Disclaimer: I disclaim. WHY DON'T I OWN THIS? I don't know, but I don't. D:
Warnings: Oral, anal, sex with an android
Winter—the loneliest season of the year. As if it weren't bad enough that everything was cold, no; the cold had to make everything seem emptier, too. Not that Shizuo would admit that to anyone. And besides, just who did he think he would share his home with? Men felt emasculated by him, women were too fragile. Who did that leave? Just Shizuo.
Smoking the last of his cigarette, he entered the post office to retrieve his mail, expecting the usual. Bill, bill, spam, bill, another bill, and… a package slip? He approached the desk to retrieve his (large) package from the cart, expecting a mistake. But there was no mistake. There—printed clear as day—was "Heiwajima Shizuo" at his exact address. But, to his dismay, there was no return address. Needless to say he was hesitant, but intrigued nonetheless.
He had no problem carrying the oversized package back to his apartment, his strength nullifying any weight the package might have had. Which, apparently it did, judging by the quaking "thud" as he (not-so) gently placed it on the floor in the living room. He sat on the couch just staring at it, wondering what the hell it could possibly be. Finally, sick of wondering, he cut the tape binding the cardboard flaps with a key and tore it open with unusual tact. There, on top of packing peanuts, was a note. "Shizuo, you don't have to say it for me to know it's true. Here's a little present that I think will make you very happy this holiday season and every season after. "
His eyebrows arched high over his sunglasses, he slowly parted the peanuts to find what appeared to be a person curled up in the bottom of the box. He pushed it away and stumbled backwards in surprise, regaining composure before approaching the freaky "gift" again. Still in a pleasant combination of shock and awe, he reached in and touched the head of dark hair, perhaps to see if it were a real body. He felt a small jolt of electricity pass between him and this strange person and jerked his hand back.
As he was staring at his hand, he heard the packing peanuts move. He quickly looked over to see the person standing, spilling the peanuts all over the floor. They stretched before turning around, a most jovial expression on their face. Shizuo blurted out, "I… IZAYA?" This strange person, dressed in what appeared to be hospital scrubs, cocked his head to the side and said, "I'm afraid you're mistaken, Heiwajima-san. I am Psyche." He bowed deeply, hands on his thighs. "Please excuse my intrusion and take good care of me from now on." Shizuo stared, mouth slightly agape.
"This… this is some kind of a joke, right? Izaya-kun, get the fuck out of my apartment. Why the hell did you mail yourself to me, you louse?" "Excuse me, Heiwajima-san, but I am not being dishonest with you. I truly am Psyche rather than this 'Izaya-louse.'" Shizuo had half a mind to snicker at that remark. He still looked skeptical.
"I don't believe you. Get out. And clean up those fucking peanuts." He pointed at the door, still bracing himself for a fight. Psyche almost looked hurt. Then his affect brightened. "Heiwajima-san, I can show you my power cord!" He bounced over to Shizuo and whirled around, lifting the hair at the nape of his neck and exposing a small, barely noticeable extendable cord. Shizuo just stared.
Psyche whirled back around, smiling. "I have been manufactured specifically to be your companion, Heiwajima-san! Shinra-san warned me you would mistake me for Izaya and uploaded his information into my memory bank! I can assure you that he and I are not one in the same." Shizuo continued to gape, unsure how to respond to this information. "Please give me a chance, Heiwajima-san! I would really like to be your friend," Psyche said, smiling softly. Shizuo couldn't help but blush. No one had ever said that to him before. He finally stammered, "F-fine, whatever, just stop calling me Heiwajima-san, it's creeping me out." Psyche positively beamed. "What shall I call you then, master?" "Definitely not master. That's even creepier. Just call me Shizuo."
"Very well, Shizuo-san! Shall I make us dinner? My satellite clock tells me it is 1915h and, according to my information, this is the time you usually eat your nighttime meal." "You have to stop saying such creepy things. Can you really cook?" Psyche smiled and nodded. Shizuo grunted before commanding, "Good. But first, clean up those fucking peanuts." After sweeping them up, Psyche started dinner, easily finding everything and preparing the meal.
