I'm so sorry that this took a month and this chapter isn't even that long… Also I wanted to let you know this fic is ending in the next chapter. I have other fic ideas I am working on and one will be similar to this fic in concept but better executed in plot. (Which is why I am ending this with one more chapter rather than continuing it. The other fic will be much better or so I hope so I don't want to focus too much longer on this one).

But thank you to those of you who have been following this story and I am sorry if the ending chapters feel rushed or just aren't that great… I'm ready to move on to the next fic after working with this one for so long, but I will do my best! Smut in the next chapter (which will hopefully be here much faster than this one was) so you have that to look forward to!

…~-~…

There were many things Izaya had yet to experience in his 24 years of life. Being woken up by a pair of soft lips against his own was one of them. His eyes blinked open as his half-asleep brain attempted to understand what he was feeling. The realization dawned on him when he felt Shizuo's hand resting gently on his cheek and once again, Izaya couldn't seem to think of what could be wrong about this picture when it felt so good.

He quickly found himself enjoying the gentle touches that accompanied this kiss as well as Shizuo's calm voice as he said "Good morning, Flea."

"That's not a very endearing nickname, Shizu-chan," Izaya mumbled, mind still clouded by sleep.

"Okay, Izaya-chan," Shizuo teased.

Izaya puffed his cheeks out in a pout akin to that of a twelve-year-old.

"Hey, don't make that face," Shizuo chuckled, "I don't have work today or tomorrow so I can stay as long as you want me to."

"Good, so you can get out now!" Izaya said cheerfully with a smile, "Unless you can make me breakfast. Then you can stay."

"Is this part of 'winning you over'?"

"Hmmm… Could be…" Auburn eyes seemed to glint before sliding shut as Izaya stretched his arms over his head. Shizuo was reminded of a cat stretching while lying in the sun as Izaya turned, shifted, and stretched his body with a few small noises escaping his lips.

Shizuo watched with lustful eyes at the way Izaya's body moved in the bed but tore his gaze away when he realized where his thoughts were going.

Leaving Izaya to continue his rolling around, Shizuo headed downstairs to the kitchen. In the fridge he found some leftover rice which he promptly began heating. With some more scrounging—really, Izaya needed to take a trip to the grocery store—Shizuo smiled when he found some eggs, vegetables, and cheese. Cracking his knuckles, Shizuo got to work.

Years of living alone had forced him to teach himself how to cook. He wasn't great at it, but he knew how to make a few solid dishes including omelets. The ingredients were cheaper too which was better on his wallet.

"Alright Izaya, your dinner was impressive that one night," he said to himself, "Now it's my turn to show off."

…~-~…

Izaya stepped out of the bathroom and was greeted by the strong smell of coffee and something else that smelled delicious. His stomach growled in protest of his recent appetite loss as he dressed himself in a clean grey hoodie and black sweatpants.

He reached the bottom of the stairs just in time to see Shizuo pouring the coffee into two mugs at the table. Following the scent of food to the table, Izaya found two plates already prepared and took his seat.

"Good timing," he commented.

"I was listening for the shower to turn off," Shizuo replied with a smile, clearly proud of his accomplishment.

Izaya hummed as he took a sip of the fresh, black coffee. "Hm. Perfect. I must say, I'm impressed."

Looking down at his plate, Izaya's stomach growled again. Shizuo had made omelets with peppers, onions, chopped tomatoes, and cheese with a side of rice which also had bits of the vegetables mixed in.

The first bite brought Izaya's appetite back from the dead as he devoured the food in front of him, stopping only after a few bites to sip at his coffee. In his hunger he had almost completely forgotten about Shizuo who was watching him with a smile on his face.

He must have been hungry… Shizuo thought. He had noticed last night that Izaya seemed a bit smaller. Judging by the lack of food in the kitchen, Izaya probably hadn't been eating much lately. Damn Flea needs to learn how to take care of himself better.

When breakfast was finished, the two of them cleaned up and afterwards Izaya put a teapot on the stove and began to boil some water.

How much caffeine does he drink? Shizuo found himself thinking until Izaya spoke up.

"I have some work to do before we can do anything, so feel free to do whatever you want until I'm done."

As the day progressed, Shizuo spent much of his time observing how Izaya went about his day. First he had sent a text to that secretary of his, mentioning to Shizuo that he didn't want her to dampen his day. Then for the next hour, Izaya only left his desk once to pour his tea before returning, eyes glued to this computer screens. The scene was something he had only seen in movies with those computer nerds who hacked into government systems. Izaya had his laptop set up right next to his desktop computer and was switching back and forth between both computers and the three cell phones which buzzed every couple of minutes. Izaya juggled all of the devices effortlessly and Shizuo couldn't help but wonder how much time Izaya has spent like this in his own little information world.

When nearly three hours had passed, Shizuo was getting rather bored of the shows on television and wondered how on earth Izaya could stand sitting in that one spot for so long.

"Hey, Izaya," Shizuo called from his seat on the couch, "You wanna take a lunch break or something?"

Izaya nodded but didn't move from his seat or even look away from the screen. Shizuo saw him bite his lip as he began typing once again after barely acknowledging Shizuo's question.

"Oi, Flea, take a break."

Izaya nodded again, clearly focused more on his work than anything else.

Standing up, Shizuo walked around the desk and put his hands on Izaya's shoulders to get his attention. He'd almost forgotten that he shouldn't sneak up on him until after he shook Izaya once. The smaller man jumped, startled out of his trance, but otherwise seemed fine.

"Lunch. I know," Izaya responded, clicking and dragging a few files into a thumb drive. "I heard you, just give me one more minute."

Izaya continued to finish up transferring files while Shizuo's hands remained on his shoulders. He wondered if he was going to stand there the whole time. However, when those hands began to rub at the stiff muscles in his shoulders, Izaya decided that Shizuo could stand there as long as he wanted.

Within thirty minutes the two were returning from a sushi shop around the corner that Izaya frequented when he wasn't in the mood to go to Ikebukuro for Russia Sushi. They had decided to eat at Izaya's place since Shizuo didn't want him to be distracted by his people-watching.

Eating lunch on the couch proved to be a good idea in Shizuo's opinion. It allowed him to put one arm behind Izaya's back and still be able to eat with his other while they sat side by side on the couch together.

Izaya picked at his food in stark contrast to how he devoured it this morning. "I'm still full from breakfast," he said in response to Shizuo's questioning.

After finishing lunch Izaya stumbled upon a cheesy science fiction movie while flipping through channels and the two decided to watch it, remaining in the same position on the couch as they had been for lunch. The only difference was when Shizuo shifted his arm so that his hand was on the back of Izaya's neck, rubbing light circles.

Shizuo had noticed earlier that Izaya seemed to enjoy having his shoulders rubbed, so he decided he would take advantage of that. His fingers rubbed up and down his neck, occasionally letting fingertips trail up onto the back of his head. Shizuo smiled when he finally dared to take a look at Izaya's face. His head was tilted slightly forward and hit eyes were closed as if he was focusing hard on what Shizuo was doing to him.

Afternoon turned to evening, evening continued on into night and Izaya allowed Shizuo to stay another night. In fact, he smiled when he made the offer, making a deal that he could only stay again if he promised to give him a proper neck massage.

As they fell asleep together that night, a thought passed through Shizuo's mind.

Izaya must have already made up his mind because winning him over shouldn't be this easy.

He knew he was right when he looked at the smile on Izaya's face as he slept comfortably in Shizuo's arms.