There was no handbook for hosting a demon. If ever there was an expert, it would be him, Kyle had been told. They had far surpassed a year and a half together, the previous record for the longest host-parasite contract. If things went according to plan - and they didn’t get sick of each other and attempt something drastic - they were set to be together for decades still. A century or more, Ryka predicted.

It might have sounded like a prison sentence to anyone else, but it had never felt that way to Kyle. Of course it was no small thing - he’d handed over his soul to a demon. He was the damned half of a new whole, and could no longer imagine what it would feel like to be without Ryka. But most days went on just as they had before.

Which wasn’t to say there were no differences. Change was a given, and some things had been bound to do just that. He’d acquired some new habits - smoking foremost among them - but it felt like there were more things he’d stopped doing when he’d become Ryka’s host.

Some he was too self-conscious to do – he didn’t want an audience. Or judgment. And in the time before his relationship with Ryka had changed, he’d feared being called out for something he’d been nowhere near ready to admit to. Thoughts wandered where they did in those moments, and he hadn’t been willing to deal with the consequences should that happen.

He still couldn’t find the courage to touch himself - Ryka’s attention was far too intense. But he really didn’t need to, not with Ryka so very willing to lend a hand.

Unfortunately, there were also things that had become too dangerous. Except for work, he had spent much of his time in a self-imposed exile, as alone as he could ever really be. Hiding away with his fear-hungry monster in the hopes of keeping those around him safe.

Or that’s what he had attempted to do, back at the start. Family he still kept at a distance, but he’d come to enjoy Adam’s company. And Ryka counted him as a friend, too, something that had granted his coworker a surprising level of safety. There was always the risk, Kyle supposed, but if Adam was willing to take it, so was he.

Then there were those things that had become unnecessary. Host he may have been, but there were some benefits to Ryka’s parasitism, at least while Kyle was still alive. His body was basically frozen in its current state, so aside from one vain attempt to cut his hair – which had immediately grown out again the next time he’d summoned Ryka - there was no need to do any of those time-consuming and occasionally expensive maintenance tasks that other people wasted so much of their lives on.

Among that latter was exercise. During the course of that first fateful night, Ryka had ensured they inhabited a body that was the epitome of fit. Not that Kyle had been in bad shape before, but he suspected he was never going to get the same results from a regular fitness regimen that he did from demonic possession. He now deeply regretted joking that he’d have to sell his soul to get out of that gym membership.

Maybe you should have kept it.

“Really? And why’s that?” It had taken longer than he’d expected, but obviously Ryka was going to have input at some point. Kyle had been a bit worried about what he was going to hear, since the itching in his head meant Ryka was picking through his memories. Rarely a good sign.

I think that the personal trainer you were working with had a few new moves he wanted to teach you back at his apartment.

That wasn’t nearly as bad as Kyle had anticipated. “I had a feeling.”

But let me guess, you were waiting for him to make the first move? There it was. The jab he had been waiting for. This, he thought, was the reason he avoided discussing his past. No matter that it was open to his parasite whether or not he said it out loud, he didn’t need to give Ryka any more ammo.

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“I didn’t want to presume.”

The only thing he could have done to make it more obvious would have been to bend you over and fuck you in the showers after your sessions.

With great haste, Kyle shoved that mental image aside. “I canceled that membership right after you came along. Are you saying you would have let me go home with him?”

He was cute.

“I feel like that’s beside the point. And not answering the question.”

Maybe once. Just to give me something else to jerk off to.

Shaking his head, he continued digging through the stack of storage containers in his bedroom closet. Although he didn’t need to work out for health reasons any longer, there were still mental benefits to physical activity. One of which was quelling anxiety, something that certainly hadn’t diminished any since becoming a demon’s host. This time, though, it was work that had him on edge.

It had been a long week of obnoxious teenagers and stressful staff meetings, and although Ryka offered his services, Kyle knew he needed more than that. And so he had begun the search for his running shoes.

Three years of cross country in high school had made him fall in love with running, and even after he’d quit the team junior year to focus on his classes, he hadn’t given up on it. All throughout college, whenever he’d needed to clear his head, he’d strapped on his running shoes and lost himself in movement. The rhythm of his breathing, of his feet hitting pavement, washed all other thoughts from his mind.

Given how miserable his week had been, it felt like the right thing to do. If only he could find his damned shoes. The ones he’d worn in college no longer fit, thanks to a demonic growth spurt when he’d sealed his contract, but before he’d made himself a shut-in, he’d bought a new pair in hopes of still running, at least occasionally.

Finally, with only one container left to go, he found them. Before Ryka could again argue that there were better ways to relax, he laced up and headed outside.

Desperate to get moving, he decided to test just how strong Ryka had made him. Forgoing any kind of warm-up or stretch, he started running, at a much faster pace than he normally would have. And it quickly became apparent that possession really did have some excellent benefits.

Even after jumping up to a sprint, he wasn’t in the least bit winded. He felt like a perpetual motion machine – his legs just kept going. There was no burn and no pain, even though it had been years since he’d last run and he’d never broken in these shoes.

“Shit, you would have been useful in high school,” he told Ryka after thirty minutes had passed, and he still felt as fresh as when he’d first set off.

For this or your other favorite after-school activity?

“What are you talking about?” Kyle asked, feeling that itch again.

Would that be considered upper body work, even though it was mostly your right hand?

At that, he nearly tripped, but managed to keep his footing. Now his face was red, but it had nothing to do with exertion. “Cute.”

You say that, but ….

“I might have been able to keep up with you back then.” Lying or hiding his true feelings was pointless. It was easier to be honest.

You do just fine now. Luckily for you I’m a pretty hardcore napper, too.

“Well, since I have no plans on stopping this soon, you may want to do just that.”

Dismissed just like that, huh? Ryka didn’t sound remotely offended. There was apparently a good reason he’d brought up sleeping.

“Seems so.”

In that case, enjoy your run. And you can thank me later for making it so easy.

“And I’m sure you already have some idea how you’d like me to do that.” Ryka generally only had two modes – asleep or horny. It wasn’t hard to guess what he was expecting. And he quickly confirmed it.

You know it.

“At least I’ve learned how to use both hands.”

Looking forward to having you prove it.