Shizuo had a plan in place, he was going to offer a truce to Izaya in return for his (irritatingly) delicious baked goods. The problem with that plan was that it all hinged on not only finding and chasing down Izaya, but also convincing him that he wasn't looking for a fight.
And of course, of course Izaya would stop showing up in Ikebukuro when Shizuo actually wanted to talk to him.
After his decision at Shinra's house, it was several weeks before there was even a sighting of the wretched flea. The bastard had shown up to some kind of Art Gallery for the Awakusu-kai, and then disappeared again.
"This is bullshit." Shizuo growled, taking a drag of his cigarette. "I might as well just go to Shinjuku and then break his door down if he's going to keep acting like this."
Next to him, Tom puffed out a plume of smoke. "You know, I have a strange feeling that he won't agree to a truce if you break into his apartment."
Shizuo scrunched up his nose stubbornly, but didn't argue with his senpai. While there was a part of him that believed Izaya would probably find Shizuo breaking into his home amusing, it probably wasn't the smartest decision.
It still seemed like a better option than just sitting and waiting for Izaya to reappear again in Ikebukuro. Why did the damn flea suddenly have to listen to his demand for him to stay out of Ikebukuro?!
"Well then what do you think I should do?" He demanded, cringing at the frustration that managed to leak its way into his voice.
Tom hummed in thought. "Well, you could always ask Shinra or Celty to pass along a message, right? He'd be sure to get it that way."
"No." Shizuo immediately shot the idea down. "I can't do it like that. This is something I have to do myself. Even if it takes ages, I need to confront him and offer this deal myself."
His senpai stared back at him for a moment before he let out a soft chuckle. "You are still just as honest and old fashioned as you were back in middle school." He reached out and patted Shizuo on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I know you'll be able to do it. Izaya will pop up sooner or later, he always does."
Perhaps it was Tom's certainty, or maybe it was just mere coincidence, but as they turned the corner onto the street where Russian Sushi sat, Shizuo caught a flash of a fur coat and felt his heart speed up in a panic.
It was Izaya, happily skipping into the restaurant as if he hadn't been leading Shizuo on for the past several weeks. What a bastard! Shizuo clenched his fist, threw his cigarette down, and stomped on it. Well, he's not getting away from me now!
Without a word to Tom, Shizuo took off in a furious sprint towards Russian Sushi. He slammed the doors open, which broke off their hinges and crashed into the sushi bar in front of him.
"IZAYA!" He yelled into the building, eyes searching frantically for the flea.
The bastard was just a few feet away from where the door had tumbled, his eyes on Shizuo. He didn't have his knife out, but that obnoxious smirk was still on his face.
The restaurant had gone dead silent. The few unfortunate customers inside looked between Izaya and Shizuo several times, then hurriedly dropped cash on the tables for their food and ran off. None of them wanting to get caught in the crossfire of what they assumed would be another vicious battle between two infamous enemies
As the restaurant cleared out, Izaya took a glance towards the door that had missed him by mere inches. "Shizu-chan, still practicing the art of missing your target?" The flea asked in a sarcastic drawl.
"Tch. I wasn't aiming for you!" Shizuo snarled back. "I could hit you any day, bastard!"
Simon quickly stepped between them, his large statue blocking Izaya from his view. "Shi-zu-oh! No fighting! No violence in restaurant! Place of peace, place of Sushi!"
"I'm not here for a fight!" Shizuo snapped at the Russian man.
"Then why did you burst in here yelling my name?" Izaya peeked around Simon with a cat-like grin.
"Because I want… I'm here to… um…" Shizuo found himself freezing up, his cheeks going red with embarrassment. Shit, he'd planned this for weeks but now that Izaya was right in front of him, he couldn't get the words put!
Izaya's smirk somehow grew wider, and more mocking. "What's the matter, protozoan? Are big words more difficult than violence?"
"Argh! Shut up!" Shizuo yelled as he pointed at the man. "I'm not here for violence, I said that already!"
"Then what are you here for?" Izaya questioned him again.
Shizuo growled and pointed at the flea, clenching his other fist tight. "I'm here to offer you a truce!"
Izaya's smug expression vanished in an instant. His eyes blinked quickly as his mouth dropped into a 'O' shape, the bewilderment clear in his eyes. He looked completely taken aback.
