title . . . a thousand paper cranes
pairing . . . shizaya
notes . . . basically this is an AU, where Shizuo and Izaya end up together at the end. I hope you enjoy reading.
1.
Kasuka's crane is the one that does the honors of starting Shizuo's new hobby.
"..Here."
Shizuo hasn't done this before, so he isn't surprised when he barely manages to fold something that vaguely resembles what he has in mind. The tip is slightly crinkled, it's 'wings' looking flatter than a pancake, really.
…But at least he can find some consolation in the fact that Kasuka can still identify it.
50.
He is happy.
Coincidentally being his fifty crane, he's finally managed to do it the way he wants—
The paper folded with less crinkles, smaller, and better than his previous forty-eight. Smiling is much easier now that he has something to feel proud about.
Carefully handling his creation, Shizuo gently places it into the jar.
(Practice makes perfect.)
363.
It's a shame.
Shizuo has stopped his daily routine of folding the cranes, despite doing it for years and years. He wants to continue, but with high school and that damned flea—
He isn't sure if he would be able to restrain himself from crushing the pieces of paper. He's disgruntled, rather irate at the thought of Izaya still managing to rile him up although he isn't there in front of Shizuo.
He did try once, though. Try folding another crane to calm himself down. All it did, though, was somehow made him think of the Flea-
and it was soon crushed in his grip.
Annoying, annoying, that Flea was really annoying. He hated him, hated that smile, that smirk.
But that's not what he's most angry at.
What Shizuo really hates, really really feels pissed off at, is how even when he's at home, Orihara Izaya is still there to disturb him.
364.
Celty is the one who finds it.
[Shizuo,]
[What's this?]
A jar is what she's referring to.
Shizuo blinks momentarily, looking as bemused as Celty before looking back at her.
"Ah.. Used to make paper cranes and just fill it up with them. Stopped during high school though. Can't really remember why but it's most likely 'cause of that flea."
[You should continue.]
"Hm?"
[You used to enjoy it, looking at just how many you've made, right?]
Her shadows twist, joining together on her palm. They bend together like some sort of elegant display, gradually forming a solid shape.
Shizuo has seen this before, back when she made those nice gloves for him.
[Here, a little something to get you started]
She seems to realize something, because her hands quickly fly over the PDA keyboard once she's sure that Shizuo has read her message.
[If you want to continue, of course!]
Shizuo chuckles slightly, pushing his sunglasses up. He had wondered where the jar had gone a couple years back. Never did he expect that it would still be with him all this time though—still looking brand new and flawless.
"You think so? Ahh, alright then. Y'know, I've actually wondered about where it went. But I didn't really have the patience to just look through all my stuff. So thanks, Celty."
[You're welcome, Shizuo.]
…And she drops her shadow-made craft into the jar.
(Shizuo doesn't even remember when Celty had twisted open the cover, but he's grateful for her indirect assistance.)
459.
The 459th crane is not special in any way outside of Shizuo's experiences.
Nobody else except for him would think of it as anything other than a number.
But Shizuo didn't really expect the numbers 363 or 364 to be special, either, so being perfectly quiet about these 'milestones' of his life is fine to him.
459 is when he invites Tom to his house, having decided to let his senpai visit him for a bit.
It's when he forgets to keep the collection of cranes back into the shelf, and it's when Tom sees it.
It's also the day where Shizuo feels slightly embarrassed, and it's also the time where Tom only smiles encouragingly at him, pushing his glasses up.
It's a nice pastime.
Y-Yeah, I know.
600.
He's made the mistake of letting Kadota visit.
Should he have known that Kadota's friends—specifically the two 'otakus'—would tag along, he wouldn't have let Kadota enter in the first place.
Harsh, but that girl, Erika, would pester him to no end.
Especially about the topic of this thing called 'shizaya'.
She's not talking about it out loud though. Perhaps that's what keeping him from shoving her out of his house.
