Loyal Old Demon, Brave Little Human.

No more Secrets.

Shane felt his eyes flutter open, and found himself staring at Ryan. He moaned, his hand going to his head as if that would stop the pounding in his head. It felt like his head was a boxing match, and he was losing. He tried to sit up, but Ryan put his arm on Shane's shoulder and kept him down. Shane looked at him, but Ryan was Ryan. There was no Ricky present. He shifted uncomfortably, and felt a wing brush against Ryan. Shane's eyes widened, but Ryan just looked at him.
"You could have told me." He didn't sound afraid, but he didn't sound like Ricky either.
"I- You-" Shane was speechless. "I'm sorry-" He broke his hoarse voice with a cough.
"You should have told me." He repeated, but his eyes filled with worry as Shane rasped.
"I didn't want to scare you."
"I'm still terrified, Shane."
"Then I'll mov-" Shane began to sit up again, and move himself away from Ryan, but Ryan's arm stopped him.
"Keep your ass still. You should have told me about you too, but I mean that you should've told me about Ricky."
Shane glanced away from Ryan briefly, and at TJ, who was nodding softly. "I-"
"You are such a dumbass." Ryan said, his eyes scanning Shane as if he had an injury he was hiding.
"You're taking it rather well."
"No he isn't." TJ said. "He fainted when he saw you. The only difference is that he woke up first, and we explained the situation to him."
"All of it?" Shane asked, a nervous edge seeping into his voice.
"Yes Shane. All of it." Mark said from the driver's seat.
"I can still hear Ricky now, like he's trying to push to the surface, but being around you seems to keep him at bay." Ryan said, almost to himself, but his arm tightened around Shane's torso.
Shane didn't fight the embrace, instead he just stared up at Ryan, very confused. His whole worldview was crashing around Shane. Why wasn't Ryan more scared? Was it Ricky making him more confident? No, it didn't feel like Ricky was there. Still, wasn't Ryan supposed to run? Wasn't he supposed to hate Shane? Wasn't everyone supposed to be scared of Shane? The demon was beyond confused. Things that he had always been told were falling apart, and the past experiences he remembered were proving an inadequate measure of how humanity was. So Shane simply looked at Ryan, and he was silent for a while. Then, Shane grew the courage to ask Ryan the question he was dreading.
"Do you remember anything that happened while Ricky was... in control?"
Ryan was quiet for a moment, and then he looked into Shane's eyes. He wondered if his eyes were gold or brown. "I remember all of it."
●●●
The ride home was quiet, and Shane found that even with everything else, Shane never moved from his spot in Ryan's lap. He did hide his demon side as they neared the city, and Ryan had moved his arm to play through Shane's hair. It felt like there were butterflies in Shane's stomach. After a while, Shane felt the car slow to a stop and be put into park. Ryan let Shane go, and Shane suddenly felt very cold. Ryan got out of the car, along with TJ and Mark, so Shane followed suit. His back stung and he felt burns and injuries slowly trying to close, though moving seemed to be reopening them slightly. He went to reach for the camera bags, along with Ryan, but the two camera men stopped them, and shoed them off. "You need to go talk about everything. We got things here." TJ said, and Mark nodded. Shane glanced at Ryan, who was watching Shane in equal measure. They both sighed, but agreed, and Ryan began to walk away, leaving Shane to play catch up. Ryan got into his car, and Shane climbed into the passenger. The drive was silent, save for the anxious noises Shane made as his foot bounced, or he tapped his fingers on the center console. When Ryan pulled into his lot and parked his car, Shane almost launched himself out of the car. It seemed stifling. Ryan simply looked at Shane, and then turned to go towards his apartment, Shane in tow. He unlocked his front door, and for the first time, Shane noticed that Ryan's hands were shaking. He tried not to stare. Ryan opened his door, and stepped through, ushering Shane to enter behind him. Shane did as he was told, and Ryan closed the door.
"Look, Ry, I'm sor-" Shane was cut off by Ryan, who had pushed himself upward into Shane. Their lips connected, and sparks flew. Shane was caught of guard for a brief moment, before he returned the kiss, his hands snaking to hold Ryan close as Ryan's hand cupped Shane's cheek. It was bliss. The kiss felt passionate and excited, but it was still soft, and tasted sweet. The world seemed to melt, leaving Shane and Ryan alone and together all at once. Ryan put his other hand up, and the both nestled softly into Shane's hair, sitting at the base of his now visible horns. After a long moment, they pulled away, breathless and smiling. Ryan's eyes locked with Shane, and the demon was filled with a relief he couldn't explain. Seeing that the person he was now holding wasn't some trick, god, Shane felt more like he was more heaven bound than hell.
"I... Shit, Shane. I thought I would be pissed, finding all this out, but then what he did when he was..." Ryan trailed off, his arms resting on Shane's shoulders.
"I'm sorry about him. He's an asswipe."
"So I heard." Ryan giggled. The sound was softer than normal, but not in an unnatural way, just more relaxed than Shane had heard in a very long time.
"I should have told you sooner."
"About which part? The fact I was possessed? You being a demon? You caring for me?"
"Okay! Okay, I get the point. I hide a lot of shit."
"Yes you do, and I want this, Shane. Whatever it is, I want it."
"I do too-"
"But only if you are willing to share. No more lies, and no more secrets."