Simon, on the other hand, looked delighted. He clapped his hands together as he made a happy noise. "How wonderful!" He grinned like a proud father, and slapped a hand on both of their shoulders. "Come, come! Privacy for peace talks!"
Shizuo more than willingly followed, while Izaya was still too surprised to fight back. The Russian man brought them to one of the private rooms, using his strength to get them to sit down at the table all with a wide grin. He swiftly placed down plates of sushi that he said were 'on the house' and then shut the door, leaving them alone.
Izaya stared at the door for a long few seconds, momentarily looking like a cornered animal before his expression settled back down. He sent Shizuo a sharp toothed grin.
"You don't seriously expect me to believe this, do you?" The flea rested his elbow on the table, spinning his knife between his fingers. "You despise me. You've wanted to kill me since we met."
Shizuo clenched his fists. "I still hate you." He made sure to say that first, he didn't want to inflate the bastard's ego anymore.
"You still hate me, and yet you're asking for a truce?" Izaya casually observed as he leaned forward, his red eyes sharp. "What changed?"
Once again, Shizuo found himself hesitating. His cheeks turned red with embarrassment. He couldn't believe he was doing this, offering a truce to his worst enemy because of cookies and mochi ice cream. Had he really fallen so low?
He tried to remind himself that some good could come from this. If they had a truce, it would mean less fights, less property damage, his paychecks wouldn't be so small…
"Earth to the protozoan~" Izaya's irritating voice broke through his thoughts. "I know it's empty in that head of yours, so you should be able to hear me!"
Shizuo slammed his hands on the table. "Shut up! I'm thinking!"
"Ooh, a risky choice for you. Be careful that you don't pull something." Izaya mocked with a smirk.
"Shut up!" Shizuo snapped again, quickly losing his temper. "I'm trying to figure out how to explain this without making myself sound like an idiot!"
"Too late." Izaya said with a cackle.
The bodyguard growled again, and pointed an accusing finger at the informant. "Don't think I don't realize what you're doing! You're trying to piss me off so that I'll start throwing things! Well it won't work this time!"
Izaya snorted. "Oh yeah?" He rested his cheek in his hand. "And why is that?"
"Because I know your secret!" Shizuo loudly declared.
"My secret?" The flea practically purred, looking completely amused. "And what would that be?"
"The secret is that you love doing something as normal and as human as baking!"
Shuzuo felt so stupid as he said it, but the reaction he got was absolutely worth it. A flurry of emotions ran across Izaya's face: shock, disbelief, and irritation. Eventually, his expression settled on something between a grimace and a glare, with his fists clenched in front of him and what suspiciously looked like a blush crawling up his cheeks.
"How the hell do you know about that?" Izaya hissed, his voice hoarse and embarrassed in a way Shizuo had never heard before.
In another situation, Shizuo would have been delighted to have caught Izaya off guard. He had never managed to say something that threw the flea off balance, because the bastard was too good at keeping secrets. A part of him, a really big part of him, wanted to rub it in so, so badly.
Thankfully the smaller, more logical, part of his brain was louder and reminded him that antagonizing the flea (even when he really deserved a taste of his own medicine) was a bad idea and would probably end any chance of a truce actually happening.
If he wanted this to work, he had to be as calm as possible, he had to be honest.
"Your sisters told me after I ate one of your cookies." He admitted, but quickly added,"They didn't tell me on purpose. Neither did Shinra."
"Shinra?" Izaya growled the question, obviously frustrated.
"He didn't tell me on purpose either, I had some of your mochi ice cream at Shinra's and recognized the taste, then I lost my temper and made him tell me the truth." The bodyguard explained.
Izaya folded his hands in front of his face with a glare. "How charming of you to physically threaten my best friend and then think it wise to meet with me. Truly using all of your genius today, aren't you?"
Unlike his mocking before, Izaya now sounded truly angry in a way that surprised Shizuo. Though they absolutely despised each other, Izaya had always acted cheerful in their interactions. This cheer was perfect to piss off Shizuo more, so it's how he always acted. True, visceral anger was rare from the usually composed man.
"I didn't mean it like that." Shizuo tried to backtrack. "I'm not just here to tell you I know you are a baker, that would be stupid."
