AN: Thank you for the kind reviews (esspecially the guest who pointed out certain aspects of the story, bless you, random citizen), for following my story and for favoriting it. I appreciate each and every one of you very much. Thank you for sticking with my story till the very end. This is the last chapter. Thank you for reading.
"Y-Yeah! Thanks! I'll take care of the rest!" said Shinra in a panic, not knowing which way to go. Izaya nodded, acknowledging the other's gratitude.
Izaya then put some distance between the two. He hid behind a tree and then just waited for the climax of his plan. A devious smirk appeared once again on his face as he knew it was too late for Shinra to realize what he was about to do. All that was left to do was watch his scheme unfold in front of him. This is going to be so much fun. I just can't get enough of people not realizing their own stupidity. It's like they are begging me to deceive them. So much fun!
OK, Shinra, you are the man. Just go up to her and give it to her. Also, say something cool, like… Celty, you are my queen! No! That's too cheesy for her. She doesn't like things like that. Just keep it simple, Shinra. Please forgive me, Celty! No! I would seem like too much of a wimp. Ugh…I'll just go with the flow. Just tell her what you feel!
After Shinra had finally bottled up the courage to go talk to Celty, he gave a powerful sigh and clenched his fists out of determination. He then headed towards the still-broken-but-almost-fixed car.
"All right, I should be done in a couple of minutes." Announced Dotachin, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Celty then proceeded to write into her PDA. Thank you, Kadota. We wouldn't have pulled through without you.
"It's nothing, really. Knowing stuff about cars just happened to come in handy right now. That's all." Kadota blushed a little at Celty's appreciation, while rubbing the back of his head.
Shizuo, doesn't your arm hurt from holding the car all this time? Celty then showed Shizuo her PDA.
"Not really. And even if it did hurt, I would just hold it with my left arm." Answered Shizuo nonchalantly.
Celty nodded, understanding what Shizuo meant.
"Umm, Celty, can we talk for a bit?" said Shinra a little shy, pulling her by the sleeve to get her attention. Celty immediately directed her gaze at Shinra. She followed him further from where the car-crash had occurred, However, Izaya still being able to watch and hear them from behind one of the nearby trees.
Shinra suddenly stopped, Celty bumping into him. He then turned around with a determined expression and grabbed Celty by her hands. Celty was panicked. She didn't know what this meant. I still don't completely understand humans. She thought.
"I know that you didn't mean for all of this to happen. I know that you organized this trip to make me feel better. But just by seeing you do all of this just for me makes me feel like a bundle of joy. So I just wanted to tell you not to blame yourself, because you are amazing, regardless of what will ever happen." Celty's hand started trembling out of embarrassment. She had never heard Shinra be so honest regarding his emotions. That made her feel happy. She reached for her PDA and started typing something, but Shinra stopped her by placing his hand over the screen.
"And I wanted to make something for you! Something that symbolizes my appreciation towards you!" He then reached for the poppy crown and showed it to her. Celty was curiously looking at the assembly of red flowers.
"It's a crown! Made out of poppies!" said Shinra with a smile, holding the crown in his hands.
Celty made a movement as if she sighed. Shinra was giving her a questioning look. Celty then started rubbing the back of her neck out of awkwardness. She reached for her PDA once more, but Shinra stopped her again. He had noticed that she didn't feel comfortable receiving his gift and he didn't know why.
"What is it? Do you not like it ?" said Shinra, some panic being felt in his voice.
Oh, that's right, it's a human thing to make crowns out of flowers! She may not know what it is! Silly me! Shinra thought.
"Oh! I bet you are wondering what it's for! Well you see, you just take it … and put it … on your …"Shinra's shoulders dropped and expression changed. "… Head … "
Shinra dropped the little crown to the ground and hid his face in his hands out of embarrassment. Celty gave him a couple of pats on the back.
"Oh my God! I'm such an idiot! I'm so sorry! Now you must be feeling even more horrible because of me!" said Shinra in a shaky voice, revealing his face which was covered in tears and snot.
Izaya was having a hard time keeping his voice in check as he was covering his mouth with his hands. He was on the verge of breaking into a hysteric fit of laughter. His plan worked out perfectly and poor Shinra didn't even suspect a thing.
Celty finally got a hold of her PDA and started typing a long message while Shinra was still sobbing. She then showed it to him.
It's all right, you don't have to apologies! It is very nice of you to have thought of something like this. You don't have to blame yourself either. I know how you feel. But let's agree that no one is at fault for what happened today.
Shinra was reading while he was wiping the snot off his face with his sleeve. Celty then typed another message.
It's not that I didn't like it and I don't think you did something horrible. I actually really like it. And I appreciate the fact that you forgot for a moment that I was a monster and you just thought I was human, like you. That's nice of you. I appreciate it very much. I should be the one thanking you.
Shinra was staring at the screen with a doubt founded look on his face. Celty then put her PDA in her pocket and picked the crown made out of poppies from the ground. She looked at it for a couple of moments and then she took off her helmet, placing the crown on her neck. It looked like a necklace made out of flowers. She then put her helmet back and caressed the petals of the gift she had just received.
Shinra was looking at Celty with a big smile, however, filled with sorrow. He took a step forward and hugged the dullahan.
"Oh, Celty. How could you ever think you are a monster? You are the most kind-hearted person I have ever met. You always seem to bring a smile to my face, even in the darkest moments! You are a true wonder!" said Shinra in his usual confident tone. He could see that Celty was no longer troubled. Moreover, she looked stunning with that new bright red flower necklace he had given her.
"It suits you very well." Said Shinra caressing the petals of the flowers that were surrounding Celty's neck. She nodded, sharing his opinion. Feeling happy to have received a gift meant to cheer her up. It really did cheer her up. She was happy.
"Hey, guys, I think we fixed the car!" Shizuo yelled to be heard over the distance the two have put between them.
"Let's get going, we don't want the engine to fail again!" continued Dotachin, waving at them.
"We're coming!" yelled back Shinra. He gently grabbed Celt's hand, their fingers intertwining.
Izaya came out from behind the tree, a scowl twisting his features. It did not go just as planned. I didn't want them to end up happy. But it seems like they did. Ugh, well. That's what's so interesting about humans. Their unpredictability. He saw Shinra notice him and put on a smile, just for show. Shinra smiled and nodded his head in excitement at the sight of Izaya, thanking him for his help without actually talking. As soon as Shinra's eyes were not on him anymore, his smile turned into a frown. He followed them to the car which now seemed to work just fine.
"What's up, louse? Did you want to get stuck in here forever?" said Shizuo, on a mocking tone.
"Mind your own business, monster. It's not me who has anger issues." Answered Izaya, one of his eyebrows twitching and his eyes not bothering to meet Shizuo's angry gaze.
"You little…" said Shziuo clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.
Kadota quickly stepped in and put himself between the two, shaking his head, while looking at Shizuo.
"Grrr…"Shizuo calmed down, but not without a scowl. "Fine." Shziuo stepped into the back seat once more, everyone returning to their initial seats. Celty and Shinra were still holding hands. Dotachin put his hands on the steering wheel, ready to start the car. Shizuo was looking at Celty's new crimson red flower 'crown' after he had calmed down. And Izaya was looking out the car with a bored expression. He didn't like his plans not succeeding. Especially when they ended up back firing on him.
"All right! Let's go!" said Dotachin and with a twist of the car-keys, the engine started and they were back on the high-way. Everybody sighed at the sound of the engine working, knowing that they would not need to spend one more minute in this deserted poppy filled plain.