Celty returned to her apartment, late and exhausted. Shinra greeted her cheerfully, as per usual, before donning a concerned expression on his face.
"Any luck?" he asked cautiously. Celty took off her helmet and pulled out her phone.
[No. I haven't found anything.]
She slumped down on the lounge across from Shinra, whose face was slightly disappointed for two reasons. One reason being, of course, that she hadn't selected to sit next to him, and the other reason being that she hadn't found any information on their missing friends. Although it was in character for Izaya to disappear from time to time, Shizuo was never the type of person to do such a thing. Normally he would have at least informed Kasuka, possibly even Celty, if he had planned on leaving town, but not even Kasuka knew of his whereabouts. Celty had been searching for days. Looking for any sort of clue as to where her friends had gone. Partly it was at the request of Kasuka and Izaya's sisters, but she also felt major concern for the pair and feared that the worst possibility could have occurred.
"I suppose they could have just killed each other, that would explain a lot," Shinra said, half seriously. Smoke fumed from Celty's neck as she typed furiously on her phone.
[Shinra! Don't joke about something like that!]
"I'm sorry," Shinra apologised, realising that his comment had upset the Dullahan when he noticed her shoulders shaking lightly.
[I'm sorry too, for snapping at you. It's just that… I'm starting to think you could be right.]
"I'm sure they're fine," Shinra said, wrapping his arm around Celty's shoulders to comfort her. "They're both super tough, trust me, I know. Get some rest tonight and start looking tomorrow morning. Don't give up on them Celty."
Shinra can be an annoying jerk sometimes, but he always knows how to say the right thing.
[You're right. Thank you Shinra.]
"Any time for you Celty~"
Ikebukuro was bustling and noisy, but to Shizuo and Izaya it was silent. Too silent. This was partly because there were no colour gangs causing havoc, no headless Dullahans riding around on neighing motorcycles, and no flying vending machines, but it was also partly because neither of them had said a word to each other. The mutual silence hadn't ended, and the tension was only growing stronger and stronger. They both felt sick to their stomachs, but neither of them realised that the other was feeling exactly the same.
They walked in silence down the streets of Ikebukuro. Izaya noticed that almost everything was identical, almost everything. There were a few streets where there weren't normally streets, and a few buildings were completely different.
Canadian sushi?! Izaya noticed questionably when they walked past the building which, in normal circumstances, would have been Simon's workplace and one of his favourite places to eat.
Shizuo suddenly began to pick up his pace, causing him to be leading the way instead of Izaya. Izaya had to walk quite quickly to keep up with Shizuo's long strides. Shizuo kept on walking, and Izaya soon realised that they were heading to the place where his small house would normally be located. When they arrived, there was nothing but a pile of rubble in the lot where Shizuo's home would have been, and Shizuo's look of disappointment was almost heartbreaking. They both, although they refused to admit it, felt incredibly homesick. Shizuo missed his little brother, he missed Celty and he even missed Shinra… just a little bit. He hadn't thought much about the possibility that he might not ever return to the people he called his friends, but the harshness of that possibility was just beginning to sink in. He wouldn't have minded as much if he and Izaya had been talking, but the awkward tension between them was almost unbearable. He wanted more than anything to return, but he had no idea how.
Izaya could tell how Shizuo was feeling. Right now, his actions couldn't be easier to read. He wanted to go back. Truthfully, Izaya did too. Not only would he have pissed off a lot of clients, but he was really starting to miss the life he lived. He had been constantly thinking of ways that could possibly cause them to return, but he never came up with anything he was completely satisfied with. One idea came close, but it was un-reliable and, if it failed, could end in a broken nose. Still, seeing the look of pain on Shizuo's face was too much to bare, and he decided that it was worth a shot.
"I think," Izaya began, "there might be a possible way to return." His tone was serious and sad, like something had been troubling him. His face stayed hidden behind his dark fringe.
Shizuo looked at him in disbelief, but his eyes pleaded that Izaya was telling the truth.
"Follow me," Izaya said, turning away from Shizuo who hadn't even bothered to say anything.
Izaya walked with Shizuo following close behind until they arrived at a familiar road. It was a road where many of their fights had taken place, specifically where their last one had ended. Izaya stepped forward until he was standing, as close as he could remember, to the place he was when he was about to get hit in the face by Shizuo's flying fist.
"Hit me," he said, gesturing to his face whilst still avoiding eye contact.
"What? Why?!"
"Just do it. Like you did before."
"What the hell? I don't want to hit you!"
"Shizuo, please!" His fists were balled and his nails dug into his hands. He was so frustrated with Shizuo, for everything. Just hit me you god damn protozoan.
Hearing Izaya say his full name always stunned Shizuo, but the way Izaya's voice was shaking when he said it caused him to be lost for words.
Just hit me!
"Why would I do that!?" Shizuo asked, raising his voice suddenly.
"Because you… because you…" Izaya stammered. He sniffed and turned his head to the side. Shizuo couldn't see his eyes, but he knew that they would have been shining with welled up tears.
"Are you… crying?" he asked, bluntly. He had never seen Izaya in such a weak state before, and he couldn't describe the emotions it was making him feel, but he didn't like it one bit. Izaya is not allowed to be weak he thought.
"Ha!" Izaya snapped, "Go ahead. Laugh. You've already done enough. I guess I was wrong when I thought there was NOTHING ELSE that could make me feel worse. I don't get it! Take the damn opportunity to hit me! I'm practically OFFERING you a victory here! Isn't that what you wanted?! Fuck this. This is why I chose to be above humans! All these shitty emotions… I didn't need them. But then you waltz in, fuck around with my head, and break all my defences with that stupid mouth of yours! You know what, Shizu-chan?! Fuck you! Fuc-"
Shizuo wrapped his arms tightly around Izaya's body. He placed his head in the crook of Izaya's neck and sighed. GOD had he been an idiot. All this time, he was the one making Izaya cry. He wanted to hit himself. Izaya stared out into the distance, his eyes still clouded with tears - tears of frustration, rage and sadness - but they had stopped flowing.
"I'm so sorry, Izaya," Shizuo breathed into his neck, still refusing to let go.
"Shizu-chan, you idiot," Izaya replied softly, giving in to the hug and wrapping his arms around Shizuo's neck, quietly sobbing into his dyed blond hair.
They stayed like that for minutes until Shizuo stood up, breaking the hug only slightly, to face Izaya in the eyes. His heart was beating rapidly, as was Izaya's. Shizuo scanned the features of his face, starting at his eyes before glancing down his nose and stopping to stare at his mouth. He leaned in, glancing up into Izaya's eyes, as if asking for permission, before looking back down at his mouth. He moved closer, stopping when his lips were millimetres from Izaya's.
"Izaya," he mumbled "I… I… lov-"
Izaya couldn't hold back any longer. Shizuo's lips were so close to his that he could almost taste them. He leant in the rest of the way and smashed his cold lips onto Shizuo's warm ones. Izaya's lips tasted salty from the tears, but Shizuo didn't mind as he roughly kissed back.
A white light sparked at the start of the kiss, and expanded rapidly at Shizuo's reaction. The light felt warm and familiar, but Shizuo and Izaya were too distracted to care. The light expanded some more until had completely engulfed them.
They blacked out.
Final chapter coming soon, but there will be a sequel (which I've already planned at least 2 chapters for)!
Thanks for reading and reviewing!
