New year
A/N:- Thank you for the reviews. So this one is almost finished, just a couple of chapters left. As usual let me know what you think. Italics are phone calls, text messages, the baby monitor or Shizuo's diary. Enjoy.
Dear diary, I never thought I'd be writing my thoughts down again, especially after Izaya kept looking at everything I had written, to the point I had been writing on scrap pieces of paper and even they ended up getting read. Still for Christmas the flea actually brought me a new diary. Back then I didn't really have a chance to look at it.
My new diary fits snuggly in my book box, its quite thick as well, allowing two pages for each day. It looks like Izaya is serious about his promise. Both the diary and my engagement ring remain in the box. The little lock is the date when I first met him. He'll probably know that, since sometimes he knows me better than myself.
I have to say this Christmas is the most fun I've ever had. Maybe it was because I wasn't fighting with Izaya any more or maybe it was because of my precious little girl. She had smiled through the entire day, not once letting go of her new favourite present. We spent the rest of the day at the Orihara's home, Kyouko not giving us a choice about Christmas dinner.
When we got there, they were already waiting at the door. The twins were the happiest to see us, forcing a green party hat on my head. I've never really experienced a happy christmas, but this year was different. Music filled the house, the smell of food and seeing everyone else happy was enough. There had been three places already set for us, me and Izaya sat next to each other, while Emi sat in a high chair, stating her distaste for vegetables.
Our plates were full, on top of that we had desert to eat. I managed to finish, but felt stuffed afterwards. Izaya was pretty much the same and Emi had fallen asleep in her chair. We stayed for a few hours, playing games and pretty much watching the flea behave like a child. Both Kyouko and I took a lot of pictures, which we've already sent copies to each other. Yet another photo album has been filled.
I've let Shiki know that I'll be starting work at the beginning of the year, he seemed to expect Izaya acting out. Asking me if everything was okay between us now. A lot has happened this year, but everything is only getting better. I'm learning new feelings all the time, alongside my family. I hope next year will be just as good.
Shizuo grinned, putting the lid on the pen and returning it to the box along with the diary. Picking up the ring, he ran his finger over it. He was glad to have it back, but he couldn't bring himself to put it back on again. Not yet. He didn't trust Izaya enough for that. Returning it to the box, he closed the lid, hearing a small click as it locked.
Sliding it under his side of the bed, the blond looked beside him, seeing his lover was fast asleep. It was better to leave him sleep. Climbing out of the bed, Shizuo quietly left the room, taking the monitor with him. He knew without a doubt that Emi was awake, fidgeting in her cot. Unlocking the gate, he made his way up to her room.
When he reached the cot, his fingers lightly resting on the edge, Emi looked up at him. "Mama." Waiting until she pulled herself up and lifted her arms up, Shizuo carried her out of the room in his arms. "Good morning. What do you want for breakfast?" An excited giggle reached his ears. "Apa." Shizuo sighed, shaking his head. "Peaches again?"
Once the gate was locked, he let her down gently, watching as she ran to her new toys. "Be a good girl and stay there." Making his way into the kitchen, he grabbed a yoghurt from the fridge, taking out some eggs for him and Izaya. Cracking one of the eggs in the pan, a pair of arms slid around his waste from behind. "Good morning, Shizu-chan."
Turning around,he allowed his lover to kiss him. "You're making breakfast?" Shizuo sighed, pinching the hand that was travelling to his ass. "Trying to. Don't do that early in the morning." Mr god complex sighed, letting him go. "I'll go and change Emi." Watching him leave, he turned back to the frying pan, noticing that the yoghurt was gone.
The three of them spent the rest of the day together, taking it in turns to teach Emi new words. Shifting her on his lap, he pointed to the next one, pushing the small button underneath it. "Emi, this one is an apple. Can you say that?" Innocent crimson looked up at him, before she was pressing the other buttons. "Let me try." Handing the book to Izaya, he watched as Emi crawled off of him, onto his lover's lap.
Shizuo took over when his lover went to make lunch, but when he took the book away, he could see Emi was already asleep. Gently lifting her into his arms, he let Izaya get up, making sure she was still sleeping soundly. Placing a finger on his lips, the blond pointed down, letting his lover know she was asleep.
"Shizu-chan." He tried not to jump as a voice whispered in his ear. "Did you fall asleep as well?" Shaking his head in denial and taking his sandwich, Shizuo took a bite, seeing Izaya sit down next to him. "Looks like she'll be asleep for a while." Keeping his voice low, he let out a sigh. "Yeah. But it means she won't sleep tonight." The flea shrugged. "Maybe."
He was right, Emi woke up just after supper and refused to go back to sleep. "Come on Emi, you need to sleep." His little girl looked up at him and giggled, crimson eyes wide and fully awake. Taking a seat in the rocking chair, Shizuo looked up, seeing that she was standing up, tiny fingers holding onto the wood.
The blond tried everything, taking her out and rocking back in the chair. Reading a book and then another. Turning on the mobile, but nothing was working, she would giggle loudly and still remain awake. "Any luck?" He sighed miserably, Emi pointing at Izaya. "Dada! Dada!" His lover stood in the doorway. "Shizu-chan, I'll take over. I made you a hot chocolate."
