Yagiri Namie was used to the annoying antics of her employer. As a result, she wasn't necessarily surprised when there was no sinister grin greeting her when she stepped into Izaya's apartment that morning. Honestly, it was more of a relief than anything, but it was still in her best interests to make sure he didn't get himself killed somehow.

Knocking on the door, Namie waited to hear a response. She thought he heard a muffled groan through the door as she put her hand on the door handle. Just as she was about to turn the handle, she paused, thinking about what she might find inside. Looking over her shoulder, she double checked the genkan. The only shoes that were there were hers and Izaya's, meaning that there shouldn't be any surprises in Izaya's bed.

Turning the handle, Namie swiftly entered the room. She was greeted to darkness, and a pile of blankets in the middle of a large bed.

"What's wrong with you?" Namie asked, looking to see if she could find any trace of Orihara Izaya under the mess of blankets.

The only response was a slight shifting of the mass on the bed and small grumble that almost sounded like words from under the covers.

"What?"

"I'll be down in a few minutes" Izaya said a bit louder, still under the covers.

Namie thought it was strange, but then again, Izaya had never done anything to prove that he was anything but strange. So instead of questioning him more, she shrugged and left the room with the knowledge that her employer was alive, albeit acting like a whiny teenager.

…~-~…

Izaya woke that morning to Shizuo's alarm. Head pounding, he groaned at the noise drilling its way into his brain. Finally, Shizuo managed to turn off the alarm and sit up.

"Flea?" he said quietly.

Izaya groaned again, using the covers to shield his eyes from the small amount of light pouring through the blinds.

"Izaya? You okay?"

"I'm fine," he responded, "I just don't want to get up just yet."

"You don't have to. But I have to go to work. Should I uhh… Should I wait for you to call me next or…?"

"Whatever you want, I don't care." Izaya said. He wasn't really sure what he was responding to exactly. All he could think about was the pounding in his head and the fact that all he wanted to do right now was go back to sleep.

"Yeah, okay." Shizuo grumbled, "I'll see you around I guess."

Izaya didn't respond. He was trying to rub away his headache with one hand while the other pulled the covers the rest of the way over his head. By the time he registered what Shizuo had said to him—and the fact that it was actually Heiwajima Shizuo speaking to him—the bed was already empty and the sound of the front door closing reverberated through his skull.

What am I doing…? Izaya asked himself.

His thoughts flashed back to the previous night. Shizuo's lips on his… their bodies pressing together so close… he'd actually enjoyed it.

Izaya let out a soft chuckle through the pain in his head. He hadn't been with anyone in so long. That's the only reason it had felt good. There was no way he could reciprocate Shizuo's feelings because he simply didn't like the man in that way. Sure, being friends with Shizuo could present some nice perks, but he couldn't see himself and Shizuo as anything more than that.

He shuddered at the thought of what he had almost done last night. Really, getting drunk enough to think having sex with the monster would be a good idea? It wouldn't have helped anything other than make Shizuo become more attached to him than he already was.

For the first time in his life, Izaya was filled with regret at his actions.

"I suppose we can give this a try."

Why did he say that? It was an awful idea and if he could take those words back he would in an instant.

But he couldn't. He'd led Shizuo on and now he would have to deal with the consequences. There was no way his sober mind would really consider going out with Shizuo anyway. Just the thought of it made his chest feel strange and his stomach flutter with nausea. It was a disgusting feeling really.

It had to have been because Shizuo helped him that night. Shizuo acted kind towards him. He'd guarded him on his way home and even held him so gently when he'd broken down and cried. He gave Izaya the affection that had been missing in his life for over fifteen years. Someone to hold… to sleep next to…

Izaya shook his head. This was getting ridiculous. The good feelings had nothing to do with Shizuo. Just Shizuo's actions and the way he made him feel so safe and content… as if he could sleep forever with those arms around his waist…

No!

Izaya slapped himself only to groan when the jolt agitated his headache more.

Curling into himself, Izaya rolled into the center of the bed, wrapping himself up in a mound of blankets while his headache threatened to split his head in half.

He lay there for a while, losing track of time when he dozed in and out of sleep. It wasn't until a knock on his bedroom door pierced into his head causing him to groan once again as he was pulled from sleep that he realized he'd slept in late.

The door opened and for a moment he wondered if Shizuo had come back until he heard the cool and firm tone of Namie's voice.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked.

"I'll be down in a few minutes," he mumbled.

"What?"

Trying not to let his agitation show in his voice, Izaya repeated himself louder. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

The door closed as Namie left the room leaving Izaya alone again with his thoughts.

