A steady thumping confounded Izaya as he walked up to Shizuo's door. If he allowed his mind to think perverted thoughts, he would shoot them down with the fact that Shizuo could never get laid. His rational thoughts did however make him wonder why he was banging on something repeatedly. Was it a body? Ooh, that would be interesting.

Izaya grabbed the doorknob, turning it easily and opening the door. He frowned, "That idiot never locks his door." He stepped inside, setting the box of treats on the table and kicked the door closed behind him. "Oh Shizu-chan!~ I'm home!~"

"This. Isn't. Your. Home."

The muffled grumble from Shizuo was broken between repeated bangs. Izaya peeked around the corner to find Shizuo lying on the floor behind the couch, banging his head against the ground stiffly.

Izaya stood for a moment, watching the blon-

Wait.

"Shizu-chan, what did you do?"

"What." Bang. "Do." Bang. "You." Bang. "Mean?" Bang.

"Your hair."

Shizuo groaned and looked up a bit, brow twitching as he growled, "What the fuck about it, flea?"

Izaya shrugged, "It's not blonde anymore."

"No duh, dipshit."

Izaya frowned a bit, "Aww, too bad. You looked more like a monster that way."

"MAYBE I DON'T WANT IT TO BE BLONDE ANYMORE."

The informant chuckled softly, "Someone is having withdrawals~ So moody. Like a chick on her period. OR since you're a monster I should say a bitch in heat."

"Izayaaaa..."

"Calm now, Shizu-chan. As much as I like to annoy you, I happened to think of you kindly today and decided I would help." Izaya sang as he grabbed the box and pulled out a cupcake. He dropped to the floor, scooting on his stomach to hold the dessert in front of Shizuo's face. The ex-blonde raised a brow, and glanced at Izaya.

"Thought you liked bitter stuff."

"Aye, I do. This is for you."

"Huh? Why did you buy…"

"Open wide!~ Here comes the choo choo train!"

With that, Izaya shoved the cupcake into Shizuo's face, somehow mashing the sweet into his partially opened mouth. The rest smeared over his cheeks and nose. Shizuo sat up sputtering, coughing out little crumbs of cupcake as Izaya pulled out a truffle from the box to pop into his mouth; sliding it into his cheek like a chipmunk as he sucked off the chocolate.

"Neh, good hmm?"

Shizuo scowled as swallowed the cupcake thickly, rubbing off the frosting with his thumb before licking it clean. "Mmm, yeah. Really good. What's this for anyways?"

Izaya rested his head in his hands and kicked his feet back and forth, chewing slowly on the truffle in his mouth; his voice slightly muffled by the treat. "Have you ever heard of oral fixation, Shizu-chan?"

"Oral what?"

"Fixation. Get your head out of the gutter." Izaya grinned, pushing himself up onto his knees as he pulled out another cupcake from the box. He held it up in the palm of his hand as if it was on display, "Oral fixation is getting yourself hooked on something else going into your mouth rather than a cigarette. Aka, sweets. You love sweets, so this should be simple. Try to crave something else."

Shizuo tilted his head a bit and grabbed the cupcake, peeling away the wrapper gently, "Yeah. Ok that makes sense." He took a bite into the cupcake, mouth watering at the overly sweet and tart taste that he savored. He rubbed his forehead that had grown red from the constant banging and licked the crumbs from his lips. Izaya sat up onto his knees, leaning on his hands a bit as he watched Shizuo.

"So, what exactly were you banging your head for?" he questioned. Shizuo shrugged a bit.

"I was craving really bad. So I thought banging my head would help or something. Distract me or knock the thoughts out of my head."

"Tch, so brutal and stupid." Izaya handed Shizuo the box and stood up stretching, "just eat some sweets. Or anything really. Just something to have your mouth do when you're craving."

"What's this?" Shizuo asked as he held up a truffle. Izaya quickly snatched it from his hands and popped it into his mouth, grabbing the rest of the truffles from the box and holding them under his jacket.

"I got something for myself."

"You said you didn-"

"I don't like sweets. These aren't sweet. They are bitter."

Shizuo laughed a bit, holding up his hands, "Ok ok, don't get all upset. You're acting like a cat that got sprayed with a hose. I won't touch them, geez."

Izaya rolled his eyes and turned to walk out of the house. "Same time tomorrow. Don't eat those all at once. You'll get fat."

"Says the one who's hogging all the truffles."

Izaya glared back at Shizuo for a moment, before smirking a bit. "Touché, Shizu-chan."

Over the next week, Shizuo had eaten more cupcakes, lollipops and chewing gum than he had in three months. He swore that he was gaining a few pounds from lack of exercise and an increase of sweets.

However, it was helping his cravings. A lot.

He sat reclined on his couch, staring at the ceiling as he sucked on a sucker; twirling it around in his mouth as Shinra checked over him.

"Looking good Shizuo! You said you thought you were gaining weight, but it's not much more than three pounds. You have a fast metabolism, so even with all the extra sugar you're consuming, you'll burn them off at a decent rate."

"Shinra, you're saying things I never cared about in school."

