Saturday 8th February

10:23

Shinra knocks on the apartments door, the sounds reverberating as sharp and eager as the smile on his face. Or maybe it's a smirk, maybe he's hoping Izaya kills him while he's in Ireland, that's the only logical reason as to why he'd dumped Shizuo here.

10:03

"You want me to what?" Shizuo had asked, slightly narrowing his eyes as he stared at the two sitting on the couch in front of him.

Shinra sighed, tipping his head back and taking a moment to collect his thoughts and plan out exactly what it was he wanted to say. Before he could've even sat back up, he heard Shizuo quickly decline. He realised that Celty must have typed what he was going to say and showed it to Shizuo in the hopes that he'd listen to his closest friend.

"Please, Shizuo," Shinra had said, his voice a lot quieter than his usually cheery one, exhaustion reaching its' peak. "It's no big deal, we just want you to stay with him for a while."

"'No big deal'?" Shizuo repeated. "Me staying with the louse who tries to kill me and has fun in provoking me while I'm having a panic attack is no big deal?" Anger had started to bubble in him and rise to the surface, showing up in the way he started to growl and clench his fists. How dare they even suggest such an idea, by the time he left, one of them, if not both, would be seriously injured, or better yet dead. Just the thought of waking up to the sound of that pest talking or typing or even breathing was enough to rile him up.

"Shizuo, just-"

"No." He'd gotten up and walked over to the kitchen to make himself some tea, disregarding the way Shinra pleadingly looked at Celty in the hopes that she would manage to somehow change his mind. It was already 10 o'clock, they needed to get him compliant in time to get to Izaya's apartment.

Shizuo got a mug and slammed it onto the counter, though not hard enough to even crack it.

'Shizuo, please consider this.' Celty had typed, her elegant fingers hovering above the key pad as she looked up at Shizuo's frowning face.

"Why do you want me to go so much, am I that bad to have around..?" He'd mumbled, looking down at his empty mug in dismay.

Noticing his self-doubt, Celty was quick to reassure him, frantically waving her hands in a way that showed that he had gotten the wrong message. 'It's just that... Well, we would be happy for you to stay here but, Shinra and I have been planning a trip to Ireland for the past couple of months, so...'

The blonde furrowed his eyebrows in thought. Ireland? Oh, right, Celty's from Ireland.

'I just wanted to discover things about myself but, I guess if you really don't want to go with Izaya, we can always cancel the trip...' Just typing the message made her shoulders droop with disappointment.

Shizuo started to shift his weight from one foot to the other in discomfort and guilt, Celty would have to miss out on an amazing trip with her boyfriend all because he was too stubborn to stay with his enemy. He bit his lip, as he thought of alternate ideas that would allow her to still go.

"Why can't I just stay at my own house?" He asked, looking down at his mug.

'No matter what you say, you're not entirely okay right now, you need someone there in case you panic at home and can't calm down.'

"How would that pest help? You do know what he did last time, right?"

When Celty types, she was a lot more hesitant, continuously deleting what she'd typed just as Shinra stepped in.

"He promised me he'd look after you Shizuo, if that's not enough for you, then just don't go. Celty'll just cancel the trip, so we can look after you," Shinra's says, helping Celty explain.

Shizuo isn't as dumb as he may initially seem; he knows Shinra's displeased and maybe even angry or frustrated, he can tell by the intense look Shinra gives him and the way his voice is peppered with the flame of indignation. He can tell that holiday means everything to him if it means excluded time with his beloved.

That must be the only reason he opened his mouth and said yes.

10:23

And that brings us to now. They never heard the soft pad of feet approach before the door was pulled open, a smirking Izaya fully presented to them in his usually attire of a black long-sleeve top and black jeans that hugged his slender legs.

"Well, we'll be off!" Shinra chimed, offering an impossible large and goofy grin before grabbing Celty's hands and walking away. Celty herself only waved before she turned her back, not offering a single word on her PDA. Only, Izaya hadn't expected them to leave so soon, days earlier than Shinra had told him the night before. "How come you're leaving so early?" He yelled to the retreating backs which only seemed to increase the speed of their escape. When they had finally left and disappeared from his line of sight, Izaya turned to look at Shizuo, whose eyes were still plastered in Shinra's exiting direction, probably reluctant to meet his gaze.

"Well well, Shizuo, don't be a stranger," he said, and Shizuo didn't even need to turn around, he could hear the smirk in the flea's words, already begging for a fist to the face. And Shizuo had so hoped to keep his temper in check. How stupid of him, almost naïve if he didn't already have so much knowledge and experience concerning Izaya. He closed his eyes and slowly exhaled, something Tom had told him to do, before lifting the two duffel bags at his sides and moving into the open apartment. Izaya had moved from the doorway, although he hadn't heard the footsteps, and was seated at his desk, temporarily ignoring Shizuo's presence to continue with the work he'd been doing prior to the interruption.

And so he slammed the door close behind him and dumped his bags off to the side, taking a moment to look around. As much as he hated the flea, the apartment he lived in was far superior to his own. Straight ahead was Izaya's desk complete with a mess of paperwork and accompanied with a similar one he assumed was for his assistant. Most of the wall left to Izaya was covered with a bookcase. As he walked further into the apartment, he could see that to his left was a living room area with long, black sofas and a coffee table, an open kitchen further right and stairs leading to what he could guess was the bedrooms and bathrooms.

"Yours is the last room down the corridor upstairs." Izaya offhandedly says to him, not even bothering to look up from the screen or keyboard.

Shizuo huffs and heads for the stairs, making his way past the doors and to the last one which he opens and steps inside. There's a bed and a wardrobe and enough floor space that Shizuo is satisfied with. He throws his bags to the side, deciding against unpacking them because that would make their arrangement seem to permanent. He doesn't want to be stuck here for more than a few weeks, the notion of panicking in the presence of his enemy again sends a violent shiver down his spine and he shakes his head to dispel the thought.

He won't panic anymore. He'll show Izaya and Celty and Shinra that he's independent and can deal with himself, can show them he's not weak or incompetent. That he's not afraid.