Shizuo was impressed, but still creeped out. "How did you know where everything was?" Psyche smiled. "Shinra-san observed you for some time in order to obtain the necessary information to program into my system." Shizuo looked perturbed. "So basically, Shinra stalked me." Psyche looked unfazed. "I suppose, perhaps, some might view his actions in such a manner."
After a slow dinner, Shizuo sat on the couch and reluctantly patted the cushion on the other side. Psyche bounced into his seat, placing his hands in his lap, and looked at Shizuo expectantly. Shizuo asked, "So, what exactly are you? And why are you here? How do you know so much about me?" Psyche looked down and wrung his hands. "W-well, Shizuo-san, Shinra-san was sad to think about how lonely you must be and decided to make you a companion. He modeled me after the only genetic information he had. He was worried about you. He also uploaded all the information he thought I would need or find pertinent into my memory bank." Shizuo looked thoughtful. "So... what exactly are you?"
Psyche also looked thoughtful for a moment, clearly processing information in his "memory bank." "You are familiar with Chobits, correct?" Shizuo nodded. "I am sort of like Chi, sort of like a persocom, but with added benefits and fewer… disadvantages," he said looking down, pink dusting his cheeks. Shizuo coughed and ignored his own slight blush. "So do you need to sleep? I noticed you ate just now. Does that mean you function like a normal human?" "I can sleep if I chose to do so, but it is not necessary for my survival. It is the same for eating food. My body can process it, but it is not necessary." Psyche smiled.
"Well, I do have to sleep. I have to wake up for work in the morning. Will you be okay on your own?" Psyche looked sheepish. "Do you mind if… if I stay in your room with you, Heiwajima-san?" Shizuo was shocked and blushed furiously, radically unsure of how to respond. He decided on spitting out a curt, "Sure, whatever, just don't do anything weird." Psyche nodded, still sheepish, and followed him into the bedroom. Shizuo was surprised to see Psyche curl up on the floor at the foot of the bed, like a dog. Shizuo changed into his pajama pants in the bathroom and brushed his teeth. After tossing Psyche a blanket and pillow and climbing into bed, he pulled the covers over his head, hoping to wake up to find out it was all just a strange dream.
In reality, he woke up to Psyche shaking him gently. "Master Heiwajima-san, you have to work soon. You must wake up." Shizuo sleepily mumbled, "Told you not to call me that," and rolled over to pull the pillow over his head. Then it hit him and he sat up ramrod straight before slumping over. 'It wasn't a dream,' he thought drearily.
He climbed out of bed to find that Psyche had already made breakfast and prepared his outfit. Shizuo couldn't recall how long it had been since someone did such things for him. He ate breakfast mostly in silence, thanking Psyche (who looked quite pleased with himself) afterwards. Shizuo got dressed and headed for the door, noticing that Psyche's seemingly usual smile wasn't present. "Uh, have a good day, Psyche. I'll see you when I get home?" There it was. Psyche smiled brightly, "Of course, Shizuo-san. Have a great day!" He bowed slightly.
When Shizuo returned home, the apartment was the cleanest it had been in quite some time. He looked around in awe. Psyche came around the corner with a small bag of trash, seeming pleased to see him. "Welcome home, Shizuo-san! How was your day?" Shizuo stared. "Um, fine, I suppose." Psyche smiled at him. "I'm so glad to hear that! What would you like for dinner tonight?" "Err… Whatever's fine." "Okay, then. I'll surprise you, Shizuo-san!" Shizuo watched Psyche as he cooked, mesmerized by his precision. Shizuo had to admit, he welcomed the home-cooked meals rather than the convenience store dinners he used to find himself eating more often than not.
