Nothing belongs to me except for Ryuu Akihana, Kanta Akihana, Ichirou Arata and the story itself. All rights go to Ryohgo Narita! Enjoy!
A couple hours after the incident that occurred between Shizuo and Izaya, Shizuo's office door flew open. A loud cracking sound due to the door hitting the wall startled Izaya, causing him to let out a small yelp and instinctively move towards Shizuo for protection. Shizuo snorted at Izaya's reaction, briefly allowing his ego a small boost at the notion of Izaya immediately seeking him out when he was scared. Turning his expression back to his neutral scowl, Shizuo glanced towards the high-pitched voice which sounded upon entering.
"Iza-Iza! We're going out!"
Izaya's heart was pounding at the sudden scare, but it quickly slowed when he recognized Erika and Walker approaching him with the girl sporting a large smile, and Walker nodding a greeting to Shizuo nervously. Izaya would have greeted them properly if he hadn't been distracted with how strangely the two were dressed.
Erika was dressed in a short, mint green strapless dress with the same color gloves and boots. She accessorized the outfit using mint green armlets, a choker with a gold pendant and a matching garter, all outlined with a dark blue border. The girl's dress even had dark blue wings and the same color tail which resembled the likeness of a bird protruding from the back. Her hair was put up in two buns atop her head with her bangs left to frame her face, and she carried a small angelic-looking, white toy crossbow with gold bordered pink hearts, and dark blue wings decorating it.
Walker was dressed in a black, zip-up vest that showed off his collarbone with a black strap hanging off either shoulder, long white pants with three silver accents on each thigh, black, pointed leather boots, a wide brimmed, red choker covering his neck and a black cat ear headband buried in his blonde hair, which was arranged messily with his bangs parted down the middle. Walker also seemed to be carrying a large black bag which made Izaya shudder at the memories that resurfaced of his time down in the basement when he first met the duo.
"K-Karisawa-san? Yumasaki-kun? What are y-you guys doing here?"
A low growl escaped Shizuo's lips as he stood from his desk and came around to the front. Izaya tensed as the yakuza stood beside him and leveled a glare at the two teens before them.
"That's what I'd like to know. Also, I thought I'd told you two to learn how to knock. What if one of the higher-ups were visiting?"
Izaya watched the three of them converse as Erika waved her hand nonchalantly while Walker looked as though all he wanted to do was grab the girl and bolt.
"You're always so uptight, Shizu-Shizu. And Iza-Iza, I'm sure I've told you to just call me Erika! Anyway, me and Walker figured you were bored sitting up here with our workaholic boss and wanted to invite you out for a night on the town — otaku style!"
Shizuo's left eyebrow twitched at being brushed aside so easily. Sometimes he wondered if he was being too soft on the two teens. Even though they were his best interrogators with torture methods even the blond couldn't dream up, Shizuo could never forget that they were still kids. Looking back towards Izaya, Shizuo noticed how the raven's hands wrung together in nervousness as his body trembled while listening to what Erika was saying.
"Get this, Iza-Iza! Our favorite manga cafe is hosting an event to celebrate their 5th anniversary! Their offering customers a 15% discount off their whole table if they come dressed up in cosplay. Me and Walker were planning on going as Minto and Ryou from Tokyo Mew Mew, but our theme isn't complete without a bad guy. What do you say? Wanna go with us as Pai? We can even do karaoke afterwards! It'll be tons of fun!"
Izaya wasn't sure what he should've been feeling right then. He wasn't used to being invited out anywhere by anyone other than his family and Kadota. When Izaya's parents died, he was trying so hard to cope with the loss that he neglected building any sort of friendships with the other kids. Once he was was able to accept it, he only really knew how to talk about anime and manga. He was often bullied for his interests and treated as an outcast, so he only talked with Ryuu and Kadota. Izaya wanted to go, but he also didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of Erika and Walker. The two teens were a little scary, but they shared his love for anime and seemed to want to be friendly with him. Izaya didn't want to risk embarrassing himself and driving the them both away. A deep, baritone voice cut through his mangled thoughts as a hand landed on his shoulder and pushed him towards the two cosplayers.
"Take him. I doubt I'll get any peace and quiet at this rate if you don't. Just have him back before 9 so that he can finish up the work I've assigned to him, alright?"
Izaya was about to protest when Erika quickly grabbed him and dragged him towards the bedroom with Walker giving Izaya an apologetic smile as he followed after the two. It was obvious to the smaller, blond male that Erika was not taking any chances of Izaya protesting against going out with them.
"Best to get you ready here so we can head straight to the cafe, Iza-Iza. Let's hurry before Shizu-Shizu changes his mind!"
