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

10. The power of love

"Are you sure this is what you want, Izaya?" Satoshi asked him as they sat on his couch. Izaya had gone to see him a few days after they'd left the hospital.

"Ne, he's still a coward, but he's still somewhat of use, at least, to you anyway. Though, perhaps one day, I might find a purpose for him after all."

"But he blew up your apartment Izaya. Not to mention those people's deaths."

"That is a problem isn't it? But that man would do anything to keep himself safe and out of jail. I should know, I was like that." Izaya smirked a little.

"I can't just release him. There're too many witness statements. Gok for example, testified, he's now got life." Izaya raised an eyebrow, Satoshi almost shrugged. "He was in for murder, as well as attempted murder of course. He was at death row."

"Good for him. Nakura's case is different though no?"

Satoshi leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "It's difficult to say to be honest. I know you've known him a long time and you've put some good evidence forward on your part, I know you said that it's possibly your fault that he did what he did. That maybe he wasn't thinking about the rest of the people in the building, just purely focusing on you - or rather - those associated with you. Nevertheless, he did do it."

"So is it wise to put him in the same prison as Gok? Since the two seemed to be rather acquainted?"

"No, but if I place him in another station, it puts me off the case and who knows what might happen then." Izaya smirked and Satoshi huffed a laugh. "You sneaky bastard."

"Thank you."

Satoshi shook his head. "Damn Izaya, one day, I will get you to work for me."

Izaya chuckled. "If you say so."

Satoshi sighed. "All right, you win, he'll serve his sentence, in Harajuku mental clinic."

Izaya nodded, the smirk never leaving his face. "That way, you can tag him and use him if and when needed, he won't be able to protest at all."

"True. Though there are limits, at least, to my conscience."

"Like I said, perhaps one day I might find a use for him."

Satoshi shook his head. "Wasn't that what caused this whole mess in the first place?"

Izaya sighed. "I was just joking. Besides, Shizu-chan wouldn't let me anywhere near him anyway, even if I wanted to."

"At least that's something, I guess. Try to stay out of trouble from now on, at least, try not to piss people off too much. You know, you both gave us a scare."

Izaya laughed. "My messing with people days are over, toward innocent's anyway."

Satoshi rolled his eyes, the two stood up, Izaya making his way to the door. "Take care of yourself, Izaya."

Izaya waved his hand nonchalantly. "I'm sure we'll need one another soon enough, don't miss me too much though." He then walked out of the door.

Satoshi shook his head. "Cocky bastard."

Izaya tilted his head as he listened to his sister on the phone, Mairu, he had a sneaking suspicion that she had done something he wasn't going to like. The way she was stalling - she always did that when she was hiding something. He'd had her on the phone for a good twenty minutes now, there was only so much small talk he could muster with her. "Mairu. Spill it. I'm in the middle of a job-" he wasn't, well - he was, but it wasn't as important as he had let on.

{Whatever! You're always in the middle of a job when I call.}

Izaya rolled his eyes. "Just because I'm self-employed, you don't get to call whenever and expect me to-"

{Mum-and-dad-invited-us-to-the-new-years-family-gathering-and-I-told-them-you-would-come-with-us.} Izaya blinked, she said it so fast, with absolutely no gaps that he couldn't even break any of it down. He managed to get mum and dad and then he was lost in her flurry of words.

"Not even I'm that good at keeping up with what you just said, and I practically raised you."

Mairu huffed. {Yeah yeah, outstanding job dear brother. Anyway – mum-and-dad-}

"Mairu! I will hang up on you."

{Okay!} she sighed. {Just don't be mad.}

"You know when you say that I'm already halfway there." Mairu made a noise, indicating she had stuck her tongue out. Izaya pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mairu..."

{Sorry, okay, I spoke to mom and dad earlier today.}

Izaya looked up then, he was surprised. "And?"

{That's your reaction? Just - and?}

"We didn't have the best encounter the last time I saw them."

{When did you see them?}

"It was almost two years ago; four months after me and Shizu-chan got together."

{I bet they've probably forgotten by now.}

Izaya clicked his tongue. I hardly think so. He then smirked. "I don't think they'll ever forget what I did."

Mairu huffed. {What did you do?}

Izaya chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about it. What did they want? I'm sure your encounter was more of a pleasant one then ours."

{I suppose so - wait, what do you mean ours?}

Izaya grimaced. "Shizu-chan happened to be there when mother came to my apartment.}

{Oh, can't imagine that was fun for him.}

"Not so much. She thought he was my butler and when I dared to introduce him as to who he was to me, it was exactly the reaction I predicted."

{Which was?}

Izaya hesitated, he didn't want to upset her, because he knew about her sexuality. He warned her to never tell their mother, having only a hunch back then, but now that he knew for sure - he was happy for them that their parents hadn't disowned them, he wanted it to stay that way. "She wasn't accepting."

{Oh...} Izaya could tell that Mairu was disappointed, but he couldn't lie to her.

"Sorry Mairu, I did warn you, even when we were younger."

{It's not that, well, not really...}

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like what's next?"

{They started talking about New Year's, you know, how they always insisted on a family gathering every five years.}

Izaya pulled a sour face, he hated those gatherings, he didn't know why he even went, the last one that he had liked was when he was only fifteen. His grandfather was the only one he had gotten attached to, it was also the last gathering his grandfather attended, having died just after Izaya had graduated. Most of his family hated him, at least, he was sure they did, he'd had enough scornful glares when he showed up at the last one.

Izaya was twenty by then, he had been an informant for two years and his personality had gone through a tremendous change. He knew that his parents had already made their feelings toward him clear, but he had noticed it in some of their other family members too. His grandfather wasn't there to ward them off, and of course, he hadn't been close to his sisters back then either, not like he was now. "I knew I wasn't going to like it."

{They insisted we go...um, I kinda told them already you'd be coming.}

Izaya almost head-butted the table as he lowered his head in agitation. "Mairu..."

{You have to come! You always used to before! And you're different again now!}

"That's not going to matter to them, I know what they think and-" Izaya paled, a sudden thought crossing his mind. "Mairu, did you tell them I would be going, or did you say, we." Izaya didn't need to explain what he meant by that, and by the silence he received, he knew he was right. "As much as I might enjoy seeing our family become little dots as they're thrown into the sky, Shizu-chan is incredibly protective - you know this."

"I know but - but if he goes, then you won't be so - maybe they won't want to-"

"Ridicule me?"

"Yes! and - and if you don't go, it'll just be me and Kururi. We're not kids anymore, what if they think we're not good enough either?"

She had a point didn't she. If he didn't go this time, that left the girls on their own to fend for themselves, against half of their homophobic family. Though he could only vouch for his mother in that regard, but he wouldn't put it past the rest of them. His dad was more open toward his orientation then she had been. It wasn't all that surprising really, since his grandfather was on his dad's side anyway, he never got to meet his mother's dad - having left before he was even born - and he honestly didn't care. "All right, since you've already told them, I'll go."

"Great!" Izaya couldn't help but wonder whether he'd just been guilt tripped. "Are we seeing you on Christmas?"

"I'll let you know."

"Okay! Love ya!" Mairu then hung up, Izaya shook his head with a sigh, leaning his face against his palm.

"Maybe I can bribe him..." Izaya had no idea how the hell he was going to get Shizuo to go with him, he knew how the man felt about his parents, he wasn't quite sure how he'd take to the rest of them. The whole, 'I'll let you be on top' was pointless, since he almost always was anyway. He shook his head, now that he thought about it, bribing Shizuo with anything to do with sex probably wouldn't work on him, Shizuo wasn't like that, the man was old fashioned. He then remembered something, something Shizuo had said when they had spent the earlier Christmas together, their first one.

"Let's talk about the 25th instead."

"Okay?"

"What do you want to do? Is there anything specific that you like to do? Do you have any traditions?"

"Not really, I sometimes visit my folks, but not in the last two years."

Izaya tilted his head and then said, "Maybe we can do that next year."

Shizuo blinked at him, seriously? "That's – well, really? You would go with me?"

Izaya shrugged. "Isn't Christmas supposed to be about family? I personally don't care, but I know that you do."

"Tsk. I've met your family, so I can't say I blame you."

Izaya smiled, now that was a bribe.

Shizuo walked down the street, heading back to their new home, the sun was setting but he was glad to have finished early today. He took out a cigarette and lit it, shoving the lighter back in his pocket. He took a long drag and breathed out the smoke, along with the chilly air that had begun to form. "Damn, how do I get him to agree?" Shizuo had just received a phone call from his brother, telling him he wanted to see him at Christmas and that they should visit their folks this year.

"Shit." Shizuo wasn't sure what Izaya would think, he had said last Christmas that they could see them this year. He wondered if he'd still want to, after everything that had happened - he wondered if he even remembered. "Hmmm, how to bribe Izaya..." Shizuo then smirked. "Yeh, that'll probably work, I'm pretty sure he won't say no."

Izaya looked up from his laptop as Shizuo came through the door, he smiled and waved at him. Shizuo closed the door and Izaya got up from his chair and followed him over to the couch. Shizuo collapsed into the soft cushions.

Their new home was different in comparison to Izaya's old one. It still had a spacious exterior, the windows spaced into four separate ones along the back wall so there was more lighting. Izaya's new desk was longer and separated from Namie's this time. It remained by the windows toward the back, it was just simply how he liked it. He was a little annoyed about his book collection, some of those you just couldn't get again, having collected them over time. The carpet was a light shade of grey and the walls on the darker side of beige.

As it was, the apartment they'd both chosen felt a lot more like a home, their home and it finally felt as if they were together. Shizuo liked Izaya's old apartment, one that had become his own, but this new one, it was theirs, they'd chosen it for both. There were two bedrooms which were on the upper level, this apartment had two floors. Their bedroom was much bigger, the carpet was light blue, and the walls were white, with an attached en-suite of course.

Izaya wasn't a huge fan of the colours, but he'd chosen the space and most of the furniture, so he let Shizuo happily pick the décor design. At least the seating areas were black. Their kitchen had white and black tiled floor and marbled black walls; island fitted counters and matching cupboards above took up half of the kitchen. A long silver fridge stood at one end and a six-hob stove on the opposite side. The table was glass based and long with six chairs, three on each side, standing on black tinted legs.

