caused this somehow in the first place! He was fine before you came into his life!” Dean’s voice rose, and so did Michael’s.

“Fine? You think he was fine?” Michael was horrified that Dean could even say that. It was so obvious, now more than ever before, that Adam had been far from fine for a long, long time. Long before they started dating or he even started working for Michael. He hadn’t been there to help Adam through his hardships back then, but the two individuals that were there didn’t help him either.

“Michael.” Castiel warned, but got promptly ignored. Michael didn’t even look at him.

“I’m his big brother, you don’t get to tell me what I know about him. Alright?” Dean accused.

And that was the last straw.

Michael surged forward until he was only a breath away from the eldest Winchester. His fingers twitched with the urge to bring his fists to his face, repeatedly.

“I know more about him than you ever bothered to learn! And, I know what it’s like to be raised as a soldier first and a son second. I know the duty of being the oldest, of putting my siblings’ needs before my own. But you?” Michael grit through clenched teeth, shoving his finger into Dean’s chest despite Castiel’s protests. He ignored him in favor of glaring stormy eyes at the man in front of him. “You failed him. Over and over and over. And you know what? He blamed himself every time!”

Michael reached out and grabbed two fistfuls of Dean’s shirt, yanking him dangerously close. He heard Sam make a startled sound to the side and his eyes snapped over to him before right back to Dean again.

“You’re a part of this too, Samuel. Both of you are! Do you have any idea how many times I had to watch Adam be upset that his own brothers didn’t give a rat’s ass about him? How many times he said that he wished either of you would just talk to him or reply to a simple text? Or even remember that he exists at all? Yet I couldn’t do anything to help him with that, not really. Part of me wanted to fire the both of you and send you out on your asses, but even if I did have grounds to do that, I knew that Adam wouldn’t want me to. He’d never want to hurt you, despite all the pain you’ve put him through. Because, he’s so good. So, so good. And I can’t fathom how you two complete fucking idiots don’t see that!” Michael’s voice grew louder and louder until he was shouting. His trembling hands retching back and forth, jostling Dean and shaking him even as he continued to glare.

He was seething, and ignored Castiel’s hands on his arm as he tried to coax him to let go of his boyfriend.

“Michael, you’re not helping. Just let Dean go.” His younger brother said, soft but firm.

Michael however practically snarled and kept his eyes trained on the man in front of him.

“You’re so fucking blinded by your devotion to the idea of who you think you are, but you were killing one of the things you were supposed to protect. This? It’s your fault. Both of your faults! You failed him.” He snapped, shoving Dean away from him and sending him stumbling backwards into Sam.

“Michael!” Castiel scolded quickly.

But, he didn’t regret what he said. It needed to be voiced. The Winchester brothers needed to hear the truth and he didn’t really give a fuck if they liked it or not. Michael stomped off and stormed outside into the crisp Spring air. The chill felt almost painful on his heated skin but he ignored it.

How did he not see it? There were signs, he just didn’t pay enough attention. How did he not see this coming?

“Fuck!” Michael shouted. He reached up and clasped at his hair, pulling at the now messy strands that Adam always teased him were too neat. Goddammit.

He dropped down into the driver's seat of his car, not even recalling the walk there. He was numb and cold, yet instead of having the mind to start the car and pump on the heat, he stared unseeingly out into the quiet parking lot.

Adam should be here. He should be here with him right now, singing in the passenger seat and tapping his fingers against the window. The cologne he liked to wear that always reminded Michael of a cool night at the beach, wafting into his nose like it always did when Adam first got into the car. He longed for it, but only found an empty seat beside him instead.

He couldn’t stay in the hospital waiting room a minute longer, not with Dean there. He didn’t want to get thrown out or arrested for causing bodily harm before he could ensure Adam was alright. Or, as alright as he could be right now. So, he forced himself to start his car.

He drove back to the office despite the numbness that crept into his bones just seeing the building. He couldn’t help but look up through the windshield and feel sick as he gazed up at the top of the skyscraper and imagined Adam standing way up there, a speck against the sky behind him.

He swallowed down the sick feeling and quickly parked.

Michael didn’t talk to anyone as he rushed back inside and to his office. No one dared to ask him anything either, which he was internally grateful for. When he reached his floor, the police were still there and, as expected, he was made to do an incident report. He explained everything the best he could and, when they were done, they finished up their investigation and left. The note Adam left and Michael’s testimony must have been the icing on the cake for them to know there was no foul play involved.

When he was alone again, Michael went straight to Adam’s office. The note was gone, though he didn’t particularly want to see it again anyway. Instead, he moved to where he knew his boyfriend stashed his personal belongings. He sat in the chair and bent down to fetch the messenger bag from under the desk. After seeing this bag in Adam’s hands or around his body so many times, it almost felt wrong to have it in his lap.

Inside was everything he expected, his sketchbook, journal, some pens and pencils, his lunchbox. Nestled in the bottom, he found what he was looking for and pulled out Adam’s wallet. A quick peek inside and he found his insurance card, which would mean one less thing Adam had to worry about while staying at the hospital. If there was anything Michael could do to make all this mess even a tiny bit less stressful on his boyfriend, he was going to do it.

He shoved the wallet into his pocket, then pulled out the paper the nurse had given him. He read it over, memorizing both the visiting times, and the rules regarding them. No sharp objects such as pens or pencils were allowed.

Michael frowned back down at the bag. He had wanted to bring Adam his things, knowing that when he was upset his go-to release was drawing and writing. But, he wouldn’t be allowed to bring the pens. He’d just have to bring the journal and hope that was allowed and that maybe the nurses could provide an alternative writing utensil instead.

He also noticed that no jewelry was allowed, and he cringed at the thought of Adam having to part with the necklace he had given him for his birthday. Mindlessly, he began to play with the ring he had been gifted for Christmas and chewed at the inside of his cheek. He hoped Adam was okay.

Not able to do much more, Michael pulled the messenger bag’s strap over his arm and left the office once more. When he made it back to his car, he pulled out Adam’s journal and placed it in the passenger seat, then gingerly put the bag and the rest of its contents on the floorboard in the back. He wanted it ready for Adam when he got out.

Michael got the call from the nurse a good two and half hours later. Without question, he dropped everything, which wasn’t actually much since he had been staring out his car window for the better part of the last hour and a half reeling from everything, and was on his way. Thankfully, Dean and Sam were gone from the waiting room when he walked in, but with them was also Castiel. He would feel bad about how he acted towards his youngest brother later. Right now, Michael’s focus was only on one person and one person only.

After giving the front desk Adam’s insurance information, and making sure any other expenses were directly sent to him for payment and not Adam, Michael got into the elevator. With him he brought the journal and a paper bag with a bacon burger and fries. Outside food hadn’t been on the list of ‘do not bring’ so he hoped it was fine.

He found the floor easily enough and walked up to the nurses’ station to check in. One of the women standing there was the nurse from earlier, who smiled at him knowingly and motioned him forward. Michael followed automatically and was brought back to a small room where a man in a security uniform stood off to the side.

“All visits are monitored for patient safety.” The nurse explained.

Michael sat at one of the tables and placed the journal and bag of food on it. Only a few minutes later, the nurse came back in the room, but this time Adam was in tow. He looked a little sunken in and stared at the ground, like he was refusing to meet Michael’s eye despite saying he could visit. Almost like…like he was ashamed. And Michael could not have that.

