Summary
Orihara Izaya has romantic feelings for Heiwajima Shizuo in the depths of his subconscious, but refuses to admit it. Further, the strongman is still hunting him down, so he needs some sort of defense against Shizuo. After learning of a chat-bot website that grants any wish, he attempts it for fun - wishing there was something that can save him from a terrible death by Shizuo. Ironically, Izaya turns into a girl the next morning. This curse that suddenly came upon him will lead him into a mess of hilarious and romantic encounters – especially with Shizuo.
Warning: Yaoi and Boys Love content between Shizuo and Izaya (in his male form).
Chapter 7: Everything in its Place
"WHERE IS MY HEAD?!"
By now, the shadowy fumes were so enraged that they escaped from under Celty's helmet. Shinra stood by sheepishly while Shizuo cautiously readied himself for any sort of danger.
"Well, cat's out of the bag." Izaya shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, I have it. Somewhere. I need to borrow it before I give it back to you, though."
Celty walked up to him and lifted her phone up to his face of which he read out loud. "So the jerk that had my head all along was you, you treacherous-"
"Well, not really. I bought it from someone," he counted his fingers pensively, "And that someone bought it from someone, who stole it from some guy, who etcetera, etcetera."
Celty jabbed her index finger at Izaya's chest, "I don't give a damn who took it before. I know you have it, now I want it back!"
Izaya sighed. "Like I said, I need to borrow it first."
"For what? What the hell are you going to do to my head, you pervert?"
"Gee Celty," Izaya raised an eyebrow. "Don't associate me with your doctor boyfriend."
Celty twitched. And with that, she lifted her shadow scythe into the air, ready to strike down.
Shizuo pounced forward, wrapping his arms around Celty's waist and forcefully pulled her back. He yelled at Celty to calm down while she flailed her limbs in the air, trying to pry him off of her. Shinra ran up also to grasp her arms back. Izaya stood backed against the wall until the blond man growled at him.
"Izaya, run!"
He snapped out of his trance and dashed for the door like his usual escapades.
Celty tried kicking the former bartender away while she typed on her phone. She stopped struggling to show a message to Shizuo.
"Why are you helping him now? No one messes with my head! I'll hurt him real good!"
"It's not like you to be violent!" Shizuo grunted, struggling to hold her back from chasing. "Besides, Izaya is mine to beat up!"
"Excuses! You've grown soft, Shizuo!"
"Celty! Stop! I don't want you to do something you'll regret!" Shinra whined as he also used all his strength to hold her in place.
Celty finally stopped her struggles, relaxing to type another message. The two men paused to read her text out loud.
"I'll regret it if I don't punish the ones who took my head."
And with that, she back-punched her lover in the nose and elbowed Shizuo in the ribs, having them release her. While the men groaned in pain, Celty ran out the apartment into the streets. She skidded to a stop to look around, yet there was no sight of the crafty informant. She ran up to the metal fence railing across the street, grasping her hands on it to steady herself.
Shizuo and Shinra finally caught up to her, panting a little.
"Ce-Celty," Shinra tried pleading.
The Dullahan only turned around to shove her phone into her lover's chest before turning back to place her hands on the fencing.
Shinra fixed his glasses to get a clearer view of the text message on the phone. Shizuo peeked over his shoulder to read it too.
"IIIIIIIIZAAAAAAAAAYAAAAAAAA!"
Celty raised her fists angrily into the air while a large blast of black smoke fizzed out from under her helmet.
Shizuo backed away a bit while Shinra squeaked in fear and hugged onto him.
"Oi, Celty. Remember how I said that you'll never understand how I feel?" The blond man wafted the smoke away and sighed. "I take that back."
It was well-past 3:00 AM, an hour and a few minutes away from the time Izaya is due to change to his womanly figure. The information broker rubbed his weary eyes and yawned as he slid a card key through a hotel room door. There was absolutely nowhere to go for a hideout except a hotel. He chuckled wryly to himself as he entered the room, sighing and falling back onto the queen-sized bed. He looked out the large window with a view of the city. Hiding and being all alone was all too familiar to him.
"Izaya, run!"
The informant's eyes widened, his heart stopped for a second. Shizuo had really saved him back there. The more he remembered about the blond man and the recent events that brought them closer, the more he discovered that he missed him – the more he wished that Shizuo would finally admit his feelings. Not because he wanted to lift the curse, but because he wanted…
Izaya paused to rub his eyes. "How ironic." He thought to himself.
He turned to his side on the bed, but his phone in his pocket buzzed to signal an incoming text message. He pulled it out and flipped it open – his heart stopped again. There were seven text messages and four missed calls from Shizuo. He scrolled through them all.
"Man, you really did it this time! Celty is on your ass!"
"Get out of Ikebukuro! And I mean for your own sake…"
"Are you ok?"
"Hey, at least send a text that you're alive."
"Well, a sneaky flea like you should be alive."
"Where are you? I'm…worried. Kinda."
"I'll come find you."
Izaya stared at is phone for a second, then snickered while blushing a little.
"He's ranting to himself, that silly Shizu-chan," he chuckled to himself as he started typing a reply.
The door to Izaya's hotel room opened to reveal a disgruntled Shizuo. Both men stared at each other for a few seconds; Izaya ran his hand through the short strands of his own hair until he made the first move to say something.