At first, Shizuo felt uncomfortable around all the expensive looking furniture, it wasn't really his style. Izaya simply pointed out that he never cared as much on what furniture he had, if it did its job and looked nice. He was excited to give a damn and they spent a lot of time picking out the right sets. Shizuo wondered, that maybe Izaya was hinting that they'd buy a house one day, with all the nice-looking stuff, it wouldn't surprise him. He didn't dare tell him that though, he couldn't imagine that step just yet, because buying a house - said more than either one was ready for. Besides, their apartment was still Izaya's primary office; Shizuo didn't mind, he trusted the raven's judgment.

He felt bad that Izaya had been the one to pay for most of the furniture, and the apartment, however, Izaya also told him that he'd received a large lump sum of money due to insurance from the fire. He imagined that some of the people from the building received the same benefits, though he knew some of their families had inherited their money, due to life insurance. The other major change in their lives, was that this apartment, was in Ikebukuro.

Shizuo looked over as Izaya came to sit beside him, he wrapped an arm around Izaya's shoulders, and the informant snuggled against him. Shizuo raised an eyebrow as Izaya subconsciously undid his bowtie. "Hey," Izaya said with a slight grin on his face as he looked up at him, now Shizuo was suspicious.

"What do you want?" Izaya chuckled, busted already, Shizuo grunted as Izaya jumped and straddled his lap. Izaya leaned forward and captured his lips slowly and then his hands roamed to undo his shirt. Shizuo merely watched him, almost mesmerised by him. His shirt opened and Izaya ran his hands down his slightly chiselled abdomen, he then began to unbuckle his pants, Shizuo's eyes widen a little and he grabbed both of his lovers' hands. "Okay, I think I get the message."

Izaya looked up at him, eyes full of innocence, but Shizuo knew better. "No fun today?"

Shizuo rolled his eyes. "First of all, I need to shower, second, this is a new couch and third-" Shizuo almost moaned as Izaya grinded against him. "Shit. Stop it, that's not fair."

Izaya chuckled. "And third?" he leaned forward and licked across the blond's nipples.

Shizuo clenched his eyes shut, Izaya was so damn distracting, he grunted and pushed against his shoulders. "Cut it out. I want to talk to you about something."

Izaya grinned, he then noticed Shizuo glaring at him, though he almost burst with laughter at how hard his lover was trying to keep himself composed, especially with the growing discomfort Izaya felt from him underneath. "Okay, I'll stop." Izaya was still grinning as he remained where he was and sat back slightly, hands finding Shizuo's and linking them together. "What do you want to talk about?"

Shizuo let out the breath he was holding. "All right, now that I have your actual attention." Izaya bit his lip, trying to hold in his laughter, Shizuo growled. "Stop laughing!"

Izaya laughed loud then. "I'm sorry, I can't take you seriously at the moment..."

Shizuo snorted and then shoved Izaya to the side. "Fine. I'll shower first, then you won't be distracted." Izaya laughed even louder and Shizuo just got up from the couch and made his way upstairs to their bathroom, mumbling a few curses under his breath.

Once Shizuo was done in the shower, he found that Izaya had calmed down and was in the kitchen making dinner. Shizuo sat at the table and sighed happily, man he loved Izaya's cooking. He didn't say anything at first, fearing that if he did, it might set Izaya off again, though he will admit, it was nice to hear him laugh like that. "Smells good."

Izaya smiled, turning with a spachelor in his hands. "It's just chicken with some veg, nothing exciting."

Shizuo grinned. "So it's a hot pot."

Izaya glanced over his shoulder and then turned back to stir the pot. "Shut up."

Shizuo chuckled. "Still smells good anyway."

"This is not becoming a regular thing you know; I don't want to be known as the 'woman' in this relationship."

Shizuo snorted and then suddenly burst, now it was his turn to laugh. "What the hell Izaya!"

Izaya turned back to him, pouting a little, he then rolled his eyes. "You just pictured me in a maid's outfit didn't you."

Shizuo laughed even harder, almost falling off the chair. "I am now!" Izaya narrowed his eyes, he then picked a carrot out of the pot and flung it at his hysterical partner. Shizuo growled, stopping his laughter as he quickly took off the vegetable, Izaya grinned at the little red mark it left on his head. "Shit that's hot." Izaya raised an eyebrow, Shizuo chuckled, his laughter calming. "The carrot! The carrot was hot - not that I think you would be - in that-" Shizuo growled. "Fuck off."

Izaya chuckled and walked toward him, leaning down to steal a kiss and then made his way back to the stove. "No wonder Kanra turned you on."

Shizuo's cheeks turned red. "Shut up!"

"Okay okay jokes aside. What's with the seriousness?"

Shizuo sighed. "My brother called today; said he wants to see me at Christmas this year."

Izaya shrugged. "All right, I'm sure we can host, if he doesn't mind the fact that my sisters will be constantly on his heels."

"Err, actually, he's going over to our folks, wants us to go too." Shizuo looked for any sign of tension in him, but he soon saw Izaya's shoulders jolting. "What the hell is funny now?"

Izaya smiled as he turned off the stove, then turned back to Shizuo. "Nothing. I actually needed to ask you something, you annulled my bribe."

"I did what?"

"My sisters called me today and said that my parents told them to come to the New Year's family gathering, and the delightful little shits said that we'd be coming too."

Shizuo did tense, he also got the feeling Izaya wasn't too thrilled about it either. Izaya sat down next to him. "Didn't think your family did gatherings."

"It's an event my parents and grandparents started when I was born, my mother more. I don't know whether it was to show off her first child, though I'm sure that part didn't last long." Shizuo didn't respond to that, he knew Izaya hated pity, so he simply took his hand.

"Didn't you go to New York one year?"

"Yes, but the gathering is only every five years, like a reunion, to see the changes in the family."

"Oh, you must have been twenty on the last one huh?"

Izaya nodded. "It wasn't pleasant, I'm sure most of the family were trying to disintegrate me with their glares. I imagine our mother has likely been the cause of that. I can deal with insults, I can deal with everyday humans' hate, I'm used to it, but it's different when it's family."

Shizuo growled, hand tightening around Izaya's. "They're not family Izaya, they're nothing but dickwads. Your family is here, with us, your sisters, our friends - Shinra and Celty, Kadota and the gang, they're your family."

Izaya gave him a smile. "Sap."

Shizuo chuckled. "Yeah well, it's true. So if I annulled your bribe, what now?"

Izaya shrugged. "I was laughing because to get you to attend the gathering with me, I was going to suggest going to your parents for Christmas, since you said you sometimes go."

Shizuo blinked, touched by the thought, not even any hesitation. "Really? You'd do that?"

"After the way mine treated you, I owe you." Shizuo leaned forward and kissed him, Izaya wrapped his hands around Shizuo's neck. "Special points earned?"

Shizuo huffed a laugh. "Definitely. It makes me feel a little bad, I kinda had my own bribe, to get you to come to my folks."

Izaya raised an eyebrow. "Curious." He grinned.

"Yeh..."

"Well?"

Shizuo pressed his lips close to Izaya's ear and whispered, "Fuck me tonight." Izaya's eyes widen in surprise for a moment and then he smirked, who knew. Izaya shuddered at the thought and then pulled back from him.

"I'm becoming a bad influence on you, Shizu-chan."

Shizuo grinned. "Just the parts I like."

Izaya chuckled and tutted. "Bad boy."

"Look who's talking."

Izaya scooped two bowls of the pot and they ate in comfortable silence, Shizuo telling him about the odd client here and there. Once they had eaten, they cleaned up the kitchen and then made their way upstairs to bed.

…...

Izaya's hand curled around Shizuo's cock as he moved inside him, nibbling on his shoulder. It had been sometime since they'd switched positions, Shizuo had almost forgotten what it felt like. He felt his head spin as Izaya started to pump him, long fingers spread evenly around him. "Ngh...Fuck...Izaya..."

Izaya thrust upwards, grinning, making Shizuo tense and hiss with pleasure. "Hmmm. What was that?"

"Faster..."

"I can't hear you, Shizu-chan." Shizuo knew perfectly well that Izaya could hear him, he was such a teasing lover, but it wasn't often that they did it this way, so he indulged him.

Shizuo growled. "Fuck me damn it!"

Izaya laughed and dipped his index finger into Shizuo's head. "Dirty mouth."

"Izaya," Shizuo warned. "I will pull away and take you hard in a minute if you don't stop fucking teasing."

Izaya bit back another laugh, he pressed his other hand flat against Shizuo's back and pushed him forward. Shizuo grunted at the new position, bent over as Izaya knelt over him. Shizuo fisted the sheets as Izaya pushed inside him deeper, he began to thrust fast and hard into him. This position was easier for them both when Izaya took the lead, since Shizuo was a little taller than him. Shizuo's breathless pants were Izaya's gain, he pumped him faster as he moved inside him with hard jolts. "Shizu-chan... come with me..."

Shizuo moaned loudly as Izaya pounded into him and finally, finally hit his prostate, once, twice...Shizuo suppressed a cry of pleasure into the pillow as he released himself into Izaya's hand. "Izaya!" a muffled scream, Izaya came with a cry of his own and threw his head back. The two collapsed to the side, panting heavily, Shizuo was quite sure at some point, Izaya had left claw marks on his back when they'd fumbled across the bed. Izaya pulled out slowly and lay on his back, still breathless. Shizuo turned over, feeling very sated and kissed the top of Izaya's forehead. "Wanna clean up?"

Izaya merely grunted in reply and Shizuo chuckled and lifted him up and then put him on the floor. He looked down at him, it seemed kind of funny to see Izaya just lying there. Izaya opened his eyes to see Shizuo's grinning face. "What?"

"It's funny. You're just, naked on the floor."

Izaya sat up and grabbed a pillow, Shizuo darted backwards and avoided the attack. "You can swap the sheets; I'm getting a shower." Izaya stretched with a yawn, Shizuo wouldn't tell him, but he found it adorable that Izaya was always sleepy after sex.

"Don't drown." Shizuo half grinned at him.

"Tch. You can't drown in a shower, idiot..."