“Sweetheart.” Michael said softly as he stood and tried not to rush too fast as he made his way over, meeting Adam half way. The nurse stepped to the side and watched as he pulled Adam into a hug. He felt a tiny bit of tension leave his shoulders when the younger man returned the hug, holding onto him tight and pressing his face against the side of his neck.

“I’m so sorry.” Adam’s voice was wobbly as he mumbled into Michael’s neck.

Michael only held onto him tighter. “No, no, my love. You don’t have to tell me you’re sorry, not for this. Never for this…” He murmured quietly.

Eventually, Michael managed to release Adam long enough to guide him to their table by the hand. He sat the short distance across from him, and went so far as to pull out the burger and fries for him to set out. Once that was done, he reached out again and took both of Adam’s hands in his.

“Can you eat? You should have something. And I brought your journal. I wasn’t allowed to bring a pen or pencil, but I believe the nurses can provide you with something so you can write or draw if you’d like.” Michael told him before he brought their hands closer. He leaned in, pressing a kiss to each one of Adam’s knuckles and squeezing his hands a moment. Then, he slowly let him go and nodded towards the food. Thankfully, Adam started to nibble on it at least.

He wouldn’t dare ask Adam about why he did it right now, it was too soon.

Instead, Michael spent his visit, and each one afterwards for the next several days, just being there with Adam. To remind him that he wasn’t alone and that Michael would always be there.

During Michael’s third visit, Adam had asked him about work. The worry was evident on his face.

“Won’t things go behind? I’m not there, and you’re spending so much time here instead of at the office.” He said.

Michael shook his head, and his thumb rubbed against Adam’s hand where he held it on top of the table. “Adam, my work is not more important than being here with you. Nothing in this world is more important to me than you.”

After that, Adam hadn’t brought up work again.

A week later, Adam was released and Michael was the one there to pick him up. He came out of the ward wearing what he had gone in with, including his necklace, and the moment he saw Michael he latched onto his hand.

Michael wasn’t about to complain and led Adam out of the hospital. They arrived back at his manor shortly after, where Michael had already brought both the other’s messenger bag and a bag of clothes he got from his apartment. Adam had been surprised his things were there, but Michael just reminded him that this was Adam’s home just as much as it was his, which resulted in more tears and a lot of kisses to Adam’s hair as he hugged him.

Another thing that shifted within their day to day, other than Adam staying with Michael indefinitely, were the weekly therapy sessions.

They weren’t required by the hospital, which Michael had been half appalled by, but he had managed to convince Adam to visit one anyway. He, of course, did all the work to find a few that he thought Adam might get along with before showing him and, thankfully, he picked out a woman named Dr. Barnes to try.

After the first couple of sessions, which naturally Michael picked Adam up from, he was pleased to find out that Adam really liked Dr. Barnes. Much to Michael’s delight, it didn’t take long before Adam was actually looking forward to their sessions and even started sharing some of what they talked about.

A couple weeks into seeing her, Adam was officially diagnosed with depression. While that was more or less obvious, having the official diagnosis released something that had been weighing over Adam for a long, long time. It was a relief to actually have a name for it, and not just speculation.

Throughout the first month that he stayed with Michael, Adam hadn’t seen Sam or Dean. He had seen the Novak siblings though, who came over a few times now and then. They came over every Friday for the typical Novak family dinners, which Adam had been invited to join and, to everyone’s relief, agreed. They also would randomly come over just to hang out or bring take out. And, well, never was Adam one to say no to that.

Still, he wondered if his half-brothers not showing up had anything to do with the fact he was sure Michael would try to kill them and bury them in his wooded backyard. He had gotten Michael to admit about what happened in the waiting room at the hospital that first day, but he hadn’t exactly been mad. If anything, Adam had been glad that someone stood up to his brothers and called them out on their shit. It made the first time Castiel came over a little awkward, but after he and Michael talked it out, it was water under the bridge.

Adam did take advantage of the youngest Novak coming over though to ask him about his brothers after the one month anniversary of him staying with Michael had passed.

“Do Sam and Dean even care that I ended up in the looney bin?” Adam asked out of the blue while he, Cas, and Michael sat together on the back patio.

“Adam, you were not in a ‘looney bin’.” God, Michael used air quotes. He was adorable, even now. Especially with that firm stare he was sending him. “You were in a mental health facility.”

Adam waved his hand dismissively and looked back at Castiel.

“So? Do they? Did they even notice I’ve been missing for over a month?” He wouldn’t be surprised if the answer was no. He didn’t remember much from the day it all happened, everything was one big blur in his mind. The only thing he could focus on at the time were all the suffocating emotions he had been feeling. Like they had finally hit a peak and came crashing down on top of him, drowning him no matter how hard he kicked and screamed.

Castiel smiled kindly, like he often did. “Of course they care, Adam. However, they aren’t sure what to do now…” Castiel trailed off, looking a little conflicted. Like he said something he wasn’t sure he was supposed to.

“What do you mean?” Adam asked.

“Well…” Castiel sighed. “As upset as I was at Michael for what he said to them, especially to Dean,” he paused when Michael let out a loud huff but continued on. “What he said was…true, really. It took a few days but eventually Dean saw that too. Sam saw it shortly after Michael left the hospital, before he throttled one of them. Anyway, Sam and Dean both were hit with the realization that how they’ve treated you for the past several years has been…unacceptable.”

“That’s putting it lightly.” Michael grunted.

Adam grinned at his huffy boyfriend. He wasn’t wrong, and he always loved it when he got protective. He was abundantly protective lately, and after a short period of being a little too overbearing and Adam calling him out on it, Michael backed off to an endearing amount of protectiveness and caring again. “So, Michael chewing them out made them finally listen to what I’ve been telling them this whole time?”

Castiel made a face again, however this time it was almost pained. “Well…Michael spelled it out for them at the moment where they needed to hear it most, but truthfully what really made them realize the gravity of their mistake was almost losing you. They were terrified.” He said quietly.

Adam paused and stared. Surely that couldn’t have been right. His half-brothers had never once acted like they really cared about him outside of wanting to help out an orphan kid that happened to have the same fatherly DNA as them. If anything, they always preferred it when he wasn’t around so they could pretend it was just the two of them like before.

“I don’t know about that…” Adam said finally, wearing a frown. He glanced at Michael as saw the careful expression he had, but he wasn’t angry. If anything, he looked more…thoughtful. Cautious maybe? Yeah, that was it.

Castiel just smiled a little sadly but nodded his understanding. “I know it probably doesn’t feel that way. But, both Sam and Dean worry about you. They have constantly asked me about you over these past few weeks. Michael refuses to let them come over here-”

“And I will continue to do so.” Michael butt in quickly.

Castiel shook his head and kept going. “Which I don’t blame him for. But Dean and Sam both have started to reevaluate things. I’m not asking to let them come here to see you, because I don’t think they should, both for your sake and Michael’s. However, I am asking that…in the future, maybe next week, maybe next year, maybe ten years from now, but sometime in the future, perhaps you will give them a chance to apologize. But, that’s only if you want to. If not, they will simply have to learn to live with it.”

Adam didn’t know what to say to that. He had yearned for an apology or even just an explanation from his brothers for a long time. He had never been foolish enough to think he would actually get one though. And what made it worse was now Adam felt like he should apologize to them for worrying them. He had broken down and babbled out apologies to Michael several times the first few days he was here. Each and every time though, his boyfriend would wrap him up in his arms and remind him, gently, that he had nothing to apologize for.

