Chapter 9: Shizuo's Other Part Time Job...As a Babysitter :3

-.-.-.-.-

"SAALLEEE, SALLLEE, ONLY HERE FIFTY PERCENT OFF CHRISTMAS SALE," Izaya announces as loudly as he can in a sing song voice, throwing his hands up and waving them to attract more civilians. Ah, and how wonderful it feels; all those gazes of the people passing by, looking at him, noticing him.

He closes his eyes, content, basking in all the attention. That is, until he feels a light pat on his head, causing him to flinch slightly. He opens one eye up only to see Shizuo towering over him, glaring daggers and tapping the top of his head with the cardboard part of the sign to snap him out of his daze.

"Oi, flea. Stop it. You're attracting too much attention," Shizuo hisses through gritted teeth. Izaya turns to face him, looking up at him with feigned innocence.

"Hm? Shizu-chan, isn't the goal to get as much attention as possible? And with such a beautiful and enchanting individual like myself, I am sure to attract lots of it," he muses as he turns away from Shizuo. He then leaps to a nearby lamp post with ease and props himself up on its base before proceeding grab a hold of the pole with one hand, as if he were some sort of street performer.

Shizuo isn't convinced.

"You're being over the top, annoying, and disturbing," he grumbles in a low voice. Those eyes hidden behind those blue sunglasses of his reveal his frustrations, but are devoid of their usual 'kill the flea' bloodlust. Izaya wonders how much further he can push Shizuo before he inevitably ends up snapping and breaking their little agreement.

"Nonsense, Shizu-chan. Humans love these sorts of things," Izaya proclaims, almost as if he wasn't getting strange and uncomfortable stares from nearly everyone that passes by.

"See, take for example those two girls over there."

He points to two girls walking by with his free hand before jumping down from the lamp post and gracefully landing on his feet. He walks up to them, back straight and head held high with a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Hello ladies, looking lovely today," Izaya purrs, his voice coming off almost seductive. Despite not being interested in romantic affairs, he still knows how to use his natural charm and good looks to get any reaction he wants. And indeed, he does get a reaction out of the two girls as they giggle lightly, entranced by his pretty face.

"Might I interest you in some last minute Christmas shopping? Only today, fifty percent off. It's not too late for a special present~" he continues lightheartedly and watches as a bright flush starts to taint one of the girl's cheeks. Ah, women are so predictable. Say a few sweet words and more often than not, they'll be eating out of your hand.

"O-oh, sure," the other says as she grabs her friend's arm.

"I guess we can have a look, right?" she asks her friend and gives Izaya a sheepish smile. Her embarrassed friend agrees, and they leave with Izaya waving them goodbye before turning back to Shizuo who, surprise, surprise, has a scowl on his face. Izaya shrugs nonchalantly.

"What? I'm helping~" he teases, throwing up his hands for emphasis and letting out a small laugh.

"Well, don't. It's…inappropriate," Shizuo responds, shifting his gaze awkwardly. Izaya looks at him curiously. Inappropriate? Such light flirting with two random girls? Does Shizuo really have a problem with absolutely everything he does? Or perhaps there is another reason for Shizuo's discomfort with Izaya interacting with random people – more accurately, random women.

"Eh, what does it even matter? Aren't those thirty minutes up by now?" he asks, shifting the subject. Indeed, half an hour has passed, which means Shizuo was free to go. Time sure flies by when you're having fun, and Izaya sure was having fun, as he would be any time he had a chance to annoy Shizuo without any serious repercussions.

Shizuo acknowledges Izaya's statement and quickly checks the time to confirm. He mumbles something under his breath and starts walking towards the store entrance. Izaya follows, and Shizuo turns his attention back to the informant in question before he has a chance to enter the store.

"Why are you still here, flea?" he asks, and Izaya shrugs his shoulders again, this time out of genuine ignorance.

"Who knows? Maybe I just want to enjoy my one day of you not violently throwing vending machines at me. And, it's fun to annoy you," Izaya explains and playfully sticks out his tongue like a kid. Admittedly, he does feel a little bit like a child. Like how children often tease each other and say mean things. Although, usually the teasing would be an indication of the child's hidden fondness towards whoever they are teasing. And much like a child, Izaya ignores his own feelings of fondness towards Shizuo and attributes his giddiness to the opposite: to liking annoying Shizuo out of hate.

