A few days later, it was the day Izaya was dreading.

It was time for Haru's doctor appointment.

After Akakbayashi had called him, telling him the paperwork as all in, and Izaya was now legally his father, the first thing he did was set up a doctor's appointment. It was weird, considering the only doctor he went to wasn't even a real one. But Izaya wasn't taking his son to Shinra. Not because he didn't trust his friend, but Izaya wanted to make sure Haru was always healthy and happy.

One of the best ways to ensure that was to get him to a real, certified doctor. Especially with his suspicion that Haru's biological parents (though he used the term 'parents' lightly) never took the child to a doctor. So, as Haru's true father, he'd make sure he got everything he needed.

Despite this firm decision, he felt many uncertain fears. The main one was that Haru would have some horrible sickness that couldn't be cured, and even though Haru hadn't showed any such systems, he couldn't help but be afraid.

However, he knew that having those fears was better than being careless. He just had to be prepared for anything the doctor might say, and be ready for things he may have to do. No matter what, Haru was still his son, he had made a commitment.

That morning, he leaned over the new crib. He lifted his sleeping body upright, and trailed his thumb around his cheek in a comforting circle. "Haru," He said gently,"It's time to wake up, buddy, we've got a busy day ahead of us."

It took a few moments of talking to wake up the baby. But soon, his blue eyes opened. The baby grunted slightly, before reaching his hands out. Izaya then slid his hands under the baby's arms, bringing him up, and against his chest. The baby instantly clutched to his chest, and started to coo gently.

"You have to go to the doctors today," Izaya began,"It's super important, so we make sure you're nice and healthy, and that you have all your shots."

"Ababababa," Haru gurgled.

Izaya nodded firmly. "Couldn't have said it better myself," He declared, moving over to the bag of clothes he had bought. He pulled out something simple, a easily removable blue long sleeved footsie, with a yellow pacifier, and a nice, fuzzy blanket for extra warmth.

Izaya himself was really too tired to look through his own drawers and change, he just grabbed some black pants and kept the same grey hoodie on. After trying to make some sense of his days old bedhead, he gathered up the baby, and out the door they went.

The raven was extremely relieved to find the sliding doors were not covered by snow this time around. As he walked through the doors, Haru's blue eyes filled with curiosity, taking in all the sights and scenes of the city around him. He looked so in awe, his tiny hand reaching up towards the sky. Then, he gave a toothless smile, and a happy squeal escaped him.

Izaya instantly smiled at this, finding happiness in such a small thing. "Haru, you're turning me into such a softie," He grumbled, but with no venom in his voice.

Haru looked towards him after hearing his voice, and giggled happily. Sticking his fingers in his mouth, he then managed to reach up and pat that hand on Izaya's face. The raven sputtered slightly, which only made the baby laugh more. Some people in the crowd crossing the street looked at them and chuckling at the sight, cooing at Haru and Izaya's interactions.

The raven barely noticed them, however, too busy on keeping a hold of the baby and maneuvering through the crowd. Haru kept busy on the trip by babbling to himself, and after a while he would look at Izaya for conformation to whatever he was saying. The raven would always nod and respond to the best of his abilities.

Izaya could swear he was trying to talk, he was trying to say something. At the end of every babble, when he went to look at Izaya, he would say,"Da?" Izaya felt his heart and chest swell with pride at the thought of Haru calling him dad, and he got more excited as time went on.

But he didn't have much time to worry about that, as they got to the hospital. Izaya actually felt.. Rather uncomfortable. It had been a long time since he'd gone to an actual doctor, and he wasn't sure how to react.

He walked over to the stand, and signed in to the waiting room, holding Haru close with his other hand. The receptionist smiled at Haru, and said,"Aww! What a cutie pie!"

Then, Haru did something Izaya wasn't expecting. He was such an excitable and lovable child, Izaya had fully been expecting the baby to reach out and try and hug the woman like he always did with Izaya.

Instead, Haru let out a nervous noise, his hands fisting Izaya's sweater, and buried his face against the raven's chest. Izaya blinked in surprise, and then let out a quick chuckle. "Ah, I'm sorry, he's a little shy," He explained, surprising himself with the genuine emotion that made it's way into his voice.

