Sorry. Things got weird over the last few months and I didn't have time to write, and when I did have time I couldn't get myself in the right mind set. But like I said, I do fully intend to finish this fic even if it takes a long time. I have part of the next chapter started so there's that...
Thank you so much for bearing with me I know what it's like to wait forever for a fic to update!
…~-~...
Dinner. That's all it was. A nice dinner to thank Shizuo for his services as a bodyguard. They had even gone outside Ikebukuro and Shinjuku to reduce the chance they would be recognized. So why did Izaya feel so uneasy?
Shizuo had smiled. It was a smile that made Izaya feel like he was floating when he saw it. Smiling back had been too easy. At this point he couldn't even remember what they had been talking about. All he could remember was that smile.
The vibration of his phone caught his attention, tearing his gaze away from the taxi window. It was a text from Shizuo.
"Don't forget to text me when you get home safe." it read.
Izaya caught himself smiling again at the message. It was a change of pace in his life to have someone actually put effort towards caring what happened to him. Whether or not Shizuo genuinely cared and why was another mystery that Izaya couldn't quite crack.
It had been 4 days since Izaya had tried to ask Shizuo if he cared. Shizuo's response of "a little" had his mind running wild the past few days; however, Izaya decided not to interrogate him anymore and just let this continue. Whatever "this" was.
Izaya could sense dormant feelings beginning to grow again, and tonight those feelings had felt rather intense. Nearly as intense as they had in high school. All of his thoughts seemed to center around Shizuo. There wasn't a moment he could remember in the past few days that he hadn't thought of him in one way or another.
He was letting it continue which he knew was a mistake. He knew he should cut ties now and end it before he fell too deep, yet at the same time he knew it was already too late. Soon he might say something stupid. Let slip one of the millions of thoughts swirling in his head. Shizuo would catch on and… likely reject him. Even if he was fine with their "relationship" so far, that didn't mean moving forward was possible.
His hands shifted in his lap, tightly gripping the fur on the bottom edge of his coat. There wasn't any denying to himself anymore. After all, he'd accepted that he loved Shizuo a long time ago. He wanted this to go somewhere. But it was just dinner. It meant nothing.
Izaya shook his head and looked up. He was almost home. If he could just lie down for a while and try to think without distractions maybe he could decide what to do. Maybe he'd even go as far as to make a list of pros and cons. When the taxi stopped, he paid the driver and headed inside.
The elevator made a sound when it reached his floor and Izaya stepped out. Lost in thought, Izaya almost didn't notice.
He shut and locked the door behind him as he entered, but when he turned to remove his shoes he finally saw.
There was a pair of shoes that weren't his.
His hand was already on his knife before he even had the thought to do so. Silently he stepped into the open, eyes scanning for movement. For anything out of place.
A sound behind him.
He began to spin around, ready to attack when he was caught. His wrists were grabbed and forced behind his back while simultaneously being pushed forward into the nearest wall.
The touch was enough. Izaya could recognize the rough handing and the feel of the man's hands on his skin.
Jiro leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"Caught you."
…~-~...
Shizuo checked his phone again. Still no response. Could something have happened? No, he was probably just reading or on a call with someone and hadn't had the chance to respond.
But what if something happened? Should I give him a few more minutes?
After debating for a moment Shizuo decided to wait.
He's probably fine. I'll give him 5 more minutes, then I'll try calling.
And so he waited...
…~-~...
Izaya wanted to fight back. To scream. To do something.
But he was frozen. He could smell his "master" and it made him sick, yet he still couldn't move.
It didn't quite feel real, but he knew it was. If he could yell he might get someone's attention but his voice seemed to have left him. It was all he could do to keep breathing.
"I've missed you, my little pet," Jiro said, his mouth too close to Izaya's ear. He could feel his breath against his neck and he wanted to shiver but he couldn't even do that.
"It's been far too long since I've had the chance to feel this soft skin of yours. I trust my marks are still there? You know I almost regret not carving my name into you."
The clicking sound registered in his head before he made the connection that the cold feeling around his wrists were handcuffs.
"There, that's better," he said, now able to hold Izaya against the wall with one hand and his body weight while the other hand gripped his chin to turn his head back. "Now I can get a proper look at you. You've grown so much since we last met. I've heard you have become a decent information broker."
Izaya's eyes met with Jiro's and a wave of nausea hit him. His thoughts didn't make sense. He couldn't focus. He could barely even hear what Jiro was saying over the rushing sound in his ears.
"But of course you have that boyfriend of yours now, Heiwajima Shizuo? And what a man he is. I'll have to be careful when I snatch you up again."
The sound of Shizuo's name struck something inside his head. The fog cleared for an instant and he could focus. His knife was still in his hand, though they were cuffed together. Jiro's torso was pressed close. If he could move quick enough he could do it.
Keep him talking Izaya thought. "How did you know he wouldn't coming home with me?"
"That particular driver happens to be a friend of mine. All I had to do was ask. You're not the only one with connections, sweet thing-oops!"