"Oh oh, ShizuShizu, what kind of wish will you make?"
"Erika… Don't—"
Kadota glances warningly at Erika, voice firm as ever. He just prays that Erika keeps her mouth shut about such topics, because praying for Shizuo to stay calm is futile.
(he's tried countless times in the past, eventually giving up and sighing at the sight of Shizuo chasing Izaya.)
"Don't worry Dota-chin! I won't go too far. Anyways, is your wish to be with Izayan? Ahhhh, I hope your wish comes true!"
"That's it. Get the hell out of here—"
Kadota can barely keep from face palming.
713.
It's their day off.
"Paper cranes, especially if that certain object has been multiplied by a generous amount, usually means that a person wants to have their wishes come true. Do you, Shizuo-senpai, want a wish to come true?"
And for these past few months, Shizuo has been inviting those who he knew well enough to his home. First Celty, Tom, Kadota, and now his kohai. At this rate, it looked as if Shinra would be coming over soon.
(never mind that he skipped over a certain information broker)
"Huh, I've never really thought about that."
A pause.
"Would Shizuo-senpai like me to assist him?"
"You really want to?"
"Affirmative. Only for Shizuo-senpai however. I will begin the carefully crafted procedure as soon as possible."
Shizuo glances at his kohai, watching as she gracefully folds the piece of paper, fingers nimble and steady.
"You're great at this, Vorona."
At his words, small traces of a smile start to appear on her lips.
"I am honored to have been able to hear those words from Shizuo-senpai."
812.
(He can't remember why everything in his life led up to this.
He can't remember when he and Izaya became this comfortable, either.)
"Shizu-chan, how's that project of yours coming along? Haven't gave up due to me again, I hope?"
"It's not a project. Just something that I like to do. And no way in hell am I going to give up because of your annoying talking, Izaya."
"Yes yes, I'll simply wait for the day in which Shizu-chan finally finishes this long, drawn-out pastime of his. Though, it's not like you have a wish, right? Unless you're wishing for that scary strength of yours to be gone."
"You know that it's not about the wish."
"Indeed, I do. But I'm just curious about what drives you to do such things, Shizu-chan. Care to explain?"
"You know that too."
"True," Izaya drawls out. He's absolutely bored at the prospect of having to wait for Shizuo to finish his daily routine. When Izaya had dropped by Shizuo's apartment, he was delighted to find him sitting on the couch, free from work. But of course, since Izaya had visited for personal reasons, he was unamused when he found out that Shizuo mostly folded cranes before going on to do other things—like dealing with Izaya each time he came.
Boring.
A sigh escapes Izaya whilst he watches Shizuo, breaking the silence.
"You know, maybe if you put those hands to work during one of those sessions we'll have later—"
"Shut the fuck up—!"
893.
It's Shinra who helps him, next.
It's Shinra who visits, with Celty tagging along.
They might've been checking to see if he has killed Izaya yet, though.
But the fact that it's Shinra is enough to even make Shizuo stop in his figurative tracks.
Not because it's surprising.
Not because it makes him happy.
No, it's because he has to brace himself for the incoming chattering.
"There! Aah, when you finally get to that goal, I hope you'll make a wish for Celty and I! Really, we could use that extra luck—despite it only being a superstition and all, you know? Don't you think so too, Celty?"
"Ah-! Hey, why are you hittin—"
"I'm only trying to-"
"Help!"
"Our relation-"
"Ship!"
[Sorry about that.]
"…It's fine."
[Speaking of relationships, how is Izaya?]
"Hm? He's better, now."
[That's great to hear. If he ever tries to do something to you, just know that Shinra and I will be here to help.]
"Thanks for your support, Celty."
"You can trust me, Celty-san. Thanks to Shizu-chan, I've changed—"
"Dammit, would you just keep quiet for a moment?"
893.
Izaya is asleep.
