-- -Chapter 39: Rough encounter - --

Keys clunked. A door was opened.

But silence was the only thing greeting the blond as he entered his home.

"Flea?"

No light was turned on, no movement perceptible in the darkness. For a moment Shizuo expected Izaya to jump at him from some random direction. Just to piss him off, for the hell of it.

But nothing happened. There had been a small spark of unreasonable hope that the flea was still there, but he seemed to be gone.

Letting himself slump onto the couch in the living room, the blond sighed.

Last night- including the afternoon before that had been…. special.

He didn't know what had gotten into him when he chased the flea in the streets- and he didn't know what had gotten into Izaya to actually go along with it.

Be it the alley or at his flat-

It was kinda scary how he lost control- how he just lost his mind. Everything was filled with need, with lust, with the desire to claim the flea like he was his own.

He was scared of how much he let himself go- how Izaya passed out,

but also- …. how much he loved it.

Everything.

From the night until the moment Izaya regained consciousness. The way he briefly kissed him, just to assure him that everything was fine. The way they fell asleep next to each other as if it were natural. How they woke up- the breakfast he made for the flea- if anything could have made the day more perfect than it would be the raven's presence upon his return.

Finding him right here after work would have been the cherry on top.

An involuntary smile crept onto Shizuo's lips as he groaned.

It was then that he noticed the soft vibration from his phone.

A message.

Quickly flipping it open, the smile he wore only grew broader.

From Izaya.

But as fast as his expression had emitted joy- it changed.

The content of the message was at fault. Stating how Izaya would be away for a week starting tomorrow, their next scheduled meeting being once he returned.

Annoyance replaced the smile he had held and caused his expression to grow stern. Nothing was wrong about the message but somehow he just felt ….. used.

Like some tissues.

Like he was just a fucking convenience.

Was that what last night was? … convenience?

Before he knew it his fist had connected with the wall next to him, creating yet another dent in his apartment.

He should feel guilty about it but somehow he just didn't care. Throwing his phone onto the nightstand in his bedroom he just let himself drop into the bed.

He was just done.

Done.

.

.

.

Izaya was as well.

Red eyes flickering up he turned around in his swivel chair with an excruciating sigh.

"Can you do anything actually right, Namie?" someone else seemed to also be done with several things as Namie glared at her boss. "I don't know, can I?"

This had been going on for hours now. She didn't know who exactly had spoiled Izaya's mood that hard but she hoped whoever did went to hell.

"Apparently not." Izaya scoffed, flinging a set of papers towards her desk. Taking a deep breath the woman collected herself before clearing the mess from top of her keyboard.

"What about the figures I requested?"

Another breath. "On your desk."

"They are wrong."

A frown cracked. "You dug them up."

"I doubt that."

There are noises that just feel painful to the ear when they are heard. And the sound of Namie's Laptop screen hitting the keyboard with just a little too much force to not crack anything was one of them.

Heels clacked and her coat was grabbed as Izaya glanced towards his suddenly very quiet secretary.

"Where are you going?"

Wordlessly she gathered the documents piled on her desk and dropped them on Izaya's. "Home office."

She turned.

"There is no such thing in our contract."

And the door was slammed shut.

Silence spread inside the spacious apartment like butter in a pan. It was smooth, yet sticky in a way Izaya didn't like.

Clicking his tongue he turned to his computer screen once more. It took Izaya a minute, maybe a few more when he started to notice the mistakes. None made by Namie actually.

"What messy work."

And why? Yes. Exactly. Because of Shizuo. Sadly this time the reason was not as pleasant as last time. Instead of a boner there was a deep frown carved into his forehead and signs of various headaches coming up.

He hadn't been able to concentrate for days- it's been what, half a week? His mood hadn't been the greatest when he left Shizuo´s apartment in the first place. But from then on it just spiraled downwards.

His work and flawlessness had also committed a plunge into oblivion. Not exactly something a professional like him should do.

Flinging the papers away Izaya pushed himself off the desk. The chair's backrest was set back and he slowly spun around his own axis while looking at the ceiling.

What now? Work was no option and he was bored out of his mind.

It was his stomach that brought on his attention as it growled in a resounding complaint.

Ootoro.

That was a good idea.

Taking a break and enjoying a few pieces of high quality sashimi was a sure fire way to elevate his mood at least in some ways.

Pushing the chair backwards he quickly sprung to his feet. The coat wasn't far and neither was the elevator leading down to the first floor. Letting the front door slip shut behind his back he took a deep breath.

