Shizuo Heiwajima walked through the snow that coated the streets of Ikebukero, his dress-shoes leaving prints in his wake. It had been an oddly peaceful day in his usual chaotic city; no signs of any gangsters, slashers, and definitely no Izaya. Thank god. As what usually happens when you have nothing to think about, only unpleasant things pop up in your mind. So here was Shizuo with only unpleasant thoughts rumbling around in his skull. Without warning, a tear rolled down the left side of his face. He stopped walking immediately and angrily wiped the water droplet away. Grunting, he continued on.
Eventually, he spaced off and stopped noticing all of his surroundings. It was then that his foot caught on something. He stopped and glanced down questioningly, expecting a misplaced bench or something. What he saw was the opposite of what he expected. A man was sitting on the ground, leaned up against a trash can. He was nearly covered in snow. Shizuo pulled a hand from his pocket and brushed some of the snow from the person's face.
What most commonly happened when Shizuo saw this person's face, he would scream his name and immediately pursue him, but this time was different. Buried under pounds of snow, Izaya lay on the ground, lips looking blue, and one of his eyes was black. Shizuo grunted. 'I should leave the good-for-nothing to freeze…' he thought to himself. But could he really do that? Of course not, his life would be tremendously boring without the twerp.
Without being gentle, he picked up the man and slung him over his shoulder. Izaya groaned but didn't wake up. Shizuo chuckled for a moment and lit his cigarette.
Izaya Orihara awoke on a black, two-seated couch. Not knowing where he was, he attempted to appear to be sleeping still. He looked through his half-closed eyes at the room around him; not much in it, a coffee table, a small television, and a few pictures of… Of Shizuo Heiwajima and his little brother? What the hell? The information broker stood up quickly and scanned the other half of the room that was invisible from the couch. His head pounded with the sudden movement but he ignored it.
He saw a hallway leading back to the rest of the house… or was it an apartment? But more importantly, did it belong to Shizu-chan? Walking slowly, Izaya dragged his hands across the glass coffee table. It had a few cracks in it. He stepped around the couch and continued down the hall. Being the nosy person he was, he opened every door available. He discovered a closet full of bartender clothing.
So it is Shizuo's house…
Izaya kept down the corridor and came across the bedroom. A few garments were strewn across the floor, and the only piece of furniture in the small area was the king-size bed.
"I wonder why little old, lonely Shizu-chan needs such a big bed," Izaya chuckled to himself. He crossed his arms, fuzzy jacket scrunching up, as he examined the room for a moment longer. Turning around, he found the last unopened door. He opened it.
As the door swung inward, steam issued out. He waved a hand in front of his face, attempting to clear the air. He soon wished he hadn't, for in front of him was a half-naked Shizuo. The blonde man turned quickly as he realized the door was open. He clutched at the towel around his waist, making sure it was secure before a scream tore out of his mouth.
"IZAYAAA!" Shizuo's eyes widened and the veins in his biceps pulsed with rage.
Izaya took one look at the shirtless man sporting a towel and nothing else. His wet hair hung raggedly around his angry face. The man in the fuzzy jacket began laughing, unable to contain himself. He then proceeded to hold his sides while he tried to stop the giggles. It was a fruitless effort. It was then that he noticed that Shizuo was pulling extremely hard on the toilet. For a moment, Izaya was confused, but understood once the fixture was uprooted from the tile flooring.
Shizuo lifted the toilet above his head, tile crumbling and falling on his bare shoulders and wet hair. He didn't seem to mind, all his thoughts were concentrated on that stupid ass that he was stupid enough to save from freezing to death.
"See ya later, Shizu-chan!" Izaya said cheerfully and bounded out of the living space. The front door shut silently behind him. Shizuo stood in shock for a moment and then put his toilet back down and went to grab the telephone; he had to call the plumber, and probably the landlord.
Izaya walked down the street, trying to recall last night's events. Remembering nothing, he resorted to his cell phone. Before snapping it open, he caught sight of his reflection. His face was a pasty color, and his left eye was surrounded with a purple bruise. Then some memories flooded back.
He walked alone on the street, smiling because he was proud of his latest game. Someone was whistling in the distance, though he paid it no mind. While he was thinking about what sort of chaos he could fire up next, he noticed that the song was getting closer to him with every step. He turned around to question, or possibly taunt, the musical man. As he was about to get a look at the whistler, a fist caught him in the eye. Everything became blurry and he decided that he was tired anyway, why fight for consciousness? The last thing he remembered was his head smacking against the metal waste-bin.
Izaya sighed and looked into the sunny sky. Who had hit him? Does it really matter? He laughed out loud and sat on the nearest bench.
"IZAYAAA! I should have never saved your sorry ass!" a voice yelled. Izaya looked to his left leisurely and saw no one. Then to his right, and not to his surprise, was a blonde man dressed as a bartender charging toward him with a street sign in his hands. The broker chuckled and stood up. Just as he was about to be smashed with the YIELD sign, he stepped to the side, letting Shizuo fly past him. He spun around and watched the man stumble, regaining his balance and control over the sign. Then, he seemed to decide against the sign. Dropping it, he ran at Izaya unarmed.
Wanting answers, Izaya prepared himself to be grabbed. As expected, he was swooped up and knocked painfully against the brick wall behind him. Shizuo held him there for a moment.