And, as much as Adam wanted to continue apologizing anyway, Michael never made him feel bad about what happened. In fact, on more than one occasion, Michael had assured him that he understood. Adam was in pain for a very, very long time and that hole just continued to be carved bigger and bigger until it became unbearable. Michael had promised that he wasn’t angry at him for what he’d done, and that Adam had no reason to apologize, because this hadn’t been his fault. The best they could do now was move forward, together, and get him the help he needed to make that hole not quite so big anymore. Adam, as he had multiple times those first few days of staying with Michael, had broke down. Only that time, he had been choking on tears of relief.

That had been with Michael, though. He wasn't about to get his hopes up that his brothers would give him the same kind treatment.

“I’ll think about it.” Adam answered slowly. He still wasn’t sure. But, he also didn’t think he could just avoid his brothers forever either. They still worked in the same building, even if he was on an extended leave at the moment. He wanted to get back into it as soon as possible, but Michael had insisted that jumping back into that fast paced, stress inducing environment wasn’t ideal for him at the moment and Adam had reluctantly agreed.

Castiel only smiled and nodded once more. “Whatever you choose, I will support you. As will Michael and the others. Just remember that.” He looked so painfully sincere when he said that, that Adam wouldn't dare argue.

One benefit of being out of work for so long was that Adam had time for other things, including doing what he liked, but also exploring new things.

Raphael was there that day, and had brought with him a handful of different books and pamphlets that he had acquired recently. He had told Adam a couple weeks ago that he was willing to help him look into schooling again, particularly pre-med.

“What’s all this?” Adam asked as the other man carefully dropped the bundle of books and papers onto the dining room table. His face was blank as ever, but Adam had grown used to it and he knew better than to think a Novak with an expressionless look was actually dispassionate. In fact, Adam had come to know that Raphael loved the idea of someone else in the family - Adam was still reeling from being called that! - was into biology and medicine too.

“I have procured a variety of things for you to look at in regards to higher learning. I have a few informational packets from several schools, including the one here in the city. As you know, that is where I gained my degree.” Raphael said. Adam did know that and it only peaked his interest in the school more. “I made sure to get information on their online programs as well, and several scholarship options that I thought would be good for you.”

“I’m more than willing to pay for his schooling.” Michael pointed out, not for the first time.

Adam sent him a glare but it didn’t have any heat to it. Still, he didn’t expect Michael to pay for everything all the time. He still wanted to do things for himself and, while he greatly appreciated it, he refused to let Michael pay for everything no matter how much he insisted. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact the man had already paid his hospital bills, something he had set up while Adam was still stuck in the ward.

“I’m sure you are, brother. Yet, Adam is interested in scholarships and earning his way into the university of his choice. You wouldn’t deny him that level of pride and independence, would you?” Raphael asked with the signature Novak brow lift.

Michael huffed and crossed his arms. He was defeated. Both Raphael and Adam knew the older man wouldn’t purposely deny Adam anything, but least of all his autonomy or independence. Adam valued them too much and Michael hated the idea of taking them away anyway.

“I really appreciate you doing this for me, Raph. Seriously, this is a lot.” Adam grinned and started to pull out some of the pamphlets that looked the most interesting to him.

Raphael cocked his head but nodded. “It was no issue, I assure you, Adam. I was happy to do it. I also spoke to a few of my colleagues on the medical board and at the local college, they had some suggestions for you as well about how to proceed and what will make you stand out in terms of scholarships and applying to the university. Would you be interested in hearing about that?”

Adam’s eyes practically lit up. Raphael had even talked to his friends, well maybe not friends but some very important people in the medical field around the city, for him!

“I would love that, seriously, thank you!”

A bare hint of a smile graced one side of the younger Novak’s lips. “You are very welcome, Adam. Sit, we can discuss everything and, if we time it well, you still have enough time to get everything ready for the Fall semester this year. If you choose to return to college that soon, of course.”

Adam was pretty sure he had never sat down in a chair so fast in his life.

As it turns out, having your own sort of brother-in-law that’s not really your brother-in-law but feels like it, is incredibly helpful when it comes to applying for college. Raphael not only supplied Adam with more information about schools and resources than he ever could have procured on his own, but also helped him with the application process online. It was even better when he was able to sign up for online classes at first, which would make easing back into schoolwork and balancing his job all the easier until he started to go back in person later on.

By now, he had been out of the hospital for almost two months and, after a bit of whining about being bored out of his mind, had gone back to work in Michael’s office a couple weeks ago. It had been eerily weird to be back after what happened, and he didn’t ever really look towards the door of the Brainstorming room.

Michael never brought it up either, which Adam was infinitely grateful for. Instead, the CEO had a big, flat room divider put up, making a makeshift wall in front of the door so neither one of them had to look at it. Even better, he chose one that looked like the entirety of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, so it looked more akin to a really fancy accent wall at the end of the corridor than a divider. Michael punctuated it with a couple plants too, really making it look like just another wall, while also making sure he didn’t make it impossible to move for maintenance workers to get up there when needed. It was more than enough for Adam.

Beyond that, returning to work had been a little bit of a godsend. He loved staying with Michael, but he could only stay in one spot for so long before he felt like he was going to go stir crazy. He still had his apartment, but neither one of them were ready for him to go back there alone yet. If ever, though Adam wouldn’t say that right now.

None of those things were particularly on his mind at the moment however, as Michael’s lips traced a line of kisses down his bare sternum and around his navel.

Adam laid back against the small mountain of pillows on Michael’s bed, perfectly content to watch his boyfriend torture him slowly with his lips. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

Michael’s eyes slowly opened and looked up at him through his lashes. A small, self-satisfied smirk grew on his face. “I am. There is no greater honor in my life than worshiping you.” His voice was low and deep, sending vibrations through his body and directly down south. It always made Adam feel all sorts of tingly whenever Michael said things like that.

Letting his head roll to the side a little, he continued to watch as Michael continued his ‘worship’. He had always been attentive and incredibly gentle, not that he couldn’t be deliciously rough as well, but when he got in these moods? Michael drove him crazy with the amount of patience he had sometimes.

Perhaps sensing his growing desire or maybe just knowing Adam well enough to know that he would combust soon, Michael spoke again. “Beautiful. Positively stunning…” He murmured. His lips were now pressing lightly against his thighs, brushing against the inside of one and over the sensitive skin there.

Oh, and the compliments he gave. He never ran out, showering Adam with words of praise and love until he thought he would burst from all the affection in his chest for the other man.

“I love you.” Adam told him quietly, even if he tried to squirm a little. Michael’s firm grip on his hips though stopped him from wiggling too much. The words came out so easily now, after the last two months of saying them.

“I love you more.” Michael replied automatically. He moved upwards, gently nipping at Adam’s hip bone where it poked out a little.

Adam hummed contently. Even after hearing Michael say those words for the past several weeks without constraint, he never once got tired of it. He could listen to him say them over and over and over. He could not, however, go on being tortured like this forever.

“Michael,” Adam squinted down at him, where the other man was now back to marking up his inner thigh, the other one this time. “Hurry up.”

That earned him a low chuckle and another knowing look from his boyfriend.

“Impatient.” Michael tutted but sat up again anyway. He leaned forward to kiss Adam’s lips this time, one hand carefully planted on the sheets beside his head and the other running slowly up and down his exposed torso.

“Who’s fault is that?” Adam mumbled when Michael pulled back enough to grin down at him.

“It’s my fault that you’re impatient?” He asked, amused.

Adam huffed, but grabbed onto Michael and yanked him back down. “You said it, not me.”

