Storms of yesterday

by thedollars666

Izaya and Shizuo lose their memories of their romantic relationship and ultimately forget they became anything more then enemies. Forced to confront their feelings; Izaya denies everything, but Shizuo starts to realize that their maybe something more between them. Can their friends help them remember before its too late? Sequel to Winds of Change. RECENTLY REVISED AS OF 13/02/20

2. Akane

Shizuo looked up from the couch when Izaya came through the door. "Hey," he greeted and then stood up, "didn't expect you to be gone all day."

Izaya grinned at him, then he shrugged as he walked toward him. "You know me, the more time I spend around the city, the more information I can gather."

Shizuo rolled his eyes. "Don't you mean the more people you can irritate?"

Izaya feigned a hurtful expression. "Shizu-chan I would never!"

Shizuo snorted. "Yeah right. So, why don't you tell me about your day then."

Izaya leaned up and kissed the blond on the lips before heading over to his desk. "Don't worry, I haven't broken our deal, if that's what you're concerned with." Izaya sat down on his swivel chair, switching his computer on. He stared over at Shizuo, who now looked guilty.

Shizuo hung his head. "N-no, sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like that."

Izaya laughed. "Relax Shizu-chan, I'm kidding."

Shizuo walked over to the desk and around to where Izaya sat. He pulled him up slightly by the hem of his jacket and kissed him hard on the lips; he then pulled back, lips lingering. "Asshole."

Izaya grinned and then kissed him again. "Gotta get my kicks somehow ne?"

Shizuo clicked his tongue and released his annoying partner. "I oughta kick your ass for that."

Izaya's grinned deepened. "I'm sure you can think of something else to do to it than that," Izaya winked. "A punishment I'd gladly accept later." Shizuo turned a bright shade of red.

"Stop doing that!"

Izaya chuckled and then leant on his palm, putting on his best innocent expression. "Doing what?"

"You know damn well what, stop putting words in my mouth!"

Izaya's eyes glinted with excitement. "Would you rather something else?" Shizuo clenched his fists as his blush deepened. How the hell could Izaya say that with such a straight face?

Shizuo growled at him. "I need to shower." Izaya's eyes trailed downwards and then he smirked at Shizuo's obvious growing discomfort.

"Need some help with that?"

"Shut up!" Shizuo stormed out of the living room and toward the bedroom.

Izaya laughed and then logged on to the chatroom. He had been thinking for a while that he might get Shizuo onto this, then again, the blond didn't care for online communication. But oh, how much fun Izaya could have if he did, the informant grinned, it was amusing just to think about.

Taro Tanaka: How's everyone doing today? The city is quiet lately. You don't hear of many attacks nowadays.

Setton: I know. It's kind of weird, but I'm not complaining, it's nice.

~Kanra has entered the chat room~

Kanra: So, what you're saying Taro Tanaka, is that you liked it when the city was under attack from things like - the slasher maybe?

Taro Tanaka: NO!

That isn't what I was saying at all!

I think the city deserves peace for once!

Kanra: ~That isn't what I got from that little message before.

Setton: Don't be a jerk to him Kanra.

I understood what you meant Taro.

Izaya chuckled to himself.

Kanra: okay~ But if he really didn't mean it that way, why was he getting so defensive, hmmm?

Taro Tanaka: I really didn't mean it that way! Why would I want people in the city to be attacked? Why would I want that?

Kanra: Because then you wouldn't have to worry about the fact that you might have to leave if the city gets, too boring. Isn't that why you left your last town?

Taro Tanaka: You're wrong!

I mean, that is part of it, but,

That doesn't mean I want the city to be in danger!

There's plenty of things that could happen that don't involve people getting attacked!

~Natsukashii has entered the chat room~

Izaya's eyes glanced at the unrecognisable name. "Hm?"

Natsukashii: Don't listen to this ass hole Taro. He's the one that's bored, since he practically use to thrive on chaos. He's simply looking for someone to blame really.

Izaya narrowed his eyes slightly.

Setton: Oh! You're new, welcome!

Taro: Hey there! Welcome!

And thank you!

Natsukashii: Not a problem. It's not wrong to feel a sense of calm, sometimes, that can be just as exciting as something happening.

Izaya's eyes widen a little and then he grinned suddenly.

Kanra: Sounds like you're talking from experience. Natsuk-chan.

Natsukashii: Not really. Just telling it how I see it.

Setton: Well,

I think calm is good too,

especially since the city is usually filled with unexpected danger.

Izaya chuckled.

Kanra: Especially in Ikebukuro!

There's this one guy,

he's so strong!

Scary~!

Setton: Who?

Taro: He's not at all bad,

I think he's a good person,

Kanra: oh?

You know who I'm talking about?

Taro: I think so,

But,

Didn't he move recently?

Kanra: Ikebukuro has been quiet recently ~

Natsukashii: Think I know who you guys are talking about. Heard he moved somewhere to Shinjuku. I dunno, a friend of a friend told me.

Kanra: Shinjuku huh?

Oh no!

That's my Neighbourhood!

Someone save me!

Taro: You know,

He really isn't all that bad,

But –

piss him off,

and he can be kind of scary.

Kanra: Now I need to move!

Setton: Seriously?

Don't be so quick to judge!

Natsukashii: Speaking of scary people,

I heard about this one guy who lives in Shinjuku,

that he's trouble, kind of famous for it.

Taro: oh,

Yeah, I guess,

he's weird.

A little on the eccentric side maybe.

Setton: Heard he was the definition of chaos!

Izaya pouted, he was being verbally attacked.

Kanra: That's a little harsh!

He's not even here to defend himself!

Natsukashii: Well, I heard that he's not that much trouble anymore,

like he's a pretty okay person nowadays.

Izaya looked up from the screen as Shizuo walked into the room; he grinned at him. "I'm a little impressed Shizu-chan, I had no idea that you even had an invite for this."

Shizuo smiled a little. "Well, I kind of wanted to surprise you, Celty was the one that invited me. At first, I wasn't that into it, but it's kind of fun, if a little quirky."

Izaya chuckled. "Can't say the name doesn't fit you perfectly."

"Yeh, didn't take you long to figure out."

"Feeling a sense of Nostalgia when looking back on a past memory. Though not in a negative way, more like a happy way, as if staring into remembrance of a happy memory. Like looking back on old pictures of your childhood. In your case, you can be happy to look back on our past, now that we've become an item, the violent past we shared is somewhat a happy one to you now, knowing things are no longer - nor will they be again - the way it was back then."

Shizuo stared at him and then rolled his eyes. "Should have known, only you would read that much into something."

Izaya raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean I'm wrong, who knew you were philosophical Shizu-chan?"

Shizuo shuffled and then clicked his tongue. "Shut up."

Izaya grinned. "It's almost scary isn't it?"

"What is?"

"That someone like me can read you like a book now."

Shizuo snorted. "At first it was at least, I didn't very much like being very readable."

"The feeling was mutual."

The two shared a grin toward one another. If anything, they'd gotten used to it now, they appreciated that they were the only two that understood the other.

Izaya turned back to the computer screen, his eyes scanning the replies since their temporary absence.

Taro: Yeah, I suppose that's true!

After all, I haven't even seen him much lately.

Setton: I think,

he's got something more important to thrive for now.

Taro: What do you mean?

It wasn't intentional, but somehow, Mikado and Anri had been left out of the loop, they didn't know about Izaya's and Shizuo's relationship. Izaya wasn't one to go around bragging about it, even though they didn't hide their relationship to the public anymore, they still liked to keep a low profile, just encase.

Izaya tapped the Pm button to Setton.

Kanra: Your last comment.

Subtle much?

Setton: Sorry. But it's true though.