The air in Shinjuku wasn't exactly something to call fresh, but it was a change to his apartment nonetheless. The vibrant mix of voices chattering around him and the comforting knowledge that no one knew who he was, what he did and where he went were oddly reassuring. He was his own boss. Independent in so many ways.

Maybe this was one of the reasons he found himself so fed up with Shizu-chan recently. After all he had made that brute part of his life. Did he want to do that? No. Sure he was a better option than Hachiro but that didn't change the fact that Izaya absolutely hated needing someone. And Shizuo was the same.

He didn't want Izaya in his life.

Feeling the frown on his forehead grow deeper and the headache intensifying he sighed. He should stop thinking about that topic, it was only going to make his mood worse and that wasn't what he had left his apartment for.

Good thing Simon's place wasn't all too far.

A couple elbows to his side in the underground train later he stepped out of the station that led him to Simon's sushi. It seemed he was running a good business today. More people than usual frequented the place and Izaya had to actually search to spot the proud owner. Flyers at hand and smiling broadly he was waving at several people as usual. It was when his eyes met Izaya's that the smile dropped for just a second.

"Ah, Izaya- No fighting today!"

Wow, a nice greeting. Considering Izaya had been on his worst performance the past few weeks Simon should have nothing to complain about. There had been no fighting, no parkour, no uproars- really he hadn't been quite himself had he? With no reason to annoy the monster-

Feeling the unpleasant frown return to his face Izaya sighed.

Izaya was about to ask just why Simon needed to remind him of Shizu-chan first thing but the question got stuck in his throat real quick.

"Ah, Izaya."

This.

Was the worst case scenario.

"I thought you were out of the city."

Casually like it was the most common thing Tom walked out of the store, a couple sushi at hand. And who was trailing right behind?

Shizuo.

Shizuo fucking Heiwajima.

Surprise swayed in Shizu-chan's words but annoyance showed on his face. Ah, right, that's what he was to the blond.

Annoying.

Feeling a fed up smirk draw across his features, Izaya merely shrugged.

"I thought amoebas can't talk but we learn new things everyday."

To be honest Izaya realized he was behaving off. Aggressive, taunting, like an asshole basically. But neither his mood nor his conscience saw any problem when Shizu-chan's expression thwarted into a very well known and beloved show of anger.

"Huh?" He was mad.

That was easy.

Seemed they were both not in the best mood today.

Half expecting a fight, half expecting a vending machine to his head, Izaya's body tensed. Fine.

Actually this was perfect.

He wanted to be chased. He wanted to get on Shizu-chan's nerves. It served him right, it really-

But then the blond sighed.

Sighed and turned around.

"Go home." That was all he said, casually flipping a box of cigarettes out of his pocket.

A mild case of irritation overwhelmed the flea at the gesture. A gesture lacking power, lacking loss of control- rage-

Perplexed, as much as fed up, he didn't even realize what he was doing when he snatched the cigarette box from Shizu-chan's grasp. A vein popped, his expression churned and Izaya's feet sprang into motion quicker than Shizu-chan could react.

"Izayaaa!"

Tom sighed, Simon shook his head.

The chase was on.

Fast, faster- elegant like a dragonfly Izaya maneuvered his way through the alleys while Shizuo followed in the manner of a berserker. A stop sign flew just past Izaya's head as he dodged by a hair to the right.

It was exhilarating-

"Izayaa!" Earnumbingly loud the voice hallowed through the streets. People evaded the two walking epitomes of catastrophes and Izaya couldn't help but grin at the show.

It was fun-

But it was short.

After what felt like only a few minutes and only mild fatigue Izaya heard his followers' steps slow down. An alley was their current location filled with nothing but a set of vending machines and trash cans.

Turning around, Izaya faced the blond. Shizuo seemed barely out of breath, he was far from done. But his expression- There was no furiosity to be seen. No anger.

Instead something else had gotten the upper hand.

"Whatever."

Indifference.

Shizu-chan didn't say anything else. Fixing his clothes, his tiebow, his vest he just stood. Obviously still mildly annoyed, but calm. Way too calm.

Feeling his own hair stand on end, Izaya's eyes narrowed. He didn't like it.

"What? Running away from me now?" Izaya called, his feet skipping towards the object of his attention. But Shizu-chan didn't seem to care.

"Go home flea you are annoying."

The words sounded oddly harsh to Izaya's ears.

Harsher than anything the blond had ever yelled or thrown at him.