About an hour later, Izaya sat with both Erika, Walker and, surprisingly, Shizuo at a small booth located in the back corner of a busy anime-themed restaurant. As he looked around, he couldn't help but let a small tinge of excitement burrow itself in his chest at the sight of the multiple posters, streamers and figurines lined on glass-encased shelves. It had felt as though a lifetime had passed since Izaya was last able to indulge in his hobby. He'd have to tell Ryuu about this experience, and be sure to thank Erika and Walker. Speaking of…
"Don't get me started on that again, Yumacchi! She was the better option. End of story. It's practically canon!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Karisawa-san! She was a spoiled, bratty know-it-all who only did that so she looked good for the main character. No real man would ever fall for her!"
Izaya watched as the two friends argued back and forth about some anime character. He thinks it was High School of the Dead, but he wasn't sure since he wasn't paying a lot of attention to the conversation. Shizuo sat at Izaya's right with his arms crossed and a stoic expression on his face, but the teen could faintly hear the grinding of the man's teeth. Leaning towards the older male, Izaya attempted to try and calm him.
"You didn't have to come with us. If you'd like, you can head back to the office and Karisawa-san and Yumasaki-kun can drop me off later. I promise I won't run."
Shizuo turned his head to face Izaya with a raised brow. Izaya's breath hitched when he had those honey brown irises leveled on him again, and found his own eyes darting to the ground as a light heat spread across his cheeks. Recalling the incident between them on Shizuo's desk, Izaya couldn't bring himself to look the blond in the eye.
"I don't need you coddling me. Let's just get our orders, eat and head back. I don't like wasting my time, so I might as well see this through since I'm here. Although, I still don't get how Karisawa managed to talk me into coming here in the first place. Do you seriously enjoy places this…loud?"
Izaya couldn't hold back a silent giggle as he gazed around the busy, boisterous restaurant. Izaya had always wanted to visit an anime themed restaurant, but was always too shy to go alone. Ryuu wasn't as big into anime as he was, so he never bothered asking her.
Sitting in the maid cafe with two other teens who enjoyed anime as much as he did, if not more, wearing cosplay and conversing about their favorite shows and manga was an experience Izaya never saw himself having. For once, the teen was thankful that he was under the care of the yakuza and I small smile made it's way onto his face. Turning back to Shizuo, Izaya's smile widened slightly at the man's curious stare.
"What do you like to do in your free time, Shizu-chan? I can't imagine you work 24/7 with no time for yourself. I think that would drive me crazy."
Shizuo stiffened as his muscles tensed and his eyes avoided the sight if the boy's. Izaya was about to inquire further when a young pale, brunette woman dressed in the stereotypical maid outfit of a black dress, white, frilly underskirt and matching apron and headpiece came to their table to take their order.
Izaya could tell immediately by the woman's prominent blush on her cheeks and how her eyes kept raking Shizuo up and down that she found the yakuza attractive. A slight itch rose in Izaya's chest, and the teen reached up to scratch at it as the woman nervously spoke.
"M-May I take your order, M-Master?"
"Woohoo! Time to party! Who's up first? Boss?"
The group had finished and payed for their meal under half an hour before Erika dragged them all to the nearest karaoke bar. Due to it being close to exams before winter break, the building was quiet minus the staff and the few rooms rented out to random patrons. The group was quickly checked in under Shizuo's name despite the man's protests and led to a cozy, dimly lit room.
The walls either side of the door had a leather couch up against them with a low, sleek black coffee table between them. The far wall had a large screen mounted to it with service ads occasionally coming into view and four microphones holstered underneath it, all set above the raised floor meant to act as a small stage. A black corded wall phone hung next to the door with a small sign above it reading, "Ring for Service" in a bold, easily discernible font.
Walker was quick to make use of the phone to order snacks and drinks for everybody despite them all coming from eating dinner while Erika set up a playlist for everyone to sing along to. Currently, she was trying to convince someone to take the stage with her while they waited for their orders.
"Bring that mic anywhere near me and the staff will be kicking us out for destruction of property."
Erika sighed in frustration before turning to Izaya, who sat beside the large male. Putting her hands together and bowing slightly towards Izaya, the girl tried to convince him to indulge her.
"Come on, Izaya! Don't let Sir Stick-in-the-mud dampen our good time. Let's sing a duet together!"
Izaya's breath hitched in a sudden rush of anxiety. As much fun as he'd had with the two teenagers and Shizuo, he wasn't comfortable enough to sing with anyone while the rest watched. To be clear, Izaya didn't believe himself to be a decent singer at all.
"U-Um, if it's a-alright w-with you, Karisawa-san. I'd m-much rather w-watch."
Erika whined loudly at Izaya's response in a dramatic show of disappointment. She was unperturbed in her quest to find a singing partner however, and turned her focus on Walker as he looked up from his phone to see what all the commotion was about. Needless to say, he was forced to comply to her demands pretty quickly.
Izaya watched from beside Shizuo as the two long-time friends went about preparing for their show, and let out a chuckle of amusement at their antics.
"What's got you so chipper?"
Izaya turned his smile to Shizuo and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
"I've just never really done this before."