Shizuo laughed and began changing the duvets and pillowcases. By the time he was done, Izaya came out of the bathroom in a pair of grey pyjama bottoms. He'd put on some of the weight he'd lost in the months Shizuo had been in a coma, but he was still too skinny for the blond's liking. Izaya flopped across the bed and crawled into the covers, shivering slightly. "Put a damn shirt on if you're cold."

Izaya looked at him through half lidded eyes. "No need," he smiled, "you'll do."

Shizuo clicked his tongue and made his way into the bathroom to get his own shower. When he was done, he sighed as he got into the covers, Izaya instantly snuggled against him, seeking out his body heat. "Better now?" Izaya hummed a response and Shizuo chuckled, kissing his lover's shoulder. "I love you." Another hum, Shizuo smiled as Izaya kissed his arm as he wrapped it around him.

…...

15th December.

Izaya stood back to admire his handiwork, smiling proudly, it took time, but he was finally done. Shizuo then wrapped his arms around him from behind, smiling up at the very specifically decorated Christmas tree. Colourful rainbow lights wrapped round from the top to the bottom. Red and gold beads hung neatly in a set of four, mixing with one another. Red bows hung at some of the ends and glittered snowflake ornaments adorned the rest, the finishing touch was a bright gold star which sat perfectly on top. "Nice," came Shizuo's voice beside his ear.

Izaya's smile broadened. "Not too much?"

"No, it's perfect."

Izaya sighed and leaned back. "Good."

Shizuo hugged him tighter, Izaya turned in his arms with a little grin, holding up one arm. "What?"

"Mistletoe." Izaya's eyes glanced up and Shizuo followed his line of vision, he then returned the grin.

"Hmmm, my favourite kind of plant." Izaya chuckled and then pressed his lips against him.

"All right! Enough! Siblings are present who do not want to see where that was leading to," Mairu. The two pulled away, Shizuo startled with a blush. Izaya laughed and the two moved to greet the twins. They were spending a couple of days at the apartment since Izaya and Shizuo were going to be away for Christmas. The informant felt bad for leaving them by themselves, but Shinra and Celty said they'd be happy to have them over for the day. The twins understood, it was a big deal for their brother this year, they knew he was a little nervous about meeting Shizuo's parents. Mairu darted over to the tree, eyes wide with excitement. "Wow! That looks great!"

"It's so pretty," Kururi added and the two set their presents down under it.

Shizuo looked over at them from beside the kitchen doorway. "Want some hot chocolate kiddos?"

Mairu turned, with her hands on her hips. "We're not kids any more Shizu-chan."

Izaya suppressed a laugh when Shizuo glared at him, he then turned back to Mairu with a grin. "Oh okay. I guess you don't want a hot chocolate with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, marshmallows?"

The girl's eyes glinted with happiness, Mairu jumped up and down. "No no! I want I want!"

Shizuo laughed. "Thought so." He then turned to Izaya. "Want one?" Izaya pulled a face. "Obviously not the diabetic kind."

Izaya laughed and shook his head. "I'm good."

"Tea?"

Izaya nodded and then turned to the girls. "Your room is ready, why don't you put your things upstairs and then come down and we can open present's."

"Okay!" Mairu and Kururi ran upstairs and Izaya watched them go before heading into the kitchen.

"The gifts were a good idea," Izaya told him as he leant against the counter, watching Shizuo make the drinks.

"Well, they are right, they're getting older now, so I figured they'd appreciate it more."

"I don't think I want to know what they've gotten us."

Shizuo chuckled. "Yeh, can't imagine it's sentimental, but they might surprise you." He placed all the mugs carefully on a tray and carried them into the living room, Izaya following after him. The twins came barrelling back down the stairs, already hyper without the drink they were about to devour. "Well at least we know the childish nature runs in the family." Izaya pouted and they all sat on the long corner couch, Shizuo placed the drinks on the table. "I saw that pout."

"Shut up."

Mairu and Kururi happily dug into their special drink, starting by plucking the marshmallows off, then eating the cream and then gently sipping on the creamy texture. "Oh yeh that's so good!" Mairu exclaimed loudly.

Shizuo laughed. "Well thanks."

"Shizu-chan is the best hot chocolate maker," Kururi commented.

Shizuo smiled, remembering how Akane had very much enjoyed hers when he'd made it for her. A part of him still wished that they'd adopted her for themselves, he couldn't help but feel that they'd make great parents. Izaya lay his head on Shizuo's shoulder, smiling contently. "Okay! Present time!" Mairu suddenly shouted and then shimmied over to the tree and back again. She handed Izaya his first, it was squared with gold wrapping and a silver ribbon wrapped around it, tied into a bow at the front.

"Do I have to go first? It's intimidating."

Mairu rolled her eyes, she then smiled, her brother had changed so much over the last two years. She didn't know how they'd ever live without him in their lives now. "Don't be dramatic, just open it, it's from the both of us, it's - a little soppy, but it took a long time to put together." Mairu bit her thumbnail. "I hope you like it."

Izaya raised an eyebrow, since when did they get so nervous? He then pulled at the ribbon to untie the bow. He raised the corners up with his fingertips and pulled back the paper, he tilted his head at the black folder.

Mairu sighed. "Open it."

Shizuo leaned over as Izaya opened the first cover page. As he did so, he found many placed pictures of the three of them, starting from the early days. There were a couple of him holding the girls when they were born, then some as they got older and he was attending high school and they had just started elementary. There were fewer pictures after that, but Izaya wasn't even aware that they had this many. The last pictures were that of last year, their Christmas and New Year's pictures, some of these included Shizuo too. The end picture had all four of them in, Kururi was holding Izaya's arm and Mairu was sitting on top of Shizuo's shoulders sporting a peace sign, the two men were linked by the fingers and both smiling. At the bottom of the page, it said, 'Merry Christmas, love Mairu and Kururi,' in gold lettering.

"That's pretty cool," Shizuo commented with a smile.

"We didn't even know if we had enough to make an album," Mairu explained, "it was Kururi's idea at first."

Izaya bit his lip, trying to hold his emotions, he would not let them see how touched he was. Shizuo nudged him in the shoulder, making him realize he hadn't said a word since he'd opened it. "It's - I wasn't aware there were so many pictures of us." Mairu smiled, she looked at Kururi and they both got up from the floor and crawled onto the couch. Izaya moved his arms as the girls hugged him, he smiled and rested his hands on their backs. "Thank you."

Shizuo smiled and then chuckled as he flipped the book to the front again. "I can't believe you were such a little runt, what happened?"

Izaya snorted. "Shut up, I was a kid once you know."

Shizuo grinned, tilting his head. "Just once? I think your body grew up, but you didn't."

"Ha ha, hilarious."

Shizuo pointed at the third picture. "Seriously, look at you, your little spikey hair."

Izaya clicked his tongue and shut the book. "That's enough, picking on me time is over."

The three laugh and the girls bounced off back to the floor and then handed Shizuo his. "Your turn," Mairu said happily, "we really weren't sure what you would like, sorry."

"Don't worry about that. Let's see what we got." Shizuo lifted the lid off the square white box. It wasn't wrapped like Izaya's, but the box was fancy. He whistled when he saw its contents.

Izaya looked at them and chuckled. "He's certainly not going to grumble about those." Inside the box, divided into five sections, were five freshly made cakes. There was a chocolate sponge with a milk chocolate centre and a strawberry for decoration. A round meringue with fresh cream through the middle. A long pastry base, with a cream filling and a chocolate topping. A round pie with fresh kiwi and raspberries on top of a strawberry sauce. The middle one was the most special, it had two layers, each layer had cream swirls through it, the layers were made up of soft light sponge; the top, had a smooth layer of vanilla icing and was decorated with sprinkles. "Death by sugar," Izaya teased and Shizuo laughed with a light shrug.

"These are really good. There's not a lot of places that make these kinds of cakes. They're not cheap either. You shouldn't have gone to the trouble..."

Mairu smiled. "Wow, you really like them?"

"The middle one is my favourite. How did you know?"

"Your brother gave us the idea. He said you liked puddings, told us the story about when you tried to hurl a refrigerator at him cause he stole your pudding cup."

Izaya looked at him. "Seriously Shizu-chan?"

"I was a kid! It had my fricking name on it."

"No wonder you used to throw trash cans and vending machines at me. If all it took to set you off was stealing a pudding cup, you must have really been pissed at me. Not that I didn't already know that, but hearing that, street items sound mild to what you could have thrown."

Shizuo growled lightly. "Shut up. I couldn't help it all right, and you did provoke me a lot." Izaya laughed.

"Anyway," Mairu interrupted, "he told us a couple of your favourite bakery's, so we did a little window shopping first. This one seemed like the best, and the lady who made them gave us discount too when we mentioned your name."

"She knew me?"

"She said she hasn't seen you since you were young, but she remembered your name. She also told us to give you this."

Kururi removed the bottle of milk from the bag and handed it to him. Shizuo took it slowly, seeing there was a note attached to it. 'I never did thank you for saving my life. What happened wasn't your fault, keep strengthening those bones alright? :)' Shizuo blinked. That young woman, from the store, but I thought she - I thought she was afraid of me.

Izaya looked over at him. "Shizu-chan, what's wrong?"

Shizuo shook his head with a small smile. "Nothing, just someone I used to know when I was a kid."

"We got them on the way here, so they're very fresh."

Shizuo placed the box to the side and shimmied off the couch, bringing them both in for a hug. "They're really great, thanks."

Izaya smiled at them, whatever that milk bottle was all about, it seemed to make Shizuo happy. "You might want to put them in the fridge," he recommended, Shizuo nodded and left to do so. Izaya then turned to the girls. "What bakery was this?"

"Not far from here, it's near the Toshima ward elementary school. It's called Anderson I think."

"Did you catch her name?"

Kururi tilted her head, trying to recall, Mairu placed a finger to her chin. "Um, maybe... Kira?"

Izaya was intrigued, he read over the note and it didn't take his intellectual mind long to connect the dots. Shizuo came back and the three fell silent, he sat down back next to Izaya and said, "Did I miss something?"

Izaya smiled and replied, "No, just waiting for you."

Shizuo raised an eyebrow but shrugged and Izaya curled against him for a second. "You're acting suspicious."

Izaya rolled his eyes. "You're acting paranoid."

"Okay!" Mairu shouted, "our turn now! Gimme gimme!" Mairu held out her hands with an excited smile.

