Izaya exhaled as if he had overcome an obstacle.
"Great. Pick whatever room you want, I have plenty of free space and extra futons if you are in the mood for being more traditional."
"Your bed is probably huge too."
"You can stay there too. I mean- that didn't come off right. This is outrageous, I am supposed to be a genius at suave dialogue."
An awkward moment of silence followed.
"I'm fine with it."
"I was forgetting, I got you something."
Izaya handed him some clothes.
"Pajamas?"
"Indeed!"
"Pink…"
"Heh, with a picture of Tokyo Tower. They sell these to tourists, hence the big size. But you don't have to worry about looking silly on your own. For I have…this."
Izaya produced his own PJ's.
"A hood with bunny years?"
"Because it is the year of the rabbit. My sisters got me this to celebrate."
Shizuo smiled broadly.
"They sure have some strange ideas."
"It's almost like a slumber party."
"Do guys have those?"
"Hmm…I'm not too sure but this is not bad, is it?"
"Yeah. Not bad at all."
Shizuo wished he had better words to express himself but this was all that occurred to him. But it was much better than none.

"So…Izaya, I heard you're sleeping with Shizuo?"
Shinra peered over the clipboard. Izaya remained staring out the window in distracted silence.
"As your physician, I have to voice my concerns-"
"It's not like that. We just sleep side by side. That's all there is to it."
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to insinuate-"
"I don't really care what you think or don't think."
Shinra could almost see Izaya pulling into hostility.
"Looks like you've managed to get Shizuo to talk. That's pretty impressive."
"Do I get a medal now?"
"I didn't mean it like that."
Izaya was very much aware that he was being unreasonably testy but he did not want to discuss the matter with anyone, let alone Shinra. Not only because it opened him up to pity, something that Izaya despised in a visceral way, but because it was an intrusion into a growing intimacy that puzzled Izaya greatly. In finding himself entangled in a web sorts he tried to understand exactly by what threads he was so entrapped. There was the fact that nights spent alone left him half paralyzed with fear but through that highly utilitarian scheme there was a soothing and even uplifting daily routine of little things.
"Look, Shinra…it's just an agreement between Shizu-chan and I."
"I see. I think it's great, actually."
Shinra had prepared a very doctor-like speech about how unwise it was for rape victims to enter into a sexual relationship without first giving themselves enough time to work through the trauma. It was a rather common reaction, an almost masochist drive propelling it. Shinra decided to skip the lecture altogether and made a mental note to talk to Shizuo alone.
"I don't know if it's great or not but for the time being it works. Later."
Izaya's exit was too abrupt. He had refined the art of making a smooth exit as well as an entry, it was part of his strategy to make being in control appear as effortless as breathing. But of late he felt that keeping up such tactics was both pointless and impossible. There were moments when he was suddenly gripped with breathless anxiety and restlessness. Whenever that happened he could not bear to remain in the same place but had to sneak away and go somewhere else even if it was just around the corner.
Which was why he had avoided the subway since the incident. As a citizen of the gargantuan city of Tokyo his mobility was greatly quartered. But Izaya had greatly reduced the scope of his action. He was back to bartering information but only occasionally and worse, tentatively, and whatever his network caught was limited to what he could gather in his closest environs and online.
He chuckled bitterly and wondered if he was about to join the ranks of Tsukumoya Shinichi. Already Izaya had to make a deliberate effort to leave his apartment. This phobia to exposure had not diminished, it seemed to have become an integral part of his life. Apart from his place he only felt completely at ease at Shizuo's which gave him pause for thought.
He now shook his head to banish these thoughts and hailed a taxi.