Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara!
This one is most definitely my favorite chapter that I wrote. Truth be told, I actually had some of this written since I took up this prompt and saved it until the story finally progressed to this part. Yes, the first paragraph is from Desperate Housewives again. Obviously, I'm making this a habit. I can't help it; Mary Alice Young is just so wise and perceptive!
There's a random House line tossed somewhere in there, and the cherry blossom scene has lines from the 5 Centimeters Per Second movie.
Enjoy, and I hope you guys like this chapter as much as I do.
Suggested Song: Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran
There is a prayer intended to give strength to people faced with circumstances they don't want to accept. The power of the prayer comes from its insight into human nature, because so many of us rage against the hand that life has dealt us, because so many of us are cowardly and afraid to stand up for what is right, because so many of us give into despair when faced with an impossible choice. The good news for those who utter these words is that God will hear you and answer your prayer. The bad news is that sometimes the answer is no.
When Shizuo went to the temple and prayed to the gods, he did not ask for a miraculous cure, or for cherry trees blooming earlier than usual. He did not pray for fortune or fame, or even for time to turn back so he could stop his past self from ever using the strength that would end his life. Instead, he wished for something else, and hoped that in the long run, it would be granted when he needed it the most.
Though Izaya never brought it up again, he definitely didn't forget about Shizuo's unheard wish to the gods—the exact same gods that cursed him in the first place. For Shizuo's sake, Izaya decided that he wouldn't bring it up again since they both shared the same desire to avoid fighting.
It just wasn't fair; Izaya had worked so hard to finally win Shizuo over, and now that they were finally together as friends, there was still such a huge barrier between them that only came down when they broke out into hurtful arguments. He was so tired of fighting, just like Shizuo, and all he wanted was to be able to move past all the hate they had for each other. But Izaya knew better than anybody that their hatred left a stain on their past that wouldn't go away no matter how much he wished to the gods.
Sometimes, Izaya liked to imagine that Shizuo was special and the gods really were giving him the miraculous cure that Shizuo was supposed to have wished for. It was such an easy fantasy to believe as well since Shizuo was doing so well that Izaya almost forgot that he was ill. It was those days that he loved best, when he and his friend could just forget about everything in the world and be together. It was at times like these when Izaya thought Shizuo could live on forever, and that the disease was just a horrible misdiagnosis. So when Shizuo suddenly collapsed at the train station, burning up with a high fever, Izaya knew that reality decided to remind them of its presence.
"Where am I?" Shizuo asked groggily as he awoke, coughing. "Izaya? What happened?"
"Shhh," Izaya said softly, slowly grabbing the water pitcher and pouring Shizuo a glass for his dry throat. "You're at the hospital. You collapsed at the train station and I had to call an ambulance." When Shizuo made a movement to sit up, he stopped him and made a face. "Don't move around."
"What?" Shizuo asked, seeing Izaya's pained expression and followed his gaze to see a dark bruise peeking out beneath the sleeve of his hospital gown. It was an ugly dark red, almost black, to show that he really was bleeding out under his skin. In his opinion, he was glad that he didn't have bruises the colors of the rainbow, but somehow, these seemed so much worse, as if he had just deteriorated down one more level.
Shizuo shifted, trying to get a better look at the bruise and then realized he had something in his arm and followed the tube to what he was expecting to be a blood bag from his blood transfusion. Instead, he was surprised to see that the other end was connected to Izaya.
"We have the same blood type. Who would have thought?" Izaya said quietly, answering the questioning glance on Shizuo's face. "Type O, the universal donor. It fits you, but seems rather ironic to be my type, huh?"
"You think you should be type AB, the universal recipient who takes from everybody?" Shizuo responded.
"Something like that," Izaya chuckled lightly, looking at the thin tube connecting them, as thin as the thread by which Shizuo seemed to hang to life.
"How long was I out?" Shizuo asked, though after noting the numerous orange juice boxes and cookie wrappers on the table, he added, "Have you gotten any sleep at all?"
"Two days maybe?" Izaya answered thoughtfully, "And don't bother worrying about me. I can make more blood; you can't. Well, not fast enough anyways."
"Pull it out; I'm better now," Shizuo said, about to tear the tube out of his arm, but thought better against it, grimacing at the thought of spilling and wasting Izaya's blood everywhere. Izaya called for a nurse who helped disconnect the two and brought another package of cookies for the informant to eat. He tore open the package and ravenously devoured one of the cookies, before offering the other one to Shizuo. "No thanks, you look like you need it more than me," he said, declining politely.
