Fraternising With The Enemy
Disclaimer: Durarara isn't mine.
"Where do you want this?" Shizuo backed in through the front door, a whole washing machine in his arms. These things were not exactly built to be carried this way so it was hard to manoeuvre, but he'd moved bigger things in the past so he wasn't too bothered.
"Just here, under that counter top." Tom gestured. "Just make sure it's sticking out a little so the guy can install it."
"That's all the big stuff right?" Shizuo was sweating after all this up and down the stairs and he was in serious need of some refreshment by this point.
"Yep, that's nearly all of it. Simon is just getting the last couple of boxes."
"Good." He slumped down onto the sofa. "Pass me a beer."
"Asahi good?"
"That'll do." Tom passed him a can as he sat beside him, and the pair of them opened theirs together.
"Thanks for all your help with this."
"You know I'll always help you if you need it."
"You're a good guy." It was the same thing he had said when he'd initially offered to help.
"I am?" Shizuo tilted his head, confusion writ in his face. He wasn't that nice was he? Tom had done so much for him so it made sense to help him didn't it?
"People miss it because of your temper but you really are. I've always known that." Shizuo had not been expecting that. He was getting sensitive lately it seemed, because his cheeks suddenly felt cold before he realised he'd started crying. "Holy shit, Shizuo?!"
"I'm fine!" He quickly rubbed the tears away. "Sorry it's just… Thanks for… y'know…"
"That's my line." Before Shizuo could ask him what he meant by that, Simon chose this point to burst in. That was that moment ruined.
"The van is empty," he announced in his usual sing-song tone.
"Thanks man! I'll get the sushi!"
Shizuo did not want to get all sentimental again so he focused on chugging down his beer and sinking into Tom's sofa. He'd had it for years and Shizuo had always liked it; they'd spent many a night sitting on it together so of course it had to come to Tom's new apartment. He'd moved closer to their workplace and to a slightly nicer apartment. Tom was a lucky guy in that he had no need to hire any moving companies; Simon had a van and Shizuo had his muscles, that was all you needed to move an apartment's worth of stuff.
Tom placed a few trays of sushi, Simon's contribution to the day, on the table for them to pick at. Shizuo did not need inviting, he practically inhaled the pieces of sushi, almost taking them in whole.
"Don't choke Shizuo."
"I'm not!" Simon started patting him on the back. "I said I'm not!" This guy fussed over him more than his actual mother ever had. Touching but weird.
"You should chew properly."
"I do!" He could see Tom was covering his mouth. "And you! Stop laughing!"
"I'm not! Please try to stay calm. I'd like to go at least a day before you break some of my apartment."
"I'm not mad." Embarrassed was probably the best way to describe it. He was a grown man but he was feeling weird today.
"How's Izaya doing?"
"Fine I guess? Kind of quiet." Quieter than he had been but still nicer to Shizuo.
"You guys are good friends now." Simon seemed pleased; it had been one of the things he wanted them to be.
"We're…. Not the worst." Maybe they were friends? He hoped they were which was a surprise.
"I never thought I'd hear you say that but I'm pleased about it."
"Why?"
"Because most of the shit that went wrong for you used to be caused by him so if he's leaving you alone more… It can only be a good thing right?" Tom popped a piece of salmon in his mouth before adding, "and you seem happier lately."
"I do?"
"You're not so mad Shizuo, is good for you, eat more food." Simon held up another piece of sushi which Shizuo swiped from the end of his chopsticks. He spent most of his time feeling less like an adult and more like an awkward over-sized teenager, he didn't want to have his annoying friend feeding him. Although Izaya had done it….
"Are you OK? You look a little flushed…"
"I'm fine!" He just felt a little weird thinking about that stuff, nothing wrong with that!
"If you say so. Has Izaya remembered anything yet?"
"I don't think so. Hopefully he won't." He opened up another beer. "I don't miss old him at all."
"Does that mean you've just accepted him living with you then?" Shizuo nearly choked.
"No! I'm just keeping an eye on him for now!"
