He wouldn't stop staring. Whenever he moved from one place to the next—whenever he shifted in his spot, he felt those eyes piercing through him. It wasn't as uncomfortable as it was annoying. He'd tried to make it stop numerous times before, but had failed each time.

"Izaya…"

If he hadn't already been looking, he would've snapped his head to attention. "What do you need?"

Kida stood from the couch, ignoring how the informant's eyes examined every inch of his body, and sat on his desk. Izaya left his chair and moved in front of the boy. His eyes were alert, yet gentle.

He touched Izaya's face. "I need you to stop staring at me."

The man exhaled. "I'm sorry. I just—"

"I know exactly why you're doing it. It's for the same reason why you won't let me shower or get dressed alone; why you change my bandage and disinfect the small cut on my head every day; it's why you treat me like a delicate glass. I know that you're worried. You're scared that I'm hurt more than I'm leading on, and that I'll run back to Shizuo or Shinra if you touch me too roughly or speak too harshly." He pressed their foreheads together. "Izaya, you did hurt me; you hurt me very badly. Nothing is going to change that. It's in the past. Yes, I'm still healing, but I'm not as fragile as you think."

"I can't forgive myself."

"Hey, we got through the first…incident. We can get through this one, too."

"But that was before—"

"I know. However, both of our feelings at that time were generally in the place that they are now. This isn't an abusive relationship. You aren't abusing me. You were tired, stressed, and I set you off. We both took part in it; it wasn't just you. So stop acting like the bad guy. I love you enough to move on from this. Can't you do the same?" He moved his head back to look into the man's eyes. He hooked his arms around his neck and smiled.

Izaya also smiled. "I hate it when you're right."

"Well, you'll just have to deal with it, because I'm fairly intelligent."

"I guess so." He leaned in and kissed the boy gently. He took his lower lip between his teeth and lightly nibbled on it.

"Mmnn… You know how much that turns me on. You can't do that if you won't follow through."

"Who said I won't?"

"You have an appointment in ten minutes."

"So? We can make it quick."

"He might show up early."

"The door is locked."

"Izaya, you need to work. We can go to bed early, alright?"

"Okay," he resigned.

There was a knock on the door, and Izaya was forced to leave the boy. "Can you go into the bedroom until I'm finished?"

"No."

"At least get off of my desk."

"Nope."

The raven breathed through his nose in frustration, but said nothing. The perk of his behavior lately was that Kida could get away with practically anything. Izaya let him do whatever he wanted, and fulfilled any request he had.

The informant opened his door and welcomed in a broad shouldered man a bit under a foot taller than Izaya. He appeared to be in his late twenties. "Mr. Hino, it's a pleasure to see you again." He offered him a seat on the couch, but he declined. It ended with Izaya in his chair and his client standing on the other side of the desk. Kida had moved to where the long desk curved, so he was out of the way. Izaya noticed the man looking at the boy. "This is my assistant, Masaomi Kida."

The man's eyebrows rose. "Masaomi Kida?"

"Yes… Why?" the boy questioned.

"It's nothing. I've just heard a few things about him."

Izaya cut in. "What have you heard? Please, enlighten us."

"I'd rather not."

The raven placed his elbows on his desk and leaned forward. "Why don't we make a trade? Your information for mine."

"I don't think you'll agree once—"

"I can assure you that I won't go back on my word. Now, please explain yourself."

"Well, there're a few different things. The first, I heard a few months ago, was that he was selling his body to you because he was broke. Then, I heard that he'd lost his house, so he stopped asking for money and slept with you as payment for rent to live with you."

"Is that all?"

"So… Is any of it true?"

"How di—"

Izaya slapped a hand over the boy's mouth before he could speak anything further. "Is that the information you're looking for? I'll answer you, but that's all you'll learn today."

The man hesitated. "No. I want the information I originally came for."

