Disclaimer: I do not own Durarara!
Notes: Minuet - "a social dance of French origin for two people"
Shizuo cannot recall a time when the two of them were not at each other's throats, when a chance meeting in Ikebukuro did not result in mass destruction of public property. He has always wondered when one of them will eventually slip up, when one of the vending machines he hurls at Izaya will hit the flea the wrong way or when Izaya's switchblade will slice just the right spot on his jugular.
He dreams about it sometimes, of the flea lying sprawled out in the middle of the street, blood pooling under the man's lifeless body. Shizuo always wakes up in a cold sweat afterwards and hopes that Izaya doesn't show up in his path those days.
The opposite is more bearable, almost a relief if Shizuo is forced to describe what he feels towards seeing his own cursed body finally laid to rest. He knows he will not let it get to that point though; there is no way in hell that he will ever let the flea kill him.
Shizuo also sometimes ponders the other possibility, slim as it may be, of them eventually growing out of this phase and parting ways, never to see each other again. Perhaps one day he will hold his temper long enough to tell the other that enough is enough, or perhaps one of the informant's many enemies will finally gain the upper hand on the man. The latter scenario doesn't sit well with Shizuo, as much as he hates the other.
Despite all the different scenarios that play through his head, what Shizuo knows for certain is that Izaya will not be the first to stop their two person dance, their whirlwind of chaos through Ikebukuro.
The flea is that much of a persistent pest.
Then again, he has never been as good as Izaya at predicting people's behaviors, because the day they suddenly stop fighting, it is the informant who pauses first.
It is ironic because the damned flea has always considered Shizuo the "unpredictable" one.
"Nevermind, I should have known better to ask a protozoan. Hurry up and swing that at my head. Maybe that would help more," Izaya says, and Shizuo nearly drops the stop sign in his hands.
First, the informant asks him a convoluted question about "how to fall out of love," and now the flea has the gall to goad Shizuo into actually hurting him. Shizuo hates violence, so he sets the stop sign down carefully instead to spite the other. The man's downcast eyes makes him wonder if it is really Izaya he is talking to, and for a moment he wonders what strange entity has taken over the informant's body.
He is surprised when Izaya reveals the secret so readily to him, trusting him like he is some close confidant the man has talked to for years. This alone shocks him even more than when the object of the flea's affections shows up just minutes later.
Shiki exerts the aura of a dangerous man, and Shizuo does not know what to think as he leaves the two alone to sort out their problems. He still can't quite believe such an individual has affected Izaya this much, but Shizuo supposes that even someone like the flea can be irrationally swayed.
What Shizuo does not expect is for their chases to abruptly end right after this strange episode.
A few days pass, then a week, without any signs of the flea in Ikebukuro. He doesn't ask around and tries to ignore the slight discomfort he feels at the sudden emptiness. He knows Izaya will show up eventually.
The man always does.
It's not that Shizuo misses their fights; he swears that is the last thought in his mind. He waits patiently for the flea's usual schemes, for the random punks the other usually sends his way, but nothing comes. For a moment, he almost considers the possibility that Izaya has been kidnapped. Word on the street is that Shiki is some high ranking executive in one of the larger syndicates in the area after all.
However, he finally spots the informant in Ikebukuro exactly a month later and is about to reach for the nearest vending machine, the pent up energy boiling through him, when something about how Izaya waltzes through the streets stops him. A car pulls up to the informant, and the small smile that flashes across the man's face only deepens the discomfort he feels in his stomach. Izaya then climbs into the backseat, and he watches the vehicle take the flea away.
Shizuo supposes that this is how everything ends.
"Something on your mind?" Tom asks him shortly afterwards during a routine job. The man has always been privy to his moods.
"Nah," he reassures the other, although the emptiness only gnaws away at him as he brushes off his friend's concern.
"You just seem a little listless these days," the man shrugs.
"I've always been like this," he insists, more to himself than to Tom. This is fine, he tells himself. He has always wanted this type of peace and quiet, he tells himself.
They reach the designated apartment, but the client does not answer when they ring the doorbell. Shizuo sighs and tries the doorknob, and the metal snaps in half as soon as he turns it.
"Oh, my bad," he mutters but pushes the door in regardless.
"Oh, indeed," Tom echoes his surprise when they find the apartment completely stripped. The bastard has even taken the refrigerator.
