Izaya had made his way into a busy bakery and went straight to a booth in the back that was barely noticeable. He looked up at the blond that sat in front of him and gave him a mischievous grin.
"Well well I can't believe the Fortissimo of Ikebukuro is looking for me?" Izaya grinned as they sat in front of each other. "Should I make this a business meeting? I am your boss now, after all."
"Cut the crap flea. You know why I'm here." Shizuo glared.
"Shizu-chan, you are so persistent." Izaya pouted. "I know why you called and I think we can work something out."
"This isn't some stupid business deal. So stop trying to make it one." Shizuo huffed. "What happened happened. I think it's time to end our little feud."
"Shizu-chan knows the word feud? I'm impressed." Izaya grinned. "But to end a battle like this would be so anticlimactic, it would be depressing even."
"What are you getting at flea?" Shizuo crossed his arms.
"Our feud is still very much real." Izaya glared. "I want you to remember one thing. I am not going to play house with a monster like you."
"You're so fucking hard headed." Shizuo huffed and stood up from the booth. He stormed out of the bakery not looking back.
"Stupid fucking flea." He muttered as he took out a cigarette. "Always has to ruin everything."
Shizuo felt a sting on his arm and slapped it thinking it was a mosquito. He looked at his hand to find blood.
'Did somebody stab me?" He asked as he looked at the gash on his arm. He looked up to find a grinning Izaya playing with his pocket knife.
"Catch me if you can." Izaya giggled as he began to sprint through the crowded streets of Ikebukuro.
"Izaya!" Shizuo yelled as he began chasing after him.
"There they go again." Shizuo heard a bystander say.
"I remember back in high school they were best friends. I wonder what happened?" Another person spoke.
"Shizu-chan, it seems like you don't want to catch me." Izaya spoke in a sing-song way as he led Shizuo into a more secluded part of Ikebukuro.
Izaya ran into a dead end alley and turned around. He waited until Shizuo caught up to him. They stood on either end of the alley and stared straight at each other. Without a word needing to be spoken they started walking towards each other.
"Our feud is very much real but that doesn't mean we need to stop." Izaya grabbed Shizuo's collar and brought him down for a vicious kiss. Izaya bit Shizuo's bottom lip hard. Shizuo groaned and pushed Izaya up against the alley, placing his hands on his hips.
"Izaya." Shizuo growled, still mad about the stabbing. Shizuo moved his hand up and held Izaya's jaw, moving his face to the side. The blond's tongue began to travel down the side of his jaw to his neck. Izaya's hands began to roam. He could feel every muscle on Shizuo's arms tense up as he went down.
Time seemed to stop for them. Nothing else mattered at the moment. Shizuo's grip on Izaya's hips tightened. An animalistic groan left the blond's throat.
'What am I doing? He's my enemy.' Izaya thought to himself. The duo seemed to always follow each other. Was he really so touch deprived that even the smallest touch from the blond has him disoriented?
Izaya moaned. Izaya's body felt hot wherever Shizuo's hand roamed. The tongue playing on his neck was cooling. Was their past and feud just leading up to this moment?
"Fucking hell Izaya." Shizuo placed his head on Izaya's shoulder, the realization that he was caught up in the heat of the moment hit him hard. Izaya's brain was clouded as he let go of Shizuo's button up shirt. The dress shirt wrinkled from where he held on too tight.
"See you later, Shizu-chan." Izaya winked as he went up an escape ladder. Shizuo rested his head on the wall in front of him.
'Why do I keep kissing him?' Shizuo thought to himself. He looked at the time on his phone and sighed. "I have to go to work."
Izaya watched from the roof as Shizuo walked out of the alley. Once the blond was out of sight. Izaya laid back with his hands behind his head. He watched the clouds, lost in thought.
Why was the blond everything he could think about? Throughout the day he found himself wondering if Shizuo thought of him too. It brought a lot of confusion to the raven. He never found himself wondering what other people thought of him. The feeling was foreign to him. Growing up no one was there to teach him how to control or deal with his emotions. His parents abandoned him before he could even walk. His nanny left with his money at the age of ten. At one point even Shizuo betrayed him. So why was he back in the same situation from high school? Confused on what he was feeling.
