"H-huh?" The boy in Shizuo's lap croaks. His eyes might not be filled with the same mischief as Shizuo remembers, but the red is far too distinctive to miss even behind crooked frames that can't seem to balance on his cute, pinched nose. Not to mention the smell. This is the boy from the other side of the bookcase. I don't need him to answer the riddle to be sure.

Oh god… Shizuo thinks, face flushing a deep red. Oh god I'm such a fucking idiot! That's such a lame riddle!

But the boy doesn't seem close to figuring out the answer. He just gapes up at Shizuo, looking small, and confused, and terrified.

"It's a riddle…" Shizuo mumbles, parroting the first conversation he had with the boy. "Do you give up? Come on, you didn't even try..."

That seems to restart his little villain. He gasps and squirms out of Shizuo's lap, trying to crawl for the open door but is blocked by Shizuo's leg kicking it shut. Red eyes slip shut in resignation, his throat bobs with a hard swallow, and he drops back against the wall opposite of Shizuo.

Shizuo considers the full-form of the boy across from him while he mulls over Shizuo's riddle while probably trying to think of a way to weasel himself out of this. He seems like the weaseling-out type.

Black hair and red eyes Shizuo already knew about. He is small not only in height, but also in frame. Thin, bird-like collar bones poke out of the wide neckline under what has to be the worst sweater Shizuo has ever seen. It looks like children just randomly stuck on barely-recognizable cat silhouettes and it fits horribly - stretching too wide at the top and almost falling off one shoulder and just coming to the hem of his black pants that… do they even make pants that tight for men?! Shizuo remembers the feeling of that delicate wrist in his grip and how easily his fingers over-lapped. This boy is skinny, the ill-fitting sweater can't hide that.

The skin of his neck and shoulders is clear and milky-white, contrasting with the dark red and black color-scheme of his overall look. He tucks his knobby knees into his chest and Shizuo's eyes drift down to his small feet wrapped in black sneakers. When he finally opens his eyes and looks directly at Shizuo it hits him.

This guy… Shizuo can feel the urge to twitch his leg nervously. This guy is way too pretty!

… No! I mean, he's good-looking. In like… a cute nerdy kinda way, but that's just like, and objective observation. Not like I think he's pretty.

"Home…" The boy whispers, voice small and smooth. "The answer is 'home.'"

Oh god that's so lame! Why did I have to pick that riddle? Ugh, I choked…

"Yeah." Shizuo grumbles. "So you're the guy that's been following me?"

The boy's eyebrow twitches and the left corner of his lip hitches up just the slightest bit.

"I'd hardly call asking you a few riddles in the library 'following.' You are the one who started chasing me after the second one, and now I find you here. Using my blanket."

Shizuo flushes at being called-out and opens his mouth to argue before remembering that he really doesn't have any solid evidence the other boy's been watching him.

"Yeah well! Well you've been pissing me off! And it's not like I knew this was y-yours or anything…" Untrue, but fortunately the other boy can't prove that.

He hums and tilts his head back to look down his nose at Shizuo, some of the old mischief and arrogance creeping back into those eyes as he watches Shizuo rapidly lose control of the situation.

"Right, of course… Maybe I was just looking to make a friend? How was I to know you'd be so... sensitive ?" He purrs, eyelids drooping low on the weight of his lashes.

Shizuo glares at him, suddenly feeling a few degrees hotter. "A friend in Heiwajima Shizuo?"

The corners of his lips draw higher, the left side twitching a bit, almost uneven with the right as his expression twists.

"Well… who doesn't like making new friends?"

"If you're not following me, then why are you here?" Shizuo growls, trying not to lose focus on the way his slightly crooked lips match his glasses.

"Ah, see, now that was an accident." The boy sighs, relaxing a bit and stretching a leg out towards I was following you, then I wouldn't have gotten caught like this. Right?" He slumps his shoulders back into the support of the wall, lounging. As his posture relaxes the small patch of sweater that clung onto the top of one shoulder slides down, revealing just a bit more of that milky skin.

Focus.

"So what are you doing here, tucked into this closet after-hours?" He drawls, sounding bored. But he can't hide the sharp curiosity in his eyes behind lazy smiles perfectly.

"Just lost track of time… fell asleep."

The boy barks out a laugh, skidding just a bit too high on sincerity and giving it a slightly manic edge.

"You must be a light sleeper."

"Or maybe you're not that quiet." Shizuo has a feeling stealth is a specialty of his, but he'd challenge this boy over admitting the truth any day.

The two stare each other down and Shizuo desperately hopes he won't be able to see the truth. He hadn't fallen asleep. Well, not yet at least.

Once he had the soft blanket and pressed the smell of bitter almonds to his nose, just for a moment, he had told himself. That was it. Shizuo completely lost track of time, steadily breathing in the air he'd been craving for weeks. He didn't think of the time he spent sitting there or the possibility of being caught. He didn't think of anything. And now the source of his newfound addiction is sitting a little more than a meter away with not bookshelf to separate them.

