Hey There Ryan, It's Me, Ya Demon

Chapter 11

Barbaras was the first to strike. He punches Shane right in his stomach, which sends him flying and makes Ryan gasp in horror. Shane lands against a column with a sickening crack and it knocks the wind right out of him. "Come on Shane! I thought you'd be better than this! You certainly gave Annan a tougher time than this!" Shane got up but didn't make a move to attack. Barbaras growls in annoyance and rushes over to Shane, kicking him straight in his chest. Shane stumbles a bit and coughs but doesn't do anything. Meanwhile, Ryan was once again, helpless in helping Shane and watching, horrified that Shane wasn't fighting and scared since he didn't want what happened with Annan to repeat itself. He didn't want to have to listen to Shane's screams again, he couldn't. 

Shane, yes, felt the pain. Look, it's not like he wanted to get hurt. God knows he wanted to fight back but, he just, he couldn't. This was his brother, the only one that he could talk to. He didn't want his brother to die. He wouldn't kill him, no matter what. Even if that meant he would be beaten to death. 

"Barbaras, please, don't do this." He pleaded, leaning on one knee and trying to get a decent breath of oxygen in his lungs. 

"No, I have to." Barbaras says, not looking at Shane and looking at the ground with his fists clenched. 

"Bara, you don't, Sally doesn-"

"Yes they do! Ever since you left, I don't have anyone to protect me! I was left alone, Shane. I didn't have my brother to help me when those douches in the lower lands beat me up. Sally took me in. They, in their own way, made me stronger. I destroyed to assholes. Decimated them. Sally was the one who made things better when you left. I thought we would stay partners in crime Shane, I really did. But I guess not 'cause I woke up one morning and you were gone. Up and left, that's what dad said. Said you were always a slacker. I defended you, said you were just taking a walk but you never came back." He sniffed. "I trusted you Shane." His voice cracks and he looks up to finally make eye contact with Shane. He had tears in his eyes and it hurt. It had been so long since he'd seen his brother in this state, but it still hurt as much. 

"Bara, I promise I won't leave you again, okay? If you just promise not to hurt me or Ryan." Shane got up, leaning against the column, making eye contact with Ryan and giving him a reassuring nod. Ryan nodded back and wrung his hands worriedly. He was really hoping that Shane knew what he was doing, or else he was going to kick his dead ass. 

Shane leans forward and holds out his hand for his brother to shake it and seal the deal. Barbaras grabs his hand tightly and pulls him into a hug. Shane smiles softly and hugs him back. Ryan was smiling as well, happy that Shane managed to get through to Barbaras. 

"With all that lovey dovey shit outta the way," Barbaras says, "Let's get out of here shall we?" He snaps his fingers and they suddenly reappear in Shane and Ryan's hotel room, with everything back to what it was. Shane grabs Ryan's hand and squeezes it. Ryan squeezes it back relieved and tired, just wanting to get the heck out of there.  

"Hey, uh... Sorry. About all that. I totally get it if you never want to see me again," Barbaras says to Ryan, as Shane starts to repack and recheck everything, smiling awkwardly. 

"It's fine, just don't go trying to kill us again." Ryan answers playfully, frowning jokingly and crossing his arms. 

Barbaras laughs. "Don't plan on it. Hungry?" Barbaras motions towards the exit. "I know a pretty swell Starbucks is right around the corner. Heard they got the...what's it called? The crappaccino?" 

Shane scoffs. "The cappuccino is a masterpiece and I will not be compelled otherwise." The two argue teasingly until they arrive to the Starbucks. Aw, Ryan thinks, Brotherly fights. He recalls his own brotherly fights, suddenly feeling like he hasn't seen his brother in forever. His stomach grumbles. I can wait until after I've eaten, he decides. 

After a pleasant talk over coffee and bagels, Barbaras gets up and says he should get back before Sally thinks he's dead. "Shane, can I talk to you for a moment?" He says as he straightens his jacket. "Yeah, sure." The two of them walk over to the corner of the shop, Barbaras looking at Shane seriously. Ryan looks over at them curiously, wondering what they were talking about that he couldn't listen to. Whatever, he thinks and takes a sip of his coffee. Probably something I don't even wanna know. 

After five minutes of talking, Shane walks back towards Ryan and sits next to him. "Well, I'm glad we got that over with." He says and puts an arm around Ryan. Ryan was curious about what they talked about, but he didn't want to ask, not knowing how personal it might've been. 

They finish up their coffee's and text the crew. They all meet up at the airport, after they picked up their abandoned equipment quickly (not wanting to be there longer than they had to be, Ryan felt a shiver as he saw the room were it happened),  thankfully (and miraculously) they didn't miss their flight, nor did the crew suspect anything weird happen. 

The flight home felt shorter than it was, probably because they slept the entire flight. No one noticed their sneaky hand brushes or being more touchy than they usually were. Shane wished he could've kissed Ryan, but that would've been to obvious. 

The plane touches down and everyone rushes to get their luggage back. Shane, Ryan and the crew drop everything off at the studio. Shane clears his throat awkwardly. Hell taught Shane many things, but being discreet was not one of them.  "Uh, hey, Ryan. Wanna go... see my cat?"

Ryan stares at Shane and mutters, "What the actual fuck, Shane?" Then, louder, he says, "Uh, yeah sure. I'd love to see how Obi's doing."

They go to Shane's apartment and pet Obi and give him the attention he deserves. "Smooth, Madej. Very smooth. 'Wanna go see my cat?'" They laugh and collapse onto the couch. The only thing they do, though, is kiss a few times and then fall asleep. I guess all the jet lag and fighting demons and stuff finally got to them. 

"Heeey, Sally," Barbaras says, walking up to his siblings lounging around together. Sally flicks their eyes to the demon walking in, then back at all the souls being tortured below them. 

"Did you get the job done, Barbaras?" They ask, sounding vaguely annoyed. 

"Sure did! Didn't kill him but I sure did hurt him!" Barbaras tries to sound confident and not like an afraid, sneaky liar. 

Sally squints at him for a few seconds before sighing and saying, "Your transmitter stopped working, I couldn't see what was happening. Mind telling me what happened?" Barbaras gulps. 

"Heh, Shane fought back and I guess we lost connection..?" He ends it in a question but Sally doesn't seem to notice. 

"Good, good. Since you have shown you are a reliable I will keep you as my right hand man, given that Annan is currently reforming and won't be here for quite a while. Jozrith!" The succubus walks out of the shadows. "Yes, Sally?" Her sultry voice carries throughout the room. "It's your turn, don't let me down." She smiles and her pointy teeth glimmer in the dark. "Of course." She turns away and disappears. Barbaras gulps and tries not to show his nervousness. Quick Shane, he thinks. Quick.