Disclaimer: This is a fan based fiction.

Author Notes: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! Wow! I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of the favorites/follows/reviews/messages. It really means so much to me.

So! I have a AO3 account so you can go ahead a follow me over there if you'd like! Username the same as here: JheneJhene. I'm in the process of posting this story over there and it might be a littlemore NSFW considering there seems to be a little more flexibility with the ratings over there but the plot will remain completely the same! I'll also be posting a new VERY NSFW OC x Awakusu Exec. DRRR story soon so stay tuned for details on that.

Just a few FAQ from the last two chapters:

Do I beta read/ cowrite/ roleplay?: I'm SO flattered to be asked, but most of my free time is committed to ongoing stories. I don't mind giving input here and there but as a rule I typically try to avoid stories/material for categories I already write for (Drrr +SNK specifically) just for silly creative reasons. HOWEVER! I have been considering possibly starting a Tumblr for DRRR head canons, scenarios, match-ups and self inserts. If that's something you'd be interested in, definitely let me know, and I'll work on it!

How long will this story be?: I can not say for certain, as most of my work is (Shamefully) just drafted or outlined, but I can say that this story is far from over. In fact, in a lot of ways, we're just getting started.

Any other questions or concerns feel free to inbox me! If you're not following me on Tumblr yet, you should! Profile link is in my bio.

Onto the chapter! FAIR WARNING! This chapter has some angsty backstory but is also heavy with fluff. I hope no one minds. Enjoy!


"Heyyyyyyy." Mairu sat on the edge of Tamina's bed lightly nudging her care giver. "Hey Mina..."

Tamina woke with a start, pulling her face out of her pillow and looking around. "Hmm?" Mairu gave a toothy grin, pushing a tray toward her. Tamina blinked a few times, eyes still adjusting to the light, but eventually focused on the sloppy omelet Mairu presented her. "What's this?" She asked.

"Breakfast in bed." Mairu told her.

Tamina truly appreciated the gesture but a heavy, smoky smell hung in the apartment. "What's that smell?"

"I set some cheese on fire on the stove." Mairu said simply.

Tamina sat up and pulled her partially charred breakfast into her lap forcing a smile. "And what does the kitchen look like?"

"I won't lie, it's pretty horrific." Mairu admitted. Before Tamina could get another word out, Mairu shoved a finger to her lips to quiet her. "Don't worry your pretty face! We'll take care of it when we get back! You just relax and get better."

At that, Tamina noticed Mairu's somewhat formal attire. Kururi peaked in the room, leaning on the door frame dressed similarly except in an opposite color scheme, of course. It was then that Tamina came to a sudden realization. "Oh my God! Your entrance exams!" She exclaimed, checking the time. To her shock, the girls had gotten themselves up and dressed with plenty of time to get to their exams. But she hadn't helped them at all or prepared any kind of lunch for them. "I'm so sorry." Tamina started to get up. "Let me make something for you guys..."

"Hey! Hey!" Mairu stopped her. "You have a concussion! You need to relax! We've got this!" She coaxed Tamina back into bed, re covering her with blankets.
"Are you sure?" Tamina asked, protest in her voice.

"We're fine!" Mairu assured. "We're on our way out anyway."

Tamina let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I-" She was cut off when Mairu pressed her forehead to hers affectionately.

"We're gonna go squash these exams so start thinking of all the amazing things you're gonna cook for us when you're better. We're gonna celebrate!" Mairu told her, nuzzling her face.

Kururi crossed the space and grabbed Mairu by the collar of her shirt. "We're gonna be late."

Mairu let out a gag, getting tugged off Tamina and letting her legs drag as her sister led her out the door. "We love you! See you later!" She managed to say, the enthusiasm still ripe in her strained voice.

Tamina watched them leave curiously. It was a later start to the day than she was used to, but she was still tired. Another, more critical inspection of her breakfast confirmed her earlier suspicions. Though she appreciated the sentiment immensely, it didn't appear entirely edible. At a loss of what she should do, Tamina let out a long sigh. She scanned the room idly, but her eyes were drawn to her dresser and the familiar envelope upon it. The one Izaya had brought. She eyed it a moment more before setting the breakfast tray on her nightstand and laying back down, irately pulling her blankets over her head in a swift tug.


Tom took a long drag of his cigarette, letting the smoke billow from his parted lips. He hated early days like this, even if it meant an early finish. He ashed his cigarette now and then, scanning up and down the busy city street, focused on nothing in particular as he waited for his partner.

"Hey!" Shizuo called as he hurried out of the store he'd been in, carrying a small bag. "All set. Sorry about that." He told his friend, pulling out his own pack of smokes, pausing momentarily to light up. "Let's get going."

