I Miss You, You've Changed

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It was late at night, Ryan had already gone to bed and Shane was moving around uncomfortably on the couch. It was much too small for him, and the very fabric of it was itchy and nearly unbearable. Back home he had his own house, which admittedly was quite nice. Being a higher-level demon meant he got more benefits such as lavish homes and whatnot. Yes, the couch was confiding, but Shane liked the thought of starting from the bottom. 

He saw this visit to the overworld as a challenge. Here he was nothing more than a cohost of a true-crime show, not a demon. It offered many interesting opportunities which Shane was thrilled at the thought of. 

Just as he was beginning to drift into sleep, he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. He didn't have to open his eyes to know who it was, but he couldn't help the smile that crept on his face. As much as he grew tired of home, he could never get tired of his best friend.

"Shane" Ricky whisper-yelled, his hand still lightly placed on his shoulder. He knew he wasn't sleeping, but he had no idea who else was in this house. He kept looking around nervously, expecting something to jump out at him.

Shane sat up groggily, still half asleep. He had a slight smile on his face. Honestly, he would have been more annoyed if he weren't so happy to see him. As Ricky observed the room they were in, he realized how odd it was. First of all, it was the exact opposite of Shane's house, and it wasn't even a bedroom. Ricky held off his questions for a few minutes to let Shane talk about his stay. 

"Well hello there" Shane greeted Ricky, stretching his arms out. His voice was also quiet because he knew Ryan was a light sleeper. "Come to drag me back to hell?" Shane asked jokingly. Ricky smiled fondly at Shane's usual playful arrogance, it felt good to see him again. It almost felt like home. 

"Come on, let's get out of here" Ricky begged with a whiny tone, pulling Shane off the couch by his hands and making little progress. He was eager to leave the restricting apartment, it made him feel uneasy. not to mention the evident presence of the human in the other room. 

"Alright, alright" Shane laughed, letting Ricky drag him towards the door. He stopped just as they were about to leave when Shane remembered something. Ricky watched, confused as Shane went to the table. Shane wrote a note to Ryan explaining the situation, then joined Ricky's side. He debated leaving a small heart next to his signature but decided against it at the last moment. Things were going good with Ryan thus far, he didn't want to put that in jeopardy. 

Ricky took note of this, thinking it was weird. Shane came and went without any warning to anybody, why was he informing some human of his whereabouts? This whole thing was starting to seem like a big mystery he had to uncover. 

As they walked out into the apartment hallway, Ricky stood on his tiptoes and ruffled Shane's hair. "Decided to ditch the horns?" he asked, noticing all the small changes in Shane's appearance. He still had his naturally golden eyes, but his hair was starting to lighten and his horns and wings were gone. The lighter hair made sense because in hell you didn't really get a lot of sunlight. He understood the changes, but it didn't exactly mean he liked them. 

Shane nodded and gestured to Ricky's head. He had also gotten rid of his more demonic parts in favor of the more traditional human look. It was simply safer. Even still, dangers lurked around every corner. Ricky had noticed the vial of holy water in the apartment early. This made him question the human's intentions. On the other hand, there was no way Shane didn't know about the vial. He decided to push the topic off until later.

After they aimlessly argued on where to go to, they decided on a small 24-hour diner. There were only a few people in there, which made Ricky feel better. Their whole walk there, Ricky caught Shane up on the news about hell. Most of it was just gossip and random factoids. Small changes in their mutuals life and similar information. 

Shane half-listened, but mostly his mind was wondering about Ryan. He probably wouldn't be awake to read the note, but if he did he might get worried. Shane knew Ryan would think something is wrong and he really didn't want to upset him. 

"Hey, Earth to Tiny" Ricky said, snapping his fingers in front of Shane's face as they stepped into the diner. It looked dingy and grimy, with a yellowed floor to match. Most of the seats were ripped and stained, and only about half the tables were cleared off. Only 3 people seemed to be working there that night. 

"Hmm?" Shane said, looking down at his friend. He hadn't realized how much he had spaced out thinking about Ryan. Shane knew Ricky was suspecting something. 

They sat down at a booth and glanced over the menus. They ordered then quickly got back to their conversation.

"Tell me about your human" Ricky said, purposing saying 'your' to see Shane's reaction. His plan had worked, because he saw Shane slightly smile as he took a sip of his black coffee. He hadn't changed all that much. 

"Oh he's fantastic, he took the deal immediately and even got me a job. Get this, I just listen to him talk about true crime for an hour!" Shane explained, beaming at the prospect. Ricky liked to see Shane so excited about something so mundane. If he wanted true crime, why didn't he just visit the actual killers in hell? Better yet, there was a huge library that housed detailed reports of each murder that has ever happened. 

"Wow... you really like it here" Ricky said, looking around with disgust. He didn't understand Shane's fascination with this place. In most ways, it seemed much worse than hell. The background sound of the rickety coffee machine in the background further illustrated his point. 

"It's got Moxy" Shane remarked, smiling fondly at the scene. 

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