Secret Santa
Recipient: Fluorite-Wizard
Note: Sorry if they seem a bit OOC, I was just going by things that came off the top of my head and some help from some headcanons I have. Especially with Izaya's coat. I hope you're alright with fluffy Shizaya! (Wasn't sure if you were alright with NSFW or not so I decided fluff was the way to go!)
The class was in an uproar, as usual, voices mingling as students socialized with one-another as they waited for the teacher who had yet to arrive. There were some quiet ones, though, that simply sat there and stared out the window at the snowy landscape below. It was almost winter break so everyone was a bit antsy and a bit excited since it was so close. The sound of heels on the floors echoed through the classroom and the voices of the students slowly and quietly died down to a hushed murmur, mostly because the teacher was never late.
"Excuse my lateness; I had a manner I had to discuss with the principal." She gave her hands a clap, the lingering hushed murmurs dying down as everyone started to pay attention. It wasn't a normal thing that the teacher was late, let alone let because she was talking to the principal. Everyone found their eyes on the board as the woman wrote in big curly letters. Two words that made the girls in the class squeal with excitement and the boys give a groan.
Secret Santa.
"Now, I know this isn't exactly tradition, but I thought it might be a fun little activity to try with you all." The woman began, pulling a big red Santa hat from under the desk. "I've already put your names in here. You will need to come up and draw one."
That was when a low voice rolled from the back, irritation laced in his words. "What if we don't wanna participate?"
All eyes turned to look at the blond with his feet on his desk, a frown on his tired face. It was obvious that Shizuo was in no mood for this, and they had a good idea why.
They had witnessed him fighting that morning with the raven haired teen sitting at the opposite end of the back row, who was now looking over with a small grin.
"Shizu-chan is such a Grinch~"
"Shut up Louse."
The teacher cleared her voice, interrupting the two bickering males. "As I was saying, I put in all your names, Heiwajima-kun this is not optional since I think it would be nice for you to do something like this for a change." She couldn't help but let out a sigh. "As for you, Orihara-san, I'm asking you to behave at least until the winter break begins, we cannot afford much more repairs at this time and would like to have the opportunity to make the repairs that are already scheduled." She gave a sharp towards Shizuo who sank lightly into his seat.
There were some grumbles from Shizuo and Izaya couldn't help but snicker as the teacher sighed again. "I will shuffle the names in the hat and after lunch we'll pick out names. Just try and focus on the lesson instead of what you may get for that someone." The teacher turned to the blackboard, writing up some things on the board as he told the class to get out their books. The day seemed to drag on from there, the whole Secret Santa thing made Shizuo feel a bit anxious. Sure there was Shinra, and Kadota in his class too, but he had to deal with the flea as well. There was also the fact of what he would do if he got the name of one of the girls.
They were all afraid of him, not to mention the fact that he wasn't even sure what girls liked. He knew what Kasuka liked, but what his brother liked was a lot different from what a girl would like. Maybe he should just get something that looked really girly? Something that he figured a girl would use? But then again, what if he got one of the other guys in the class? He sighed slightly and slid his eyes over to Izaya who was, for once, paying attention to the class. Izaya was actually one of the top in the class – aside from Shinra and Kadota. Watching the raven, he couldn't help but wonder what he would get him. Izaya was an ass most times, but for some reason Shizuo couldn't help but be drawn to him, and not in the violent sense. But those carmine eyes drew him in. With that thought Shizuo buried his face in his book, almost disgusted with himself for thinking that. He was supposed to hate the raven, not like him!
With thoughts like that floating around his brain, he was unable to concentrate on the lesson. The teacher called on Izaya, asking him to say some passage in the book in English. God, that voice flowed out, silky and smooth and Shizuo nearly bashed his head against the desk. Shizuo knew that the teacher wouldn't call on him so with that; he decided to close his eyes, knowing that the flea wouldn't be able to do anything to him since Kadota was right behind him. Already he heard Izaya give a grunt and a whine and knew that Kadota had already stopped Izaya from doing something. The raven always seemed to do that. It made him wonder what the raven thought for his friend. It made him feel jealous at the thought that maybe Izaya liked Kadota. Shizuo grunted slightly and tried to banish those thoughts from his head.