"Did you get yourself a new phone?" Tom asked, noting the fancy bag.

After Shizuo took his first drag he answered. "Nah. It's for my friend."

"Which friend?" Tom asked curiously.

"Tamina, the one from the other day. In all the bullshit that happened her phone got busted, so I wanted to get her another one." Shizuo said, holding his cigarette between his lips so he could free his hands and fish around in the bag. "You think she'll like this case?" He showed Tom the phone case he'd picked out, which had been a much harder task than he thought. There were so many different kinds of cases and he wasn't sure what she would like. He'd eventually settled on a protective case with a watercolor floral design. It was pastel colored and vintage looking and reminded him of her for some reason, so he just grabbed it.

Tom gave a nod of approval. "Yeah, that looks nice and girly." He noticed the model of phone the case was made for and gave a soft whistle. "Spared no expense, huh?"

Shizuo shrugged, putting the case back in the bag. It was a model newer than the phone she had before, but money wasn't really the concern for him. He didn't often have a reason to splurge on anything and in turn had plenty of savings. Considering everything that had happened, he was more than happy to treat her.

"Hey Shizuo." Tom started as they walked to their last visit for the day.
"Yeah?"

"This Tamina girl, do you like her?"

Shizuo tried to play it cool. "Why?"

At that Tom smirked. "I was just thinking she's pretty cute and if you weren't interested, maybe you could pass my number along?"

Shizuo tensed a little more than he meant to and shot Tom some fierce side eye.

Tom immediately got the hint and raised his hands in defense. "Hey! I'm just kidding." When Shizuo seemed to relax he added. "You should bring her flowers too."

"Flowers?" Shizuo asked, unsure.

"Yeah. Nothing crazy. And not roses. Something small..." Tom rubbed his chin in thought. "There's a place on the way that has little white daisies. Those would be good."

"Are you sure?" Shizuo asked, skeptically. "I don't want to go overboard."

"Have I ever steered you wrong before?" Tom inquired smugly.

At that Shizuo couldn't protest. "I guess not..."


Tamina lifted her face from her pillow when she heard a load buzz. She groggily scanned the room but couldn't find the source of the sound. She waited a brief moment more listening, but the apartment was quiet. Concern and interest fading, she started to settle again, hugging a pillow between her legs and burying her face among the blankets. That's when the sound came again.

This time she sat up. Now that she was more awake she recognized the sound of the intercom. She pulled the blankets around her body and stumbled out of bed, waddling out of her room and down the hall with her makeshift cape. When she came to the intercom by the front door she pressed the button and spoke into it. "Hello?"

"Hey!" She recognized Shizuo's voice right away. "Sorry to bother you. Kadota gave me your address."

Now she was much more awake. "No, you're not bothering me!"

"Could I come up..?" He asked a bit awkwardly.

She briefly looked down at herself, dressed for bed not company, in just shorts and loose tank top. Not even a bra... Then she looked around the apartment, which immediately became her most pressing concern. There was evidence of the girls attempted breakfast in bed and hasty departure thereafter everywhere. Their nightclothes were on the floor in the living area. The couch cushions were dislodged and blankets were strewn about. She could clearly see the impossible pile of dishes in the sink and mountain of pans on the stove top in the kitchen from here. She couldn't even imagine what the bathroom looked like. She briefly had traumatic flashbacks of what the apartment had looked like when she had first arrived and inwardly groaned.

"If it's a bad time..." Shizuo started to say.

"No!" She protested right away. Despite her embarrassment, she didn't want to pass up a chance to spend time with him. "No, please come up." She said, pressing the button to unlock the front door on the ground floor.

Tamina figured, if she was lucky, she had about a minute before he got to her floor and apartment door subsequently. She grabbed the girls clothes and things off the floor here and there and shoved the couch cushions back in. After tossing her cape-blanket, the clothes and other miscellaneous things into Kururi and Mairu's room carelessly, she rushed back out to fold the couch blankets. In the few seconds she imagined she had left she ducked into the bathroom and splashed some water onto her face. There was no making sense of her hair and a quick scan of the counter made it clear finding her hairbrush would be no easy feet considering the time constraints, so she carefully pulled it into a sloppy bun on top of her head. Looking at herself in the mirror, flustered and nearly out of breathe from rushing around, Tamina found herself having a good laugh. A real laugh. If anyone had seen her running around like this they'd probably think her a complete lunatic. It actually gave her a comforting feeling that she had needed, and she affectionately marveled at how excited she felt to see Shizuo again.