"Well," he chirped in a husky voice, "You see that I am alive and well. Goodnight then!"
He began to close the door, but Shizuo stuck a foot in the doorway and lightly kneed the door open to walk inside.
"Quit bullshitting around," he muttered.
Izaya shrugged as the blond man walked past the bed towards the window to sit on an armchair. The information broker followed him, but sat on the bed to face him.
"So? Are you going to coerce me into giving back Celty's head?"
Silence.
He lifted an eyebrow and scoffed. "Don't tell me you're going to be my bodyguard? That would be REALLY weird."
"What do you want to do with Celty's head?" Shizuo finally replied.
"I can't rule out the possibility of it being a cure – being a netherworld item and all."
The blond man folded his arms across his chest skeptically. "How are you going to use it as a cure?"
The other man shrugged, wearing his mischievous smirk. "I dunno. I have to experiment around with it."
"Don't you dare!"
"Alright, I won't." He moved to close the space between him and Shizuo, pointing an index finger at his chest. "Then we'll resort back to the more plausible cure. Admit your feelings for me."
Shizuo glared into the other man's eyes as his lips stumbled for a response.
"It's harder than it looks, you know."
"Huh." Izaya pondered aloud. "It's obvious that the feeling is mutual. What's to hold back?"
Shizuo clicked his tongue, looking away as his face heated up.
Izaya eyed him intently. This is getting trivial. Shizu-chan doesn't back down from a challenge, so if he's told that his nemesis can say something that he can't, he might be challenged enough to say it back. But the emotion is not there. I need him to say those words, falling for me just like before. What tactic…?
The information broker jolted suddenly as an idea struck. He looked over to lock his eyes with Shizuo's, sighing through his nose, wearing a look of pity bordering frustration. When push comes to shove, he thought…
He bent down to touch the tip of his nose with Shizuo's briefly before gliding to whisper huskily in his ear, "Should I seduce you, then?"
Shizuo immediately tensed all over, almost like he was trying to resist the temptation. Izaya heard him gulp, taking the opportunity to place a long wet kiss on the other man's flushed cheeks. He placed his hands on top of Shizuo's on the armchair for support, diving in to finally kiss him. He massaged the other's lips with his own in slow sensual motions. The blond man dug his nails into the wooden arms of the chair – he will not submit to temptation, he thought to himself.
Izaya moved away to breathe and take a look at the other man's reaction, of which he burst out in laughter. Shizuo's face was extremely red from embarrassment, muscle tension, and a mix of several other things going on down below.
"I can't…you're my nemesis…I'm supposed to hate you." He managed to say through gritted teeth.
"'Supposed to', being the subjective words here," Izaya raised an eyebrow as he reasoned, "It means…" he bent to whisper into his ear again, "…you treat me like a nemesis because you feel you have to."
Shizuo froze.
"You know you don't have to feel that way, right?" Izaya winked.
The strongman breathed in a sharp breath of air, gluing his back onto the backrest of the chair.
"WHY…" He cursed mentally, "…does his male form now have that feminine charm? Has it always been there? Has he always been this damn…CUTE?"
The information broker watched the blond man intently. Something had made him break before, and he was determined to do it again. Perhaps Shizu-chan prefers the needy submissive type? He thought maliciously.
Izaya turned to his side to sit onto Shizuo's lap, propping his legs up on one of the arms of the chair and resting his head on Shizuo's chest. He began nuzzling into his jawbone; when that had no response, he latched his arms around the blond man's neck. Izaya sat there for minutes trying all sorts of things, of which the blond man finally groaned in irritation.
"What are you trying to do?"
Izaya furrowed his brows in concentration, fumbling with the other man's face. "I'm looking for that thing that makes you fall in love with me."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Shizuo growled, still extremely flustered. "There isn't some kind of switch for that! You think I'm a robot? Besides, I already have fallen-ah."
He paused abruptly as he realized what he was about to say. The information broker also stopped his ministrations.
"What?"
"N-nothing!" Shizuo turned his head to avoid Izaya's piercing gaze.
"You have already fallen…fallen what?" The information broker beckoned him to continue.
"Heard something? It's your goddamned imagination."
"Shizu-chan," Izaya pulled the collar of Shizuo's shirt insistently, jerking him back to face him.
The strongman gulped – Izaya was showing another one of those unusual faces. His eyes were longing, it was almost as if he was pleading; the man behind the arrogant, cunning smirk – the genuine Izaya. Something about that seemed to trigger that attraction within him.
Shizuo hesitated a little, taking a large breath. As he breathed the air out his nose, he shakily grasped Izaya's hands off of his collar before wrapping his arms around the informant's waist. Izaya followed by circling his arms around the other man's neck. They paused for a long moment like that before closing the gap into a kiss.
There it was again – that light fluttery feeling. It made Shizuo wonder what the fuss with the mutual confession were all about – pride be damned. There is not anything more obvious than these events that confirm it. The strongman retreated from the kiss to hold Izaya closely. The informant nuzzled into the nape of his neck. Shizuo stared at the floor before building up enough courage; he cleared his throat and moved back to look at the other man.
"Izaya, I uh…ah…I…I…lo….lo-lo-lo…"
Izaya's heart skipped a beat; he held his breath in anticipation, tightening his grasp around the blond man's neck.
