"I wonder when I'll meet my soulmate."
Izaya exhaled a fake sigh of longing, bottom lip protruding as he leaned against Shinra whilst the latter ate his sandwiches— those that Celty prepared this morning (it tasted awful in Izaya's opinion, but to Shinra it probably tasted like a 5-star chef's cooking).
It was intended that he'd bring up the hot topic of his current soulmate search and observe Shizuo's reactions to it. Truthfully, he'd almost forgotten all about it for the whole day since the words were always hidden behind the sleeve of his school uniform.
"Isn't he sitting right next to you?" questioned Shinra, earning an incredulous look from Izaya.
"Who?"
"Shizuo-kun."
"Huh?" at the mention of his name, Shizuo turned to look at Shinra.
"Shizu-chan as my soulmate?"
Izaya studied Shizuo for a moment, gaze scrutinizing Shizuo's facial features— from the wrinkles forming between his knitted eyebrows, down to the barely noticeable stubble— and he tapped at his chin with his fingertips; appearing as though he was actually considering Shizuo as his soulmate before answering the question directed at him.
"Well, I can't deny that Shizu-chan is interesting enough, and he did say the words I have on my arm. Nevertheless, that's probably a coincidence, ne? After all, I have a fairly new one that formed under the previous."
Both of the lines weren't something to be proud of, they were more like insults than anything else, but Izaya seemed pleased for reasons Shinra didn't know of. The genuine smile on Izaya's face when he showed Shinra and Kadota his arm was a big indicator.
"What… a combination," Shinra forced out a chuckle at the words written on Izaya's skin.
"But if we were to get together, things might go haywire fast… and it'll be Shizu-chan's fault, of course," Izaya gave Shinra a wave of dismissal.
"If you'd shut up for once, then maybe we won't fight."
Kadota brought a hand up, coughing and choking on his chocolate milk when he heard what Shizuo just said. From the looks of it, Shizuo didn't even realize that he'd practically stolen the words off of Izaya's arm. He was more fixated on glaring at Izaya.
"Is Shizu-chan suggesting that we get together?" Izaya ignored the glare boring into him and the fact that Shizuo had uttered yet another exact same line as what was written on him, "—I wouldn't stop talking just for you. But anyway, by the end of the year, I'll probably have a whole sleeve of tattoos. Ah, this one's fading, so I suppose I'm no longer 'a piece of shit'. Well, I'm fine with that, but I hope Shizu-chan's not too disappointed about this news."
"A whole sleeve of insults and profanities?" muttered Shinra.
Shizuo scoffed, leaning back as he took a long drag of his cigarette, before letting the smoke flow out between his lips and towards Izaya, who grimaced at the second-hand smoking he was forced to face.
"I don't care about this soulmate bullshit."
.
It would be a lie if Izaya said that he didn't end up thinking about it while he lied in his bed, staring at the ceiling— entertaining the idea of Shizuo and him to be together.
Izaya wasn't interested in having a relationship after having seen what love could do to people, and how it demands to be in control-to be felt. Contrary to how people perceive him, he often avoided matters that could tear his heart apart. It didn't matter to him if humans inflict physical pain on him, but when it comes to emotions… he wanted to be untouchable.
Shizuo wouldn't have a partner anytime soon, either— or perhaps, at all? With his strength and temper shorter than a matchstick, no one dared to approach the beast. Although, Izaya didn't very much like imagining Shizuo with any of the humans he adored, either.
They weren't even close to being friends, so was it even possible?
.
"Did you write this?"
Izaya turned around to see Shizuo seething with rage, index finger pointed at him accusingly, which came off as rude, but Izaya didn't think that Shizuo cared about what Izaya would feel. It wasn't like he expected a monster like Shizuo to have any manners, anyway.
There was absolutely no need for him to even spare a glance at Shizuo's arm, but Izaya took his time, gentle fingers wrapping around Shizuo's wrist and he inspected the words written on Shizuo's skin as though it was the first time he'd seen them.