A knock came to the apartments door. Tamina looked herself over one more time. In her opinion, she was an absolute mess. But she was still recovery from a head injury, she reminded herself. She'd nearly forgotten. That, and she remembered with a soft smile that Shizuo probably wouldn't mind. She left the bathroom with a certain confidence in her completely bare look, deciding she shouldn't make him wait any longer.

Shizuo waited patiently, idly shifting his weight from his heels to his toes and back. He straightened up as soon as he heard the door unluck. The door opened and he smiled warmly when he saw her. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

Tamina was more than surprised when she saw him and the the small arrangement of flowers he held. She couldn't suppress her excited laughter, leaning against the door. "Are those for me?"

Shizuo blushed a bit, trying to hide it by adjusting his glasses. "Uh-yeah." He handed them to her.

"I've never gotten flowers before, so this is pretty big for me. Thank you so much." She took them eagerly.

He was so excited to hear that, his face lighting up even more. He had worried it might be lame or too much, but he made a mental note to seriously thank Tom. "That makes me so happy." He said. Before he had time to say anything else he was distracted by her hand finding his to give a tug, guiding him into the apartment. He complied completely, allowing her to pull him in and shut the door behind him, all the while watching her smile.

She tugged him along, unconsciously giving her small bouquet a sniff. "Please don't mind the mess." She pleaded as she showed him to the living area. "The girls have kind of been on their own and they attempted to cook for me, and it's just all kinds of chaos. I did my best-"

"Hey," Shizuo cut her off. "Why are you apologizing? You're still getting better, and I'm the one who dropped by unannounced."

Tamina guided him to sit on the couch and turned the TV on before she went to find a proper vase for her flowers. Upon entering the kitchen she was struck with a mild horror. Up close the damage was a bit more than she had expected. The wall next to the stove had some suspicious charring and blackening. There was clearly cheese and other matter cooked onto the stove top and the burnt smell lingered. "I'm usually a lot more on top of things around here." She felt compelled to call to him, trying to bypass the messes and grab a vase from a cabinet.

"I'm sure Kururi and Mairu aren't making it easy." He called back.

She couldn't argue with that. She knew they meant well but she couldn't wait until she could get back to her usual duties around here and their doting ceased. With that thought, she paused. He knew the twins? After she clipped the flower stems and placed them in water she came back into the living area, placing the vase on a small table. "I didn't realize you knew Kururi and Mairu." She noted coming to sit with him.

He shrugged. "They give me a hard time now and then."

"A hard time?" Tamina asked curiously. "Why would they do that?"

He tried to wave it off. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it "

"No, tell me." She insisted. "I can really reel them in."

Rather than change the subject, he tried to deflect. "How is that?" He asked. "I've never seen them easily contained by anyone."

"They're good girls." She assured him. "A little eccentric, but when you get to know them, they're really sweet."

Shizuo had some trouble seeing the 'sweet' side of the pester twins but smiled all the same. "They're lucky to have someone like you."

"...I did plenty of character research for the role. It was important for me to portray an authentic vampire. I even spent a few nights in Bran Castle just before filming began to truly get into character."

Shizuo was immediatley distracted by the sound of his brothers voice. His eyes were drawn to the TV. Kasuka was giving an interview on his role in the Vampire Ninja Carmila Saizo series. Tamina followed his eyes, then looked back and forth between the TV and Shizuo. He knew what she was going to say. She'd said it before, so he decided he should just come out with it. "That's my brother."

Tamina stared at him a moment, as if she didn't understand him. Her eyes moved from the TV to him and back again. She'd seen it before. There was an uncanny resemblance, but she'd just brushed him off. "Yuuhei Hanejima?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said. "My younger brother. His real name is Kasuka."

She stared at him a moment more as if he'd say he was kidding any second. But he didn't just stared right back at her. "I told you the first time I saw you!" She suddenly said accusingly, giving his arm a playful smack. "I said you looked just like Yuuhei Hanejima!"

"I know." Shizuo chuckled. "I know."

It was so hard to believe, but looking deeply in his face, it was so obvious. Besides the hair, they looked so similar. "Are you serious?" She asked once more.

"As a heart attack." He confirmed. "I wouldn't lie to you."

She finally seemed to believe, slumping back against the couch. "That's so crazy!"

"Yup, I know." He said. "You're not going to ask for his number now, are you?" He asked, half joking.

Tamina laughed, shaking her head. "Why would I do that when I have his brothers number?" He looked pretty pleased with that and she smiled sweetly in response. Another thought struck her and she had to add. "I also don't even own a phone at the moment." She joked.

Shizuo had nearly forgotten, quickly grabbing the bag he'd set on the floor and handing it over. "Oh, yeah! That reminds me." Unlike the flowers, he was fairly confident with this gift.