"Th-that is to say…ahem! I lov-agh. I lo…" Shizuo struggled.
But the sun started peeking out of the horizon; the bright rosy light swiveled around the informant. Shizuo's eyes widened as Izaya shrank into a petite form and his black hair grew flowing past his shoulders. When the light dissipated, the information broker had regardless still kept his wide, anticipating eyes locked onto Shizuo's.
"I…lo…nn…" The blond man just continually stared.
They watched each other for a long silent while. Then Shizuo jerked his face away irritably, unable to look Izaya in the eye any longer. He slammed his fist onto the arm of the chair.
"S-sorry. I don't know why. I just can't say it."
He squished his eyes shut, rubbing them with the palm of his hand. But a light sound brought him to swing around, the thing he saw punched him in the heart. Izaya whimpered a little with light tears trickling down his face.
The informant stood up, wiping the streams off his cheeks and wore a wry smile. He pointed strongly and firmly at the door.
"Get out. I won't tell you again."
For the first time, Shizuo saw his nemesis genuinely angry and disappointed. He did not know how to go about it, so he stuttered, but grunted and walked out of the room.
Izaya fell onto the bed, raising his forearms to cover his eyes.
"This isn't me." Celty typed onto an open notepad document before pacing back and forth frustratingly. Every few seconds, she would dive back to type something to show to Shinra. "I mean, he has my head – the one thing I came to this city looking for. I feel like pulverizing him! But I'm not violent at all. Although, he did steal something from me; punishing him would be some sort of justice, right?"
"Celty, you're having an internal war with yourself." The doctor sat watching the Dullahan intently. "Besides, we haven't slept and I'm tired…"
"I know! I'm just really angry! I can't sleep! How would you feel if someone took your head?" She jammed onto the keyboard.
"Uuuh…I dunno? I'd feel…dead? Haha." Shinra joked sheepishly and winced when Celty's fumes erupted violently. "Ah, but I've been wondering, Celty," Shinra quickly steered the conversation into a safe direction, "What will you do after you get your head back?"
Celty stopped fuming, literally. It was true – she never thought about what would happen after that. Supposedly she would return to her homeland. But then again, she had already established a sense of home here - maybe even more so than in her homeland. Did she even have a reason to stay here anymore if she had her head? She can not simply take Shinra with her.
"I…" she tapped the keys lightly. "I haven't given it much thought, actually."
"Mmhm." Shinra nodded at her answer. Yet, his heart sank with a heavy feeling.
The whole reason that Celty came to this city was because she needed to recover her head. When that wish is fulfilled…
Shinra got up from his seat to hold Celty's hand.
"Celty, is a Dullahan's head essential to them?"
She tilted her neck to the side. "What? Well…we could obviously 'live' without our heads perse. But it's nice to have them."
"Okay, then let me rephrase. Do you really need your head back? Like, you'd die inside if you don't have it?"
Celty pondered for a moment. "Well, I'd feel much more secure knowing that it is safe."
Shinra tapped his chin in thought. "Ummm…okay. And you'd go back home after you get it back?"
"…Supposedly."
"…Do you want to go back?"
"Well…I like it here. I mean…I don't have to go back."
"Okay. What if you knew where it was, and you ensure that it is kept safe? But you don't want it back because you want an excuse to stay here with me?" He grinned sheepishly.
There was a deadly pause. Shinra flinched in anticipation of some sort of slap from the woman. When nothing happened, he peeked out of his squinted eyes to see Celty stroking her imaginary chin in deep thought.
Izaya woke up a couple of hours later. He stared at the clock – 10:34 AM. He had the room for another few days to buy himself enough time to plan an escape route. He rolled onto his back on the bed, remembering the previous night's events. He had just about given up on Shizuo's confession. Nothing was going to cure him for the rest of his life, he thought. On top of that…
"Get out. *sniffle* I won't tell you again."
He curled into a ball and let out a high-pitched groan. After THAT display of fragility, he wagered that he had passed the point of no return. It was embarrassing to him - he was slowly being broken down to his core by the curse. The thought did not settle well in his stomach.
Speaking of stomach, it was a good time for brunch. The information broker climbed off the bed and headed to the shower. Might as well accept his fate and make do with whatever he can.
By the afternoon, Shizuo was thoroughly grumpy from lack of sleep and the unending chain of worsening events. Tom scolded him for not answering his calls the previous night. It seemed that he was falling behind on his debt-collecting. It was a good distraction. Being a debt-collector has its quirks – he took out all his frustration on his targets, which helped at least a bit.
During downtime, he found himself resting his folded arms on the fencing of an overpass, breathing the fumes from his umpteenth cigarette.
"Yo! Shizuo!"
The blond man jerked his head to the side, catching Kadota's gang out of his periphery.
"Yo, what's up?" He returned the greeting lazily.
Erika followed behind, waving cheerfully with Walker. Kadota settled on one side of Shizuo while the other two stayed opposite.
"Nothing much. Togusa's staying with his 'baby' at the mechanic's while it's getting patched up after you thoroughly wrecked it. So we're getting fresh air in the meantime," Kadota explained, to which the blond man mumbled an apology. After a brief moment of eyeing Shizuo, he decided to make conversation. "What's eating you? You sound more pissed than usual."
The strongman rolled his head to the side. "None of your business." He puffed out some smoke.
