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.

Shizuo's POV

"Hey Shizu-chan, don't you think Shizuo should get out of bed? I sure do. It's sooooooo boring being stuck in this little room with no one to even talk to. Did you know that I was counting how many flowers were on the wallpaper earlier? Flowers! I am that bored! And you know what, I know he's not sleeping right now, because he usually snores. It's quite loud and unattractive, really. Kinda like 'raaaaaache!' What am I saying, of course you've heard it. The next door neighbors probably heard it. Hm? What was that? He should offer to take us out somewhere? That is an excellent idea!"

When was he going to shut up?

"You're right, I am awake, and if you don't quit talking, I'll kick both of you out," I growled from under the blankets.

"I'll just teleport right back in here, honey~" Izaya answered cheerfully.

"Don't call me that."

"But why not? We're a family! You're the daddy, I'm the mommy, and Shizu-chan here is our kid! Don't worry, Shizu-chan, I know daddy is neglecting us, but he'll come to realize how important we are someday."

I dragged the blankets down, glaring when I saw him.

"I'm not neglecting you," I replied, and I wanted to take it back the minute I said it. Great idea, Shizuo, go along with Izaya's little game. That'll make him quit alright.

"I think you are," Izaya replied, then he sighed, dragging his shoulders down dramatically, "In all seriousness, I'm bored! You cannot tell me we have to be confined to this room for the next three weeks? I want to get out of here!"

"And go where, exactly?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing at my eyes. I vaguely wondered if I really did snore like his imitation. I hoped not.

"To the park that is about five minutes north from here," Izaya said, continuing when I furrowed my eyebrows in question, "While you were sleeping the day away, I made use of the free wifi."

"You can't berate me about sleeping the day away when you did it too."

"Ah, but I had a reason!" Izaya replied, wiggling his finger at me, "You don't need energy like I do."

Don't mention that energy transfer stuff, damn it!

Maybe a park was a good idea. With these weird thoughts running through my head, fresh air would be good for me.

"Fine. We'll go to the park. But you are going in the jewelry box until I get there."

"Eeh? Why?"

"Just being cautious. They are probably on the lookout for two guys," I reminded, throwing the blankets off of me and getting out of bed. I really thought he would give me more of an argument, but he fell silent after that, and I walked into the bathroom to get ready. I was even more surprised that Izaya was missing from the room when I walked back out. Shizu-chan was lying on Izaya's bed, his nose pressed up against the jewelry box as if telling me where Izaya went.

Oh, damn, this meant I had to walk the dog, didn't it?

Sighing, I attached a leash to his collar, (all things Izaya made me wish for) slid the jewelry box in my pocket, and left the room.

I reached the sidewalk before I realized I had no idea where I was going. He had said north, right? Sure enough, Shizu-chan started trying to pull me in that very direction.

"What are you? Psychic?" I asked, fully aware of the rhetorical question. Great, now I was talking to the dog like Izaya. Guess he was rubbing off on me a little. That was a scary thought.

My mind briefly went to the gutter, reevaluating what I said, and that was an even more scary thought. Fuck, he was never touching me again.

"Oh. My. Gawd."

I hadn't been walking long at all, when a woman's voice broke through my thoughts. Whoever she was, she was all dolled up like she was about to go on a date, with precise red curls and bright green eyes that were currently staring down at Shizu-chan adoringly.

"He is so adorable!" She squealed, kneeling down to pet him. Shizu-chan was apparently an attention whore, because he immediately turned onto his back and put his paws together cutely, "What's his name?"

There was no way in hell I was telling this girl his real name.

"Killer," I said with a completely straight face. She looked up at me with wide eyes, before laughing.

"There is no way you named this cute little guy Killer," she replied, scratching his tummy but keeping her eyes on me, "If he's Killer, then your name must be Fluffy."

I cringed, and she laughed again.

It really was a cute laugh.

"It's not," I replied, watching her standing up. Shizu-chan was rubbing his nose against her leg.

Down boy, sheesh.

"Well my name is Akari, and I don't believe I've seen you around," she said flirtatiously, holding out her hand. I stared at it, stunned.

I was not used to this. This woman had no clue who I was, and my normal brown hair was no longer the threatening bleach blonde.

"Um..." I muttered unintelligibly, taking her hand, "Nice to meet you, but I won't be in this area for long."

Disappointment was clear on her features.

Damn it, she was cute too. Maybe in different circumstances. I couldn't reveal Izaya to anyone else.

"Traveling?" She asked, bending down to give Shizu-chan one last rub, "Well your dog is super cute!"

We said good-byes after that, and I continued my way down the sidewalk, thankfully with no more interruptions. I ran into the park soon enough, and took a woodland trail. I figured with all the trees surrounding us, it would be a safe place to open the jewelry box.

Glancing around and making sure no one was there but us, I opened the lid. Izaya appeared beside me, twisting his head this way and that to get a sense of his surroundings.

"Took you long enough! Did you take baby steps all the way here?" Izaya asked, though he seemed to be in a cheerful mood.

"You're here. Don't complain."

"Shizu-chan, he didn't hurt you when I was away, did he?" Izaya asked, scooping Shizu-chan into his arms.

He froze, then pressed his nose against the dog's fur.

