-๑-๑ ๑- Chapter 26: Chaste kiss -๑ ๑-๑-

-Shizuo´s point of view.-

…. what had Shinra been talking about? Over and over the question was repeating inside Shizuo´s head as he kept glancing at the raven walking next to him.

Shinra had said Izaya might not hate him as much as he thought he did- what exactly did that mean? And why did he leave him a message reading "good luck with Izaya"?!

Wordlessly the two walked out of the school, the entrance barely having been passed and Shizuo already couldn't take the silence-

He was supposed to say something wasn't he? No, usually it was Izaya rambling- but why wasn't Izaya rambling today? Shinra must have told him something after all- what had he even meant in the first place? Why did that bespectacled idiot send them off together like this?

… no actually going home together had been Shizuo´s idea- …. but still!

Ah-

Izaya had slept over at Shinra´ s today hadn't he?

Glancing at the raven Shizuo wondered whether it had been then that the brunette had found something out about the flea that he didn't know about-

But then what would that be?

The misunderstanding from before, involving being kept up all night long and using creams was resurfacing on his mind causing the nervousness and embarrassment to increase only further.

Wait-

"Ah, wait didn't Shinra say you got hurt?" He did didn't he? After clearing up the misunderstanding- Shizuo never got to ask how the flea even got injured in the first place.

Izaya turned his head, slowed down a bit too so he was walking right next to the blond.

"Yeah so?" he asked, not really getting what the blond was going on about. Wasn't the first time he was getting injured and patched up by the doctor.

But the blond find´t seem to be done yet with his questionnaire.

"How did that happen?" A blink followed, a momentary feeling of having been caught, but no, there was no way Shizuo could know where this came from. Feeling himself relax the raven merely chuckled in response to Shizuo´s question.

"Aw, are you worried about me?" he crooned with a smirk, but he definitely didn't expect the answer that followed.

"Hell yes." Surprised the raven blinked, and it seemed he wasn't the only one surprised by the answer because Shizu-chan looked as though he had realized this wasn't exactly an answer he was supposed to give as well.

"I mean-" Shizuo mumbled, a hand finding its way into his own blond hair as he tried to explain- but there was no necessity for that anyway as the raven suddenly burst out laughing.

"Please check if I got a fever, Shizu-chan doesn't want to see me dead for once?" he repeated, that heartfelt laughter still shaking his body- the blond couldn't help but feel warm at heart, listening to the raven like this.

Ah, was it odd he wanted to hear it one more time? With the same amount of honesty? He felt his ears tingly and his lips curl into a smile without even wanting to.

It reminded him way too much of the trip they had been on, the night they had gotten drunk and had so much fun- …. and more, but that wasn't even what he was so hung up on. It was his smile, that heartfelt laughter.

"Hey we are friends, aren't we? I'm allowed to be worried," Shizuo tried to defend himself. Chuckling Izaya sighed.

Certainly- he really had to get used to this yet. This "friendship". Not only that he was used to being enemies with the blond, but only he never had a friend like Shizu-chan. Sure Shinra was his friend, had been for a pretty damn long time as well, but in terms of behavior the two were as similar as day and night.

With Shizu-chan it was just… different.

"I want you to give Shizuo a try."

….

What an odd way to put it seriously, as if Shizu-chan would-

Blinking the raven paused in his thoughts. He had turned his head to look at the blond, only to find that Shizu-chan was looking at him also. Quickly averting his gaze the blond looked up ahead, towards an unknown destination as he spoke again.

"So, uh, you aren't complaining anymore about being friends? Got used to it flea?" he questioned with a smile making the raven snort in response.

"Used to huh? Not really," he sighed, "I miss our chases, they used to be so much fun~!" Izaya grinned, only to make Shizuo roll his eyes in response.

"For you maybe," the blond replied, "I wasn't enjoying them."

"And yet you were still chasing me~!"

"Well you annoyed me!" Shizuo defended himself, but that smirk on Izaya's lips already told him that he was playing yet again with the blond.

"Say Shizu-chan, how about it?" the flea suddenly questioned making the blond hum in return. "Hm?"

"Wanna go for it?" The glance that was thrown back at the raven made him wonder for a second whether he had accidentally used the wrong language- but no he was pretty sure he used japanese.

"Go for what?" The blond repeated anyway still seeming pretty confused- to be honest it cause the raven to laugh.

"A chase! Like in the good old times!" he explained- honestly, they had become friends like, a week ago- how come Shizu-chan was already this … domesticated? Was that the right word to describe him with?

"... we only got friends like… a week ago or something," Shizu-chan pointed out only causing the raven to snort once again.

"Come on," Izaya purred, and for once his words and his thoughts were in harmony, because he really wanted to go for one of those chases.

He missed the adrenaline, they way Shizu-chan kept yelling his name over and over again while trying to catch him. "Or are you afraid you could lose?" the raven added, knowing that making a challenge out of this would be more than enough to make the blond agree.