"Of course, if you don't like my company, I suppose I could just run off and do all sorts of fun things. With no one to keep an eye on me, who knows what trouble I could get into, you know?" Izaya jokes and watches as Shizuo trudges over to him. Without saying a word, he grabs the hood of Izaya's coat and tugs sharply, forcing Izaya to stumble slightly and nearly lose his balance.

"What the hell, Shizu-chan? Just what are you doing?" Izaya snaps, his excitement quickly replaced with mild annoyance as he struggles to regain his balance and stand upright on his feet. It's a little bit difficult to do, since Shizuo just tugs even harder and forcibly pulls him inside the store, with his heels dragging across the tiled floor.

"Obviously I'm keeping an eye on you so you don't run off and do something shady," Shizuo barks out as Izaya continues to struggle out of his hold, swatting his arms around but to no avail – Shizuo just keeps tugging him along until the manager comes out to greet them – a woman in a gray suit, her hair tied high in a bun.

"Ah, Heiwajima-san, once again, thank you kindly for your hard work. Thanks to you, we were able to sell out most of our stock," she thanks him and does a small bow before shifting her gaze to Izaya, still being dragged down by his hood and held in place by Shizuo's iron grip. Instantly, Izaya freezes and stops struggling, going limp as if this was a casual thing they often did with each other. Which, in a way, wasn't it?

"Hello~" he greets politely. The manager looks at him with a confused look on her face.

"F-friend of yours?" she inquires, pointing at Izaya with her finger. How rude, she ignored his greeting completely and ever rudely pointed at him. Izaya pouts slightly, feeling ignored and highly offended.

"Hardly. More like…I'm babysitting," Shizuo answers, to add insult to injury. Izaya's eyes grow wide. Just that is this? Babysitting? If anyone around here is a child, it surely is Shizuo, and not him.

"Excuse me, I am not a baby! I don't need you to coddle me like one," he protests, and Shizuo tugs at his hood again, forcing him to sway from side to side in a very uncomfortable way.

"Quiet, the adults are talking," Shizuo retorts, and Izaya notices a hint of, dare he say, playfulness to his voice. He's a bit taken aback and unsure how to react in this situation. This… surely is a side to Shizuo he's never witnessed before and it's…not awful. Playing around with him like this, a little back and forth. Of course, if not for the fact that he has his pride slightly hurt…and is proving to indeed be the child that Shizuo called him out to be.

"How absolutely dare you?" He starts to talk back but barely gets to finish speaking before Shizuo tugs on his hood again, this time bringing it over his face to cover his eyes and push him down slightly, holding him in place and unable to see what's going on, leaving him to flail his arms around wildly in panic. What the FUCK?

No, he takes that back. This is not fun! It's awful! Terrible! So annoying!

"Ah, here, please accept this, and feel free to keep the hat," he hears the lady say and before he knows it, Shizuo finally pulls the hood off his face and starts dragging him out of the store, which prompts Izaya to start flailing around wildly again.

"Let me go, stop it! You're so awful, I absolutely hate you so, so much! Stooopp!" He whines, and Shizuo does stop. He straightens him up and lets him stand again, but doesn't release his hold on his hood just yet, keeping him from running away.

"What's the matter? You said you wanted to call a truce," he mocks him and then grasps a hold of his cheeks, grabbing them in between his index fingers and thumbs. Izaya flinches back from the pressure but can't get away with Shizuo holding onto his face so tightly.

"So this is me not fighting you," Shizuo concludes as Izaya starts swatting at his arms in protest. Of course, the action does very little to help his case, and instead Shizuo ends up pinching harder, pulling his cheeks every which way until they become sore and start to ache from the pain. Or at least, they should hurt greatly, but Shizuo's touch is also warm, and almost pleasant.

"S-staph i-i-idd!" He mumbles incoherently, hitting Shizuo's arms with his clenched fists. Thought clearly to him, it's nothing more than a tickle because Shizuo doesn't so much as wince, even when Izaya uses his full force. Shizuo doesn't relent and only pulls harder, and Izaya is sure he will have bruises all over his face from this if Shizuo doesn't stop soon.