Izaya got up from the couch and retrieved two small square boxes from under the tree. He moved back over to Shizuo, handing one over to him and then sat down again. "These are from the both of us," he said as the two handed the presents to the girls.

Kururi turned to her sister. "We should open them together." Mairu nodded with gleeful eyes and they began to unwrap the gifts. Once the wrapping was torn off, they held a dark red velvet box. Lifting the lid up carefully, they gasped at the items. Mairu held up a silver chain, at the end was a black diamond with a small silver diamond within and it curled to one side. Kururi held the same chain and the same style, except the bigger diamond was silver and the smaller one was black. If they were to place them side by side, the necklaces fit into a perfect yin yang.

"Wow! These are perfect for us! They're awesome!"

"They're so beautiful." The two of them then took turns and helped one another clip the chain around their necks.

"I take it you like them?" Shizuo asked with a smile.

Mairu nodded and the twins soon bombarded both males with hugs. "Thank you so much!"

"They're really great."

"You're welcome," Izaya replied.

The rest of the evening was spent ordering curry takeout and playing games, followed by a cheesy Christmas film. Eventually they retired to their rooms when the twins fell asleep next to their brother, Shizuo carried them to their room one by one, and then having to carry Izaya when the informant jumped playfully on his back.

….

Shizuo lay in the bed with an arm wrapped around Izaya as the raven-haired man lay upon his chest. His mind drifted to the upcoming days, this year was a big deal for them, sure he'd met Izaya's parents before - as unpleasant as that experience was. This was different, this was introducing them to his, as a family, as partners. "Nervous?"

Izaya tilted his head just slightly. "About what?"

"Meeting my folks." By the slight shift and the tense of the man's body, Shizuo already knew the answer.

Izaya shrugged. "Not really."

"I know you're lying."

Izaya sat up a little with a smile. "What have I got to be nervous about? From what you've told me, they seem normal, and nice."

"Well, they are, I suppose."

Izaya grinned. "Maybe it's you that's nervous?"

Shizuo wasn't sure how to answer that without causing offence. "I'm not even sure Kasuka told them I was bringing someone."

Izaya chuckled. "Well that was a lame attempt to avoid the question. In response, I'm sure they're used to extra people showing up around this time of year."

"You have a point there." Shizuo then sighed and tightened his hold a little as Izaya lay back down to get comfortable, he craned his head though when he felt Shizuo's hold change.

"Shizu-chan?"

"They know you caused a lot of trouble for me at school."

"Who doesn't," Izaya teased.

"I'm not sure if they know you by name, they just know of you, I think."

"Is that why you're nervous?"

Shizuo bit his lip. "It doesn't matter. If they can't understand or look past that, then I suppose I just won't see them again."

Izaya's eyes widen. Well great, now he was nervous. No pressure Shizu-chan, idiot. "I won't ask you to do that."

"Then don't ask."

"You can't do that, I won't let you, it's not fair."

"I'm not really expecting it to happen, but you are the most important person in my life."

"Just don't do anything you'll regret. I really don't think they're going to make you choose, even if they don't give us a blessing. Besides, Kasuka has already accepted us, so I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."

"You're probably right."

Izaya leaned up with a grin. "I can be rather charming, I won you over, didn't I?"

Shizuo snorted. "More like I won you over, after a lot of damn patience, you stubborn asshole."

Izaya chuckled. "Worth the wait?"

Shizuo kissed the top of his head. "Wouldn't have said yes otherwise."

Izaya smiled. "Sap."

…

Izaya and Shizuo stepped out of the cab to stand in front of Shizuo's family home. The house was a suburban terrace on the outskirts of the city, hidden from the main road in a small cul-de-sac. There were wooden steps leading up to a porch and white columns held the first section of the dividing white factious roof above the door. To the left of the house, appeared to be an extension, indicting a possible conservatory, or a living room. It wasn't what Izaya had expected.

The house wasn't big, but it was beautiful and everything about it said homely. He looked up, seeing a small window on another divided section, judging by its size, it could be an attic. Izaya pondered on whether it might be Shizuo's old room. He wondered what Shizuo was going to think of his own family home, in comparison, this house was small, but the difference between the two wasn't the size, it was the memories. Izaya found himself envious, this house was a home, a place you'd want to come back to for visits. He couldn't think of a reason why he'd ever want to visit his childhood home; he was only going this time for the sake of his sisters.

Shizuo looked back, noticing Izaya hadn't been following him. "Oi, are you coming?"

Izaya blinked, realizing he'd zoned out and nodded with a smile. "Just admiring the view."

Shizuo shrugged. "It's not a mansion or anything, just a simple house."

"Simpler things are sometimes the better ones Shizu-chan." Shizuo didn't even want to question what the hell Izaya even meant by that. Even now, the man still confused him sometimes, he had given up trying to solve his riddled tongue. The two made their way to the steps of the house, Shizuo stopped and Izaya turned to him. Shizuo was once again amazed by him, he wasn't even wearing his fur jacket - not that he could anyway, since it had gone up in flames along with the rest of their apartment. He was wearing a light grey sleeved shirt with black trousers and a long black coat, well, he had made the effort anyway. "What?"

Shizuo blinked and then smiled. "Nothing, you - you look-"

"Hot?"

Shizuo smiled. "Well, yes."

Izaya chuckled. "Hands to yourself, I don't think you want your parents to meet me for the first time seeing you try to grope me on your porch."

Shizuo laughed. "Probably not." As Shizuo raised his hand to knock, he then hesitated. There was a couple of things that he hadn't considered before and had neglected to think about. They'd been so busy with work and planning out their holidays, they simply slipped from his mind, Izaya was going to freak. "Um…there's a couple of things I forgot to mention."

Izaya looked at him. "Such as?"

"I - well, it's been quite some time since I've seen them so - and I'm pretty sure Kasuka wouldn't have told them…"

Izaya's eyes narrowed a little. "Spill."

"They don't exactly know that I'm gay yet."

Izaya's eyes widen. Fucking terrific. Izaya pulled on Shizuo's arm and dragged him off the porch. "What?" he hissed, "that's not something you neglect to tell your lover about."

"I know that! I didn't think about it, it's not like I had much time to tell them."

"So not only do they not know your sexuality, they're also unaware that it's me, and to top it all off, you're also engaged. Talk about bombarding them."

Shizuo sighed. "I know, I should have told them. But Kasuka wouldn't have invited us if they were like that."

Izaya tilted his head. "Like mine you mean?"

Shizuo frowned. "They're definitely not like yours."

"I'm sure they're not. They're normal."

Shizuo grinned as he teased, "Coming from you?"

Izaya shrugged and took a deep breath as they retraced their steps to the porch, wondering how the hell Shizuo had forgotten to mention this to his parents. Then again, Izaya hadn't exactly told his parents either, though he had an idea they already knew. He then pulled on Shizuo's arm again, slightly concerned. "You said a couple of things, what's the second?"

As Shizuo knocked on the door, a muffled bark answered the question for him. Shizuo froze with his hand in the air. Shit.

Izaya's eyes widened and he stiffened. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"Damn, Kasuka said my folks were excited about a new pet, but I didn't really think about it." Izaya backed up a step and Shizuo turned to him. "Do you want to go home?"

Izaya bit his lip, this was important to Shizuo, he knew that. "No, I'll be fine, I think."

"Are you sure?"

Not really. Izaya nodded, his knuckles turning white from clenching his fists.

"It doesn't sound very old, it's probably just a pup."

Izaya didn't give an inch, staying glued to the column. "That doesn't make me feel any better. Puppies are worse, they jump too much."

Shizuo sighed, he felt bad, he knew how Izaya was around dogs, yet the man was willing to stick around for his sake. Shizuo knocked again and the bark was louder as they heard it scratching at the door. The bark was followed by the sound of a woman's voice. "Door's open!" The moment Shizuo opened the door, the dog barrelled out, almost skidding across the porch.

The excited puppy chose its first human to greet, unfortunately, that human was Izaya. Shizuo thought the man was going to have a heart attack as the dog jumped up against him, pawing at his clothes. Izaya was frozen stiff, his heart almost leapt into his throat. Shizuo blinked and then reached for the puppy as the woman come outside. "Shizuo you came! It's so good to see you."

Shizuo smiled over his shoulder as he dragged the puppy away. "Hey." Shizuo then chuckled lightly, still wrestling with the puppy. "Sorry, he um…. he's scared of dogs."

The woman looked at the raven and noticed how pale he was. "I'm so sorry!" she then patted her knees. "Come on girl! In the house." She pointed, and the dog shuffled out of Shizuo's arms and ran into the house.

Shizuo looked over at Izaya, trying his damned hardest not to laugh, Izaya looked like he was going to faint. "You okay?"

Izaya barely managed a nod, a hand raised to his chest.

The woman smiled and wrapped her arms around Shizuo for a quick hug. "So good to see you. Kasuka mentioned that you might bring a friend this year." Izaya composed himself, calming down, he took a step forward, testing his wobbly legs to make sure he didn't collapse.

Shizuo scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that, I hope that's okay."

The woman smiled. "Absolutely! The more the merrier! There's plenty of room," She looked at Izaya. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind sharing Shizuo's old room for a couple of days."

Izaya smirked. "I'm sure I wouldn't."

Shizuo glared at him. Smartass. he then turned to his mother. "Is Kasuka here yet?"

The woman shook her head. "Not yet. I hope there are no delays in his flight, I'm sure he'll get here; he always does." Shizuo nodded. "Come on in, shouldn't be standing out here, it's freezing." The woman smiled at Izaya. "Don't worry, I'll put Luna in her pen for now, give you time to get settled. I'll have to let her out later though."

Izaya smiled. "Thank you, I'll be all right, it's your home."

The woman turned and led the two into the house, shuffling Luna into the pen as she began to run circles around her. Izaya stiffened a little and then relaxed again when they made their way through the house after toeing off their shoes. "Kichirou! Shizuo is here with a friend!"

