**Hey, y'all! ^^ This story is a sequel of sorts of my first story, The Missing Piece. It's not as great as the first one, but I still hope you all like it. :3**
Memories
Celty enters the apartment and removes her helmet. She calls out a greeting, but there is no reply. "Huh, Shizuo isn't home yet," she says to herself. She glances at the time on her phone and shrugs. "He'll probably be here soon." She places her helmet on the table next to her and shuts the door, removing her jacket and shoes as she walks farther inside. Celty has been living with Shizuo for about two months now, and is happy to say she is quite in love with him. And, even though it took awhile to realize it, he has proven to be a better boyfriend than Shinra ever could have been.
Celty flops down on the little, red sofa just as she hears the lock click. That could only mean Shizuo was home. She chuckles to herself, "Seems he got here sooner than expected." As soon as her butt hits the cushions, she bounces back up and dashes over to Shizuo, throwing her arms around him. "Welcome home." She kisses his cheek gently.
Shizuo grumbles and puts his keys on the table next to Celty's helmet. "Dammit, could I please get through the door before you attack me?" He had meant it jokingly, but by the look on Celty's face, it had come out sounding a bit more harsh than he intended it. He sighs and kisses the top of her head. "I'm sorry, babe. I just had a long day, that's all." He smiles, trying to show he was sorry for snipping.
Celty smiles back and kisses his lips, hoping to help relieve some of his stress. "It's okay, I understand. So what's got you all worked up?" She stands aside and allows him to enter the apartment.
Shizuo sighs again and collapses onto the couch, gently dragging Celty down next to him. "Just a lot of stupid people today- and I mean, a lot of stupid people. It's like, how the hell did they all manage to get so in debt in the first place, and then try to convince us they aren't? Luckily I didn't have to rough 'em up too bad, but I would've preferred not dealin' with 'em at all." He lights up a cigarette and takes a deep drag before saying, "I really hate stupid people."
Celty runs her fingers through his hair, listening attentively to his story. She laughs silently to herself and asks him, "Almost as much as you hate violence?" She couldn't help it; as much as he says he hates violence, he tended to get very violet when he was angry.
Shizuo playfully shoves her shoulder and mumbles, "Shut up," then takes another drag of smoke.
As Shizuo blows the smoke from his mouth, Celty sighs and continues to run her fingers through his hair. "I really wish you'd quit. Those things really aren't good for you, and..." She rests her head on his shoulder, "I'd like you to be around for as long as possible."
Shizuo had never heard her say that before. He had no idea his smoking bothered her so much. He almost takes another drag, but decides to snuff it out between his fingers and drops it in the ashtray next to him. He looks at Celty and puts his arms around her. "Alright, Rider. If you don't want me to smoke anymore, I won't. It'll be tough, but I'll give it a shot."
Celty's eyes light up. She never thought she would hear Shizuo say he'd give up smoking...ever. She smiles and kisses him excitedly. "Oh Shizuo, really? That's wonderful! I promise I'll even help you through the detox in any way I can."
Shizuo looks at her and lifts an eyebrow and smirks. "In any way you can?"
Celty rolls her eyes at him and pokes his nose with hers. "If I need to, yes. I'm willing to do anything you need to get better. Even...that." She runs her fingers lightly up his leg and grins seductively.
He smiles in almost the same way and pushes Celty down so that he was lying on top of her. He pins her shoulders down after removing his sunglasses and whispers in her ear, "You should know better than to get me started like that. I hope you plan on doin' somethin' about it."
Celty chuckles and nips Shizuo's ear playfully. "Don't worry, I will. Go into the bedroom, I'll be right there."
Shizuo kisses her forehead and gets up to leave. "Just don't keep me waiting, alright?" He winks and loosens his bowtie. Once he leaves the room, Celty gets up and crosses through the kitchen. When she goes by the sink, she spots a lone glass and sighs.
Celty rolls her eyes and rinses out the glass. "To think he would've learned by now: if you use a dish, wash it." As she reaches over to put it on the strainer, a burning pain rips through her neck. She drops the glass and falls to the floor. "Sh-SHIZUOOO!" she screams out in pain.
Shizuo hears the crash and comes running out in just his pants when Celty calls his name. He crouches down next to her and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Celty, what's wrong? You okay?"
In a shaky voice, Celty replies, "My head...it's starting to detach. Oh, my god, it hurts so bad!"
Shizuo knows exactly what to do. He scoops the quivering Dullahan into his arms, carries her to the bedroom, lays her on the bed, and settles down next to her, letting her snuggle up to him. The two of them have been preparing for this day for quite some time, and now that it is happening, they are positively scared out of their minds. Celty doesn't know what to expect in terms of the pain or how the head itself is going to detach. Shizuo is only afraid of what will happen to Celty after her head comes off, but he is prepared to catch it once it does.
After they get themselves settled for the long haul, Celty tries to get Shizuo's attention. "Shizuo...you don't have to stay if you don't want to. If my screaming will annoy you, you can leave."