"S-seriushly, staph, y-you'wl r-ruin my faaissh," he wails. He swears, if Shizuo keeps pulling this hard, he might actually end up crying ever so slightly from the pain. Even now, he can feel his eyes start to prickle, and the cold from the outside air isn't doing him any favors. Shizuo finally lets go of his face, and Izaya brings up his palms to rub at his sore cheeks. Or maybe he keeps his palms there to keep the lingering traces of warmth that's slowly starting to fade. A warmth that's quickly replaced by light embarrassment creeping up to his face.

"Good, then maybe you don't go around flirting with random people," Shizuo grumbles. Izaya furrows his eyebrows, slightly confused. Is he referring to the two girls from before?

"Why does it matter? Why do you care?" he asks.

"Because, it's annoying. You're a manipulative asshole, that's why. Don't play with people's emotions," Shizuo gives his explanation and before Izaya can come up with some retort, or even a mental explanation why Shizuo would be so invested in the lives of strangers, the blond grabs him by the hood again and starts dragging him around, leaving Izaya to think: Ah shit, here we go again!

"Where are you even taking me?" Izaya asks, this time allowing himself to be swept up without much resistance, even if his coat sleeves are digging uncomfortably into his under arms. He gives in, if only to hear what Shizuo has to say for himself.

"You should be grateful, I'm kindly escorting you home," Shizuo answers.

"And you're going to drag me like this all the way to Shinjuku?"

"Yup."

"And then what? What will you do after?" Izaya ends up asking, and as soon as he does, his throat starts to feel a little dry, almost as if he's nervous about the question. Shizuo shrugs his shoulders, forcing Izaya to also jolt slightly.

"Dunno, maybe go to a Christmas party."

Suddenly Izaya feels as if all the elated feelings inside him dissipate all too quickly. He starts struggling again, his mood suddenly turning sour. So Shizuo does have some Christmas plans after all, while Izaya is just supposed to go home and sit in his quiet house, all alone? Of course, he isn't going to let that happen. He won't allow Shizuo to have any Christmas fun. He's not done annoying him just yet, so why shouldn't he keep himself entertained?

Quickly, he unzips his coat. He knows he will suddenly be met with the frosty winter air, but it's a sacrifice he's willing to make. He slips out from his coat and is immediately met with a chill running up his spine. The sweater isn't nearly enough to keep him warm, but at least he's able to wiggle the rest of his arms from under the sleeves, leaving Shizuo to only grip his coat and not him. Shizuo soon realizes the shift in weight he's pulling along and sharply turns on his heel to face Izaya.

"I'm not going to let you do that," Izaya says cautiously, taking a step back. Shizuo takes a step towards him, and Izaya takes yet another step away.

"Flea," Shizuo threatens, his voice low and rumbling. Instead of heeding his warning, Izaya gives him one of his usual smirks.

"If you want me to come with you, then you're going to have to catch me first," he answers slyly and takes one more step back, then another and another. Despite the fact that his coat is now in Shizuo's possession, Izaya doesn't care. He turns on his heel and runs

Shizuo, now internally seething with rage, watches Izaya run off. His body shakes with anger as he slowly takes out his phone from his pocket and dial's Tom's number. After two rings, his senpai answers..

"Oh, Shizuo? Are you finished with that favor? We're happy to wait for you, if you still want to come," Tom greets him. Unfortunately for him, Shizuo will not, in fact, be joining the party.

"Ah, about that. Tell Vorona and everyone else I won't be making it. There's a little pest I have to exterminate," Shizuo explains through gritted teeth, his voice low. Tom quickly deduces that the pest in this context is, in fact, just Izaya.

"Even on Christmas? Wow, you two never take a break, do you? Well, alright. I'll let everyone know."

Shizuo hangs up the phone, or maybe the connection just breaks since he's gripping the phone so tightly the screen cracks. He puts the phone back in his pocket and looks at Izaya's coat still held tightly in his clenched fist. That damned flea. Playing with him, teasing him, always having the last word, always causing trouble.

Kill, kill, kill.

An instinct he can no longer keep at bay.

He grips the coat tighter. And then, he bolts after him, unable to hold back any longer as he shout's Izaya's name at the top of his lungs.