They passed by the living room and then made their way into the kitchen. The kitchen was a perfect square sized room, with light brown walls and grey surfaces with yellow cabinets above them. The refrigerator was situated by the door and Izaya wondered if it was the same one that Shizuo tried to hurl at his brother. There was a sliding door to the back that led out into the garden area and the long brown table was set in the middle. In the left corner, there was Shizuo's dad, prepping away for their Christmas meal tomorrow. He was currently basing a large turkey, next to all the fresh veg yet to be sliced. The oven below was preheating and it smelt wonderful. Kichirou turned around and smiled. "Son!" he wiped his hands clean and Shizuo moved to greet him, shaking his hand. "Glad to see you."

"Thanks. I hope one more to the table isn't a problem."

"There's plenty of food, to be honest, I thought I'd overdone it this year."

Shizuo shook his head with a chuckle. Izaya didn't know how Shizuo was going to explain the situation to them, would he just blurt it out like it was no big deal? He doubted it. Shizuo was confident about a lot of things, but this wasn't work or day to day life occurrences, this was a big deal. "Are you finally going to introduce us?" his mother spoke.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Hearing Shizuo start to stutter, Izaya took his cue to do the introducing for him. He took a deep breath, first impressions were crucial, and you only get one, at least, in this case.

Izaya held his hand out to the mother first. "I'm Izaya Orihara. It's an honour to meet you."

She smiled and took his hand. "Well, aren't you polite," she giggled, "I'm Namiko, and this is my husband Kichirou, welcome to our home."

"Thank you. I hope my arrival wasn't too unexpected."

"Don't be silly! Kasuka mentioned Shizuo might bring someone. Though we assumed it might have been a someone," Namiko nudged him lightly. "You know."

Izaya cringed inwardly, though he took note they she referred to their assumption as a someone, not a specific gender.

"We don't get to see Shizuo's friends, not even in his younger years, he has a bit of trouble in that regard, I just don't know why." Izaya smiled, Shizuo's parents seemed so understanding, a true example of unconditional love, it made him a little uncomfortable if he was truly honest, but if anyone deserved that, it was Shizuo himself. "Izaya Orihara. You know, your name sounds kind of familiar…"

Shizuo tensed, he always wondered whether his parents had some idea of who Izaya was, but until now, he didn't care. Before he could intervene, Izaya spoke again.

"Actually, we went to the same high school; I imagine my name came up quite a bit…"

Shizuo looked at him, wondering how the hell he was so calm, when he himself was sweating bullets.

Kichirou clicked his finger. "That's right! I remember now. You were the same one that caused quite a bit of trouble for Shizuo in your high school years."

Shizuo snorted. And after.

Izaya's heart picked up, but he remained calm on the outside. "For that, I can only apologise for whatever turmoil I might have caused."

"Relax, you were kids, teenagers. You're supposed to get into trouble every now and then, while you're young. Seems to me like you've both grown out of whatever issues you had. I didn't really know what you looked like, just heard your name being cursed through the house most of the time when Shizuo came home."

Izaya chuckled. "Understandable." He then sighed, hesitating to continue, but he had to be honest now. "I did cause him a lot of trouble; you should know that-"

Shizuo lightly grabbed his shoulder. "Izaya, it's okay, you don't have to say anything else."

Izaya gently shrugged him off. "I do. I was the one that got him arrested after we left high school, I was the one responsible for him losing the first job he loved, I'm sorry about that. I saw his unnatural strength and unpredictable personality as though he was a monster. It wasn't until two years ago that I realized I was wrong; he saved my life."

Shizuo in took a sharp breath, for a moment, he thought Izaya was going to out him at first. He was also very touched that Izaya would openly admit such things. Maybe now was his cue, but he needed to wait for their response first.

Namiko smiled and took Izaya's hand. "It takes a lot for someone to confront their mistakes, I can tell that you meant it."

Kichirou placed a hand on his shoulder. "We appreciate your honesty, I can see that you've long since made amends, that in itself is reason enough to forgive."

Izaya wasn't expecting that, but he nodded. "Thank you."

Shizuo smiled, grateful to his parents, they really were the best. He shuffled his feet then; he was so nervous. "Before we go any further, there's something you both need to know."

Izaya looked at him. He really is just going to blurt it out.

"I should have told you both a lot sooner than this, but it's been a tough two years. I'm - I'm gay."

Silence –

Namiko suddenly clapped her hands together and then jumped in excitement. "That's wonderful! We're so proud of you! You should not have worried about what we would think." She hugged her son, Shizuo blushed in embarrassment before hugging her back and then pulling away to meet his father's smiling face.

"Proud of you son, you have nothing to worry about." He then looked at Izaya. "So am I correct in thinking that you're not just a friend?"

Izaya shifted uncomfortably, well that was a rather good guess, and why was he the centre of attention suddenly. Before he could answer, Shizuo spoke first.

"That's right. It was a long and complicated process, it didn't happen overnight, but we're in a good place now, it's pretty serious…." Shizuo took Izaya's hand, the informant just wanted to die of embarrassment. "I love him, and we're engaged." Shizuo held up his left hand, showing them the ring.

Damn you Shizu-chan.

"That's great! I'm so happy for you!" Namiko hugged Shizuo again and then went ahead to hug Izaya, who returned it awkwardly. "Welcome to the family! I can tell that you make a great couple, I've not seen Shizuo this happy in a long time."

"Congratulations. What an unexpected turn."

Shizuo blushed again, he imagined Izaya was just as embarrassed too. "Thanks."

Namiko tugged on their arms. "Come on! Let me take you into the living room, leave the head of the kitchen to his cooking."

Izaya looked at the preparations and then at the already set table, there were red napkins set on top of white china plates with silver cutlery placed either side, crystal looking wine glasses and red candles in between holly decorated holders. "I wouldn't mind helping."

Namiko expressed a shocked expression. "Nonsense, you're a guest."

"Actually Mom," Shizuo started, "Izaya is a good cook."

The raven smiled sheepishly. "I really wouldn't mind helping."

"I believe you both, but he doesn't let anyone help for Christmas dinner, especially our guests."

Kichirou laughed. "Nothing personal, I like to host!"

Namiko rolled her eyes, led them through the corridor and into the living room. The room had a cream coloured suite that matched the fluffy carpet, there was one long couch in the middle of two armchairs that slanted inwards and sat directly opposite the large chestnut oak fireplace. The room was cosy and warm due to the fireplace being lit, and the lights were dimmed. Their silver Christmas tree sat snugged in one corner of the room, it's blue lights stood out a glow. Picture frames sat neatly on top of the mantel piece and a larger one hanging on the wall above it. "Make yourself at home Mr Orihara."

Izaya nodded and then smiled. "Please, just Izaya is fine."

Namiko shrugged. "If you insist." She smiled and then moved across the room to open a large cabinet that sat on a long media centre, matching the colour of the fireplace. Bookcase cabinets on either side, with three wood-framed glass shelves, three long cupboards attached below and a large space in which Izaya assumed a tv set was meant to go, in place of that however, there was a sound system. "My husband likes his technology, though he contradicts himself by choosing such antique looking décor. I personally am not so big on tech, too modern."

Izaya nudged Shizuo as they sat down next to each other on the long couch. "I know what parent you take after," he whispered teasingly.

Shizuo elbowed him in the side. "Shut up."

Izaya chuckled. He looked to the right and there was another set of sliding door, which led out into the open conservatory. Namiko came back with two crystal glasses filled a quarter way with what looked like whiskey. She handed one to Shizuo who took it gratefully, it wasn't often he got the chance to have the good stuff, generally because Izaya didn't drink. Shizuo looked over. Oh. Izaya - didn't - drink. Namiko proceeded to hand Izaya his glass, she winked at him and said, "It's the good stuff."

Izaya smiled politely. "Thank you." He looked at Shizuo for a moment, unsure what to do, he didn't want to offend anyone.

"Sorry mom, Izaya doesn't drink."

Namiko raised her hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry, I didn't think to even ask, I can get you something else, what would you like? We have all kinds of things."

Izaya shook his head. "It's all right, I'll accept the drink. You went to the trouble of making it, I don't want to be rude."

"Don't accept it if you certainly don't drink, it was rude of me to assume."

Izaya chuckled. "It's okay really, my tolerance for alcohol isn't particularly good, that's mostly the reason, and I've never had interest in it. But this is a special occasion, one drink won't be a problem. I'll nurse it."

Namiko smiled, she loved him already. "Are you sure?"

"Like you said, it's the good stuff, I don't want to waste it."

Namiko winked at him. "You're a keeper."

Izaya looked over at Shizuo as Namiko went back to the cabinet to make herself and Kichirou a drink. "Hear that? I'm a keeper."

Shizuo grinned. "Is that so?"

"Must be my charm."

Shizuo shook his head. "You don't have to drink it; you won't offend her."

Izaya shrugged. "Don't worry about it, first impressions are important."

Shizuo rolled his eyes. "We made one hell of a first impression on each other, didn't we?"

Izaya chuckled. "You threw a fist and I drew a knife, what's wrong with that?"

"Just about everything possible."

Izaya grinned and quickly kissed him. "We're good now."

Shizuo snorted. "Yeh, only took like, ten years."

"Eight."

"Whatever. Those years aren't important anyway."

…..

Kichirou stretched as he came into the living room, joining his family after finishing the last of the dinner preparations. He sat down on the empty armchair; his glass of whisky held in his palm. "So Izaya, tell me about yourself."

"Kichirou, don't badger the man like that," Namiko scolded.

"What?" Kichirou laughed. "I thought it was a normal question. Should we not take an interest in our future son-in-law?"

Shizuo covered his face with his palm. "God damn it."

Izaya chuckled. "It's all right, I don't mind."

Kichirou lifted his hand in their direction. "See?"

Namiko shook her head. "Honestly." She then looked at Izaya. "Sorry about him, he's nosy."

Shizuo snorted. "So is Izaya, they have something in common."

"I'll ask a less abrupt question. Do you have any siblings Izaya?"

Izaya simply swirled the liquid gently and took the tiniest sip before replying. "I have two sisters, they're actually twins. Mairu and Kururi, they've just started their second year of high school."

"How cute! Were they much trouble as kids? I bet they bothered you a lot."

"Sort of. I was the one to look after them when we were younger most of the time, but they're pretty independent girls, so I need not worry much about them."

"I just bet they're inseparable."

"Very."

Kichirou asked the next question. "So, what is it that you do for a living?"

