Celty wasn't sure exactly what she had expected when she got a frantic message from Shizuo. What he'd explained to her had been a bit scattered but she was able to figure out the gist of it. Izaya had been kidnapped and the kidnapper was trying to lure Shizuo into a trap using Izaya as bait. He gave her the location which she quickly recognized as nearby the warehouse where the yellow scarves and later Aoba and his friends had gathered in the past.

With a quick explanation to Shinra–and a suggestion that he be prepared if the pair came back with her injured–she rushed out the door.

She couldn't help but wonder exactly what was going on between the two of them. They'd definitely been spending a lot more time together and Shizuo had admitted liking him… It all felt strange to her after breaking up their fights on numerous occasions that they could be suddenly getting along, but it also occurred to her that she had never really spent time with Izaya outside of business transactions. While Shinra claimed they were friends, Izaya never came over casually so she really didn't know him very well. It was entirely possible that the version of Izaya that she and everyone else knew wasn't genuine. According to Shinra, Izaya was actually a lot more fragile than he let on. Something about how he intentionally refused to let people in because he knew that his heart could be easily broken… It was hard to imagine Shinra was talking about the same person she knew. But then she remembered Shizuo telling her Izaya had been crying when admitting he liked him…

Maybe Izaya really was a different person than he seemed on the surface…?

If Shizuo was spending a lot of time with Izaya as a bodyguard, it made sense that eventually he'd end up learning more about him.

Which reminded her about how this all began… Shizuo kept insisting that he had found something out about Izaya that had made him agree to be his bodyguard in the first place. She now also knew that there was an individual person Izaya needed protection from who was involved in human trafficking. If Izaya was really planning to stop someone like that it didn't surprise her that Shizuo had been willing to go along with it. Shizuo was a good person with strong morals. She knew he felt at least a little guilty for nearly killing Izaya for real several months back, even if in Celty's opinion he kind of deserved it. In the end though she did do what she could to save him by using her shadows to stop the knife wound from bleeding. Maybe Izaya needed help now because his injuries from that fight had been so severe?

She would have to ask them both about all of that later, for now she wanted to make sure they were both safe. The doors were partially open when she approached the warehouse. She glanced around outside for any signs of a trap, but the area was eerily empty and quiet…

Her vision didn't need any time to adjust to the darkness as she stepped inside the warehouse, meaning that she immediately was able to see the frightening sight in front of her.

Shizuo was on the ground, a puddle of blood around him. Izaya was there too, arms and legs tied up and… tears streaming down his face.

She was suddenly filled with dread as she sprinted towards them, immediately checking on Shizuo first. He coughed when she turned him meaning he was alive which was a relief, but he was definitely not okay. She quickly covered the wound with her shadows, applying pressure to stop the bleeding before she assessed Izaya.

He was staring at her in disbelief, tears continuing to fall. His eyes were wide and he seemed frozen on the spot. To be honest, seeing him like that was even more frightening to her than Shizuo's wound. She quickly turned her shadows into a blade, cutting through the rope that bound his arms and legs. She pretended not to notice that his pants were undone and slightly askew, but suddenly things were beginning to make sense.

Shizuo knew something personal about Izaya that he wouldn't want anyone else to know… The person he needed protection from was involved in human trafficking… Izaya was tied up and helpless with his clothes disheveled…

She didn't want to think too hard into the implications but it was difficult not to with the evidence right in front of her…

"[Let's go, Shinra is waiting.]" She held the message out, hoping it would be enough to get Izaya's attention and snap him out of the state he was in. She signaled Shooter with her shadows to come inside, quickly forming a sidecar and carefully helping Shizuo up and into it.

She turned around to find Izaya struggling just to sit up. Was he injured and she just couldn't see? His arms were shaking with the strain of holding up his upper body but he'd at least managed to fix his pants when she wasn't looking.

"[Are you hurt?]" She asked, kneeling next to him.

"Drugged," Izaya explained, his voice shaking. "I c-can't stand up yet."

Oh, she definitely didn't like the implication of that on top of everything else…

"[I'll help you.]"

Izaya nodded, allowing Celty to throw his arm over her shoulders and hook her arm around his waist and pull him up. He winced and stumbled a bit, but was able to take the few steps over to Shooter. Celty quickly made two helmets with her shadows, helping Izaya onto the back of Shooter behind her, using her shadows to hold him against her back so he didn't fall.

Sending a quick text to Shinra so he knew what to expect, She rushed home.

…~-~...

Izaya clung to Celty as she rushed them through the city, his eyes locked on Shizuo in the sidecar the entire time, counting the breaths he could see him take. He seemed to still be semi-conscious, but Izaya couldn't be sure. All he could do was hope Shinra could fix him.

When they arrived, Izaya told Celty to take Shizuo up first. He didn't want to slow her down if she planned to try and bring them both together. He braced himself against the wall, carefully taking a few steps towards the elevator. He managed to meet Celty in the hallway on her way back to help him. He allowed her to help him the rest of the way, already feeling exhausted from forcing himself to walk before his body was ready.