"But he could maybe go home at this point couldn't he?" Shizuo thought about this. Izaya could take care of himself and he had money… He'd probably be fine. Although…
"You think he'd last five minutes before someone tries to hit him with a car?" Tom didn't have to consider that point for long as he shook his head.
"Guess you're his long-term bodyguard now."
"Until we find someone better." Because if he went out on the street without Shizuo, someone would get him. That's what he told himself and he wasn't going to consider any other explanations.
"You'd almost think you didn't want him to leave." His first instinct was to tell Tom to shut the hell up. But instead he paused.
"He's… He's not the worst roommate I've ever had!" He was the only one of course. "Most people can't deal with me so…"
"Long may it last." Tom raised a beer and Shizuo and Simon knocked them together. On a day like this, he felt almost normal.
-Page Break-
I had a little too much. Shit. Shizuo paused and waited for the person in front of him to move out of the way so he could get around. It took way too long for him to realise that the person was a lamp post. Cursing Tom and his beer supply, Shizuo stumbled on in the direction of his apartment. Tom had offered to let him sleep on the sofa but he'd figured Izaya would be worried.
Not that it matters what the Flea is worried about. Not at all. He was just being considerate to the person he lived with of course. He was apparently a nice person after all.
With the way he was swaying around, he did not have the coordination to use his door key so he figured he'd just knock. He gave it what he thought was a light tap but when he removed his hand, there was a dent in it. Yet again.
"Ah fuck." Just perfect. "Oi, Izaya! Get out here!" He didn't have to wait long. The banging had probably been enough.
"What's going on?" Izaya asked as he opened the door. And then he saw the marks in the door. "What happened here?"
"Had a bit to drink…. Couldn't be fucked with key." He stumbled in past him and just about managed to find the table, using it to help him get down to the floor. "Things keep movin'."
"You want some water?"
"Hmm." Shizuo had buried his face in his hands to try and stop everything moving around by this point, focusing on the feel of the table he was leaning on to remind himself that yes, everything hadn't turned to jelly, it was just him. He felt the sensation of a cool glass nudged up against the side of his hand and leant towards it, opening his mouth without opening his eyes.
"You… want me to give it to you?" He couldn't tell what Izaya was thinking but when he didn't respond, he felt the glass press up against his lower lip and he started taking in the soothing liquid refreshing his brain. "What were you all doing?"
"Celebratin' the move. Beers and sushi. Was all good."
"I can tell." Shizuo sat back, took a deep breath, and then slapped himself around the face. Understandably Izaya was confused. "What are you doing?"
"Soberin' up a little." He shook himself off. It wasn't perfect but the room wasn't quite so spinny. "It works for some reason."
"You're an interesting man, Shizu-chan."
"Thanks 'Iza-chan'."
"You want anything to eat?"
"We got any of those cheesecake things in the fridge?"
"The little slices?"
"Yeah those. Strawberry or chocolate or whatever." He watched as Izaya crossed over to the little fridge.
"We have strawberry."
"Hand it over."
It occurred to Shizuo, as he ate the cheesecake, that this was way too much for two former enemies wasn't it? It was just such a comfortable way to be, like everything would be fine and he had nothing to worry about. Though this could be the beer of course, it was hard to tell. Now he was a little more awake, he glanced over at his 'roommate'.
Izaya didn't look worried about anything he thought, even if he had been especially quiet lately. Not that he would know; he was not that damn perceptive. He could see that the house looked cleaner than it had been. Maybe.
"You're always cleanin' aren't ya?"
"I feel guilty if I don't help much."
"You really are like my wife." Or how he imagined it would be if he had a wife.
"I thought you didn't like making that joke Shizu-chan."
"You should stop actin' like one then!"
"Wouldn't I technically be your husband then?"
"OK fine, you're my husband, whatever!" He knew what he meant!
"Was that a proposal?" Izaya was smiling at him now, clearly amused by his drunken idiocy.
"Would I get lotsa home-cooked meals and some cleanin'?"
"I guess so?"