The next thing he knew, Shinra was shaking him. He blinked, clearing his eyes. It was obvious that he had fallen asleep, which wasn't unusual for him, and it was lunch time now. Kasuka had made him a bento for lunch today, mostly since Shizuo didn't have much money so he couldn't get any of the meal tickets from the cafeteria. The smells from there were always so intoxicating and it annoyed him that he couldn't control his temper so all the money he made from his part-time jobs went to helping to pay for the damages he inflicted. He'd have to go and do that Santa thing again. He sighed and got out the Bento that his brother had made, following Shinra up onto the rooftop since it was one of the few places he could go at lunch to avoid the delicious smells from the cafeteria.
He followed the brunet doctor-to-be up to the roof, feeling a little irked as he saw Izaya laying down with his head on Kadota's lap, laughing and almost looking like he was flirting with him. Shizuo couldn't help but give a slight growl, before he moved and sat himself down across from the two. Kadota obviously could tell that something was irking Shizuo and figured it was probably because of Izaya. So with a sigh, he shoved the raven off his lap who gave a whine and a pout before he situated himself between Shinra and Kadota. Shizuo was almost mentally beating himself up for feeling so jealous over the fact that Izaya still sat so close to Kadota.
Soon enough the bell rang, it surprised Shizuo as he looked down at the lunch and finding it empty and a piece of sweet omelette still held in between his chopsticks. It seemed he hadn't even realized that he'd been eating. Either way, he shrugged, cleaned up and finished off the last piece of his lunch before taking his things and returning to the classroom. He had just about forgotten about the whole secret Santa thing until the teacher quickly ushered everyone inside and took out a Santa hat, shaking it lightly. Everyone took their seats and Shizuo tried to slide back into his desk so that maybe the teacher wouldn't notice him, but of course his wishes weren't granted. One by one the teacher called up the students and they all picked names from the hat.
Eventually Izaya was called up and he casually reached in, fishing his hand around the few names that were left and eventually grasped his fingers around a name and lightly pulled it out, expecting to get the name of some random, almost faceless classmate. He wasn't really expecting to get them anything, probably just a pen case or something like that since he didn't exactly feel like spending all that much money on someone so frivolous. They should just be glad to have him around and that should be enough of a gift to them anyways. But of course, surprise crossed his features as he started down at the name in his hand; Shizuo Heiwajima. No, No. He wasn't supposed to get the stupid protozoan! He grimaced, walking back to his seat as it almost seemed like he was sulking now. What was he supposed to get from someone like him?
He watched then as Shizuo got called up and, obviously not enjoying it, reached into the hat and pulled out a name. The blond stood there and stared at the name before quickly moving back to his desk, a strange look on his face. Little did Izaya know, Shizuo had picked out the name of the one person he had least expected it; Orihara Izaya. Neither male was sure what they should get the other, the teacher had explained that the gifts were going to be given to the teacher and she would put them all in a pile and would get handed out at the end of the last day before winter break that way there would be a sense of anonymity to it and no one could get mad at anyone because of a gift that he/she got.
The two supposed enemies spent the day diverting their attention between their school work and what they could even get for the other male. Everyone else spent every moment with whatever breaks they got to discuss what would be best to get someone for Christmas, what they would get for their families or for their crushes. They got the homework from the teacher, handed in previous homework and the end of the day bell rang. Thankfully neither Shizuo nor Izaya were on cleaning duty today, but it was Shinra and Kadota were so Shizuo and Izaya bid them goodbye, trying not to start anything.
Shizuo sighed and was irked that he couldn't figure out what he could even get for someone like Izaya. He was also irked that he was putting so much thought into it. He was supposed to hate the flea, wasn't he? He wasn't even aware that Izaya was having the same conflicting thoughts as him. They were both at a loss for what to get each other.
