4: Awkwardness

(N/A: Thank you all for your lovely reviews, they really push me to write! I just reallised that I do n/a instead of a/n but ah well, I'm weird and I won't stop. On with the chapter!)

"Shizuo, I gotta say... Why don't you sing it... Well, like you actually love him-"

"Tom, I don't!" Shizuo growled angrily, putting the microphone down. He was in the recording booth at the local studio, which they were renting for the hour to get better audio.

"Shizuo, calm down man. I get it. You can't fake something that's the opposite... But why don't you pretend he's someone else? Like... Vorona?" Tom said, smiling nervously.

"No! No! You can't do that!" Shinra chimed from over Skype, "The song represents the way that he both hates and loves him! Shizuo doesn't hate Vorona!"

"Well, Shinra, there isn't really much we can do." Tom sighed, rubbing his temples. He looked up at Shizuo. "I'm sorry you have to go through this, Shizuo."

Shizuo just grunted in agreement.

"We should Skype Namie and see if I she's having the same problems." Shinra put forward.

"Alright, yeah, good idea." Tom smiled and fiddled about on the laptop. He clicked Namie's name in his Skype contacts and it started to call. There was a click sound, showing that she'd picked up.

"What do you want, Tom? And why are we in a group call with Shinra?" Namie asked sourly.

"Well, Shizuo's having a ...hard time getting, well, emotion into his singing, and we were wondering if... Maybe Izaya's having the same... Uh... problem?" Shinra said, choosing his words carefully.

"Well, not exactly. The $$-hole keeps bursting out laughing and acting all smug each time he goes to sing! I want to kill him!"

"Sounds like something the flea would do..." Shizuo muttered and came out of the recording booth, "If he isn't trying to get it right I see no reason why I should have to. I'm off."

"Wait, Shizuo! I have an idea!" Shinra's voice called through the laptop, making Shizuo stop in his tracks.

"What is it?" Namie asked boredly.

"Well, maybe if Izaya got to know Shizuo better he might have a more... Serious attitude?" It sounded more like a question than a statement.

"I'm not staying near that louse more than two seconds! No way!" Shizuo cried angrily.

"Ah, but Shizu-chan, you lost the bet, ne~?" Izaya's voice sounded in the background on Namie's Skype.

"Izaya, I swear I'll kill you!" Shizuo stomped toward the computer.

"Calm down, Shizuo, c'mon man..." Tom said nervously, trying to calm him down.

"Stomping is a childish thing to do, Shizu-chan!" Izaya appeared in the picture, shoving a thoroughly protesting Namie out of the way and taking her laptop.

"Izaya, I don't think Shizuo is that childish. If anyone, it's you, shoving someone out of the way." Tom composed himself. Izaya frowned slightly, but then he was smirking again.

"Ha! Whatever you say, Tom-san~ But Shizu-chan still has to go along with the bet. And if he isn't singing it right, that's bad!" Shizuo growled.

"As much as I disagree with Izaya's... attitude... There is some truth in his words- Shizuo, don't look at me like that!" Shinra cried when Shizuo shot him a sharp glare. Izaya just laughed.

"Shinra..."

"Well, maybe it would help you both to.. Live with each other? I-I mean, just for a few days! And-" Even Izaya had frozen in horror at the idea.

"Shinra, you had better be glad you're speaking to me through the Internet, otherwise you would be BRUTALLY MURDERED!" Shizuo shouted, loud enough for the passerbys to hear.

"Now Shizuo, his idea may not be so bad, y'know..." Tom tried, earning a sharp glare, but he continued, "And it's only for a few days. Plus, do you want to be filed for threatening murder or assault or something?"

"Fine, Tom. It's just a few days right? Until the flea knows how to take things seriously."

"It's not just me, you protozoan!" Izaya grinned, laughing.

"Shut it! Do you want me to go all the way out to Shinjuku and beat me up to place my point?!"

"Well, you're coming out here anyway. No way I'm going to your tiny apartment." Izaya huffed.

"My previous statement still stands!"

"What large words for a brute, hmm~?"

"Shut up, flea!"

...

Shizuo didn't have much stuff with him. It was just one bag, because it was less than one week. That was the way he packed. But when he entered Izaya's apartment/office he was taken aback at all the space.

There were two couches in the middle of the room, one which Namie was sitting on while fiddling on her laptop. Meanwhile, there were a few plant pots in the corners, as the sunset light flowed in through the giant window-wall. But then lastly Shizuo saw Izaya himself, focused on his laptop, sitting at his desk.

"Uh... Hello?! Are you gonna even acknowledge my presence at all?!" Shizuo said angrily, after waiting a few moments.

"Oh hello, Shizu-chan~ I forgot you were coming." Izaya looked up, "Namie, go make us some coffee."

"Douchebag..." Namie mumbled asunder breath as she put her laptop down and walked out, before pausing and returning, "I assume Shizuo wants his coffee loaded with tooth-rotting sugar?"

"Yes." Shizuo growled, his eyebrow twitching.

"Shizu-chan, you're such a child. Sweets are only this kids eat, hmm~?"

"Izaya, I'm seriously wondering whether or not I should just smash your face into the wall." Shizuo bit out.

"I don't think you'd be able to catch me first! Hehe. Now sit down Shizu-chan, I'm busy..."

...

Awkward.

That's the one word Shizuo thought was the one word to describe his current situation in a nutshell, as he lay back, staring at the ceiling, the back of his head resting in his hands as the moonlight filtered through the small gaps in the curtains later that night.

Thinking about it, Shizuo knew he could've possibly disarmed the situation before it got to this point had he swallowed his pride and given Izaya the bed. But ah well, he'd done the same thing before each time Izaya escaped one of their chases back in high school, and ever since he'd started, the taste of it just got more sour each time.