"Oh, lighten up, Shizuo-san!" Erika beamed as usual. "Lovers' quarrels happen all the time!"
Shizuo nearly choked the next breath of his cigarette.
"What 'lovers' quarrel'?!" He growled, "Izaya and I are NOT lovers! And we don't 'quarrel', we BRAWL!"
"I didn't mention Izaya-san at all." She blinked.
"Gah-ah!" The blond man began to flush.
"Is that what they call a Freudian slip?" Kadota sighed. "I knew there was something more going on between you two that day when you wrecked our van."
"Seriously? So Erika was right all along?" Walker eyed his partner in astonishment.
"What are you guys talking about?" Shizuo grumbled irritably.
"We were all in denial. Well, most of us." Kadota eyed a radiating Erika briefly. "It's just your fights always had kind of a weird obsessive component to it. It was like watching two kids tease and fight each other because they don't know what to do with their built-up emotions. It's kind of obvious at this point."
"W-what's obvious?" Shizuo fumbled with his shades and turned away as his ears changed to a red hue.
"Shizuo-san!" Erika interrupted the conversation impatiently. "I hear that Shizuo-san is having trouble announcing your love to Izaya-san?" Erika's eyes glistened.
"What the- where did you hear that?!" The strongman's ears were really red.
"Shinra-san was fixing up Dotachin and Togusa after the whole van incident, all the while muttering about your story!" Erika explained with passion in her voice.
"Yeah, we know everything." Kadota stated bluntly.
Shizuo cursed Shinra under his breath. For an underground doctor who kept client confidentiality, he had loose lips for gossip.
"It's just like that BL manga I'm reading! If you two were characters in a BL story, the readers would be, like, super frustrated! Like, make your love declaration already! It's so obvious you like each other! COME ON! BRING ON THE LOVE SCENES! LOVE-MAKING!" Erika threw her fists up at the end of every phrase, showing her passion to the blond man. "So, I did you a favour."
Shizuo blinked, a little bit frightened at her fangirl antics. "What favour?"
Erika shone a proud, wide grin at the man. "That chat-bot website that Shinra-san mentioned - I went on the website and wished you will admit your feelings to Izaya-san!"
The cigarette fell out of Shizuo's rapidly-dropped jaw.
"You WHAT?!"
"For the sake of love, I'll gladly stand my ground against any adversity that comes from that magical website!" She pumped her fist up proudly. "Now you have nothing to worry ab-"
When Erika turned around, Shizuo had already run off into the distance.
"Ah. I think you scared him." Walker and Kadota sighed in unison.
"I beg to differ! He's on his way to confess right now!" Erika put her hands on her hips. "Won't be long now before the magic happens!"
The park gazebo was serene as ever. Only a few people passed by, but were quickly on their way afterwards. Izaya put his empty bento box aside, licking the remnants of his brunch off the corner of his lips. He crossed his ankles together as he sat on the bench inside. All his work had fallen behind, but he did not have the drive to catch up again. Not in his condition anyway. He grabbed a strand of his long hair, playing with it while lost in thought; although, he was rudely interrupted by the buzzing in his pocket.
He flipped open his phone to see that Shizuo was calling. He immediately pushed the button to reject the call, stuffing his phone back into the pocket of his shorts
"I have no time for that," he sighed, "I'm about to have a catfight with Ikebukuro's Dullahan."
He peeked over his shoulder to see Celty standing motionlessly a few feet away from him. Her helmet visor had a deadly glint in it. The information broker shot her a wry smile.
"This is so unfair, Celty. I'm under a curse – handicapped." He tried reasoning with the woman.
Celty sent him a text message, of which he opened his cell phone to read.
"I'm missing my head – 'handicapped' too. So what?"
Celty whipped her shadows into a scythe; Izaya began to sweat a little, but kept his composure.
"Now, now, just because you can overcome your handicap, doesn't mean that I can."
Celty spun her scythe dangerously before pointing it him. The information broker stuffed his hands into his pockets, readying the hidden knives between his fingers.
"…Okay," He chirped giddily in his female voice, "Bring it on, sister."
The two stared at each other, waiting for the other to initiate first. Not before long, Celty twitched, stepping one foot forward. Before her foot landed on the ground, Izaya had already dashed to the left, running as fast as he could away from the Dullahan.
She paused, dumbfounded, but shook her helmet back to focus and ran after Izaya.
After a while of running, Shizuo flipped his phone open again and began dialing Izaya's number. Erika's timing was impeccably troublesome. Any wish made on Circe's website would come true with an unexpected twist, usually for the worse. Moreover, who knew what the unexpected twist would be? It worried him; the next thing he knew, he was anxiously waiting for the informant to answer his call.
"Come on, pick up the phone, you damn flea!" He muttered as he heard the repetitive rings on the other end.
"The customer you are calling can not-"
Shizuo grit his teeth and ended the call. He stopped in his tracks to type a text message instead.
"Where are you? Need to know you are ok." He mumbled.
Before he pushed the button to send, a loud crash could be heard from the distance. People looked around confusedly, some pointed to the dark smoke and debris coming from the park. Without delay, Shizuo ran down the street toward the smoke.
People gathered around in a safe distance to observe the fight between Celty and Izaya. The information broker stopped to take a breather, pulling his hair behind his ears. He winced as he realized there were multiple scythe scratches on his slender legs, some started bleeding out a little. Celty suffered a few knife cuts as well, but they all healed in a matter of seconds.