"Very well." He dropped his hand, ignoring the glare thrown at him. "Your rival is having an affair with the woman you'd suspected. Along with that, he's been working with a powerful drug lord a few towns over. I'd tell you his name, but you shouldn't be throwing it around casually. I'm sure just mentioning it and the woman will be far more than enough to manipulate him. Are we done here?"

"Yes. Thank you." He bowed and left.

When the door shut, Kida sat down on Izaya's lap. "How does he know about us? Well, in a way."

"He doesn't."

"But—hey!" Kida exclaimed when Izaya grabbed his crotch.

"You're hard. He must've noticed and drew a conclusion. You're sitting on my desk and Namie isn't here yet, so I was the only one who could've done that to you. Also, a shirt of yours is on the table over there. He would have to be an idiot to not figure it out."

"Oh…"

There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Izaya called.

Kida scrambled to get off of the man, but there was a firm grip on his waist, holding him down. As his previous client returned, a blush rose to the boy's face. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

"He already knows we're sleeping together. Why hide it now?" he replied loud enough for the man to hear. "Is there something else you need?"

"Yeah. Where does he go—"

"There's a hotel on 17th. He stays in room 431."

The man nodded and hastily left.

"Don't glare at me."

"You embarrassed me!"

"He doesn't know you."

"There was no reason for that. You could've let me go and have me just return to your lap when he left."

"It would have been tedious. Now, where were we?" He unbuttoned Kida's pants and slipped a hand beneath them. He spread the precome along his shaft and slowly stroked him.

Kida clutched onto his shoulders. "N-Namie will be here…soon."

He licked the shell of his ear. "For this week, I told her not to come in until I called her. She can wait an extra hour." Izaya kissed him to silence further protests.

Kida flinched when his sides were squeezed. It didn't go unnoticed. "Sorry. I'll be gentler."

"Actually..." He removed the hands on him. "I'm still hurting from a few days ago. You were really rough. Do you mind if we just…don't, today?"

"I won't force you. Besides, I have a lot of work to catch up on."

He smiled and pecked his cheek. "Okay. I'm going to read my book from school. Let's get our things done, and then have dinner together."

"That sounds great. Now, go and learn."

Kida rolled his eyes, still smiling. "Whatever."

Kida watched Izaya walk out the door. He leaned back in the informant's desk chair and looked over to the assistant.

"Hey, Namie?"

"Yes?"

"How many people has Izaya been with?"

Namie nearly choked on her drink. She set it down and cleared her throat before speaking. "What makes you think I know?"

"You spent a lot of time with him before we started dating."

"You've known him longer than I have. I don't know anything about who he messed around with before I started working for him."

Kida spun around in the chair. He placed his feet on the desk and gave her a sideways glance. "He said that he doesn't keep secrets from you. C'mon, I won't tell him what you say."

"He doesn't keep secrets from me, but he didn't tell me his life story. If you're looking for reassurance, he really does love you, Masaomi-kun."

"I just want to know how many people he's been with. I'm curious, and he'll never tell me."

Namie sighed. "Izaya keeps record of pretty much everyone he interacts with. Every time he...you know... I saw him type something in his computer. Being the demented pervert he is, he probably made a list."

Kida groaned. "Thanks, but I'm sure he's got locks on top of his locked folders. I'll never find that list."

"Actually, that's his personal laptop. He has a two, and that one doesn't have much protection. He always has it with him or in a safe. I guess he figured that nobody would hack into it while we're both here."

Kida brought his fingers to the keyboard and typed in the password he slyly saw Izaya use earlier. Once it signed in, he opened his documents, checking for one he hadn't updated for a few months.

Fifteen minutes later, he came across a folder labeled "Human Relations." Kida chuckled quietly at the name.

"Masaomi-kun," Namie said nervously.

Catching her tone, the boy looked at her with concern. "What is it?"

The woman's eyes flickered to the entrance, lingering for only a moment. She went back to her work, her shoulders tense. "Nevermind," she said quietly.