"Tired of me already?" Izaya questioned, an odd tinge of desperation driving his tongue. Just where were these words coming from? "Or scared I might just tell everyone who you like to hook up with?"

The fist that slammed into the wall next to Izaya's head came as a surprise. Softly the wall crumbled and Izaya's eyes darted back to Shizu-chan's.

"The hell is wrong with you today?" Ah.

Shizu-chan was angry.

Actually angry.

Shizuo didn't see the knife coming until it grazed past his cheek.

A droplet of blood collected on his skin and unceremoniously tainted his white shirt.

The expression on Izaya's face was one of maddening delight.

"Aw sorry, did I ruin your brother's gift?"

Shizuo really didn't mean to kill anyone today but for god damns sake the flea was testing his patience really hard right now.

Raising Izaya by the hem of his coat he was ready to yell.

Ask what the fuck he thougt he was doing- but somehow the words failed him.

What for?

He knew Izaya by now. He knew this was just one of his stupid games. Just like Shizuo was just a stupid asset to his life insurance.

He was done with Izaya's games.

And so he turned.

"Go home flea."

Bewilderment reflected in Izaya's expression, but really right now Shizuo couldn't bring himself to care why. "I need to catch my brother from a shooting. I'm already late because of you."

A glare was all he received in return. Pure venom. Hatred.

"Hey, protozoan, I'm not done yet."

Droplets of rain started to drip from the heavy clouds in the sky as Shizuo's eyes narrowed. Gathering his last few threads of patience he sighed deeply.

"But I am flea. See you next week, or whenever. You have my number."

He was done. Done with Izaya's stupid games. He had thought the last night had changed something in their relationship but what he was confronted with today was worse than before.

He felt heavy.

Turning he headed towards the end of the alley. Away from Izaya.

"You really think I'm just going to let you walk off on me?" Izaya snarled. Shizu-chan never ended a fight, it was always Izaya. "Huh? Protozoan?" His steps sped up. "Hey!" He jerked at his shoulder- "I'm talking to you!"

Shizuo whipped around at that. Shoulders crashed into the wall as the blond threw the flea off. Anger mixed with frustration decorated his expression.

"What the fuck is wrong with you today!?"

Flabbergasted Izaya couldn't do anything else but stare.

Shizuo looked angry.

Like.

Really.

Not like usual

No gentle glance.

No smile.

Nothing but raw anger.

And suddenly there was just sadness. Not in Shizu-chan's expression but in Izaya's. A hole of nothing opened in his chest as his stomach fell.

"... who knows?" the words felt like needles in his throat.

Shizuo had been about to go on, elevating his anger, but looking at Izaya he suddenly felt a tinge of guilt. Something was off with the flea today, but he couldn't figure out for the hell of it what it was.

The sharp ring of his phone snapped him out of his thoughts. Quickly fumbling for his pant's pocket he pulled it out. It was Kasuka.

Ah. Right. He was already late-

Quickly answering the call he raised the device to his ear. "I'm on my way, I got held up, I-" At that Izaya suddenly moved, faster than Shizuo was able to react. Smooth like a lizard he snaked his way out of his grip.

"Leave, he is waiting for you. I won't keep you any longer."

That was all he announced, before heading for the main street.

Dumbfounded Shizuo stood, phone at hand and hair starting to get soaked in the rain. His brother was talking but he didn't really hear what he said.

Something was off about the flea. Nothing tragic, and yet-

His legs set into motion, towards the end of the alley, giving chase- but when he turned the corner the flea was already out of sight.

To be continued~

*Alright guys, so I have some Shizaya news~! xD

I'm pulling the 50 Shades of Gray move xD For those who don't know:

That book?

It was originally a fanfiction of "Twilight" xD The author "originified" the story aka swapped names, appearance (kinda not so much lol) and yah some general Twilightish-stuff xD

Cuz who likes being sued for copyright infringement?

Right, no one xD

SO

Why am I telling you this?