Shinra was there as soon as they stepped through the door, looking concerned. Izaya didn't like that look.

"You haven't been shot too, have you?" Shinra asked, rushing up and immediately testing his eyes with a flashlight. "You don't look so good and Celty mentioned something about you being drugged?"

"I'm fine," Izaya batted Shinra's hand away. "Or at least fine enough. Just take care of Shizuo."

Shinra bit his lip, giving Izaya another quick up and down glance and nodding before slipping away into the spare room.

Celty led him to the couch where he immediately collapsed, cursing his limbs for not responding the way they should. He took a moment to assess his own body. He had a lot of his motor functions returning already but he still felt weak. Some of the pain was from his previously injured wrist being behind his back as well as general body aches. The worst pain was in his chest, especially when he tried to inhale deeply. Thankfully it didn't feel like his ribs were broken, but it still hurt quite a bit.

A cup of tea appeared on the table in front of him, drawing his attention away from his various aches and pains. Celty sat next to him, slumping forward and resting her elbows on her knees.

"[You doing okay?]" She asked.

Izaya was confused for a moment until he remembered exactly what Celty had walked in on. There was no way she didn't see him crying over Shizuo, helpless on the ground. He looked away, suddenly not wanting her to see his face.

"I'm fine," he lied.

"[I'm scared for him too.]" Celty responded, "[Shinra will take care of him though. He'll be fine.]"

"I don't need you to reassure me," Izaya mumbled.

"[Do you care for him?]"

Izaya stared at the message. Normally this would be the part where he slapped on his mask and laughed at the absurdity of that question coming from Celty. He'd deny it and let it slide right off of him while he changed the subject.

But he didn't have the energy to even try to pretend. Instead he chose silence.

"[What happened, exactly? Does this have anything to do with that Sato person that was after you?]"

Izaya didn't respond right away, instead he stared at the cup of tea on the table. Silence was clearly the easiest option, but if he had to say something he wasn't sure if the truth or a lie would be more difficult.

"His real name is Kimura Jiro." Izaya said when he finally found his voice.

"[What does he want with you?]"

"I…" Izaya felt his heart beating erratically at that question. He instinctively attempted to come up with a lie or some way to avoid the conversation entirely, but he was far too exhausted to think of anything other than the truth. "I'm sure you can guess."

Celty took a moment to reply, seeming to type a response and then erasing it multiple times.

"[I didn't want to assume, but… I won't say it.]"

Izaya reached for the cup of tea on the table, taking a sip. He stared into the cup watching the light reflect off the surface of the liquid inside as his hand shook ever so slightly.

"To answer your other question…" he began, before he could think of a reason not to say it out loud, "About Shizu-chan… I do care about him. I… love him."

Celty didn't respond. In fact she barely reacted at all, not even attempting to type a response. She just looked at him as if she was waiting for him to keep talking. Something about that silent invitation made him decide to continue.

"I know it doesn't make sense to anyone. Everyone who knows us would probably assume I'm just trying to mess with him and I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking that. I think I did a pretty good job convincing everyone including myself that I hated him. I even genuinely tried to kill him thinking that if I succeeded I'd be free. Loving someone that much is… it used to scare me. But now that we're… together… I'm just afraid to lose him. I couldn't do anything back there. If he hadn't told you to come ahead of time…"

Izaya jumped slightly when he felt Celty's hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her. He knew she could see him, but not having eyes watching him or a face to look at almost made it easier to talk to her.

"What I'm trying to say is… thank you. And not just for tonight. If you hadn't sealed my wound that night when you had your head back… I'm pretty sure that's the only reason I managed to survive back then, so thank you for making sure my stupidity didn't kill me."

"[You're welcome.]"

Izaya held his breath when Celty wrapped him in a tight hug. He didn't entirely understand why she was holding him but he allowed it, slightly thankful for a bit of comfort after everything that had just happened tonight.

"[Sorry, you just… I see what Shizuo meant when he said there was another side of you.]"

"Oh, has Shizu-chan been talking about me behind my back?" Izaya asked with a slight smile.

"[Not too much, don't worry. But he did tell me he likes you. I'll be honest I did have doubts about you, but not after tonight. I'm glad you could talk to me.]"

"You're weirdly easy to talk to," he admitted, "That, or I'm more tired than I realize. Or maybe I hit my head at some point and don't remember."

"[Shizuo always says he likes talking to me. I think it's because I don't actually speak, it's easier for him to just rant like he's talking to himself. He's a good friend though. And a good person.]"

Izaya nodded in agreement, taking another sip of tea.

"[Do you remember that time I asked you if you could change? You said 'If I felt like it'.]"

"I did say that, yes."

"[Could you do it? For Shizuo?]"

Izaya considered the idea for a moment. "I… I think I could make a few changes. Leave a few unsavory things behind. But I'm still Orihara Izaya. I can't just become an entirely different person."

"[I think that's good enough for now. (⌒▽⌒) ]"