Set post-episode 26.

Shinra and Celty have eloped to Germany.

He could have just said no. Surely there was a plethora of excuses he could have come up with but Shinra had been so insistent and it was all expenses paid. It wasn't that the debt collector didn't want to see his friends enjoying their new life together in Germany, but the thought of stepping aboard that deathtrap to get there made Shizuo's stomach knot. He hated flying, in fact he was terrified of flying. Not that he would ever admit such a thing. Fear was for the weak and Shizuo Heiwajima was not weak. The man had told himself it was irrational many times. He'd seen all the statistics: 'You're a billion times more likely to die in a car crash' and all that shit. It didn't matter. Shizuo still felt his heart rate double the minute he stepped aboard. How had he let himself get talked into this?

Shizuo checked his ticket–Row 38F–all the way back in coach where they jammed as many people as they could making evacuation in an emergency nearly impossible. When the plane plummeted into the ocean, how were all these people going to escape through only four, tiny exit doors before the plane filled with icy ocean water drowning them all? He felt his heart rate increase again.

"Are you alright, Sir?" a small voice behind him asked. A flight attendant looked up at him warily. Shizuo only nodded in response. Did he really look as panicked as he felt? Breathing deeply the blonde tried to calm himself down. "Let me help you to your seat," she said kindly. "Ah, here we are. Right by the window."

Shizuo looked toward his seat and felt his blood run cold. Shinra invited him too? Sitting in the seat right beside his was Izaya Orihara. The man he despised more than anything else in the world would be sitting next to him for the next twelve hours. He glared down at the scheming little flea who in turn looked up from his magazine. "Shizu-chan! How wonderful to see you!"

Shizuo turned back to the stewardess, "I'd like to request a seat change," he said between clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry Sir, but we're fully booked today. The plane will be taking off shortly so please take your seat," she replied, obviously not sorry at all.

The debt collector looked back to the informant who flashed him a cheeky grin, enjoying every minute of Shizuo's displeasure. Wanting to ensure he was safely buckled in before the aircraft took off, Shizuo took his seat. Inwardly fuming, he turned to Izaya to give him a word of warning, "Listen up flea, if you know what's good for you, you will not speak to me for the entire duration of this flight. In fact, don't even look at me, cause' if I see that smug grin on your fucking face I can't promise I wont smash it into the chair in front of you. Is. That. Clear?"

"Such hostility Shizu-chan. Maybe if you said 'please-'"

"Zip it, flea," Shizuo threatened dangerously. Izaya raised his hands in mock-fear and zipped his lips teasingly. The blonde just glared at the shorter man before closing his eyes and trying to imagine himself elsewhere. However his nerves flared up again as soon as the plane jutted forward, engines roaring to life. He tensed and tried to control his breathing. There was no way he would show any kind of vulnerability in front of Izaya.

An hour later things were still going well. At least, as well as they could be all things considered. Shizuo had managed to stay outwardly serene despite his inner turmoil. "This is good," he thought nervously. "If I can keep this up no one will ever suspect-"

That was when the turbulence started. Shizuo felt his stomach drop with the plane. "Holy shit, holy shit, fucking hell!" the blonde let off a string of curses in his mind. He gripped the arm of his chair until his knuckles turned white.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. As you can probably tell we are going through a bit of rough turbulence. Please fasten your seatbelts until the seatbelt light turns off."

"Oh God, oh shit..." Shizuo felt the plane start shaking and shut his eyes tight.

Izaya put down his magazine and looked casually at the man beside him. He'd noticed Shizu-chan's somewhat tense disposition from the start but hadn't thought much of it. Now it was obvious the older man was way out of his comfort zone. "This could be fun..." he thought with a smirk.

The plane dropped again and Shizuo visually paled. Izaya decided this was a good a time as any to comment on the blonde's apparent distress. "Shizu-chan, you're not looking so good. Is something the matter?"

Shizuo opened his eyes but didn't look at the other man. "Everything's fine, flea. I told you not to talk to me," he said as smoothly at he could while trying to suppress agitation from creeping into his voice.

"Oh? You look a bit shaken up." Izaya replied, enjoying the look of fear in the normally fearless man's eyes.

The plane gave another sudden drop and Shizuo had to stop himself from swearing out loud. The damn flea would not see him sink any lower.

"Don't worry Shizu-chan. I'm sure the plane won't crash. I mean, what are the odds of one of the engines failing or running out of fuel mid-flight? Or maybe lightening striking-"

Shizuo felt the air around him getting hot. It was stifling. He couldn't breathe. Dammit, he couldn't breathe! Eye's wide open in shock he began taking in as much air as he could, but it still wasn't enough. His breath hitched and quickened.

Izaya looked at Shizuo silently. He really did have a problem. A serious problem. "Hey Shizu-chan, sorry about that. I mean, the plane is fine really..." He couldn't believe he was apologizing (and to Shizuo of all people) but let it be noted that it wasn't because he was actually sorry; he just didn't want to be held responsible for delaying the flight should Shizuo have an outburst. After all, he'd gone from mildly tense to full-out hyperventilation after a bit of rough weather. This wasn't good. "Shizu-chan, you have to slow down a bit or you'll pass out."

"Just... shut... up..!" Shizuo gasped out between breathes. He was starting to feel dizzy and his vision swam with anxiety.

