There was a strong, short breeze that ruffled Izaya's hair back and forth when he stepped out of the cab. He looked up a little, covering his squinting eyes with one hand and noticed that the sun was being enveloped by gray clouds. He shoves his hands in his pockets and walks down the street, toward the furniture store at the corner. He stops at the display window, slightly disappointed by the poor selection of sofas, chairs and love seats when he spots a lavish velvet sectional couch at the farthest end of the store.

He pulls the door open and walks inside, steadily making his way down the maze made up of furniture until he reaches the object that caught his attention. His fingertips trail over the cotton material as he walks around the couch. Upon closer look, he notices the pattern that's etched onto every inch of the fabric. Soft swirls that resemble the shade of Shizuo's eyes come into focus. His eyebrows draw closer together as admiration turns into anger, muffling the voice behind him.

"Sir?" the voice asks again. "Are you finding everything okay?"

He drops his head, lets out a heavy sigh and answers meekly. "Actually," he turns, "I was wondering if you have this in another colo- -" Before he can finish speaking, he sees Shizuo walking on the opposite side of the street. He retracts his flickblade, jumps over the objects in front of him and shoots out of the window. Shards of glass explode arounf him, slightly cutting his cheeks and forehead. But he doesn't pay the blood flowing down his face any attention and presses on with his attack.

Shizuo turns to face the direction in which the noise came from. His cigarette falls to the floor when he sees Izaya armed and running towards him. He doesn't know what to think… Maybe this is just Izaya keeping up appearances. Maybe Izaya's trying to start some sort of cat and mouse game that will lead to something sexual. Or maybe…

The blond steps out of the way before Izaya's blade has the opportunity to make contact with his flesh. He rips a door from the blue Nissan next to him and throws it at the informant.

Izaya spins out of its way, clutches his weapon harder and lunges at his target again and again and again until they both stumble into an alley.

"What the hell, Izaya?"

The roll of thunder snaps him out of his confused state. Everything after the moment he noticed the detail on the velvet couch was a blur. He looks at his surroundings, at his quivering hands, and eventually, at the man looking right at him. He shoots his attention upward and lets out a laugh.

"What's up with you, huh?"

A slew of water begins to rain down on them as Izaya shouts, "Oh, the irony!"

Shizuo walks toward Izaya, who's now welcoming the downpour with open arms. "Hey!" He places his hands on the broker's shoulders. "What's going on?"

Izaya brushes him off, walks deeper into the alley and speaks. "Isn't this something you'd see in a movie?" Chuckle. "Here I am, throwing myself into the pit of frustratin, coming after you the same way you used to come after me. I should really know better than to be as impulsive as you, Shizu-chan. And, look at that, mother nature seems to agree." He looks back and continues, "It was fun while it lasted, ne?"

The words stop the blond dead in his tracks. "Is this you're way of telling me that what's been happening between us is over?" Shizuo had prepared himself for this moment. He had planned to give Izaya a punch in the face no matter what stupid excuse he'd give him for ending this, but if this affair or whatever you wanna call it is really going to be over, he's going to let Izaya know how he feels. "You think it's that easy, huh?"

"Isn't it?" asks Izaya as he turns to face the man whose clenching his jaw and hardening his fists.

Shizuo shakes his head, walks up to Izaya and places his hands on the small shoulders in front of him. "D'you have any idea how many times you crossed my mind these last couple of months? How I'd lay in bed and wonder why you would wanna fuck me over or send some low class shit eaters to beat the hell out of me only to have you throw all that hate outta the window when we - -"

"Ah, so you do have a heart." Sigh. "It seems like you've forgotten that the only things I'm capable of loving are the people that inhabit this world and you're not a part of that group, so that can only mean that I'll never be able to reciprocate those feelings you have towards me. Now, if you'll excuse me I have work I need to tend to." Izaya tries to free himself from Shizuo's grip, but finds it impossible when the blond slams him against a wall.

"You're so full of shit."

"I am?" A sly grin curves on Izaya's face. "What makes you say that?"

Shizuo leans in. "There's no way in hell you can look at me and kiss me and touch me the way you do and not have it mean something." He's right. Shizuo has no idea what chord he just struck in Izaya. One that annihilates all of the heated quarrels into nothing more than hopeless attempts to physically manifest the uncertainty and interest Shizuo strikes in him. "You can try to talk your way out of this, but you're not leaving until I'm done saying what I needa say."

"Let me go, Shizu-chan." The grip on his shoulders tightens. "Look, I don't need to hear a lecture, especially by the likes of you."

"Well too-fucking-bad. Now listen to me."

Izaya sways his head back and forth, trying desperately to irritate Shizuo enough to force him to let go, but his childish attempt only beckons the blond to press him harder against the wall with one hand while the other holds on to his neck and jaw. "Listen to me! I don't give two shits what you think about me, but I…" He stops for a moment while his head tries to remember what he wanted to say and how he needed to say it. "I- - I like you, Izaya-kun."

"You what?" His eyes widen. "No, you don't. You like what we do, that's it."

"Tch, that's what I thought at first." Shizuo softens his grip on the flea's neck, sweeps the hand across Izaya's forehead and settles it on his cheek. "I like the way you press your body against mine when we're together. I like the way you say my name, I like the feeling I get when I watch you while you rest in my arms." He continues to list the many things that he likes about Izaya; like his hair, eyes, hands and even his 'fucking stupid grin'.

Meanwhile, Izaya thought of something to say to keep him from falling for Shizuo's words, but what good would that do now? If he denies this moment and everything that's already happened, he'd only be doing himself a disservice.

Shizuo's now going on and on about his initial fears that have kept him from being involved in any sort of romantic relationship with anyone. "I know I'd find a way to fuck something like that up, even if I didn't intend to." He drops his head.

He's being honest, isn't he? Fighting these feelings any longer will enslave Izaya and cause him to stay up late hours into the night while he struggles to interpret them as something else. And so, he gives into them. "Shizu-chan?"

The blond looks up, unsure of what to expect when he feels Izaya press his lips against his.