Title: All The Wrong Reasons
Author: MistressKiko
Rating: M
Pairing: Shizuo x Izaya
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters!

THIS STORY CONTAINS MALExMALE RELATIONSHIPS. You have been warned.

"Mirads" are my made up creatures. A more in depth description of what a mirad is will be coming in future chapters.

Shizuo's POV

Really, I just bought this shirt a week ago. Did they have to pull a knife and try to one-up me?

I sighed, absentmindedly brushing against the wound on my arm. The blood had already crusted over the cut, but my white sleeve was still stained various shades of red.

This is more what I was used to. The Takito guy from yesterday was a rare occasion where people actually listened to Tom.

I made sure we got our money, though. Hanging a guy up on a streetlight from his underpants may be juvenile, but it was humiliating none-the-less. Especially when all the prostitutes he pimps got to see him up there.

Maybe that would make them realize he wasn't all powerful, and that there was much more to life than that shit; that they had choice.

And that is exactly what had been bothering me all night.

Bright Eyes's words from earlier were circling in my mind. Being forced to do whatever his contractor said... that was the same as a master and slave. The concept made me sick. Especially when I thought of his reaction to being returned to that contractor.

What kind of shit had he been through?

It couldn't be anything too horrible. I mean, he still had one hell of a fiery spirit; he wasn't broken.

Why did these mirads even exist? Just to be trampled over? That was one hell of a pitiful life.

I kicked a rock on the street as I walked.

It really wasn't any of my business. I could just go on with my life, forgetting that little box was even in my apartment.

But I couldn't stop the building curiosity.

When I got home, it was just as silent as when I'd left. I walked over to the box, staring at the gleaming red jewel on top.

I.. kind of wanted to ask him more questions. But to be frank, I was hesitant. Summing up our time together was me trying to literally throw him out, yell, throw a couch, yell, push him out of my bed, yell, try to destroy the jewelry box, yell, show no sympathy for his situation, and then walk out.

I don't think he liked me much.

Not that I liked him much either, but taking his situation into account, I realized that I may have been a tad bit unfair.

Oh, for crying out loud, I knew this wasn't going to disappear from my mind, so why not?

I grabbed hold of the jewelry box and opened the lid. I squinted into the bright, colorful lights and then looked up. Bright Eyes was sitting on top of the overturned couch again, looking unhappy.

"What do you want?" He asked, tone scathing.

I stared into the box, puzzled.

"How can you even fit in here?" I asked, turning the box upside down and shaking it. I don't know if I expected more people to fall out of it or what, but something had to be going on with it.

"Pfft," I heard, and I looked back up to see a small smile on his lips, "It's not like I'm literally in the box. That's the object I'm bound to."

"Which means...?" I trailed off, looking expectant.

"Which means it sends me into my own little world, I guess. It's nothing special. Pretty much white nothingness," he said, shrugging, "That's why I like the human world."

White nothingness?

"Is there anything about you mirads that isn't depressing?" I asked, walking over to the couch. I jerked my head, and he got the signal, sliding off. I picked the couch up and set it down, upright, in its original position.

"You called me a mirad!" He exclaimed happily, twirling around on his toe for no apparent reason. Talk about mood swings, "Depressing? I don't know. We get to meet a lot of different people, both good and bad. Isn't it the same for humans?"

"We don't have to listen to everything the person we meets says, though," I pointed out. He shrugged, leaning against the counter, "What are the contracts for in the first place? You said you can grant me wishes, but we're not even in a contract. So why does it matter?"

"You sure are inquisitive. I thought I told you I wasn't going to give you any information until we knew each others' names?"

I knew he would bring this up.

"Shizuo Heiwajima," I introduced, leaning against the back of the couch. He seemed surprised I gave up my name.

"Shizuo," he tried, smiling afterward, "I'm Izaya!"

And then he was gone.

I blinked, and jumped when he materialized right next to me.

"Ok, don't do that," I warned, trying to calm my heart rate.

He chuckled, his glowing eyes twinkling. I tensed when his palm brushed against my cheek.

"What are you doing!" I exclaimed, jerking my head back.

"Hold still for a second," Izaya said, placing both hands on my cheeks, "I want to feel your energy."

… energy?

Thinking it was some other freaky magic power of his, I stood still, though uncomfortable with the situation. He was standing really close, breathing shallowly as he closed his eyes. Heat was radiating through my cheeks, and I was a little scared, considering I had no idea what this guy could do to me.

Despite my apprehension, the warmth felt... safe. Comforting.

In fact, it was relaxing my muscles more than a cigarette ever could.

"You're really warm," he mumbled in a low voice.

You're the one who's warm, I couldn't help but think. I shivered when his hands slowly moved to the back of my head, his fingers threading themselves through my hair.

I don't know when I had closed my eyes, but holy shit, I was just so damn relaxed. It was like some sort of hypnotism technique.

His body fell into mine, and I was suddenly hit with the urge to wrap my arms around that soft, comforting heat, to keep it there.

But there was something... not so soft... against my thigh... that made me painfully aware of my position and who I was with.

In dismay, my eyelids flew open and I shoved him backward. He yelped in surprise before he fell on his ass with a loud thump.

Was that what I thought it was?

"Are you some kind of sick pervert? What the hell was that about?" I screeched, swallowing the feeling of guilt I felt for sending him to the floor twice in one day. Because seriously, if that little magic trick shit turned him on, he should have at least warned me!

He was wincing, rubbing his back.

"I... got a little carried away, sorry. Mirads feed off the energy of others," Izaya answered, avoiding my gaze.

I had no idea what he was going on about.

"Well don't pull something like that again," I finalized, though it had felt pretty damn amazing. But that was just because he was a mirad. Maybe if it had been a girl mirad...

I shook my head.

Either way, it was creepy.

He put his hands up in surrender, the scowl back on his face.

"Fine, fine. I get it. Whatever you want," Izaya said in defeat. I found myself strangely angry at that submissive behavior, but took a deep breath to calm myself.

He opted to stay sitting down on the floor.

"Anyway, we know each others' names. Now will you answer my question about the contract?"

"I have to be in a contract in order to grant any wishes. But that doesn't mean I'm limited to my contractor, just... I'm forced to grant my contractor's wishes. I can choose to not grant them to others."

"And I'm guessing you don't like your contractor?"

"What gave you the first clue?" Izaya sneered, a crazed look of rage in his red eyes, "I don't like any contractors, really. They treat me like shit and demand stuff from me, and I can't stand up to them even if I want to. But, the thing is, my contractor is useless if he loses the jewelry box. I have to be able to hear his command in order to follow it."

"Then why do you even get into contracts?"

He shrugged, "We don't really get a choice. Whoever opens the object we're bound to enters a contract with us, if we aren't already in a contract. You were a month too early to contract with me."

"Joy," I said, rolling my eyes, "So that's why you want to stay here. He can't order you around if he doesn't know where you are."

"Pretty much," Izaya replied, lying back on the floor and crossing one leg over the other. I raised an eyebrow at how non-alert he seemed to be with me. I would think he'd be worried about someone with such an explosive temper having his fate in his hands.

Hell, people were scared of me without me having their fate in my hands.

It felt... nice... to be trusted.

But he was still a freak.

Sorry if it's progressing a little slowly. I gotta get all these facts about the situation down XD And if you've noticed, unlike in my other stories where Shizuo readily accepts that he's bi, this one will have a little more "But he's a GUY" about it.