Kanra: Whatever you say~

Back to the message board.

Natsukashii: He really is still kind of an asshole though.

Izaya grinned, Shizuo really did know him so well. Even if what Celty said was true, sometimes, even now, it was hard for him to admit that he had changed. Shizuo had picked up on the awkward vibe, so he switched the conversation to something Izaya found easier to respond to.

Setton: Oh of course!

Taro: He is endlessly unpredictable.

Kanra: Maybe he's just waiting for the right moment to strike next!

Izaya received a PM message from Natsukashii.

Natsukashii: Yeah right.

Izaya pouted a little and then shrugged.

Message board.

Kanra: Anyway! Gotta bounce! See you laaaaaater!

Taro: Night.

Setton: Goodnight!

Natsukashii: Gotta be going too. See ya.

Taro: Bye Natsukashii, come back again!

Setton: Goodnight.

~Kanra left the chat room~

~Natsukashii left the chat room~

Izaya sat back and stretched his arms up. He then moved from the desk over to where Shizuo was laid across the couch, his arms leaning over the back of the couch as he looked down at him. "That was fun."

Shizuo looked up at him, his face looked irritated but there was glints of excitement in his eyes. "Yeh well, it's hard to surprise you nowadays."

"Well that's almost creepy, like you're constantly thinking up ways to surprise your partner."

Shizuo rolled his eyes. "It's not like that."

Izaya chuckled. "That's what you insinuated."

"Shut up. Even if that were true, it's in good spirits, unlike when the tables were reversed back in the day."

Izaya feigned another hurtful expression and then grinned. "Touché."

Shizuo grunted and then said, "By the way, your personality seems different when you're using your chat-name."

"It's called an alias. It just kind of happened. I mostly use it to throw people off from my real self."

"I guess that's pretty clever, given what you do for a living."

Izaya shrugged. "It's not all about that, sometimes it's refreshing."

Shizuo smiled a little. "I get that." He then blushed. "It was kind of... hot."

Izaya raised an eyebrow. "My alias personality Kanra was a turn on for you?" Izaya laughed a little. "That's weird Shizu-chan."

Shizuo frowned in embarrassment. "Like you're one to talk."

Izaya smirked and tilted his head. "Hmmm, or perhaps, now this might just be a hunch, but perhaps Shizu-chan has a little fetish for role play?"

Shizuo looked up at him and Izaya climbed over the couch and straddled him. "And that's weird?"

"Not really. It's, almost normal; though it depends on what kind of roleplay you like. I for one haven't tried it, but then again, I've never been with anyone long enough."

"Well, you're the only partner I've had."

Izaya leaned down so that his lips were just inches apart from Shizuo's. "Maybe that's the reason for your fetish."

"Hardly. I like you, for you, I don't need anyone else."

Izaya leaned comfortably on Shizuo's chest. "Yet you like the idea of, Kanra."

"Yes, because I know it's you."

"Acting like someone different."

"It's not too different though."

Izaya laughed. "You make me sound schizophrenic."

"Well...that would explain a lot." Izaya frowned a little until Shizuo laughed. "I'm kidding, you're hardly that weird."

Izaya's eyes widened with amusement. "So that's your idea of roleplay."

Shizuo grimaced. "Shut up, that's just wrong."

Izaya sat up. "You're the doctor treating the schizophrenic, slightly twisted patient, while fending off his good looks and advances?"

Shizuo pushed against him playfully. "Get off."

Izaya's tone became dramatic. "Oh! Doctor, please, stop these voices inside my head!"

Shizuo pushed against him again. "You're sick." The blond nudged him, and they toppled off the couch, Shizuo's hands flat against Izaya, holding him by the wrists. Now he was the one straddling.

Izaya grinned up at him playfully. "Then you better cure me." Shizuo rolled his eyes but leaned down to kiss the informant. Izaya moaned against the kiss, unable to do anything else since his hands were being pinned to the floor. Shizuo moved down as he nipped and lightly sucked his neck. "No hickeys Shizu-chan, work tomorrow."

The blond growled at him. "Oh like you cared so much about my work when you sucked my neck off a week ago."

Izaya shrugged. "You've got nothing to worry about, most of your clients don't really get a chance to look at you, much less notice anything. Since they're halfway across the city by the time they open their mouths."

Shizuo snorted. "Very funny, you are kind of ruining the mood here."

Izaya reached up and wrapped his hands around Shizuo's neck. "You're the one that started with the nibbling."

Shizuo huffed with a frown. "You're the one complaining about it!"

Izaya pursed his lips. "Not complaining, just – protesting."

"It's the same thing."

"No it's not."

"It basically is."

"Complaining means to dislike, protest means to not want it."

Shizuo stared blankly at him for a moment and then - "It's the same thing."

Izaya rolled his eyes. "If that's what you really think. I might suggest other places, hickeys don't always have to be on the neck."

Shizuo frowned a little. "Because you don't make a habit of removing your clothes on a job."

Izaya frowned, now he was annoyed for real. "Get off."

Shizuo realised too late what he had said, he didn't even know why he said it. Izaya hadn't done that in a long time. "I'm sorry."

Izaya shifted, but he couldn't use his hands, since Shizuo still had hold of them. "Let go."

"Izaya, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

Izaya kicked out with his legs, Shizuo's words had really stung. "Get off me."

Shizuo frowned, leaning forward. "Just so you can run off?"

"Yes! At least give me the dignity of storming off!"

Shizuo gripped his wrists firmly. "No! Izaya, I didn't mean it! I can't even believe I said that!"

"Then why the hell did you!"

"I don't know! Fuck. Izaya, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." Shizuo gripped his wrists tighter in panic, his eyes wide with anger, directed mostly at himself.

"Shizu-chan! Let - go!" Shizuo wouldn't let up, not until he could be heard. Izaya kicked out with his legs again and Shizuo moved from his straddling position but he didn't release his wrists.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Shizuo bowed his head, touching the others forehead with his own. It was then Izaya could feel the dampness of what he assumed were tears coming from his panicked partner. Izaya growled out a little, but he was relenting, now the only reason he wanted to break free was to lift the hold Shizuo had on him.

"Shizu-chan..."

"Forgive me... I didn't mean it Izaya. I'm sorry." Shizuo gripped ever tighter, panic taking over his control.

"Shizu-chan it's okay, you can let go now, I'm not going to run off." Shizuo choked back a sob - or a sigh - Izaya wasn't quite sure, but his grip didn't let up, the raven winced. "Seriously Shizu-chan, let go, it's starting to hurt."

Shizuo shifted and then leaned up, his eyes wide as he quickly retreated his hands. "Shit, sorry."

Izaya sighed, sitting up a little and then moved out from underneath him. He rubbed his wrists with a frown. "Relax, I'm fine. I think that maybe I might have overstepped my mark too. The violent outburst comment, maybe you were just digging back at me."

Shizuo looked confused, then realised Izaya was talking about when he'd said about throwing people halfway across the city. "No, that wasn't it at all. Izaya, I shouldn't have said what I did, at all, even if I was annoyed about the comment."

Izaya moved to lean back on the couch, still nursing his sore wrists. "I only really did that a few times." He then looked at the blond. "If it makes you feel any better, there were times that it wasn't just for work."

Shizuo moved so that he could sit next to him, he frowned. "It doesn't, but I understand that some people simply have, needs."

Izaya rolled his eyes at Shizuo's interpretation of what normal people did. "One-night stands are very common Shizu-chan."

"I know that, I just don't like it." Shizuo lay his head on Izaya's shoulder. "I didn't mean for what I said to sound like you were-" he couldn't think of what word to use without wanting to cringe.