They proceed to ask around the area, but the neighbors give them no leads. No one really knows Kojima, only that a man by that surname once lived in that empty apartment. Kojima has disappeared as quietly from their lives as the flea had from his, Shizuo realizes bitterly.
"I can't believe no one noticed him move out," Tom grumbles while the two of them take a smoke break at a nearby park. "This one will be harder than I thought."
Shizuo wishes he could somehow help, but his skills in tracking are specialized only to a certain informant. It frustrates him that he cannot offer more, that his physical strength cannot translate into something more useful for society.
"Try searching the third floor of the apartment complex behind the gas station, unit 305," a voice says behind them, making Tom jump. Shizuo turns around, ready to hurl the nearest trash can at the flea, but the sudden surge of emotion through his chest stops him.
"I thought I told you to stay out of Ikebukuro," he growls instead, the animosity noticeably dampened compared to their previous exchanges. He realizes the ache he feels is relief.
The flea grins at him like the man has not suddenly disappeared for a month, like it is completely normal for the two of them to be talking instead of chasing one another through the streets and leaving a wake of destruction behind them. "Missed me?"
"No way in hell," he snaps back, refusing to let slip the elation he feels at the fact that Izaya is even making contact with him. However, something is different about the informant that he can't seem to place his finger on. That, and he realizes that Izaya has just offered them information for free. Knowing the flea, there has to be some sort of catch. "Just what are you planning?" he asks for good measure.
The flea feigns distress. "How sad! Shizu-chan doesn't appreciate my good intentions!"
"Your intentions are never good."
The informant laughs hysterically at this, the sound strangely carefree. "It's payment for the other day," the man finally manages between breaths.
Shizuo only blinks at him, since he doesn't recall ever doing anything for the flea. It takes a moment before he suddenly wonders if it has something to do with their last meeting when he had refused to bash the man's head in, when Izaya had dropped all masks just to tell him that he is in love with a damned yakuza executive of all people. Shizuo is unable to ask before a car pulls up beside them.
"Oh! My ride's here! See you later, Shizu-chan!" Izaya chirps.
Shizuo watches as Izaya hops into the back of the familiar black vehicle from last time. He recognizes the white suit of the other occupant, and he briefly makes eye contact with the man named Shiki before the door closes behind the informant.
"Did you two finally call a truce?" Tom asks.
.
Shizuo wonders if "truce" is the correct term as he stares upon his handiwork strewn about the alleyway. The four punks have clearly been targeting him, since no rational person will go around picking a fight with him without some sort of prompting.
As predicted, he hears a slow clap echo throughout the walls and turns to face the culprit, the hairs on his neck bristling with anticipation. The flea's annoying laughter only augments the effect, and he lets it wash over him and stoke the familiar rage in the pit of his stomach.
"Your monstrous strength never ceases to shock me," Izaya comments, not moving from his seat on the fire escape railing.
"You sent them, didn't you?" he accuses, hand tightening on a pipe one of the thugs had thought would work on him.
"You were the perfect person for the job." Izaya points further down the alley. "They were dealing drugs at that street corner, if that makes you feel better."
He blinks at this declaration, not believing that Izaya actually had an actual reason for sending the men his way. "Don't you have other people to bother?" he growls.
"Nope! That was wonderfully entertaining," the informant chortles and slides off the railing. Izaya lands nimbly on the pavement in front of Shizuo and brushes himself off. "As payment for taking care of that little problem, how about a little tip for tomorrow?"
"What?" he growls. He is unable to read the other, and his grip tightens around the pipe.
"Your second client has a gun stolen from the Awakusu-kai. You might want Tom to stay a little further back when you guys confront him."
"What? How?"
The flea cackles and then he is gone before Shizuo can interrogate any further.
The information is solid, and the two of them narrowly avoid the bullet the debtor tries sending their way. He almost shudders to think what would have happened if he had not been anticipating the other to pull out a gun during the exchange.
Tom stops him from asking any questions when a man appears out of a black car to retrieve the weapon in question after he incapacitates the debtor with the dining table. The other even pays them the amount owed before leaving with the unfortunate client.
Absolutely none of it makes any sense to him, and he waits again for some inconvenience to come his way as a result of the flea.
Again, nothing comes.
"Shizu-chan!" Izaya greets him a few days later on the streets of Ikebukuro. "I heard you guys managed to take out a little thief the other day."