He followed her gaze, but nothing seemed out of place. Kida shrugged off the odd behavior and turned to the computer. He jumped when he saw a figure sitting on the desk in front of him, holding the computer on his lap.

The man tilted his head and smiled wryly. "Hey, there."

"I-Izaya, I didn't expect you to be back so soon."

The informant laughed silently. "The job fell through. Now, tell me, why were you looking through my files?"

Kida gulped nervously. "I was...um..."

The man scanned the screen, his smile shifting to an unreadable expression. "There are reasons that I keep some aspects of my life hidden." He looked to his assistant only to see that she'd already escaped.

"I want to know."

Izaya sighed and put the laptop beside him. He rubbed his hands together, staring deeply into the boy's eyes.

Kida was suddenly placed where Izaya previously was, the informant standing directly in front of him. "Even when sitting on my desk, you're still shorter than me."

The teen looked at him, unamused. "If you're going to scold me or something, can you just do it now?"

"Interesting..."

Kida averted his gaze from ruby eyes, he felt like Izaya was studying him. "Wh-what?"

The man took a step back and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Open it. Open the folder and look at the document inside."

The blonde waited a moment, wondering if it was a trap, which it most likely was, knowing the informant. He hesitantly picked it up and opened the folder. There was a single document inside. He clicked on it, stiffening when he read the contents.

Nice try, Masaomi.

He put the laptop down and brought a hand to his forehead. "You knew I would do this," he said flatly.

A hand gripped his shoulder from behind. He flinched, feeling hot breath on his neck. "Of course I did. Namie has a soft spot for you. I knew she'd tell you that I keep records of everything when she saw that I left my personal laptop at your disposal. I also know that you want to find out every secret I've kept from you thus far."

"I don't think it's possible to unravel so many secrets," Kida scoffed.

He could hear the amusement in Izaya's voice as he spoke. "That's true. This is one you've been thinking about for awhile, though. It's at the top of your list."

The teen shook the hand off of his shoulder and clenched his fists. "Stop playing games, and tell me."

The informant leaned forward and rested his hands on top of the boy's. "You're demanding an answer? That's some high priced information you're seeking out. You're broke; how will you pay me?"

"Well, I could always pay you with my body."

"Do we really have to go over this again?"

Kida sighed. "You can have me whenever I please," he imitated sourly.

"And no compensation means no information; that's how this business works."

"Izaya."

"Hm?"

"Have you let people pay you with sex?"

Izaya dragged the boy backwards and whirled him around. "You're adorable when you're jealous—and no. I've been asked, but I never accepted. The only time I ever came close was when I told you what Mikado was doing in his spare time. You just looked so miserable; it would've been so easy, too. You were all broken up about it, and really needed a distraction."

"You were going to take advantage of how upset I was?"

"Does that really surprise you?"

"No." Kida pulled Izaya closer and smiled. "What surprises me is how long you've wanted to fuck me."

"I wanted you from the moment I met you. I knew you and Saki wouldn't last; it was so obvious that you weren't into her-weren't into girls at all."

"You used her to get my body? I thought it was because I was the gang leader."

"Both. I knew that you being unable to save Saki would shatter any lingering beliefs that you might not be gay, and send you straight to me. That part backfired, though."

"Actually, I like how you described me to Rio." He slid his hands down the raven's torso.

"How?"

"You said something along the lines of me being Izaya-oriented."

He smiled, but then his expression turned cold. "Haven't we talked about my feelings towards you stealing my knife?"

"What? I didn't take it."

Izaya pulled the item out of his pocket. "I suppose not. What did you take, then?"

"I don't know what you mean. I haven't done anything."

The informant placed a finger on his chin, contemplating. The moment it clicked in his mind, Kida spun around and leaped off the desk.

"Is it really that important to keep it secret?"

He took long strides forward. "Yes. Give it back."

"You have, like, eight more."

"That's not the point. I… I don't want to hurt you."

