Hello all! Sorry for the lack of updates, but rest assured, another one is coming up soon!

That aside, Happy -late- Valentines Day!

I hope that you enjoy this little piece that I put together~

Durarara! belongs to Ryohgo Narita.

"Oi, flea."

The ex-bartender put out his cigarette and stepped on it, glaring at the informant. He hadn't seen him in almost 3 weeks. He thought that he'd enjoy the peace, but instead, he had been getting restless.
The two of them were now on…considerably neutral terms. Shizuo didn't really want to kill Izaya anymore, and Izaya had made a point not to pester the monster of Ikebukuro as often. However, the new arrangements had been troubling, which was unexpected.

"Haven't seen you in a while."

"Shizu-chan…" The brunet nodded shortly. "It's only been 20 days…Well, I suppose that is a long time." He gave the bodyguard a smug smile.

Izaya had kept himself from visiting Shizuo as much as he used to, but he had hated it from day one. While he was certain that Shizuo had no problem with it, Izaya did. He needed to see the bodyguard everyday. It was routine, after all.

"How has my favorite monster been?"

It took every fiber of Shizuo's being to keep himself from attacking the informant then and there. He was used to that name, yes. Izaya even had the decency to add 'favorite' to make it sound kind. Although, it obviously wasn't. Shizuo was pissed off. He knew he wasn't a normal human, but monster crossed the line.

"Wonderful. But now you're back." He adjusted his sunglasses and smirked. It had been a small lie. He really was feeling odd without having the other around, but he wasn't about to admit that. It wasn't like he missed him or anything…

"Suit yourself." Izaya grinned. "I'm sure that now that I'm back, you're feeling ecstatic!" He said sarcastically as he gave a wave of his hand and sat down on a bench, making eye contact with the blond. "I know you won't ask the same but I'll tell you anyway. I've been dreadful!" He sighed dramatically and paused to look at the bodyguard again. "I've missed this city! It's full of so much excitement and interesting people to observe…"

Izaya normally didn't open up this much to just anyone, especially Shizuo, but since they had recently stopped fighting, physical fighting, at least, a somewhat civil conversation had also become possible.

"Oh, you can't even begin to imagine how much I feel…" Shizuo gave him an evil and wide grin, cracking his knuckles. He wasn't about to hit him, yet the temptation of at least threatening him was all too great. But Izaya wouldn't flinch from something like that. He was different than most people.
Obviously.

"And stop going on about your weird human fetish. It's annoying as hell." Shizuo kicked his previously lit cigarette that was on the ground to the side.

Izaya's eyes sparkled, quite amused by what his companion was saying.
"Fetish? I beg to differ. I love my humans. But I do not, nor could I ever, possibly think of them in such ways." A smile played it's way onto his lips.
He lowered his gaze to follow the cigarette's trail. He honestly couldn't understand why the ex-bartender loved those things. They were terrible for one's health and they smelled disgusting, too. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself.
After all, if Izaya started to question Shizuo's smoking, wouldn't that mean that he was concerned for him?
Ohhh no. Izaya couldn't possibly have that idea out there.

"Uh huh."
The larger male adjusted his glasses again, frowning when he followed Izaya's gaze to his dead cigarette. "What's so interesting, flea? It's just a piece of trash."

He would have said something along the lines of "Trash…just like you," but he wouldn't have meant it anyway. Izaya was a flea, not trash. Trash wasn't annoying. Trash didn't stalk him everyday or call him names. Nope. Trash didn't even begin to cover it.

The silence was getting annoying too.

"Flea. Hey."

Red eyes looked up, and blinked once.
He wasn't going to voice his opinion. He wasn't going to even-

"…You need to stop smoking those things, Shizu-chan."

Great.

"They're disgusting and they'll damage your lungs. Heh, I'm surprised that you can still yell without any problems, with all of these that you smoke."
He picked up the cigarette butt and examined it.
"What's the appeal…"

"The hell does it matter?!" Shizuo growled. "They keep me calm. I don't give a damn what your opinion is. And besides, I haven't had any problems with them."
The sun had gone down significantly by now. He glared and took off his sunglasses, folding them and placing them on his vest fold.
"You almost sound concerned, eh I-za-ya?" Shizuo figured that was far from the case, but it was fun to be able to poke fun at the brunet, just as the brunet poked fun at him. Opportunities like this were becoming more abundant since they started talking rather than throwing things at one another.

"The calm is only temporary, Shizu-chan." Izaya gave the burned out stick a final twist in his fingers, than discarded it in a nearby trash can with a flick of his wrist.
"You need something more permanent…" He sat at a nearby bench and sighed.
"Hmm, I'd say that these make you even more monster-like. They ease your temper only for a short while, then when you are intimidated, you feel even more stressed. Therefore, your anger is multiplied. It's a vicious cycle, really."
He met eyes with his -former- rival again, waiting for any sort of response.

Shizuo opened his mouth to yell but stopped. He looked to the side and frowned, then closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to try and calm down. He tried to listen to the flea's words. He had been trying. If peace were to come to this city, their cooperation was necessary.
And when he did listen…really listened, he did an alarming thing. He nodded.
"You…you may have a point there, flea…"
He hadn't wanted to agree with the informant in the first place. Yet, he was able to take in and understand what he was saying.
He was offering a suggestion, perhaps even a very helpful one, aside from the fact that it came off as a bit arrogant.
Shizuo knew that cigarettes weren't the best thing to use; he wasn't that stupid. It was just that it was a habit for Shizuo, and no one had even bothered to actually educate him about the harm of his current addiction.