"Now," Shizuo growled, "would you prefer to be pummeled by a vending machine or a street light? Answer quick, flea." His voice grumbled in a way that would intimidate anyone but Izaya.
"Not so quick, Shizu-chan. I have some questions of my own!" he giggled as Shizuo was infuriated further.
"What!" he spoke through his teeth, eyes glaring at Izaya through blue-tinted glasses.
"What exactly did you save me from? And more importantly, why?" the man retorted, smiling playfully. Shizuo always did the opposite of what you expected. That's what made him interesting, why Izaya had stuck around so long. But this time, he really had to know.
"You were stuck under twice your weight in snow, twerp! But now I'm regretting doing anything for you!" he shouted.
"But why?" Izaya asked slyly.
"Because you piss me OFF!" Shizuo had almost reached his breaking point.
"No, no. Why did you save me, you dunce?"
Shizuo's eyes held surprise as he clenched his teeth together. "I honestly couldn't tell you," he seethed. His anger seeped through his quiet manner, which most people found even more intimidating than being regular-old mad. But not Izaya.
"Just admit that you really do care about me, Shizu-chan!" Izaya cheered.
"Ugh!" Shizuo pushed him up against the wall harder, holding him by the scruff of the fuzzy jacket. He was getting tired of this shit. His eyes darted back and forth, looking for something to crush into Izaya's skull.
"Now, now, no need to be so angry! You really are so predictable in this state, and that's no fun!" Izaya chirped at the fuming blonde. Slipping out of his favorite jacket, he ducked under Shizu-chan's arm and ran down the street, curving into an alley.
Shizuo shouted incoherently and held the brown material tight in his closed fist. With no other reason to be out on his day off, he made his way back to his apartment. He walked slowly, trying to burn off his anger so that he wouldn't break anything when he got home. As soon as he arrived to his small living quarters, he tossed the stupid jacket on the couch and tossed himself into his bed.
"Damn you, Izaya…" he muttered before falling asleep involuntarily.
Shizuo awoke to find that no sunlight peered through his window. His stomach growled loudly and stirred up thoughts of food. He got up and changed into a pair of sweats, removing his shirt and discarding it onto the floor. He was heading to the kitchen with the intentions of making a sandwich when he noticed something. The light was on in the living room. He frowned and quickened his pace down the hallway.
It was generally hard to surprise Shizuo Heiwajima , but when it came to Izaya sitting on his couch in that stupid brown jacket, well, he was taken aback. He was about to yell at the top of his lungs, thinking of every possible way of getting this man out of his apartment.
Before he had time to shout anything though, Izaya held up his hand. "Save it, peabrain. I just came to get my jacket, but I thought I would relax for a minute. This really is a quaint little place you've got here," Izaya praised patronizingly. He eyed Shizuo, gaze moving down his exposed upper-half. "Aw, did Shizu-chan know I was coming? Lemme guess, you lit some romantic candles in the bedroom? Where's the trail of rose petals?"
"You better quit your talk before I smash your windpipes," Shizuo growled, trying to decide whether or not he should still go make a sandwich.
Izaya stood up in front of Shizuo, making eye-contact. "Such savage commands. One might think you were a caveman." There was a pause in conversation as they stared each other down, each thinking vastly different things. "So tell me, Shizu-chan, why such a big bed?" Izaya teased, still not breaking his gaze. Finally, he blinked and skipped down the hallways to where Shizuo's bedroom was. He flopped himself down, ignoring Shizuo's protests.
"Izaya! Get out… of… my HOUSE!" he shouted. His rude demeanor was retorted with a knock on the wall from a disgruntled neighbor. Both of the men ignored the hint.
"Make me," Izaya taunted.
Shizuo's face reddened at the innuendo. He wondered for a moment whether the assumed meaning was the real one. He grunted, and against all inner instincts, gave up on Izaya. He went back to the kitchen, leaving the black-haired man in the back of the house. He quickly put together a slapdash meal and ate it even quicker, not even bothering to sit at the table.
While he washed his plate, he resolved to get Izaya out of his apartment. The double meaning in the sentence made his face heat up, which made him angry. He stormed to the back of the house only to find Izaya making himself comfortable.
"Oh, there you are! I was wondering where you ran off to. It's impolite to leave guests on their own, you know," Izaya chastised. He glanced back up at Shizuo and stopped teasing, unwillingly. "I'll leave on one condition!"
"Get on with it, twerp. What do you want?" Shizuo spat at the chuckling Izaya.
"Tell me how you really feel," he replied, stretching his arms behind his head.
Shizuo frowned. Apparently this would be more difficult than he thought.
"Hesitation? Interesting…" Izaya said aloud, mentally taking notes on his experiment.
Shizuo furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms. 'I need to answer… Shit, what do I say? The truth obviously, I hate his guts…' he thought.
"A defensive stance? And what's that, a blush?" Izaya smiled and stood up. Slowly, he approached the confused Shizu-chan, inching toward him. He was surprised to find that he managed to get almost nose to nose without visibly pissing off the easily irritated man. "Do you want to tell me anything, Shizu-chan?"
"Erm…"
"Just as I predicted. For once, I got you right," Izaya said to himself, his lips getting nearer and nearer the blonde's. Shizuo unfolded his arms and let them drop to his sides. Izaya took this as permission and pressed his mouth against Shizuo's.