With that, Kida sprinted into the bathroom and locked the door. He took out the phone he'd stolen and searched through the contacts.

Izaya kicked the door. "Masaomi, think about what you're doing. Even if you succeed, you'll have to face me afterwards. Why don't you just give it back now?"

"I remember how freaked out you were the last time you hurt me. You won't do it again."

The informant was silent. Kida took out the phone and reached the number he was trying to find. He pressed the call button and held the cell to his ear.

In that time, Kida had not heard Izaya picking the lock, and he didn't see him enter due to his back facing the entrance. He certainly didn't expect strong hands on his shoulders and a voice in his ear.

"You should've listened when you had the chance."

Kida twisted around and scrambled backwards. "I-Izaya. Let me do this, okay? I want to know." Izaya wouldn't hurt him; not after his guilt from last time. He was sure.

He held out his hand. "I will give you one last opportunity to make the right decision. Give it to me."

A voice answered from the other end of the line. Kida held the phone closer. "Hey, it's—"

Izaya grabbed the boy's ankle and dragged him out of the room. Kida lost his grip on the phone when he was jerked to the right. He pulled just a bit too hard, and his side hit the wall. He sat up slowly and looked fearfully into the man's red eyes.

"It is not acceptable to disobey me like that. Now, get up."

Kida crossed his arms. "Not until you change your tone."

Izaya laughed. "You think you can speak to me like that? Get up." He held out his hand.

Hesitantly, the blonde took it. He was gently raised to his feet. The man touched the side of his face. "Good. Now, go to your room and think about what you've done."

Kida swatted his hand away and took a step back. "Don't treat me like a child. I'm sorry, okay? Is that good enough for you, your highness?"

"Obey me."

"Stop controlling me! We're equals in this relationship. You don't have power over me! You're being possessive and abusive; it has to stop! It's not like you to do this. What's going on?"

"What are you saying? Of course I have power over you! I always have! Now go to bed before I get really angry."

Kida's vision grew blurry. He encircled his arms around the raven. "I don't want to fight."

He pushed the younger male away. "I gave you a clear instruction. Coming on to me wasn't part of it, whore."

Kida widened his eyes. He tried to slap him, but his arm was caught in a deathly grip. Izaya violently twisted it around. As he screeched in pain, he recognized the feeling as his shoulder being dislocated. It hung limply at his side.

The blonde dropped to his knees. "Izaya," he sobbed. "You said you wouldn't do this again."

"You brought this upon yourself."

"That doesn't make it okay to dislocate my shoulder!" He thought about what Shizuo had told him. When he spoke again, he was quiet, uncertain. "If you… If you don't stop this… I'm going to leave you."

His threat seemed to anger the man further. "You will never leave me!" He kicked Kida in the stomach. He saw the boy hang his head, completely still. He crossed his arms smugly, assuming that he had decided to be submissive. His attitude quickly changed when the small body convulsed and bent.

Kida brought a hand to his mouth as he lurched forward. When he removed it, the skin was stained red, along with the floor beneath it.

Izaya looked down at him, comprehending what he'd just done. He glanced at the door, thinking that he needed some air, then returned his eyes to the injured boy before him. The informant fell to his knees and drew Kida towards him. "M-Masaomi… I'm… I can't even…"

A small, wet hand grasped his arm. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I don't know," Izaya whispered. "I wasn't in control of my temper. I did it again; I hurt you. Just an hour ago, I was so scared of this happening another time. How could I let this happen?" He remained still for a few moments, collecting himself. Izaya scooped the boy up. "I don't like hurting you, Masaomi. You know that, don't you?" He nodded. "I've had a difficult time dealing with my anger lately. You know me; this isn't how I normally am. I promise that I'll handle it. I said it last time, but I really mean it now: this will never happen again."

Almost inaudibly, Kida responded. "Izaya, I love you." He felt Izaya tense, and worried that he shouldn't have said anything.