"Ahh sorry. Right. I'm saying you won't gain a lot of weight." The doctor tapped his chin a bit in thought, "Although, exercise would be a good thing to start easing into your daily life. It's been a while now, so your lungs should be well rested and healing a bit. You should be able to manage mild exercise."

Shizuo bit off the cherry candy, and pulled out the worn stick to play in between his fingers; it was more soothing to hold the stick like a cigarette than it was to occupy his mouth with a sweet. "So I can chase the flea again?"

"Ahh, Shizu-chan, as much fun as that would be, I don't think that you could keep up with me~"

"Oh! Hello Izaya! You're here late. I was sure you wouldn't show up!"

"Shinra, you have no faith in me. I may run late, but I never skip out on appointments." The raven haired man mused with a grin.

Shizuo sighed as the informant fell onto the couch next to him, crossing his legs and smiling smugly at Shizuo. Possessed by a childish desire to annoy Shizuo during his checkup, Izaya jabbed the taller man beside him with his elbow.

The brute only made a grunt, and glared at Izaya from the corner of his eyes. Shinra didn't bother to look up as Izaya continued to jab at Shizuo in random places of his body. When Izaya managed to get Shizuo under the rib, the ex-blonde jumped a bit, kneeing Shinra in the stomach as he turned to grab Izaya by the collar of his shirt.

"Fucking flea!" he growled. Izaya laughed, hugging his sides as Shinra rubbed his stomach.

"Guys, quit it. I'm trying to do my job here."

"Tell the pest to quit poking me!"

"I'm not poking you, Shizu-chan~"

"Don't fuckin lie!"

Izaya wiggled out of his grasp and crossed his arms, smiling a bit as Shizuo growled like an angry dog, and went back to staying still for Shinra to continue his check up.

Wiggling his fingers around Shizuo's side, Izaya continued to pester Shizuo until he could see the annoyed twitch in his brow and the grit in his teeth. The sucker stick snapped in half in his teeth, and Shizuo whipped his head around to glare at Izaya.

"Quit. It. Flea."

"But I'm not touching you~" Izaya sneered, "I'm not touching you~ I'm not touching you~" he continued to sing as Shizuo continued to growl at him. Shinra sighed and shook his head, glaring at both of them.

"You two act like children."

Shizuo flushed a bit and crossed his arms, facing the other way, while Izaya grinned and snickered under his breathe.

Shinra finished up with his check up and packed away his things, "Alright Shizuo, you're looking pretty good. Keep up with what you're doing. The suckers are helping with the cravings?"

He nodded.

"Good. Then jus add in exercise and a healthy diet, and you're on the right track to getting well again!"

"But not perfect."

"Shizu-chan was never perfect~"

"Shut up, Flea!"

The two continued to banter until Shinra left with a headache. Leaving the enemies in the same room didn't help with the tension. Izaya soon gave up pestering Shizuo when the bodyguard had decided to ignore him. He shrugged off his jacket and paced the room, hands in his pockets as he examined the space around him.

Not as dirty was it was before. Shizuo was cleaning the house more now that he had free time. He smiled to himself as he thought about how this whole COPD business was making Shizuo a cleanlier monster.

He spun on his heels and clicked his shoes together, causing Shizuo's honey eyes to peer up for a moment, before staring out the window.

"Shizu-chan. I think it's time for you to have your test."

"Test?" Shizuo asked, raising his brow a bit, "What the hell do you mean?"

Izaya grinned and licked his lips a bit, "Before we start getting you all fit, we have to make sure you won't be tempted to cheat." He walked over this his jacket, and pulled out a box. He opened it, watching Shizuo carefully as he pulled out the heavy ceramic item. Shizuo froze and watched nervously as Izaya set the ash tray on the table.

"What the hell are you-oomph! Oi, get off me!"

Izaya had succeeded in plopping down into Shizuo's lap, grinning mischievously over his shoulder at the brute.

He leaned backwards, using his shoulders to push Shizuo onto his back. Stretching, Izaya laid across him, loving the way he could feel the power trapped beneath him. Despite his illness, Shizuo still harnessed a great strength that rippled with every muscle twitch and breathe. Izaya smiled as Shizuo flinched and physically tried to back away from the close contact.

He totally despises me.

Good.

Izaya reached into his back pocket, eyeing Shizuo carefully as he watched those honey eyes focus on the item in his hand. It was satisfying to see those narrow eyes widen with surprise and fear as he pulled out a new package of cigarettes and held it in front of Shizuo's face.

The look on Shizuo's face instantly made Izaya's heart flutter with joy. The look of pure shock, disgust, desire, and fear made everything worthwhile.

Shizuo simply stared at the pack in alarm. His throat closed up and his heart started racing. He was sure the flea could feel it hammering in his chest as he started to salivate. His skin tingled and a bead of sweat started to form on his forehead.

"Izaya…what are you…"

"This is your test, Shizu-chan," he mused as he ripped the plastic away and opened the box. The scent of fresh cigarettes made Shizuo groan and close his eyes. Izaya knew what was happening physically; endorphins were starting to release and making Shizuo want to smoke. Psychologically, he knew Shizuo was battling himself.