Another small laugh rumbled out of the older man, but he relented. Instead, he grabbed the bottle of lube from the nightstand and maneuvered himself into a more comfortable position between Adam’s legs. Michael always took his time with prep, no matter how much Adam complained. He wanted to make sure he was ready. Besides, half the time his dear beloved was a sweaty mess just from his fingers alone, because when Michael prepped, he liked to draw it out and make it good. Just like this time, as Adam adjusted his legs to accommodate when Michael moved his hand between them.

The result was beautiful, if anyone ever asked Michael. Watching this gorgeous, thoughtful, wonderful human being come apart beneath him was heaven on earth. By now he knew every sweet spot Adam had and he played him like a violin, watching him pant and grip the sheets below him.

Adam was hardly a pillow princess though.

Once he had been working three fingers into him for a while, Michael watched his own hand with a lazy, lidded expression. The way Adam’s body was brought to the brink of pleasure by him and him alone never ceased to amaze him. It did, however, make him rather distracted so when said boyfriend suddenly reached up and shoved at his shoulders, Michael couldn’t stop it when he was pushed to the side.

Onto the mattress he went, landing on his back with an undignified “oof!”. He blinked wildly up at Adam as he crawled onto his lap, effectively straddling him. He looked ten kinds of smug. When his mind caught up to what had happened, Michael snorted and grabbed a hold of his hips.

“Was that really necessary?” He asked with a grin.

“No. Didn’t mean I didn’t want to though.” Adam replied cheekily. With that, he shifted his hips into position and, with some careful arranging with a hand, sank down and made them both groan. When he was ready, Adam moved with slow but purposeful motions.

This was something Michael knew he would never get tired of. Looking up, Adam’s hooded gaze stared back at him as he worked towards both their pleasure. And when they reached it together, Adam looked as gorgeous as ever, even as he collapsed forward and Michael wrapped his arms around him to hold him tight.

There was truly nowhere else in the entire world he’d rather be.

Adam had his eyes closed, listening to the steady way Michael’s breathing and heartbeat evened out under his ear. It was incredibly soothing, and something he loved about using the older man as his own personal heated pillow. He was comfortable enough that he could fall asleep like this every night, wrapped up in his arms.

“Move in with me.”

Adam’s eyes shot open. “What?”

“Move in with me.” Michael repeated, tone just as determined as the first time. Then, he sighed, the gesture rustling some of the hairs on top of Adam’s head. “I know it might be a little soon, but you’ve practically been living here anyway for the past couple of months. Even before then you were constantly over here, which I loved, by the way. So, move in. Officially.”

Michael wanted him to move in? He did have a point. Ever since he left the hospital, he hadn’t spent a single night at his own apartment. He’d been by a few times with Michael in tow, but each and every night they came back here to sleep. If he was being honest, it was starting to feel more like home here than his apartment anyway.

“I know this is a big decision, and I know you love your apartment and how much having your own place means to you. So, I won’t be offended if you’re not ready. Just…know the offer is open. And, since I know you value it, you can have one of the spare rooms here to make into whatever you want. It could be an art studio, a bedroom, an office…whatever you’d like, it would be yours and yours alone.” He offered quietly. Clearly this was something he had been thinking about for a while.

“Of course I want to move in with you.” Adam said, and he could feel Michael’s head move, probably trying to peer down at him. He helped him out by lifting his head off his chest to look up at him properly. They stared at one another, nearly nose to nose, for a few long moments.

“Really? Is that a yes?” Michael asked softly.

Adam only smiled. “Yes.”

If it had been possible, Michael’s face looked like it might’ve split in two with how wide he was suddenly smiling.

Chapter Text

“You want to eat at the Roadhouse?” Adam asked as he climbed into Michael’s car.

He had been back to work for almost two months now, nearing a total of three since his incident. Things were a little less awkward in the office now thankfully, and even mostly normal. The tension that had been there those first few weeks had eventually faded into quiet acceptance for both him and Michael. Things might not ever quite feel the same on the top floor, but they were better.

“Yes. Is that fine?” Michael raised a brow and started the car.

“Fine? Babe, you know I’m never going to say no to a Roadhouse burger.” Adam laughed. He watched as they pulled out of their driveway, he was still getting used to that, and down the street.

Michael made some sort of noncommittal noise and was soon on the main road that would take them most of the way to the Roadhouse.

It was a little bit early to go out for lunch, Adam thought. He had been almost positive the Roadhouse didn’t open until noon on weekdays, but Michael insisted that it was fine to go now despite it only being around 11 when they got there. Adam wasn’t about to argue about waiting to get a burger though so he just let Michael drive them. The parking lot was empty when they got there, save for Jo and Ellen’s cars, which was odd. Adam was almost absolutely certain that they always parked in the back, out of the way of customers. Ignoring that, Michael pulled them into the closest spot by the door and quickly hopped out of the car.

Adam was only halfway out when Michael appeared at his side, grabbing his hand and wrapping their fingers together. He smiled down at him in a way that Adam was powerless to resist and he returned it tenfold.

“Guess since nobody else is here yet, service will be super fast.” He joked as they started the walk up to the door.

Michael made a small affirmative noise and held the door open for him.

Adam slipped through easily, but came to a jolted stop at what he saw. It was the Roadhouse, obviously, but there in the middle of the floor several tables had been shoved together and chairs were aligned neatly around them. He hardly noticed all that over who was there though.

Sitting around the makeshift long table sat all of the Novak siblings, each smiling in their direction, as well as Charlie, Kevin, and Alfie together on the other side. Kelly was there too, sitting beside Luke with his arm around her shoulders. Jo and Ellen were standing nearby with sneaky grins of their own. Then, finally, his eyes landed on Sam, Dean, and Eileen. Dean was between Cas and Sam, wearing the Led Zeppelin T-shirt Adam had given him for Christmas.

“W-What…What is this?” Adam stumbled out. He was still firmly rooted to his spot right there by the door.

“Surprise!” Gabriel and Luke both cheered. Charlie, Kevin, and even shyly Alfie, joined in with their own cheers.

Adam thought his brain might be imploding as he tried to figure out what the hell was happening. Turns out he didn’t need to, though, as Michael stepped closer to him and brought their conjoined hands up to his lips. He gently kissed the back of Adam’s hand, then pressed the warmed skin to his cheek.

“I thought you would like to have a get-together with everyone. I wanted to surprise you.” Michael admitted, almost looking a little sheepish.

“You…”Adam stared at him, bewildered. Michael had gotten all his friends and even his brothers, who he hadn’t seen since before his stay at the hospital, all together…for him?

“I asked everyone to meet here, yes. I wanted you to have a good time with all your friends and even your brothers, who would like to talk to you. That is up to you, of course. But, regardless, I simply thought this would make you happy, and that is all I ever want. I wanted you to see how dear you are to everyone here.” Michael kissed his hand again, longer this time.

Adam was pretty sure he was looking at him like he was crazy, but a giant smile was starting to stretch across his face.

“Michael!” He beamed and the older man grunted when he threw himself at him, grabbing his face and smooshing their lips together. He vaguely heard the sound of whoops and whistles from the table with their friends and family, but the only thing Adam could focus on at the moment was the utterly precious man in front of him.

When they pulled apart, Michael had a dopey, love sick look on his face that Adam just wanted to eat up. Maybe later, though. Right now, he turned back to the table and smiled at everyone. All these people he cared about, here for him. He actually couldn’t believe it. But…maybe he should believe it after all. Each one of them were watching him and Michael with obvious glee, even Sam and Dean had small smiles on their faces.