Because I´m doing the same with my Shizaya xD

Starting November 10th 2022 I will be releasing MONTHLY shizaya BOOKS xDDD

What does that exactly mean? Well, for instance, Behind closed doors has been reworked by me, aka I swapped Izaya/Shizuo/Shinra´s names and I deleted/reworked some very obvious DRRR stuff, like "Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, "Izaya" is no "informant", (but something equally sly lol) etc xD Shizuo has no inhuman strength, Celty is no Dullahan, you get the gist :3

But the plot, the dialogues, the gayy all stayed the same :3 I came up with slightly tuned versions of their characters so everything made sense and in general overhauled the story xD

"Originified" if you will xDD I'm also going to draw a cover with the new appearance haha

As to why I'm doing this:

#1 Honestly I just wanna hold some real book versions of my stories lmao

#2 Not gonna lie, just in case I make enough money to live of this, I might just quit my job and become a full fledged writer lmao

Shizaya, original reworks/ children's books (already have 700 pages of that at home too xD) No matter what, my mind is a constant stream of plotlines and I need to write them down anyway so it would be kinda awesome to have more time for that xD

So if you ever wanted to support me in some way, or just love one my stories so much you wished you had a real life copy of it - well this is your chance xDD I just hope you don't get eye seizures from the name swap xD

I plan to release the books on amazon via self publishing per following schedule:

(I will give you a rough schedule for now, but I should be able to release on those exact dates)

An entire Volume of Behind closed doors which will contain the complete story (only 3 chapters left haha) beginning till end on: 10th November 2022

Sinful Desire volume 1 of (2 I guess, might be 3 or more lol) will be coming out 10th December 2022

The wish to disappear the complete story with over 500 pages will be on amazon on 10th January 2023 (Yes this one is getting an originified version as well xD "Izaya" is a doctor in this one lol)

Survival of the doomed Volume 1 (of 3) on 10th February 2023

I want to stay with you forever (New title: Forced Contract) part 1 of 2 with 500 pages on 10th March 2023 (Yes this one is getting an originified version as well xD I'm cringing so hard at my writing style xDD this needs a HUGE overhaul hahaha)

A single touch the complete story on 10th April 2023

Shingeki no Shizuo (new Title: Voluntold) (1 of 2) will be released on 10th May 2023 (For those wondering about how the hell I "originified" DRRR and Attack on titans: It's now a military thriller in a warzone with Izaya as the stationed captain and Shizuo being one of his soldiers, just so you get a feeling how I switched things up xD)

Survival of the doomed part 2 (of 3) on 10th June 2023

Impostor (Volume 1) 10th July 2023

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY

✨✨Yultesra ✨✨ Volume ⅓ on 10th August 2023

And this my friends is the heart of all this, it's the 1st volume of an original fantasy Trilogy that I have been writing on for 10 years xD I thought up an entirely new world, a magic system, curious cultures, 48 different creatures of various kind, a staff of like 25 main characters and creepy pastas along with some horror elements at times xD And of course a healthy spice of romance and drama xD

This is the reason I have been writing fanfiction. To practise for this Trilogy xD And after having written 1.000.000 words- (yes really) I started writing this story down xD

I will give a more detailed Update on this once it's truly published on amazon haha 3

Might even do a reverse "originify" and convert it into a shizaya story afterwards and post it here lmao xD Just for the hell of it xD

Shingeki no Shizuo (Voluntold) part 2 on 10th September 2023

10th October 2023 will be the rework of a new Shizaya story Go to hell (Volume 1 of 2) which I'm starting as soon as bcd ends xD (aka in a month xD) it's got a demonic theme and takes place in well… literal hell xD I'm so digging this haha just think of it, Shizuo with demonic eyes~ COUGH anyway xD More to that later hahaha

Yultesra Volume 2/3 on 10th November 2023

Sinful Desire Volume 2 on 10th December 2023

That's it for 2023, there is more planned ahead for 2024 as well, but let´s discern that when the time comes hahaha

For anyone who's interested, Yultesra 3/3 will be released on 2nd March 2024 (My siblings birthday) :3 And after that I will be writing the Prequel to the story xD But I don't have a fixed date in mind for that one yet haha

Oh and just to be clear, all of this stays gay xD Like, a relative asked why I don't make Izaya female in the new "originified" versions so it would be a straight romance and more "mainstream" and like, "bought more often"- and I was like dude

no xD

I might hope to sell a few copies to be able to write more, but not at the price of my soul xD

That's not how the stories were written. I may have to adjust the characters´ names and looks a little for law reasons, but that's it x'DD

Besides, the world needs more gay romance stories 3 I have been binge reading "Scumbag villain system" ever since it got released on amazon I can only recommend this soooooooo hard

xD I love it - I'm so hyped for season 2 of it´s animated version and the final volume 4 hahaha xD

If you guys have any good recommendations I'm all ears C; Also non gay, I'm reading Patrick Rotfuß "Kingkiller chronicles" at the moment for example and god fucking damn- I'm digging this so hard xD

So see you people next update~ and on 10th December release of Sinful Desire Volume 1 3 I will make sure to drop a link to amazon xD