Oh my God, I am so sorry I took so long to write this! I've been so busy with school and stuff lately that I just couldn't find the time for it, and I am so incredibly sorry!

Still, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I hope that it was worth the wait!

I mention this all the time, but I don't know an awful lot about the topics mentioned in this story, so I just made some stuff up, please don't expect my medical stuff to be accurate.

Every time Izaya came home from the hospital, he would instantly break down and cry. Once within the comforts of his own home, he let his guard down and his emotions spilled over the impenetrable wall he'd put up to protect his pride and dignity. He had been visiting Shizuo every day for three weeks now, and there wasn't a single time when he returned that he didn't cry. It was okay, because by the time he got home, Namie was gone. There was no one to impress, no one to act for. He was still the same person, just a little more sensitive.

Shizuo however, was no longer the same person he once was. The changes to his appearance (he was much paler now, and his hair was dirty and matted, he was unhealthily skinny after refusal to eat for a few days) we're not the only thing that was bothering him, despite being very drastic and he did hate them a lot. What Shizuo was concerned about, were the changes in his personality. Granted, it had never been difficult to piss him off before, but things were getting so much worse. He wouldn't just break out in anger now, he would make impertinent comments, which seems to be much more effective then inflicting actual physical pain. Celty had stopped visiting, Anri too and he didn't at all blame them. He wouldn't want to be around him anymore either. He recalled Celty's last words to him being 'I'm so sorry' and he thought that was kind of a bad way to end their relationship before he died, but there wasn't much he could do. The last time he'd seen Anri; she cried and ran away, yelling his name. Another bad note to end a friendship.

The only person who hadn't given up on him yet was that damn flea. Shizuo was never kind to him, so Izaya was just used to the occasional rude comments. He would visit every single day. Never would Shizuo fail to notice the walls Izaya had put up to hide his emotions slowly crumble every time he was here.

But that night was particularly lonely. Stella was busy and Izaya hadn't showed up yet. He was either late, or he too had given up on the blond. It was kind of upsetting, he didn't even have any last words to remember him by, since he fell asleep through their last conversation. Shizuo always got this kind of empty feeling when he fell asleep next to Izaya and when he awoke, he was alone.

So, since he figured he'd be alone for a while that night, and he hated the empty feeling he got when there was no flea around, he figured he'd go for a walk. Maybe it would be a distraction from Izaya's absence. Obviously, this was the stupidest idea in the world; he was dying after all. Not being able to go out is a side effect of dying. Despite this, he got up, de-attached himself from the various machines that were keeping him going and strolled out the hospital doors. That should have been a bit more difficult than it was, but Shizuo wasn't complaining. His body had always been able to hold up through situations where a normal human would probably die. This situation was no exception to this fact of his biology.

He walked the strangely vacant streets for a while, before getting an indescribably unpleasant feeling in his chest. This peculiar pain travelled from his chest, down his body right the way to his feet. He had to stop walking and he hid himself from prying eyes in a dark alley, just off the street. The man's back hit the wall with a loud thud before he let his body slip down the bricks, falling to a crouching position on the floor. Grasping his chest in pain, he began breathing much heavier. It was like his lungs were failing him, like the air he was breathing in couldn't reach them. It was that feeling of being underwater, when you try to breathe in, your body expels what enters it and you choke. He was coughing and wheezing before he eventually threw up violently on the pavement before him. This seemed to clear his airways; for about five seconds before the cycle repeated.

Through tears of pure pain, he stared at his phone that was in his hand the whole time. Shizuo called the only person he could think of in this time.

"Shizu-chan! How wonderful of you too call! Are you missing me? I'll come by the hospital later and-"

"Zaya," he coughed out, interrupting the man on the other end of the line before throwing up once more.

The line was silent for a few moments, just the sound of Shizuo's wheezing, before Izaya spoke. His tone was stern, and from it, Shizuo got an image in his head. The informant was sat at his desk, staring with wide (shocked and concerned) eyes out of the huge windows that overlooked the city. He was probably scanning the city in a hopeless search for the blond.

"Tell me where you are. Right. Now."

"I'm sorry Izaya..."

Shizuo tried to crush his phone after that, but all his strength had abandoned him by now, so he settled for just hanging up and dropping the device by his side. He hung his head in defeat, coughing up only blood now, rather than vomit. He thought about Izaya. The terribly unhealthy relationship they shared; it was almost as unhealthy as the blond himself was. Up till now, they'd hated each other and spent every waking moment at each other's throats. But now, the person Shizuo wanted to spend his very last breath on was Izaya himself. The man he'd despised for the majority of his life. Shizuo smiled at how silly it was. Maybe he really did like Izaya, if only just a little bit. For as many times as he'd said it, never had he really tried to kill the little flea. Only maim or seriously injure. Thinking about this, just the mere thought, put a smile on a dying man's face.

He was awoken from his trance by the violent shaking and loud shouts of another.