Days passed and they were both quiet, both of them stealing glances at each other, both of them unaware of the other. Shinra and Kadota both could see it, could tell, that there was something between the two of them although neither said anything about it as they both figured that it was probably the best.
Even more days passed between the group and the lack of any kind of fighting all around them had everyone on edge. Anything could send the tight coil of anxiety and snap it at any moment that they could break out in an even worse fight than their usual ones. It made it so that people couldn't really enjoy the upcoming winter break in a few days. Neither Shizuo nor Izaya had gotten anything since the teacher had up a list of students who had done up and given her the secret Santa gifts. There were still a few other students, but everyone was focused on Shizuo and Izaya's names since it seemed that as soon as it was done, the tension in the air would be gone. At least that was something that they hoped would happen.
Neither Shizuo nor Izaya could really think of an appropriate gift to give the other, but something along the way managed to click in Shizuo's mind when he was walking back with Shinra, Kadota and Izaya. He had never really noticed before, but Izaya had never really been one to wear anything that was appropriate for winter and was constantly complaining about how cold he was. He never wore gloves; he never wore a hat or scarf. Shinra always bundled up, mostly because he said he never wanted to catch a cold for fear of 'infecting his precious Celty' as he said as he went off on a tirade all about the woman.
Because of the cold air, it drew Shizuo's attention to Izaya, prompting him to ask Izaya something.
"Oi, Flea. How come you don't ever wear a jacket or anything? Don't you get cold?"
The question threw Izaya off for a moment, his steps faltering in the already fallen snow. "Now why would Shizu-chan ask that? What reason could you possibly have to want to know? I simply find that they get in the way or are just so itchy that you never want to wear them again."
Izaya almost sneered but stopped himself. "Is there a reason why you don't get anything from the cafeteria Shizu-chan?"
It wasn't Shizuo who answered it, but Shinra. "Most of the time Shizuo gets his lunch from Kasuka, that and he never has enough money for the meal tickets!" Shizuo growled and Shinra held up his hands in front of him in a pleading, surrendering motion. "Kasuka's cooking probably tastes better than what is in the cafeteria anyways." Although Shizuo never actually did actually have anything from the cafeteria, so he couldn't even know what the food, or even the desserts that made Izaya long for a sweet tooth just by looking at them.
That made something click in Izaya's mind then and he knew what to get Shizuo just as Izaya's comments about the scarves and such made Shizuo know what to get Izaya, even though the two of them still didn't know that they were each other's secret Santa's.
So that day, after everyone parted ways, Shizuo decided to take a look around the shops, see if he could find something for Izaya. He'd noticed those usually bright ruby lips, so naturally red, turning pale and almost turning blue because he was so cold. So he decided that Izaya was going to get something that he obviously needed. A flash of red caught his eye and he paused and looked through the window. Around a white neck of a mannequin, was a bright red scarf, along with some matching gloves and a good black jacket with fur trim on it. It all came together so well. He looked at the price tag for it and winced, but as soon as he did that, someone – someone who worked there from what it looked like- took a price thing and put a red sticker on it with a new price in bold white text.
The new price was exactly what Shizuo hoped for. He stepped inside the shop, the bell above the door jingling slightly as a perky, tall, brunette woman skittered over on thin high heels to greet him.
"Hi there!" Came her perky, almost squeaky voice. "Can I help you with something, sweetheart?"
Shizuo stood there, feeling a bit awkward to be in such a classy store, and shifted his feet slightly while he tried not to make too much eye contact with the woman. "Uh, yeah… the stuff in the window… i-is it as a set?"
The woman gave a delighted giggle. "Finding something for your girlfriend or a crush and hoping to impress?" "Something like that…"Shizuo murmured.
"Well, either way, you're in luck! It comes as a set and it just came on as Seventy-five percent off!" That made Shizuo feel at least a little bit better. So did the fact that the thing came as a set and was so low.