Izaya blinked once he had heard his companion's response.
'….What?'
Well, this certainly was unexpected.
But then again, Shizuo was unpredictable. However, it baffled the informant that his enemy- well, former enemy- was agreeing with him!
"Shizu-chan…" He stood up and tilted his head.
"You're willing to listen to me? This is very unlike you." He smirked widely, hiding his true disbelief. Yet, he had a difficult time predicting what would happen next. They were getting along…even more than they ever did. He couldn't let his guard down too easily.

Shizuo sighed angrily and turned around, his back to the brunet.
"Yeah. I listened. Doesn't mean that I like it though."
He turned back around and gave his companion an evil grin, reaching into his vest pocket to grasp hold of a new pack. He slowly pulled it out, putting the edge of the box to his mouth to slide a fresh stick into his mouth.
Izaya's eyes widened and before Shizuo could slip the cigarette between his lips, it was in Izaya's hand. He had run right in front of the bodyguard and taken hold of it, snapping it in half as soon as he touched it.

"The nerve of you, Shizu-chan. You don't need it. Stop putting this filth into your body."
He was only a few feet away from the blonde, keeping a stern tone of voice as he reprimanded him.

"What was that, you louse?"
Shizuo couldn't contain himself any longer and stomped forward, fists on either side and ready, until he was practically touching noses with the informant.
"I do whatever the hell I want. I don't need anyone, especially you, telling me what I can and can't do."
He put one arm up, ready to swing.

The closeness really wasn't an issue for Izaya. It wasn't something that he ever thought much about. While others would generally cower in fear from even being on the opposite side of the street from the monster, Izaya was unlike any one of them. He didn't run away. He didn't fear him.
"Ne? What happened to listening to me? Even if you don't want to listen…" He leaned closer until he could feel the other's breath on his face, then proceeded to move his mouth near Shizuo's ear.

Shizuo froze at the feeling of Izaya's breath near his ear. He heard what he had said, but he just couldn't react.
Yes, he hated violence. There was no doubt that he did. Even if he had to use it.
Instinctively, he put his arms down. He didn't move an inch from his place, and tried to remain calm.

"It doesn't mean that I won't use it. I hate having to use it, but I will if it's necessary."

The informant then did something strange. He gave Shizuo a meaningful smile.

"So now wouldn't be the time, ne?"

He put a hand on Shizuo's still-clenched fist (even though they were already down) and eased the fingers apart, placing his fingers in between.
He didn't know what possessed him to suddenly be so gentle with the bodyguard, but he didn't think anything of it. Maybe they were getting to understand each other better than they thought?

Shizuo's eyes widened when he saw the brunet smile. Actually smile.
He flinched when he felt Izaya's fingers placed in his. What was he doing?
"Izaya…what?…"
Izaya's hand was gentle within his own, and seemed to be giving him an almost calming feeling. But he had to keep reminding himself that he hated this man...or at least, disliked him quite a bit. However, Izaya would give him quite the opposite feeling on a regular basis...so, what was the point in denying it any longer?

"…L-let go…"

Izaya still wasn't using his own logic at this moment.
He didn't know why, but he felt the need to somehow comfort the blonde. He knew that Shizuo hated his strength, and that added on to the reasons he hated violence. But Izaya knew that he himself would pester Shizuo about his power almost every time.
Was this feeling that he was starting to feel…guilt?
No, he didn't feel anything like that. After all, Shizuo was controlling himself just fine right now. If Izaya had changed the past and not caused Shizuo to use his power to try and attack him, he wouldn't have gained this self-control that he had now.
"Shizu-chan, I don't feel like it." He grinned. "I don't want to let go."
He laughed, but it didn't sound crazed like it normally did.
"You're getting better at keeping your anger under control." He blinked. 'My beast has been tamed.'

"…"
Shizuo stared at the brunet silently, trying to make sense of the situation.
"What was that you said?"
He tried to loosen Izaya's grip on his hand, but found that he couldn't. Maybe it was because a part of him didn't want the other to let go…
"Yeah, I guess that I am…" He turned his head to the side.

"Hmm…"
Izaya tested the boundaries more by moving closer, staring at the other's face. He knew he might get caught, however, and switched his attention to a minor detail.
"Ne, Shizu-chan. Your bow tie isn't right…" He adjusted said accessory by moving his free hand over it, easing it into place.
"There, perfect." He grinned sweetly.
He wasn't thinking of anything just because he was close to the bodyguard. No, it was just that this was rare, and it intrigued the informant. He wanted to take time and observe Shizuo closely, something he never was able to do.
'But there's some other reason…what is it…'

Well, the bodyguard had noticed Izaya's staring. He could tell that Izaya was trying to make it seem like otherwise when he started to 'fix' his bow tie. It had been fine, just a little out of place. But not enough to have needed fixing.

"It was fine as it was…Izaya."

Izaya shook his head.
"Ne, it was uneven. You can't tell because it's on you."

Shizuo still noticed that Izaya was holding his hand…but he made no notion to let go anytime soon. And he himself still found that he wasn't doing anything about it.

Shizuo decided that two could play this game. He started to stare at Izaya until he was certain that it was noticed, then quickly averted his attention to Izaya's hood.

Izaya unconsciously moved his fingers between Shizuo's, then noticed that Shizuo was staring at him.

"Shizu-chan, wha-" He was cut off when his hood was put over his head.

"Your hood was uneven, flea." Shizuo smiled.

"Hey Shizu-chan! That's not nice!" The brunet found himself grinning while his face was hidden. "I don't actually need to wear my hood over my head, you know…"
The blond remained quiet, earning a questionable stare from the man in front of him. "…Shizu-chan?"

Finally came a response, in a soft, calm tone of voice. "…I think that I just did you and myself a favor, flea."

Izaya was still confused as to what was happening, before his face was soon covered from view as another joined him under his hood.

'…Ah…so that's what it is…'