Chapt. 6

Ikebukuro was seeing some peaceful days. No vending machines or street signs were flying around anymore; no raven was hopping on top of and leaping off buildings; no blonde was shouting up the top of his head screaming the same name over and over again. This was something that hasn't happened in years and the people of Ikebukuro were praying it would last. Shizuo, too, as he laid on the couch dressed in a thin wife-beater and sweats, flipping through through the tv catalogue on Saturday evening, trying to find something that wouldn't bleed his eyes dry.

It was really boring, but this was how he always spent his weekends.

Suddenly, as he landed on the music channel, the doorbell ring. That would be the pizza boy, he assumed, as he got up with a grunt to answer the door. He got a pleasant, or not, surprise, though, as he was greeted by a brunette in a casual suit and a raven with a bright smile.

"Shizuo!" Tom greeted, oblivious to how forced his blonde friend's smile was.

"Uh, hey guys...Tom, come here for a minute." Without any further warning, he pulled the brunette to the side out of earshot from Izaya and let the fake smile fade off his face.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Tom you fucking idiot! Why would you bring Izaya, of all people, into my apartment?" He hissed quietly, poking Tom in the chest.

"What's wrong with that? I thought you were fine with him now," Tom defended, shielding his chest from further abuse by Shizuo's finger.

"Why would you think that?"

"Well...I don't know, I mean, you always have this relaxed look now ever since that happened and you don't curse him or try to kill him anymore."

Shizuo stopped then. He couldn't argue with that because it was true; any normal person would have assumed that all, or at least most of, the hatred was gone. As Tom looked at him with a be-reasonable face, the blonde sighed, remembering that Izaya was still around, waiting for their 'conversation' to end.

He turned to the door where the raven was. "Well, why are you just standing there? Come in."

Izaya walked into the apartment meekly, carrying a plastic bag that looked like it was filled with cans.

"We brought beer!" Tom announced. "I thought you might get lonely at home alone, so I wanted to pop by. Then, I remembered Izaya and he was free too, so here we are!"

"Thanks for the concern," Shizuo rolled his eyes, punching Tom lightly on the arm. "I have pizza on the way but I'm not sure it's enough to feed three people."

Tom waved his hand in dismissal, ignoring the comment on the pizza and just focusing on getting all the beer out. He pulled them all to the coffee table in front of the couch where the tv was still on and sat on the floor. Shizuo and Izaya followed.

He didn't wait for them to get comfortable on the floor before popping open a can and handing it to Shizuo. He handed another one to Izaya and got one for himself, gulping it down quickly.

"Tom, slow down," Shizuo cautioned.

Izaya sipped his slowly, wincing when it sunk in.

"Hey flea, you ok?" Shizuo asked when he noticed. The raven nodded back. "God, I'm acting as babysitters for both of you tonight..."

"Aw, don't be so sour Shizuo!" Tom laughed, pushing him playfully while STILL drinking.

"I'm sorry, Shizu-Chan, please don't be angry."

"Don't bother about him, Izaya. Drink!"

Izaya stared at Shizuo as if asking for permission and only started drinking again when the blonde gave him a small nod. Shizuo began as well, downing his drink.

The minutes passed, soon turning into hours, and all three males were starting to get slightly tipsy, especially Tom. Already his words were slurred and his hair a mess from him rolling on the floor and laughing like a maniac at whatever the other parties said.

"Keep it down, Tom. You'll wake the neighbours," Shizuo warned though he himself was unable to stop the small grin that was creeping onto his face. Honestly, he was having a good, great, time. He was actually happy that Tom and the flea popped by if not, God knows, he'd probably still be flipping aimlessly through the television right now. This was a break from his usual routine, though everything that had happened in the past week was a break from his usual routine, with the spell and all. But, it was a nice break. He appreciated it.

He finally let a grin show.

"S-Shizu-Chan...why are you s-smiling like...that...?" Izaya mumbled from his spot next to the blonde. His face was a light shade of pink and he was having trouble speaking properly. Right now, he was staring at the blonde curiously. "You're n-not angry anymore...right?"

Shizuo patted him lightly on the back. "No, I was never angry."

Izaya smiled then, his face lighting up instantaneously. "Oh, really? T-that's good...I hate seeing you angry..."

