Naturally, Shizuo is nervous when he follows Izaya up to his room that night. He doesn't know what possessed him to agree to it. The Shizuo of yesterday would have run from the very idea. Just sleeping in the closet with Izaya was a disaster last time, why the fuck would it be anything but worse in Izaya's bed.

But it's too late to back out. He's already sent a text to Kasuka who's told him to be safe, much to his horror and denial of that happening.

What he should be doing right now is scanning the area for clues about what kind of trouble Izaya's been getting into. Not snooping or going through his stuff, of course. Just seeing what the room can tell him. In detective shows the hero can always see clues in an ordinary room.

But Shizuo can't… he can't focus.

That warm, bitter smell is saturating the air and coming off Izaya's pillows so thick Shizuo can taste it on the air while he sits on Izaya's bed waiting for him to come out of the bathroom. The temptation is there, to lean over and press his face into the plush fabric Izaya presses his face into every night and is probably only washed monthly… His mouth salivates at the thought and Shizuo wonders, once again, what the fuck is wrong with him. He must be crazy to be in such a beautiful person's bed and be fantasizing about sniffing his unwashed pillow like a pervert.

But… it would smell so fucking good… maybe just a little bit? Just really quick before Izaya gets back.

And just as Shizuo's about to give in and fuck himself by getting lost in Izaya's pillows Izaya steps out of the bathroom.

Izaya wearing a gray hoodie and very short, black shorts.

And that's how Shizuo finds yet another part of Izaya to obsess over. He's never really noticed them before because of the loose fitting school pants but Izaya's legs give him a new fetish right then and there.

"Let me find you some sweatpants," Izaya says quietly, easily, like he doesn't notice the obvious implications of the situation. And maybe he doesn't. Izaya has never really seemed… well… like he's interested in anything other than books and terrorizing students in secret.

Izaya turns to ruffle through his dresser for a pair of pants that might fit while Shizuo just stares at his legs. Then Izaya bends over checking even deeper into the drawer and the shorts ride up just a little bit and Shizuo is feeling very attacked. His nemesis is a master of psychological warfare.

Fuck, Izaya's supposed to be some nerdy loner but… how does he not have guys on him all the time?!

Shizuo knows now that he's always wanted Izaya all to himself, from the moment he was a faceless villain, and the more Shizuo gets to know him the more he wants him. Right now, Shizuo's not even sure he wants to introduce Izaya to his friends because how is he going to keep any guy, straight or otherwise, off of Izaya?

Focus, Shizuo! Focus!

Izaya turns back to Shizuo with a pair of gray sweatpants bunched in his arms just as Shizuo is blinking back into focus and wrenching his eyes up to Izaya's.

"I hope these will fit. Not exactly tree-sized like you but I think they'll be okay."

"Thanks."

Its Shizuo's turn to change in the bathroom as they've had a silent agreement that no. This is not the same as changing for gym in the locker room.

He takes the sweatpants and it starting to feel calm again. Maybe he's getting used to it. Or just accepting his fate. Or too exhausted from the stressful day to have the energy to be nervous anymore. When the bathroom door closes behind him he allows himself five full seconds to close his eyes, breathe and relax.

He steps into the center of the clean bathroom and drops the sweatpants on the edge of the sink. He undoes his belt and pants to push them off of his legs, looks up once to grab the sweatpants and notices it.

It's small, but it stands out on the clean white of the sink. It's a smear of black, no bigger than his thumbnail. Shizuo leans in for a closer look, sweatpants still in hand. It's like some sort of… thick goo. For a moment, Shizuo can't think of what it is.

Then he realizes what it is. It looks just like the smears his mom would leave on the sink in a rush to get to a job interview. It's makeup.

Shizuo knows that Izaya used makeup to conceal his mysterious bruises, but this is black. Like eyeliner or, or… what's the thing for eyelashes? Mascara. He doesn't know which it is, only that it's not for covering skin. Izaya is a very clean person, so there's no way it's as old as having been left here since the last time his mother was home. So it must be Izaya's but…

Why does Izaya have this kind of makeup… His sisters seem young for it but… maybe?

Shizuo knows he shouldn't snoop. Told himself he wouldn't snoop. He roots through the cabinets anyway.

In the medicine cabinet, Shizuo finds some ointment, a half-empty bottle of aspirin, floss, some loose bandages…

In the cabinet below the sink, Shizuo finds some cleaning supplies, boxes of soap bars, extra toothpaste, nothing interesting… except a plastic bag peeking out from behind the extra toilet paper.

Shizuo knows he shouldn't, but damn it Detective Heiwajima might finally be onto something for once. He pulls the plastic sandwich bag out as carefully as he can so he doesn't disrupt the other items in the cabinet, certain that if anything moves, even a millimeter, Izaya will notice.

Inside the slightly smudged bag is an eyeliner pencil, mascara, two tubes of lipstick, and some containers of skin-color makeup. It's definitely not kids makeup, and if it's not for Mairu and Kururi...

