Lane waited, and listened, for his explanation. The way he had initially told the story, full of bravado as he seemed to so constantly be, it had not cast him as the hero. Perhaps he was not the villain, but the way he had told it he might have been the fool. The man who got himself into a situation he could not get himself out of. It was not his words that changed her perception, though, it was the way he looked at her. His eyes were heavy and filled with a guilt she had not seen before. When he grabbed her hand, Lane startled slightly, but she did not pull her hand away from his. If she wanted to be his equal in this, she could not flinch from the danger or the after effects of it.<br/><br/>She remained quiet as he continued and settled into his arms when he asked her to because she could feel the ache coming off of him. She had been careful to keep herself closed off to empathic exchanges, but her recent power boost had opened up the floodgates. She'd have to figure out how to shut them again, eventually, but it was nice to feel how raw he was. His defenses were down, but in a very different way from the way that hers were. All the things he told her seemed to be heading down the same tumultuous path, until he mentioned his daughter. That was the moment that Lane shifted, pulling back just a little, to look at him. He had not mentioned his child before, but she guessed it made sense. She truly had not known him that long, and beyond that time, she just had fragments of Adella's memories. Those glimpses were not enough to get a real idea of all that had happened to him in all of the other lifetimes he had lived.<br/><br/>Lane forced the look of shock from her features. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath and then regarded him with the sense of calm that came from it.<br/><br/>"Okay, so...She's a demon and though she's not possessive, she's cursed you with unending pain for freeing you from a cave and...Now she's going to hurt your child? Does that about sum it up?" Lane said, almost more for her own benefit, than for his. Impulse moved her to do something sort of out of the blue. Instead of continuing to mull over the details, she pressed herself forward and her lips met his. Her body met his in a way that was supposed to anchor and comfort him. Maybe it made more sense now, that this was not all out of self-preservation. She got the sense that he probably put his body through such things on whims, but there was a desperation in his actions. This was not just about the pain, but she wondered why he had hesitated to tell her about his daughter. This was all so new, and really, children from previous relationships was probably like a third date kind of thing.<br/><br/>But, this wasn't a normal relationship. They had blown past first, second and third dates around the time she took that brew and regained her ancestor's memories. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind though, as her lips continued to dance against his. She wanted to calm him down, so they could get a fresh perspective on all this. Lane pulled back and pushed out a soft sigh.<br/><br/>"Okay. So, here's what we're going to do... I know it's been like two days, but I think we both know this is likely to be more than just a fling. So, you're going to tell me what I need to know, and we're going to protect your daughter. And apparently, I'm going to rip your demonic--" Lane paused, trying to pick the right word. "Ex? Former associate? Anyways, I'll tear her asunder. Because that's what the good guys do, right? And maybe you live in the gray area, and I think I'm okay with that, but there's one thing I know in all of this. I'm one of the good guys...."