He sighs. "Just what are you trying to pull?"
"Nothing?" Izaya replies, and Shizuo does not detect the usual mockery behind the man's words. It is then that the smallest possibility that Izaya actually means what he says creeps into his mind. He shakes away the discomfort and reaches for any other topic besides their supposed "truce."
"So how are things with that Shiki guy?" he finds himself asking.
He doesn't expect the informant to look embarrassed, but the slight reddening of the man's ears is unmistakable. The look is strange on the flea, and he follows the set of expressions that flash briefly across Izaya's face before the other just as quickly collects himself.
"Perplexing," Izaya finally answers.
"Eh?"
"It's perplexing," the man repeats, and for some reason, he knows that the other isn't lying. Izaya crosses his arms, an uncharacteristic frown apparent on the informant's face. "Sometimes, it feels just as painful as it did before."
"But you're seeing him now, right?" he finds the courage to ask.
The flea doesn't seem bothered by him labeling the man's relationship with Shiki as such. "But I keep anticipating the day that it will end. It's just human nature to betray each other, Shizu-chan."
Shizuo sighs in exasperation. "Then don't do anything you'll know will piss him off."
"I know that," the man groans.
"You're perplexed because you've never had to watch what you do," Shizuo points out and knows he has hit the mark when the creases on Izaya's forehead deepen. He finds that he does rather enjoy this side of Izaya. He can kind of see just why the damned flea finds it entertaining to pick his subjects apart.
"That's why I like observing from the side," the man grumbles. "Even if someone stabs me, it's much less painful than this feeling."
"You're bound to eventually develop relationships. You're human after all." Shizuo knows this all too well as he suddenly thinks of Celty, Tom, and all the people who have the courage to approach him despite knowing his destructive power.
Izaya considers this for a moment, and he wonders if the man has ever even thought of himself as "human." The flea does have some narcissistic traits after all.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Izaya mutters.
He knows that the underlying issues have not been resolved, but the flea does seem a little less tense when they part ways, the latter citing the need to rush to an afternoon meeting.
Shizuo notes how the city block around them is still in one piece as he watches Izaya skip away down the street.
.
Shizuo hears a rumor one day that a small gang nearly manages a hit on a top ranking member of the Awakusu-kai. The repercussions are deep, and within a day, they disappear from Ikebukuro as if they never existed.
He considers asking Izaya about it out of curiosity, but he doesn't see the flea for a few days after the rumor starts circulating. He ignores the sigh of relief when he does finally find the informant wandering almost aimlessly down the streets of Ikebukuro, furry hood pulled over the man's head. Shizuo spots a few punks that break away from the usual crowd to tail the informant, and he follows suit, reminding himself that it is because he hates violence.
"What are you doing?" He finally makes himself known when they walk into a secluded alley. The men and Izaya all turn in unison. He spots shadows under the informant's eyes, and something inside him snaps. "You have five seconds to walk away," he hisses at the punks.
"Y-Yes sir!" they stammer and run off, disappearing back into the crowd.
Shizuo approaches the informant slowly, and the other does not move. "What happened to you?" he asks.
"What makes you think that something happened?" the man replies, but Izaya sounds tired, a far cry from the man's usual energetic demeanor.
Shizuo points vaguely to his own eyes, and the informant sighs in response.
"Shiki was stabbed." Izaya's bottom lip quivers before the man adds, "He'll be fine, so no need to worry."
Shizuo knows there's more and considers this for a moment. "Want to move to a cafe?" he suggests.
"Sure." The flea is unusually complacent today and follows him to a nearby dinner. They get some booth seats in the corner where there is slightly more privacy.
"What can I get for you?" the waitress asks bubbly, as if the two strongest men in Ikebukuro and sworn enemies are not sitting across from each other in a cafe ordering drinks.
"Just regular coffee," Izaya tells her.
"Hot chocolate."
He waits for Izaya to make some sort of comment on his choice of drink as the waitress walks away. "Shizu-chan likes sweet things, so it is completely logical for a twenty-five year old to order hot chocolate," Izaya finally says after a few moments of silence between them.
Shizuo sighs, trying hard to ignore how mocking the words can be if taken out of context, if Izaya was in a better mood. Their drinks come quickly, and the chocolate soothes his nerves somewhat.