The woman merely gave a small laugh and nodded. "No, no, it's alright," She explained,"He's obviously very attached to his daddy, and no wonder, you seem like such a sweet young man!"

Izaya raised his eyebrows again, before a blush overcame his face. Dammit, what's gotten into me?! He thought, before smiling back and shrugging.

The woman then smiled once more, before she said,"I see that you're going to have his first check up and get his shots. The doctor is ready for you already, which is good because having him in the waiting room with the other children might be dangerous without his shots."

"Okay, thank you," Izaya said politely, and then followed her through the doors.

After a few minutes of waiting inside the doctor's room, listening to Haru's gentle chatter, the doctor entered the room.

"Hello!" The man said,"I'm Dr. Ishida, and I'll be your son's doctor. You must be Orihara-san?"

Haru instantly stopped his cooing, and buried against Izaya's chest again.

"Ah, yes that's me," Izaya responded, his hand going to rub Haru's back comfortingly.

Ishida pushed his glasses up, and read over his papers. "Hmm.. It looks like you'll be needed to do a longer checkup since Haru hasn't been here before. Is that okay with you?" He asked, eyes growing concerned

The raven gave a tired smile, and said,"I'm okay with it, I just have a feeling that Haru isn't going to make this easy for us."

Izaya had no idea how correct he was.

It was a disaster.

Haru was not happy whatsoever with getting touched by the doctor, or any tool the doctor had with him. It didn't matter if Izaya was holding him or not, the baby was making sure everyone knew he was not happy with this. He clutched to Izaya as tight as possible, and cried his little heart out whenever he wasn't being held by his father, such as during the weighing.

They were near the end now, Haru was sniffing softly, his little hands squeezing the fabric of Izaya's hood. Izaya felt like guilt was suffocating him, he hated seeing Haru upset. The raven cooed gently, rocking the baby the slightest bit. "It's okay, Haru, we're almost done," He promised,"Then we can go, and you can have a nice nap."

Haru looked up at Izaya with red rimmed eyes. He let out some questioning gurgles, starting to calm down. But just then, the door opened once more, and Ishida was back, this time with three syringes. Instantly, Haru whipped his head back around and hid his face in Izaya's chest.

"I'm afraid that this is going to be the worst part," Ishida declared,"We're going to give the first few vaccines today, to get him started, and we'll start preparations for the rest. I'll be honest, he's going to hate this. But you can hold him for this part, so I want you to keep him as still and as relaxed as possible, okay?"

Izaya nodded, and rubbed Haru's back gently. He moved Haru to the table, spreading the blanket out under him and then wrapping the baby up- legs still visible -while supporting his head. He then moved Haru back to the lap, holding him in a tight, loving embrace.

The first injection caused an outburst of sobs and cries, and the next two weren't much better. Izaya felt his heart constricting as he tried to calm his son down, rocking him and making gentle noises to try and calm him. "It's okay, Haru," He promised,"It's over now, you're okay son.."

The doctor had finished, and was removing his gloves as Haru calmed down. "Now, we'll set up the next few appointments for shots, hopefully he'll be all ready for the normal schedule by the age of one." He explained.

"Wait, so you figured out his age?" Izaya asked hopefully, as Haru managed to yank his hand from the blanket and grab Izaya's collar.

Ishida nodded. "Well, it's only an estimate right now.. But I'd guess he was somewhere around five to six months," He declared.

Really? Izaya thought incredulously, turning to look at the tiny baby in his hands. "I thought he was so much younger.." The raven responded.

"It's not surprising that you thought that, Orihara-san," The doctor reiterated,"
My guess is that, from the story you told us, his development was stunted because of his biological parents' mistreatment and negligence. However, under your care, he is blossoming very quickly."

Izaya felt his face heat up, not used to getting good compliments from people. It also helped that it was a doctor talking about his son. "Um.. Thank you," He awkwardly responded.

Ishida nodded,"I'll set up your next appointment, a month from now, and we'll do the last of the shots. You should switch him over to solids before you come back, and expect him to get cranky, because he's going to be teething, though I see he's already gotten a few of his teeth. I would say to prepare for him sitting up, rolling, and push ups, but his growth has been stunted, as I mentioned before, but it's not too late to fix that. I'll give you pamphlets and book recommendations, he'll need to have you help him with leg and arm exercises as well as other things to get his strength up. Hopefully, with your care, he'll be able to grow up healthy and strong."