The yakuza huffed in acknowledgement as he leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed lazily. Izaya was reluctant to admit it, but the sight of Shizuo looking more relaxed was attractive to him. He hoped it was because the blonde felt comfortable with him, but was determined not to get his hopes up.
"What? Dressed in a silly costume to eat at some geeky restaurant, and pay to sing on a microphone? Most people wouldn't, kid.
Izaya shook his head before glancing back to see Erika and Walker had finally agreed on a song, but then started arguing over who would sing what part.
"No, not that. It's just that I've never really hung out with friends outside of school before. I was in pretty bad shape when my parents died, so I never really learned how to make friends. I was happy with Ryuu-chan and Kanta-nii-chan, but this is nice too."
Shizuo remained silent as he listened to Izaya speak. He had never bothered to learn much more about the teen other than the fact that he was involved in an investigation with their gang, so it intrigued him to hear more about the boy's backstory.
"Say, Shizu-chan?"
Shizuo was brought out of his musings to find Izaya addressing him with a shy smile on his face, and a light blush coating his cheeks. He was almost shocked to say he found it cute.
"What is it?"
"I just wanted to say thanks for letting me go out today. I had fun with you."
Shizuo scoffed to hide the proud smile making its way to his face. He couldn't understand why he had allowed Izaya join Erika and Walker, nor did he know why he invited himself on the outing. The more Shizuo grew to enjoy Izaya's company, the more he found himself wanting to protect him. Although, if Izaya was found to have been involved in their case, Shizuo wouldn't hesitate to have him executed.
"Just don't get used to it, kid."
Izaya nodded, still with a smile on his face. For the rest of the night, Shizuo and Izaya watched Erika and Walker sing their hearts out. The two friends were far too loud and off-key, but Izaya could honestly say he had never had never had so much fun, or laughed so hard in a single night as he had then.
Shizuo simply couldn't wait to return to the base. As he watched Izaya's cheeks flush with laughter, it was getting harder to restrain himself from imagining the teen's cheeks reddening for a different reason. However, his musings included a set of bruised lips, teary eyes and sweat coated skin beneath him as his hands were left free to roam its expanses.
Biting his lip to distract himself from his thoughts, Shizuo struggled to focus on anything besides the smiling boy next to him. The yakuza could already tell the night was going to be a long one.
[Afterstory Monologue]
Momo: I'm back, bitches! [Collapses]
Shizuo: Shit! Is she okay?
Izaya: This last class took a lot out of her. She really struggled.
Kanta: Not to mention how FanFiction wasn't letting her sign-in to her account, upload her chapters or post them for that matter. It really stressed her out, and she felt bad for the readers who were waiting for her to update.
Momo: [Jumps Up] Seriously! It was so frustrating! I tried using the app, but that completely messed up my formatting, which I had to fix. I want to put my stories on Wattpad or Ao3 too, but Wattpad has been having issues too! And, quite honestly, I don't go onto Ao3 all that much. I'm about to resort to Tumblr if this keeps up! Oh well, It'll all work out somehow. The life of a fanfiction writer is a life with struggle, but it's worth it for my readers!
Izaya: [Rolls Eyes] Oh, brother...
Momo: [Turns To Camera] Hi, guys! How's your finals/spring break going so far? Sorry I've been gone for long again. I know I have a bad habit of disappearing without explanation, but I promise I have no plans of leaving a story unfinished or abandoning them. This last class I had was super intensive, and I was just trying to stay above water. Also, since this included critique on my writing from other aspiring writers, I kind of lost a bit of confidence in my writing for a while. They weren't mean or anything; it was just something I had to get over myself.
On the topic of class, I have another class coming up after spring break that will take me to New York! I'm super excited, but also super nervous. We'll be getting in depth with poetry and the career of publishing, so I'm sure you can imagine I'm stoked for that! Anyway, the place I'll be staying will have wifi, but since I'll be busy with class meet-ups, assignments and living expenses (we will be responsible for feeding/housing/transporting ourselves, and I've never lived on my own before, so... yeah), I'm not sure when I'll next be able to update a story.
Finally, I've been more than aware of your complaints regarding how difficult it has been to read my stories because of how clustered they are, and that it hurts your eyes. I had no clue how to fix that at first without sacrificing my writing style, but after this class, I think I've come up with a solution that will benefit both of us. Because I was already so far in this chapter when I came up with it, I couldn't implement it. However, expect changes to the formatting in the next chapter. I'll look forward to your responses to it once it's in effect. Also, expect a little gift from me to you in the next chapter as an apology for always being late, and a thank you for putting up with me [Hint Hint, Wink Wink ;P].
Izaya: Subtle.
Momo: I know, it's a gift. Until next time guys! Thanks for reading this super long monologue if you made it this far. I really appreciate it! Ja-ne~! [Turns Off Camera]
P.S. I may or may not go back to updating my other stories as well, so let me know what you guys think about that. I feel as though my updates have become slower since I've decided to work on my stories one by one, and that's the opposite of what I wanted. Let me know your thoughts if you all have any. Love you guys!