"How did I not see this coming? I'm always ten steps ahead of everyone." Izaya laughed. "I can never figure out his next steps. Well Izaya will just have to figure this out as it progresses."
…
Shizuo clocked in at work and got behind the counter. He looked over at Varona and smiled at her.
"How's your first shift out of training?" Shizuo asked her as he began to clear the shot glasses on the counter.
"It is going, how do you people say it? Smoothly." Varona spoke in a deep russian accent.
"Hey Shizu-chan!" Erika grinned as she walked up to the bar. She handed him a note with her orders.
"Don't call me that." Shizuo frowned, placing a clean tray with drinks on the counter.
"I heard you missed open mic night Wednesday. What's that about?" Erika asked him.
"Something came up." Shizuo looked away and grabbed a note from a different waitress.
"Shizuo, you are the worst liar ever." Erika giggled, before she could press for more answers he shut her down.
"Erika, you have customers waiting." Shizuo reminded her.
"Why didn't you tell her you left with Orihara?" Varona asked him. Shizuo looked up from his task.
"There are some things Erika doesn't need to know." Shizuo answered her.
"Interesting. Sorry, I am still getting accustomed to people." Varona told him. Shizuo patted her shoulder and shook his head in understanding. He looked up at the opening door and locked eyes with Izaya. His assistant walked next to him with her usual frown. They sat down at a table with Shiki and one of his goons.
"What is he up to now?" Shizuo glared at the raven. He could hear Izaya's obnoxious laugh from across the room. He looked up to the stage to find the dancers doing one of his favorite comedic sets. Shizuo looked back to the raven and found Izaya staring back at him. Izaya winked at him once before turning back to the stage. "He's always up to something."
As the night progressed Shizuo kept getting distracted with Izaya's subtle smirks and faces at him. Tonight had felt different from all the other times the raven went to the bar. He meant what he told Izaya earlier that day, he wasn't mad anymore. How did they even get so far in this feud to begin with? When exactly did it start? Shizuo frowned at his thought, did he really forget why he and Izaya had a falling out?
"Shizu-chan, here are my orders." Erika smiled as she placed down a tray. Tonight she was dressed as a gothic vampire from some manga he couldn't remember. "Are you going to the hotpot party on Sunday? I know you missed last week so I didn't know if you were going to miss this week too."
"I'll be there. Last Sunday I went to the airport with my brother." Shizuo answered as he was mixing drinks. "This week I'm hosting it at my place."
"I thought it was at Anri's this week." Erika hummed as she brought out her phone to message Walker.
"Here are the drinks." Shizuo slid the pan full of drinks over to her. He watched as she sashayed her way over to the table Izaya was sitting at. She whispered something in his ear to which they both giggled.
"Erika loves going to his table when he's here." Tom rolled his eyes. "Are you guys good on the orders or do you need me to jump back there for a bit."
"We're good. Varona's pretty quick. She had all the drinks memorized by day two." Shizuo spoke. Both males watched as Varona quickly made some drinks.
"Business has picked up a lot since Izaya started taking over." Tom scratched the back of his head. "Sorry man. I know you hate when his name is said."
"It's fine. I noticed all the extra clients." Shizuo sighed. "Out of all the bars in Bukuro the flea really chose this one."
"I know you guys don't like each other so if you're looking for employment somewhere else I would understand." Tom patted his shoulder.
"I don't think it's gotten that far." Shizuo frustratingly ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going out for a smoke break."
"Take your time." Tom nodded as he went to assist Varona behind the counter. Shizuo walked up the stairs to the roof. He sat down on the wall used to protect people from falling down. He watched all the people walk through Ikebukuro. It always looked different after dark. Taking a puff from his cigarette, he slowly exhaled.
What was he thinking earlier? Did he really expect Izaya of all people to sit down with him and have a conversation? He often felt dumb, because of his lack of college degree and his forgetful memory. But earlier he felt a different type of stupid with his plan to reconcile. Maybe Izaya was right earlier, they just aren't meant to end their arguing.
Getting off of the wall, Shizuo crushed his cigarette on the floor and headed back inside. Stepping inside the bar area, Tom gave him a pat on his shoulder and went back to the back room to work on the books. Shizuo looked over to Izaya's table and saw the raven whisper something in his secretary's ear. He watched as she rolled her eyes and Izaya began to chuckle. Izaya never really changed. He had always been the same way since high school. The difference now was that Shizuo was on his enemy's list now.