With that, Adam pulled Michael to the table with him where they sat down in the only two empty chairs left, right there in the middle. Adam plopped down, and Ellen walked up to put her hand on the back of his chair.

“What’ll it be, kiddo? A burger with all the fixin’s and fries, extra crispy?” She asked with a grin.

“Yes, please!” Adam’s skin felt tingly from all the excitement coursing through his veins. He wasn’t sure this wasn’t all a fever dream if he was honest.

“Sure thing. You too, hun?” Ellen turned her gaze to Michael who simply smiled and nodded. “Alright, coming right up. Sit tight, Jo and I will be right back with everybody’s food.” With that the two disappeared, and the table exploded into chatter.

“How do ya like your surprise, kid?” Gabe grinned over at him from where he sat on Michael’s other side. It was very reminiscent of his normal position squished into the booth like they usually were when they were here.

“This is great, I kinda can’t believe it.” Adam admitted. Michael responded by squeezing his hand where they rested together on the table.

“Ha! Well, you better believe it. Michael threatened to take us all out back and shoot us if we didn’t agree to come.” Luke said with a toothy smirk.

“I did no such thing.” Michael huffed, earning a laugh from several around the table. “Everyone came very willingly, thank you. Including you, Luke.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s true. What can I say? I like your boyfriend, Mikey. He makes you less uptight all the time.” The twin laughed.

Adam grinned so wide his face was turning sore already.

On his other side, Charlie, Kevin, and Alfie all sat together and on the other side were Dean, Sam, and Eileen. As the Novak siblings started getting into their own conversation about one of Gabriel’s latest film ideas, and by that it was really just Gabe and Luke talking while the rest of the siblings reluctantly had to listen, Adam turned his attention to his other friends.

“Thank for being here. Michael asked you all to come?” Adam asked. He was a little surprised just because Michael didn’t really know his three nerdy friends very well other than their brief meetings and what Adam had told him about them. But, it would appear that his boyfriend had managed to get in contact with them without him knowing to get them all here.

“Yeah, he asked us all last week to show up here for you.” Charlie informed with a blinding smile.

“It’s true. He talked to Alfie, then Alfie talked to us.” Kevin pointed out. It made sense after all, Alfie was only a floor below them and if Michael went down there in the guise of talking to Castiel…well, Adam wasn’t too surprised he hadn't noticed, actually.

“Yep!” Alfie beamed. “We didn’t tell you because it was supposed to be a surprise.”

“Wait…is that what you three were whispering about the other day at game night? I just thought you were planning something for the campaign!” Adam threw his head back and laughed. He hadn’t even suspected that his friends had been up to anything like this, but they were each grinning so cheekily that it gave them away now.

“I’m glad you didn’t spoil the surprise.” Michael’s voice came through and Adam looked to his other side to see his boyfriend’s humored look. “Of course, if you had, I would have simply planned something else for Adam so he could have still been surprised.” He hummed.

“Babe, you don’t have to do all that.” Adam pointed out, but Michael just shrugged at him. He was a giver, through and through.

Ellen and Jo came back at that moment, each with multiple plates on their arms.

“Orders up! Everybody grab their plate.” Ellen called. They bent down, allowing the crowd to pluck burgers and fries from their awaiting arms. Jo went straight to Adam first, allowing him first dibs, then Michael. They went back to the kitchen and came out again until everyone had a plate, as well as themselves, as they pulled another table up to one side and a couple chairs so they could sit with the group as well.

“How is it, Adam?” Jo asked as she sat down. By now, Adam was three bites into his massive burger and had to wipe his face with a napkin before he replied.

“Great! You guys know you make the best burgers in town.” Adam answered.

“Hell yeah we do, honey.” Ellen laughed and pulled her own plate close.

The table fell into a quiet but comfortable lull as conversations paused or grew slower, allowing everyone to eat in between.

Eventually, when Adam was halfway through his fries and almost entirely done with his burger save a couple bites, Luke cleared his throat loud enough for everyone to fall completely silent. Then, the blonde stood up and placed his hand on Kelly’s shoulder where she sat beside him.

Curiously, Adam peeked over at Michael and the look in the oldest Novak’s eyes were proud and loving. He was looking up at his younger brother, even if he was only younger by a few minutes, more like a father than a sibling. Soon, it became very apparent why.

Everyone else stopped eating to look up at Luke as he grinned down at everyone around the table. Mostly, though, his gaze stayed on his brothers and Adam.

“First off, thanks to Mikey for getting everybody together. I think we all really needed this little outing.” Luke started, and several nodded their heads in agreement. “Secondly, I want to thank him for allowing me to make this exciting announcement while we’re all here together, celebrating life and family. I know I speak for all of my brothers, as well as myself, when I say that we consider Adam a member of our family now. Kid, you have no idea how happy we all are to consider you an honorary Novak.”

There was a pause where Luke simply stood there and grinned. Adam could feel his face heating up just from the sentiment, but he knew it was true. The Novak siblings had made him feel like family from the moment he met them.

“That being said,” Luke continued after a few moments. He patted Kelly’s shoulder a couple times and she responded by lifting her own hand and cupping Luke’s where it rested on her. “I’d also like to introduce everyone to the newest new member of the Novak clan…Jack.” At that, he whipped out a bundle of photos with his free hand and showed them off around the table.

It only took a second for Adam to realize what they were, ultrasound photos. But, before he could voice his surprise and excitement, Raphael beat him.

“You’re pregnant!?” It was the loudest Adam had ever heard Raphael’s voice before, but his excitement was palpable.

“Yes, I’m pregnant.” Kelly confirmed with a big grin of her own.

Immediately, the table was alight with an enthusiastic buzz and delighted chatter. All around a flow of congratulations and curious questions poured in, to which Luke and Kelly tried their best to answer.

Adam was grinning so hard his face hurt, and he turned to Michael who was watching his twin and his now girlfriend with that same fond, fatherly look.

“You knew.” Adam said, and it wasn’t a question.

Michael glanced over to him and tilted his head, that smile now softening into something new and just for Adam. “I did. Luke asked me if he could make the announcement here a while ago. I accepted, of course, because I knew it would make you happy.”

“Damn right it makes me happy!” Adam laughed. He leaned into Michael then and let their upper arms press together. “Baby, that’s awesome! You’re gonna be an uncle!”

“Yes, I am.” The sparkle in Michael’s eyes betrayed how much he loved the idea.

“Oh ho, don’t think you’re getting out of uncle duties too, young man!” Luke’s voice came through. Adam glanced over and saw him pointing at him. “We fully expect Uncle Addy to help babysit the little guy too.”

Adam laughed and smiled until he was sore with it. He couldn’t help it, he just felt so light. So utterly and unapologetically happy.

“Of course! Man, Jack is going to be so spoiled. I can’t wait for me and Michael to be the ones to do it.”

“And me.” Castiel chimed in. He was wearing perhaps the biggest grin of all, and Adam suspected that he might be even more excited than anyone else at the table by the news.

“Me too!” Gabriel said quickly.

Adam laughed for what felt like the hundredth time.

After everyone finished eating, the chatter continued. Ellen and Jo had to excuse themselves once noon hit and the restaurant officially opened, but they made no move to hurry the group up so that they could put the tables back in place. Adam was glad for that, since he was having a good time talking with everyone.

Dean, Sam, and Eileen were mostly chatting amongst themselves, unsurprisingly, but Castiel joined in from time to time too, and even Charlie and Kevin eventually got them to open up a bit more too. Turns out it was easy for a bunch of nerds to find something in common that they could all talk about easily.