Izaya felt his rage grow even more towards whoever left Haru in the street, but he quickly nodded. "Anything that he needs, I will do," He promised without a second thought, and why would he have?

He would do anything for the ones he loved.

The doctor gave him a few more tips, as well as telling izaya the best solids to start Haru off on. He explained the best ways to switch Haru over, telling him to start slowly and work his way to the end, as well as telling Izaya some of the milestones he could look forward to. It was a lot of information to take in, even for him. All that, along with the struggle of keeping Haru calm through the shots and examinations, left Izaya feeling completely burned out. But he couldn't crash yet, he had to get the baby shopping done.

As much as Izaya wanted to not shop, he knew if he didn't do it now, he would procrastinate. So, he thanked the doctor, picked up Haru, and left the doctor's office.

Haru was just, if not more, worn out than Izaya, and it was easy to tell. Instead of looking around at the people and buildings while babbling, he instead was whimpering, his face in izaya's shoulder, and little hands squeezing the fabric of his hoodie once more. Any loud noises made the child more frantic and sad, and it stabbed Izaya's heart with ice every time.

Looking at how much more sidewalk they had to go, Izaya huffed out in exhaustion. They needed to stop and take a break, for the both of them.

Izaya turned into the nearest open build he could find, the doors sliding open as he walked through. When they slid shut, it was as if the noise had been turned off. The smells that invaded his nose were sweet and robust, it didn't take him long to realize he was in a cafe.

A bit different than I expected, but it's nice and quiet, that's all that matters. Izaya thought, releasing a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He looked down at the baby in his arms, whose watery blue eyes returned his gaze. He released a nervous jumble of words, his hand reaching for Izaya's face

The raven gave an exhausted smile, leaning down slightly to kiss the baby's head. "Don't worry, Haru, it's nice and quiet here. We'll stay here for a little bit, okay? Daddy promises. Nobody will bother us here." He promised.

However the world just seemed to prove him wrong. There was a few quick taps on his shoulder. Izaya was too exhausted to realize why that could end badly. When he turned around, his eyes widened at the sight of a very family helmet.

It was Celty.

Izaya jumped slightly, swinging around and stumbling back as a strangled noise escaped his mouth. His arms moved to press Haru closer against him protectively, eyes wide with surprise. "W-what are you doing in Shinjuku?!" He exclaimed.

Celty didn't respond at first, looking as if she was frozen in surprise, one hand still in the air from where she had tapped him. Finally, she whipped out her PDA, and shakily typing on it. [What are you doing with a baby?!] She demanded.

Izaya wanted to instantly snap 'none of your business'. But he knew that wouldn't end well, it would sound like he was trying to do something evil again. But what could he do? His whole body was paralyzed with fear, a million different explanations flying through his head but a million more of what could be Celty's reactions flashing through him. All he wanted right now was to take care of his son, how could he explain that to someone who had no reason to trust him?! What could he-

"Dada."

The raven's shocked thoughts suddenly were halted by the small word that echoed through his ears. His heart beat quickly, red eyes turning to look down at the innocent blue ones that belonged to his son. "Did you.." He began,"Did you just speak?"

Haru's face brightened with glee, as if he knew what his father was asking. The child wiggled around, his few teeth appearing as he raised his hands in the air again. "Dada!" He exclaimed,"Dada! Dada!"

Everything else around Izaya faded away, while a jocular, prideful, excitable feeling erupted inside of his heart. It was such a wonderful, parental feeling, something that Izaya had never felt before. Suddenly, Izaya didn't care about who or what was around him.

"Haru!" He squealed, his arms going under Haru's, and lifting the baby up above him. "You glorious, intelligent, beautiful child! You said your, as a jocular and prideful feeling flowed through his heart. It was strange, but yet he felt it so deep within him, a parental emotion that he'd never felt before in his whole life. Suddenly, Izaya didn't care who was around him.

"Haru!" He exclaimed, lifting the baby up above him. "You amazing, beautiful, intelligent little child! You said your first word! I'm so proud of you!"

