Title: Dancing In The Rain
Author: MistressKiko
Rating: T
Pairing: Shizuo x Izaya
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters!

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XXX ATTENTION XXX

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... alright, so, yeah, I modified the title a bit 'cause I changed my idea. And uh.. this is gonna be a lot longer than a two-parter XD I've been posting this on the meme, but I'll start putting it on ff net too! :3

Shizuo's POV

Exams were just around the corner and my brain was about to explode from all the information I was cramming in my head. To make matters worse, I had recently picked up an unfortunate roommate as well.

Said roommate was staring me down, ball in mouth and looking ready to pounce.

Damn it, Tom, be sure your housing complex allows pets before you buy a little ball of fluff next time!

As if sensing my agitation toward him, the little guy drops the ball and starts barking his head off at me.

"M'trying to study," I mutter, placing a hand on my head. I glare at my history book as if it's doing me a great injustice.

And in all honesty, it is.

The dog stops barking, thankfully, but picks up that ball again and... ugh, since when was I weak to puppy eyes?

"Fine. You win," I say, closing my textbook and dropping it on the coffee table. I grab the ball from his mouth, watching him jump excitedly, before throwing it toward the kitchen. He takes off like a bullet, "I need a break anyway."

Standing, I stretch out my muscles and walk over to the kitchen myself. Other than the dog's scurrying feet, the only sound in the apartment is the rain beating down on the roof. We've had way too much rain lately. It only makes me sleepy, but apparently the dog doesn't mind it one bit.

Lucky bastard.

The tan fluff ball already has the toy and is running around my feet like the ball of energy he is.

"I'll step on you," I warn, making my way to the fridge and grabbing a carton of milk. I open it and drink straight from the carton. It's my house anyway.

The dog starts barking again. I sigh, wondering what I'm going to do with such a hyperactive roommate.

I pause in confusion when there is a knock on my front door.

Who the hell could that be?

Glancing at the clock, it tells me it's eight-thirty at night. With the rain continuing to hammer my roof, I make my way over to the door and undo the latches before cracking it open.

I'm shocked to see a wet Izaya standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking completely unperturbed by the fact he's soaked to the bone.

"Shizu-chan!" He greets with a crooked smile, and my stomach twists into knots. He hasn't been at my house since we met Shiki. I watch guardedly as he takes one hand out of his pocket and gestures toward the sky, "Some storm, huh?"

"You're going to get sick," I sigh, opening the door all the way. No matter what the circumstances, it's still Izaya, and I can't turn him away, "Stand right here. I'll go get you a tow-"

Loud barking, a brush of fur against my leg, and it takes me 2.2 seconds to realize Tom's dog has just run out of the apartment and onto the sidewalk.

"Dog!" I shout, for lack of a better name, panicking.

"Since when did you get a dog-"

"Get him!" I exclaim, rushing past Izaya.. The dog, whom I now officially name Trouble, darts in between and under cars parked along the street, having the time of his life and completely ignoring me. I'm as soaked as Izaya before I'm even out here for a minute. At least the rain isn't freezing.

But I swear that dog just turned around and stuck his tongue out at me. I swear.

"Stay on that side!" Izaya suddenly yells, running to the other side of the line of parked cars.

Ah, good thinki-

"Arf arf!" The little thing yells in victory, making a sudden turn to avoid us both and making a dash for the main road.

Oh my God, Tom is not going to enjoy a puppy pancake.

"Shit!" I exclaim, running after Trouble, "I'll be right back!"

I shout this to Izaya, but to my surprise, he's right on my heels and laughing.

"I don't think you're a very good pet owner," Izaya chuckles. I blush.

"Shut up, he's not even mine!" I exclaim, watching the wet dog zoom across the road that is thankfully free of cars at the time, "Dog, come back here!"

"Then whose is he?" Izaya asks, and we both have to stop when we get to the road, because of course, there's a freaking car driving by for us!

"Tom's," I answer, and we're on the chase again. My lungs start hurting after a while and I wonder just how far this dog can go. Frankly, he looks like a drowned rat scurrying ahead of us, even though the rain has let up a bit. I am none-the-less weighed down by my drenched clothes and let me tell you, it really sucks to run in drenched clothes.

Then the damned dog runs around a corner, and by the time we get there, he's completely out of sight.

Like some damn ghost or something.

Or maybe there are many little pathways he could have taken and I'm just pissy.

I lean up against a building, breathing hard and cursing everything known to man.

"Damn dog," I mutter, looking at Izaya who is breathing just as hard with his arms rested on his head. His raven locks are matted to his forehead, small drops of water rolling down his face.

"Where are we?" Izaya asks, looking around.

"Not exactly sure, but we came from that way," I respond, shoving a hand in my pocket to fish for my cell phone. I have to inform Tom about his pet's little mishap.

Hopefully the troublesome rat isn't dead.

I cringe when my hand meets nothing but air.

"Shit, I don't have my cell," I grumble.

This is just not my day.

"Ah, I don't have mine on me either," Izaya states, and I sigh. Looking around again, I determine Tom's house is somewhere in this area. I can just stop by, I guess.