Adam, now that both he and Michael were done eating, caught his boyfriend’s hand and held it on the table proudly.

“Seriously, thanks for this, babe. I really had fun.” He said as he leaned into Michael’s personal space a little to talk to him privately.

In turn, the older man smiled down at him and leaned in too, effectively bringing them even closer. “You’re very welcome, dearest. I was happy to do it for you.”

“Still, I want to thank you. This meant a lot.” There was nothing Adam felt he could do that would ever repay Michael for all the kindness he had done for him. Still, he would try for the rest of his life.

The taller man however shook his head, as if able to read Adam’s doubtful thoughts, and leaned in to kiss his forehead.

“You make me feel loved. Not only that, you made me believe that I was capable of being loveable at all. You treat me like I’m actually a person and not just a…robot, doing my job and nothing more. You always have. I’m not sure how you ever saw any good in me, but you did, and sweetheart, you made me feel truly alive for the first time in my entire life. I want to give you the world because you’ve already given it to me first.” Michael murmured with such conviction it made Adam’s eyes burn with emotion.

He didn’t know Michael felt that way, but he wasn’t about to argue with him. For a split second he thought that Michael was exaggerating, but his boyfriend had never been anything but incredibly honest. Plus, his sessions with Dr. Barnes had really started to drill it into Adam that he was capable of happiness and taught him not to spit in the face of it. He deserved joy and peace, he just needed to not fight it when it came. And Michael, Michael always brought it straight to Adam’s feet and offered that happiness on a silver platter.

“I love you, angel.” Adam said quietly, tilting his head just enough.

Michael was already leaning in to meet him halfway. “I love you more, my precious Adam.”

The kiss was quick but no less full of emotion. Adam wished it would have lasted longer but they were still surrounded by friends and family. Speaking of, he glanced over as he pulled away and noticed Dean watching them. His first reaction to seeing his older brother staring at them was the bristle on the defensive, but the longer they watched each other, the more Adam realized Dean didn’t look mad, he looked more…guilty. Mournful even, almost. That was odd.

Another hour went by with everyone chatting and enjoying each other’s company, but as the Roadhouse began to get filled with more and more customers, they finally made the decision to leave.

Castiel and Raphael were still excitedly chittering about Jack, the soon to be newest addition to the Novak family. Adam already knew the kid was going to be spoiled more than anyone ever had been before.

As they got up, Michael squeezed his hand where they were still connected then let go to help push the tables back where they belonged. It didn’t take long, thankfully, and the moment he was back by his side, the older man snatched up his hand again and brought it up to kiss his knuckles.

“You sappy romantic.” Adam smirked. Not that he wasn’t absolutely melting on the inside from it.

Michael knew it too and chuckled, giving the knuckles another kiss for good measure before letting their hands fall back down to dangle between them. “Only for you.” He said as he pushed open the door and held it open.

Adam slipped through and into the warm, early Summer air.

“Hey.” A voice said behind them as they walked through the parking lot. Glancing back, Dean was there and looking uncomfortable.

Michael, surprisingly to Adam, didn’t immediately go on the defensive and tell Dean to fuck off. Instead, he stood up straight and faced the other man with his signature no bullshit face.

“Dean. Thank you for coming. I know your support meant a lot to Adam.” He said, then glanced down at Adam for confirmation.

Adam nodded. It was a little weird and a lot awkward but…well, his brothers hadn’t started anything throughout the entire meal, which was a huge plus. The fact they were there at all was shocking, but not picking a fight or making shitty comments had been damn near unbelievable.

“Ah, yeah. Thanks for inviting me. I know you probably didn’t want to.” Dean kicked a rock under his foot.

“Today wasn’t about what I wanted, it was about what I thought was best for Adam. Speaking of, you mentioned something about wanting to talk to him.” Michael raised an expecting eyebrow.

Weirdly, Dean didn’t get pissed off by that and just sighed. He sounded defeated, almost. Adam wasn’t sure exactly what was going on.

“Yeah, yeah I did. I need to. If you’ll let me, Adam.”

“Uh, sure. What did you want to talk about, Dean?” Adam was still unsure about what was happening or why his brother was acting this way. But, he also trusted Michael and if he already vetted and approved Dean to come to lunch and possibly talk to him, then Adam would at least hear his brother out.

Dean let out a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a groan as he ran a hand up and down his face. “I just, ya know…ugh.”

“No, Dean. I really don’t.” Adam muttered. Instead of getting mad like he would’ve expected from his oldest brother though, Dean just looked tired.

“Yeah…yeah I guess not. Look, I’ve been a real dick to you, I know that. I’ve been pissed off about the whole dad keeping you a secret thing, and then when you had to move in with me and Sam out of nowhere…” Dean groaned again, heavier this time. He was clearly struggling to even figure out what to say, working his jaw like it hurt. “The bottom line is, after you…after what happened on the roof, and what Michael said about me and Sam, well, Cas really knocked some sense into us. Into me, especially. After we thought we might lose you, we really realized we had a lot of regrets. More so me.”

Adam wasn’t entirely sure how to take this conversation. Dean looked like he was physically in pain just trying to talk about his emotions. Then again, he had never been good with them, other than anger, but…at least he was trying. This was the most effort he had put into talking things through and admitting his wrongdoings that Adam had ever actually heard from him. Too bad it took him almost dying to get here, but it was still something, he guessed.

“Anyway,” Dean continued after he mentally situated himself. He looked more determined, even if still moderately uncomfortable. “Adam, nothing is more important to me than family. You know that. But, I realized I haven’t been treating you like that…and family isn’t always blood, either. Cas is my family too, just as much as Sam, and…just as much as you. I trust Cas’ word, so when he sat me down and talked to me about how I treated you like shit for so long…I mean, he saw the other side of it, ya know? The side that I refused to acknowledge…your side. But, Cas saw it ‘cause he always hung out with you and Michael. So, anyway, after the, uh, incident and you landed in the hospital, Cas told me how much of an ass I was being and…after what happened, I realized he was right. It took a while because I was just so angry, and I wanted to blame Michael, but…he was right. And so were you, all those times you called me out on my shit. I’m…sorry, I deflected all those times.” Dean was staring at the ground now, glaring at it really, and clutching his fists by his sides. “I don’t want to lose a brother just because I can’t stop being a massive dick. And you’re my brother, Adam. I don’t want to lose you.”

Adam didn’t know what to say to that. He stared at Dean with big, wide eyes and mouth half open. He was actually…apologizing? Those were words he never thought would leave his brother’s mouth, and even more so, he actually sounded like he meant it.

“You didn’t deserve how I treated you, Adam.” Dean sighed again, but looked up from the ground to stare him in the eyes. There was a conviction in his gaze that made him look incredibly serious. “You’re a good man. You didn’t deserve that.”

“Since when do we get what we deserve?” Adam asked, but his voice was quiet. Did he deserve what he’d gotten? Probably not. But, he had, and he could do nothing but deal with it now. Thankfully, he had plenty of friends, an amazing boyfriend, and…apparently, now, at least one older brother that was willing to change to help him along. “But…I’ll forgive you. It might take a while, but…I will eventually. Just give me some time.”

Dean smiled slightly and nodded. “Sure, kid. And uh, I’m glad you’re doing okay. Cas says you’re doing great, back to work and even signed up for college in the Fall. You always did want to go back.”

At that, Adam smiled too. “Yeah, I am. Raphael helped me get it all situated. I’m finally going back.”