He discussed it with the woman who seemed starry eyed that someone like Shizuo would be buying that for someone special. It was a benefit for Shizuo because it was a new shop so no one here had heard the tales of the strongest teen, the behemoth of Raira academy. It worked out in his favor. The woman didn't bat an eyelash when she asked who to make it out to, after wrapping it up nicely for him since he couldn't wrap anything worth a damn, when he said Izaya's name. She just gave an idle comment on how interesting a name it was and as she handed the package to him, she wished him happy holidays and that his special someone would like it.
He tucked the package under his arm, feeling his cheek warm and just simply blaming it on the cold weather. Shizuo had no idea what Izaya was doing, however or the fact that the raven was just a few blocks down at the best chocolate store there was.
It wasn't as if Izaya had a limited amount of funds at his disposal, quite the opposite really, but the fact that the gift was for Shizuo made things a bit more interesting and perhaps more different than if he were shopping for another one of his classmates. If it were any of the others, except for Shinra and Dotachin, he would hardly even think about getting something expensive and would probably have gone into the dollar store and gotten something cheap and inexpensive. They really didn't interest him all that much, it was pretty much the same thing that was there day in and day out and there was nothing ever changing, nothing different. And it was just so boring! Shizuo provided constant entertainment, and while it irked him that the blond never actually adhered to his plans, it was an ever-changing thing. Plus if he were honest with himself, which he could be if he wanted to, he could admit that it was more than simple interest with Shizuo and something more emotionally and maybe even physical.
So there he was, in the best sweet store in Ikebukuro, picking out half of the brute's present. His eyes settled on the names of each set nothing catching his eyes and then a couple names popped out at him. Chocolate Caramel covered Cherries in a sweet toffee liquor, sweet almond fudge, a few caramel covered apples with those sweet and sour gummy worms on them, cookie crumble tarts, Mini Apple pie balls rolled in a sugar mix, Strawberry banana salt water taffy, A couple of candy cane looking sticks that were far from actual candy canes, some Chocolate and coconut covered pretzel sticks, Caramel Apple Salt Water Taffy, and another assortment of chocolate and candies he couldn't remember the names of, but had certainly looked and sounded like something the blond would eat.
After he paid for that, feeling a little buzz in his chest, he watched it wrapped up in a small neat little package and decided he would wrap it once he got home. He didn't need people knowing that Orihara Izaya was buying things for Heiwajima Shizuo. The other half of the present would be tomorrow morning.
The next day passed by quickly, everyone anxious for the next day since all the names had now been marked off but everyone managed it somehow, none of the class knowing where the presents were and knowing that they weren't going to get them until the end of the day. Soon enough the day came to an end, people milled around for a bit before gathering their things and leaving, Shizuo and Izaya were the ones left on cleaning duty that day since they hadn't had it for a while.
There was obvious tension between the two and both of them seemed to want to ask the other what they got for the person they were secret Santa for. "Not supposed to tell." Shizuo couldn't help but mutter as he continued to wipe down the widows. Izaya sighed and continued sweeping, muttering a 'stupid protozoan' under his breath.
The cleaning was done without much interruptions or really any fighting between the two of them. Maybe it was so close to the winter break and neither of them wanted to spoil it for the others or for themselves. Everything was put away and the two packed up without a word and quickly left, parting ways once they were on their way to their respective homes.
The night seemed to crawl by, soft balls of snow slowly and quietly falling down onto the barren and deserted streets, upon the flat and sometimes peaked roofs of people's homes. The snow seemed to muffle any sound that came, masking the sounds of distant traffic or quieting the honks and the roar of horns and engines. As time slowly ticked by, the sun slowly started to climb high in the sky, greeting the early risers and those who went to school as well as the ones who went to work. Alarms went off, breaking the serene silence that had fallen over the land in the oh-so very early hours of the day. Young children were woken by caring parents, teenagers hit the snooze buttons on their alarm clocks as they hoped for that extra five minutes of sleep before they hurried off to school.