"Yes." Izaya interrupted with a sarcastic drawl. "Because you haven't done anything else stupid recently. This is truly a new record."
Shizuo growled, his temper returning as he leaned forward to punch the sly bastard in the face. No! Wait! His inner voice cried out. Don't forget why you're doing this!
The thought of the cookies, the mochi, and their heavenly taste rose to the forefront of his mind. It helped remind him why he was here, and why it was important to stay calm. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Once he was sure he had settled, he opened his eyes again.
Instead of anger, Izaya was now staring at him, completely confused. The reaction bewildered him for a moment before he remembered that he had never exactly tried to hold his temper around Izaya. After all, he'd never had a reason to until now. It was quite surprisingly a day of firsts for both of them.
"I'm not here to fight. I'm here to offer you a truce." He carefully stated, looking at the flea with sharp brown eyes. "I'm here to offer you a deal."
Izaya furrowed his brow. "A deal?" He repeated as he tilted his head . "What kind of deal?"
"I want your food." Shizuo stated plainly, that fact was a lot easier to admit now that he was calm. "Your baked stuff. It's good, the best stuff I've ever had, and I haven't been able to get the taste out of my mouth. I just want some every week or something like that. I'll pay you if you want."
The flea scoffed. "As if you could afford my food."
"Then I won't offer money. I'll offer peace." Shizuo bartered. He took a deep breath, and explained through gritted teeth. "I'll let you come to Ikebukuro and I won't chase you, as long as you don't do anything shady right in front of me, in return for your food."
Izaya raised his eyebrows and then glanced down at his sushi, tapping the chopsticks against the wooden plate it sat on. He seemed to be genuinely contemplating the deal.
After a minute or two, he looked up. "Why should I agree to this when you can't even catch me right now?" He regained his usual smirk for a moment. "You never have before."
"I did hit you with that trash can that one time." Shizuo grumbled, his pride at stake.
Izaya made a dismissive noise and waved his hand. "Lucky shot. Besides, that was just a hit. You still have never caught me."
Shizuo growled at that. Damn flea and his precise wording. He could still catch the bastard if he wanted to, and he did, but the truce was still more important.
"Just think of it this way." He tried. "Even if I could never catch you, that time you spend getting chased can actually be used for something else. You know once I find you I won't let up until you're out of my city."
Izaya hummed thoughtfully. He furrowed his brows, then unfurrowed them, and then sighed loudly. "It does sound like a worthwhile deal…" He said, each word sounding like they were painfully forced out of his throat. "Although I'm not sure why you would want to trust me with anything edile. I may just poison it for fun, that would be an easy way to kill you."
"I've been shot several times, who knows if poison would do anything." Shizuo pointed out, and then added,"Plus, Shinra said that you have too much pride in your baking to do something like that."
Izaya didn't respond to Shinra's claim, but the frown and narrowing of his eyes made Shizuo think that the doctor was actually right.
Maybe it was true, but he knew that he still couldn't trust Izaya to double cross him, truce or no truce. Their deal needed more conditions.
"Now that you bring it up…" Shizuo began. "I want to be there when you bake the food. I want to be there for the whole process, just to make sure you don't pull any sneaky bullshit. I'll buy the ingredients too."
Izaya scoffed again. "If you are desperate enough to come to your worst enemy and beg for a truce just for some cookies and ice cream, I doubt you know the first thing about baking."
Shizuo bristled and blushed, because the damn flea was right. However, that gave him a different idea. "Then I'll go shopping with you, too. Just to be sure."
Izaya raised an eyebrow, staring back at him suspiciously. "So I get access to a city I already have access to, and your reward is my food and the ability to stalk me?"
"It's not stalking, it's making sure you aren't trying to kill me." Shizuo defended his addition to the deal. "A truce is a truce after all."
"It sounds more beneficial to you than to me." Izaya casually pointed out.
Shizuo rolled his eyes. "Bullshit. In a perfect world, I'd never have to see you in Ikebukuro again. But dealing with you means I get good food and don't have to chase you around anymore, I'll do it. I'll do anything to finally get some peace."
"Anything?' Izaya raised his eyebrow. "Would that include… Letting my sisters meet your famous little brother?"
The blonde's eyes widened, and then narrowed sharply. He hadn't expected Izaya to suggest something like that. "I thought you and your sisters hated each other." He said, hoping to redirect the conversation.