"See? This is another handicap," He breathed heavily between words. "I don't heal as fast."
Celty pulled out her phone to send a text message. "Return my head, and we will call it even."
"You know," he laughed wryly, "Shizu-chan came to see me yesterday. And he still couldn't say those three little words. I've given up on that cure. Your head, a netherworld item, has a chance of being a cure. That is my last chance."
"Is that what this is about? You're wasting your time. My head doesn't have that power."
"We don't know that. I'll figure something." Izaya shrugged.
At that moment, Shizuo pushed the crowds away to head to the frontline. He finally made it, and breathed a sigh of relief that the two were not dead. Or rather, that Izaya was not dead.
"Come on, sister. Do your fellow girl a favour and lend me your head for a bit." Izaya sneered. "If it's useless, I'll return it to you eventually."
Celty stood still with a deadly silence. Her hand balled into a fist briefly before she sent another text message. "Dullahan can reap souls when they think someone's time is due. And your time is due."
Her shadows swiveled around her dark scythe, polishing it until it glistened a dangerous aura. Izaya's breath hitched, but he calmed himself and reached into his pocket for the last knives he had on hand.
The crowds were in awe; Shizuo held his breath as he watched Izaya throw multiple knives at the Dullahan. Celty spun her scythe, deflecting all of them. While she was busy doing that, Izaya took the short time gap to dash past her and recover some of the other knives on the ground. Celty swung her scythe around to hit him, but he jumped out of the way just in time. As he landed, Celty thrust her scythe forward, making him lose balance.
Izaya stumbled; the Dullahan took the chance to knock the back of the scythe into him, and Izaya toppled to the floor. Before he could react, Celty had already closed in above him, swinging her scythe down toward him. He wanted to roll away, but he flinched at the pain in his sprained calf – it was too late; he looked up at Celty.
"I should have just kept running," he thought to himself as he squished his eyes shut.
There was a sharp sound of the scythe slicing the air and a loud rumble of the shadows that followed. But Izaya felt nothing. Maybe it was painless, having your soul reaped, he thought for a second. Then he heard a shuffling sound, so he quickly opened his eyes, then his heart nearly gave out.
Above him stood Shizuo with his arms extended outwards in a protective stance; the smoky shadows following the path where the scythe cleaved across his chest.
The crowds of people gasped; Celty's helmet jerked in surprise. Izaya's heart stopped until he had a laboured gasp. Shizuo's teeth were gritted, but his jaw loosened as his knees gave out and he bent forward. Izaya quickly stood up with his uninjured leg to catch him, breaking his fall. He held the blond man in his slender arms, laying him gently on his pale thighs. Shizuo groaned weakly.
"Shizu-chan…Shizu-chan!" The informant shook the strongman.
"You weren't answering my calls; thought you were in trouble." He breathed heavily. "Don't get cocky. If it were the old me, I'd do the same, just to save the kill for myself. You're my nemesis." He looked up at Izaya who pursed his trembling lips. "Ah, what am I saying? I'm about to die. Damn that website."
Izaya's eyes watered; moments later, streams spilled out running down his delicate face. The blond man's vision began to get hazy, so he cut straight to the point before he loses his only chance.
"Y-yeah. Izaya," He struggled to form his words. "I do…love you too…romantically." His body relaxed and his eyes fluttered close.
Izaya's breath hitched. He stared closely at Shizuo's still face. When it finally registered in his mind, he began to whimper, sniffle, and finally bawl. His cries echoed the area past the murmurs of the crowd.
Shinra ran up to Celty; Kadota and company stayed close behind as well.
"Did you hear it? He admitted it finally," Shinra spoke softly to his lover. "Izaya-kun is still a girl though. Now Shizuo-kun…"
"Give him back!" Izaya cried out, alarming the bunch. They have never seen the calm-and-collected Izaya lash out in distress like this before. "GIVE SHIZU-CHAN BACK, CELTY!"
The informant held the blond man's body tightly. The Dullahan stared at the ever-overflowing tears that dripped out of his glaring eyes. She slid open the keyboard of her phone, typed something, and showed the screen to Izaya.
"I can't; what's done is done." She then put away her phone.
Izaya pursed his trembling lips, staring into the blank visor of Celty's helmet. He wanted to believe that it was a lie, but there was no point in denying. He began to whimper again. Cupping Shizuo's cheek with one hand, he held him close while he continued his broken-hearted cries.
"Shizu-chan, you idiot! This is why I hate you so much!" Izaya cried out, gasping for air every few seconds.
The crowds murmured quietly. Kadota and company stayed quiet, not knowing what to say or how to react. When the atmosphere grew heavier, he signaled his crew to start leaving. But then, the surrounding people gasped; Erika and Walker pointed at Izaya.
Izaya's body glowed with a rosy light. The sun was only just beginning to descend from its peak. Sparks of a rose hue wildly encircled his feminine body. Everyone watched in awe as his body grew taller, hair retracted to his usual, short, messy cut, and shorts lengthened to his usual pants again. His cries in the messo-soprano register went down to husky baritone whimpers. But the man was not the least bit fazed. His broken heart was out in the open for all to see.
Shinra stuttered; Celty's visor reflected the bright sun.