Tamina looked at him somewhat disapprovingly but still smiled. "Now what? You really didn't have to do all this..." She told him.

"Yeah, but I wanted to." He assured her, anxiously waiting as she fished around in the bag.

When she pulled out the box containing a brand new, incredibly expensive cell phone she was speechless. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but it certainly wasn't this. "Shizuo," She started to protest. "This is way too much."

"Trust me, it's not enough." He argued.

"No way, I can't accept this." She told him.

"Hey," Shizuo smiled, giving her head a light, playful knock. "I broke your head. Please just take the damn phone."

Tamina found the rest of her protests fading away. She noticed there was something else inside the bag and when she pulled it out she realized it was a protective case with a floral design. Shizuo was about to ask if she liked it, but got his answer when she suddenly scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you so much."

Ever since that morning at Shinra's place he'd thought about it. If and when he'd get a chance to hold her again. And here the moment was. Though briefly surprised, he wasted no time, wrapping his arm around her in return. They stayed like this for a while, both enjoying the tight hug. When she finally started to pull away Shizuo let go, lingering but satisfied. He didn't expect her to press a hand to his chest, guiding him to lean back on the couch. He was so excited to see her scooting even closer when he sat back, eagerly lifting his arm to make a space for her. She took the invitation, settling right in the space, resting her head against his shoulder and chest. He hugged her to his side, surprised by how smoothly things were going and compliant his body was being today. He even hugged her in a bit tighter, letting his chin rest on top of her head as they got comfortable to just barely pay attention to the TV.

"So," Tamina broke the quiet, gesturing around. "Welcome to my job." She said jokingly. "Like I said, I usually take better care of things than this."

"I don't doubt that." He said.

"What do you do for work?" She asked him.

Shizuo hesitated a bit. "Well... I'm in collections."

Tamina tilted her head curiously. "How does that work?"

Unsure how to avoid it, Shizuo just admitted. "Well its debt collection. Essentially, my partner Tom does the talking and I do the 'enforcing.' I stick with him while he makes the rounds and protect the funds."

Tamina took a moment to process this, but it made total sense. She gave a nod of acknowledgment. "I can see that. I honestly thought you were a bar tender."
"Most people do. I used to be. But look, I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me. Especially after what you've seen." He told her. "I'm really not a violent person."

She didn't mean to look up at him with disbelief. She suppressed it the best she could, but considering the displays she'd seen in their short time knowing each other, it was a little surprising.

He could see the repressed skepticism in her face. It wounded him, but he knew he'd done nothing to show otherwise. His ever present temper and short nerves. His wild outburst with Izaya. The beating he'd given her assailants. The concussion she was recovering from that he himself had caused. Still, he tried to reason. "I know it seems like I'm this crazy, violent person, but I'm really just..." He found himself struggling, unsure of what he had meant to say. After a short pause and some thought he said. "Just a person who has a lot of trouble expressing himself."

Tamina noted his difficulty and nodded. "I can definitely relate." She told him. When he gave her a look she added. "Of course I can't throw street signs or beat people up, but that doesn't necessarily mean my coping mechanisms are better. There of plenty of ways someone can be self destructive."

He nodded at that, but didn't take much comfort in it. She sensed this so she tried to press on."So, is your brother like you?"

"Not at all." Shizuo gave a soft laugh, immediately shaking his head. "That's why he made something of himself."

"Not everyone can be a super star." She said eyeing him, noting his ever present habit of back-handedly criticizing himself. "And your parents?"

"Nope." He gave a slow head shake. "Just me."

She hugged a little closer into him to give some comfort. "How does it work?"

Shizuo scoffed a bit at that. She regarded it like it was some kind of special ability or super power. Most people did. It wasn't really as complicated as all that in his eyes. It was more like a misfortune. A curse. But feeling her closeness definitely made talking about it easier. "I don't really know. When I was younger I'd get mad and have crazy outbursts. Broke every part of my body at least a dozen times. I guess I broke so many times I just can't break anymore. Now I'm an adult, who has crazy outbursts and a body that doesn't break."

"It's just easy for you?" Tamina asked curiously. "Like, the street signs and stuff?"

Shizuo shrugged. "I barely notice I'm doing it to be honest."

Tamina gave a nod and silently marveled. To not even realize? The thought was so incredible.

"So, do you have any brothers or sisters?" Shizuo asked, changing the subject.

"Nope. Just me." Tamina said.

"Is your family in Japan?"

Tamina didn't answer right away. It was always so awkward when anyone brought up her family.

With the change in her and hesitation, Shizuo got the hint. "If it's a sore subject," He began to back track.