Izaya had angled the knife in his hand pointing outwards and with a sudden amount of force used all his strength to push his body away from the wall to fall back against Jiro, but it wasn't enough. Jiro jumped to the side with one hand still holding Izaya's wrist. Using the momentum Izaya had created, Jiro pulled on his wrist sharpy to one side and got a leg underneath Izaya, tripping him before he could get his balance back. He hit the ground hard and felt a small pop in his wrist where Jiro held him. In a matter of seconds Jiro was in control again, with Izaya pressed against the floor and a knee in his back holding him in place. That didn't stop Izaya from struggling, knowing of course that it was futile at this point.
"That was a little too close," Jiro commented, now using more force to hold Izaya down response to his struggling. With ease he took the knife from Izaya's hand, his wrist injured just enough that he couldn't keep hold of his only weapon.
Izaya cursed his lithe body shape. Jiro was physically larger than him and if that wasn't enough of an issue his wrist made his right hand now unusable for fighting back.
Vrrr… Vrrr… Vrrr…
It took Izaya a few seconds to realize his phone was ringing, and another to realize it was probably Shizuo calling. If he could just get his hands to his coat pocket…
"Hmm? Oh that's got to be him, isn't it?" Jiro said, grabbing a fistful of Izaya's hair and jerking his head back. When he spoke again it was a whisper in Izaya's ear. "Don't you start fucking him now, you slut. You're mine, remember? And yes, that's a threat. Now, I'd better be going. Unfortunately things are not ready for me to take you tonight, but the time will come soon.
"For now, goodnight."
With the grip on his hair, Jiro lifted Izaya's head and quickly smashed it against the floor. Izaya was left unconscious while Jiro slipped out the door, closing it gently behind him.
…~-~...
He wasn't answering.
Damn it, why wasn't he answering?!
After the fifth call went to voicemail, Shizuo switched to text a different number, praying for the usual fast response.
"[Celty, I have an emergency and I need to get over to Izaya's apartment fast. Can you help?]"
The response was inhumanly fast.
"[Izaya's apartment? I can help, but what's going on? Where are you? And what's the emergency?!]"
"[I'm at my place come get me and I will explain just be quick!]"
He would owe her for this but instinct told him something was wrong and he didn't have many options.
…~-~...
"Wait here," Shizuo told Celty as he ran into the building.
The elevator couldn't have moved more slowly. Shizuo nearly hit the wall out of frustration but held back knowing that breaking the elevator wasn't in his best interest. When he finally reached Izaya's floor he shot out of the elevator and down the short hallway to the door.
It was closed with no sign it had been forced. Shizuo tried the handle. The door was open and Shizuo's blood ran cold. Izaya wouldn't have left the door unlocked.
"Izaya?!" Shizuo called, rushing through the door. He didn't have to go far. Izaya was unconscious on the floor, his hands cuffed behind his back. In seconds Shizuo was kneeling on the floor next to Izaya, looking around the room for signs someone might be here.
Instinct told him they were alone and Shizuo turned his attention back to Izaya.
"Hey, Flea," he said, lightly shaking Izaya's shoulder, "C'mon, please wake up."
A small pained sound escaped Izaya's lips before he opened his eyes followed by a louder groan.
"Izaya, what happened? Are you okay?"
The words didn't make sense at first when Izaya heard them, but he recognized the voice. "Sh-Shizu-chan?" he mumbled.
"Yeah, it's me, are you okay?"
Slowly everything came back into focus and Izaya remembered where he was. His hands were still bound and he could feel the pain in his wrist causing him to wince. He must have struggled against his bindings just then prompting Shizuo to speak again.
"Let me get that for you," he said, taking hold of the cuffs. He pulled and Izaya winced again at the movement of his wrist. "Oh, sorry," he said, adjusting his grip, "I'll do it fast."
Izaya grit his teeth as Shizuo pulled at the clasp until it came apart. He did the same with the other cuff, then helped Izaya into a sitting position.
His head hurt more than his wrist, but only just. He was nauseous and his legs felt weak. When he was able to focus he could see Shizuo looking at him intently.
"Damn, that's a bruise… You probably have a concussion. I'm going to take you to Shinra, okay?"
"Yeah," Izaya managed.
"Was it… him…?" Shizuo asked, his voice low.
Izaya was still, eyes downcast.
"Can you stand?"
Izaya thought for a moment, considering the weakness in his legs. "A little help would be nice."
…~-~...
Celty couldn't believe what she was looking at for a moment. Shizuo, helping Izaya walk out of his apartment building with his arm supporting Izaya by the waist and Izaya's arm swung over Shizuo's shoulders.
On their way here Shizuo had explained that he was acting as Izaya's bodyguard but couldn't give a solid reason as to why. But it did spark some questions. Why would Izaya be desperate enough to ask Shizuo for help? After all they did try to kill each other less than a year ago.
"[Is everything okay?]" She asked.
"For now I think so," Shizuo answered, "But I think Izaya has a concussion so I want Shinra to check him over."
"Hey Celty, been a while," Izaya mumbled sounding ill.
If Celty could roll her eyes she would. She wasn't exactly happy with Izaya at the moment but if Shizuo wanted her to help she would do it for him.
Celty conjured a sidecar for Shooter with the intention to sit Izaya alone but to her surprise Shizuo chose to join him, sitting right behind Izaya.
There was clearly more to this than what Shizuo had told her, but for now Celty chose not to question it. Instead, she hopped on Shooter and sped off towards home where Shinra would be waiting for her.