The raven silently sat the teen on his desk and walked out of the room. "Wait here. I'm going to take care of you."

"You're not angry anymore?"

"No. Stay there; I'll be right back."

Less than a minute later, Izaya returned with ice, water, a bucket, a bandage, and wet and dry towels.

After having him rinse out the blood, Izaya had him hold ice to his jaw. "This is going to hurt a bit."

He gripped his shoulder and popped it into place. Kida whimpered, but he didn't complain. He raised his arms when told, and allowed the man to remove his shirt. There were various bruises on his sides, but nothing major, except for a very prominent one on his abdomen. Izaya gently touched it.

Kida put down the ice and wrapped his arms around Izaya. "Are you upset with me?"

The informant ran a cool finger along his spine. "Shh. It's alright. You don't have to be afraid; I won't hurt you."

"Izaya, I could never leave you."

The man pulled him closer. "I know. You're so helpless against me; there's no way to protect yourself. I could really hurt you—worse than this." He took the boy's chin in his hand and gently lifted it. "Masaomi, you have to understand how much I hate myself for doing this. Seeing you bruised and bleeding… I never wanted this. When you said that I wasn't acting like myself, you were right. This isn't normal, and it's going to change. No matter what I have to do, I will make sure that I fix myself. Please don't think that you're the problem; my behavior has nothing to do with you. Nothing. I'll do whatever it takes to get back on track, alright? I can't lose you. I'll change. Please, Masaomi. You believe me, don't you?"

There was a very long period where both were silent. Just before Izaya was about to pull away, Kida finally replied. "Yes," he whispered.

Izaya kissed him tenderly, waiting for Kida to decide whether to push things further.

Sure enough, the teen added his tongue to the kiss. He wrapped his legs around Izaya's waist and tangled his arms behind his neck. The informant slammed his hand down on the desk for support when the boy became more ferocious with his legs and mouth.

As Izaya's hand reached the teen's belt buckle, they were rudely interrupted. The front door flew open and a short man entered.

"... Kenji? What are you doing here?"

"Masaomi-kun called me. I heard screaming and loud noises, so I wanted to make sure that he was alright."

"Well, he does love it when I'm rough. He gets noisy."

"This was different," he insisted. "You need to let him go. I can see how battered up he is from over here. He needs to spend some time away from you."

"You think that you can take him from me?"

"No. That's why I got him."

A tall, blonde man wearing sunglasses and a bartender suit entered the apartment.

"You brought your boyfriend? Very resourceful."

Kenji blushed. "He's not my boyfriend, and he never was."

"Ah, that's right. You thought that fucking him on the side would make me jealous. It's a shame that I didn't care."

Kida cut in. "Izaya, don't be mean."

The man looked at him, and for a moment, he thought that he might be hit again. His eyes softened. "You're right. I'm sorry." He turned to the intruders. "We're busy right now. And he's perfectly fine. You can leave now."

"I don't think so, flea. He's scared and in pain."

"This doesn't involve you. Kida doesn't want or need your help."

"Don't speak for him," Shizuo said.

Kida interrupted again. "Thanks for being concerned, but I'm okay. I'm not hurt. What you heard was... Well, it was exactly what Izaya said. We were having sex."

"What's with the ice and blood?"

"He was a bit too rough. I'm fine, though. He stopped when I got hurt and cleaned me up. Can you please leave? This is kinda uncomfortable..."

"Masaomi-kun, you don't have to lie for his sake. We can protect you."

Izaya clenched his fists. "Don't offer your protection. I am his protection."

