Hello everyone!

First off, let me start by saying that I have tweaked this story a little bit from its original post, so if you read this story beforehand and are just reading the latest update I suggest rereading the first few chapters as I have changed a little bit in the story!

I know it has been a long time coming, but I have finally gotten around to updating this story! Unfortunately, I am still on a bit of a hiatus because I am currently on internship and have very little to almost no free time. But I finally was able to get some inspiration and time to continue this story.

I'm sorry that the chapter is not very long, but I still hope you are able to enjoy it!

And a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed! I apologize I haven't replied and I promise I will try to reply when I can, but thank you so much for your encouragement! I appreciate all of you taking the time to tell me your thoughts on my story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Durarara or any of its characters.

Chapter 3- Daddy's Little Boy

You've got to be fucking kidding me, Izaya thought angrily as he looked out the large windows in his office, watching the small bodies of people walk through the busy streets of Shinjuku, the part of Tokyo his office was located in.

His mind traveled back to earlier with his meeting with Shizuo and instinctively his mouth downturned into a frown as his eyebrows furrowed together.

He hadn't been expecting Shizuo to drop that kind of bomb on him. Not only was he the honest type, but he was the honest, married, and HAD-A-DAMN-KID type. The exact type of guy Izaya avoided like a plague. Yet it was that exact type of guy Izaya now found himself sexually attracted to and now actually obligated to stay close to.

"Damn, Shiki owes me big time," Izaya hissed as he abruptly stood up from his chair, pacing around his office in thought.

Despite his current predicament, this type of agreement could work out beautifully for him as long as he was careful not to give Shizuo too much hope for anything more; though, given that the blonde had been the one to suggest their little…arrangement, Izaya presumed Shizuo wouldn't be longing for much anyway. All he had to do was finish the job and enjoy a few bouts of sex with the man and then be done with him.

Although child custody lawsuits were the worst in Izaya's opinion, which is why he never took clients that had kids. They were painstakingly long and droll which each parent fighting each other over who would get the lovely opportunity to keep the kid and suck the other one dry through child support. It was the worst when the parents cared more about getting back at their spouse than the actual welfare of their child. And it made Izaya sick to his stomach to watch such proceedings, much less be a part of them. He had enough of fights over child custody when his own parents were fighting over who would get him and his sisters.

Thinking back to his childhood made Izaya's already displeased expression twist even more with disdain as ugly memories filled his head…

"I thought we agreed that I would get custody of all of them, Shirou!"

"Kyouko, you damn greedy bitch! You just want me to pay for all of them! Well that's not going to happen!"

A gasp from his mother. Izaya could practically imagine her enraged expression. "How dare you!"

As his parents started to argue with each of their lawyers trying to appease them, Izaya held his hands over his ears in an attempt to block their screams out.

What kind of parents had custody meetings when their kids were in the next room over?

"Iza-nii," a small voice brought Izaya's attention to his twin sisters, Mairu and Kururi, who were huddled together in the corner of the room, their arms around each other as they looked at Izaya with frightened expressions. They both had quivering lips, and Izaya knew they were trying not to cry. "We're scared."

"I know," Izaya tried to reassure them. "It's going to be alright. We're going to be fine."

Although he said those words, he hardly believed them himself.

"Does mom and dad hate us now?" Mairu asked, sadly looking at the ground.

"No," Izaya said as he did his best to smile at his sisters. "How could our own parents hate us?"

That seemed to make his sisters feel a little better, but the angry arguments from the living room still disturbed the children who wondered if their parents actually cared about them at all.

Izaya had to chuckle darkly as he thought about his words from back then. How foolish he had been as a naïve, young child to believe his parents actually loved him and his sisters.

And that was why he hated child custody lawsuits. It just dredged up old memories Izaya felt were better off leaving buried in the past.

Heiwajima Shizuo's case was gradually becoming more of a thorn in his side every moment he thought about it.

And he couldn't wait to be rid of it.

Shizuo sighed tiredly as he ran his fingers through his bleached hair in thought while walking. Thankfully, Izaya had agreed to take his case. Unfortunately though, in his desperation, Shizuo had pretty much agreed to pay for Izaya's services with his body as well. That wasn't the kind of thing he usually did. But he was pretty much ready to do anything at that point when Izaya almost rejected him.

Because this was important to him. As much as he wanted to leave on agreeable terms with his soon to be ex-wife, her demands of him were just a bit too much. After all, didn't he have some rights as a father to his own child?

The sound of laughter and children at play broke Shizuo from his thoughts as he stepped through the entranceway of the kindergarten. A young woman wearing a bright orange apron saw him and smiled, waving in greeting before she turned to call for a small child, "Tsukishima-kun! Your father is here to pick you up!"

A little boy dressed in the blue uniform of the kindergarten with an orange flower stuck on the front looked up from where he was sitting quietly in the room, a small sketchbook in his tiny hands and a white scarf was wrapped around his neck. He had messy blond hair, similar to his father's in style but a natural blonde color he inherited from his foreign mother, and bright red eyes that were framed by the circle lenses of his glasses.

"Hey, Tsuki," Shizuo smiled at his son. "Time to go home."

Nodding and putting his sketchbook away, Tsukishima moved from his spot in order to get his schoolbag.