-.-.-.-

Izaya doesn't run very far initially. He's curious to see if Shizuo will follow him in the first place. He sure hopes so, since Shizuo does have his coat which his knife and phone in its pocket. Of course, it wouldn't be too much of a struggle for him to get a new phone, but it would be a hassle, which is why he hopes Shizuo would ever so kindly return his possessions to him.

To literally no one's surprise, Shizuo turned into a raging beast again, stomping down the streets, plowing through everything in sight and causing quite a ruckus. Such a hypocrite, Shizu-chan~ you preach to me about maintaining the peace…heh, it's even in your very name, yet you go rampaging down the street, disturbing everyone around you.

"I hate violence" : such phrase truly holds no meaning when the one uttering it succumbs to his own anger, chasing the very cause of his fury and leaving destruction in his wake.

Izaya keeps running, as fast as he can. Down the street, past all the tall buildings, over a fence, until his lungs burn from the heavy breaths of cold air he takes in. At least his body is able to maintain some level of warmth simply by keeping himself active, but he knows that once he stops, he'll be once again met with a freezing chill.

He stops for a moment just across the street from a popular fast food restaurant, if only to catch his breath. Resting his palms against his knees and leaning forward, he inhales deeply, trying to ignore the burn in his lungs as his need for oxygen is far more important than any discomfort he might feel. He whips his head around, looking for Shizuo, but the monster is nowhere to be found. Has he given up? Would Izaya's precious coat be lost forever? Izaya supposes that he might go looking for him again. He straightens and wraps his arms around his waist, shivering slightly as the adrenaline and excitement from the chase leaves his system. It hardly helps, so he wonders if he should go inside the restaurant to warm up.

Out of nowhere, a heavy force slams into him, forcing him to the ground. His back hits the solid concrete, and the impact shakes him to the bone. His body starts to ache as pain begins pulsating out from his spine. Yet he can't focus on that because he has bigger things to worry about. He looks up only to see Shizuo's intense honey eyes staring back at him. He's hovers above him, with palms on either side of Izaya's head, with Izaya's coat still clutched tightly in one hand.

"How nice of you to bring me back my coat, Shizu-chan. I'm surprised you even kept it for this long," Izaya stutters out rather nervously. A scowl forms on Shizuo's lips as he lifts his arm up high and brings it back down, aiming straight at Izaya's face. Izaya quickly turns his head and avoids the punch, very much glad that he had, since Shizuo's fist connects with the pavement below and sends a web of cracks branching out from the impact.

"Obviously. It's got your flee stench all over it. Makes you easier to track," Shizuo growls, and Izaya manages a dry chuckle.

"What are you? A dog or something?" He teases. He absolutely despises dogs, so it's fitting to make that comparison. Shizuo's eyes narrow and he clenches his teeth together, fist once again raised and aiming straight for Izaya's face. Izaya dodges once more, rolling his body to the side and gripping Shizuo's other arm, fingers digging into the fabric of his black jacket. He wants to get the coat free, but Shizuo's grip is too tight, so Izaya does the next best thing.

He fishes out his switch blade from one of the pockets and as soon as it's open, he aims it straight at Shizuo's forearm. Shizuo is quick to react. He bends his elbow and forces his forearm to the ground. Consequently, his body shifts and his torso presses against Izaya's chest, sending Izaya's heart into overdrive.

He feels as if he'd just been robbed of all the air in his lungs. Sure, Shizuo's body is heavy, but not to the point of being suffocating. No, what's causing his oxygen deprivation is the shock that comes from their bodily contact. Warm. Shizuo is so, so warm. Warmer than his coat, or the bath he'd taken earlier that day. Much warmer than just the little hint of contact they'd had when he'd pinched Izaya's cheeks.

Admittedly, his first instinctual urge is to wrap his arms around Shizuo's waist and bring himself closer. It's silly, but it's the first thing that pops into his mind. No. It's not just silly. It's nonsensical, absurd even. He quickly pushes that thought away. Clearly, Izaya doesn't do that. Instead, he scowls and shoves at Shizuo's chest, trying to push him away. Shizuo finally lifts himself up, stripping Izaya of that warmth and leaving him feeling empty and cold.

For a moment, they just stare, eyes locked and transfixed on each other.

Shizuo is close.

So close.

Too close.

Izaya's gaze suddenly falls to Shizuo's lips. He can feel his warm breath on his face. Typical… smells like cigarettes. He should be grossed out, disgusted even, yet an entirely different thought pops up into his head.