"Shizu-chan, slow down!" Izaya whispered harshly before looking around for a flight attendant to help. He saw none. "They must all be buckled in as well because of the turbulence." The plane began shaking even more violently. "Shit," the informant cursed. Shizuo's face was completely drained of colour and he was drenched in a nervous sweat.

"I...huff... I need...huff... to get out!" Shizuo began fumbling with his seatbelt. Izaya wondered where he planned to go but then figured that the older man had worked himself into to much of a state to even know himself. Izaya knew that he couldn't let Shizuo leave his seat. As much as he enjoyed watching his beloved humans suffer, this was somehow different. Perhaps it was because it had been partially his fault the blonde was now as freaked out as he was. Shizuo stood up awkwardly and attempted to push past Izaya.

"Oh no you don't," Izaya chastised undoing his own buckle. He stood up and blocked Shizuo's path. "I think you should sit down Shizu-chan," he said with a smile.

Shizuo continued to hyperventilate but tried his best to look menacing. "Get...huff... the fuck...huff... out of my...huff... way!" he shouted.

Okay-that was it. Izaya couldn't have the stupid brute starting a panic on the whole plane. He put a firm hand on Shizuo's shoulder and pushed him back into his chair. It wasn't difficult seeing as how disoriented he was. Izaya followed suit and put the armrest between them in it's upright position before pulling Shizuo into an awkward sort of embrace. Shizuo froze, "What the hell...huff... are you doing!" he questioned angrily before trying to pry his mortal enemy off but he couldn't find his usual strength.

"Just quite down already dammit! I'm not doing this because I want to," Izaya pulled Shizuo closer until their chests were flush against each other. "Now, try and match your breathing with mine."

Shizuo's mind stalled. He wanted to pull away and beat the flea senseless but right now, the arms surrounding him just felt so warm, so safe. It didn't matter that they belonged to his most hated tormentor because right now, he just needed someone-anyone to hold onto and tell him it would be okay. His rapid breathing slowed slightly and he found himself returning the man's embrace and gripping his shirt like he was his only lifeline.

Izaya stiffened slightly at this reaction. He hadn't expected the debt collector to cooperate so easily. He continued to speak calmly, "Good, nice and slow. That's it Shizu-chan..." The words of comfort felt to foreign on his tongue and he wondered if they sounded as weird to Shizuo as they did to him. The blonde was beyond caring now though. He was absolutely exhausted and felt his eyelids start to slip shut. He continued to breathe with the other man for what seemed like an eternity.

Shizuo could feel himself drifting off to sleep. His grip on the informant slackened. "Thank you... Izaya..." he whispered in a barely audible voice but Izaya still heard and felt his cheeks flush slightly.

Izaya sighed, "You're welcome, Shizuo."

The rest of the flight had gone off without a hitch. Shizuo had continued to sleep after his little outburst and didn't wake up until the plane had landed in Munich.

"Oi, Shizu-chan," Izaya said in a hushed voice. "We're here."

Shizuo blinked his bleary eyes but didn't budge. Where was he again?

"Rise and shine princess!"

That voice. Oh God, that voice. Shizuo's eyes flew open upon realizing his pillow was actually Izaya's shoulder and his blanket was actually a fur trimmed coat. Fuck. No. The debt collector jumped up from his chair and pointed accusingly at the informant. "I- I- I- You- I- You- You-"

"Shizu-chan, think about what you want to say before you speak," Izaya said tauntingly.

"What the hell is going on!" Shizuo yelled.

"You mean you don't remember? Really now Shizu-chan, you were practically in hysterics. After you'd calmed down you fell asleep on me and were practically dead to the world for the rest of the flight."

Flight? Everything suddenly flashed back to Shizuo who looked around nervously.

"Relax, would you? We've landed now."

Shizuo felt relief wash over him and gazed back at the younger man. He looked terrible. There were dark rings under his eyes–he must have been awake the whole flight–and his hair was all disheveled–though he assumed his didn't look much better– and his clothes were wrinkled–probably from having been slept on.

"What?"

Shizuo blinked, "Huh?"

"You were staring at me with a weird expression and it was creeping me out."

"No I wasn't! You just-"

"Okay, okay. Come on Shizu-chan, we're the last ones left on board." Izaya stood up and stretched his stiff muscles. Shizuo hesitated momentarily before following the man off the plane.

"Um... Thanks for uh- helping me out... and stuff... damn flea..." Shizuo cleared his throat and looked everywhere but at the man he was thanking. He sincerely hoped he didn't look as embarrassed as he felt.

Izaya turned and looked at the flustered blonde. "You already thanked me, Shizu-chan," he said matter-of-factly, enjoying the man reactions immensely. Shizuo was so readable.

Shizuo felt his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. This had to be the worst day of his life. "Why did you do all that anyway? I'm still going to kill you!" He said trying to restore his dignity.

"Don't flatter yourself Shizu-chan. If I hadn't stopped you from leaving your seat you probably would have gone and punched out the pilots for their crappy flying, dooming the entire flight in the process."

Shizuo sighed and lit up a cigarette. He wondered if he would ever live down this humiliation-that is to assume he survived the flight home first.

*Pulls out hair* This plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone! It's maybekindasorta OOC but I wrote it for myself and originally had no intention of posting it... but then I figured that since I liked the idea of scared!Shizuo, others might too XD

Pfft, also, forgive my fail-reason as to why Shizuo and Izaya are on a plane. Orz

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