Kyle hated being alone. Even after a century, he wasn’t ready for time apart from his other half. Especially not now that they were finally, truly together. And especially not here.

Ryka hadn’t wanted to leave him, either. It was only with great reluctance – and lots of cursing and threats – that Lucifer had pulled him away for a private conversation.

And for the moment, he really was alone. Even the imps under his care were off giving someone else a hard time, so Kyle had absolutely no one to keep him company. Or protect him.

Most intruders were typically just curious, eager to see the demon that had avoided damnation. Some, however, wanted to demonstrate how little they thought he deserved his fate. And it was these interactions he was envisioning when Val landed suddenly on the balcony.

He had heard – many times – that Val wanted nothing more than to earn Ryka’s affections. He still very clearly remembered their encounter way back when in Salem, and knew that Val was willing to take big risks to get to Ryka. Other demons had also told them, in no uncertain terms, that Val wanted Kyle out of the way. And Kyle knew he was no match for the other demon.

“What the fuck do you want?” Kyle growled, trying to sound threatening. But his body betrayed him. For better or worse, demons were terrible and hiding their feelings – it took far more control than he possessed to change his body language. Before he could stop it, his tail was between his legs and his wings were trembling at his sides. At least he’d been able to stop his voice from doing the same.

Val, of course, was not remotely intimidated. Stalking closer, he opened his wings, barring Kyle’s exit. And Kyle could have kicked himself. He’d been hiding far from the balcony, hoping to avoid becoming an exhibit for his new kin. All he had wound up doing was trapping himself with no possible escape.

“I’m surprised he left you here alone,” Val remarked, ignoring Kyle’s weak threat.

“And I’m surprised you’re stupid enough to come here at all. If he catches you ….” Kyle felt like his new life as a demon had barely begun, and already Ryka had been forced to chase off dozens of would-be attackers. And in some cases, especially lately, teach them a hard lesson about respecting Kyle’s privacy and personal space. It was worse, even, than his time as Ryka’s host. Sinners had never found them this frequently.

“I wasn’t trying to sneak around,” Val informed him, balking at Kyle’s assumption. “And I’m not stupid – I know what he’d do, and I have no desire to be beaten that badly.”

“Then what do you want?” Kyle was still desperately looking for a way past Val. If he could at least make it to the balcony, he could escape to Hara’s room a few floors below. They’d help him, right?

“Just to talk.”

“Talk? So why are you doing that?” Kyle asked, sounding mildly panicked as he motioned at Val’s posture. The other demon was still mantling over him, and moving closer with every word.

But the instant Kyle pointed it out, Val took a few steps back. “Sorry, sorry. I’m just … nervous. Really, though. I’m not here to hurt you.”

Sincere as he sounded, Kyle still found that hard to believe. “Really, Val?”

“Really.”

“Talk about what, then?”

“Well ….” Now Val was the one that probably wished he could hide his feelings. His tail was wrapping itself around one of his legs, and his wings were drooping. But he apparently wasn’t ready to be that forthcoming. Not yet. “Where are your imps?” he asked instead, nodding back toward the empty bed.

“With Sirux.” Kyle didn’t know why he was answering. It was really none of Val’s business.

“He takes mine, too, sometimes. Though Zarin’s keeping an eye on them now.” Somehow, Kyle felt himself relaxing. It was such a mundane conversation – who’s watching the kids? He had almost forgotten that Val’s punishment for sneaking out of Hell was to be a babysitter, much like Kyle was. Which brought a serious question to mind.

“I have no experience – why am I helping raise imps? Some of them have been demons longer than I have.” He didn’t know why he asked it out loud, but there it was.

Val chuckled. “You don’t know?” Kyle shook his head. “You don’t have experience being a demon, that’s true. But you have plenty being a human. And a host. No one else can teach them any of that.”

Lucifer hadn’t even bothered to explain that to him. In order to do their jobs, they needed to understand what made mortals tick. And although there were billions of damned souls at their disposal, it wasn’t the same as being able to closely interact with someone who had been human. “Oh. But you’re not here to talk about that, are you?”

“No.” Val now looked quite uncomfortable. “I guess it’s to apologize.” Kyle could only hope the stunned look on his face said enough, because words escaped him. Val seemed to understand that. “I have history with Ryka, and I was pissed he wanted to keep it just that – history. No one, me included, thought you two would do what you did. And he’s so devoted to you. I know I can’t compete. We were friends once; I don’t want him to hate me.”

For a few moments, all Kyle could do was stammer wordlessly at the other demon. They were all monsters, but often forgot to act that way, at least with each other. “I mean, it’s not me you need to apologize to, right? I don’t know when he’ll be back, but you can wait, if you want.” Finally at ease, Kyle perched himself on one of the stools in the room, and gestured for Val to do the same.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Val did, though he looked a bit anxious. Kyle couldn’t blame him – Ryka wasn’t going to be happy to see him, and there was no telling how he’d react. Especially since he was alone with a very defenseless Kyle.

“I should say sorry to you, too. For being an asshole.”

“It’s fine.” Val offered a small smile then seemed to not know what else to say. It was incredibly awkward, and the silence was killing Kyle. Or it would have been if he’d still been capable of dying. “Uh, so, I’ve heard Zarin’s name before. Is he your partner?”

“We mess around. It’s nothing that serious.”