“That’s good.” Dean nodded. Then, his eyes flickered over to Michael for a moment. “I’m glad to see you happy.”

Something about the way he said it told Adam that Dean didn’t just mean he was happy about him going back to school. Dare he think, his brother was actually glad that he found a boyfriend that genuinely lit him up inside.

“Thanks, Dean. That means a lot.” He said instead of pointing any of that out.

Dean chuckled and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Sure. Talk to you later, Adam.”

“Bye, Dean.”

With that, the elder Winchester walked away and Adam's eyes followed his path to where Castiel, Sam, and Eileen stood waiting for him by the impala. They waved, to which Adam and Michael both returned, before they too turned back to their own vehicle and climbed in.

“Baby, today was amazing. Thank you so much.” Adam leaned over the center console and kissed Michael breathless the second they both sat down.

Michael returned the affection with equal enthusiasm, smiling into the kiss. “You’re welcome, sweetheart. Now, where would you like to go now? We have all day. We could go see a movie, go to the park, go shopping in the city, whatever you’d like.” He offered.

Adam hummed in thought for only a few moments, until a grin stretched over his face and he punctuated it with another quick kiss. “Let’s go home. Seeing everyone was great, but I want to spend a little alone time with my boyfriend and show him how happy he makes me.” Adam let his hand fall onto Michael’s thigh even as he pulled back and buckled up.

Within a moment, Michael too had his seatbelt on and was pulling out of the gravel parking lot of the Roadhouse. “That can be arranged.” He grinned back.

“Then shut up and drive faster, angel. You’ve got work to do when we get back and I know how much you hate being late.” Adam teased, moving his hand higher on his boyfriend’s leg.

Michael laughed as he pulled onto the highway. “Yes, sir.”

A few months later, come September, Adam didn’t think he had ever had a better birthday. Not only did Sam and Dean actually remember this time, but they, all the Novaks, and Charlie, Kevin, and Alfie, got together to celebrate. It had easily become tradition that the Roadhouse was the go-to destination for any of their big celebrations or announcements.

Kelly was there, stomach now noticeably big. The way she caressed it was nothing short of adoration, and Adam knew she was going to be the best mom. Well, best after his own, anyway.

After that, the holidays started to creep up on them fast.

He and Michael celebrated their first anniversary together at the beginning of December by renting a cabin, just the two of them, in the mountains. It was endearingly reminiscent to Adam of their first night together as a couple, as he looked outside and saw the snow falling all around them.

Michael’s arms coming up around him and circling his waist to pull him back into a warm chest was equally as nostalgic.

Soon after they got back from their trip, Michael took him shopping for another new suit. Gabriel tagged along, just like last time, and was just as excited about this year’s charity auction as the last. Weirdly enough, perhaps even more so.

Adam didn’t question it and when the evening came and they arrived at the familiar building of Rowena’s charity event, he stepped out of Michael’s fancy car and clasped their hands together.

This time when they passed the huddle of reporters and journalists begging for a story, Michael introduced Adam as his partner of over one year. The press ate the information up, but there were more pressing matters to attempt to so the older man pulled Adam along inside after letting those with cameras snap a few quick shots.

“Was that okay?” Michael asked.

“What, the reporters? Sure, I didn’t mind. I mean, they basically just broadcasted to the whole world that you’re mine. I’m honestly kind of stoked.” Adam grinned at him.

Michael laughed and led them to the table to grab food and, just as they had done the year previous, found their reserved table in the main hall. Luke and Kelly were already there, the latter holding their little bundle of joy against her chest.

“Can I hold him?” Adam asked as he set his plate on the table. As much as he wanted to chow down on the free food, holding Jack was way more important.

“Of course, he loves his uncle Addy. Don’t you, Jack?” Kelly cooed down at the bundle of blankets in her arms.

Adam hurried over and reached his hands out, carefully scooping up the baby into his arms just like he had been taught shortly after Jack had been born.

“Hey there, little guy. Wanna spend some time with me and uncle Mikey?” Adam grinned more as Jack beamed a gummy smile back up at him. Adam chuckled and looked back to Kelly and Luke. “Would that be okay? Can I hold him for a while?”

“Sure, and if he starts to cry I have his pacifier and bottle. If you need to give him back though, that’s alright. One of us can take him.” Kelly said, already digging in her bag and pulling out both items. She passed them over to Luke, who in turn handed them over to Michael beside him.

Adam nodded quickly and hurried back over to his seat on Michael’s other side, gently holding the baby in one arm and picking up his fork with the other.

“Do you want me to hold him while you eat?” Michael asked.

Adam shook his head. “No way, it's my turn, and this is fine. I don’t mind.”

“Hm. Just let me know.” The CEO said, but his eyes betrayed how much he enjoyed seeing Adam holding his nephew. Not that it was a secret, Michael had made it perfectly obvious since the beginning that he thought Adam looked perfect with Jack in his arms.

Soon, Raphael and Gabriel appeared and took their seats, the same as last year, with Gabe to Adam’s right. He too leaned over and cooed at Jack, wiggling a finger at him and only slightly grimacing when Jack stuck it in his mouth.

Castiel and Dean appeared only a few minutes later.

Adam and Dean’s relationship had improved immensely over the past several months. And while he still wouldn't say his brothers were his best friends or anything, Adam was glad they were actually treating him like family more now. Sam had issued his own apologies shortly after Dean, in the privacy of their house after they invited both Adam and Michael over for dinner one evening. The invite had been a surprise, then even more shocking had been how well the night actually went. Adam had left his brothers’ house feeling lighter than he had in a long time.

When Crowley and Rowena walked on stage, it was Crowley who first went up to the mic and tapped it to get everyone’s attention.

“Good evening and happy holidays to everyone! We are glad to be back for another year’s charity auction. This year, we have a very exciting announcement to make about our charity of choice, as well as a special sponsor for tonight’s events.” Crowley’s voice rang through the large room through speakers in each corner.

Rowena stepped up to the microphone next, looking as beautiful and elegant as Adam remembered from last year.

“Hello, everyone! Just as dear Fergus has said, tonight’s auction is going to be something very special. This year, we are proud to announce that the money we are collecting will be going to both the state and city’s local Suicide Prevention Associations, to aid those suffering from depression and to help the individuals who need it most of all.” Rowena said proudly. Adam’s eyes grew big. “Furthermore, we would like to thank tonight’s sponsor for suggesting these charities, as well as for having already made a very sizable donation himself to start off the festivities, Mr. Michael Novak.”

Clapping filled the room all around them.

Adam’s head spun around so fast to stare at Michael with wide, disbelieving eyes he thought something might’ve snapped in his neck.

Michael, however, simply smiled down at him and leaned in to press a kiss to Adam’s head.

Adam could only give him a watery smile and held Jack a little bit closer to his chest as the first item for auction was brought onto the stage.

Chapter Text

Adam was buzzing with excitement as the plane touched down in Minneapolis. He hadn’t been back home to Minnesota in years, not since his mother’s passing, and out of the blue Michael suggested they go for a visit.

They had just made it past their two years together a few months ago in December, and now they were exiting a plane into the Minneapolis airport hand in hand, to the beauty that was the overflowing greens and bright colors of Spring.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?” Adam asked. This had been a trip of faith, if he was honest. Michael had suggested they go to Minnesota and Adam, of course, had readily agreed. However, his boyfriend of two years absolutely refused to tell him what all he had planned. That was fine, Adam knew Minnesota better so he would figure it out once they got on the road.