Not before long, Izaya heard quiet groans beneath him. He sniffled, looking down at Shizuo whose eyelids started lifting slowly. He paused in surprise as Shizuo focused his vision.
"Shizu-chan?" A stray tear landed onto the blond man's face.
"S-so bright…uuugh…Izaya?" His eyes were half-lidded as he reached a hand up towards Izaya's cheek. "Were…were you crying?"
Izaya dove down past Shizuo's outstretched hand, wrapping his arms tightly around Shizuo who grunted in surprise. "Shizu-chan!" He gasped.
Shizuo slowly pushed himself to sit up with his elbows. He returned the embrace, chuckling lightly.
"You changed back…" He looked into the sky to see the bright disc. "The sun is still up. Does that mean you're cured?!" He pinched his face, reassuring that he was not dreaming. "I thought I died too."
"Not that easily," Shinra interjected, "Celty can only reap souls of people who are due. She just knocked you out is all." He grinned.
"They say Shizuo is a monster, it's true. No one ever woke up that fast after I knock them out." Celty typed. "I never took Shizuo's soul, so there's nothing to give back."
Izaya broke away from the embrace, still holding onto Shizuo and sniffled a little. "So it was all a bluff?"
"Part of the experiment, you could say. Celty and I figured you both would finally show your true faces when pressured to the extreme. The hit was intended for Izaya-kun though," The doctor explained sheepishly. "We thought Shizuo's confession would be the cure. But it seems that unexpected outcome was not enough."
"Huh?" Erika pondered for a moment. "So ultimately, it wasn't only Shizuo-san's confession that broke the curse; it was Shizuo-san and Izaya–san breaking down their pride - the mutual showing of love for one another without hesitation?" Erika furrowed her eyebrows and pouted. "How romantic!" Her eyes gleamed.
"Ah geez, stop! You're giving me goosebumps!" Walker pulled his protesting partner away.
Shinra fixed his glasses, pointing to Erika. "What she said."
Celty knelt down in front of both men, typing a message to show them.
"I'll come back for my head another day. Until then, keep it safe. I'll really reap your soul next time if you don't."
Izaya lifted an eyebrow in surprise. But he nodded at the Dullahan, muttering an "Okay." When Celty stood and walked away with her lover, Izaya looked back at Shizuo who stared back with a smile. Izaya's eyes widened; he lifted his hands away from Shizuo's shoulders and looked at the ground, blushing.
"W-what?" He tried to compose himself. Every time the blond man smiled at him like that, he just could not get used to it.
"You're actually quite cute when you cry." Shizuo admitted, to which the other man flustered greatly.
"Ah? Well you're quite cute yourself when you confessed."
"Guh!" Shizuo stumbled. "You damn flea." He flicked the other's forehead.
"Yeah? Well, I'm your damn flea now," he smirked while sniffling.
The strongman grunted in annoyance, but blushed profusely. "Heh, after THAT kind of confession, of course you are."
Shizuo dove in slowly for a kiss. His longing eyes kept in contact with Izaya's equally longing ones. Just when their eyes closed, Shizuo immediately opened his again and swung his head to the side. Shinra had a stupid smile, Erika was beaming with bliss, and the surrounding crowds were watching intently.
"What the hell are you all staring at? Get lost or I'll beat the shit out of all of you!" Shizuo roared.
Immediately, the crowds dispersed. Shizuo clicked his tongue; Izaya chuckled giddily, pulling the other man's shirt collar so that they could finally kiss.
Once again, Ikebukuro was at peace - at least temporarily. Everyone returned to their usual duties like nothing had happened. The district was starting adapt to the strange phenomena.
Back at Shinra's apartment, Celty sat on the couch with her arms folded across her chest, fingers tapping pensively on her bicep. She stared at her laptop on top on her coffee table in solitude. The "This page can not be loaded" page plastered across the screen.
"Your head."
The black smoke from Celty`s neck swiveled to the side to perceive a woman with golden hair and ivory robes. She smiled in return, batting her eyelashes over her clear-blue irises.
"What about my head?" Celty typed onto her laptop Word Pad.
"You didn't take it back." The woman stated with only a slight hint of surprise. "Why is that?"
The smoke from Celty`s neck wavered pensively before she typed onto her laptop.
"I think it's better this way."
"An excuse to linger here, is that it?" She drank a rosy wine from her golden chalice.
"Probably." the Dullahan shrugged her shoulders even though she knew the woman had caught her. "At least I know where it is, and that it is relatively kept safe. I don't really need it back."
"Unexpected, isn't it?" The woman teased, to which Celty irritably drummed her fingers on her arm.
"Do you enjoy doing this?"
"Everything happens for a reason, my dear. I just love interlacing things to make what the Fates set out…more fun." She smiled nonchalantly at Celty. "Sorry you had to get caught up with my fun."
"Is this what you meant by 'everything has a place, everything in its place'?"
"Indeed." The golden woman answered. "Everything in life is destined for a particular state. Even if external or internal factors affect it, the state will only change for a brief period before resulting back to the way it was…'programmed', if you will, to be. In other words, if something is yours, then it will always become yours no matter what happens. Alas, like your head, it turned out to be the contrary."
The Dullahan began typing on her keyboard.
"But, at least you found the whereabouts of your head, hm? Your wish on my website certainly was the beginning and end of the dominoes set." The woman explained. "Wasn't it?"