"Lose?" Shizu-chan questioned, that glint that the raven loved to see during their chases already back in those eyes.

Sighing theatrically the raven took a step backwards with a shrug.

"Then again you never caught me so-"

"I could catch you if I wanted to!" And that's what he wanted to hear.

"Hoh? How come you are so confident?" The flea crooned, only fuelling the blond´s competitive side.

"Because I can!" the flea would see just how capable Shizuo was of catching that louse if he really wanted to!

A mischievous glint appeared in the raven´s eyes and his body visibly tensed. "So that means we have a bet?" The air was already getting thicker as the two of them felt that adrenaline start to pump in their veins.

"Hell yes, bring it on flea." The blond replied as he dropped that school bag he had been carrying with him onto the side of the sidewalk. No one would dare to take his things away anyway.

"All the way to my home?" the raven repeated, backtracking a few of his steps as he retreated from the blond just the smallest bit.

"If you even get that far," Shizuo grinned, feeling as though they were just going to play a game, a game they had gotten so used to it was merely that.

"Challenge accepted, Shizu-chan," the raven purred and with that he was dashed off the scene-

Right behind was the blond already on his heels as this time he was merely concentrating on actually catching that flea-

It was odd because usually Shizu-chan would keep throwing various objects of the city like street lamps or vending machines after the raven, but right now he was really just chasing the raven- It was exhilarating- because Shizu-chan was that much more faster without halting for his usual bursts of anger.

No time was wasted ripping out any street signs, no city property was being damaged and hell- a grin spread over his expression as he yelled on top of his lungs, "IZAAYYAAAA-" and a grin spread along his expression. Anyone else walking along the pavement would probably think the two of them were insane but hell no one cared about that anyway.

This- was actually fun.

For once in his life the blond understood why Izaya had always been saying how their chases were amazing and something he would miss- provided he wasn't destroying anything on his way it actually was!

Alleys were passed, streets crossed, he could hear some people scream and yell after running and jumping across fences and various gardens of houses- but his eyes were all on the flea, so agile, to fucking elegant even. Shizuo felt like a stupid elephant trying to chase a dragonfly. Izaya was evading every little obstacle in such a graceful manner, he was jumping, sliding, twisting into corners, tie over time increasing the distance between them just that little bit more-

It made the blond realize just that much more just how much the flea had always been playing with him.

Staying there, always just in sight for the blond to continue running- while Shizuo had been ripping out various signs or lifted cars the flea had always waited for the sake of not losing his chaser yet.

An alley was taken, another- the blond was starting to struggle to keep up with the flea as he crashed into a few dustbins the raven had all to gracefully evaded- he was slipping more and more from the blond´s grasp until-

There was a glance a glance thrown back at the blond by the raven. It wasn't a mischievous one it was something different and suddenly the flea slipped into another alley-

One that he definitely shouldn't have chosen.

Coming to a quick halt the raven stopped dead in his tracks as the alley he had chosen had been nothing but a dead end. Within a second the heaving blond had caught up to the flea, a winning grin on his face, but no, actually it wasn't a victorious one.

"Got you," he laughed, panting still as the raven leaned against a wall evening his own breath.

"Daw seems I lost the bet," the raven whined although the blond knew that wasn't true.

"Since when did you start taking dead ends as shortcuts?" he chuckled, already knowing it fully well. The flea had always waiting for him to catch up, be it back in their deadly chases or now- he had run into this alley on purpose to let him win.

A blink followed from the flea´spart and then there was just that laughter bubbling from the raven's lips that made the blond feel so much at ease.

"Well, considering you don't wanna kill me anymore," Izaya shrugged, admitting his little lie. He was still leaning against the wall, the blond in front of him straightening himself as his breathing was calming down.

"Don't be too full of yourself flea," he snorted, and yet- all of a sudden he just felt so close to the flea.

They were just standing there, the sun was starting to set and drowning the alley in orange and red. The flea was still catching his breath a bit as he looked at the blond.

And suddenly Shinra´s words invaded the raven's thoughts like some kind of virus taking over his brain.

I want you to give Shizuo a try.

Just what- what was he even talking about? The thought was absurd, as if Shizuo would be willing to try that sort of thing.

That … incident, on the trip, that had been an exception, a drunk exception to be precise. It wasn't based on anything but alcohol so why did the brunette think-

Blinking the thoughts just suddenly wiped themselves out on his mind as he looked up at Shizu-chan. He was still just standing there, looking at the raven- hehe he was … smiling wasn't he? Izaya couldn't help but think that he had never seen the blond smile this content and whole heartedly.

It happened without thinking. Honestly.

Izaya didn't know what he was even doing when he suddenly took a step forward- nor why he was even doing it as those soft lips of his suddenly pressed against Shizu-chan´s.