Shizuo and Izaya were no different, really, although they were different from each other. Izaya's alarm clock always went off earlier than Shizuo's since he often had to wake his sisters up and Shizuo's always seemed to go off later than everyone else's since he never really bothered with breakfast other than a bottle of milk that he quickly gulped down before school.
Today was the last day, the day before winter break started and it was probably one of the most exciting days. Usually it was fairly normal for people to be excited about the final day before winter break, but for Shizuo and Izaya's class, they had something extra to look forward to. Their teacher has told them that if they worked hard for the days leading up to today, they could have it easy but they would still have to do at least some work.
Students slowly started to filter into the school, eyes still groggy with sleep as their feet shuffled them along. When some reached their classroom, they set their heads down and decided to catch a few more winks of sleep before the class started up for the day. Shizuo was one of them, of course, while Izaya was the one who was up and talking to people the most, by people he meant Kadota. Of course Shizuo tried not to dwell on how overly friendly Izaya was being with the other male.
The teacher came in soon enough, everyone quieting down to a certain point as that was the norm. "I Hope everyone is excited, not only because you get to go home soon after lunch, but the fact that you get the presents from your secret Santa's. After you have received your presents, you can all feel free to tell who you had picked. Hopefully you all got something that the other person will like. But for now, we'll just settle on some reading for now while also some problems that I will put up on the board. As usual make sure that there is very little talking and make sure that you get what work you have done so you don't have to work on it over the break." She turned with chalk and book in hand, writing problems up on the board for everyone to see.
The day seemed to just drag on so slowly and it seemed as if everyone was glancing at the clock, just waiting for it to be time already. The tension was high in the air, the odd scribbles from pens and pencils on paper and of course there was some light muttering and tapping of feet on the floor. Eventually the teacher stood and drew everyone's attention to her.
"Alright, I think you're all well aware of what time it is now, especially since so many of you have had a hard time paying attention and have spent more time watching the clock than working. It's time for the secret Santa. I'll hand out all the gifts and after everything is opened, you can all decide on if you want to tell them or not." Anxiety rose high as each gift was gathered and then handed out. Everyone seemed to wait for some kind of signal from the teacher before they tore into the delicate ribbons and festive wrapping paper.
With a nod, the sound of tearing paper and frustrated grunts could be heard, at least for a couple minutes. Shizuo had easily opened his and was stunned to see the gifts. A year's supply of meal tickets for the cafeteria as well as a box with the label from the most expensive sweets shop there was in Ikebukuro. Who could have gotten this for him? Who would have thought to get it? He couldn't help but glance around the room, but his attention was quickly diverted to Izaya opening the present from him. He felt nerves flutter in the bit of his stomach and he couldn't help but wonder if the other would even like it.
Izaya, himself, felt a bit nervous. Someone had drawn his name and it wasn't as if there were many people in the class that liked him enough to get him something big. He tore at the paper, stripping away the ribbons easily. He lifted the top of the box away and he felt it slowly slide out of his hands. There was a soft looking black coat with a white fur trim. He ran his hand over it, feeling the smooth softness beneath his palm. He lifted the coat up, a flash of red catching his eye. There were a pair of red gloves with a matching scarf.
The raven was initially wary of the gloves and the scarf since he found most just irritated him and made his skin itch. He set the coat gently on his lap and grabbed the gloves, reveling in how soft and smooth they felt. Not a single thread caught on his skin, they, too, had a white fur trim at the bottom that was just as soft and smooth as the trim on the jacket.
Setting the gloves on top of the jacket, he picked up the scarf and was immediately amazed at how smooth and silky it was. It even had a light sheen to it white tassels hung at the end and were every bit as soft as the rest of the gift.
Who could have gotten something like that for him? Who would even want to? Maybe a secret admirer? Or maybe it was just one of his friends playing a joke on him and would tell him not to get it dirty because it would have to go back to the store. He glanced at Shinra and then Kadota, both shook their heads and gave the raven a baffled look. When the teach spoke, he glanced up, surprise written on his face.
Shizuo reveled in the fact that he surprised The Orihara Izaya with something like that. He felt the pleasure coarse through him as he just knew that it was something that Izaya wouldn't want to stop using at all. It was so obviously written on his face.