"No." Tamina immediately said. "It's okay." She assured him. He'd been so honest with her. Surely she owed him some sincerity in return. "My mother and step father are in Shibuya where I grew up, but we're not close. My dad passed away when I was nine."

"Oh, wow, I'm so sorry." Shizuo said.

"No, it's okay." She told him. It was so long ago, it didn't hold the sting that it used to. She tried to recall the last time she'd talked about it. She distinctly remembered avoided the subject of her parents ever since she left Shibuya. Even the roommate she'd had when she'd first left home at eighteen had never known too much about her family. With a bitterness she recalled the only person she'd really opened up to about her home life at length was Nakura... Or rather Izaya...

She remembered it so vividly. The first time she'd let him in and they'd talked quietly through the night until sunrise. The first time she'd allowed the floodgates to open and let the words flow. It had been so liberating in that moment. Yet now it caused nothing but pain. She'd given such a deep part of herself to someone with nothing to show for it. Nothing but regret. She felt pained and unsure if she could go through it again, but after peeking up at Shizuo's face it dissipated. His apologetic expression made her feel so safe. It was a strange moment for it, but she felt an immense clarity. Something about his look made it so clear. She'd dreaded the next time she might have to let someone in. Izaya had made her so deeply regret it that she didn't think she'd like anyone that close ever again. But Shizuo wasn't anything like Izaya. That was becoming so clear. "It's always been hard for me to talk about my family. Or anything, really." She admitted. "But I feel I could tell you just about anything." The last time she had said words like that, it had been to Nakura, and her life came to a rapid unwinding shortly after. But she reminded herself again that Nakura was just Izaya. And Izaya certainly wasn't Shizuo...

He didn't miss a beat. "You could." He said right away. Then added. "If you wanted to..."

Tamina thought on it a short while longer. Then she nestled into him further, immediately comforted by the feeling of his arm hooked around her and hugging tighter in response. "My dad was my hero." She started, idly drawing patterns on his vest with the hand curled to his chest. "We were super close. His name was Tamaki. Everyone always thought that was the cutest thing. 'Tamaki and Tamina Takeda.'" She said it affectionately, a smile creeping onto her face. Shizuo found himself smiling too. It had a nice ring to it. She continued. "We looked just alike too. I had his hair, his eyes." She ran a hand through her hair unconsciously. "He always had two jobs. He never finished school so they were mostly skill based. Like mechanics or ventilation. A lot of hard work and labor. But he still managed to do everything he could with me. He was the 'fun dad.' We were always going somewhere and doing something. He was always going on about 'making memories.' He didn't have any family besides me so I was his everything." Then there was a change in her. "My mom started having an affair. They separated when I was eight. I remember feeling like it was so unfair. My mom just uprooting our whole life and my dad having to leave. Everything in my life changing. He wanted to take custody of me but with the hours he worked compared to my mother, a court never felt like it was 'the best thing for me.'" She said, surprising herself with the bitterness in her voice. She paused briefly, but continued when she remembered Shizuo's eyes on her. "I only saw him on weekends after that, but we made the best out of it, considering the short time we had left. Weekend trips to the beach or the mountains... Biking. Hiking. Silly things like guided tours of historical sights or horseback riding trails while we listened to educational audio tapes." Shizuo was looking at her so intently that the last of her words started to stick. "A year later he was gone. He was in a rush one day for work and didn't use a cross walk. Such a stupid little mistake. Just shows how quick life can be. Here one second. Gone the next..." She trailed off.
Shizuo didn't need he to explain further. With the busy city traffic he could easily deduce the circumstances of her fathers death. He shook his head regrettably. "I'm sorry. He sounds like he was a really great person."

"The best." Tamina clarified with a soft smile.

"Thanks for telling me." He said. "And I meant what I said. You could tell me anything if you wanted to."

She hugged tighter to him, turning her face to bury it in his shirt, silently enjoying the smell of him. "I know..." She said softly. "You too... With me, I mean."

"Yeah. I know." He replied.

Again, they were content to stay just like this. Quietly tangled in each other. They tried to pay attention to the shows on TV but both were happily lost in thought. It wasn't until Shizuo's phone rang that they shifted, Shizuo leaning to one side to retrieve his phone from his pocket. "Sorry." He told her.

"No worries." She insisted, leaning away.

"Excuse me." Shizuo told her after checking to see who was calling. It was Tom. "Hey, what's up?" He answered.

"Hey." Toms voice came from the other end. "How did it go?"

"It's going great." Shizuo replied, a hinting in his voice.

Tom did the math and quickly concluded. "Oh! Oh... Sorry man. Didn't mean to interrupt anything."