Surprise was reflecting in the blond´s eyes, Izaya's hands were resting on Shizuo's shoulders, trying to close that distance of those ten centimeter´s height difference.

Left in astonishment the raven let go of the blond as quickly as he had initiated the action as he blinked, seeming as though he was surprised by his own actions.

"Sorry, this-" the raven suddenly started, seeming a bit lost, "Shinra said something stupid, must have grossed you out huh?"

Izaya was actually confused by his very own actions for once, something that had never happened before-

"Shinra... did?" Shizu-chan repeated slowly, still seeming not any less surprised, maybe still trying to grasp what the fla had done just now- and hell at that moment Izaya wished some kind of hole would open just beneath his feet so he could disappear into it.

"Aren't you gonna bash my face in?" he tried to laugh, brushing the awkward situation aside, hoping that maybe the blond would resort to the all too well known anger, he could deal with that, so he really hoped he would, but no.

"... not really," the blond responded, and his eyes somehow said so much more than the blond even managed to express with words.

Swallowing the raven glanced to the side, averting the blond´s gaze, but even though he didn't mean to they trailed back to the blond´s anyway.

Izaya's hand was suddenly being taken and the raven felt like he was being burnt alive right then and there as the blond suddenly leaned closer.

It felt like a gamble, Izaya knew he could run away if he wanted to, and yet, he found himself thinking he had never wanted to stay somewhere as badly as he wanted to right now.

Lips covered the raven´s ones again, and this time the blond was initiating the kiss. Surprise was written all across the raven´s expression, because even though his mind had logically concluded what the blond was doing Izaya himself still couldn't believe it. Izaya somehow felt his heart flutter in a way he never had before.

The sudden ring of a phone caused the both of them to jerk apart in surprise-

It was Izaya's, Shizuo could spot the familiar name "Mairu" displayed on the screen as the raven lifted it to his ear really quick.

"Mairu? What do you want?" he questioned, his voice somewhat creaking at his sister´s name as he cleared his voice.

Upon realizing the reason the blond suddenly felt the heat rush to his face- fuck. Fuck, what was he doing? Izaya had just kissed him- he said it was because of something Shinra said, but what if he was just testing something? What if he was just-

Snapping out of his thoughts by the sound of the phone clapping shut again he looked back at the flea.

"One of your siblings?" he questioned, now feeling his voice fail him a bit.

"Both, they are asking whether I will come home or not since it's getting dark," the raven chuckled, pointing towards the sun that had almost disappeared completely by now-

It was already this late? Shizuo hadn't realized they had been running for so long-

Averting his gaze he glanced back at the flea, who was still looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"Uhm, Izaya-" he started, honestly speaking he didn't even know what he was going to say, or ask, but it wasn't necessary to think about that anymore anyway, because suddenly his lips were sealed once more- with the flea´s.

Hands were slipped around his neck, threading through those blond strands of hair-

the blond´s lips were parted, still having been about to say, or ask something, whatever, and the flea gladly took the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

Izaya didn't even really know what he was doing, just that he really really enjoyed this right now- and hell if that wasn't more than enough reason to follow his guts just one time. hands were suddenly sneaked around the raven´s waist and he felt himself being pulled just a bit closer.

A minute passed, two, until the two parted again, both breathless in a way.

A soft smile was spreading along Izaya's lips and suddenly the blond was pushed away softly.

"See you tomorrow, Shizu-chan," the raven cooed, and with a hint of embarrassment the blond realized they were in an alley right next to Izaya's home.

"... see you-" he managed to say his brain still working to catch up on what had just happened as the raven slipped inside the house- and the blond felt like the fucking happiest being alive.

To be continued

Sowy for having taken so long to update people ahhhh gomen xD

Truth to be told, I had some early exams already - and as usual let the study time take over my writing time like a zombie virus lmao xDDD Not to mention I had to hold a speech too -screams because I´m one of those cookies that dies speaking in front of a crowd- Anway! xD I have been slacking off but now I only have like, three more exams left to do so i should have enough time to write again finally x'D

I will definitely update more regularly again from now on xD the next update is scheduled for: 23rd January 2018 C: I know that´s a bit late again but judging how my exams are gonna take place in that week I would rather take a more realistic guess there x'DD

OH! And I also decided I won´t finish off Behind closed doors as soon as I had intended too either xD Guess i´m gonna keep this story around for just a little while longer than i had anticipated xD

PS.: Happy new year to you all peeps xD and sorry again C':

PPS.: For all of you who are waiting for Let it snow part 3- I am on it! xDDDD lmao do you hear that? That whooshing noise of the deadlines flying past? x'DD I will try to get it out this freaking month at least x'DD sowy 3

Guest 2: xDD hahaha I love making Shinra the matchmaker between them xDD ohhh hmmmmm lol now I wanna include her in the next chapters at some point xDDD heheheheheheehehh Shizuo definitely did use his chance xD even if it was Izaya going for it first xDDDDDD