"Cool, let's get married then. Why the fuck not?" Izaya was laughing at him at this point, loudly and openly. He certainly was attractive when he was genuinely laughing and not just being a shit. Which Shizuo would not be thinking about again.
"Alright Shizu-chan, I'll be your house-husband. Want me to give your feet a rub?" Even Shizuo could laugh at that.
"No, but you can make yourself useful and give me a shoulder rub. I moved so much shit today."
"But of course dear." While not tipsy, Izaya was enjoying this joke and happy to get into it.
When Izaya's hands touched his shoulders, the pair of them were still laughing, but as he started to rub his hands on Shizuo's shoulders, fingers working into the knots, suddenly it became less funny and more… it felt good, that was all he could think to himself. He really wasn't touched often enough was he? Because every time Izaya touched him, it felt too good. All of the tension was easing out of his body and he seemed to be relaxing back into those hands. Izaya himself had also grown silent as he did it, the low voices from the TV the only sound in the room.
"Does that feel better?" Izaya spoke quietly as he moved away.
"Y-yeah." Why the fuck was he stuttering? "You'd make a good whatsamacallit. Massage person."
"Masseuse?"
"Yeah that."
"Guess that's another potential career. Along with house husband." Shizuo managed a small laugh but it was a little stilted. For some reason this was not as funny as it used to be and he couldn't work out why. "Is something wrong?"
"No!"
"OK…" It looked like Izaya was concerned about him and Shizuo found himself staring. Especially with how softened Izaya's face looked. "Shizu-chan?"
"How the fuck are you still single?" Well he hadn't meant to say that and from the funny look he was being given, Izaya hadn't expected anything like it either.
"Err… How am I supposed to answer that?"
"I just wondered! I mean yeah you've always been a fucker but…. You cook nice shit, you clean, you have money and ya look pretty! You're a lucky asshole. Bet you'll find it even easier now." This really bothered him for sure and it was probably jealousy. Of Izaya for being able to get girls of course.
"That's, um… I didn't expect to be hearing that today." Izaya was rubbing his side and avoiding meeting his eyes.
"Well it's true."
"You're a pretty good catch yourself Shizu-chan."
"Until I flip out and throw them into a door or somethin'." Sadly he spoke from experience.
"I meant more, if you ignore the… you know, you're actually pretty great."
"It's a big thing to ignore."
"You never do it to Tom."
"With difficulty."
"You're kind, you have a good sense of humour, you're more capable than you know, and you're attractive. One day you'll find the right person and they'll be lucky to have you." And now it was Shizuo's turn to feel taken aback.
"Who'd be right for me?" He was yelling to cover up the racing heartbeat in his chest.
"Someone who doesn't scare easily I think."
"Hey!" Izaya put his hands up in surrender.
"Really, the person you need to love the most is yourself."
"How'm I supposed ta do that?" He had no idea. "And where did you get that wise shit from anyway?"
"Some daytime TV thing. This lady who solves problems. Today's feature was on moving on after a heartbreak." On noting Shizuo's expression, he added "it's interesting!"
"Is it?"
"I guess it's Schadenfreude."
"…The fuck is that?" That had to be a foreign word right?
"Finding joy in the problems of others because you don't have those problems."
"Oh. I can see why you'd like that."
"Yeah…" Shizuo's brain took a moment to catch up with what bothered him about this statement.
"Did you remember fuckin' whatever it was but not our high school?"
"Also yes." Izaya shrugged. "I don't know how it works and why my brain picks some things and not others."
"It's weird… You sure you don't remember anythin' about me?"
"Sorry…"
"Eh, whatever." It wasn't like they had that any good memories before this anyway. "Room's stopped spinnin' so I'm goin' to bed." Now he could navigate safely.
"I'll be there in a sec." He waved a hand to indicate he'd heard and wandered on.
And if, at the back of his head, he wondered why there had been a micro second of hesitation when Izaya said he hadn't remembered him and why he was lingering so long behind, well, it was soon forgotten in favour of sleep.
So it's been four years since I've updated any of my fanfictions… Here's to hoping I do eventually finish them even if at the current rate it'll probably take a decade!