Izaya snorted. "A prostitute?" Shizuo shifted uncomfortably. "The difference is that I got information rather than money. Huh. I did get money too; well what do you know, I'm an informant prostitute, who knew that was a thing."

Shizuo rolled his eyes. "Shut up, you're notthat at all, I prefer to think of them as one-night stands."

Izaya sighed. "Make up your mind."

"You know what I mean, I never thought of you like that, even before we decided to take our relationship to the next level."

Izaya chuckled. "And before that?"

"Yes. Even when I hated you, I still probably wouldn't have thought about it like that."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I never really made it my business to know what the hell you did, so no, I suppose not." Izaya shrugged and lay his head on Shizuo's shoulder, the blond glanced down at him. "Does this mean you forgive me?"

"I'm still here aren't I?"

Shizuo smiled. He looked up at the clock, feeling tired suddenly. He groaned inwardly at the thought of having to be up in six hours. "It's pretty late, wanna go to bed?"

Izaya sighed, he was contemplating if he had enough energy to drag himself up from the floor. He hated arguing, more so with Shizuo, since they were both so stubborn. He also disliked being yelled at; he looked over at the blond, his half-lidded eyes showing his own exhaustion. "Carry me?"

Shizuo rolled his eyes, shifting to a kneeling position before bringing Izaya with him. He was sure the informant only did it to annoy him, because if Shizuo refused, he knew Izaya was perfectly capable of walking on his own. "Child."

Izaya snuggled against his chest, as if he was going to sleep right there in the comforts of Shizuo's arms. Shizuo supposed it was an honourable feeling really, he was probably the only one that would see this side of Izaya, that the raven was comfortable enough around him to truly let his guard drop. That level of trust warmed Shizuo's chest, it wasn't easy, building so much trust between them. He wondered sometimes, how Izaya felt about it all, whether he'd even noticed. The last thing Shizuo was going to do though, was bring it up, because if he hadn't noticed, he'd feel more inclined to retreat into some of his shell out of stubbornness. Shizuo lay Izaya across his side of the bed and took off his pants and socks with no resistance on Izaya's part, and the informant quickly got into the covers. Shizuo stripped down to his boxers and walked around to get into the other side, he pulled Izaya close to him. Izaya curled himself against the other's warm embrace, probably without really realising he was doing so, more out of involuntary instinct. Shizuo kissed his shoulder blades and then let sleep take him over.

…...

Shizuo didn't mind a day off nowadays, since half the time Izaya would work from home on those days, it was often hard to find the time to spend together. Izaya didn't have, days off, he was a workaholic, his job required him to constantly be alert to what went on around him; the job fit him perfectly, since it was his hobby to watch humans. Shizuo brought him a tea over to the desk. "Here; take a break." Izaya didn't reply right away, too focused on the monitors in front of him. "What are you looking into anyway?" Shizuo was hoping his interest in Izaya's current work would be enough to rouse him. After all, the informant never passed up the chance to talk about his gathered info.

Izaya exhaled a breath and sat back from the keyboard. "Black market scam; information on an attack between some underground gangs; and a missing girl." Of course, Izaya hardly ever did one job at a time.

"Missing girl?" Shizuo questioned the latter, because he'd rather not know about the other two jobs, it would only make him worry too much.

"I got the call yesterday. The parents of this girl haven't seen their daughter in two days, she has run away."

"If she's missing, isn't that kind of up to the cops?"

Izaya nodded but momentarily grinned. "Yes, but when they come to me instead of them, it shows they've got something more to hide. Something they'd rather not have the cops find out about."

Shizuo snorted. "You're hardly the definition of discretion."

Izaya smirked. "They don't know that." Izaya took the tea and drank half and then put it back. "I've already done some research, the girl is harmless, nothing mysterious about her, she's a normal child by all standards."

"How old is she?"

Izaya shrugged. "They didn't say." Izaya clicked on a folder and showed the screen to Shizuo. "They emailed me a picture though." Shizuo let out a sigh of sympathy. "I think she's probably around ten, the uniform she's wearing suggests she's in her second to last year of elementary school, here in Shinjuku."

"Why would she run away though?"

"There's plenty of reasons why a child might run away."

Shizuo raised an eyebrow. "The forefront of those reasons?"

Izaya hummed and typed missing girls within a fifteen-mile radius into the search bar. "No one has reported any missing girls that match her description."

Shizuo blinked in surprise. "You mean no one else has spotted her around?"

Izaya chuckled. "Those that don't want to be found, generally keep out of sight."

Shizuo frowned. "She's – ten."

"You'd be surprised how kids - even at that age - are clever enough to think up things like that."

"That still doesn't explain why she ran away."

"The parents are still married, that rules out divorce; they're wealthy, so she's not without luxuries, not that that would suggest she's spoilt. I checked out the school within their message board, it seems like she keeps to herself, she's only ever seen with one friend, the teachers seem pretty fond of her, so nothing suggests that she's being bullied at school."

Shizuo tensed, he got the feeling Izaya was ruling out all possibilities, until he verbalized the other most common cause for a child to run away. "Izaya." He gritted his teeth. "Are you thinking abuse?"

Izaya looked at him, normally he'd get annoyed at him for jumping to conclusions, but in this case, it didn't seem far from the truth. "I don't know yet."

Shizuo's fists clenched tighter, overcome with sudden anger. "What else do you know?"

"Now here's the coincidental part, the parents? They're not actually blood related."

"What does that mean? They're not her real parents?"

"Foster parents actually. I'm meeting with one of them in three hours, the father, I believe. I'll be able to get more information out of him, even if he doesn't talk much, his tone will be easier to pick up on in person, especially when he won't be able to hide his expressions."

Shizuo didn't know what to say, he had no idea that Izaya was this good. "You managed to find all this out and arrange a meeting with one of them, in just a day?"

Izaya grinned as he sipped the last of his tea. "Impressed?"

Shizuo nodded. "Can I come?"

"No, if he senses your anger, he'll realise that we're already suspicious. He'll be less likely to tell me anything."

"Izaya, I won't give anything away, I can control myself better now; I'll just stand there, I won't say anything."

Izaya leaned back and grinned a little, because he knew what Shizuo was trying to do. "I don't need a bodyguard Shizu-chan."

Shizuo shifted awkwardly. "That isn't what I was-"

"That's exactly what you were saying, you can't hide your protectiveness from me."

Shizuo sighed, he just wanted Izaya to be safe. "Do you think he's going to tell you anything?"

"Maybe, but not if you come along, and don't change the subject, besides, if what we believe is true, he's hardly going to take a swing at me in a public place."

Shizuo clenched his fists. "Maybe not, but maybe I can help anyway, better then sticking around the apartment all day."

Izaya sighed in defeat, he wasn't going to win this time. "Fine, come with me, but let me do my job, don't interrupt me and don't question my methods; I have a reputation to keep."

Shizuo rolled his eyes. "Yeh I know."

Izaya stood up, logging out of his computers. "Let's go now, there's a couple of places I want to check out first."

…...

Izaya and Shizuo walked toward the café across the road from them, it was their meeting point for the, 'parent' in question. "Why are we meeting one of them if you already knew things like their workplace, and the agency in which the girl was fostered. Not to mention their fricking, house."

"Ah Shizu-chan, there's so much I can teach you. I told you, I find out as much about the client as possible. If there's something I can exploit about them, then that's what I'll do."

Shizuo narrowed his eyes as they crossed the road. "It's not about the client, it's about the missing girl, the information you gather is supposed to be about the girl, not them."

Izaya sighed, they stood outside the café, Izaya with his hands in his pockets, Shizuo almost glaring down at him. "Shizu-chan, sometimes information on the client is necessary, no matter what I choose to do with it afterwards."