It was probably Izaya's fault, he decided. Yes, the flea deserved the blame for something for once. If he just wasn't so stubborn, he might've had a much less brain-numbing situation at hand. But the best bit? The raven himself was snoring at his side, so he couldn't protest to taking the blame, at least not for eight more hours.

It wasn't really 'blame' for anything except the awkward air that was suffocating Shizuo from the inside out as he stole a glance at his duet partner and arch nemesis. Yeah, Izaya's fault, he thought, as he remembered the events that had lead up to this silent night in which Shizuo probably wasn't getting much sleep.

He had just gotten changed into his night clothes- a grey thin-fabric t-shirt because Shizuo k ew how hot he got in bed, and a pair of blue loose trousers. He walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth. As he reached for his brush, he noted that Izaya's toothbrush was already missing, but he ignored it and got the toothpaste.

Only once he was brushing did he remember what the toothbrush being missing meant- Izaya was somewhere in the apartment, brushing his teeth and wandering around.

Speak of the devil, he saw in the reflection of the bathroom mirror as the flea himself ambled into the bathroom, visibly shivering.

"If you're cold, why are you wearing that?" He asked absent-mindedly, finishing brushing and looking Izaya up and down.

The raven was wearing a long-sleeved dark-grey t-shirt that was so loose it hid his hands except for the tips of his fingers, and it was nearly falling off one shoulder. He had on a pair of blue boxers and Shizuo felt blood rushing to his face when he looked at Izaya's bare legs. He quickly turned away and reached for the mouthwash, thankful the flea was too cold and too concentrated on brushing his teeth to notice Shizuo blushing.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, Shizu-chan~" Izaya had finished brushing and Shizuo was finished with the mouthwash. Izaya smirked at him and Shizuo frowned, irritated.

"Well I'm tired, hurry up." Shizuo waited until Izaya had used the mouthwash and they began to head towards Izay's bedroom. Shizuo opened the door and stopped dead.

"What is it, Shizu-chan~? Scared of the dark?"

"No. Look." Shizuo let Izaya look. "There's only one bed-"

"My apartment, you're on the couch. Go." Izaya cut him off in a 'no questions asked' way.

"No, I'm the guest, I get the bed."

"Don't be stupid you protozoan, this is my bed, get out."

"Flea, I'm not gonna tell you twice-"

"I'm not leaving!" Izaya cried, leaping on the bed and snatching the covers. Shizuo wondered how on earth Namie coped with such a childish boss.

"Oh no you don't, flea!" Shizuo leaped on the bed as well, taking the covers away.

"Well, you can't get me to budge. Whatever you try." Izaya snatched back the covers.

"You will move if you freeze!" Shizuo pulled the duvet back. Izaya turned over and gave him a glare. The raven was curled up in a fetal position and obviously shivering.

"Give. That. Back!" Izaya shouted a great battle cry and took the duvet, wrapping it around himself. Shizuo just stared at him. He sighed.

Shizuo looked back up to the ceiling, admiring the paintwork. He was lost in thought for many minutes as he looked back at Izaya, who was looking at him, one red eye open in curiosity.

The raven-haired singer was still shivering slightly. His hair was messy. The duvet only covered Izaya's upper half, and Shizuo could still see his pale slender legs curled around his boxers. Looking up, Shizuo directed his gaze to Izaya's collarbones and his neck. The moonlight was falling only him in such a way that he could see at of Izaya's muscles move each time he breathed. Izaya closed his eyes, satisfied that Shizuo would not try to take the covers back. In that moment... Izaya looked kinda cute.

No! Shizuo mentally slapped himself, reluctantly tearing his gaze from Izaya, berating himself for thinking silly thoughts like that. Knowing the raven, he was probably just wearing such loose and short clothing on purpose to seduce him. No way he was falling for one of those tricks.

Shizuo's attention was diverted when he heard a small sound to his side. He looked back at Izaya. Was the flea... Snoring? His eyes widened. He waited, thinking it too adorable to be true. Sure enough, a small sneeze-like sound came from Izaya a second later. Shizuo sighed and gazed back up at the ceiling in frustration.

Yeah, awkward. The perfect word, Shizuo thought, for this situation.

(N/A: Sorry for the late update! I hope to update again before new year. By the time this goes out, it'll be Christmas Day, so merry Christmas people! Sadly it's still summer in the world of our characters, so no Christmas special. Maybe next year. Yeah, right, this will definitely be long enough for that... That was sarcasm, by the way.

Anyway. To make up for it, just imagine Izaya and Shizuo singing All I Want For Christmas and it'll all be good. It is now your solemn duty to imagine them singing it next time you hear that song! Ah well.

This is a kinda super long note, but I have a lot to say. Every fix I read, I imagine Izaya wearing the outfit described in this chapter when he sleeps, it's just so cute! I think I might just draw him wearing it at some point, maybe. The reason he wears it even though he's cold will be explained in the next chapter. Btw, Shizuo like never gets cold and actually find it hot to wear a coat in winter like me, but Izaya is the complete opposite, which is why he always wears his fluffy coat, even in the summer. Just my headcanon, though.

Anyone else imagining Izaya and Shizuo singing every love song you hear on the radio? I mean, I've imagined tons of possible stories, such as the one about Hello by Adele where like Izaya and Shizuo were together in high school, but at the end of it they broke up and Shizuo moved away, and then Shizuo's singing the song to Izaya. I think that would be adorable if it were a fic!

Lastly, thank you all for your reviews! I haven't been able to read some of the more recent ones, but I will when I post this. I really appreciate your support!

Merry Christmas!

~Indi