Shizuo was the last to leave the bar that night. After he finished cleaning up, he went to lock up all the doors. Stepping out of the now locked bar he began to walk home. A figure jumped down from a rooftop and began walking by his side. He didn't have to look over to know it was Izaya beside him. He could smell him from across town. There was a comfortable silence between them as they looked forward.
Arriving outside of Shizuo's apartment complex they turned and faced each other. Mocha eyes stared into crimson eyes for the umpteenth time that day. Before Shizuo could open his mouth, Izaya beat him to it.
"Good night Shizu-chan." Izaya began walking away.
"Wait." Shizuo called out after him. "I wouldn't be mad if you stopped by for breakfast sometime."
"Is Shizu-chan inviting me into his apartment?" Izaya hummed.
"Only when I'm there flea. I know you broke into my apartment a few months ago and moved my stuff around." Shizuo glared at him. "Also, no more leaving dead animals in front of my door!"
"I like french toast." Izaya disregarded what he said. "With fresh fruit on the side."
"Good night." Shizuo yelled out in frustration as he turned around and walked into his apartment building. Walking up the steps to his floor he was lost in thought again.
Maybe Izaya was wrong. They could end their little feud and the walk home was the first step to stopping it.
…
A week had passed since Izaya first walked him home and it wasn't the last time. Every night after the bar closed Izaya would be waiting for him around the corner. Tonight as they walked back to his place it was different. It was like they were shifting again.
"Remember when Shinra fell down the steps from Raijin Academy our Sophomore year?" Izaya giggled. "I had tricked him into believing Celty was going to take him out on a date. He really thought she was waiting for him at the entrance."
Shizuo smiled at the small memory. An adolescent smiling Izaya flashed in his mind.
'Look Shizu-chan! I found this at a bakery and thought you'd enjoy it.'
Shizuo brushed the back of his hand with Izaya's. There was a part of Shizuo that wanted Izaya in a way he never thought he would. They stopped in front of the door of his apartment.
"Breakfast tomorrow." Shizuo told Izaya as he unlocked the door. Izaya nodded his head, Shizuo turned around and faced the raven. They were much closer than he expected, he could feel Izaya's breath on his face. He looked down at his lips and brought his mouth closer.
The last time they had kissed was the day they met up at the bakery. Shizuo connected his lips to Izaya's and kissed him in an awkward, curious way. He grabbed both of Izaya's cheeks with his hands. Shizuo ran his tongue on Izaya's bottom lip. Izaya opened his mouth, letting Shizuo take control. A few seconds felt like hours in the empty hallway of Shizuo's apartment complex. Letting go of the raven, Shizuo opened his eyes to find Izaya staring right at him, almost like he was calculating his every move.
"See you tomorrow morning, Shizu-chan." Izaya grinned. Shizuo could see it was one of his facades. Was Izaya just playing with his feelings? Shizuo nodded his head before going inside. He ran a hand across his hair in frustration. What was Izaya thinking? Why was he staring at him like that when they kissed?
The next morning Shizuo was grocery shopping when he was mindlessly grabbing fresh fruit and putting it in his shopping cart. He grabbed not just the regular cheap bread he usually bought, but the nicer thicker bread. As he was checking out the older woman had a few things to say.
"You're the regular that usually buys lonely people crap. Why are you buying fruit? Finally got yourself a little girlfriend, huh?" The cashier looked at him confidently as she spoke.
"No, I didn't get myself a little girlfriend." Shizuo huffed as he paid for his groceries.
Izaya had woken up earlier than usual. Why did he agree to go eat breakfast at the monster's house? The confusion was only growing from the moment they first kissed in the alley. He groaned into his pillow.
'Why am I acting like some little teenage girl?' Izaya rolled over on his back. He could hear the insistent knocking on his door that had been going on for the past thirty minutes. Putting on his silk black robe, he went downstairs to open the door for the twins.
"Good Morning Big Brother." Mairu cheerfully strutted into his apartment and went straight to the kitchen.