"Make sure to get all of your things, Tsukishima-kun," the teacher reminded him as she turned to Shizuo. "Good afternoon, Heiwajima-san."

"Good afternoon, Ms. Yamada," Shizuo nodded in response as he waited for Tsukishima to gather everything up. "Everything was alright today?"

"Oh yes," Ms. Yamada reassured him. "I personally made sure that Tsukishima reapplied his sunblock every so often, and because it wasn't too terribly hot today I let him outside to play earlier with the other children."

"That's good to hear, thank you," Shizuo smiled with relief.

Both he and Vorona had been shocked when Tsukishima was born with his red eyes. But they soon learned that their son had a medical condition known as albinism, and that for the most part he could partake in normal activities like any other kid. He was just a bit more sensitive to sunlight and needed to wear corrective lenses because the albinism did affect his vision. But Shizuo was just happy that his son was at least healthy for the most part. And Tsukishima never acted like his condition bothered him.

"Um…" Shizuo turned his attention back to the young teacher as her expression suddenly changed from a happy one to one of worry. She looked slightly embarrassed as she spoke softly, "I know it's not any of my business, Heiwajima-san, but Tsukishima-kun seemed pretty down today and I was just wondering…is everything alright at home? I know you and your wife are going through a…tough time right now."

Shizuo also felt a bit embarrassed. He knew that the neighbors and other moms had been gossiping about him and his wife's sudden separation, and they wondered what the reason was when they two of them had seemed to be on good terms before. But they had only shown a façade to people, pretending to be content for the sake of their child when with each day they grew more unsettled with each other. And it hurt him the most to know that it was affecting Tsukishima a lot, although his son did a good job of hiding his feelings from his parents.

"Thank you for your concern, Ms. Yamada, but that is a personal matter I rather not speak about," Shizuo tried to be as kind but firm in his response as possible. He seemed to have succeeded when Ms. Yamada blushed in shame and looked away from him.

"I'm ready, daddy," Tsukishima's quiet voice brought Shizuo's attention to his son as the little boy tightly clutched the straps of his red backpack.

"Ah yeah, say goodbye to Ms. Yamada, Tsukishima," Shizuo told him as he took his son's hand in his own.

Tsukishima did as he was told, waving to his teacher as the two made their way out of the kindergarten and into the streets of Tokyo. It was a silent walk, Shizuo deep in his thoughts about his divorce as Tsukishima seemed to be absorbed in his own thoughts.

Tsukishima then suddenly spoke up, "Daddy?"

"Hm?" Shizuo looked down at his son, seeing that Tsuki's expression was thoughtful and hesitant. Despite only being four years old, Tsukishima was surprisingly intelligent and caught onto things pretty quickly.

"Is mommy not coming home today either?"

A stab of guilt cut through Shizuo at Tsukishima's words. He knew how much the boy missed his mom since the two had separated even though he tried to hide his feelings from Shizuo. It was difficult for Shizuo to explain to Tsukishima why his mother was now no longer coming home.

"No, Tsuki, she's not coming today either," Shizuo answered honestly. He stopped midstride then, putting his hands on Tsuki's shoulders as he knelt to be at eye level with Tsukishima. He took in a deep breath then, readying himself to tell Tsukishima what he was about to tell him. "Actually Tsuki…your mom is probably never going to come home again."

"Why daddy?" Tsuki looked at his father with confused, hurt eyes, clutching even tighter to the straps of his backpack as he tried not to cry. "She doesn't love us anymore?"

"No! Of course not!" Shizuo quickly reassured. His mind scrambled for the right words. "Your mother will always love you, Tsuki. It's just…mommy and daddy don't feel the same about each other anymore."

"Why? Is it my fault?" Despite his best efforts, the little boy could not hold back is tears this time as his lips quivered and his chest heaved with hiccups. "D-Did I do s-s-something b-b-bad? I-I'll be a good kid! I p-promise!"

Shizuo felt helpless as his son started crying in the middle of the street, some people pausing to look at him pitifully. "Tsuki, don't cry! You know it makes daddy sad to see you cry. Tsuki…"

Not really knowing what else to do Shizuo enveloped his son in a tight hug, allowing Tsuki to cry into his chest as his little body trembled with sobs and hiccups. "Tsuki," Shizuo spoke softly, trying to convey his feelings to his son as gently as possibly. "Tsuki, none of this is your fault. If anything, it's daddy's fault. Daddy just can't give mommy what she wants, so she found someone else who did."

He wondered faintly just how much of what he was saying Tsukishima actually understood, but Shizuo had a feeling that Tsukishima actually understood more than people thought he did. "So don't ever think any of this is your fault, Tsuki. Your mom and I will always love you, and you will always be our little boy, alright?"

Tsukishima nodded, his crying having subsided a little. "Alright, daddy."

Shizuo tried his best to give Tsuki a happy smile, giving Tsukishima a kiss on the forehead. "I love Tsuki, and we'll always be together, I promise."

Tsuki nodded again, smiling a little bit at his father's reassurance.

Shizuo just hoped he could keep that promise.

I promise the chapters will get longer eventually. Again, I'm sorry I can't say when I'll be able to update next, but just know that I am still working on and planning on finishing this story!

Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, and being so patient everyone! And see you next chapter! :)

-Xaleria