"Protection? I don't think—"

"I hurt him!" The informant yelled. "I dislocated his shoulder. I kicked him so hard, he coughed up blood! He is the one thing in this world that I actually care about, and I abused him!" He untangled the boy's arms and legs and took a step back. "I told him that he'll never get away, and he said he didn't want to. You don't get it. After I beat him to a pulp, he told me he loved me. That's what he said. I could have killed him, but all he cared about was letting me know that he loves me. I have never felt so incredibly low in my entire life. I am terrified. I'm terrified of what I'm capable of doing to him." He took a breath. "This is something that I need to fix immediately. I will not allow myself to hurt him again. In order for me to stop my behavior, I need him with me. I have to heal him myself, as a reminder of and punishment for what I've done." His tone changed to a growl. "If you try to take him from me, I will kill you. That is not a threat; it's a promise. Masaomi is not going to leave my side until the problem has been resolved."

Shizuo stepped forward. "Iza—"

"I warned you!" The informant raised his flickblade and aimed it at the man's chest. Kida caught his wrist before he could throw it. He looked at the boy with wild eyes, yanking his arm free and holding the weapon to his neck.

Kida looked at Izaya determinedly, doing nothing to stop the man from slitting his throat. His arms lay at his sides, and there was not a trace of fear in his eyes. This calmed Izaya, and he slowly returned the blade to his pocket. The blonde smiled. He briefly kissed the man. "I'm not going anywhere. They will not take me from you." His gaze strayed shortly to glare at the intruders. "It's time for you to go."

When the pair left, Izaya stared at the boy. He reached out to touch his face, and then quickly drew back. Kida grabbed the hand and pressed it against his cheek. "I think that we should go back to normal, immediately. If you don't touch me at all, or only do so very gently, it'll make things worse. I think it built up a lot of tension when you did that the first time, and when we finally started to get back into things, it was too much. I'm not saying that you should treat me like I'm in perfect condition, but don't distance yourself."

"What if I can't stop myself?"

"You will."

"But… If I can't…?"

"We'll figure out what went wrong, and work on it."

"How can you be so tolerant? Isn't it kind of…unhealthy?"

Kida rubbed Izaya's shoulders and kissed his cheek. "I'm tolerant because I love you. I don't have the will to leave you, but I won't let this continue—and neither will you."

"Are you hungry?"

The teen raised his arms and yawned. "Nope."

"Tired, then? I'll tuck you in."

Kida shook his head.

"No? Aren't you tired?"

"You know, I think I am kind of hungry."

"What do you want?"

"You," he said cheekily.

"Masaomi…"

Kida pulled him closer. "Don't worry. I can tame the beast."

"That's not funny."

"It's hilarious, and you know it."

Izaya smiled breezily.

Seeing the half-hearted attempt, Kida took both of Izaya's hands in his. "Izaya, the fact that you're reluctant is a good thing. You're beating yourself up because it happened again. I think that it was wrong of both of us to just assume that everything was okay. We need to get to the source of the problem and fix it. Is it work stress? The brownies make sense, then."

"Yeah, I think that's it, but—"

Kida held his hand up. "I'm doing just fine, and dwelling on the past will get us nowhere. This is not an abusive relationship. It's quickly heading in that direction, but not if we work to prevent it again."

This time, Izaya flashed a full smile. "Aren't I the one supposed to be telling you that we'll figure this out?"

"You're more terrified of you than I am right now, so it works. Another good sign: you aren't mad at my taking control of the situation."

"Of course not. You're the victim here. I'll do whatever you want to make you feel safe."

"Let's just go to bed."

"Not feeling up to it anymore, tiger?"

"Right now, I'd rather lie next to you than under you."

"Say no more."

Once they were in bed, Kida flung an arm over Izaya. He yawned loudly. "Night."

Izaya held him securely with both arms. "Goodnight, Masaomi."

So, I heard that Hannibal is low on viewers! Guys, I love Hannibal. Our fandom needs help! For people who like suspenseful, thought-provoking shows, it's a good fit. They do an AMAZING job with soundtrack, and the way they present the story is just phenomenal. I highly suggest it. You can find the first season all over the internet, so go binge watch to catch up to the currently airing second season. Also, talk about it on social media; they keep track of that stuff.

Join the fandom, and help us get a third season!