5 centimeters.

If Shizuo wanted to, all it would take is 5 centimeters.

5 centimeters to lean down and breathe warmth into Izaya's cold lips.

Izaya feels his face heating up again so he pushes that ridiculous thought away.

It feels…weird. Like a tightness in his chest, or a fire burning the air in his lungs. Moreover, it's frightening. As far as he knows, Izaya has never felt this sort of feeling before, and whatever it is, Izaya just wants it to stop.

He needs it's to stop.

He needs Shizuo to get off.

And then, thinking back to the switchblade in his hand, he panics and he directs it straight at Shizuo's chest.

Perhaps it's the cold, or on the other side of the spectrum, the insufferable warmth in his chest; whatever it is, his actions must be somewhat delayed, because Shizuo is far too quick to react. He grabs his hand and slams it down on the ground next to his head, hard. Thankfully, not hard enough to cause serious injury. Izaya surely doesn't need to go to Shinra with any more broken fingers, considering the nature of their last few interactions.

Shizuo keeps clutching his wrist tightly and Izaya tries to struggle out from his grip, which only forces the sleeve of his shirt to brush against Shizuo's grip, until the fabric slides down his arm and Shizuo is holding Izaya's wrist directly. Still pinning his wrist, Shizuo shifts his position and lets go of Izaya's coat, instead using his free hand to pry the switchblade from between his fingers. Izaya doesn't resist and Shizuo bends the knife with his bare hand before tossing it to the side.

"Why are you trying so hard to stab me, huh Izaya-kun? Weren't you the one who wanted to stop fighting today in the first place?" Shizuo whispers harshly. His fingernails dig into the milky flesh of Izaya's wrist, and while Izaya should be crying out in pain, instead he freezes. The feeling of Shizuo's calloused fingers against his skin sends his heart pounding straight through his chest. There's that weird tingle again, the one that sends a pleasant rush down his skin and down his spine, branching off from where Shizuo is touching him. He shudders.

"I'm only trying to defend myself," Izaya stutters out.

Izaya doesn't understand what's going on or why his voice sounds so weak, nor does he comprehend why his cheeks are burning fervently. He's looking at any possible factors to attribute his strange reactions too. Perhaps it's just the cold; running without a jacket must have made him sick, or at least he's beginning to experience the initial symptoms of a winter cold.

Shizuo continues to stare at him, analyzing his facial features.

Izaya stares back at him.

At the way his expression changes, eyes growing wide and his rage filled features softening .

He really can be quite handsome when he's not rampaging. And if Izaya didn't know any better, and if he actually allowed himself to, he feels as if he could actually get lost in Shizuo's warm, brown eyes. Without realizing what he's doing, Izaya's fingers twitch and he brings them down to brush against Shizuo's hand. Shizuo's breath hitches in his throat and he immediately releases his grip. He jolts up, leaving Izaya in a state of absolute bewilderment.

Izaya takes a moment to mentally compose himself over what just happened. He's left suddenly cold and desperate for warmth but the tightness in his chest persists. After a moment and a few deep breaths, Izaya, too, stands and dusts himself off before grabbing his coat and slipping it back on. He instantly feels better with the extra insulation, but there's a certain urge deep in the pit of his stomach that wants something else, something warmer than his coat.

"Go home Izaya," Shizuo sighs, uncharacteristically passively. Izaya wraps his arms around his waist. He should. He should just go home and forget that he ever even felt this way. Yet there's a nagging at the back of his mind to keep Shizuo nearby just a little bit longer, which Izaya adamantly justifies as being his urge to annoy Shizuo.

"Fine Shizu-chan. I'll go home. But… I want to get something to eat first," he lies as he points up at the red sign on the other end of the street. Shizuo squints at the white English letters printed on the sign.

"Kei…Efu…Shi…?" Shizuo mumbles under his breath.

"Care to join me?" Izaya asks curiously, testing the waters, and Shizuo's gaze snaps back to him. He's ready to catch Izaya out on his teasing, but Izaya stands there, genuine in his request for Shizuo to accompany him.

"You're serious?" Shizuo sputters, although his tone makes it seem a little bit too much like a statement rather than a question. Izaya nods his head.

"Yea, my treat."