“Ah.” Ryka had once explained that many demons liked to pair up and stay that way. He preferred long-term commitment, and so did Kyle. But flings and fuck buddies were just as common, and sometimes there was overlap. After all, they fooled around plenty with Hara.

“I don’t need to ask about you,” Val teased.

Kyle laughed, and the silence returned. Though it didn’t last long. “What’s all that?” Val inquired, his gaze settling on the pile of treasures the shadow had swallowed over their many years together.

“Crap from Purgatory. Take a look if you want.” Kyle had already spent a considerable amount of time going through it, and had pulled out anything he considered valuable. The rest was junk as far as he was concerned.

But Val was intrigued, and crouched down to rummage through the mess. “What are these?” Val asked, holding up a deck of cards, probably one of many that had been stolen from a casino. Apparently, Kyle hadn’t needed anything to while away his free time with Ryka – they were always otherwise occupied.

“Cards. I can teach you a game. Bring them here.”

With something else to focus on, conversation was a bit easier. In between instructions on how to play blackjack, they complained about the imps and some of their other caretakers. And for the first time, Kyle found himself not fretting every moment that Ryka was gone.

Though there was plenty of fretting to be done – mostly by Val – when Ryka did finally return, looking none too pleased to see who had come calling. “I was wondering when you’d show your face,” he growled, advancing on Val with teeth bared and eyes blazing.

To his credit, Val only froze for a moment. Then he was on his feet, backing up against the nearest wall and offering as much submissive body language as he could – wings flattened by his side, gaze averted and head tilted back to expose his throat.

Kyle decided he’d only intervene if necessary – it was probably better if they worked this out on their own. He kept his seat, eyes darting back and forth between the two as they spoke.

“Start talking, Val. Why are you here?” Ryka had taken full advantage of Val’s submission, and was standing uncomfortably close. Even though Val was taller than Ryka, he was doing his best to downplay his height advantage, squatting slightly so he had to look up at Ryka.

“To apologize,” Val explained, then repeating what he’d already told Kyle.

The apology went a long way to cool Ryka’s temper. Backing away, he folded his wings. “Get up. You look pathetic like that.”

Kyle expected some sort of snarky reply, but Val didn’t say anything, just did as he was told. “Should I go?” he finally asked.

Completely brushing off his question, Ryka went over to properly greet Kyle, with what was probably a bit too long of a kiss. “What were you two doing?” Ryka asked. Looking quite relaxed, he pulled a stool over for himself and – just to make things clear – entwined his tail with Kyle’s. It was a sweet gesture, at least until they forgot they’d done it and one of them tried to walk away. It had already happened more than once, but Kyle found it charming.

“I was showing him how to play blackjack.” Val took their conversation as a sign he wasn’t being immediately thrown out, and sat back on his stool.

“I’m surprised you can even look at those after the amount of time we spent at card tables.” Laughing, Kyle started shuffling. “Well, deal me in, then. And sorry I was gone so long. I tried to get Judas to stop by, but he had something else to do.” It was enough that he had even deigned to speak to Judas on his behalf.

“It’s fine. Val’s been here a while and we’ve been chatting.”

“Oh? About what?” Ryka turned his head to glare at Val, and Val felt he’d been better off being ignored.

“The imps. And Sirux came up a few times ….”

“That asshole, huh?” Kyle and Val both grumbled in agreement. He was one of the other babysitters, and since he was much older, stronger and more experienced than Kyle, he liked to lord it over him, most often when Ryka was out of earshot.

“He’s so fucking obnoxious.” Even though he and Val were much closer in rank, Sirux still made himself a nuisance. Most of their conversation in Ryka’s absence had been about how much they despised Sirux.

“It would be fun to put him in his place,” Ryka mused, shooting Val a conspiratorial glance.

“I’d be happy to help.”

“I’m sure. But what would I owe you for that?”

One thing Kyle had confirmed in his short time in Hell was that favors were the currency of choice. There wasn’t much else to barter with, so if someone helped you, you were fully expected to do something in return. And it looked like Ryka anticipated Val asking for something he really shouldn’t ask for, and that Ryka wouldn’t be willing to give.

But Val defied expectations again. “Kicking his ass would be enough.” Even Kyle was skeptical, and was going to try to say something before Ryka did. Val beat them both to it. “But I’d take more of this.”

“What? Playing cards?” Ryka asked, incredulous.

Val nodded. “You know, it wasn’t just the sex; I did enjoy your company. Though now I really don’t know why.”

Unable to stop himself, Kyle laughed. With a withering glare, Ryka told him, “Keep it up and I’ll cut you off, too.”

“No you won’t,” Kyle and Val replied in unison.

“I’m already regretting not chasing you out,” Ryka grumbled over his cards, staring hard at Val. But Kyle could see his smirk. He liked seeing this side of Ryka, watching him socialize. In his time as Ryka’s host, it wasn’t something he’d seen often. Only briefly with his cousin, and then with Adam.

With a pang, he forced his focus back to the cards in his hand. His thoughts were his alone - no one to offer sympathy or distract him from negative feelings when they came up. That was something he had to do himself now. Though judging by the way Ryka bumped his shoulder into Kyle’s, it had been written plainly enough on his face. Ryka probably even knew who he had been thinking about.

It would be good, he thought, for Ryka to reconnect with more of his old friends, and allow Kyle to make some of his own. Broaden his social circle, currently confined to Judas, Hara and his imps. And help him stop thinking about the past so damn much.