He is shocked that she would say something like that, so he wraps his strong arms around her and says sternly, "I'm not goin' anywhere, no matter how bad it gets. If you need me, I'll be here. I promise, baby girl."
Celty gasps at the nickname Shizuo calls her and smiles through the intense pain and replies, "'Baby girl'? What brought that on?"
Shizuo shrugs. "Not sure. I've been wanting to call you that for awhile, but I was worried about what you'd think."
Celty shakes her head weakly and says, "I love it. I hope you always call me that."
He softly kisses her head. "Then I always will."
Celty closes her eyes and allows the pain to flood through her whole head as memories of the past two months pass through her brain.
It's two weeks after Shizuo and Celty started dating, and they are sitting on that old, red couch having a simple conversation. They laugh for a bit, and suddenly Shizuo says, "Yeah, you said it, Cel!"
Celty pauses and ceases her laughter. A scowl crosses her face and asks, "What the hell, Shizuo?"
He looks at her, confused. "Whaddaya mean? What did I say?"
Celty backhands his arm hard. "Cel? Why would you call me that?"
As she lifts her hand again, Shizuo catches it and says sternly, "How the hell was I supposed to know you didn't like being called that? It was the only goddamn time I've done it!"
Celty takes a deep breath and relaxes her arm, and says, "Sorry. It's just...Shinra called me that before we broke up. I got pissed off then, too, but he kept calling me that every time I got mad. He treated it like a joke, and didn't want to listen to me at all. Anyway, I'm sorry I got mad at you for it; you didn't know."
Shizuo kisses Celty's cheek. "It's alright. You're right, I didn't know it bothered you. I promise I won't do it again."
Celty breathes a sigh of relief when Shizuo makes his promise. Even though Shinra had said the same thing to her before, he had never really promised. Also, she trusted Shizuo's word more than anyone else's. So she knew this would be the first, last, and only time Shizuo called her "Cel."
Another week and a half fly by.
Celty walks in the door of the apartment holding the mail, or what little there was. One envelope catches her eye- it's addressed to Shizuo, and has no return address in the left corner. Celty walk up to her boyfriend and says, "This came for you."
Shizuo opens the envelope, slightly confused. He reads the card and letter enclosed and smirks. "It's from Kasuka," he says. "He's got a job for me."
Celty's eyes light up. "Really? Wow, that's great! What's the job?"
Shizuo chuckles. "Ironically, bartending. It's for his movie premiere party this Saturday. This note says that the one they had hired cancelled last minute. Man, I haven't done this kind of job in a long time."
Celty cocks her head to the side. "Wait, so you were actually a bartender before?"
Shizuo nods. "Yeah. Thought I told ya that?"
Celty shrugs. "Maybe, I don't remember. So, are you gonna take the job?"
After pondering for a moment, Shizuo shrugs and says, "Yeah, why not? Nothin' wrong with a little extra cash. I just need to call Kasuka and let him know. Oh, hey!" He looks at the card again. "It says here I can bring a guest. So...wanna go?"
Celty excitedly hugs him and throws her arms around his neck. "I'd love to go! But, oh my gosh, I have to go buy a dress!" She looks at the time and says, "I guess I'll have to do that tomorrow. For now, I'm going to bed." She yawns and starts moving toward the bedroom.
Shizuo waves his hand at her. "You go ahead, I'll be right in."
Celty just nods and before she goes to bed, she says to Shizuo, "I know you'll be busy, but at the party...save just one dance for me, alright?"
The next day, Celty goes to Ikebukuro's shopping district to look for a dress to wear to the party. After seven different stores, she is about ready to quit for the day. Then, in the window of a little designer shop, she sees the perfect dress. It's black velvet with little cherry blossom patterns all over it, thin satin straps, and a slit up the left side. 'It's perfect,' Celty thinks to herself. So, after a very satisfying consultation with one of the employees, she buys the dress and heads home.
When Celty gets home that night, she hears a thud from inside, followed by a "Dammit!" from Shizuo. She opens the door to see him lying on the floor. She asks him, "Uh, are you okay?"
Shizuo seems to be startled by her voice, but he shakes his head and stands up. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just slipped, that's all."
Celty just lets it go and goes to bed.
Saturday arrives and the couple arrive at the party, not in a limo, but on Shooter. Celty constructs a riding suit over her dress, being careful not to wrinkle it, and for once makes a helmet around her own head so she didn't smudge her makeup or mess up her hair. For the time being, she gave Shizuo her yellow helmet to wear, laughing right out loud when he first put it on.
When they arrive at the venue, and after Celty parks Shooter in a safe place, they meet Kasuka at the entrance. After heading inside, Kasuka shows Shizuo where he is to report and Shizuo and Celty move in that direction, while Kasuka goes to mingle with the other celebrities. Shizuo gets behind the bar and starts to get a feel for the space, memorizing where everything is, and starts to flip through his little notebook full of drink recipes. While Shizuo is getting settled, Celty looks around the room in awe, anticipating the official start to the night. She is excited to be at a fancy party like this, and hopes that if she meets any famous people she recognizes, besides Kasuka of course, she doesn't get carried away with excitement.
