A/N Y'all are only getting this chapter because Taylor Swift just dropped the best song from her new album so far and it's so freaking cute omg "my heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue, all's well that ends well that ends up with you""this is our place" "I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover"im literally in fucking tears you don't even understand i fucking love it she and Joe are so happy and there's barely a month until their three year anniversary and she mentions it in the song and im fucking crying you don't understand
"Michael?"
"Hmm?"
"You know Chuck better than anyone here, right?" Jo asks. "I mean, he's your dad and all."
Michael lets out a long sigh. "I suppose I do, although I can't say I know him very well. He's not a very easy guy to know."
"Well, with what you do know about him, what do you think he's doing?" Jo asks. "I mean, with us. Sticking us in here. It's been ages What do you think he's playing at?"
Michael shakes his head. "I don't know. The Lord works in mysterious ways."
Jo sighs. "I guess."
There's a moment of silence between the two of them as they look around at the rest of the bunker's inhabitants. No one's happy to be here. That's no secret. But now more than ever, everyone just looks miserable. It's almost painful to look at. The two of them might be the happiest here, which doesn't set the bar very high.
"Do you think he's enjoying this?" Jo asks.
"Chuck?'
"Mm."
Michael gives a small shrug. "I would imagine he is. It seems to go against everything he stands for, but I can't imagine any other reason he'd keep us here."
"What does he stand for?"
"Free will." Michael gives a dry, humorless chuckle. "Well, he claims he does, but I'm getting less and less sure of it every day."
"Yeah, there's not much free will here, I'll give you that," Jo agrees.
"And it's not just this," Michael adds. "In hindsight, I don't think there's ever been a time when he didn't make everything go his way."
"What do you mean?"
"Like, Lucifer's rebellion," Michael says. "What started it all. He didn't want anyone messing with his creation, so he had Lucifer locked away. The apocalypse. He didn't want it to go down, so he put himself in the Winchester's path and gave them everything they needed to stop it. I don't think he understands that free will goes beyond physically controlling someone's every move."
"Well, that does sound like him, I'll give you that." She barely knows him, but on the rare occasion that she does see him, it's always because he's playing at some game. It usually involves whatever he wants from her and Lucifer, but he's popped in every now and then to mess with other people, too. Hell, he just came in to break Sam and Lucifer up a day ago.
"Although, I have to admit," Michael says, "I don't know if I'm ready to have my free will back."
Jo cocks her head to the side. "Why not?"
"I just don't know what I'd do," Michael says. "My whole life, I was waiting for the apocalypse, and that's over now. I don't even know if I'd be welcomed back to Heaven, after losing to two little humans. I just don't know what I'd do with free will."
Jo gives him a small smile. "How do you feel about making drinks?"
Michael's brows draw together in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Well, making drinks and waiting tables, that's what I do," Jo says. "Or, you know, it was. The Roadhouse burned down, but we could build a new one. A better one. You and me, maybe my mom and Bobby. You might not be able to go back to your old life, but I can go back to mine. Why don't you come with me? You know, if we ever do get our free will back."
"I don't really..." Michael scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. "I don't really know how to do any of that."
"I can teach you "
"I don't know anything about food," Michael adds. "It all tastes the same to me."
"You don't need to taste it to make it."
"I..."
"You don't have to, obviously," Jo says. "I know it's a bit of a step down from ruling Heaven. And there's really no reason to decide now, while we're still stuck here But, you know, if we do get out of here at some point before I'm 90, maybe at least consider it? If you want?"
Michael pauses, thinking it over. After a moment, he asks, "So, want to show me how to mix a drink?"
A/N So now that you've finished the chapter go listen to Lover (and the album drops in exactly a week as of midnight EST