Haru let out happy gurgles, his hands holding onto Izaya the best he could while he cheerfully said,"Dada! Dada!" Izaya smiled happily, lowering the child a bit, and placing a kiss on Haru's forehead, a genuine smile appearing on his face.

Despite the loving and beautiful sight in front of her, Celty was completely petrified, her mind going into overload. Her first thought at the sight of the informant broker was that he had to have kidnapped that child, and was planning to do god knows what to it. But then, the child called him dad.. And Izaya reacted with emotions the Dullahan never imagined he could even express. It all happened so fast, she felt slightly dizzy. What in the world was going on?!

It seemed Izaya realized she was still there, too, as he turned towards her again, bringing the baby to his chest once more. In response, the baby's bright blue eyes looked at her suspiciously. One little hand went to ball up the fabric of Izaya's unfamiliar grey hoodie possessively, as he firmly declared,"Dada."

Celty slowly raised a hand, pointing at the child hesitantly. Then lifted it so that she was pointing at Izaya, desperate for a straight answer.

Then, the raven surprised her once more. Instead of giving her a smirk or a riddle, he blushed. The Orihara Izaya had just blushed. "I...Um… Yes, Haru's my son.." He finally declared, arms moving to hold the child closer in a protective manner.

Celty almost felt like she was going to explode with shock, fumbling for her PDA so that she could type out a simple message. [How?] She demanded.

"He's adopted, I found him in a box in an alleyway before the snowstorm," Izaya explained, looking down at Haru with sad eyes.

But Celty still wasn't done, as she pushed the PDA in front of Izaya's face again. [Why?] She demanded.

"Why?" Izaya echoed, his eyes flickering with confusion. He seemed to think about it for a minute, before shrugging. "I.. Don't know, honestly. But after I saw him, it just felt like it was what I needed to do," He responded.

Celty wanted to claim he was bluffing, but she found no reason to. Looking at his appearance, the baby's obvious affection for him, and Izaya's obvious affection for the child, she couldn't deny it. Izaya really loved this kid.

Curiosity still flowing through her, Celty patted the nearby table, and moved to sit down. After realizing what Celty wanted to do, Izaya moved to the second chair across from her.

For a moment, they sat in awkward silence, the only noise around them was the baby's babbles. Then, Celty finally broke the silence. [How did Shiki react?] She asked curiously.

"You know, he actually reacted a lot better than I than I thought he would," Izaya responded, smiling in amusement. "He gave me some time off to take care of him, and Akabayashi even helped me adopt him," He explained.

[Akabayashi?!] Celty exclaimed [I thought he wasn't a huge fan of you?]

"He isn't, or at least, he wasn't," Izaya explained, before a chuckle escaped him. "But he offered to help me as long as he could be Haru's uncle."

Celty couldn't help but give a small shake of her shoulders in laughter, but she stared at Izaya in awe as well. Everything about him right now was way different than the Raven she knew, and it drove her crazy trying to wrap her head around it. How could this be the same cold hearted informant broker that she saw not even a month ago?!

[So you're taking a break?] She questioned. [Are you.. Going to go back to the job afterwards?]

Instead of the expected instant response of,"Of course! I love my humans, what else would I do?", Izaya actually stopped and thought about it. She could see the wheels turning in his head.

Finally, he declared,"I… Don't know… All I'm thinking about right now is Haru, he's what matters the most. I have enough money to sustain us for the next few months. When the time comes, I'll worry about that. But if it's too dangerous to keep working that job, I may just quit."

[All that for a baby?] She tested.

"All that for my son," Izaya reaffirmed.

Celty looked at Izaya's eyes, and she could see that firm protectiveness inside of them. She saw no reason to believe he was lying, and it made her feel surprised. I guess Shinra was right, Izaya does have a heart.

She leaned over a bit, looking at the baby in his arms. The little boy, who was babbling a moment ago, turned to look at Celty again. This time, with curiosity instead of suspicion.

Noticing how close and interested she was, Izaya suddenly asked her,"Would you like to hold him?"

Celty froze up, moving to stand up and shaking her helmet. [No no no, what if I drop him?] She worriedly typed.