"Morning Kururi." Izaya sighed as he led her inside and shut the door. He went to the kitchen and began to make them breakfast. After placing the plates in front of them, he grabbed his coffee and the newspaper. He sat down on his usual spot and went straight to the tabloid section of the paper. He took a sip of his bitter coffee when Mairu began to speak.
"A social worker came by looking for you yesterday." Mairu told him before taking a bite of her omelet.
"Did you tell them I was at work?" Izaya asked her.
"Yup, they said they would come back today at twelve." Mairu told him. "They want to look around to make sure we don't live like slobs."
"Is the house clean or should I get Namie to go over there?" Izaya asked her.
"It's clean enough. Just needs to be mopped and the dishes need to be washed." Mairu responded.
"That should be fine. My room is untouched?" Izaya asked. Mairu stood quiet and he lowered the newspaper to look at her. "Is the master bedroom untouched, yes or no?"
"It's not like you keep anything important there anyways." Mairu guiltily spoke.
"Then why were you snooping, you little pests." Izaya grabbed both of the twins' cheeks and pinched them hard.
"That hurts." Mairu cried. Izaya rolled his eyes and went back to the newspaper. "Are we gonna be sent to a foster home?" Mairu asked him.
"Yes." Izaya blankly stated. Both the girls whined at his response. "Stop crying or else I'm gonna start putting rules and curfews on you two."
"Good morning girls." Namie walked into the kitchen. She made herself a coffee and glared at Izaya.
"Namie, go clean the girl's house after you finish your coffee." Izaya simply stated as he got up from the table.
"What, you couldn't have texted me? Instead you had me take the train here to Shinjuku and a cab to your apartment, just to go back?" Namie angrily spoke.
"Well I thought the twins would want a woman to escort them to school today. You know, talk about boys and the latest fashion styles. You have such a unique taste in clothes." Izaya smiled at her. "Well I'll be getting ready for all my meetings today. I am a very busy business man now."
"Your brother is an ass." Namie scoffed. The girls began to clean up the mess in the kitchen and wash the dishes as Namie finished her coffee.
Izaya scaled Shizuo's apartment building and went straight to the blond's window. After messing with the lock a bit he began to raise the window up slowly and quietly before throwing himself inside.
"Can't you do anything normal?" Shizuo had his arms crossed in front of him.
"Walking up to your door and knocking. It just felt so wrong and dirty." Izaya grinned as he went to sit down at the table. Shizuo sat down on the already set table and began to eat.
Izaya moved his food around looking disinterested.
'How weird. Sitting across Shizu-chan, just eating breakfast.' Izaya thought to himself. Shizuo rolled his eyes after he finished eating. Izaya didn't look up from his plate once. He barely ate anything and was just moving fruit around.
He began clearing the table when Izaya finally looked up. Shizuo had noticed he was lost in thought while he ate. Shizuo began to put the leftovers away in containers when Izaya went to sit on top of his counter. He finished cleaning the table when he noticed the raven's demeanor change completely. Now Izaya was happily eating from a bowl of fruit as he watched the tall blond wash dishes and clean up the kitchen.
"You missed a spot, ne, Shizu-chan." Izaya commented as Shizuo placed a dry clean plate in the cabinet.
"Crazy how just fifteen minutes ago we were sitting down having a nice breakfast. You moved around your food before taking two bites and saying you were full." Shizuo huffed as he began clearing the table of the dirty trash. "And now you're hungrily eating everything on the counter."
"What can I say? I get hungry watching other people work." Izaya chuckled as he ate a strawberry from his plate.
"Are you always this annoying?" Shizuo rolled his eyes at the raven.
"Yes." Izaya placed his empty bowl in the sink while Shizuo washed the dishes. "Well Shizu-chan, I have a very important meeting coming up. I'll see you tonight when you're at work, ne?"
"Yeah, I'll see you tonight." Without thinking, Shizuo placed a gentle kiss on Izaya's lips. The blonde felt his cheeks heat up. It felt as if he was bidding a lover farewell when he did that. He found he didn't exactly hate the thought.
"That face you made was priceless." Izaya began to laugh as he left the blonde's apartment. Shizuo frowned as he watched the raven run out his door. He felt as if Izaya wasn't feeling the same way as him and he needed to stop whatever they were doing before he got hurt. What was Izaya thinking when they were together?