Shizuo felt a small pang in his chest as he stared at Izaya. He looked so genuinely happy, like just hearing that the blonde was feeling alright made his entire year.

"Hey...will you two love birds stop actin' all lovey-dovey," Tom piped up suddenly, reminding them of his presence. Shizuo looked away quickly, his face burning up.

"W-we are not!" He argued, putting some space between them. Izaya frowned slightly, his smile disappearing.

"You were! You were!"

"Tom, stop acting like a baby!"

"Then stop acting lovey-dovey!" Tom smiled in triumph, as if proud of himself for thinking that up.

Shizuo rolled his eyes, getting up and cracking his back. "Alright, Tom, that's enough for tonight." He reached over to grab the cans of beer gathered in front of the brunette who pulled them into his chest possessively.

"No! I want more...!"

"Oh, God, stop acting like a typical drunk idiot. Come on, I'm putting you to bed." He snatched the cans away before Tom could protest and hauled him up. "Hey flea, could you help me out a little?" Shizuo grimaced as Tom swayed a little, unstable on his feet and murmuring gibberish in his drunk stupor.

Izaya hopped up and ran over, helping the blonde support him. As he did, his arm overlapped on Shizuo's. The blonde blushed, but continued walking nonetheless, pushing Tom onto the couch.

"That's done. God, this bastard. Getting drunk and leaving us to take care of him," the taller male grumbled. When Izaya didn't say anything in reply, Shizuo glanced over only to see that the raven had fallen onto the couch alongside Tom and both of them were currently passed out. Great.

He sighed deeply, contemplating what he should do with them. He didn't want to leave them in such a compromising position with the flea lying comfortably on top of Tom who's arm was hung loosely around the raven's waist. That made Shizuo wonder: why didn't he want to leave them like that? He could spare himself the trouble and just leave them, but it bothered him. Of course, it was because he didn't want them to wake up tomorrow morning thinking that something had happened between them; right, that was it.

Rubbing his hands together, he leaned down and picked Izaya up bridal style, carrying him into the guest bedroom. He laid him down gently on the bed and pulled the sheets around him so he wouldn't grow cold at night. Hey, he was just returning the care that Izaya had showed him a few days before, nothing more. Izaya sighed softly when the blanket was thrown on top of him and Shizuo couldn't help but think how...innocent...he looked at the moment. But he was a little drunk; it was starting to interfere with his thought process.

Shaking his head, he hurriedly left the room for his own.

...

The light creak of a door opening on its hinges woke Shizuo up in the middle of the night. At first, he thought his ears were playing tricks on him but then he, no doubt, saw his bedroom door start to open slowly as a dim light seeped in, so slowly the blonde started to think it wasn't moving at all, but it was. He laid still; if it was a burglar, the element of surprise would come in handy. But as the door opened fully, revealing a silhouette, Shizuo saw that it wasn't a stranger. It was undoubtedly Izaya standing by the doorway.

What's the louse doing here? Is he sleepwalking? The blonde thought. I heard before in situations like these, never do anything sudden or abrupt because the sleepwalker might wake up suddenly and go into panic. I should just pretend to be asleep.

So, without a sound, he closed his eyes again and waited for the situation to pass. He was feeling a bit nervous, though, as he heard the soft padding of footsteps approaching his bed but he willed himself to keep completely still. The footsteps stopped all of a sudden and Shizuo could feel the raven's presence next to him. There was a pause, and then suddenly, he felt something soft press against his lips.

There was a brief moment where everything stood still; time space,his breathing, it all stopped as he realized Izaya was kissing him. His heart fluttered in his chest as its beat sped up, pounding hard against his rib cage.

Why was Izaya kissing him? And why wasn't he doing anything about it?

He couldn't move a muscle, even after the raven pulled away from him, running delicate fingers down his chest. Leaning in close, his breath just barely ghosting his lips, he whispered, "I wish you could love me."

Then, his presence left altogether and the blonde heard the door shut gently, leaving him alone again, and very, very confused.

It was the alcohol messing with then right? It didn't mean anything that Izaya had kissed him, and it certainly did not mean anything that he had enjoyed it.

They were drunk.

They would forget all of this in the morning.