"It's fine." Shizuo assured him. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, sorry to bug you, especially after we've finished up for the day. But the boss called and he's having some trouble at the office. There's a mark hanging around and getting kinda loud. He asked if we could stop by ASAP."

Shizuo let out a long sigh. "Yeah, sure. I'll meet you over there."

"Thanks a lot man." Tom said. "See you soon."

With Shizuo's responses and less than excited expression, Tamina concluded he'd probably have to leave. "Heading out?" She asked.

He tucked his phone back in his pocket. "Unfortunately." They shared a look. He wasn't eager to leave at all. In fact, he couldn't think of anything he wanted more than to completely ignore Toms call and stay right here with her. But duty called and he definitely made it a point to stay on his bosses good side. "Oh!" He was suddenly remembered. "Here." He pulled out his wallet, opening it to retrieve a small something.
Tamina stared at the familiar slip of paper he took out and offered to her. She took it, holding it delicately between two fingers and reading it just to be sure. 'Pay attention to the signs. The universe is speaking to you.' Her eyes immediately found his. "How did you-?" She started to question.

"It was in your old phone case." He explained. "I figured it might be important to you if you were holding onto it."

Finally something gave way and Tamina couldn't contain herself any longer. Shizuo saw her leaning in and felt like he should mirror the action, but with his nerves the best he could do was remain frozen where he was. Her lips caught his, encouraging a heated kiss. He tried to reciprocate, but she set the pace a bit too fast and he couldn't quite keep up. Tamina paused when his lips fell out of sink with hers. She tried again, pressing back in to try and entice him more. He was certainly responsive, but again he seemed to have some trouble.

With that Tamina withdrew completely so she could see his face. She wondered if perhaps she'd misread some signals or jumped the gun here. There was a heavy red in his face but his eyes held hers in a kind of shy wonder. She felt a soft realization come over her. A wide smile came to her face with the sudden, unexpected thrill this notion caused. She'd never been the more experienced partner and it gave her a surprising excitement. She re situated herself on the couch, standing on her knees to get closer to his face. She placed her palms on his cheeks and guided him to close the distance between them again.

Shizuo's heart pounded as her mouth found his again, moving much slower than it had before. His eyes drifted shut, finding it much easier to predict her lip movements at this pace. Some might consider it painfully slow, but it was truly an exploration for him and he appreciated the extra time she allowed him to learn. He'd just begun to master the pattern of her movements when her tongue swiped across his lip, nearly causing him to fall out of sync with her yet again. She pressed though, picking up the pace just the slightest bit, licking and sucking his lip to encourage him to be a little bolder. Her hands held his face securely to hers. When his tongue finally crept out to meet hers, the excitement nearly overwhelmed him. The sensation. The taste of her. He was on cloud nine.

Feeling like she might be pressing too much, Tamina finally ended the kiss, slowing her lips and leaning away. It was a moment before Shizuo's eyes reopened. As if he wasn't sure things would still be as they were when they did... But, to his relief, they were. She was still there, right in front of him. His heart was still throbbing and his fists were still clutched nervously in his lap. "Thanks..." He said in a breath, unsure of what else he should say after such an intense moment.

Tamina let out a soft laugh, looking back into his dazed and blushing face she still held in her hands. Considering the scope of emotions she'd seen in it in times before, seeing him like this gave her such a rush. He was so, unfathomably strong, yet for her, he was weak. She leaned in once more, pulling his face in to meet her when she did, planting a soft kiss on his forehead.

In that moment, Shizuo briefly contemplated the amazing power this girl held over him. He was sure there was nothing she could ask of him in this moment that he wouldn't do. No mountain he wouldn't scale, no obstacle he wouldn't face. Anything she wanted. He'd often wondered deep in envious thought what falling in love could feel like. He silently concluded it must feel something like this.

Finally she pulled away and stood off the couch, offering a hand as if he needed her assistance to stand. He smiled back, seizing any opportunity to hold her hand in his but stood just fine on his own. They quietly walked to the front door and both felt the disappointment of their impending good byes. When they reached the door Shizuo didn't wait. "So, my work schedule is kind of crazy and I know you're still getting better, but I really wanna see you again." He said, forcing himself to speak fast so his nerves wouldn't catch up.

Tamina smiled at that, leaning against the door frame. "Yeah, me too."

"Maybe we could go out next week? After you get the staples out." He found himself adding. "If you want to..."

"Definitely." She said right away.
"Like," He couldn't help himself from going on. "A date..."

Tamina's smile became wider. It was like he didn't want to leave any miscommunication. Like he wanted to be sure. It was so cute. "I'd love that." She said to ease him.