As Psyche was drying his hands on a towel after washing the dishes, it occurred to Shizuo. "Psyche, don't you have anything to wear other than… that?" Psyche looked embarrassedly down at his scrubs. "I apologize, Shizuo-san, but this is all Shinra-san sent me with. I'm afraid I haven't any other clothing." Shizuo looked thoughtful. "Alright, you can wear some of my clothes for now." Psyche smiled warmly. "Thank you for your graciousness, Shizuo-san!"
Shizuo cocked his head, unused to the sight of seeing someone else in his clothes. It stirred a strange feeling within him. "It's not that bad. Your shoulders are smaller, but the clothes still look alright." Psyche just beamed. "It's okay since they're Shizuo-san's." Shizuo suddenly felt shy.
Shizuo walked home from work very slowly, deep in thought as he inhaled the smoke from his cigarette. With every scuff of his heel against the pavement, he fell deeper into the recesses of his mind. It had been two weeks since he had found Psyche in the mail and even though the kid was growing on him, he still wasn't quite sure how he felt about it. Granted, of course it felt nice to call out "I'm home" and hear "Welcome home" in return. But what if this was some kind of sick joke? What if Izaya was playing some dirty prank on him? Before he could ponder this train of thought much further, he heard a grating, "Ah~ Shizu-chan!" and found a familiar flickblade knife pointed in his direction.
Out of reflex, he snapped his cigarette and braced himself for a fight. He had almost made it home. Two blocks. If only he could have made it two more blocks. He felt his blood boil just looking at Izaya in all of his smugness. He ripped the street sign from the corner of the block (without even taking off his sunglasses) and hurled it towards the flea faster than usual, barely giving him any time to dodge. Before he could find any other potential projectiles, he thought of Psyche waiting at home and couldn't stay angry at Izaya. They had the same face. He released his white-knuckled fists and sighed, turning on his heel and lighting a cigarette, leaving a very confused and disconcerted Orihara Izaya behind.
He opened the door carefully, almost afraid that Psyche would have been the Izaya he just left behind. "I'm home" he called out softly. "Welcome home, Shizuo-san! Dinner is almost ready. You are four and a half minutes later than I expected tonight. Was it Orihara-san?" Shizuo's scowl told him everything he needed to know. "Shinra-san told me your fights usually last much longer and cause much more destruction than I detected. What was different this time?" Shizuo forced back a blush. "Nothing. I guess I was just hungry," he said lamely. Psyche turned back around to face the stove and smiled happily to himself. "I'm glad Shizuo-san likes my cooking."
That night, as Shizuo lay in bed contemplating for the nth time the events of the day, he tentatively called out, "Hey Psyche?" and heard a replying "Yes, Shizuo-san?" "Tomorrow's Saturday and I'm tired of you wearing my clothes. We're going to buy you some of your own. Don't argue." Psyche smiled warmly to himself. "Yes, Shizuo-san."
(Psyche didn't need to know that Shizuo had spent the past two weeks saving up for just such an occasion.)
Shizuo felt a warm hand pressed against his arm, gently shaking him awake. "Just five more minutes," he mumbled sleepily. "But Shizuo-san, you said that two hours ago!" Psyche exclaimed with dismay. Shizuo sat upright, almost knocking into Psyche. "Two hours ago? What the hell time is it?" A sheepish "Noon," came from somewhere to his right. "Augh. Okay, I'm up, I'm up. Get ready to go. Find the best fitting clothes you can while I take a shower."
When Shizuo finally pulled on his coat and shoes, Psyche was sitting patiently on the couch waiting for him, Shizuo's jacket nearly swallowing him whole. Shizuo motioned for him to follow and they started their trek to the shopping center. Upon their arrival, Psyche grew more and more excited. He pointed at all the big structures, stared into the fountain, and demanded an Icee and pretzel. Shizuo shook his head, though with hidden amusement. "Come on Psyche, we're here for clothes." "Oh, I'm sorry Shizuo-san!" Psyche allowed himself to be led to a trendy store for young adults. Shizuo was slightly shocked to see him bee-line for a jacket that was nearly identical to Izaya's, though white with a pink fur trim. Psyche also showed a certain fondness for white pants, pink and white sneakers and boots, light-wash jeans, and similarly lightly-colored boxer-briefs and socks. Shizuo helped him pick out some tees and ushered him to the fitting rooms. Psyche emerged several minutes later with a 'thumbs up' and a smile.