"So, what really happened?" he inquires the other, not knowing if Izaya would even confide in him. He attributes it to curiosity and tries to ignore the weary expression on the other.
"One of his clients hired a hitman," Izaya explains airly while stirring some cream into the coffee. The man omits the sugar and takes a small sip. "If I hadn't been there, he might not have been so distracted talking to me."
Shizuo raises an eyebrow at this. "If that's the case, then you might as well never talk to anyone."
Izaya laughs lightly. "That and I may or may not have done something rather excessive in retaliation."
He snorts at that statement, finding it hard to believe that Izaya has actually done something the flea considers excessive. "Lay it on me. Let's see if I'm surprised."
So, Izaya tells him. There is some level of truth in the rumor it seems.
"Huh," he responds blankly when Izaya is finished. Shizuo knows the flea is capable of some major damage if he puts his mind to it, but to hear the gritty details is something else. He has never known the flea to purposely target one group except himself so vehemently, so he is glad that the malice behind the other's actions has never reached this point with their previous escapades.
"See?" Izaya groans. "I should have waited."
Shizuo considers this statement for a moment, trying to figure out just what was bothering the informant so much about the entire situation. Izaya has likely done far worse things to other people, so he doesn't understand why the flea would feel guilty about it now. It hits him suddenly, and the revelation is quite amusing.
"Did he say he was angry?" he asks.
"He said to let the Awakusu-kai deal with their enemies next time."
Shizuo knows he has hit the mark and keeps back a grin. "He's probably just worried."
This seems to confuse the informant as the man's eyes shoot up to meet his. "Why would he be worried?"
Shizuo blinks at him, incredulous that Izaya doesn't understand the concept. It is then that he realizes the flea probably never had anyone worry over him. It makes him pity the other somewhat. He has always had Kazuka on his side. "Maybe he doesn't want you to become a target because of him. I can see you getting yourself accidentally stabbed one of these days."
"How rude," Izaya huffs, but some of the color has already returned to the man's cheeks.
.
Izaya does tell him something that surprises him on their next encounter.
"Haruya is actually pretty jealous of you."
"What? Why?" He can't imagine a high ranking yakuza feeling that way about him.
Izaya laughs but doesn't say any more on the subject. He notes that the informant looks much healthier this time around, the man's eyes less ragged.
Something about the flea has changed since this all started. The man is still as dangerous as ever, but there are times when Shizuo thinks that Izaya's expressions look softer. He feels like a voyeur for noticing such things like a small smile or a distant gaze, things he knows are not meant for him.
Shizuo initially wonders if this is how their dance finally ends, but he realizes that instead it has evolved into something completely new and alien. Izaya doesn't stop bothering him on random occasions, although most of their conversations are now refreshingly calm and benign. He admits that once in a while, the informant does something annoying enough to warrant a stop sign just like the old days, but occasionally, Shizuo even gains some "free" tips for his jobs with Tom.
It takes some time to get used to this new dynamic between the two of them. When he asks Shinra, the doctor proceeds to diagnose it as "friendship," but the word only makes him wrinkle his nose in disgust.
"Izaya barely has anyone he calls friends, so this could be good for the both of you," Shinra replies when he tells the other his thoughts on the matter. "He's actually quite lonely, but you know that he'll never admit it."
Shizuo thinks of that day, so many months ago now, when Izaya asked him how to fall out of love with someone. The memory halts the retort he is about to throw back at Shinra.
He thinks of his conversation with the doctor when he happens upon the informant a few days later. The other apparently has coupons to some new yakiniku place for him to share with Tom.
He studies the colorful vouchers in his hand. "Tom's busy Thursday night. Do you just want to go together?"
Shizuo holds back a laugh when Izaya gapes at him.
"Just tell Shiki that you're going with a friend. He can come if he wants, but that might be weird."
Izaya seems to take longer than usual to process his statement, but the smile that spreads across the informant's face makes it worth it. "Thursday night, then! If it's good, I can bring Haruya next time."
They agree on a time, and Izaya phones in the reservation right then and there before a familiar limo rounds the corner.
"Well, see you later then, Shizu-chan!" He watches as Izaya waves a carefree goodbye before climbing into Shiki's car.
Shizuo smiles slightly to himself as they disappear around the corner.
He supposes he can get used to this.
Thank you for reading!