…~-~…

It had taken much longer than a few minutes for Izaya to drag himself out of bed, into the shower, and to get himself dressed properly before going downstairs. He found a fresh cup of coffee waiting for him at his desk along with a breakfast of steamed rice and eggs.

"You should drink some water with that too," Namie said. She observed the empty bottle on the table as she cleaned up the only remaining evidence that Shizuo had even been here at all last night. "It'll help with the hangover."

Izaya could have denied that statement, but he knew from looking in the mirror that he looked like hell and the empty bottle on the table with two glasses was evidence enough of what he'd spent his night doing.

Instead he ate the food in front of him and sipped his coffee, resting his head in his hands as he waited for his computer and laptop to power on.

The rest of Izaya's afternoon was filled with gathering information and formulating a plan for how to deal with Hayashi Ryoichi—the last of his attackers who still roamed free—while being interrupted by various other small jobs in between that kept popping up. It felt like a typical day for the informant as he continued to work on feeling comfortable in his own skin again.

However, unbeknownst to Izaya, Namie had been observing him the entire time and was taking note of how strange he was acting.

The typical assignments that would normally spark a passion and some long rant in the man for the strange nature of humanity instead left him looking drained and frustrated. She would have blamed the informant's obvious hangover if it weren't for the fact that he'd stopped constantly complaining about his headache hours ago meaning he was feeling better.

Namie sighed quietly as she took note of Izaya's symptoms.

He was having trouble concentrating. She could see it in the way his face contorted slightly every few minutes as if he had forgotten what he had just been reading on the screen. Often he would either stand up to pace around the office, or he would merely stare off as if deep in thought.

There was something going on in his chest. Each time he would stare off seemingly at nothing, his hand would move up to his chest. He didn't do or say anything, but his hand would sit there for a moment while a small hint of discomfort made itself evident on his face. It wasn't until later that Namie realized that this happened when his gaze wandered over to the couch—where she assumed he and Shizuo had been sitting last night, drinking. Occasionally his eyes would glance back towards his bedroom as well.

Namie didn't like to think about the implications behind that location.

However, by the end of the afternoon, Namie suddenly made the connection.

"So is it safe to assume your annoying restlessness today can be attributed to your finally realizing your feelings for that man?"

"Namie, jokes are supposed to be funny. That wasn't. It's just disgusting."

"Then why did you share a bottle of wine with him last night?"

"I was hoping to get him drunk so I could figure out what he was up to." That was only partly a lie. Also the wine did reveal Shizuo's true intentions in the end.

"And yet you're the one with a hangover?"

"I may have indulged a little bit as well," Izaya said with a shrug, "Besides, I couldn't make it obvious that I was trying to get him drunk or else he wouldn't drink and I would never get any information out of him!"

"So did you get the information you wanted?" Namie asked with a smirk.

"Not particularly," He said flatly, a small amount of irritation slipping through.

"Tell me again what you're getting out of meeting with him then?"

"Wouldn't you want to know about someone who has been trying to kill you for years? Haven't you heard the phrase 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'?"

Namie chose to avoid the clear opening to comment on Izaya's lack of friends in favor of saying something that would have a better chance of getting into the informant's head. "If he really wanted to kill you he would have done it by now. After all, you've given him plenty of chances recently."

When Izaya's mouth opened for a retort but no words followed, Namie decided it was time to make her escape.

"Ah, is it that late already? I have to get going to make sure Seiji has dinner."

Still trying to process how Namie had taken control of the conversation, Izaya's eyes shifted to the clock to see that it was indeed five o'clock and time for Namie to leave.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Izaya let out a laugh into the emptiness of his apartment. He hadn't realized until it was too late that Namie had been waiting to have that conversation right at that particular time so she would have a way out of it.

Her words began playing on repeat in his head.

"So is it safe to assume your annoying restlessness today can be attributed to your finally realizing your feelings for that man?"

She must be losing it if she actually thinks he could have feelings for that beast. He just wasn't feeling well today, that's all.

His chest tightened for the umpteenth time that day as if to confirm his conclusion. It was strange. He'd never felt this way before and it was rather unnerving. He'd thought it was part of the hangover but even after his headache dissipated he still felt that strange fluttering nausea and pain in his chest. In addition he realized he had no appetite and hadn't eaten since breakfast.

With a resounding sigh, Izaya picked up his phone and dialed a number he would probably regret later.

"Hello?" a cheery voice answered.

"Hey, Shinra…"

...~-~…

Sorry this took so long and not much happened. I promise it will pick up soon though! I hope there aren't any typos because I didn't read through this too well. Thank you again for reading and a special thank you to all of the wonderful people who have given me such wonderful reviews! You keep me going!