"Now that each and every one of you have opened your gifts, I think you can tell each other who was who." Chaos seemed to erupt in the room as voices rose and excitement built. Shinra and Kadota came over to Shizuo and Izaya, smiling at the two.
"I got some mistletoe!" Shinra exclaimed before going off another little rant about Celty and how the little bundle was the perfect gift because he could use it as an excuse to kiss her without getting hit, or hit as bad. Kadota got a book of a series that he hadn't gotten yet, which he was happy about and was lightly reading it as he sat on Shizuo's desk.
"What did you get, Shizuo?" Shizuo glanced at Shinra, not really sure if he had his voice or not, he'd been watching Izaya for a little while now, those long and thing fingers idly stroking the soft fabric. When he finally found it again, he managed to speak. "Ah, a year's supply of meal tickets for the cafeteria and a box of candies and chocolates from that really expensive sweets shop that we pass sometimes."
"Wonder who your secret Santa was and why they were so generous." Shizuo gave a shrug at that statement, he didn't really care per say, but it wasn't like he didn't want to know. "Looks like you got something great, right Izaya?" Shinra enthused, finally done with his rant about Celty. "A-ah, yeah." The raven was still baffled at why someone would want to buy something like that for him, how anyone could ever feel motivated enough to buy him something at all.
Eventually everyone managed to either be told or figured out who their anonymous benefactor had been so it all boiled down to Shizuo and Izaya and it was obvious that the two had gotten each other's names. "Shizu-chan?" Izaya said lightly.
Shizuo's attention was drawn to Izaya whose hands were still in his lap almost twisting the gloves around. "Yeah?" "Why did you get me this?" Shizuo felt his cheeks heat and his pulse quicken, he hadn't been expecting that. He had been expecting Izaya to tease him for it, to make him feel stupid. "It's cause you never wear a right jacket, you don't wear gloves or a scarf and you were almost turning blue the other day. I don't need you to freeze to death. Don't want you to freeze to death either." The last part was quieter and Shizuo tried to bury his face in his hand to avoid any other questions.
"Why'd you get me what you got me?" Izaya took a moment to comprehend Shizuo's question before answering. "Well, your brother always makes you lunch, and if he doesn't you don't get anything to eat other than milk, and you like sweets." And maybe it was because he liked the other. Of course Izaya didn't say that out loud. Or at least he didn't think he had.
Shizuo, Shinra and Kadota all were in stunned silence. "Y-You like Shizuo?" Shinra stuttered out finally. It was clear on Izaya's face that he had obviously not meant to say that. Feeling suddenly brave with this information, Shizuo grabbed Shinra's mistletoe from his limp hand and hung it above Izaya's head, catching the raven by surprise with the kiss. "I like you too, even though you can be an annoying flea." Those pale cheeks lit up like a red light, eyes wide even as half of Shizuo's mouth quirked up in a small grin. Neither of them were sure what would happen after, but that wasn't on their minds then, especially when the bell went.
A still stunned Izaya cleaned up the paper and such, touching his lips only when he was certain that no one would see him. Izaya stood for a moment before putting the dark jacket on, the scarf and then the gloves before slinging his bag around his shoulder and heading out. He hadn't expected Shizuo to be standing at the doors. "Why are you still here?" "Been waiting for you. Wanna walk home with you." Shizuo's cheeks lit up at that as well and Izaya couldn't help but hide in his scarf a little before he strode past a stunned Shizuo.
He paused at the gates, looking back at Shizuo. "Are you going to walk me home or what, you stupid protozoan?" Shizuo smiled slightly at that and quickly tromped over to Izaya, the snow crunching under their feet. Shizuo took Izaya's hand on his, the raven intertwining their fingers and they set off down the road just as the clouds opened up and let some soft balls of snow fall once more.
Winter was often said to hold many mysteries and perhaps even some miracles and it seemed that this year had a bit of both for the two of them and, honestly, neither could complain.