"You won't drop him, I trust you," Izaya responded, giving her a gentle smile that seemed to brighten the room, making Celty freeze in surprise. "Plus, I'm right here, if anything happens I'll help."

The Dullahan stayed still for a moment, before slowly nodding, and holding out her hands. Izaya moved forward, placing Haru in her arms and adjusting her hands so that she was cradling him perfectly.

Once he finished, Izaya stepped away, leaving Celty holding the child. She stood, arms tense as if she feared that relaxing would make Haru break. As she stared down at the baby, he returned the gaze, just as frozen as her.

It remained like that for several moments, until Haru moved one tiny hand up and began grabbing for her. A small smile grew on the baby's face, and a few giggles escaped him, as he babbled utter nonsense. Celty tensed up even more at first, but then everything finally caught up with her. The baby was okay, and he liked her!

Slowly adjusting him, she wiggled her black clad fingers in front of his face. Haru let out an excited squeal, his hands attempting to grab the offending digits as more giggles escaped him. Celty felt a warm feeling wrap around her heart at the beautiful, innocent sight, and she couldn't seem to get enough of it.

Haru gave another excited coo, but then he noticed his father out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head slightly, he reached his little hand out. "Daaaada!" He squealed,"Dada! Dada!"

Celty felt a laugh coming up once more, as she transferred the child to Izaya's arms. The young man carefully held onto him, and Celty could see the utter love and devotion that was shared between them.

After Haru relaxed against the man again, Izaya turned back towards her with a nervous look in his eyes. "Celty?" He began, gaining a not of acknowledgement in return. Izaya looked worried for a moment before he finally continued.

"I know I haven't done anything to gain your trust, but could you keep Haru a secret for me?" He asked hopefully,"I just want to keep him safe, and if people find out about him, they'll try and use him to get to me. I don't want that to happen, I'll do whatever I have to if it means keeping him safe.. If you could keep him a secret, that would mean a lot to me."

Celty stared at Izaya, taking in his attitude. She could tell why he was worried, he was afraid that she would say no, that she would spread the secret. But she could tell that he really did care. Plus, Haru was a really sweet child. It was obvious that he loved the kid, and that Haru loved him back. Celty didn't think that she could handle anything happening to him either.

Pulling out her PDA, she then typed [You don't have to worry, Izaya, your secret is safe with me.]

Izaya's tense shoulders instantly relaxed, a sigh of relief escaping his mouth. Celty then quickly typed on her PDA once more.

[But] She began [I have one condition. I want to be able to come and visit.]

Izaya smiled, and replied,"Of course. Anytime you want to come over you can, I'm sure Haru will be excited to see you."

It seemed it was now Celty's turn to be surprising. The Dullahan shook her head, and then said [I don't want to visit just Haru, I want to see you too] She declared.

Izaya blinked several times, and then tilted his head. "W-wait, really?" He questioned,"Why? I thought you hated me."

[I did before. I thought you were a cruel and heartless bastard, but it's easy to tell that something has changed.] The Dullahan explained [This is a side of you I've never seen, and I would love to see more.]

Izaya's red eyes widened in surprise, a slight red tint coming on his face. There was a warm feeling in his chest, and it felt amazing. With a warm smile on his face, he nodded and replied,"I think I would like that a lot."

Celty nodded in return, agreeing wholeheartedly with Izaya. Looking over to the counter, she then said [I should get going now. I promised Shinra I would get these pastries he has been raving about. I'll be sure to text soon.]

Izaya nodded, and looked back down at Haru. "It's been a long day for us, so we should probably head home, right Haru?" He asked the child. However, Haru wouldn't be able to reply, as he had fallen asleep.

Izaya and Haru left first, off onto the streets and heading towards their home. Thankfully, Haru stayed asleep the whole time. As they walked, Izaya couldn't help but muse. Celty said that he had changed.. Was that true?

Yes, it is. He thought. I have been acting different. But for some reason, I don't really care.

Ever since he met Haru, things around and about him had changed. He had made friends, he was a parent, many of his darker urges had vanished, and he was feeling many more emotions than he had before. A few weeks ago, he had been afraid to feel, but now he could barely imagine life without it.

For the first time in his life, Izaya felt human.

But he wouldn't have it any other way.