"Suit yourself," he said, eating the last cookie and washing it down with orange juice.
As Shizuo watched him, something clicked and incredulously, he proclaimed, "Don't tell that's all you've been eating."
"Don't look at me like that," Izaya answered. "Turns out they don't bring hospital food for unconscious people, those cheap asses."
"There's fast food across the street, I'm sure," Shizuo pointed out.
"Couldn't leave. Stuck here giving you my blood, remember?" he countered with a smirk.
"Jesus! Instead of telling me to take care of myself, you should probably tell yourself that!" he exclaimed. Shizuo's heart suddenly squeezed in his chest when it suddenly dawned on him that Izaya was putting him before himself.
"Shizuo, do you have a fever?" Izaya asked, getting up from where he was sitting and pressed his cool hands against Shizuo's face. "Your face is all red."
"No!" he answered defensively, turning away to hide the blush creeping on his face. "When can I get out of here?"
"You sure you should be leaving so soon? You're not well, Shizuo," he mumbled with a frown."Maybe it'd be best to stay one more night. And on that note, I should probably call your father."
"You called my dad? Why would you do that?" Shizuo questioned.
"Hey! He has every right to know you collapsed. What if something serious had happened? He would want to know right away!" Izaya snapped, wondering why Shizuo was still trying to protect his parents.
"Give me your phone; I'll call him," Shizuo sighed, giving in. "And you! Get some sleep already! Don't think I can't see how exhausted you are." Seeing how uncomfortable the chair would have been, Shizuo scooted over on the bed with a great straining of his muscles. "I'll share the bed with you if you want."
Izaya stared at him, mouth agape, as he was literally speechless by this offer. "The chair's fine," he answered slowly as his words came back to him.
"Don't be stupid," Shizuo said and pat the empty space on the bed next to him. "You're obviously not taking care of yourself, so I have to. Don't make me get up."
"Thanks, Shizu-chan," the informant murmured softly, crawling into the bed next to him and curling up into a little ball.
"No, thank you," Shizuo replied, regardless of how silly and cheesy it sounded.
"It's nothing; I'd do anything for you," Izaya reminded him quietly before dozing off and getting back the hours of sleep he missed out on for the past two days.
Izaya must have been pretty exhausted and out of it, considering he slept right through Shizuo's conversation with Yukito and Hirai. After checking in with his family, Shizuo put Izaya's phone on the table and glanced to the informant who was sound asleep. He felt his chest tighten, and his heart squeeze, and for a moment Shizuo obliviously wondered if the feeling he felt was a heart attack. As he settled himself in bed, doing his best not to wake Izaya, the informant sleepily curled up against Shizuo and then it suddenly hit him like a flying vending machine. That painful feeling in his chest had nothing to do with his disease. No, it was something else entirely.
The next morning, when he awoke, Izaya was absent from his arms and confused, he sat up, looking around for Izaya or a nurse. He was supposed to have his daily check up today, and after, if all went well, he would be discharged and could continue to be with Izaya and see the sights for a little while longer.
"Your friend went out a while ago," the nurse explained to him as she gave him his daily vitamins and the medicine Shinra had prescribed for him. "Why don't we get you ready to be discharged so you can leave when he comes back?"
"Yeah, sure," he murmured quietly as the nurse brought him a hospital breakfast and the doctor to him.
Shizuo merely went through the motions, tired of being looked over by numerous doctors over and over again. Sometimes he wished that he hadn't left Ikebukuro so he could have Shinra watching over him. At least he knew what he was dealing with most of the time.
"So how bad is it, doc?" Shizuo asked, seeing the small frown on his face.
"I can't be sure since I'm not your family doctor," he admitted with a guilty look. "I could call your doctor and speak with him if you'd like. To be honest, I'm just a general doctor."
"It's alright; I'll give him a call myself," Shizuo answered, knowing that Shinra would break down the big words for him. "Just tell me what you know."
"Well, your collapsing just seems to be because of the heat and dehydration, so it's not related to your illness," the doctor said kindly. "Be sure to drink plenty of liquids, especially because of your condition. However, what we're most worried about is your severe bruising and the fact that you needed to have a blood transfusion. It seems that you have anemia."
"Sorry, what's that?" Shizuo asked, wishing that somebody was there with him at the moment just so that he wouldn't be alone when he was receiving more bad news.