"I get that, but not if it's going to exploit them, that has nothing to do with what's been asked from you."

Izaya raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying they don't deserve it? Suppose it's true, suppose the girl ran away because she was being abused, physically or emotionally, or-"

"I get it!"

"Then are you really going to stand there and tell me you don't think they deserve it?"

Shizuo growled, in fact, if it was true, there was nothing Shizuo would like more then to beat the shit out of them. "Just so we're clear then, you don't exploit their information, if they've done nothing wrong."

Izaya rolled his eyes, his former actions were a thing of the past, he wasn't willing to break his promise. Losing Shizuo wasn't worth that, he was starting to wonder whether that was the reason Shizuo was coming along in the first place; to keep an eye on him. "Trust me for once." Izaya hadn't meant to say that out loud, but maybe Shizuo would get the hint.

"I do, I was just trying to understand the purpose of this meeting, I just don't see the point."

"Look, as far as they're concerned, their daughter is my priority, so it wouldn't make a difference what they tell me about themselves, right?"

Shizuo looked confused now. "Sure?"

Izaya almost sighed, he loved Shizuo, but sometimes - just sometimes, the blond found it hard to keep up with him. Izaya didn't blame him really, he knew that his logic sometimes did get twisted on occasion. "So whatever they tell me, I know the truth."

"Oh, so you think they're just gonna lie?"

"Maybe not about everything, but humans lie Shizu-chan, especially if they know someone is on to them."

"I think I get it now; I'll try not to give anything away." Shizuo looked guilty now. "I guess me being here isn't such the best idea after all."

Izaya shrugged and then grinned. "You never know, it might work the opposite way, with you being around it might opt him to tell the truth - to a degree at least, he's definitely not going to come right out and tell us about the girl."

"If that's true."

Izaya and Shizuo walked into the café, it wasn't busy, but Izaya would have preferred a less - out in the open location. Izaya walked toward the counter, Shizuo following him. He smiled at the waitress that was behind the counter, she turned to him and returned the smile. "Hi, what can I do for you today?"

"Tea and a thick shake please."

Shizuo rolled his eyes, it didn't really bother him all that much, when Izaya automatically turned on the charm as he conversed with people. It was mainly women this happened with anyway, so he knew he didn't have to worry. He spotted a man over to the right; he was on his own and noticed that he kept looking around.

"Slow business today?" Izaya asked as he handed over the money for their drinks.

"Always is around the middle of the week." The woman leaned on the counter. "Is that your best pickup line?"

Izaya chuckled. "Just making small talk. I apologise if it came across that way, I have been told on occasion I can be rather - charming?" Izaya scowled when he heard Shizuo snort behind him.

The woman looked at him for a second and then smiled. "No complaints from me, but I get the feeling I'm not your type, right?"

Izaya smiled. "You've a good observation there."

"It's always the handsome ones, the best ones are always gay."

Shizuo leaned back against the counter and grabbed his shake. "When you've quite finished, I think I found your guy." Izaya chuckled and then turned with his tea in his hand, Shizuo nodded over.

"Looks about right."

The woman leaned to them. "Are you talking about the guy on his own, second seat down?"

Izaya glanced back at her. "Been here long?"

"About twenty minutes. I was tempted to boot his ass out, it's kind of rude to sit in a café and not buy anything."

Shizuo frowned in annoyance. "Yeh, pisses me off too."

The woman looked over at him, noted his outfit and said, "I suppose you must get that a lot too, being a bartender and all."

Izaya cringed, he was worried Shizuo might start losing it soon, the blond found it the hardest to control his anger when his previous job was mentioned, or why he wore the uniform when it wasn't even his profession anymore. Izaya felt a stab of guilt in his chest momentarily, he was the cause of that. He shook it off, that was a long time ago now.

"Damn bunch of non-paying delinquents."

The woman nodded with a laugh. "A shame you're engaged, it's not my lucky day today is it? Two good looking guys come in and neither one is available."

Izaya raised his eyebrow at Shizuo, either the blond wasn't paying attention to what the woman was saying, or he'd gotten better at controlling his anger. He then turned back to the woman. "The guy is waiting for us to meet with him, but we were delayed. Perhaps I should purchase something on his behalf?"

She shook her head. "Needn't bother really, the fact that he seems pretty skittish already is amusing enough to let it slide."

Izaya grinned. "You know if I were straight, I'd have a feeling you would be my type." She winked at him. Izaya heard Shizuo growl beside him and then felt himself being dragged off by his sleeve, making sure he held onto his tea. "Well that was impressive."

Shizuo snorted. "Would you both like to be alone?"

Izaya laughed. "Hardly. I was actually talking about you."

"What about me?" Shizuo released his hold on Izaya's sleeve as they neared the table.

"Not a single sign of a temper when she mentioned your former job."

Shizuo smiled. "Yeh, sort of impressed myself there a little bit."

The two stood in front of the solo customer, the man looked up at them, Izaya nodded at him. "Mr Washiba?"

The man stood up, almost knocking his chair over. "Y-yes? Are you Orihara-san? We spoke on the phone?"

Izaya held his hand out for the guy to shake. "Of course." The guy took Izaya's hand with a small smile. Izaya could feel Shizuo's protective vibes behind him as he took the seat opposite the man, prompting him to sit back down.

"Have you found anything on the whereabouts of my daughter?"

Izaya smiled, though his thoughts were making it hard not to smirk. He sounds so nervous, a little too keen to ask the questions, sometimes, I'm just too good. "Not yet."

"Why did you want to meet with me then?"

"I thought that talking to you might help give me some idea of where to start looking."

"Oh okay."

Shizuo kept sending small glares the man's way; something about him just pissed him off, the man didn't even look worried about his daughter, he was more worried about the questions Izaya might ask.

"Are there any places you can think of that she might have run to?"

"Not right off hand, we're always so busy, we don't get much time to go places that she would have gotten attached to."

Shizuo turned to him, he really couldn't keep quiet anymore. "Maybe we should start with why she even ran away in the first place."

Izaya cringed, he wondered when Shizuo was going to say something. I really shouldn't have let him come with me.

The man's eyes widened, and he shrunk in his seat under Shizuo's glare. "I-I don't know, it's not like her, I'm worried...I just want her back."

Shizuo almost snorted. Sure you do.

Izaya nodded. "I spoke with her school and it doesn't seem like she's being bullied there, so that's something." Izaya looked for any kind of surprise in the man, but there wasn't any.

The man smiled. "Not surprising, she's a popular girl, got quite a few friends."

Shizuo blinked at that statement, now he knew what Izaya was talking about.

Izaya took a few sips of his tea and then looked directly into the man's eyes, trying his best not to smirk. "Oh."

"What is it?"

"It's just that when I spoke with the school, I got the impression she keeps to herself; she only hangs out with one friend actually."

The guy was doing a decent job of keeping himself together, he wasn't giving as much away as Izaya had hoped, he figured it may have been because of Shizuo's presence. "You saying I don't know my own daughter?"

Izaya raised an eyebrow and then smiled, closing his eyes for a second with a one-handed shrug. "You are the father, so I guess you do know her best, I'm just telling you what I thought, that's all." The man sat back a little, Izaya could have sworn there was a little relieved expression there. "Let's change the subject; you said you don't have much time for outings, so what is it that you do?"

He puffed his chest proudly. "I own my own business, founder and proprietor of a car company."

As if Izaya didn't already know that. "You sell cars, that's a motivated job, rather time consuming, looks like you're doing rather well for yourself."

"Yes, which is why I don't have as much time for my daughter as I'd like."

Shizuo growled, gripping the back of Izaya's chair. "What kind of father doesn't spend time with his kid!?"

Izaya grimaced. God damn it Shizu-chan.