The night carries on, and eventually, Celty gets up to dance with some of the guests, including Kasuka. Shizuo watches on in mild jealousy, but he knew he would get his turn soon. At the very end of the night, Shizuo closes the bar and walks up to Celty, his hand outstretched. "I told you I'd save a dance for ya," he says.
Celty smiles and takes his hand, and lets him lead her to the dance floor. Frankly, she's surprised- he's never shown an interest in dancing before, it seemed like it would frustrate him to no end. But to her surprise, when the song started, Shizuo started dancing like he had done it his whole life. Celty simply followed his lead, as they twirled and strode all around the dance floor in perfect rhythm and harmony. All the while, Celty was in pure awe that Shizuo surprised her like this. In fact, on this night, Celty could proudly say she had fallen in love with him all over again.
Celty is wrenched back to reality by a flare of searing pain in her neck. As she screams, Shizuo holds her closer, trying to comfort her as much as he can. When the pain ceases slightly, she looks up to his face and smiles. When she does this, Shizuo's heart breaks a little bit, because he knows it won't be long now until he never sees that gorgeous smile again. Even so, he smiles back and runs his fingers through her hair. "What is it?" he asks.
In a very weak voice, Celty replies, "I'm just remembering all the good times we've had the past couple months, and how I'll never forget them."
Shizuo chuckles. "All the good times?"
Celty rolls her eyes slightly. "Yes, all. Especially the times we've had in this bedroom."
"There's one of those times in particular I was rather fond of..."
About a month into their relationship, Celty and Shizuo started getting more and more adventurous during sexytime. This particular instance Shizuo was referring to was the first time he ever said no to Tom about going on a job.
Shizuo sat on the bed, stripped down to just his boxers, and Celty was wearing a rather provocative bra and panty set. She was in the middle of wrapping him up in some of her shadows when his phone starts ringing. Celty looks at the caller ID. "It's Tom. You wanna get it?"
Shizuo huffs, "Yeah, I guess so." Celty hands him the phone and releases one of his hands. "Hey, Tom-san." A slight pause. "Sorry, I can't. I'm a little...tied up at the moment." He looks at Celty seductively, who smiles mischievously. "Yeah, I'll see ya tomorrow. Bye." He hangs up the phone and tosses it to the floor. "Now, where were you?"
Celty chuckles and recaptures his hand, and pushes him down on the bed.
In real time, Celty chuckles when she recalls that memory. "Yeah, that was fun. You know, Shizuo...once I'm back to normal, sex is gonna be pretty quiet. I hope it won't be too awkward."
Shizuo shrugs. "It will be at first, but I'll still remember everything from those times. Every little sound you made and all your sexy facial expressions. I love everything about making love to you, Celty." He leans down and kisses Celty's soft, cold lips.
Celty kisses him back weakly. She can tell the end is near, so she kisses him with all the passion she can muster, as it will be the last time she feels his lips against hers. Celty forces her eyes into focus and looks at Shizuo's face. "I...love you...Shizuo." Those are her final words before her eyes close and her head detaches from her neck.
Instinctively, Shizuo's hand flies to Celty's head to keep it from falling off the bed. He remains perfectly still until Celty stirs. He smiles in relief seeing her move. "Hey, Rider. You okay?"
Celty gropes around for her PDA, which is sitting on the floor, so Shizuo sits up and gets it for her. She types a message slowly, still feeling groggy and slightly fatigued. [Yeah, I guess. My neck feels lighter and I can't speak anymore, but I don't feel much different.]
"That's good, I guess. I'm happy I got to hear you say 'I love you' one last time though."
Celty would have smiled. [I knew it was the last time I would've been able to. I'm happy you kissed me when you did. You have good timing.]
Shizuo smirks and shrugs. "Just luck. So, you're back to being silent Celty, huh?"
[Looks that way. I'm sorry.]
Shizuo shakes his head and takes her hand. "For what? You don't need to apologize for anything."
Celty types with her free hand, [I know, but I should have saved attaching my head for something more important. I wish it could've lasted a little longer.]
"I know, I do too. But it was nice while it lasted. And, it's not like I'll forget what you look like. I will miss those eyes of yours, though. They were somethin' else."
[Thanks, Shizuo. Thank you for being with me through this. It means a lot.]
Shizuo smiles and kisses Celty's hand. "Anything for you, baby girl."
Celty's mist begins to swirl amorously, which was her own way of blushing. [You're adorable. Now if it's alright, I'd like to get some sleep.]
Shizuo yawns and wraps his arms around the beautiful Dullahan. "Sounds perfect. Ya know, Celty, you're still gorgeous, even without your head. I love you."
Celty lies back down with him and runs a hand across his face. [I love you too, Shizuo.]