It was rare for Shizuo to get a chance to see the other sleeping so soundly, partly because Izaya always worked until it was already two in the morning. Izaya always got up before Shizuo, too. Plus, Shizuo wasn't really a morning person, so even if he had woken up ages before Izaya did, the thought of seeing Izaya sleeping would never pop into his mind.
Therefore, it was extremely strange for Shizuo to be able see such an aberrant sight of Orihara Izaya sleeping.
Shizuo breathes lightly as he slowly, carefully inches his arm into a more comfortable position. He's never been this careful next to Izaya, but he'll do a damn good job of it if that meant he could watch this rare—cute—sight of the other. Izaya's breathing is gentle, eyes closed peacefully.
Shizuo smiles to himself.
He's decided that he won't fold any cranes today.
965.
Mairu and Kururi are Izaya's sisters.
Shizuo knows that.
So it's inevitable that they'll eventually come over to 'visit Iza-nii', when both Shizuo and Izaya know that they're just coming over because the twins are strangely interested about this relationship that they share.
"Ne ne, Iza-nii!"
"Yes?"
"Do you and Shizuo-san sleep on the same bed?"
"Yes."
"Just like Kuru-nee and I?"
"Yes."
Shizuo isn't irritated, though.
He's just slightly annoyed at the ever-constant questions flowing out of Mairu's mouth, comparing her relationship with Kururi with theirs.
"…Apology. (Sorry, she's just over-excited.)"
"I'm not that excited! Kuru-nee, you must also be curious, right?"
"Less. (Not as much as you.)"
"Kuru-nee, don't leave me alone in this!"
"No. (Not leaving you alone.)"
Izaya only sighs.
"Look, why don't you direct your attention to that nice little table over—"
"A jar?!"
"Craft? (Paper cranes..?)"
"Oh, oh! I know!"
Shizuo only looks at the ceiling throughout this whole visit, not hating the girls but not really loving them either.
…hey, at least they contributed to the—
"Izaya, why the fuck did you let them open the cover?"
"Shizu-chan seemed to be busy thinking, and I didn't dare disrupt this rare moment that Shizu-chan was having."
"…Fuck you."
999.
"Yeah, I just need to fold this last one."
The jar is settled nicely on the stainless table. Izaya has invited Shizuo over, because Namie isn't here.
Because there's no one here to disturb the two of them.
The crafts in the jar almost overflow, almost spilling the hundreds of cranes onto the table. There is only room for one more, judging by the looks of it.
Perfect. Shizuo only needs one more to a thousand, anyway.
"Nine hundred and ninety-nine…" Shizuo murmurs. Izaya smirks slightly, tracing Shizuo's jawline. It's been awhile since he'd done this, since he'd physically teased Shizuo. Izaya has missed the times where he could take things up a notch, when Shizuo wasn't as close to him.
But he likes how Shizuo seems to care about him, so he doesn't bother returning to his past antics.
"Oh? Are you sure?"
Shizuo doesn't get to answer, because Izaya leans in and kisses him. Their lips press together, Izaya taking the opportunity to slip his tongue in at the surprised grunt Shizuo elicits—slightly parting his mouth.
Shizuo doesn't mind.
(Izaya's free, thin pale fingers hover above the jar for a moment, flashes of white dropping down into the glass container.)
They linger in the kiss longer than usual, but Shizuo doesn't question it. He feels Izaya shifting in his seat, feels him pulling away as he takes shallow, quick breaths. Shizuo feels himself catching his breath too, watching the other with a confused glint in his eyes.
He hears the impatient humming that comes from Izaya as he pulls away, pointing a slender finger at the paper-filled container. He's smiling, smirking so widely that Shizuo thinks—for a moment—that he's in for something dangerous or horrid.
But Izaya has actually planned something good.
Orihara Izaya has actually planned something that would make Heiwajima Shizuo smile, for once.
.
"Don't you mean a thousand paper cranes, Shizu-chan?"
.
1000.