Holo! This was inspired purely by a picture I saw on tumblr, this one: .com/post/9722513911/the-noise-i-now-make. It magically turned into a five page fanfic at one in the morning. I'm pretty happy with the result for the whole escalator thing, because I wasn't even looking at the picture. It made me so excite that I got it right! And also, I will laugh if anyone sees that Cobra Starship reference. It was an accident. But anyway! Let's GO BATCHEZ~
~Ota/Chae
X.x.X
Izaya Orihara knew the meaning of the word sociopath. And he was well aware that he was one. Humans were fun, but they were toys. Nothing more than a hobby. A personal favorite, yes, but still just a hobby.
However, over the years, one human had evaded that whole attitude. Entirely. It was unfair, and it upset him, every day. So he poured more time into his hobby, only to be continually stalled by that one man.
The obvious misconception was that Izaya Orihara loved this man.
This was wrong.
In Izaya's mind, a boundary had been broken. But that did not leave a positive effect. It was, in fact… enraging. Even though it was just one man, that still meant one thing. There was a hole in his shield. Izaya did not even enjoy knowing that his defenses were dented. But completely penetrated? It was despicable, and he hated these imperfections. Izaya hated that man. He hated him because he hated him. Hate. Something that he really should not have been able to feel.
Shizuo Hewajima made Izaya Orihara feel, and he did not like it.
x.X.x
The fights were probably what started it all. Shizuo was the avenger type. And he also held grudges. So to say the least, he had never quite gotten over the shirt incident. He tried to keep Izaya out of Ikebukuro, or… the planet completely. Which was quite a stretch over a shirt, but that's how it was.
At first, Izaya thought it was cute. Then funny. Then it was just annoying. And only after he realized that someone was annoying him did he start to take notice of the fact that yes, there was hatred. He continued smiling like it was cute or funny, but Izaya got into those fights because he was waiting. Waiting to get over it. He'd pop up in Ikebukuro, provoke Shizuo, and see if he still hated him.
He always did.
x.X.x
It got worse though, when the emotion started affecting other things. Like his hobby. He would plan fun little things for himself. He'd give himself tasks, field trips, and there was always this annoying feeling. There was something in his mind that kept informing him of where Shizuo would likely be, whether or not they might cross paths.
Eventually, Izaya saw that although he 'ignored' these thoughts, they still got to him. Somehow, the plans would come out with Shizuo somewhere in the middle. When he was done with his business, he'd work Shizuo into his schedule. If Izaya's day was a story, Shizuo was always a main character.
But Izaya was not very fond of the casting.
x.X.x
This wasn't some lost cause though. Izaya Orihara had better things to think about than Shizuo Hewajima. So he tried to diagnose himself. Izaya did not know if it was good or bad, but he was noticing a lot because of Shizuo. Like just how obsessed he was with the blonde. However, that seemed unavoidable.
Shizuo, even though in a negative fashion, had somehow forced a sociopath to care. Knowing that he cared made Izaya care more. Noticing that he cared more the more he cared may him pay attention… and around here in his diagnosis, did Izaya Orihara realize he cared about one thing. And it was one thing that he hated.
Shizuo. Hewajima.
x.X.x
So eventually he looked elsewhere. He did not exactly feel safe mentioning any such thing to other people. Instead he went to the internet.
They never told lies.
In the search engine, he typed 'Apathy' and then return, waiting for results. There were articles and essays about apathy, but Izaya Orihara was too apathetic to even care. So he switched methods.
Next, he typed in 'hate' There were religious sayings, opinions. Definitions, nothing of interest So he added, 'cure for' behind the word 'hate'. And waited.
Apparently, no medication was available. There were pages on how to make people like you, being popular, getting along with others… things for pubescent girls.
As it would happen, Izaya was not a pubescent girl.
So he sighed and considered. Perhaps, there could be some sort of philosophy on hatred that would help. There was a chance. Why not. So Izaya deleted the characters one at a time, then typed in 'Hate Quotes'
The first result scared him.
Not because it was dark or cruel, but because of all the possibilities behind it. After all, Shizuo Hewajima had managed to clog up so many obvious things. It could happen! So Izaya backed away from his computer without closing the browser. He began to play his game as he tried to figure himself out.
"There is a thin line between love and hate."
x.X.x
"Shizu-chan! Shi-zu-chan!"
Overall, considering who he was, Shizuo Hewajima was having a good day. But the mood was being slowly demolished by an all too familiar voice that he never ever wanted to hear.
But. He could control himself. Today was a good day. So he continued making his way to the escalator and ignored the informant that was surely behind him.
"Shizu-chaaan~ Wait a second!"
Shizuo stepped onto the up escalator, hands in his pockets, face forward.
But Izaya would not be deterred as he jumped onto the down escalator and took two steps at a time to catch up in the opposite direction.
"Shizu-chan! I know you can hear me!"
Shizuo stared forward.
"Well ok Shizu-chan, but I still want to talk!"
Shizuo stared forward.
"The internet told me that the line between love and hate is thin. And we both know how much I hate you."
Shizuo sneered. "You suggesting we jump that line?"
Izaya smiled, finally getting his response. "No, no! Not at all!" he grinned more. "I know it's thin, but if we team up, we can probably land right on that line. And I can go back t not caring about you!"
Shizuo looked angry. Hateful. That was hate.
Well if they both hated each other, they'd be all the way on the side of hate, and even further from their goal! That could not happen! In order for them to properly land on the line, there had to be balance.
Well if Shizuo provided the hate, Izaya could provide the love.
Shizuo was aiming to grab Izaya by the throat, and crush whatever chance of air he had, but the dark haired male evaded that. Then he quickly grabbed Shizuo by the collar.
Shizuo was only shocked for a second because… it never went like this.
But a second was all it took.
As Izaya let the escalator slowly pull him down in the correct direction, he'd dragged Shizuo Hewajima nearly over the barrier disconnecting the transports and shoved their lips forcefully together. He leaned over only slightly to steady himself against the rail as Shizuo was barely able to keep his feet beneath him while he was pulled incorrectly down the escalator as the stairs continued their way upwards. There might have been another attack if the main focus hadn't been balance.
When Izaya thought it appropriate, he let go of the blonde and backed away. Then he grinned again, murmuring,
"I wonder if it worked?"
Then he jumped, ditching the escalator completely, and ran for the door.
He could only laugh as a signature, "IZAYAAAAAAAAA!" erupted from the building.
x.X.x
Izaya Orihara waited a bit, then decided to diagnose himself again. At the end of the diagnosis he was just as, if not more, unhappy.
His plan had not worked at all. It just confused him more. Suddenly, Shizuo was not just on the hate side of the spectrum. He had also somehow fallen onto the other side. He was muddled into the pink section of love. But at the beginning of this, he was on the red spectrum! The hate side! And he still was… and it was suddenly as if there were two different sides to that one man, and each side sat on either side of his spectrum, just loving how easily the situation got under Izaya's skin.
As for Izaya…
He had lost that one foot he had on the black line of apathy.
Now he was lost somewhere in the gray area between all three.