"Of course not, I'd have written something prettier than that," Izaya beamed with pleasure.
"Then who did it?"
"How'd I know? I wouldn't write a line so romantic. Perhaps you can ask other people and bash their head in after you've found the perpetrator, hm? That's what Shizu-chan always does."
Izaya took delight in the puzzled expression Shizuo wore, gazing at his own arm for a moment before dropping the subject and walking away— probably to find someone else to interrogate, as Izaya had suggested. Who knew it was so easy to make Shizuo believe him?
"You're such a good actor, I have to applaud you for that," Shinra commented once Shizuo was out of the picture.
"It doesn't take much to fool Shizu-chan. I just wrote it with my left hand so it'd be messy."
"So—" Shinra rested his chin in his palm, grinning at Izaya, "—'I love you', huh? Doesn't this mean you want him to be your soulmate?"
"Who said I do?"
.
What'd they do if they proved to be actual soulmates?
Shizuo, for one, would go to sleep and hope it was all just a dream. If that fails, he'd eliminate that said soulmate.
And if that fails, too… then perhaps he could try to be civil with his nemesis. Although he didn't know if he could control his temper around Izaya, when all the awful things Izaya had done were imprinted deep in his mind, and Izaya's mouth never stopped spitting out lies and scornful remarks.
Shizuo was aware of how lonely the both of them were, and it'd be a good chance for them to fit in together, especially after having seen how well Izaya could take his strength, and Izaya's fearless personality which made him feel at ease that Izaya wasn't afraid of him.
Now, if only Izaya wasn't so shity. Then, things probably could've been better.
.
"I love you."
The first thing, or rather, person he saw upon opening his eyes was Orihara Izaya straddling his lap; face too close for Shizuo's comfort, with a grin marring his face. Shizuo's hazy mind couldn't comprehend anything other than sheer confusion and how sleepy he still was, heart skipping a beat as those three words replayed again and again in his head. It wasn't until Izaya's fingers traced the words on his arm that he recalled what was written on it— and how it correlated with what Izaya just uttered.
"Wait— Bastard!" Shizuo struggled to get up, swinging his fist on instinct but Izaya managed to dodge that, "You did write it!"
"What did you think, Shizu-chan? That someone would say such words towards you? If I didn't say it, no one would."
"As if you'd have someone too!"
"Well, you'd be surprised. Did Shizu-chan think I didn't know he wrote mine? What, and kept saying the words himself too! From such manipulation, anyone would think that he wants me as a soulmate."
"You as my soulmate? What a joke! That'd be a nightmare, I'd rather die."
"Then die," Izaya narrowed his gaze, jaw clenched; Shizuo's insult annoyed him, but he hid it behind a grin and flicked his switchblade open, which often played out as a signal that their usual fight had begun.
"You can go first," retorted Shizuo, a menacing grin to match Izaya's while his hand was already rooting a tree off the ground.
.
"Did those two get tattoos?"
"Eh? Together?"
"Maybe as a punishment for a game? There's no way they'd get tattoos together!"
"But Heiwajima has an 'I love you' tattoo… that's weird."
"And Orihara's…"
.
"Those two really know how to have fun," Shinra pressed the button on the vending machine (he was thankful that Shizuo didn't choose that instead of the tree to throw at Izaya), eyes watching his two friends with ease while everyone else around them were whispering to each other about the new 'tattoos'.
"…Do you think that's fun?"
Kadota gave Shinra a pointed look, horrified by Shinra's idea of fun, and he wondered how he got to become friends with such… unique people, if he was to put it in a nicer way.
"They're never bored of each other. Ah, I should write something on Celty too! Then, maybe she'll finally accept me the way I've accepted her as my soulmate."
"If she won't get mad at you instead," Kadota shook his head.
"What if they really are each other's soulmate?"
"You and her?"
"No. Shizuo and Orihara-kun."
Kadota paused for a moment, contemplating the idea before reaching down to retrieve the soda can to hand to Shinra; a small sigh escaping his lips.
"I wouldn't be surprised from how inseparable they are."