"... why does Shizu-chan smell like perfume?"

Perfume? I hadn't really noticed when I was talking with Akari. I pressed my hand up to my nose to smell it myself. There was a light scent of jasmine.

Izaya's eyes widened greatly at my action, and he grabbed the same hand I had lifted, smelling at it. I jerked the hand away.

"Why do you smell like perfume?" Izaya screeched, looking scandalized.

I rolled my eyes. He was always so dramatic.

"There was a woman we ran into who went ga-ga over your dog," I explained. He began feverishly glaring at my hand like it was about to bite him, and leaned down to let Shizu-chan free. He walked forward, and I tensed when he took hold of my hand again, and... started furiously rubbing it between both his hands?

"What are you doing?" I yelled, jerking my hand away for the second time.

"Hmph. Smells nasty," Izaya said promptly, grabbing the leash out of my other hand and walking Shizu-chan down the trail.

What the fuck? Jasmine wasn't a horrible scent. You could hardly smell it! Did mirads have some sort of weird smelling powers too?

I shook my head and started following him.

Whatever.

After walking for a while, we ran into a large plot of freshly-mowed green grass that had a big fountain in the middle. Izaya had gently lowered Shizu-chan over the water, so he could get a drink, but poor Shizu-chan was confused and started pushing his paws like he was swimming even though water hadn't even touched him. I smiled as Izaya chuckled. He eventually set Shizu-chan on the ground and scooped up some water in his hands, of which Shizu-chan lapped up quickly.

I sat next to Izaya on the fountain's edge as we watched Shizu-chan run around. There was a comfortable silence for a while, the fountain trickling water behind us. I leaned back and closed my eyes, enjoying the serenity of the moment.

"Was she pretty?"

I cracked an eye open. Izaya was staring off across the lawn, probably watching Shizu-chan.

"Who?" I asked, shutting my eyes again.

"The lady you said you ran into."

I thought back to the curls, curves, and pretty laugh.

"Yeah, she was."

There was another period of silence. But I knew Izaya always ended silences.

"Hey, would you let me sex you up if I dressed like a woman?"

My eyes shot open.

"What!" I hissed. Izaya had that playful grin over his lips, and his eyes glittered in deviance as he leaned closer toward me.

"I could totally rock a dress. Some garter belts and stockings would be hot too-"

I swung my arm out and pushed. Truthfully, I thought he would just disappear, but I ended up pushing him straight into the fountain.

He quickly righted himself, sputtering water.

"What the hell?" He hissed, wincing when a trail of water from his hair trailed down to his eye.

"What didn't you just teleport?"

"Uh, maybe because there are people around here?" Izaya hissed back, looking around. I followed his gaze to see that there were a few people around; one girl jogging and a group of teenagers playing frisbee not too far away.

I really should have known not to turn my back on Izaya.

I felt something grab the back of my shirt, and I was too surprised to brace myself. A squeak left my lips before the water splashed around me.

"You... are so dead," I growled, trying to get my sopping bangs out of my eyes. Izaya was laughing next to me, loud and unhindered.

"You squeaked," Izaya laughed, his shoulders shaking mirthfully, "Oh, that has to be the greatest sound you've ever made."

"We are taking the woodland trail again, and you are going to dry these clothes," I ordered, standing up and trying to wring out my clothing.

"Don't think I want to."

"You're wet too!"

"I don't mind being a little wet when I have eye-candy in front of me," Izaya purred, making me freeze. I looked down. Shit, why did I have to pick a white t-shirt today? The fabric was clinging and near see-through.

"Don't look at me, you pervert," I muttered, almost feeling like I should cover myself from his stare, but he would probably tease me for making such a girly move. Plus, he'd already seen me shirtless at the pool, so it shouldn't be a big deal. There was a bark, and we both looked over the edge of the fountain to see Shizu-chan staring at us.

"I do believe Shizu-chan is ready to go!" Izaya announced, wringing his own clothing out as he stepped out of the fountain.

I cringed as I moved, the wet fabric dragging me down. I really hated the feeling of wearing wet clothing.

Thankfully, Izaya did adhere to my wish to be dry when we were away from prying eyes. The sun was just beginning to set by the time we made our way out of the park, Izaya once again in the jewelry box. The trip back to our room was uneventful, and Shizu-chan fell onto Izaya's bed as soon as we walked in the door.

Izaya materialized next to him when I opened the box.

"Thank you, Shizuo!" Izaya said happily, falling back on the bed with his arms spread out. I had to admit, despite what I had to do to get him this way, I was glad he seemed energetic and happy today.

"Yeah, yeah," I answered, walking over to my nightstand to empty my pockets. I was about to put my cellphone down, when it started vibrating in my palm. Looking at the caller ID, my eyebrows furrowed. Kuraku? He was from our company, sort of Tom's boss by rank. I flipped the phone open and put it to my ear, "Hello?"

"Shizuo?"

"Yeah?"

"Oh good, I wasn't sure if I still had the right number," he said, sounding worried, "I don't know if you know yet, but Tom's been hospitalized."

GASP.

Destiny Hope45: Go watch the series. NOW. :D
clear-skyz: I'm glad the story redeemed itself as it went on~! And thank you for commenting on the pacing. I am trying my best to not make it drag ^^;