Izaya turned his attention to the dad. "I'm an information broker."

Kichirou's eyes widen with interest. "Really, what's that like?"

"The job suits me rather well. I enjoy it."

"You must be well known then."

Izaya smiled and replied regretfully. "You could say that."

Shizuo clicked his tongue. "That's an understatement."

"Do you have some kind of rules?" Namiko asked, "or can anyone come to you for information?"

Izaya was waiting for that one. "Well, it used to be that I accepted almost anyone as a client. I dealt with a lot of Yakuza groups, or petty gangs. I try not to associate with them since Shizuo and I got together." Izaya sighed. "In all honesty, I was kind of an asshole, I didn't care who it was that came to me or what info they wanted, as long as it seemed like it was entertaining." Shizuo wondered how Izaya was coping on the inside, he didn't like being questioned on his personal life, he was shocked and proud at the same time, that he was being so open with them.

"I see," Kichirou said, "it's understandable, if you're well known and you're good at what you do, then you'd no doubt get some sketchy people coming to you for help."

Sketchy isn't quite the word I'd use.

"It sounds like your job can be rather dangerous." Namiko spoke with genuine concern, it felt strange, considering his own mother would probably wish him dead.

"It's - it has its moments, I do tend to shall we say, annoy a lot of people sometimes."

"Sounds like you need a bodyguard, seems like you get into a lot of trouble," Kichirou said.

Izaya smiled. "I already have one."

Shizuo blushed a little. "Yeh, I can be - protective."

"It just makes you a good person Shizuo," Namiko told him with a smile.

"I can protect myself, but I know Shizu-chan will be there if I need him."

Namiko awed with a squeak. "Shizu-chan! That's so adorable!"

Kichirou chuckled and Izaya shifted on the couch, he'd held back from saying it for so long, it slipped out unexpectedly. His cheeks tinted a shade of red.

"That," Shizuo started, "has been my nickname since we fricking met. Regardless of whether he hated me before."

Izaya shrugged. "It stuck. It was better than what you called me."

Kichirou laughed. "Oh so you're, 'the flea.'"

Izaya rolled his eyes and elbowed Shizuo in the side as the blond started laughing. Izaya was about to retort when Shizuo's phone started ringing. Shizuo mumbled an apology and pulled it from his pants pocket. "Oh, it's Kasuka." The blond got up from the couch. "Hey, whereabouts are you?" Shizuo moved to stand out in the corridor, always feeling awkward talking on the phone in front of people, even though he was related to two of them.

Namiko turned back to Izaya. "I'm curious. When you said Shizuo saved your life, is that figuratively speaking or quite literally?"

Izaya tilted his head, unsure how to answer that. "I don't want to freak you out."

Kichirou shook his head. "Don't be absurd."

"Of course, you don't have to tell us, if you don't want to."

"It is the reason me and Shizu-chan got together, so you should know." Izaya glanced over at Shizuo, still talking on the phone. "I was knifed."

Kichirou almost choked on his whiskey. "What!?"

"You were knifed!? Why?" Izaya could feel Namiko's motherly instincts kicking in, it was kind of sweet, in a way.

"Like I said, my job can be dangerous, and I did a job for this one man, not so nice man. I won't go into details, but he didn't like the outcome and - well, he got revenge."

"Shizuo must have found you then I take it?"

"Not at the time. I was found by our mutual doctor friend, Shinra. He took me to a hospital, I had stitches. Unfortunately, I discharged myself too soon, so when I was spotted by your son - he chased me like he always did, but I wasn't healed, I pulled my stitches and collapsed down an alley. Shizu-chan didn't react like I'd expect, he hauled me into a cab and took me back to the hospital."

"That's quite a story, not exactly your normal get together tale. I'm glad it worked out for you both."

"That's all it took to get him to not hate you, how strange," Kichirou said.

"I thought so too. After the event, it triggered something else inside him. He wanted to protect me, instead of trying to beat the crap out of me." Thinking back on past events, Izaya wondered whether Shizuo's parents had been informed about his coma, he wasn't going to say anything encase they didn't know. "We're really well known in both this city and Shinjuku, it seemed like we were destined for a lot of trouble. Mostly on my part. That's not the only time I've been stabbed either. I've also been shot, twice."

Namiko gasped. "It's no wonder he's so protective of you. It's a miracle you're still walking around."

Izaya grimaced and then huffed a laugh. "There's kind of irony in that."

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's okay. I was kind of stupid. I was trying to stop a group of teenagers from gaining a lot of power. I had help from a friend, who, let's just say she's got some unique abilities. She tried to lure one of the teens away from me since I had already been shot, he cornered her on a roof. I managed to get to her and knock him out, but he regained consciousness faster than we expected. He came at us, but I didn't have time to think, I pushed her out of the way so that he didn't hurt her. We fell off the roof and I landed into another building, I did more damage since I got up and tried to walk around. I broke my leg in two places and I also fractured the lower part of my spine. It took a lot of painful therapy to get back to normal."

The two were speechless, they'd never known someone to get into so much trouble. Kichirou cleared his throat. "I'd say you've got nine lives there kid."

Izaya tilted his head in thought, as if to count how many close calls he'd had already. Excluding the random attacks from his apartment and the club. "If that really is the case, then I still have four to spare." He smiled.

"Looks like you both are trouble magnets."

"Things have calmed down so far, there's not been any trouble lately."

Shizuo came back into the room. "Kasuka said he's not long arrived home. He's gonna stay at his place, and then come here in the morning, he sounded pretty tired."

Namiko shook her head. "He works too hard sometimes."

Shizuo looked between them and then sat next to Izaya again. "So what'd I miss?"

Izaya grinned. "Just swapping war stories."

Shizuo reached for his drink from the side table. "You managed to fit them all in, in such a short time?"

Izaya shrugged. "Your mother inquired as to how exactly you saved me when we got together."

"God why…"

"I told her I was knifed."

Shizuo looked at him with wide eyes. "You can't just blurt out things like that!"

"I didn't go into details. Just that you saved my life when I collapsed in the alleyway."

"Doesn't sound like the first time either," Kichirou said, "you two should try and stay safer, it's dangerous these days."

"We're only worrying," Namiko said with a warm smile. "I'd hate to have anything truly serious happen. You need to stay out of trouble, I think that goes for you especially Izaya."

Shizuo laughed and Izaya glared at him. "Yeh, trying to get him to stay out of trouble is a losing battle."

…

For the rest of the Christmas eve, they swapped stories and caught up on their everyday lives. Izaya and Shizuo told them about the little girl they'd saved together and found a loving home for.

The house was dark now, after such a long and eventful day, they'd gone to bed not long after ten. Izaya's eyes fluttered open as he felt Shizuo kiss his forehead, damn, he was almost asleep. "Thank you."

"For what?" Izaya responded quietly, closing his eyes again, he was quite sure it was the whiskey he'd drank that was making him so tired.

"For today, my parents love you. I think they loved you even more because you were honest with them, you didn't have to do that by the way."

"I did though, first impressions Shizu-chan, I made a mistake once, I wasn't going to do it again."

Shizuo chuckled. "You say that now."

Izaya laughed. "I know, but still, they're your parents, they deserve better."

Shizuo smiled, he couldn't help it, he was so grateful to Izaya and if it was possible, he loved him even more. "It went really well didn't it."

Izaya cringed slightly and then chuckled. "Minus the dog."

Shizuo tightened his hold, almost protectively. "Yeh, but he's just a pup, I don't think he'll hurt you, he seemed to like you on the porch."

Izaya groaned at the memory, he hadn't meant to, but he clutched Shizuo's shirt for a moment, more from the embarrassment. "I almost had a heart attack."

Shizuo laughed a little, but he rubbed the raven's arms, knowing that he had been scared. "I thought you were going to pass out."

Izaya smiled briefly and then they fell into silence. Izaya's heart was fluttering, and he tightened his hold just slightly, he just didn't want the warmth to end, he had never expected to feel this way in his whole life. To have Shizuo here, underneath him, just lying on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, with arms wrapped around him protectively, he couldn't ask for more. Izaya didn't want moments to pass like this without making sure that Shizuo knew just what he meant to him. Izaya shifted up in his arms so that he could look at him, as much as he could in the dark. "I love you Shizu-chan. I know I don't say it much…. but I do."

Shizuo wondered where this came from suddenly, Izaya looked so lost in that moment. "I know you do. You don't have to keep saying it, I think you've proved that enough times." Shizuo frowned and then pulled him in to kiss him, wondering what Izaya had been thinking about just now. "I love you too, idiot."

…..

25th December.

Izaya stirred awake, he looked over at Shizuo, still asleep, nothing changes. He smiled and sat up with a long stretch, despite the bed being smaller than he was accustomed to, he slept better than he had in days, months even. Izaya didn't care to question why, yesterday had been so surprising, he didn't expect to be accepted so quickly and so openly. Shizuo's parents were everything Izaya found 'boring and ordinary' yet he couldn't come up with a reason as to why he didn't mind. "Tch. You've made me soft Shizu-chan," he muttered, but he couldn't even say that with any venom in his tone. "Protozoan."

There was a shift in the bed and a low growl erupted from the other occupant. "I heard that…. flea."

Izaya chuckled and rolled himself on top of the blond, Shizuo grunted and forced his eyes open, Izaya was grinning down at him. "I was just blaming you."

"Yeh?" Shizuo pushed gently and rolled them so he soon towered over the smaller man, pinning his hands beside him, linking them together with his own. "What are you gonna do about it?"

Izaya leaned up and crushed his lips to Shizuo's. They moaned deeply as their bodies grinded against each other. Shizuo's mouth left Izaya's to trail kisses down his neck, his collar bone and then…. "Wait, not here. That's not a good idea…. Shizu-chan."

Shizuo leaned up and came back to face him. "Scared?"

Izaya clicked his tongue. "This is your home Shizu-chan, your family home. Your parents are across the hall and this is too much like a high school relationship-discretion cliché."

Shizuo rolled his eyes, since when did Izaya care about discretion? "We're not in high school. We're twenty-five-years old."

Izaya laughed lightly. "Somehow I still think we'd get, 'the talk' stay safe and be gentle."

Shizuo laughed. "I wouldn't put it passed them, how embarrassing would that be?"