"Thanks. Good luck." Making his way down the stairs, he found his drink on the kitchen side. The sky was getting dark, hopefully they could get Emi to sleep. In a few hours he knew it would get very noisy, colour exploding across the sky, fireworks bringing in the new year.
They finally had some alone time almost two hours later, when Izaya came down the stairs, a tired grin on his face. "She's finally asleep." Shizuo handed his lover a drink, he had already gone through his third one. "Thanks. This has been a busy year, hasn't it?" The blond nodded, pulling out a bag they had brought with the christmas presents. "Yeah, it has. I'm glad we aren't fighting any more."
"So am I. Thank you for staying with me Shizu-chan. I'll go and set these up." The blond sighed, a small smile on his face. It wasn't like Izaya to get sentimental, but he could do it when he had to. Clasping his hands together, his finger ran absently over his smooth finger, the one that should've had a bump from where his engagement ring should be. Already he missed it. What it meant and what it symbolized for him. The closeness it had given him.
Shizuo watched as the clock ticked away, signalling the end of the year was coming. He was resting on the sofa, his head on Izaya's shoulder, fingers entwined. He blinked as he heard rustling through the monitor. Emi had woken up. Mama. Dada. "Its fine. She can see the new year in with us." Reluctantly he moved away from his lover, getting up to get his little girl.
"You should be asleep." Emi just stared up at him. "Come on then." Lifting her into his arms, the blond opened the little wardrobe taking out the small coat. "Its going to be cold." Gently setting her down, he searched for her little slippers and ear muffs. The coat was so much like Izaya's, but completely white, the ear muffs were a bright fuchsia pink.
Taking a hold of her hand, Shizuo walked from the room slowly, letting his daughter walk beside him, unlocking the baby gate, he urged her down the first step. "Come on Emi, you can do it." His little girl giggled taking a small step. "Dada." Mr god complex was standing at the bottom of the stairs, the second baby gate open.
She made it to the middle of the stairs, before sulking and lifting up her arms to be held. "Almost. Well done." Lifting her into his arms, the blond continued down the rest of the stairs. "Maybe next time, sweetie." Moving her into slimmer arms, he let his lover hold her, ruffling a hand gently through thin dark hair.
Taking the lead, he headed for the garden, only to be stopped by Izaya. "Shizu-chan. You need your coat too. Its freezing out there." Letting out a sigh, he crossed the room in a few strides grabbing his jacket from the coat rack along with the fluffy triimed black parka. "Here you wear yours as well." There was less than ten minutes until the clock struck midnight.
Emi shivered as they stepped outside, luckily he had brought her mittens with him. Slipping each one on, he watched concerned as her cheeks turned red. "Next year we'll do this with everyone." Next to him his lover grinned. "I was hoping to see you in a yukata next time." Shaking his head, he set the timer. "Shut up. I wouldn't look good in one."
"I could buy you one. A nice blue and white one would suit you." Shizuo shrugged knowing that's what his lover would do anyway, he couldn't win. "Maybe. But you'll have to wear a pink one." Maybe that would put him off. "Fair enough." Damn. "Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six." Moving away from his lover and daughter, he took out a match, hearing Izaya count down loudly behind him. "Five. Four. Three. Two. One." Lighting the fireworks he took a few steps back, hurrying back to Izaya's side. "Happy New Year!"
One hand slipped into his lover's cold one, looking up at the night sky, watching as each firework set off, shooting into the sky, before exploding in red and silver. They went off simultaneously filling his view with different colours and different shapes. Next to him he could see his little girl staring up in awe, one hand reaching out. "Happy New Year! Shizu-chan." Leaning over he met Izaya's lips with his own. "Aka."
Breaking apart, he looked down at the still awake child. "Yes, you get one too." Emi giggled as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Any new year resolutions?" Innocent crimson looked up at him giggling in reply. "You don't have any? Izaya?" The hand in his own squeezed tightly. "Mine? To get back to the stage we were at and keep going. Shizu-chan?"
Hiding his face, he quickly tried to calm his racing heart. "Yeah. Same here." Pulling his coat tighter together he headed inside. "Hey, Shizu-chan." Glancing behind him he followed his lover's gaze. Emi was fast asleep. "You've gotta be kidding. After all that?" Pulling off his jacket, the blond returned it to the coat rack, taking the black parka as it was handed to him.
Izaya was back down within minutes, hopping over the gate. "She should sleep until morning." His lover made his way over to the sofa, straddling his lap. "Ne, Shizu-chan. Can I touch you?" In response, he rolled his hips grinding up. "Don't ask." His fingers ran through raven strands, pulling his lover closer.
"Shizu-chan." Blinking awake, Shizuo smiled staring up into crimson eyes. "Morning Izaya." Reaching up, he rolled over in the bed, bringing his lover with him. "Someone's in a good mood." Leaning down, he kissed along the slim neck, leaving his mark. Nimble hands ran along his sides, brushing against his arousal. His fingers dipped under the pure white shirt, freezing as he snapped out of his half sleep, his brain working again. "You have work."