The man jumped slightly at the sudden aggression coming from the blond. "I work hard! it's not easy, but she's got everything she needs."

"Except affection!"

"I love my daughter!"

Izaya turned to look at Shizuo, the blond glanced down at him, Izaya mouthed two words to him, 'stop it,' and Shizuo folded his arms in frustration, averting his gaze somewhere else. Izaya rolled his eyes at him and then turned back to the man. "Now this might be just an observation, but perhaps the lack of affection - however unintentional - might have been the cause?"

The man let out a breath. "Maybe...I just - I hadn't thought about it."

"What about your wife, does she own the business with you?"

"Yes, but she works from home, handles all the taxes and things."

Interesting. "So she sees your daughter more?"

The man seemed to relax again. "Sure. I guess that's why I'm unclear on certain details of my daughter's school life, I know you think I'm a lousy dad, but I work hard to provide for my family."

"I understand. Oh just out of curiosity, is there a reason why you didn't want to report any of this to the cops?"

Izaya could have sworn he saw the man tense. "I know it's a bit unorthodox, going to an informant for a missing child, but I just thought that if I started getting cops involved, it might scare her more if they approach her."

Izaya smiled and then stood up, effectively ending their meeting when he shook the man's hand again. It would be best to leave now, before Shizuo decided to throw the man through the shop window.

…...

Izaya and Shizuo stood outside the café, Shizuo lit a cigarette and took a drag, blowing out smoke before saying, "What now?"

Izaya sighed with annoyance. "I knew he wouldn't give hardly anything away that I could use."

Shizuo rolled his eyes, taking another drag. "You saying it's my fault?"

Izaya looked up at him. "It is your fault. If you weren't there, I'd have been able to get more out of him, he'd have slipped up."

Shizuo shoved him in the shoulder and Izaya almost stumbled. "Whatever, maybe you could try asking in a normal way for once."

Izaya shoved him back, though his efforts didn't faze the blond as much as he had. "Manipulation and twisting the situation is the only way to get through to humans. It allows them to fall into a sense of security before they even realise what they're saying."

Shizuo scrunched his nose up. "From what you told me, and from what he was saying, there were times that he did lie."

Izaya was impressed that Shizuo was paying attention, despite his anger. "Yes, no indication that he'd fostered the child and he was convinced that his daughter was popular at school."

Shizuo sighed and stumped his cigarette out on the floor. "What now?"

Izaya stepped forward. "It'd go a lot smoother if I go the rest of the way alone." Shizuo tried not to be offended, but he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Izaya gave him a small smirk. "It's just not in your nature Shizu-chan, you're not cut out for the deceitful life."

Shizuo snorted and then gave him a smirk of his own. "Getting too normal for you?"

Izaya brushed his hand over Shizuo's lightly and then replied, "I'll be home later."

It didn't bother Shizuo that Izaya refrained from showing affection in public, it was still a risky situation. Shizuo lightly grabbed the tips of Izaya's fingers, squeezed gently and said, "Be careful."

Izaya gave him a quick smile and then Shizuo let him go. "See you at home."

…...

Shizuo sighed as he trudged up the stairs, he'd been gallivanting around the city for at least six hours. He couldn't help it, he was searching for the missing girl, couldn't shake the feeling of worry, that some little kid was frightened and all alone. He was probably right, the, "parents" were not to be trusted, he got that vibe straight off when they met the man at the café. He frowned when he thought about Izaya, who the hell knew what the fuck he was doing to gather the information he needed. Shizuo didn't want to know, he knew what Izaya was capable of, the less he knew the better it was to remain in a healthy relationship with the man.

As he took the final steps to the first floor - wondering briefly why he never bothered with the elevator - he walked along the corridor and then stopped, frozen on his feet. What the hell? Shizuo took a tentative step forward, was that her? Was that the missing kid sitting outside their apartment? "Erm...hey, you okay there?" The girl looked up, Shizuo's deep voice startled her, she stared at him wide eyed before shuffling back slightly. "Hey, don't be scared...I'm not going to hurt you..." Shizuo walked further toward her and then knelt to her eye level.

Her voice was soft and light. "W-who are you?"

Shizuo raised an eyebrow. "My name's Shizuo. How come you're sitting in this corridor?"

The girl looked down, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I'm waiting."

Shizuo didn't think he was going to get any more than that. "You're a little young to be by yourself at a time like this, what are you waiting for?"

"He said to wait for him here, that I'd be safe here."

Shizuo sighed, he wished Izaya would give him a heads-up occasionally. "Who did?"

"Izaya...that was his name, he said that he'd be back soon."

Shizuo was trying not to get annoyed. "How long ago was this?"

"I don't know."

Shizuo cursed under his breath as he stood up, sometimes, his lover had no sense of time while he was working, surely even he knew you couldn't very well leave a child on her own for this long, even in the comforts of an apartment building. He pulled out his phone and began to search his contacts until he found the right one. He let it ring a few times and then growled when it went to voicemail. "Izaya! You better answer your damn phone! Would it kill you to give me a heads-up!? I know you know what this is about! Idiot, you better call me back..." Shizuo paused before he calmed and then said, "Hope you're okay at least... love you." As he hung up, Shizuo looked back down at the girl, she seemed to have shuffled away even more, curling up into herself.

He guessed his yelling must have scared her a bit, he sighed and knelt again. "Sorry about that... I didn't mean to frighten you. Why don't you come inside? Be safer inside then out here by yourself, right?" the girl didn't move, so Shizuo opted for calling her bluff instead. He stood up and pulled out his key from his pocket and then opened the door. "I suppose Izaya didn't tell you about me, but I live here too, he's my... partner." He didn't have much experience with kids, so he had no idea how much their small minds could process. "I'm gonna go inside now." Shizuo looked around the corridor to emphasise his point. "It's pretty lonely out here." Shizuo made his way into the apartment, purposely leaving the door open.

As he made his way toward the kitchen, he turned when he heard the door creak open wider and a small face appeared behind it. He gave her a warm smile and she shuffled into the apartment and closed the door slowly behind her, opting to sit down there. Shizuo sighed, well, at least she wasn't outside by herself anymore.

Izaya smiled to himself as he listened to the voicemail that had been left on his phone. Listening to the bickering voice of his lover yelling at him and then, "Wait for it," he said the moment Shizuo paused. Izaya chuckled when Shizuo spoke again, softly this time. The blond could yell all he wanted, but in the end, he always worried about him; Izaya found it amusing. He stepped onto the train as he slid his phone back in his pocket. "Another job complete."

Shizuo set down a mug carefully beside the girl, he didn't want to make any sudden movements that might scare her. "Hot chocolate," he told her. "Pretty sure all kids like it. Careful though... it's - well, it's hot...I guess." Damn he sucked with kids, he knew he didn't know a lot, but he thought he'd be better than this. The girl giggled a little. Shizuo smiled, at least he made her laugh. "I guess that was obvious right?" The small girl nodded, Shizuo then sat down in front of her with his own mug. "Wanna tell me your name now?"

She nodded again. "Yuri...Yuri Washiba."

Well, that confirmed what he'd already suspected, the missing girl was now in the apartment. He became irritated once more, exactly when was it that Izaya had found the girl? Shizuo had spent all day fucking searching for her. Didn't he have two minutes to just ring him up and tell him? Damn he was going to give him a piece of his mind when he got home. "Did you run away?" The girl tensed as she clutched the mug to her chest. "It's okay, you can trust me." She didn't reply though, Shizuo thought it might be best to leave her alone. "I'm sure Izaya will be back soon." He stood up with his mug and then walked over to the couch. He sighed as his body relaxed against the comforts of the pillows, some day off that was.

