Izaya never wanted to ever have to admit it, but Shizuo's cooking was good. That and maybe it was because he hadn't really eaten anything in the last few days. Work often got in the way of proper meals and he never thought of eating when he was busy. Despite Shizuo's cooking being above excellent, Izaya could only stomach about half his bowl before he got full. The disappointed look Shizuo gave him almost made him try to stomach the rest. Then he remembered that he shouldn't really care about what the other thought.

After dinner Shizuo even did the dishes for him, telling Izaya to just rest, as if Izaya had recently been injured or something. When the dishes were finished, Shizuo came out to the living room where Izaya was now lazily flipping through channels on TV.

"Do you need anything else, Izaya-chan?" Shizuo asked as he stood behind Izaya, watching the channels be flipped through.

Izaya stopped on a news channel before looking over his shoulder at Shizuo. "What is your aim here anyway?"

Shizuo had the audacity to look surprised. "My aim? I have no aim, Izaya-chan." Despite his words the blond was smirking. "Why do you ask? Do you not like having me around, Izaya-chan?"

"I don't like having you around! You're supposed to chase me and throw things and yell. Not be whatever this is." He gestured vaguely to Shizuo who had pulled out a cigarette.

Shizuo grinned around the cancer-stick. "I told you not to lie to me, Izaya-chan. Don't make me have to give you anymore warnings."

Izaya felt his face get warm at having been ratted out for lying. He hated that he actually liked the things Shizuo was doing for him, even if it made him feel like a girl. The fact that he was okay with being treated like a girl made him even more upset. This wasn't how he was supposed to be. If anything he should be taunting Shizuo right now, trying to ignite his temper into exploding. "What'll you do if I lie again then?" He was half scared to hear the answer.

Shizuo took the cigarette out of his mouth and leaned close to Izaya. "I guess I'll have to find other-ways to make you quit lying."

Izaya may not be a fan of romance, at least outwardly, but hanging around Erika enough gave him all the knowledge he needed. Izaya scrambled back incase Shizuo decided to close the small gap between them. In his haste he managed to fall off the couch, a clumsy dumbass move on his part.

He didn't know what's worse. Him falling off the couch, or that not five seconds later Shizuo was there helping him up. He didn't know if his face would ever get back to a normal shade or temperature. "You know," Shizuo said lightly. "I normally don't kiss on the first date, so there's no need to be afraid."

"Date!?" Izaya felt his stomach drop at the very word, his eyes going wide. What game was this even? This wasn't their normal game of cat and mouse. This was territory Izaya didn't know how to swim.

"The first of many." Shizuo's eyes gleamed. The blond looked at the clock on Izaya's wall, it was getting late. The trains would stop running here soon. "Well I have to go." Shizuo went to the door and pulled his shoes on. "Have a goodnight, Izaya-chan."

Izaya had followed the blond to the door and now stood with the door open while Shizuo exited. "What's that? No last remark or jab?"

Shizuo looked slightly offended. "You make it sound like I'm playing a game here." Suddenly he reached out and grabbed the raven's hand, pulling it to his lips for a quick kiss. "I promise there's no game going on here, Izaya-chan."

His heart had to have actually stopped. Had to. "I- I thought you didn't kiss on the first date." Damn the stutter in his voice.

"I meant on the lips." Shizuo smiled. Then he turned and… and he was gone down the hall.

Leaving Izaya standing at the door like a love-struck moron. Shizuo glanced behind him and smiled, then winked.

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Shizuo pulled out his phone out of his pocket as he walked down the street. He scrolled down through his list of contacts looking for the person he needed to talk to right then. He was at a sort of wall, unable to figure out where to go.

Erika's name was highlighted on his phone. He stared at it for a moment, his thumb over the call button. Would she really help him right then? She'd probably be more than willing to, he just didn't know if the help would actually 'help' him.

Scrolling back up Shizuo tapped Celty's name and began to text. He ended up sending quite a long text because he didn't know how to explain simply to her what had been transpiring the past few days, or how to phrase his question. He was lucky the Dullahan was still awake.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' was her reply.

'Yes.'

Shizuo pocketed his phone and got on the last train for the night. He yawned as he found a fairly empty bench to sit on. The phone in his pocket buzzed and he pulled it back out, turning the brightness down in the dimly lit car.

'Well, how did he take to what you did? Did it seem like he enjoyed it or was angry about it?'

'He yelled a lot but his face was really red.'

'Sounds like he liked it then but didn't want to admit it.' Shizuo was glad he had friends like Celty he could rely on for these situations. He liked to believe that he had some amount of instinct that guided him in what to do, but if he was honest with himself; he was pulling all his moves off of trashy TV and books. He needed real help right now, he never actually planned to get this far.

He held his phone in one hand, waiting for the thing to light back up with a response. With his free hand he produced another cigarette and popped it in his mouth, lighting it. Only then did he have the conscious to look around and make sure no one was nearby who would run their mouth at him for smoking on a train. Thankfully the only other person on board was a sleeping middle-aged man.

The phone lit up again. Shizuo turned his eyes to it and eagerly devoured the information that Celty passed onto him. He took a long drag on his cigarette and sighed after he finished reading. He sent a quick thank you to Celty and pocketed the device again.

He hoped this would work.