“No, not yet. But, we’ll be there soon, I promise.” Michael smiled down at him before focusing back on navigating through the busy sea of people and towards the exit.

Efficient as always, Michael had a car rental waiting for them as soon as they stepped out of the airport. This was far from the first time Adam had been in the city, but it had been over a decade at this point. Being back in Minnesota was as strange as it was exciting.

He was a little surprised when Michael pulled the car onto the interstate instead of going somewhere in the actual city though. But, Adam wasn’t one to complain, and watched as vaguely familiar buildings went by.

A good hour and a half into their mini road trip, Adam knew exactly where they were going. He had thought about it before, but hadn’t dared to actually hope for it. After all, his mom had driven him this same route more times than he could count during his childhood. Now, he was more than certain of their destination. And, another hour later when the sign reading “Welcome to Windom” came into view, he was practically jumping out of his seat as he pressed himself as close to the windows as possible to look at anything and everything.

Windom was exactly as he remembered it. A small, modest little town with old brick buildings with a sort of mid-century feel. Old cars were parked in front of the vintage buildings, against the same sidewalk he and his mom had walked a million times before. Now, such a street was immortalized in the painting Michael had gotten him two Christmases ago. He hadn’t ever thought he’d see it in person again, and now that he was, the emotion and memories made him want to laugh and cry all at once.

They parked in one of the empty spots at the building fronts and Adam all but rocketed himself out of the vehicle.

“Michael!” He gasped as he rounded the car, meeting his boyfriend in front of the hood and practically slammed him into a hug. “You…I can’t believe…we’re actually…”

Michael, gentle and sweet as he always was, brought his arms up to cradle Adam’s face in his hands.

“Surprise, my love. We’re staying here for a couple of nights. I already have the airbnb rented and waiting. For now, we are free to go wherever you’d like. But later…I was thinking you might take me to meet your mother?”

Adam could hardly contain himself. He felt like he would burst from all the emotions he was feeling at any moment. He was home. Or at least, the place he had considered his home most of his life. The place his mom had raised him all on her own, where he had most of his memories with her, and where his friends had been before he moved away over ten years ago. Now, home was where he and Michael had spent the better part of the last two years together, in their place together, tucked in the woods and where new memories were being made.

“Meet my mom?” He asked quietly. He pulled back a little to look up at his boyfriend and furrowed his brows.

But Michael just continued to smile, one thumb brushing slow, easy strokes across his cheek.

“I thought you might like to visit her grave.” He admitted softly. “I would like to finally introduce myself to her properly, and bring her some flowers, if that is amenable to you. Maybe this evening, before we retire for the night?”

To say Adam’s smile was blinding would be an understatement.

Visiting Windom after all these years was strangely cathartic. He showed Michael all his favorite, small town spots. The place he got his favorite burgers from growing up, the ice cream shop he and his friends used to visit during the summer, even his old house where he grew up. Luckily, the old florist was still around and they made that the last stop in town before they made it to their final destination for the evening.

Visiting the graveyard had been a little bit harder. He hadn’t seen his mom’s grave since she was put in it, and Adam had to brush away some leaves to see the stone better.

“Hey, mom.” He choked out a smile, and set the first bouquet of flowers down over the dirt. “This is my boyfriend, Michael. He’s literally the best, you’d really, really like him. He insisted that he meet you properly and even brought his own flowers for you too. He’s kinda stubborn, like you always said I was. Guess we’re really good at being stubborn together, though.”

Adam laughed quietly as he stood back up. Then, he took a step back, allowing Michael to come forward and watched as he crouched down, placing his own bouquet next to Adam’s.

“Hello, Ms. Milligan. Well, Kate. Adam has informed me that you would’ve insisted I call you Kate instead.” Michael started. Behind him, he could hear Adam sniffle quietly. “I feel like I must thank you, for giving me the most amazing gift of my entire life. Your son means everything to me. Adam has brought me joy that I never thought possible for me, and I thank you everyday that you raised him to be the loving, strong, wonderful man he is today. I can only imagine how proud you are of him, because I have never been more proud of anyone in my entire life. I’ve never loved anyone else in my entire life, not like I love your son. He is the most important person in the entire world.”

The sniffles had morphed into muffled sobs, and Michael took that as his cue to stand up. He immediately turned and opened his arms, allowing Adam to fall into them. He held him, more than willing to be the strength he needed and the love he deserved in this tender moment. And he was more than willing to be there like this for as long as Adam needed.

After spending a couple days in Windom, Michael brought them back to Minneapolis to spend the last few remaining days of their vacation there.

Here too Adam was able to show Michael the things his mother had shown him in the past. Certain buildings, restaurants he remembered eating with her at, and best of all places like the zoo, science museum, and art gallery, which Michael insisted they go to and fill three of their days with.

On the final day in Minneapolis, Michael piled them into the car and started driving without a word. A smile hung on his lips the entire time, though whether that was because of the mysterious place they were going or the way Adam sang along with the radio was anyone’s guess.

It didn’t take long before they pulled into yet another familiar parking lot, and the moment Adam recognized it, his grin only broadened.

“Como park?” He asked excitedly.

He had long since told Michael all about his childhood visits here, when his mom had found the time off her busy work schedule to take him somewhere nice. She brought him to Minneapolis a few times during these off days, somewhere not too terribly far from Windom but still much bigger with more things to do. Adam had loved it every time.

“Yes, I thought this would be a nice way to end our vacation.” Michael admitted as he locked the car behind them, arm out for Adam to take.

It only took him a second to accept it and he took Michael's arm as they walked in together.

Como Park was as beautiful as Adam remembered it being, maybe even more. The plants in the conservatory popped with color, and the glass walls filtered in just the perfect amount of light to bring them all to life. Amidst the luscious greens and bright flowers, Adam didn’t notice when Michael slowed down and was no longer right beside him until he turned to say something.

Finding his boyfriend missing from his side, Adam frowned and turned around. He expected to see Michael meticulously fascinated by a particular plant or admiring the decorative architecture of the building itself, but he was greeted by the sight of neither of those things.

Rather, Michael was only a few feet away, staring intently at Adam with the softest of smiles on his face, a knee holding him up, and a tiny box stretched out in his hands.

All the air left Adam’s lungs in a moment and his eyes went wide in surprise. Was Michael really…?

“Adam,” Michael began, smiling growing as he watched the awe burst to life in Adam’s eyes. “You bring me greater joy than my life has ever known. I love you with every fiber of my being, and I cannot imagine myself without you. So, Adam Milligan…would you do me the great honor and privilege of marrying me?”

With that, Michael expertly popped open the little black box in his hands to reveal the ring he had created just for this moment.

Adam’s eyes didn’t feel like they could’ve been bigger, and he didn’t think his heart could swell any more than it was.

He closed the short distance between them in an instant, arms already stretching towards the man he loved and, someday soon, was going to marry.

“Yes. A thousand times, yes.” He breathed as soon as he reached him, and Michael was already pushing himself up and into his arms. They wrapped around one another and held on tight, and Adam would be content for the rest of his life if they never let go again.

Of course they had to though, and when they did Michael immediately took his hand and slid on the ring. Adam marveled at it where it sat against his skin. Then, he looked up at his fiancé, surrounded by the glorious blue windows and lively greens behind him. Michael looked positively angelic.

Never, ever had Adam seen a sight so beautiful.

He smiled so wide it hurt, and Michael returned it just as enthusiastically.

Adam was going to spend the rest of his life with this utterly amazing man. His wonderful, sweet Michael.

He couldn't have been happier if he tried.