"Shizuo Heiwajima, don't you dare die! You can't! Not now! Not yet!" the voice was shaky and nothing like the usual tone of Izaya Orihara. Shizuo could do nothing but stare at the man, with blurred vision that only made him all the more beautiful. "I'm not ready to let go...Shizuo. Please." The blond felt himself being pulled gently into a calming embrace. How he wanted to just let himself die like this, but no. He would have to stay; for Izaya. Give him the time it takes to prepare for the death of a loved one.

Wait.

Loved one?

The hated each other. With a passion! Did they not?

The comforting warmth of Izaya's body against his own told him that this wasn't true. Behind their act of despising each other, there was always that lingering sense of friendship. A remarkably strong bond that would probably never be broken; not even by death. And somehow, in whatever way, through Shizuo's illness, they had been brought even closer. To the point where both men could even consider what they had as love.

Maybe that's what kept him going, Shizuo thought as he slowly, numbly pulled his half dead carcass to its feet. Izaya kept him steady, draping the taller man's arm around his own neck, as the two of them made their way back to the hospital together. Izaya thanked a God that he didn't believe in that Shizuo had held on, and he would forever be wondering if it was really his own words that had encouraged the blond to stay. But really, that was the least of his worries once he finally reached the hospital, and a blood and vomit covered Shizuo Heiwajima was immediately taken to his hospital room to be treated. His deep red eyes met pale blue ones as he found Stella. Her overdone make up streamed down her face and she looked an absolute wreck.

"Stella."

"Mr. Orihara, I am so sorry! I should have been more careful! I didn't know he would just up and leave like that, I'm such an idiot! He could have died! Your boyfriend could have died, and I can't even imagine how I'd feel if some stupid girl went and let my boyfriend die like that-" She was hushed by Izaya. He placed his index finger to her lips and smiled a bitter, sad smile.

"You're not sorry yet, but don't worry, you will be." And with that, he left the hospital, skipping down the streets with a smirk plastered to his face. He thought about what Stella said, about Shizuo being his boyfriend, and to be honest, he didn't mind that one bit. He found the idea of it rather appealing, but it would obviously never work out now. So Shizuo could be his secret boyfriend. His secret, cancer ridden, boyfriend. That was kind of sick wasn't it; but nothing was exactly normal with Izaya.

The next day, Izaya was out the door at exactly 1 o'clock and on a direct route to the hospital. This was earlier than usual, but he simply couldn't wait to see his boyfriend; after all, who knew how much time he'd have left to spend with the blond. When he entered, he noticed Stella's position at the desk was unoccupied and he smiled to himself. She'd either been fired or quit, so he made his own way to Shizuo's room. What he didn't expect, was to find Kasuka Heiwajima sitting in his own chair next to the blonde's bed.

Why he didn't expect this was a fact oblivious to even Izaya's own mind, the two brothers shared a creepily close connection. Kasuka stared up at Izaya as he entered a blank expression as usual. Shizuo greeted him with a strained hello, in that Cancer voice that he hated so much.

"So. The two of you are friends now?" Izaya had never heard the younger Heiwajima brother speak, other than in his movies. He spoke in a monotone voice, and still remained a mystery to the informant.

"I'd say we're a lot more than that," Izaya responded with a smirk. Shizuo and him exchanged a glance, but the blond didn't protest or state otherwise, so he figured that the other agreed. Who wouldn't agree at this point? The two didn't spend a single day without each other, and when either one of them wasn't around, the other would get a sickening empty feeling that was physically painful. They were definitely at least a little more than just friends.

Kasuka simply smiled, an expression that didn't look quite right on his usually vacant face, before standing and leaving, claiming he wanted to give the two 'alone time'. Usually, this meant something more. Alone time meant kissing and touching for anyone else. But for people with cancer, alone time meant possibly the last few seconds you'll ever get to spend with a person.

"I want you to speak at my funeral," Shizuo said, completely out of the blue and catching Izaya off guard. The informant stared at him for a moment, before responding bluntly.

"Why?"

"Because I feel like you're the only person who captures what I'm going through properly. And apparently we're 'more than friends' now," and a smirk returned to his face. Izaya assumed that seeing his brother happy had brightened a usually miserable Shizuo up a little, and he was very thankful for that. Happy Shizuo was cute, even when he was bed ridden and dying.

"Okay."

"But I want to hear what you're going to say."

"Well, I can't just make it up now. I'll need to think about it, this kind of means a lot to me, Shizu-chan. I want it to be one hundred percent perfect."

That brought a smile to the blonde's face that was a true smile. Not a smile to mask how much he wanted to cry, but an honest smile to show how overwhelmed he was that he meant something to Izaya.

And never once did he think that Izaya Orihara would be the last person to make him smile.

So, how was it?:)

Reviews, favourites and follows are very much appreciated and I want to thank everyone who was done so already!

Also, thanks for simply reading this! xD Hope you enjoyed, I know things are very sad and serious, but I still hope you enjoyed this and it gave you lots of feelings:D

NEW CHAPTERS SOON!