Shizuo walked up to the counter and started counting the bills he had been setting aside. Psyche leaned in and whispered "It's going to be $265.39" Shizuo almost wasn't surprised. He got out $270 and waited only to find out that Psyche was right on the dot. Shizuo led Psyche away with a hand between his shoulder blades, gently guiding him to the exit.
They passed Simon outside the sushi shop while walking home and Psyche seemed excited by the idea of trying sushi. "Of course I have data on it, but it's not the same, is it?" He noticed Shizuo looking around. "Huh? Yeah, but we have to get home. I'll bring you back some other time." Psyche looked skeptical, but followed orders anyway.
That night, Shizuo felt guilty for denying Psyche something so small. So guilty, in fact, that he couldn't sleep.
"Hey, uh, Psyche?"
"Yes, Shizuo-san?"
"Well, it's not right for you to have to sleep on the floor. Since I don't have another bed, I guess you can sleep up here."
Psyche stammered, "A-are you sure? I mean, i-is that okay?"
Shizuo sighed, "Psyche, just get your ass up here."
"Thank you, Shizuo-san!"
Shizuo grunted. "And stop calling me -san."
"Then how should I address you, Shizuo sa—"
"Psyche, it really doesn't matter."
"May I be so presumptuous as to call you -chan?
Psyche felt Shizuo recoil almost as if hit before he replied, "Sure, Psyche. That's fine. Go to sleep now."
"Good night, Shizuo-chan."
More than two months had passed since Psyche entered Shizuo's life. Shizuo could feel himself changing for the better. He hadn't smoked in over six weeks. He could still forge anger for his job with Tom and break things with ease, but didn't get outraged by trivial things anymore. Every time he felt himself boiling over with wrath, he just thought of Psyche's smiling face and what he would think of him if he saw what Shizuo was like in those moments. That always fizzled out the flames.
In that time, Shizuo had only seen that worthless flea once. He knew he was bound to show up again soon and began to grow nervous, knowing the effect Izaya had on him. If he could undo Tom's work in high school, maybe he could undo Psyche's now as well. He stayed alert any time he left his building.
Some days later, when Shizuo walked in the house after work to see Psyche watching television quietly, his heart sighed. Psyche deserved to go out more. "Psyche, you said you wanted to try some sushi, right? Well, I made a little extra money this week, so I want to treat you to thank you for all the hard work you do around here." Psyche grinned. "And, I mean, I guess we can, you know, go see a movie or to the park or something after," Shizuo faltered, unable to meet Psyche's glittering eyes.
Psyche pranced along beside Shizuo, cheeks pink from the cold and smile warm with joy. He looped his arm around Shizuo's, hugging it with both arms against his side. "Come on, Shizuo-chan! We're almost there!" Shizuo smiled a small smile to himself. They walked in and sat in a back corner, removing their scarves and jackets. Simon lumbered over with his trademark smile and took their order, hiding his confusion over Psyche. Psyche was very excited to sample the sushi he knew to be so popular in their culture. But, first things first, Shizuo had to show him how to use chopsticks; (Psyche had the theory but not the technique). His fingers tingled where they met Psyche's. Once he finally got it right, Psyche was thrilled. "It tastes just as my data suggests that it would!" he exclaimed happily.
Shizuo footed the bill and left a nice tip, once again ushering Psyche out with a gentle hand between his shoulder blades. Psyche leaned into the touch, a big smile on his face. "Thank you so much for taking me out tonight, Shizuo-chan! I know this must be strange for you to be seen out with me." Shizuo smiled and ruffled Psyche's dark hair. "Don't worry so much. If it's you, it's fine." Psyche smiled, cheeks turning pink, and pulled up his hood. Before Psyche could reply, a bitter voice sprang out from the shadows of the nearby alley.