A date. She wanted to go on a date. A real date. With him. Shizuo hoped he looked calm because internally he was reeling. He'd never been comfortable enough with someone for things to progress this far and he'd honestly thought he'd never be able to. Not with the way he was... But Tamina Takeda seemed to look past all that, and was ready to take a chance on him. Even after what she'd seen. Even after what he'd done. She'd seen some pretty ugly sides of him in their short time knowing each other, yet here she stood, wearing that smile.

"One for the road?" She asked with a sly nod toward him and arch of the brow.
He wasn't sure of her meaning at first, but caught on quickly. "Yes, please." He said, leaning down.

He was so damn tall and she was so...not, she realized with a smile, but he leaned down and she pressed up on her toes, closing the space between them once again. She pressed her lips softly to his, making sure to move extra slow and steady in a good bye kiss. He followed her movements much easier, remembering the pattern of her lips from earlier. It was brief and sweet and they both soon parted.

"I'll text you." Tamina told him with a smirk, pulling away.

"Please do." He told her stepping out the door to depart. He walked backwards a few paces to watch her a little longer, then turned to walk the rest of the hall to the elevators.

Tamina watched him leave, leaning against the door for support. She was rather light on her feet at the moment.


After getting her new phone set up Tamina briefly chatted with the twins in the early evening. They insisted the exams went fine and would be spending the night enjoying the 'sights of Ikebukuro' to celebrate. Though she didn't love the idea, Tamina couldn't really argue and especially didn't protest the idea of avoiding sorting out the kitchen to prepare dinner. She relented with little fight with the promise that they'd return at a decent hour and be incredibly careful.

Tamina spent the evening relaxing mostly. She had plenty of pre made boxed dinners for just such an occasion and enjoyed some shameless reality TV. When she grew bored in the living room she migrated to her bed. Despite the somewhat euphoric feeling she'd been lost in most of the day, the ever present envelope on her dresser stuck out the moment she entered the room. Her eyes found it right away, despite her efforts and it began to stain her mood.

She forced herself to walk past it and plop onto her bed. She laid on the mattress, rolling her new phone in her hand admiring it. The screen on was so much bigger than her old one. She decided to test it out, dialing Kyohei for a video call. She figured he'd be with the rest of the group.

"Hey!" She heard him answer. There was a slight lag but his camera eventually turned on and she could see him shakily on the other end, obviously in the passenger seat of the van. "You got a new phone?"

Before she could answer Kyohei grunted, Erika's palm shoving his face to the side so she could squeeze into the picture. "LC, my love! How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thanks." Tamina said.

"Settle something for us." Erika started. "Who wins in a straight up fist fight? Yusuke Urameshi or Ichigo Kurosaki?" She asked.

"That's bullshit!" Though not in the shot, Tamina could hear Walker shouting from the back of the van. "Tamina is always biased toward Yu Yu Hakusho! You can't get a fair opinion from her."
"This is true." Tamina admitted.

"Fine." Erika groaned.

"Will you get off?" Kyohei told her irately, swatting her away.

"Put your damn seat belt on!" Saburo shouted.

Tamina smiled watching her friends and their usual play. She couldn't get better soon enough. She was eager to get back to her place right in the middle of that van and enjoy their silly company. With that, she remembered why she had called and her face fell slightly. "Hey guys." She said.

"Whats up?" Kyohei asked, having finally shoved Erika into the back again.
"I'm ready to talk about some stuff." She blurted it out.

There was a silence on the other end. Kyohei seemed to look around at everyone then exchanged a look with Saburo. The van changed route and came to a stop shortly there after. Tamina could hear the engine turn off and the keys idly dangling in the ignition. There was some loud shuffling and she could see Kyohei adjusting the camera. When everything was finally still again she could see all of them, Kyohei having mounted his phone on the dash. Erika and Walker leaned in from the back to come into better view and Saburo was in the drivers seat as usual. Tamina gave a small wave, feeling a little silly now that she felt like she had an audience.

"Whenever you're ready." Kyohei said, re situating himself in the passenger seat to get comfortable.

Tamina let out a long sigh, propping her phone against the light on her nightstand. Then she resettled on her bed, crossing her legs and wrapping her blankets around herself. "I'm kind of...struggling." She didn't know where or how to start. She wasn't even sure how much she wanted to tell them. She just knew after the conversation they'd had the other day, she couldn't go on keeping huge parts of herself from them. "There was someone in my life who hurt me for a long time."

"How do you mean?" Erika asked in a much more serious tone, eyes tight.

"That doesn't matter." Tamina tried to avoid it.