What the hell…

"Shizuo? Did you get lost? Follow the sound of my voice!"

Shitshitshit! Shizuo quickly, carefully, puts the bag back exactly where he found it, heart leaping into his throat at the possibility of being caught going through Izaya's bathroom.

"Ha ha, very funny." Shizuo manages to sound far more put-together than he feels as he jumps into the sweatpants. They fit, enough. They're just short, ending halfway down his calves.

Shizuo opens the door, hoping he doesn't look as freaked out as he feels. Thankfully, his expression doesn't matter because Izaya is looking at his legs, making Shizuo instantly self-conscious about the way he feels about Izaya's legs. Izaya's an observant guy, surely he noticed Shizuo checking his legs out. He's about to pick on Shizuo for-

Izaya snorts.

"Definitely not tree-sized. I can't believe I never noticed this before but you're at least seventy percent legs."

Shizuo flushes.

"Shut up. At least I'm not made of twigs."

Izaya waves him off casually, turning to walk back towards his bed.

"I look good thin. Besides, you're skinnier than you have any right to be considering how strong you are. Deception really doesn't suit you."

Shizuo follows Izaya, too busy thinking of a comeback to worry that every step closer to Izaya's bed is a step closer to being in that bed. Sharing that bed with Izaya and laying on those pillows and being so close to those legs.

Then Izaya stops, just before the bed, and looks over his shoulder at Shizuo. His chin is dipped down, hiding behind the line of his shoulder and his eyes are hidden by glasses which slip down the bridge of his nose just a bit when Izaya parts his lips, ever so slightly to speak - completely derailing Shizuo's train of thought.

"I don't have any shirt that's going to fit you…" Izaya says, almost too quietly for Shizuo to hear. Izaya's eyes drag across the line of Shizuo's shoulders, so obviously drinking in Shizuo's broad upper body that even Shizuo couldn't miss it. "It won't be comfortable to sleep in that button-up. Take it off and come to bed."

And all at once the reality of the situation is crashing down on Shizuo again. Shizuo forgets about the makeup and the bruises and Izaya's lack of sleep. Izaya's gaze is heavy. So heavy he feels as though it should paralyze him. Except it doesn't, it commands him. Without thinking, without a word, Shizuo does exactly as Izaya tells him to like he's in a trance.

Everything is quiet except the sounds of the rain pattering on the windows, calming him like the ticking of a metronome for hypnosis as Shizuo gets into bed alongside Izaya and Shizuo's last thought is that perhaps Izaya isn't an ordinary villain at all, but a super villain with power in his strange, alluring gaze. Then, Shizuo's head hits the pillows and Shizuo's mind is blank.

…

….

…

It's still dark when Shizuo opens his eyes with pain pounding through his veins and he doesn't know why. He lays very still as his eyes dart around the room. Izaya is still in his arms, every corner is empty, it's quiet except for the rain. So what's wrong?

He closes his eyes, staying very still and very quiet - willing for more sleep. It's so warm.

But he can't sleep. His adrenaline is pumping and every cell in his body is on high alert.

As carefully as possible he untangles himself from Izaya, his feet, and ankles dragging over Izaya's stubbly legs as he pulls away… Wait, stubble?

Shizuo didn't notice when he got into bed last night but Izaya's legs aren't hairy like his own like he expected them to be. They're covered in stubble. As if the hair had been shaved recently and was starting to grow back in. Shizuo gulps, remembering the makeup he found earlier.

Okay, so he's got makeup and shaved his legs a day or two ago. That's weird but it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the bruises. I can handle Izaya wanting to crossdress. That's okay. Anything that's not some sort of dangerous plot is okay.

While this is true, Shizuo's gut is telling him otherwise, and Shizuo's gut has never been wrong before.

Once Shizuo's out of the bed he bunches up the covers behind Izaya, trying to make a solid sort of mass to substitute for him. Judging by the way Izaya's face scrunches and the whine he lets out, it's a poor substitute. Shizuo's heart clenches at the sight but Izaya's still sleeping and that's what matters. No point in waking Izaya from much-needed rest unless there's an actual emergency. He walks around the room, trying to figure out what's making him so uneasy. As he gets closer to the window, he hears something that might explain it. The muffled voices of two boys arguing. Out at this time of night?

Shizuo goes to the window and peeks through the blinds to see a couple of teens walking down the street. Both of them are in blue. Just like that gang that jumped him. Shizuo frowns and presses his ear to the window to try and hear what they're saying. If he concentrates, he can hear most of it.

"-bet she's just tired of you."

"No way, man. She's different…-special. Her old man's just trying to keep us apart...-right place…-sure you saw her come this way?"

"Yeah, didn't see which house. If you two are so special then why don't you have her number?"

"Her dad's a total control freak…- no privacy…- two days…"

That's all Shizuo can hear before they're too far down the street.

Shizuo has no idea what that was about, but it sounds like some stupid soap opera and he wants no part of it

Elusive girl on this street, huh? What if… Shizuo almost laughs out loud at his own thoughts.

Nah, that would be crazy.