"Look! Shizu-chan finally got a girlfriend! Ah~ don't hurt her with your monstrous strength, Shizu-chan!" Izaya taunted, assuming the delicate figure in white and pink was obviously a girl (and looking more at Shizuo anyway). Shizuo stiffened and furrowed his brows, but Psyche's presence comforted him greatly. He took Psyche's hand and led him away, saying softly, "Come on or we'll be late for the movie." Psyche squeezed his hand reassuringly. Izaya was left shell-shocked and gaping for the second time.
Shizuo was completely contented with his new life. He could feel himself growing closer and closer to Psyche and not minding it in the least. He could feel the tension and anger just melt away any time his smiling face came to mind. He was almost certain he was falling in love, but attempted to push that ever-invasive thought to the back of his mind.
He had tried to make it a point to take Psyche out when he could, knowing he must get bored with staying in the apartment all the time. That particular night, the duo went to the park after dinner. They sat on the swings and talked warmly, mostly just enjoying the other's company and sipping on fruit milk. Izaya picked that time to show his sneering face, honestly surprised to see Shizuo was still with this same girlfriend—or any girlfriend, really. "Ah~ Shizu-chan, you haven't crushed her yet, I see." Shizuo growled, deeply offended, but replied with a monotone, "I have no interest in fighting with you, Orihara." Izaya didn't let his discomfort at the change in routine show. He began advancing towards Psyche and stopped very abruptly, seeing now what Psyche looked like. Or rather, whohe looked like. Izaya looked almost frantically between Psyche and Shizuo, furrowing his brows and reaching for his knife. "Who is this? Why does he look like me?" Shizuo glared furiously. "That's none of your business, flea."
Izaya made some comment about cutting him open to find something out and Shizuo saw red, immediately flying towards Izaya and grabbing him by the throat. "Don't. You. Dare." Izaya was finding the edges of his vision darkle from the strength of Shizuo's grip and struggled violently against it before he heard a faint, "Wait! Shizuo-chan, it's okay!" and then felt himself being dropped to the ground before gasping harshly. Shizuo looked down at Izaya disgustedly and spat out, "His life will always be worth more than yours ever will be. You'll do well to remember that."
Shizuo walked home in silence, not responding to any of Psyche's querying and worried looks. When they arrived back at the apartment, Shizuo headed straight to the bathroom and took a shower without a word. After putting only his jeans back on, he climbed into bed on the furthest side from Psyche's usual spot and pulled the covers up to his chin. Psyche softly padded in and Shizuo felt the bed sink as he sat beside him. Shizuo was clearly distraught and this was upsetting Psyche to no end. Psyche curled up behind him and wrapped his arms around Shizuo's waist, nuzzling his neck. Shizuo sighed and rolled over, tucking Psyche's head under his chin and laying his arm over Psyche's shoulder. "Shizuo-chan, please tell me what is bothering you so greatly. I am disturbed to see you in such an unpleasant state."
Shizuo thought about his response for several minutes and finally replied softly, "He's right, you know. I could crush you. I'm dangerous—a monster. I can only hurt people." Psyche furrowed his brows in discontent. "Shizuo-chan, you've never hurt me! And I'm not sure you ever could. I know I should have mentioned this from the start, but I'm made of titanium and Inconel 625. You can't break me, Shizuo. I told you I was made specifically to be your companion, didn't I?" Shizuo blinked, nearly unable to process this new information. "I know I look delicate, Shizuo-chan, but I promise I'm not!" Shizuo sat up and looked at Psyche's expression through the dim lighting. He reached out compulsively for Psyche's face, but stopped short. Psyche took Shizuo's hand in his and placed it against his cheek. "See? It's okay, Shizuo-chan. I'm meant for you."
Psyche smiled and Shizuo had to quickly lean forward to kiss him so Psyche wouldn't see the tears threatening to spill from Ikebukuro's Strongest Man. Psyche just smiled sweetly into their first kiss and wrapped his arms comfortingly around Shizuo.