After an hour of watching pointless television, Shizuo turned it off and looked over at the girl, she had fallen asleep, curled up against the door. He stood up and walked over to her quietly, kneeling, he carefully scooped her up into his arms and took her into the spare guest room. He gently lowered her onto the soft futon, he then grabbed a blanket off the top of the closet, and just before he placed it over her, she shifted and turned on her side to get more comfortable. Shizuo smiled, he lowered the blanket over her, but he then caught a small glimpse of a purple bruise over her shoulder. He clenched his fists in anger and then left the room, leaving the door open so that the light in the corridor would keep the darkness away from the room.

As he made his way back into the living room, he picked the empty mug up from the floor and then gathered his own from the coffee-table. After all, Izaya was a neat person, and he doubted the man would appreciate empty cups strewn about the apartment. He put the cups in the sink and then heard the front door click open. Speak of the devil. Izaya made his way into the kitchen, placing a brown paper bag on the countertop. Shizuo could smell the food coming from the bag, but he didn't acknowledge the one who had brought it in, instead he left the kitchen, switching the light off on purpose.

Izaya rolled his eyes, leaving the food in favour of following his sulking lover to their bedroom. He leaned on the doorframe, watching with half glinting excitement as Shizuo undressed before him. It was obvious that nothing was going to happen between them tonight, so Izaya opted to get all he could. After Shizuo changed into some comfortable grey joggers and a white t-shirt - a true sign that nothing was gonna happen - Izaya made his way into the room and began to change into his own night wear. "Why do I deserve the silent treatment?" he grabbed a dark grey long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black loose pants and chucked them on the bed. He took his jacket off and hung it on the back of the door and then went ahead to remove his shirt.

Shizuo remained quiet as he stepped into the bathroom, Izaya winced when he heard the door half slam. Izaya removed his pants and slid into the comfortable bottoms, slinging his clothes into the basket in the corner. Shizuo came back out into the bedroom, Izaya looked over at him and then said, "Silence is golden." Izaya tilted his head, wondering how long Shizuo was going to remain this way. But then -

"Just as well."

Izaya rolled his eyes, he couldn't stand the silent treatment, Shizuo knew that. Izaya hated silence, it unnerved him, he sighed, unable to take it anymore. "What have I done?"

Shizuo then gritted his teeth. "What have you done? You're fucking kidding, right?"

Izaya almost flinched at his tone, but he smiled and said, "It could be a number of things, so you're going to have to help me out here."

Shizuo finally looked up at him, clenching his fists as he stood up; out of instinct Izaya stepped back and Shizuo growled and stopped. "For fuck sake Izaya, give me a break, we've been together over a year, do you really think I'd hit you?"

Izaya huffed. "When someone clenches their fists at you, you automatically think they're going to hit you. Also, it's just under a year, and old habits die hard, so give me a break." Izaya backed up against the wall when Shizuo stalked toward him, evidently unclenching his fists and laying his palm flat out on the wall beside Izaya's head instead. Shizuo sighed when Izaya flinched.

"Jesus Christ, stop being so defensive."

Izaya gave him a pout. "Shut up."

Shizuo decided to finally give in. "Enlighten me, what are the number of things you could have done that has me so pissed at you."

Izaya grinned, his attitude changing instantly. He held up one finger and began to explain. "One; I found the girl and never informed you, I'm sure you took the time to look for the girl all day. Two; I've been gone quite a long time without so much as a phone call. Three; you were mad that I didn't bother to answer your call nor return it. So, there are those to think about; by the way, your voicemails are predictable Shizu-chan." Shizuo stared at him, curling his fingers in frustration and Izaya chuckled. "I'm fine by the way."

Shizuo blushed with the embarrassment of being discovered. "I wasn't worried..."

Izaya shrugged. "If you say so."

Shizuo then leaned his forehead against Izaya's shoulder. "I'm still mad at you."

Izaya shook his head, Shizuo was just adorable. "I didn't call because I was busy, I left the girl here because I knew you'd be back - it was better that you didn't know the girl was found until I was finished."

"I just like to know you're okay, if you're going to be gone all day..."

Izaya lay a hand on the back of Shizuo's neck, coaxing the blond into a somewhat forced kiss. "I'll try, next time."

Shizuo chuckled and their lips clashed. "Sorry, I don't mean to be a worried idiot."

Izaya smiled. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

Shizuo grinned. "I need some more reassurance." The two kissed again, Shizuo's hands coming to rest on Izaya's waist.

Izaya then mumbled, "Hungry..."

"Mmm..." Shizuo then pressed his lips against Izaya's neck.

Izaya chuckled and pushed against Shizuo's chest. "No, I mean I'm hungry, I haven't eaten all day."

It was then Shizuo remembered the food that Izaya had brought home. "Oh right, the food. It did smell good."

"I thought Japanese curry was a pleasant change."

Shizuo snorted. "Or it was your way of bribing me to forgive you." Izaya shrugged and made his way into the kitchen, Shizuo followed him. He sat at the table while Izaya set out the plates and began to reheat the food. "Are you not going to ask how the girl is?"

Izaya grinned to himself. "I imagine you felt pretty awkward, you did your best to converse with her, probably made her some hot chocolate out of the assumption that that's what kids like, now she's probably asleep in the guest room."

Shizuo stared at him in shock, it was oddly exact. "Were you in the fucking apartment?"

Izaya laughed as he set two plates on the table and sat down opposite him. "No, it's not that hard to figure out, I know you well, and judging by your shocked face, that's exactly what happened."

Shizuo shook his head. "That was scarily accurate."

Izaya laughed again. "All right; I gave Yuri a spare phone, to call if something happened while she waited for one of us to come home."

"Tsk, figures, no one is, that good."

Izaya grinned. "I come pretty close though."

"She trusts you."

Izaya blinked at the blunt statement. "That's a bad thing?"

Shizuo chuckled. "Depends."

Izaya huffed. "Well thanks."

Izaya and Shizuo ate their meal, their disagreement forgotten about, they then cleared the table and sat in the living room. Izaya laid across the couch, his head on Shizuo's lap as the blond threaded his hand through his hair. "I saw a bruise."

Izaya hummed in response, not really paying attention since he was almost asleep. Shizuo looked down when he got no more reply then that.

"Oi."

Izaya looked up then. "What?"

"Were you even listening to me?"

Izaya smiled. "Nope."

Shizuo rolled his eyes. "I said I saw a bruise."

Izaya then got comfortable again, brushing off his statement. "I don't have any bruises, nothing happened today."

Shizuo sighed in irritation, "Not you, you idiot!" Izaya pouted at the offending title which caused Shizuo to chuckle. "I was talking about the girl."

"Oh."

"Oh? That's your reaction?"

Izaya shrugged. "Looks like I was right after all."

"I didn't not disagree with you, and this isn't a time to gloat you know."

Izaya smiled then. "I wasn't gloating."

Shizuo sighed and continued to comb through the raven's hair. "How did you find the girl anyway?"

Izaya hesitated to sit up, he had been so comfortable, but it seemed like Shizuo wanted to have a proper conversation. "I followed a trail of information."

Shizuo looked at him. "From what exactly?"

Izaya chewed his lip for a moment, then he smiled innocently. "The house."

Shizuo looked at him with confusion and then what Izaya said registered with him. "You went to the house?"

"I didn't break in or anything, the, 'mother' was there."

Shizuo hunched his shoulders, he hadn't meant to sound accusing. "That's not what I said."

"It's what you meant."

Shizuo sighed, they were bickering again, and he really didn't want to. "Sorry, I guess I'm tired. So, what, did you just up and ask her in a confrontation?"

Izaya chuckled. "Not exactly, I just asked her a bunch of subliminal questions."

