Safety Has A Tail and Horns

7

The first thing Ryan wants to do is comfort Shane.

Then, yell at him.

Back and forth, comfort and yell. Reaching out a hand to touch a shoulder but fearing the consequences.

"It's my own fault, but you had this planned," Shane said, voice thick with tears and muffled behind hands. "Somehow, some way, you knew that I was..That I became..That I'm just a monster. You knew. You knew."

"I didn't."

"Don't lie to me, Ryan." Shane looked up at him, eyes red. "Maybe you don't think you did, but there's a part of you that always wondered, isn't there?"

Ryan couldn't hide his hesitation. He had sort of..sensed that something had been off about Shane for quite a while, but it was never something he could place.

Shane stood on shaky legs. "Go ahead, little guy. Get all your anger out. And don't even try to lie and say you're not upset with me, because I know you are. I'm not stupid."

"You're right. I am mad," Ryan confirmed. "I'm pissed that you kept this from me, even more pissed that you'd lie to me, too."

He walked around the salt circle slowly, head down.

"But," he continued, "you saved my life. Once from Goldsworth, and once from whatever that giant creature was back in the forest. So..it evens out, in some ways."

"Are..Are you sure?" Shane was, to say the least, absolutely and utterly confused. "You're not gonna yell at me? Spray more holy water on me? Call Father Thomas and get me exorcised?"

"One, no, I won't yell at you. Two, even if I wanted to, I'm all out. And three, I think that would kill you if you're a demon but don't actually have something possessing you. I don't know how that works."

Shane breathed a sigh of relief, coupling it with laughter as he dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, pressing until he could see stars.

"Ryan Steven Bergara, you are fucking insane," he laughed. "You're standing face to face with one of your worst fears, and you're not freaking out. You're not trying to get rid of me or kill me. This is next level shit."

"How could I be afraid of my best friend?"

It was said so softly, so kindly, that Shane froze in place. He lowered his hands, blinking away the fuzziness brought by the pressure on his eyes.

"But your best friend is a demon, Ryan."

"And he's still my friend."

Had he not been trapped within the salt, Shane probably would've hugged his cohost right then and there. Instead, he smiled.

"You're a rarity, Ryan. You hunt down the good in me," Shane said. "Now, can you please let me out of this circle?"