"You needed a blood transfusion because you didn't have enough blood, thus meaning that your circulation was impaired and the delivery of essential nutrients and oxygen isn't making it fast enough to where it's needed," the doctor explained.
"My low blood pressure," Shizuo stated, already realizing what this meant. "How much more time do I have left?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know your case enough to answer that question," the doctor answered. "I don't think this will impair you in any way as I believe your low blood pressure was caused by the anemia. I can you write you a prescription to help you if that's what you'd like."
"Yeah, that's fine," he replied quietly. "Am I still able to leave today?"
"I don't see why not," he replied. "Be safe, Heiwajima-san."
After the doctor wrote him his prescription and cleared him to be discharged, the nurse returned and helped him to his feet so he could change out of his hospital gown into the spare clothes that Izaya had left behind and waited for the informant to return after hiding the note in his pocket. He was already dreading the look Izaya would have on his face when he told him he had to be put on another set of medications.
When Izaya did return, he was out of breath and quickly signed the discharge papers before grabbing Shizuo's arm and began to pull him out. "Oi, what the hell?" Shizuo asked, pulling his arm free.
"Have you not looked outside the window at all today?" he asked. "It's okay; I didn't notice it right away either, you lucky bastard."
"Wait, notice what?" Shizuo asked, extremely confused.
Izaya reached into his jacket pocket and showed Shizuo something white in the palm of his hand. "Those stupid gods really are listening to you," he said, giving it to Shizuo. He stared in disbelief at the small cherry blossom in his hand and wondered if his real wish had a chance of being granted now that this silly one came true. But most importantly, he wasn't sure if he had the heart to ruin the day with the doctor's news. "What are you just standing there for? Come on!" Izaya exclaimed, "We have a wish to fulfill."
He took a hold of Shizuo's hand, and began pulling him again. Seeing the expression on Shizuo's face, he stopped and frowned. "Hey, what's wrong? I thought you'd be happy."
"No, I am," Shizuo answered quickly. "I just didn't expect such a miracle," he answered, deciding he would put it off. Today was theirs and he wouldn't ruin it. He quickly and carefully slipped the flower into his jacket pocket, brushing against his prescription, and gave Izaya's hand a gentle squeeze as he began to tug him towards the exit to show his enthusiasm. The informant quickly hailed a taxi and directed them to the nearest park where Shizuo's vision was suddenly filled with pink.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" Izaya commented, and glanced to Shizuo who seemed rather awestruck by the beauty of the cherry blossoms.
"Doesn't it... somehow resemble snow?" Shizuo murmured softly, holding out his hand and catching a blossom in his palm. The tiny petal was such a pale shade of pink that it almost looked white, and seeing them all tossed around by the wind and swirling around him, he felt as if he was in a blizzard. A light breeze picked up the tiny petal from the palm of his hand and carried it off. He watched it dance in the wind, until he lost sight of it. Turning to Izaya, he smiled weakly and stated, "They say it's five centimeters per second."
"Hmm? What is?" Izaya replied, looking at Shizuo with a confused expression.
"The speed at which cherry blossoms fall. It's five centimeters per second," the sick man answered wistfully with a serene look that had Izaya's heart aching. "Next year, wouldn't it be good to watch the cherry blossoms together again?"
"Of course, Shizu-chan," the informant replied with a huff. "Next year, you and I will be watching them in a nicer place than here! You'd love the places I know."
"Sounds wonderful," he murmured dreamily as he imagined what it would be like to be able to live that long. "Next year then. Don't forget, okay?"
"I wouldn't dare," Izaya said, linking pinkies with Shizuo to tie their thread of fate. "It's a promise, Shizu-chan." He smiled warmly, trying to ignore the aching pain in his chest as he made promises he couldn't keep. At that second, with their pinkies linked, Izaya leaned in and brushed his lips against Shizuo's and closed his eyes.
In that moment, everything became so clear to him, as if he understood everything that had ever happened in his life these past twenty-four years and the time which was to come. That he and Shizuo could never be together after this was a fact he clearly grasped. Izaya had such a vast life ahead of him, a boundless amount of time that lay unavoidably stretched out in front of him, but Shizuo's was limited. He would not get the abundance of time Izaya was given. He would not get to experience any of the limitless possibilities of life. He would not even get to see the cherry blossoms next year.
But for Shizuo, all the anxieties he had caught sight of soon melted away, and after that, only Izaya's sweet kiss remained.