He continued to pull out a cigarette, tossing the package onto the table. He held the cigarette in between his fingers, touching the filter to his lips as he grinned, "Before we can get you back to your normal self, we need to make sure this won't be an issue anymore. Ikebukuro isn't a smoking free city. You need to be able to walk away from temptations such as this."

Shizuo audibly swallowed as his eyes trailed along the end of the cigarette, down to Izaya's lips, and back up to his carmine eyes. He nodded stiffly, understanding Izaya's motives, but wishing that he didn't have to deal with it.

"Shock therapy. Let's see if this works, neh?" Izaya stated firmly as he leaned over to place the cigarette in one of the grooves of the ash tray. He then settled back on Shizuo's chest, and watched.

Shizuo shivered a bit as he stared at the unlit cigarette. His breathing had quickened and his heart continued to skip a beat as the flashes of his past enveloped him.

He shook his head, trembling slightly as the memories broke up in his mind. He couldn't dwell on the thoughts.

Squeezing his golden eyes tight, he rested his head back on the pillow and took a deep breath. His hands clenched reflexively as the desire to grab the cigarette, lit or not, grew with every passing second.

After what felt like hours of waiting in silent agony, he felt a slight shift on him, as Izaya settled into a comfortable position. The flea had rested his head, chin digging into his chest as he watched him quietly suffer. He peeked a bit, watching as Izaya grew bored of the silence.

Instead, the informant had caught interest in something else. With uncertain fingers, Izaya unbuttoned Shizuo's shirt, watching as his skin rippled and trembled with every tight breath and shaking desire. Shizuo normally would have smacked Izaya away, but it took all of his control and thought to keep still.

Izaya tilted his head a bit, eyes narrowing as he focused on the muscles that quivered. He gently ran his fingertips along his chest and down his abs, feeling them jump at the soft touch. Shizuo made a soft grunt and shifted, obviously uncomfortable with the gentle touches.

"So interesting." Izaya murmured, resting his head on Shizuo's chest to hear his heartbeat, which had grown a bit quicker if it was at all possible. "When looking from this perspective, one could confuse you for a human." He frowned a bit, "You even respond like one."

Shizuo remained silent as Izaya closed his eyes, resting comfortably on him the informant continued to listen to his heartbeat and feel his body's responses. Feeling naked underneath Izaya, although only his shirt was open, he felt his stress levels going up. He wanted a smoke more than ever.

He refused to move at all, and only shifted when we thought that Izaya had fallen asleep on him. The informant was still, and his breathing was steady. Shizuo pulled out his arm from his side, letting it hover over the gap between the table and the couch. He reached slowly for the cigarette, commands telling him to grab it. To throw it away, despite his bodies urges to light it.

Izaya's hand reached out, grabbing his softly but firmly. He jolted a bit, glancing down to look at Izaya, who peered up at him through his inky bangs.

"Don't reach for it. If you touch it, you'll just fuel your cravings. It'll be harder to resist." Izaya closed his eyes again, still holding onto Shizuo's hand. He listened as Shizuo's heartbeat, which had grown steady, jumped back up after being caught. "Think of something else." After a few moments, it started to beat slower again. His skin stopped trembling underneath him, and he felt Shizuo let out a deep breath.

Shizuo closed his eyes and pulled his arm back, setting it on his chest near Izaya's face. Izaya glanced up toward Shizuo, tilting his head to get a better view. "Why did you dye your hair?"

"Hmm?"

"I know you were brunette, but why the sudden change?"

Shizuo blinked. "Um, well…it's kinda stupid I guess."

"You've always been stupid."

Shizuo glared at him and huffed, "Fine. I dyed it cause I wanted change. I dyed my hair around the same time I started smoking. Since I'm quitting that, might as well change my appearance to match. Kinda like a permanent reminder of what I'm trying to do."

Izaya was quiet for a moment, before chuckling, "You're too philosophical sometimes."

"And you aren't?"

The informant grinned, "Mmm, very true. Ten points to you."

Izaya grew silent, closing his eyes and shifting a bit to get comfortable. He didn't let go of Shizuo's hand, knowing that if he fell asleep, the motions of Shizuo moving his hand would wake him. Shizuo, who was growing comfortable with the warm weight of Izaya on him found himself growing tired after a long battle with his cravings. They were still there, but he found himself focusing on something else.

He watched as Izaya slowly stilled, and his breathing was steady. He remained like this for fifteen minutes, just watching Izaya as he fell asleep. That's when he saw it.

It was so subtle. So quick. If he wasn't watching at that moment, he would have missed it.

A small smile flashed across the raven's lips. Soothing and content, it reminded Shizuo of the reason why Izaya was here. He was here to prove a point. And he just found his evidence.

Even someone as cold, and cruel, and annoying as the flea could have a soft side. He could see Psyche in that smile. A genuine and comfortable smile that lasted only a moment, before another mask covered it. Even in his sleep, Izaya was hiding himself. Shizuo wondered if Izaya even realized this.

Shizuo smiled a bit to himself, and closed his eyes, wrapping an arm around the informant before he lulled into sleep; no longer finding it hard to ignore the promised warmth, security and calm the cigarette would give him. He had those qualities hidden deep within something else.