Celty paused for a second, then turned her laptop screen to show the woman.
"Are you done? Because the sun is about to set; you will have no powers, and I tend to get cranky with visitors at night."
The woman sneered at her.
"Celty!" Shinra suddenly called lovingly from the other room.
A swift wind rushed past the smoke from Celty's neck and batted the curtains of the open balcony. The Dullahan stretched her limbs, then closed the laptop.
The sun had set well beneath the horizon. Izaya hugged Shizuo firmly as the blond man carried him on his back. Shizuo had put several bandages over the cuts on Izaya's legs and massaged the sprain enough for it to loosen. But the informant just wanted a piggyback ride from the other man, so he lied about remnants of leg pain. He rubbed his cheek onto the back of Shizuo's neck like an affectionate cat, earning a quiet chuckle from him.
"So, you want to go back to your place?" The strongman wondered after realizing that he was walking around aimlessly.
"Hm? The hotel is fine," Izaya replied nonchalantly, "I booked it for another few days. Besides, the renovators are still fixing my apartment door."
Shizuo looked up to the sky pensively. "Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Ah. The hotel it is, then."
"Yes."
Silence – slowly building up to an awkward silence.
"You're welcome to stay however long you want," Izaya sighed sleepily, "You managed to say and do really embarrassing things back there, so why are you being so shy?"
"I-I'm not being shy! I intended to stay even if you didn't invite me!" Shizuo flustered and prepared himself for a snarky retort. "What do you got to say for that, huh?"
When there was no reply, he tilted his head slightly to see that Izaya had drifted off to sleep. His nose was buried into the nape of the blond man's neck – the sight of that made Shizuo jerk his head forward and blush.
"I say that Shizu-chan is cute."
Shizuo grunted, caught off-guard. That ass, he pretended to be asleep, he thought. He then hopped to push Izaya's descending body more upward on his back. The heat radiating from his body put him at ease. If anything, his chest felt all fluttery. The scent from Shizuo's neck also triggered a desire in Izaya.
The information broker nuzzled more into the other man's neck, tightening his grasp around his shoulders. He blushed profusely and softly closed his eyes to indulge in Shizuo's scent.
"Shizu-chan, I love you," he whispered huskily.
That sent volts of shivers down Shizuo's spine. He was ready to drop him and pull him into a long passionate kiss. It was as if everything from the hate extreme switched to the love extreme; all corresponding actions following the change. In a way, the blond man began to learn to like it this way. His cheeks reddened by the second, but he bit back his desires – at least until they reached the hotel.
"Ah. Me too," Shizuo replied simply.
The walk felt long. Both men were thoroughly drowned with desire from recent events. And all that occupied their minds at that moment was a single thought.
"Ah…I think I'm finally at my limit."
Shizuo closed the door to Izaya's hotel room behind him then carefully set the informant on the edge of the bed. The atmosphere became awkward from that moment onwards. As expected, the sudden shift in relationship from one extreme to the other is not something easily adapted.
"Uuuuh…how's the leg?" Shizuo rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"It's…better - doesn't hurt anymore." Izaya swung his leg back and forth, then decided to tease the other man. "Shizu-chan's hands felt so good," he chirped.
Shizuo's face began to heat up. "S-s-s-stop saying it like that!"
Izaya snickered; the blond man let out an annoyed grunt. Next, the informant stared at him pensively.
"Shizu-chan, I think this curse is like a virus."
"Huh? How so?" Shizuo lifted an eyebrow.
"It remains in my body, and the treatment is us continually loving each other," he explained before furrowing his brows. "If one day, Shizu-chan stops loving me…"
"Ah?! We've been through mounds of shit hitting the fan; I'm not about to throw away the work I put into all this," The strongman bellowed, "Besides, I've been obsessed with you for years and I've never stopped obsessing one bit." He saw that Izaya was staring with a growing blush, so he flicked his forehead. "I'm not half-assed like you."
Izaya smiled briefly before smirking and attempted to pick fun at the blond man. "Hmm? Just now, was that a vow of everlasting love?"
Shizuo puffed his chest. "You bet it is."
The informant's breath hitched as his heart exploded with fireworks. How does he keep surprising me like this? He thought to himself. He got up from his seat, rushing over to latch onto the other man, nuzzling into his shoulder.
Shizuo gulped as he returned the embrace. "S-SO CUTE!" He yelled internally.
"Then, we better keep the treatment going." Izaya flustered, burying his face deeper into his chest.
The strongman gulped even louder.
A "Do not disturb" sign hung outside on the knob of the hotel room. The chamber was dark; the curtains were drawn closed, leaving a small crack for the moonlight to spill through. Two sets of clothing were thrown wildly across the floor and over the armchair.
Beneath the ruffled bed sheets, Shizuo passionately kissed Izaya while the latter held onto him firmly, returning the kiss just as wildly. When Shizuo raised himself to hover over his lover, he began moving his hips again slowly. Izaya's deep voice caught in his throat as he winced.
"I'm sorry," Shizuo huffed, "I'm not sure what to do."
"Just…don't stop," Izaya moaned beckoningly.
A flood of desire engulfed the blond man as he watched him. He continued gently for a while until he felt Izaya relax. The informant held onto Shizuo's waist, a long, pleasured moan escaping his lips and fuelling the blond man. Shizuo took this as a signal and began picking up the tempo, to which Izaya's breathing quickened as well. Both men watched each other with half-lidded eyes.