Shizuo raised an eyebrow. "How can you ask someone a subliminal question?"

Izaya almost laughed at Shizuo's confusion. "Kind of like trick questions I suppose; questions that Mr Washiba didn't answer."

"You mean, didn't answer how you wanted him to?"

Izaya shrugged. "Anyway, I got a good bit of information from her computer while she was distracted making tea."

Shizuo frowned. "You hacked into her computer?"

"It was already on, I couldn't resist."

"Are you trying to get yourself into trouble?"

Izaya grinned. "Turns out that they're company isn't so innocent either, they're dealing cars illegally and avoiding taxes."

Shizuo growled angrily. "Damn crooks."

"We already suspected they were abusers, somehow I doubted their company was on the level either."

"So I guess she didn't exactly tell you that - about the abuse I mean."

"Not a chance, but every time I brought up the girl, she tried to switch the conversation. She slipped up a couple of times, referring to Yuri as though she wasn't hers."

Shizuo narrowed his eyes. "Which she's not."

"I found out who her real parents are - or rather – were."

"Were?" Shizuo felt a chill run up his spine, this was getting serious. "What does that mean?" Izaya grabbed his phone from the table and scrolled through his information until he found what he was looking for. He then showed it to Shizuo; the blond scanned over the story, feeling anger boiling to the surface with every paragraph he read. "You can't be serious! So they sold the parents a dodgy car, which caused their fatal crash while the girl was at school, she was immediately placed into a foster centre, to then have the same people that caused the crash, to conveniently become her foster family?"

Izaya nodded. "Maybe they thought she'd find out about it, or something."

"How would they end up with her?"

"That I couldn't figure out, though most likely they gave them a bunch of sob stories that they were good friends with the parents..."

Shizuo clenched his fists. "Damn it, I want to fucking beat the shit out of them for what they did."

Izaya stood up and placed a hand on Shizuo's shoulder. "Let's go to bed, we've both got to be up early." Izaya smiled. "I can't stand a cranky Shizuo at the best of times, let alone a tired one."

Shizuo snorted. "Real funny."

…...

Shizuo placed a bowl of chocolate cereal curls in front of the girl and a glass of orange juice at the side. She stared at it with hopeful intent and then looked at him expectantly. Shizuo smiled and nodded. "It's okay, it's for you, eat up." Izaya then appeared in the kitchen, wearing his usual black attire, he placed his hand on the girl's head gently and then made his way to the steaming pot on the counter. "Fresh tea." Shizuo watched him for a moment, it was strange, the raven was never the last one in the kitchen in the morning. Shizuo frowned, something wasn't right, the informant looked paler than normal. "You look like shit."

Izaya snorted. "Morning to you too, Shizu-chan." Shizuo watched him take a bowl from the cabinet and pour himself some cereal, he was moving so sluggishly.

"Are you sick or something?"

Izaya rolled his eyes. "As if, what made you even say that?"

"I just told you, you look like shit, you're pale, and that-" Shizuo pointed to the carton that Izaya was pouring into the bowl. "Is orange juice."

Izaya looked at the carton and clicked his tongue. "Shit." He dismissed the bowl; he wasn't all that hungry anyway. He sat at the table with his tea, warming himself. "I've got a headache is all, it'll pass."

Shizuo sighed at Izaya's lack of consideration for himself, when had he become that guy. And he thought he himself was stubborn. Shizuo retrieved a white box from the cupboard and Izaya flinched as the box was half slammed onto the table in front of him. "It may even be rare that you get sick, but this might just be one of those times."

Izaya shoved the medication away. "Just because that might be the case, don't automatically shove drugs in my face."

Shizuo gritted his teeth, getting annoyed. "Don't be dramatic Izaya, they're just ordinary painkillers, for your headache. In fact-" Shizuo took two out of the packet. "Give me two, because you're giving me one."

Izaya opted to distract himself from his annoying lover and his aching head, he turned to smile at the girl. "Feeling okay today?" Yuri nodded shyly. He then grabbed his phone from his pocket and started to make a phone call.

Shizuo looked over at him, Izaya really didn't look good, maybe he'd been out too long yesterday? The weather was quite cold after all. He was about to say something until Izaya spoke into the phone. "I've found her, she's safe." Shizuo stood dumbfounded, what did that mean? "Meet us at the Shinjuku park in-" Izaya then looked at the clock on the wall. "One hour. No need to thank me." Izaya then hung up and stared over at Shizuo who was giving him a glare. "What?"

"Are you seriously going to give her back to them?"

"That is what they asked me to do, find the girl and bring her home safely."

Shizuo looked over at the girl, she was terrified, he then turned back to Izaya. "This is a fucking joke, right?"

Izaya ignored him and smiled kindly over at Yuri. "Ready to go?" She nodded and Izaya stood up first, only to lean against the table as he did so, his palms flat out on the surface.

Shizuo stepped forward. "What's the matter?"

Izaya shook off the dizziness he felt, maybe he did feel ill, but he'd be damned if he admitted that to Shizuo now, not after his little bravado speech. "I'm good, just a headrush." He then turned his attention back to Yuri, even she looked at him with concern. Do I really look that bad? "Come on, let's get you home, okay?"

"Izaya! You can't-" Shizuo growled and then followed them. "I'm coming with you."

Izaya looked at him as they reached the door. "What about work?"

"I already spoke to Tom last night when I found the girl outside our doorstep. He got me the day off, so I'm coming with you, I don't know what the hell you're planning here, because giving Yuri back to those assholes is low. Regardless, I'm coming anyway to make sure you don't fall flat on your face."

Izaya rolled his eyes, wincing a little as that did his headache no favours. "Whatever."

"You can whatever me all you want; you look like crap; you shouldn't even be going out right now."

"Sorry mother."

…...

Yuri was holding Shizuo's hand as the three crossed the street toward the park. Shizuo could see the man from the café, stood beside a set of swings with a tall woman, brunette and average build. Yuri looked up at Izaya, her eyes wide, but he nodded at her and knelt with a smile. "It's okay, off you go now."

Shizuo clenched his other fist, this was ridiculous, Izaya better have something else planned, otherwise - sick or not - he was going to knock him into next week. Yuri let go of Shizuo's hand and happily ran up to her 'parents.' Shizuo became confused at the warming sight, like they really were giving a lost child back to worrying parents. This whole thing was screwy.

The woman spoke first. "Oh my darling! I was so worried about you." Shizuo watched her wipe away tears, well damn - she was a good actress. The woman kissed the top of the girl's forehead.

Then the man spoke. "Your mother and I were so worried; we didn't think we'd ever see you again." Then he hugged the girl affectionately.

She gave her a kind smile. "Why don't we go get some ice cream?"

Yuri nodded. "Okay!"

The man walked toward the two as Izaya stood up. "Thank you so much, you really did find her safe." Shizuo watched Mr Washiba give Izaya an envelope, no doubt the payment for a job completed.

Izaya took the money and placed it inside his jacket. "No need to thank me, happy to help." They then watched the happy normal family walk away, each of them holding the girl's hand.

Shizuo stepped beside him, glaring at them. "You better start explaining Izaya, because I'm going to fucking lose it."

Izaya nodded. "We're going to follow them."

The smiles of the man and woman faltered as soon as they turned the corner into a small parking lot. The woman let go of the girl's hand and pulled out the keys to the car.

The dad's hand tightened harshly on the girl's small one, she cringed and tried to at once pull away. "Don't squirm brat! Do you have any idea what the hell you put us through!?" the man threw the girl on the ground and she yelped as her knees skinned on the pavement. "Ungrateful little shit."