Izaya grimaced. "I'd rather go to hell."

Shizuo clicked his tongue. "Now that's a bit dramatic. Besides-" Shizuo kissed him again. "The walls are soundproof."

Izaya shoved him back playfully. "You really expect me to believe that?"

Shizuo grinned. "Yes?"

"Tch. You know, when we first started dating, I was always the first to initiate our-"

Shizuo tilted his head. "Sessions?"

Izaya raised an eyebrow and Shizuo shrugged. "Whatever. I was always the first one." Izaya then grinned. "What happened there?"

Shizuo chuckled. "It's your fault. You shouldn't be so damn addictive."

Izaya laughed. "You really are quite something; however, it still isn't a good idea, so show a little restraint."

Shizuo grinned. "Maybe you're right, you're always too loud anyway, which is a little ironic, since I always stand out because I shout so much and lose my temper."

Izaya smiled and raised his hand to the blond's face. "Only because your clients deserve it. But I know better, you're gentle and I would never change that about you."

Shizuo frowned then and kissed him again. "That anger will never reach you."

Izaya rolled his eyes, how many times must he reassure him? Ever since their memories had been returned, Shizuo felt so guilty, for hurting him. "Yes Shizu-chan, but you seriously need to forget about it, it's over now, okay?" Shizuo nodded, he knew that, of course he knew that. "And-" Izaya removed one of his hands from Shizuo's so he could slap him on the back. "I'm not that loud."

Shizuo laughed. "You really are, seriously, you should hear yourself."

Izaya narrowed his eyes. "Shut up."

Shizuo's laugh died down to a chuckle. "We better get ready."

Izaya smiled. "Merry Christmas…Shizu-chan."

Shizuo leaned in and kissed him slowly and then replied, "Merry Christmas Izaya."

….

After getting changed into some formal wear - Izaya wore a long black shirt and black skinny jeans, Shizuo wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dark blue loose-fitting jeans - the two soon made their way down into the kitchen. They were greeted first by the smell of almost cooked turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes and sautéed vegetables. Namiko smiled brightly when she looked up at them both as they entered the kitchen. She was placing the finishing touches to the already Christmas looking table. Glass cocktail dishes had now been placed below the main course china plates. "Don't you both look so handsome!"

Hearing his wife's sudden voice, Kichirou turned to greet them. "You certainly complement each other." He grinned.

Shizuo scratched the back of his head, blushing lightly, Izaya tilted his head and smiled at Namiko. "Not so bad yourselves, it's obvious now where Shizu-chan gets his good looks from." Shizuo rolled his eyes.

Namiko giggled and then brought them both in for a hug. "Merry Christmas boys!"

"Merry Christmas Mom. Dad."

"Merry Christmas son."

Izaya simply smiled, not really used to such kindness, sure, he was getting used to it from Shizuo, but to receive genuine care and kindness from the blond's parents, when he hadn't even receive that from his own - it was overwhelming. He suddenly glanced around, scanning the room. Namiko chuckled.

"Don't worry, she's playing outside."

Izaya shuffled his feet a little, slightly embarrassed that he'd been caught. "Sorry."

Namiko smiled. "It's not your fault silly."

The doorbell soon rang, Shizuo smiled. "That's Kasuka, I'll get it."

Izaya leaned on one of the chairs. "Can I do anything to help?"

Namiko smiled with a raised eyebrow. "You're stubborn aren't you?"

Izaya smirked a little. "It's been mentioned. In all honesty, I'm not really one to stand around without doing anything. I promised Shizu-chan I was taking some time off from work for the holidays, so I can't really check up on anything."

Namiko chuckled. "I see. It sounds like you're a workaholic."

Izaya shrugged. "Maybe, I tend to take multiple jobs."

"It's not surprising, the city is full of all kinds of different people, therefore, a lot goes on."

Izaya almost laughed, ha, he knew that better than anyone, but he refrained from saying anything witty, they'd been too kind to him.

"Not a terrible thing," Kichirou said, "working a lot I mean. It shows dedication, and loyalty too."

He certainly was dedicated, wasn't he? "So, what can I do?" Izaya gave Namiko a sheepish grin.

Namiko shook her head and chuckled. "Okay, you win. You can help me make the cocktails for the starters; I hope you're not allergic to any fish?"

Izaya chuckled. "Not at all."

"Great! Let's do it then."

Izaya followed her to the other side of the kitchen, there was a long countertop on the right-hand side. Namiko placed two bowls with a bag of prawns and crab meat on either side of them, she then gasped with a light frown. "Darn! I forgot the sauce! Kichirou?"

"Yes dear?"

"Did you happen to pick up that aurora sauce for the cocktails?"

Kichirou sighed. "No, sorry."

Izaya pondered, he hadn't made many fancy meals, but he knew enough about cocktails to know what ingredients one could use in place of things. "Do you have any Ketchup and Mayonnaise?"

Namiko smiled brightly and clapped her hands. "You are definitely a keeper! Why didn't I think of that? Oh I love your quick thinking!" Izaya chuckled at her enthusiasm, really, it wasn't all that hard to figure out, he didn't solve anything special, he was sure she would have come up with it soon.

"Thank you." He really was surprising himself; he didn't find it as hard as he thought, suppressing his usual sarcasm that is. Namiko retrieved the condiments from the fridge and they soon began preparing the starters. "I thought we were supposed to leave all this to him," Izaya whispered with a small smirk.

Namiko chuckled. "Normally, but he really prefers the main cooking." Namiko's voice quietened more. "To be honest, he really sucks at making cocktails."

Izaya laughed under his breath.

By the time Shizuo and Kasuka made their way into the kitchen, Izaya and Namiko were already hands deep in sauce and fish. Namiko glanced to the side, smiling widely as she saw her second son approach. "Kasuka! It's great to see you. I'd hug you, but - kind of messy now."

Kasuka's face remained passive, but his eyes gave away what might have been a smile as he leaned down. "That's quite all right." He pecked her on the cheek and then walked over to greet his dad.

Shizuo then raised an eyebrow, when he took note of his mother and Izaya. He leaned against the countertop next to his partner. "What the hell are you doing?"

Izaya grinned up at him, stopping mid-mixing, his hands - which were covered with food prepping gloves - were covered in a light pink sauce. "What's it look like, I'm making cocktails."

Shizuo blinked, it just looked odd, seeing him cook with his mother. "Why?"

Namiko laughed. "He insisted, and he looked bored just standing there. Besides, if it weren't for his intelligent brain, we might not even be having cocktails."

Izaya huffed a laugh, smiling at Shizuo who looked so confused. "What, are you jealous Shizu-chan?"

Shizuo snorted. "Asshole."

Namiko gasped. "Shizuo! Language, you're lucky I'm covered in sauce right now."

Izaya smirked at him. "Yeh Shizu-chan, dirty mouth."

Shizuo glared at him, but Izaya could see the playfulness in his eyes. Shizuo leaned in close to Izaya's ear and whispered. "You like what this dirty mouth can do." Izaya blushed a little and moved to try and kick him in the shin, Shizuo jumped away to avoid the hit with a chuckle. "If you used a spoon, you might have been able to get me."

Namiko shook her head. "Using your hands is better for the food, you don't damage the texture as much."

Shizuo shrugged and let them be, making his way to the other side of the kitchen.

…

The family were sat in their preferred seating arrangements along the table. Izaya tried his best to ignore the dog sat beside them, since she was inside now and chowing down on some turkey. Luckily, Luna was the other side of the table, but he always remained aware of her.

With their cocktails finished, dishes of all kinds of food were now set among the table; stuffing, vegetables, sauces, salads and of course, a large turkey placed right in the middle, with its golden texture and glistening delicious skin coating, you could practically smell the chestnut. Kichirou stood up, ready with a carving knife in one hand, and a glass of champagne in the other. "Today is a special day, it's been almost four years since our family has been in this kitchen all together for Christmas. It's even more special, since we're welcoming a new family member." Izaya shifted in his seat, a little uncomfortable about being the topic of Kichirou's speech.

"One that, by all accounts, makes my son extremely happy." Shizuo sunk a little in his chair, clearly embarrassed. "I know that from now on, that whatever Christmas we have together, Izaya will be part of it. So welcome to the family Izaya, and congratulations to both you and my son on your engagement."

Shizuo looked at Izaya, who seemed to be a little embarrassed himself, he slipped a hand under the table and placed it into Izaya's. Izaya looked at him and Shizuo smiled, he mouthed an, I love you to him. Izaya didn't say it back, but he smiled and squeezed his hand.

Kichirou tilted his glass toward them, coaxing the rest to do the same, except Izaya raised his glass of water. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!" a unison of voices followed.

Once Kichirou had carved the meat into slices, they began filling their plates with all the food.

…

After clearing all the plates and dishes once they were sure they were satisfyingly stuffed, they remained seated at the table, with new empty plates in front of them, ready for dessert. Namiko opened another bottle of champagne. "Are you sure you don't want a glass Izaya?"

Izaya smiled with a shake of his head. "No, I'm all right, thank you."

Namiko smiled and went ahead to fill everyone else's glass, then her own. "Dessert will be served soon," she said as she sat back down in her seat. "So, Izaya, tell us how you proposed."

Shizuo screamed inwardly, his parents were so open about their questions. Izaya chuckled at Shizuo's obvious discomfort, but he shrugged and turned his attention back to the parents. "Well, we were on our best friend's roof at the time."

"I thought it might have been Shizuo to pop the question, you know he can be impatient."

Shizuo growled a little. "Seriously mom…."

Izaya chuckled. "I was surprised myself; I didn't think I was ready for that kind of commitment, but with everything that happened, it was pointless ignoring what I initially didn't understand."

Shizuo could crawl under the table, why were they talking about it? It was so embarrassing.

Izaya almost laughed, Shizuo was being adorable right now. "It was a New Year's Eve party, hosted by our friend's. I asked him as they were counting down the seconds, fireworks and everything."

Namiko's eyes sparkled. "So cute!" Namiko looked over at her son. "What's wrong Shizuo? Are we embarrassing you?" she chuckled.

Shizuo grunted and tried to compose himself. "No…."

Izaya laughed then. "That's what you get."