"If I truly hated them, do you think I would bake for them?" Izaya pointed out with an elegant wave of his hand. "Besides, this would even out the deal."
"How?" Shizuo was genuinely confused.
Izaya returned his question with a smirk. "It annoys you as much as your stipulations annoy me."
Ugh, he should have expected Izaya to pull some petty bullshit. He ran his hand across his face as he heaved out a huge sigh.
"...I can talk to Kasuka about it and see what he says." Shizuo carefully replied, pointing at the flea. "But I can't promise anything beyond that. How does that sound?"
The pest hummed thoughtfully and tilted his head side to side, playfully mulling it over. After an annoying amount of time, he clapped his hands together and nodded. "Sounds fair!"
Shizuo sighed in relief and opened his mouth to respond, only for Izaya to cut him off again.
"Hold on, I have one more question, and this one is important. I want an honest answer."
The blonde groaned. Seriously?! He wanted to throw the table, but forcefully reigned in his irritation for the sake of the deal. "What." He ground out before he could change his mind.
He was expecting another stupid request or a mocking question that was a cleverly disguised insult. Instead, Izaya leaned forward and folded his hands in front of him, his sharp eyes settling on Shizuo.
"Why do you like my food?" He asked.
Shizuo's eyes widened, completely caught off guard. He opened and closed his mouth, stuttering slightly as he tried to think of an explanation. "I don't know… It tastes good?" He tried.
Izaya raised one eyebrow, unimpressed. "Lots of food tastes good, Shizu-Chan. But most of it isn't good enough for the type of deal you want to make. So why?"
"I don't know!" Shizuo threw his arms up and slammed them back down. "They just taste good, okay?! They taste perfect, but in a different way than other sweets! They don't taste like store bought stuff. They feel different, they feel like…"
He thought of the taste again, the words escaping his mouth the second he thought of them. "They feel like they were made with love. That's why I like them. They taste like… home."
Silence followed his admission. It dragged on so long that he eventually forced himself to look up despite his embarrassment. Instead of a smirking or giggling flea, he found himself staring at something different.
The usual wall of sarcasm was gone, his reaction exposed. The frown and the furrow of his brow told Shizuo that he had caught the man off guard. He looked confused, completely thrown off by the honest answer to the point he couldn't even respond to it.
Izaya's eyes flickered downwards, his pale fingers tapping on the table as his frown deepened. His expression softened and his shoulders relaxed, his eyes holding so much emotion that Shizuo felt like he wasn't supposed to be watching. This vulnerability lasted for a mere moment before he completely closed himself off again.
With his usual smirk returning. Izaya held out his hand. "It's a deal!" He declared cheerfully.
Shizuo blinked in shock, but was quick to shake the offered hand before Izaya decided to change his mind. "Thank you." He said with genuine gratitude.
"We'll start next week, meet me at my apartment on Friday. That's your day off, after all!"
"How did you-" shizuo began, then sighed and rolled his eyes "Ugh, nevermind. I'll be there."
"Perfect!" Izaya slid out of his seat, waving goodbye as he scooped up his leftover sushi, that obnoxious smirk never leaving his face. "See you around, Shizu-chan!"
Shizuo didn't get a chance to reply, the raven was already humming and skipping out of the restaurant. Shizuo watched him go, his brown eyes full of questions.
His mind replayed that strange expression over and over. Though it had only lasted mere moments, he knew that look meant something. His words had impacted Izaya in a way he didn't quite understand.
What about what I said was so important? He wondered, but couldn't for the life of him decide what someone like Izaya would have latched onto.
Eventually, he shrugged and gave up. Izaya's twisted mind was too complicated to understand. Instead of trying, he would simply celebrate that his plan had worked, the deal was set, a truce was in place.
There was a bubbling of fear and doubt within him. Would this truce even work? How long would it last? Could either of them tolerate each other long enough for the peace ro remain in place?
Strangely enough, he hoped the answer was yes. Not because he wanted to be friends with the pest, the mere idea of that happening grossed him out. It was simply because he knew that as long as the truce was in place, he would get what he had been craving for far too long.
Soon, very soon, he would get those delicious sweets once more. All he had to do was reign in his temper, wait until Friday, and not to think too hard about the strange, vunerable expression in those ruby eyes.