A hand wrapped around his wrist, stopping him from climbing off. "I own the company, I could skip today." That's true and it was very tempting. "No, go to work." His lover sighed, still stroking him. "We could compromise. I can be a little late. Another shower wouldn't hurt." Damn it. "Would it? Shizu-chan." He was already being dragged into the bathroom.
"See you later, Shizu-chan." Rubbing at his lower back, he leaned over kissing Izaya. "Be a good girl, Emi." Their daughter was in his arms pulling at his pyjama top. "Have a good day. Let me know how the other's are." He was still worried about leaving his workmates. "If that's what you want, you already know they'll come and see you at work. Call me if anything happens."
The door closed behind him, the blond let out a sigh. "Lets take a bath shall we?" The shower was a pointless exercise, since they didn't do much washing. Heading for the bathroom, he set Emi down knowing it was a mistake. As soon as her feet hit the floor, she was running from the room. "Ba!" Getting everything ready, he got ready to catch her.
"Stay still." Reaching out, he let out a sigh, seeing her rolling on her belly. She was a lot faster crawling than she was at walking and running. Emi shot across the room, pulling herself up at the baby gate. "Gotcha." Scooping her up, Shizuo headed for the bathroom, tiny legs kicking out. "Stop fidgeting. Don't you want your ducky?"
Holding out the small rubber duck, she took it from him, lowering her head. "Ba." Putting the plug in, the taps were turned on, water slowly filling the bath. "Do you want to put the bubbles in?" Handing her the bottle, he watched carefully as she tipped it upside down, squeezing the bottle, before shaking it. "That's enough. You like bubbles don't you?"
Once the bath water was high enough, he removed his pyjamas that he had put on after his shower. "Mama." His little girl raised her arms high, letting him remove her clothes. "There we go." Climbing in, he checked the water temperature. "Ba!" The duck was thrown in the water, Emi holding out her arms. Keeping a tight grip to make sure she didn't slip, he let himself relax. Tonight he would start work at Artic again.
Shizuo knew he shouldn't be feeling nervous, he had worked there before so the place was familiar to him, but that had been as Shizuka. Now that it was just him, it was somewhere new. He had seen Shizuka's old workmates a few times, they knew who he was. It hadn't seemed to matter at the time, but now that he would be working as himself, he wondered if they minded his past. Shiki had said everything would be fine.
That meant Akabayashi wouldn't have a problem either. Vorona had already forgiven him, so had Anri. But if any of the regulars noticed him... Damn it. "Mama?" Snapping out of his thoughts he looked down at his daughter, who was waving a wash cloth at him. "Sorry Emi, mummy was thinking." The rubber duck hit the front of his head, a tiny hand splashing through the water.
The day passed by quickly, looking at the time he knew Izaya would be back soon. Once he had finished making dinner, he covered his lover's plate up, leaving it on the side. A tiny hand was holding onto the leg of his jeans. "You're tired? Come on then." She fell asleep in his arms as he carried her to the bedroom, tucking her in under the covers. "I should get some sleep too. Sleep well, Emi."
"...chan! Shizu-chan wake up." Emi was still fast asleep next to him. "You have work." Ah that was right. Rolling out of bed, he moved towards the wardrobe. "Has she been asleep long?" Looking at the time, he shook his head. "No, just since after dinner." His uniform was hanging up, already ironed for him.
"She can keep me company then. Are you feeling okay?" Of course the flea would pick up on his nerves. "Its going to be weird working there as myself." His lover stopped in front of him, touching his cheek. "Shizu-chan is Shizu-chan. There's no difference. It will be like you never left." Covering the gentle hand with his own, Shizuo sighed. "You always- thanks."
His face heated up as he tried to get dressed, feeling someone watching him. Slipping his pants on, he did up the buttons. Izaya helped him with his shirt, taking his damn time to do up the buttons. Stepping away, the vest went on next, quickly doing the buttons up. It felt weird, wearing such a familiar uniform, but one so different. "You forgot the tie."
It was held between long fingers. "Allow me." The blond couldn't help squirming as his lover raised his collar, slipping the black piece of cloth over his neck, slowly tying it into a bow. "And your glasses." The blue tinted specs, were carefully slid through his hair, the arms sitting behind his ears. "There. You look perfect." Mr god complex scowled not looking happy at all. "Shizu-chan, sorry."
Shizuo fell back against the wardrobe, Slim arms around him. He already had a feeling of what his lover wanted to do and to tell the truth he wasn't against it. If anything his teeth tingled to do the same thing, marking the man as his own. Who knew when he would get another secretary? Maybe it would be someone clueless that tried to chase after Izaya. Clenching his fist, he felt a growl rumble in his throat. "Shizu-chan?"
Licking along the column of the slim throat, he began kissing in apology before biting down, sucking harshly to leave his own mark. There was soft laughter in his ear. Izaya doing the same to him, though slightly less painful, hands roaming under his shirt. "Looks like we were thinking the same thing. I'm yours Shizu-chan and you are mine."
Next:- Once again