"It really does." Erika insisted, clearly angered by the prospect of anyone hurting Tamina in any way. And considering Tamina aversion to discussing it, Erika could easily guess it might not be 'hurt' in the conventional sense.

"It doesn't. And I don't want you guys getting involved because I'm already taking care of it." She insisted.

"What do you mean by 'taking care of it'?" Kyohei asked.

"Izaya is going to help me. I'm not sure exactly sure what I'm going to do yet, but I feel like it's my responsibility to make sure the problem gets resolved. So I'm going to make sure it does."

Everyone shared the uninspired look Tamina had expected. "You're getting involved with that fuck boy again?" Erika voiced their disapproval.

"I know. I know." Tamina whined, pulling the blankets around herself further momentarily hiding her face. "He's the worst." Her voice was muffled. "But to be fair he's the one who got me out of the situation to begin with. And I need his resources."

Kyohei scratched the back of his head. "And you're positive this isn't something we could help you with?"

Tamina finally unwrapped her face and let the blankets loosely drape over her shoulders again, giving a slow nod.

Kyohei sighed. He was very eager to know more about her circumstances, especially if they were getting her involved with the info broker again. But he had a suspicion that Tamina was much more sensitive to the situation than she was letting on, and he hated prying with such personal things. "I don't like it." Was all he found himself saying, sitting back and folding his hands behind his head to try and think.

Tamina wished she had it in her to explain everything. But, like with Shizuo, she feared what he friends would do with all the information. If they got involved they might involve the Dollars too, and they had no idea what kind of bad news that would be. Remembering Shizuo suddenly, she started to say. "There's one more complication in all of this." She had everyone attention again. She chewed her lip momentarily in thought but just came out with it. "I've kind of gotten myself involved with Shizuo Heiwajima too..."

Everyone in the van shifted uncomfortably. Saburo let out an agonized groan, slumping back into his seat and face palming. "Fucking plot twist of the year."

"Oh man," Walker looked equally surprised. "That was like chapter 85 of Shingeki no Kyojin."

"And I'm guessing Shizuo doesn't know about Izaya." Kyohei concluded.

"He knows I had history with him, and he's actually surprisingly okay with it." Tamina said.

"But does he know what's going on now?" Erika pressed. She got her answer from Tamina's pained expression. "That's not good."

Tamina sighed. "I know. I like Shizuo a lot." She started to explain. "But there are things that I'm not ready to talk about just yet. We're taking our time and I really like it. Ideally, I'd like to get this whole thing resolved as quickly as possible, and we'll talk it when things get more serious." She paused herself, considering the alternative. "If they get more serious, rather..."

There was a long silence. Tamina looked up and everyone in the van seemed to be waiting for Kyohei to speak. As if he'd set the tone and they'd follow, as they did with most things. Feeling the pressure Kyohei let out a breath and finally spoke. "All I can say is, just, try and do the right thing here." Tamina gave him a look and he continued. "I know, I know, that seems obvious, right? But I mean it. There are a lot of things that can go wrong. With a lot of this. And the likelihood of wrongness drastically increases in matters that Izaya is involved in. Don't lose your head."

The van gang seemed to share a nod of agreement. Tamina nodded in return. "I won't." She promised.

"Sooooo," Erika's usual cheer and lewdness returned. She climbed into the front to come closer into view, hardly minding as she plopped herself on Kyohei's lap.

He grunted when she did. "Excuse me."

"You're excused." She told him simply, leaning into the camera as if this gave her and Tamina more privacy. "How far have you gotten with Shizu-chan?" The boys in the van groaned. "Hey shut up!" She snapped. "She's ruining my yaoi head canons. I've spent years fantasizing about who would be the top and bottom with those two. The least she can do is tell me if she fooled around with him." She leaned into the camera again, lowering her voice. "Is he huge? He's huge, isn't he? Oh God, I knew it."

Tamina's face grew more and more red but Kyohei came to her rescue, as usual. "On that note!" He picked Erika up in the cramped space.

"I deserve to know!" Erika demanded as she put up a half hearted struggle, followed by a yelp when she was roughly tossed back into the middle row of seats.

"We're gonna take off." He said when he came to sit back down. "Keep us posted on what's going on with that whole 'situation.'"

Tamina smiled, and gave her friends a wave. "Will do."

"Want us to come visit tomorrow?" Walker asked.

"I have to see what the twins are doing. But I'll text you guys."

"Sounds good. Goodnight." The phone was jostled a bit before Kyohei ended the video call.


Author Notes: Thanks for reading! Hope that wasn't too much of a fluff overload. Especially for the Izaya shippers here. He'll be back for his regularly scheduled fuckery next chapter! Promise!

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