Throughout their love-making, they called out each other's names in voices that neither had heard of before. Before they knew it, they gasped in their highest pleasure in perfect tempo, arching their backs. Each holding onto the other dearly as they gradually descended.
Shizuo crashed his body onto Izaya's; he swallowed between gasps, blowing breaths of warm air onto his neck. The perspiration on their bodies started to chill, so the informant pulled the bedsheets higher to cover Shizuo's shoulders. The gesture surprised himself momentarily, but he shook it off with a smile. He let out a satisfied sigh, circling his arms around Shizuo's shoulder and started caressing his blond locks.
"How was the treatment?" Shizuo asked after recuperating his breath.
"Successful; Shizu-chan is surprisingly gentle. Continue the good work," Izaya murmured while petting his lover rewardingly, "though my rear-end kind of hurts."
Shizuo hid his face in the pillows. "S-sorry."
"Gee," Izaya pulled his blond head close so that he could squish their blushed cheeks together. "Stop seducing me with your chivalry, Shizu-chan."
The strongman grunted, earning a chuckle from his lover. They rested in that position until Shizuo rolled them both on their sides, facing each other. He reached his palm to rest on the other man's face, stroking his cheek with his thumb. Izaya breathed a relaxed sigh.
"I love you," both said at the same time, to which their eyes widened.
The words sent earthquakes of pleasant shivers up and down their spines; even greater waves when the two men tugged each other into a secure embrace and kiss. Izaya flustered aglow with undeniable bliss.
This was just the beginning of their so-called "treatment".
The next day's afternoon was like any normal day in Ikebukuro. Celty, Shinra, and the Kadota gang were out at Simon's sushi restaurant, celebrating with saké and all-you-can-eat sushi.
"Huh, I'm sort of going to miss those crazy fights between those two," Kadota stated blankly.
"I'M not!" Togusa growled, glancing briefly at his refurnished van parked outside.
"Well, everything worked out for everyone, I say. That's all that counts!" Shinra giddily rubbed his head on Celty's shoulder.
The Dullahan typed a message on her phone. "Let's just indulge in this peace before it goes away again."
"Cheers to that!" Togusa sighed. "Those two finally getting along will do society much better."
CRASH!
The group flinched at the nearby thundering sound. "What the-?" Togusa squeaked. They all ran outside to see what the commotion was all about.
"IZAAAAAAYAAAAAA!"
Shizuo launched a soda machine past Izaya, stopping the informant from running. The soda machine tumbled to the side and toppled onto Togusa's van – its owner squealed like a little girl and fainted. The two men had scrambled around the block, damaging edifices and the newly paved streets.
"EH…?! Nothing changed?" Walker gazed, dumbfounded.
Shinra stuttered, "N-no way! After yesterday, how could they suddenly regress so much?"
Izaya paused, catching his breath. "Come on, Shizu-chan, give me a break. My back still hurts from yesterday." He rubbed his back and winked at Shizuo.
"No way!" He pulled the collar of his white shirt down to show several reddish marks on his neck. "You little flea bit me and left markings all over. I need my revenge!"
"Like I said," the informant curled his index finger inwards in a beckoning motion, "if you can catch me, I'll let you mark me as much as you want."
Shizuo snickered, puckering his lips briefly and smacking them into an airborne kiss that he sent to the informant. He rushed forward, reaching his arms out to catch the other man who just kept dodging.
The groups' eyes twitched; Kadota covered his eyes with the palm of his hand; Celty covered her visor with one hand in embarrassment; Shinra had a sheepish smile; Walker blushed, rolling his eyes; and Erika hooted a cheer.
"Seems they're still in puberty, huh, Simon-san?" Shinra sighed at the restaurant proprietor, fixing his glasses.
"Nope. That's just how their chemistry works," Simon returned to his work.
"Oi! You're just saying that after the fact, aren't you?!" The underground doctor flailed his arms.
The new couple continued running until they reached the quiet park with gazebos. Shizuo reached out, grabbing Izaya's hood and pulling him back. As the informant stumbled backwards, the strongman caught him by the shoulders, twirling him into an embrace.
"I finally caught you," Shizuo muttered huskily.
Izaya chuckled, "Oh my, and it seems I can't escape."
They pressed their foreheads together and interlaced fingers under the bright egg yolk in the sky.
The End
Author's note: AGH! Tabarnouche, c'est fini! (Throws keyboard onto the wall) I want to thank SapphireWarrior for her constant support, shoutout to Gallixy for her encouraging review which whipped me back to writing, and all the readers for bearing with my writer's block.
I added an implicit love-making scene as a thank-you to all of you. /;; It was very difficult for me to write. Not only because I'm easily embarrassed in that subject, but also because I had to make sure that it was not gratuitous sex. Turned out kind of borderline, huh? Anyway, you guys just witnessed the first implicit sex scene that I wrote. Ever. Now, there's a bonus chapter in the making. I'll see what I can do for some more sexy time. Haha, until then, Thank you very much, everyone! Keep on the lookout for the bonus chapter!
P.S. I am also starting a Kuroko no Basuke yaoi fanfic featuring Kagami x Kuroko. So if anyone is interested, please keep tabs on that. =)