The woman handed her husband the car keys and then she dragged the girl toward the car, opened the door and roughly shoved the her inside. "We took you in when no one else would have. Honestly, kids these days are so disrespectful." The door slammed shut and the girl cried out, slamming her hands on the window. The woman got into the passenger's seat as the dad started the car, he twisted to shout at the girl.

"Shut up!"

Just then, the woman's eyes widened. "Kazuma look!"

The man turned back to the front and he blanched. "Huh?" they stared in fear as Shizuo stood over them, kneeling on the front hood of the car. "What the fuck!?" Shizuo growled and smashed his hand through the windshield to grab the man by the throat. He pulled him out, grinning as the man yelled in pain when the glass shattered. Shizuo threw him to the ground, fists clenching as he kicked the man in the face.

"Bastard! you dare lay a finger on a kid!?" Another kick.

The woman screamed as she scooted over to the driver's side, and just as she was about to restart the car, a hand closed over hers. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." She turned to see Izaya grinning at her.

"You - I thought-"

Izaya tilted his head. "That I could be trusted; that I wouldn't rat on you just because I'm an informant? Too bad for you."

"You cocky little - you better let go of me!"

Izaya's grin darkened, his pale face probably made it much more effective. Just then, two cop cars showed up, and Izaya let her hand go. "You're their problem now. Have fun."

She seethed at him. "I thought you didn't work with cops."

"I don't, not really. I didn't want to disappoint my partner though; he doesn't take kindly to domestic abuse. That's right, I figured you out the minute you called me for information, revenge really is a dish best served cold." Izaya stepped back from the car as two cops approached, one of them being Satoshi.

"Are you sure you're not opting to join my squad, Orihara?"

Izaya chuckled. "I prefer my way, but thanks."

"Well, damn, that house had some rather interesting evidence to say the least." Satoshi tapped on the car. "Step out of the car now, Mrs Washiba, don't make me force you."

The woman got out of the car and Izaya stepped back when she almost slapped him. Satoshi grabbed her by the arms and hauled her away into a car, all the while she was shouting obscenities at him. Izaya grinned as he waved. "Pleasure doing business with you!" He then opened the door to the back seats, he held out a hand to the frightened girl. "It's over now, okay?" she took his hand and he helped her out of the car.

Shizuo glared as the other cops dragged a battered Kazuma away from him. He then turned toward Izaya and Yuri, he smiled as she ran over and hugged him. "Hey, you didn't think we'd let them take you away, did you?" Shizuo then glared at Izaya. "Although a forewarning would have been nice."

Izaya shrugged and then said, "It was her idea."

"Her idea? You're blaming a child?"

Yuri looked up at him, tugging at his shirt. "It's true Shizu-chan," Shizuo glared at Izaya again. Shizu-chan? The man was such a bad influence on kids.

The two watched as the cop cars dispersed from the scene. "What happens now?"

"I've called in a favour. Akane is going to live with the Awakusu family."

Shizuo blinked in confusion. "Akane?"

The girl nodded. "That's my real name. The Washiba's made me change it, they didn't like it."

Shizuo then whispered under his breath, "Probably didn't want to be reminded of what they'd done." Suddenly, the other thing Izaya had just said caught up with him. "Wait a minute, did you just say the Awakusu? Are you out of your mind!?"

Izaya smiled. "I know what you're thinking, but it's the only place I know she'll be safe. Shinra and Celty are too busy, Dotachin and his gang are not parent material either, they're influence isn't natural," Shizuo opened his mouth to say something but Izaya stopped him, knowing what he was about to suggest. "That includes us, we are not fit for parenting, our lives are too dangerous."

"But the Awakusu are-"

Izaya gave him a stern glare. "A nice – normal - family. Shiki and his little lambs are long gone, so it'll be okay. Besides, when I spoke to Mikiya, he said that him and his wife have been trying for a child for quite some time."

Shizuo didn't look convinced. "But-"

"Shizu-chan, I'm well acquainted with the Awakusu, I know what they are; but I also know she'll be well cared for."

Akane smiled and hugged Shizuo around the waist. "It's okay, Izaya told me Mr Awakusu's wife is really nice and kind, this way, I can still see you sometimes."

Shizuo looked down and ruffled her hair. "Yeh, you bet."

…...

The two made their way back toward their apartment after making sure Akane was settled with her new family, she seemed rather happy. Shizuo noticed Izaya wasn't very talkative, he looked over at him, the man had gone deathly white in the last few hours since they'd rescued Akane. "You okay Izaya?"

Izaya smiled at him, but it didn't have the right effect. "I'm fine..."

Shizuo frowned at him. "You don't look fine."

Izaya shook his head. "Just a little tired...that's all."

"Bullshit." Shizuo stopped in front of him and placed the back of his hand on Izaya's forehead.

Izaya gave him a small grin. "What's the verdict?"

Shizuo pulled his hand away. "Shit, you're fucking hot."

Izaya chuckled. "Thank you."

"Seriously Izaya, your skin is burning."

Izaya suddenly shivered. "But I feel cold."

Shizuo clicked his tongue. "That's because you're sick."

Izaya opened his mouth. "I don't-"

"Yeh you don't get sick, whatever, but face it, you – are – sick."

Izaya pouted, folding his arms in a huff. "Not sick."

Shizuo rolled his eyes and they continued to walk. A few minutes later, Shizuo felt a tug on his arm, he looked back at Izaya who was stumbling forward. "What now, we're almost home."

Izaya didn't look at him, because he was ashamed, but okay, he did feel like shit. "Shizu-chan...I don't feel good." Izaya swayed on his feet when he tried to step back, and Shizuo caught him before he could collapse.

"God fucking damn it, you are such a stubborn asshole." Shizuo knelt and lifted Izaya up onto his back. Izaya's half-conscious awareness allowed his arms to cling lightly to Shizuo's neck.

Izaya lay his head between Shizuo's shoulders. "Sorry..."

Shizuo sighed. "Hate to say I told you so."

Izaya smiled briefly. "But you're going to say it anyway..."

"Yes, I am, I told you so."

…

Izaya had either fallen asleep or he'd passed out, Shizuo wasn't quite sure which. He lowered the informant onto the bed, Izaya let out a small whimper as his head lulled to the side. Shizuo then retrieved a cold damp cloth from the bathroom and placed it over Izaya's head. Izaya stirred and sighed contently, "Mmmm...feels good."

"I bet it does." Shizuo dabbed it over Izaya's skin. "You're not gonna hurl, are you?"

Izaya let out a weak chuckle. "No, it's probably just a twenty-four-hour thing..."

Shizuo nodded. "Probably, but I'm here though."

Izaya smiled briefly. "I know..."

After a couple of hours of Shizuo trying to bring Izaya's fever down, he settled into the covers beside him. He had to admit, he was worried there for a moment, he hadn't seen Izaya like that before, injured was one thing, but sick? It damn near scared the crap out of him. Shizuo knew he was being paranoid, people got sick all the time, bugs and viruses. But seeing him like that, he didn't like it. Izaya curled himself against his lover once Shizuo was inside the covers. Shizuo grunted when Izaya's hands touched his body. "You're cold." honestly, Izaya's skin was like ice, now that his fever had broken.

"Mmm... and you're warm." Shizuo kissed Izaya's head and the raven shivered a little, Shizuo pulled him closer and then wrapped his whole arms around his small frame, then heard Izaya sigh in content. Sometimes, like right now, he wondered just who the hell his lover was, he'd be his usual annoying self; hyperactive and arrogant during the day. Then when they were alone, he'd let down his guard and be this small vulnerable – kitten – one that Shizuo strongly needed to protect from the world, that he wanted to keep safe and shield from all the harm that might threaten to befall on him.

Shizuo tightened his embrace. "As long as I'm around... you're safe."

47