Focus.

"I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing here? How'd you get in this room?"

Izaya falters at the question. Not that it's unexpected, but it is… undesirable.

"Just getting something of mine." He purrs, managing to hold himself steady through the comfort of a well-practiced facade. He digs his foot hard into the money ankle of Shizu-chan's crossed legs, intending to slide it into his lap where Shizuo still has his blanket but stops short. This small bit of rough contact is all he can bring himself to do. "And getting in isn't exactly a challenge."

Shizu-chan's eyes flicker in what looks like some kind of realization before his eyes narrow and his stare bores into Izaya with greater intensity. It takes everything Izaya has to meet that hard, golden stare - but when he does he realizes what a huge mistake it is. Shizuo looks predatorial, like a lion prepared to demolish a challenger. It makes Izaya feel like he's melting.

It makes Izaya want more.

He relaxes. He lets his grin spread wider, twisting up into the crooked sort of thing it always tries to be. He slumps even further, short sweater hiking up with the wall to expose his lower back to the cold floor as he lets his body slowly take up more and more space. He feels drunk on the intensity of that gaze and Izaya knows what he's about to say is very stupid, especially considering how vulnerable he is right now. But he does nothing to stop himself, nothing to create any sort of defense as his arms go limp at his sides and he whispers:

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Shizu-chan… " voice rolling over the startling sincerity, dipping almost into sensuality.

Now, let's see if I can see my monster again….

Shizuo's face flushes a deep red with anger as he hisses.

"What did you just call me?!"

Izaya hums with the pleasure from the heat of the fire in Shizuo's eyes. He lets his head roll to the side and dip back, exposing his neck and highlighting the all of his exposed crookedness. Ah, he's so mad. He'll kick my ass for sure. I've really done it this time.

"What the fuck did you just call me?!"

Shizuo lunges across the gap between them with a terrifying speed. He grabs the front of Izaya's sweater and pushes him the rest of the way to the floor, pinning Izaya on his back.

"Apologize and maybe I won't bash your fucking head in!" Shizuo roars at him, in him because of how close he is.

Izaya feels as though he's underwater and being washed away by its power. This is it… Izaya thinks, head spinning off into delirium. Shizuo is so stupid, melting me with the heat of his anger before he can beat me up. You can't beat up a liquid, stupid…

He feels his shoulders lift a good ten centimeters off the floor before being slammed back down again with greater force. His head jerks with the motion and the whole word whirls out of focus. " Wipe that stupid grin off your face!"

Izaya can't think enough to respond, but he can feel. Every bit of contact between the two of them feels like fire. So much better than the awkward itch of his teacher's hand. This is the best… why was I avoiding this again? There's just so much of… everything.

" Hey! What's your problem?! Look at me when I'm talkin' to you!" I'm trying to, but everything is so… hazy. Shizuo fists Izaya's hair and yanks it to force Izaya to look at him. Yanks it hard and yells something that Izaya can't hear anymore, pinned down by the beast's roar, his breath, his passionate gaze, his big hands, his impossibly strong arms, his big, bad monster…

Shizu-chan's grip on his hair tightens painfully and Izaya's vision goes white, his mind wonderfully blank for a moment of shuddering bliss...

"My name's Shizuo Heiwajima!"

And then, Izaya snaps back to reality. His eyes finally focus on Shizu-chan and he quickly searches Shizuo's face for any sign that he noticed what just happened. All Izaya can see is anger and he's never been more relieved. Quickly, he searches for something to throw the beast off.

"Shizu-chan, do you like mysteries?"

It seems to work nicely.

Shizuo's brows furrow in confusion at the abrupt subject change.

"Huh?"

"I know you do." Izaya presses on, preparing to make a risky gamble. "So how about this: you tell me exactly how I know the district's most notorious trouble maker dreams of solving mysteries for a living as a heroic detective and I'll do whatever you want without complaint." The thrill he gets from doubling-down makes Izaya wonder if he should be concerned about a possible future in gambling.

Shizuo considers him for a long moment, studying Izaya's face in a way that makes him very uncomfortable. He's never liked being stared at.

"Why would I give a shit about that when I could just pound your ass and be done with you?"

For a second Izaya can't think of anything other than holy shit holy shit does he not realize how that just sounded? Why would he ever word it like that?

"You could do that…" Izaya manages after pulling himself together. "But I think you and your family might prefer to avoid a lawsuit." Izaya isn't sure he would actually press charges, already feeling addicted to the adrenaline coursing through his veins. If Shizu-chan went to prison where else would he find this kind of rush?

Shizuo grumbles "Fine." and lets go of Izaya's hair, letting his head drop to the floor. "But you have to give me time to get the facts together. Doin' this shit right."

Izaya can't remember the last time he let his smile go so unrestrained.