Shizuo knew he was referring to the statement earlier when Izaya was making cocktails. He snorted and then placed his hands behind his head. "All right, dessert time." Izaya rolled his eyes, not only because of his sweet tooth, but the poor excuse to change the subject. Dessert. It was then he realized, he hadn't told them about his dislike for sweet things. Shizuo sensed his worry and placed his hand on Izaya's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, you won't offend her."

Izaya shook his head and hissed quietly, "Who the hell refuses dessert on Christmas day?"

Shizuo shrugged. "Lots of people."

"No they don't."

"Sure they do."

Namiko tilted her head as she came back to the table with a large glass dish, a trifle. "Something the matter you two?"

Kasuka, not normally one to get involved, seemed to understand the issue and felt he should say something. "I don't think Izaya likes desserts." Shizuo and Izaya looked at him, he just blurted it out, just like that.

Izaya chewed his lip. "Sorry. I should have mentioned that last night when my dislike for alcohol got brought up."

Namiko shook her head. "Don't be silly. It really isn't a problem; you should never feel the need to apologise. Is it just desserts in general?"

"I just prefer the taste of bitter foods; I don't like sweets or confectionary items."

Namiko smiled. "That's completely opposite to Shizuo, that's for sure."

Izaya smiled. "You should have seen the box of fresh cakes my sisters brought him for Christmas."

Shizuo snorted. "I have a sweet tooth, so what."

Namiko tilted her head in thought. "I have a grapefruit in the fridge. Will that be okay?"

Izaya blinked in surprise. "Are you sure?"

Namiko laughed. "Of course, at least now I know for next time."

…

Once dessert was finished, they had made their way into the living room, sitting comfortably among the cosy warmth of the fire. "Thanks for the meal. The food was great Dad, Mom." Shizuo commented with a satisfied smile.

"Our pleasure. It was nice to have you here for Christmas this year," Kichirou replied.

"It was nice to be home," Kasuka added.

"Christmas is about family after all. Everyone should be with someone." Namiko smiled at them, she was extremely happy, she couldn't have asked for a better Christmas.

Izaya didn't say anything, he simply laid his head on Shizuo's shoulder. Shizuo looked down at him, nudging him a little when he whispered, "You okay?"

Izaya smiled up at him. "Fine." Shizuo noted how content he was, he'd be willing to bet though, that Izaya was thinking back on all the other Christmas's, how different it was back then, wondering how lonely it might have been.

Shizuo tightened his hold around him, letting him know without having to say anything, that he wasn't alone anymore, that he had family that loved him.

…..

Izaya and Shizuo were lying in bed, still slightly overwhelmed with the day's events. Tomorrow they were going to head home, but Shizuo almost didn't want the warm feeling in his chest to end. "Shizu-chan?"

Shizuo startled, not expecting Izaya to speak, he thought he'd fallen asleep already. "Yeh?"

"Your parents are nice people."

Shizuo noticed he'd said people, not humans, they must have really made an impression. "Well they love you, that's for sure."

Izaya shrugged as he playfully replied. "Who wouldn't?"

"Tch. Should have met you before then."

Izaya smirked. "I still think I'd have won them over, even back then."

"Like I'd have let you take two steps into my house, or even my fricking yard."

Izaya chuckled. "Probably not. I don't think I'd have been that stupid to try."

Shizuo laughed. "Wouldn't put it passed you though."

That same feeling was back, how he felt last night, Izaya shifted and looked at him. "Shizu-chan…."

Shizuo could tell something else was bugging him, he'd sensed it in the living room too. "What's wrong Izaya?"

"I just - New Year's Eve won't be like this."

"Like what?"

Izaya sighed. "Nice. It won't be anything like this, warmth and kindness."

Oh. Izaya's family. Shizuo tightened his hold, wrapping his strong arms protectively around him. "Maybe not, but I'll be there, and your sisters will be there. We don't have to go though, I'm sure my parents would - or even Celty and Shinra might throw another party-"

Izaya shook his head. "No. I have to go, for them."

Shizuo kissed the informant's head. "Just know that, you're not alone this time, okay?"

Izaya shifted so that he could snuggle closer into Shizuo's embrace. "I have a present for you by the way, s'at home." Shizuo chuckled. "Did I say something funny?"

Shizuo almost laughed even more because Izaya became offended. Damn it, he's too adorable sometimes. "No, I wasn't laughing at you. Just, I have a present for you, I didn't bring it with me, wanted to spare us the embarrassment of exchanging gifts in front of my parents."

Izaya chuckled then. "Aren't we the thoughtful ones. I'll tell you what I got, if you tell me yours."

Shizuo clicked his tongue. "Kinda ruins the element of surprise when you open it though, doesn't it?"

Izaya hummed a response. "Not really, not like I went to much trouble, it's in an envelope after all."

Shizuo huffed a laugh. "D'you write a poem or something?"

Izaya snorted. "As if."

Shizuo laughed lightly. "Didn't think so." Izaya shifted and reached over to flick the bedside lamp on. Shizuo squeezed his eyes shut, protesting the sudden light. "What are you doing?"

"Just wait." Izaya then opened the draw and rummaged through its contents until he found what he was looking for, he grinned down at Shizuo, holding up the object.

"A pen?"

"Just wait." Izaya laughed. "Your mother was right; you really are impatient Shizu-chan." Shizuo rolled his eyes. "Give me your hand." Shizuo was sceptical; but did as told. Izaya grabbed his hand and lay his palm out flat against his own and began to write on him.

"The hell?"

"Shh!"

Shizuo huffed. "Why couldn't you find a piece of paper?"

"It's more fun this way."

"You're writing on my hand."

"Almost finished~" Izaya sang quietly, he then sat back with a smile on his face. "There!" Shizuo then looked at his hand. "That's what was in the envelope. Though it looks more eloquent then this, but it's the basic idea that counts."

Shizuo raised an eyebrow. "It says June 15th"

Izaya clapped sarcastically. "Very good Shizu-chan!" back in the day it would have really pissed him off, but now, Shizuo just rolled his eyes.

"Okay asshole. What's on June 15th?"

Izaya tilted his head, smirking a little. "It's not going to be as fun if I have to tell you."

Shizuo huffed, he was way too tired to figure out what Izaya was up to. For some reason, the informant seemed wide awake now, great. "Izaya - seriously, what's on June 15th?"

Izaya sighed. "You're so boring."

Shizuo growled. "Izaya."

Izaya chuckled. "Okay, I'll give you some hints." Shizuo sighed, he was seriously disliking this game. Izaya poked him lightly in the chest as he straddled him. "You – me – a little building – suits - signing of paperwork-" Izaya searched Shizuo's expression for any recognition. "Are you getting this yet, or do I need to continue?"

Shizuo sat up slightly, finally piecing it together, his mouth hung open. "Izaya - are you - what are you saying?"

Izaya smirked. "June 15th, that's the date we're going to get married."

"You're not kidding are you."

Izaya shook his head. "No Shizu-chan, for once, I'm not. I think we've waited long enough; a lot of obstacles keep getting in the way, something is trying to keep us from it. I want to do this with you, before it might be too late."

Shizuo frowned. Too late, what the hell does that mean? Shizuo tensed."Don't talk like that." Izaya sensed the blond's distress and leaned down to kiss him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

Shizuo growled low in his throat, tightening his hold. "You're not going anywhere."

Izaya felt guilty for making him get upset, he knew how Shizuo felt about this kind of thing, especially what had happened to them recently. He tried to chuckle. "Well I'm not dying or anything." Shizuo glared at him, Izaya sighed, so much for the light joke. "Shizu-chan, I'm not going anywhere. I didn't mean for it to sound like that, but you know what I was talking about before, something always tries to come between us. I want to marry you, before anything like that happens again." Shizuo gritted his teeth. "If - if it happens again. Okay?"

Finally, Shizuo calmed down, then he broke into a full smile. "You really want to do this?"

Izaya nodded. "I asked didn't I?" Shizuo pulled Izaya down and kissed him, all his emotions driving him. Izaya then pulled away. "Firstly though, what's my present? Secondly, there's also the last obstacle to overcome too."

Shizuo nodded. "New Year's."

Izaya grimaced and then smirked again. "Present first." Shizuo laughed at him. "Well?"

Shizuo smirked, now understanding Izaya's teasing. "I'll give you a hint." Izaya pouted, aware that Shizuo was mocking him. "It's something you lost, and you love the damn thing so much, you always had it on, everywhere."

Izaya nearly gasped. "Shizu-chan…. my jacket?"

"Well obviously not the original, but I found a replica, at least, I had one made anyway."

Izaya couldn't believe it, he really loved that jacket and Shizuo just - "Are you serious?"

Shizuo shrugged. "I know that I got you one kind of similar last year, but I know this one meant something to you, or it had more value. I figured; you'd prefer that I tried to replace that one rather than the one I got you before."

Izaya leaned down and kissed him again, he hadn't expected Shizuo to go to all that trouble, just for a jacket. Who knew Shizuo would pay attention to the trivial things like oddly strange attachments? Then again, Izaya would replace Shizuo's bartender outfits if he happened to lose them all somehow. It was just pure luck, that their friends moved Shizuo's things from Izaya's apartment that day, they'd been spared from the fire.

However, since then, they'd learnt from it, they kept their most valuable possessions in a safe deposit box, somewhere in the city. Which reminded Izaya that he needed to put that album his sisters gave him in there. "Thank you," he finally said as he then snuggled against him.

Shizuo smiled. "I'll think of something new next year, I swear."

Izaya laughed. "Isn't it supposed to be the thought that counts?"

"Yeah, I guess." There was silence for a moment, Izaya closed his eyes, finally ready to sleep. "Izaya?" or not.

"What?"

Shizuo had been thinking about this for a while, he had never been one to ponder the phrase, 'everything happens for a reason' and yet - "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad you got stabbed."

Izaya laughed, if he were anyone else, that would have made him extremely annoyed. He knew exactly what Shizuo was talking about. That day, if Gok hadn't have stabbed him in that alleyway, the two of them most likely would have never gotten together, nor would they have ever become friends. They'd have continued hating each other until the end of time. Izaya smiled and linked his hand with Shizuo's. "Me too."

Shizuo then grinned. "Should send him a thank you card."

The two laughed together at the strange notion, only the two of them, could ever be grateful for something so absurd.

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