Speaking of stopping by, I look over at Izaya again, curiosity coming back full-force.

"... sorry about the sudden adventure," I say with a small smile. He returns the smile, shaking his head.

"It was... refreshing," he jokes, leaning against the wall beside me. The rain is a mere light mist by now. I stare at him from the corner of my eye. He's looking off into the distance, expression unreadable. I don't think he's going to say anything until I do.

"So why the sudden drop in?" I finally ask, frankly afraid of the answer. I never know with this guy. He might suddenly tell me he's getting married and moving to Timbuktoo.

… as randomly insane as that sounds, it makes my heart twinge just a bit.

"Aaah," he sighs, shrugging his shoulders and looking up at the sky, "I dunno. Just haven't seen you in a while, I guess."

I shove my hands in my pockets.

"Yeah," is all I say. What else can I say to that? But when he decides to stay silent and let the awkward air accumulate around us, I feel pressured to ask about the one thing I really don't want too, "How's Shiki?"

There. I said it, like any good man who wants his best friend to be happy should.

Ugh.

I brace myself for the lively rants I had to deal with over the phone with him for so long. Please, for the love of the damn could-be-dead dog, just keep it brief.

But he doesn't rant.

In fact, he doesn't even smile. He just takes a deep breath and lets it back out before facing me.

"We broke up," he admits. I stare in disbelief, and I must look comical because the corners of his lips are twitching upward, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Typical of me, right?"

He shrugs and looks away again.

I still struggle to breathe correctly... and to push down that fucking annoying jitter of hope that comes every single time he says he's free.

I'm so pathetic.

"Why..?" I ask, because despite this relief, I feel like something is wrong here. I know for a fact Izaya was happy with that man.

Then I realize that even though we aren't in a cozy little cafe like normal, I am once again playing the referee in his little love scandals, God damn you, Izaya.

"I guess opinions change," Izaya began, tapping his fingers against the brick wall behind him, "But I didn't come over to talk about this, really. Lets go find that dog of yours and then I'll whoop your ass in video games all night, hm?"

His eyes glimmer in the street lights, and I can tell he's pleading for me to drop it. Funny how people complain about the little things and then try to act like it's no big deal when they're really hurt.

"How long ago was the break up?" I press on.

He very nearly flinches.

".. a week ago."

So it took him a week to come to me. He must have been feeling pretty down.

"You're going to tell me what happened sometime soon, right?" I ask pointedly.

"I'd rather let this one go."

"Then no video games."

He pouts.

"Shizu-chan is mean."

How he actually made me miss hearing that degrading nickname, I'll never understand.

"No, I care," I say, the one sentence close enough to how I really feel. I gesture him to follow me as I start walking, "Tom's place is around here; I'm going to stop by. Hopefully he's still up."

Izaya shuffles behind me and we fall into the same stride immediately.

"... what if I pay for the pizza?" Izaya asks suddenly, and I can't stop the chuckle from leaving my lips.

"Trying to bribe your way into my home?" I accuse, tilting my head his way. The move makes water from my hair drip into my eyes and I frown, pushing the blond strands back.

"Maybe. Is it working?" He asks, and he dramatically sighs when I shake my head, "I forgot how stubborn you are."

"Because you haven't been around," I reply. Really, the words just slip out before I can even think about them. Fuck, did that sound bitter? I hope it didn't. I mean, I couldn't deny that I was a little bitter over it all, but-

"Sorry."

Oh damn it, he's frowning now.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. It's partially my fault anyway, for avoiding your calls," I admit, pursing my lips together.

"You were seriously avoiding them?" He asks with raised eyebrows.

"With the limited number of people I call friends, do you really think I was going out that often?" I ask incredulously. That had been my excuse for weeks.

"Why were you avoiding me then?" He exclaims in a huff.

Can you wring the neck of the person you love?

It's okay now and then, right?

"All you did was talk about Shiki!" I insisted.

He looks startled, then his gaze drops to the ground. My chest twists uncomfortably.

"Look, you didn't want to talk about this," I sigh, absentmindedly fiddling with the hair at the back of my neck, "Yes, you can stay at my house tonight. Yes, we'll order pizza and no, you don't have to pay for it. Hell, if you want me to go beat this guy up, I'll do that too."

A disbelieving laugh escapes through his lips.

"I don't think I want to get you thrown in jail."

"Good. I've heard the rape stories."

"I'd be more worried about the inmates discovering your hotness and getting beaten to a pulp when they made a move on you," he jests, and I find myself blushing at the indirect compliment.

So.. he finds me attractive?

That's nice to know.

I merely chuckle at the comment, seeing Tom's apartment complex just ahead.

I stop in my tracks.

Is that...

"Hey, it's the dog!" Izaya yells, pointing at Tom's building.

And sure enough, that drowned rat is lying down, looking extremely cozy under the awning and out of the rain, right at Tom's front door.

"Are you seriously telling me he memorized the way home?" I ask in disbelief. And by that, I meant was he seriously telling me I ran around like a madman after this dog for no reason?

I'm never owning a pet.

Ever.

I don't know who has been following this on the meme and who has been impatiently waiting for me to update here.. rofl.. but I hope you enjoy it none-the-less!