How was everyone's holiday? I hope everyone had a good time! I know I am! Our family is going to see Wicked today! I love that musical!~ And Twin is traveling with his family at the moment, so he's having a great time! Thank you for all the comments! They really keep me going! Hope you enjoy the next chapter~

Shut up, shut up, shut up…

For the past hour and a half, Shizuo has been repeating this mantra in his mind as Izaya continued to bitch and bicker about his sprained ankle. The blonde was stuck lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling as Izaya struggled to get around the apartment. All he wanted was to get some rest, but the flea made sure that didn't happen as he continued to bark out complaints.

"Shinra was an idiot to make me use these stupid things!" Izaya grumbled, waving around one of his crutches. "My ankle wasn't that hurt. I can walk!"

"Tch, as if." Shizuo huffed, rolling his eyes as he stiffly rolled over onto his side. He heard Izaya shuffle into his room. "You were screaming at him when he was touching it. Like you could walk on it."

Izaya glared hard at Shizuo, whacking the blonde with his crutch. He didn't hit the blonde hard, but enough to shut him up.

"Whatever." Izaya propped his crutches on the wall and let himself fall into the bed, desperate to rest his legs. "This is going to ruin my balance. I'm never going to be able to free-run again."

"It's only temporary. Just relax." Shizuo sighed, rolling over to face Izaya. The raven scowled, and instantly Shizuo knew what he was thinking. Easier said than done.

They laid in Shizuo's bed, quiet as both tried to ignore the pulses of pain. The silence was soothing. Nothing at all like the commotion earlier in the afternoon.

Shinra had come rushing in frazzled and edgy, expecting more damage than there actually was. The home was a bit beat up - a hole in the wall, a broken couch, a tipped over table. Things that could be easily fixed with a little gift from Izaya's bank account.

However, finding Izaya lying on top of Shizuo had been one that practically made Shinra feel like he was dreaming. Celty had followed behind him, her shadows flickering with surprise as the wounded men glanced over at the doctor and dullahan with dull expressions. As if their close contact was completely normal.

But soon after, Izaya pried himself out of Shizuo's grasp and got to his feet to hobble over to Shinra, yelling at him to fix them. However, he didn't get too far before he put too much pressure on his ankle and fell to the ground with a pitiful cry of pain.

Shinra asked Celty to lift Shizuo from the floor with her shadows and to lie him on the bed, while he picked up Izaya and lead him into the nearest unbroken piece of furniture.

Shizuo was easily "fixed", in Shinra's terms, when he was told simply to not move around too much. The blonde had escaped the scuffle with only a pulled back and a few strained muscles. Izaya, however, was told he had a sprained ankle and that he would be in an ankle brace for two weeks, but for the first week, he had to use crutches.

"I am not going to use crutches!"

Shinra sighed, motioning to Celty to make him crutches. The dullahan easily made the crutches and wrapped her shadows around Izaya's repositioned ankle as a makeshift brace. "You were lucky that the couch didn't shatter your ankle. Right now, most of the pain is from the bruising. Just give your foot time to heal be-"

"I have work to do! Things to accomplish! Places to be! I can't be limping around! Besides, I can walk if I have the brace." Izaya argued, refusing to let himself become "cripple".

"Flea…" Shizuo grunted, his voice still raspy, "…just listen to him. Sure he's a crackpot of a doctor-"

"Hey!"

"-But he's only telling you the same stuff I was told as a kid when I would break myself. If you just use the crutches for the first week or two, walking with the brace won't hurt as much."

Izaya frowned and sighed, grabbing the black crutch with his hand and lifted himself up, immediately using them to awkwardly leave the room, grumbling under his breath.

Shizuo felt the bed creak underneath him as Izaya got up and propped himself with the crutch. He glanced back at Shizuo, who was ordered to stay in bed for the rest of the day to take it easy.

"How could you deal with this?"

Shizuo raised a questioning brow, "What do you mean?"

Izaya sighed, "As a kid. You were always getting hurt. How could you deal with the pain and the annoying stuff like crutches or slings?"

It was…an odd question. One that Shizuo had never been asked before. "Ahh…" He paused, unsure how to answer. "I guess I just learned to ignore it."

"Tch…"

He watched as Izaya - who had already gotten use to the concept of crutches, but was wobbly on them - hobbled out of his room to try and squeeze his way through the hall. The living room was still a mess, and made it hard for Izaya to move around.

The raven stumbled to the kitchen, awkwardly getting himself a glass of water. His arms ached, his foot itched and throbbed in pain, and his throat was parched. He leaned against the table, standing on his good foot as he rested his arms. He was a runner. His legs and lungs were his strong parts. But his arms weren't used to carrying his weight.

"Arms ache?" Shizuo asked as he came around the corner, walking slowly so he wouldn't throw out his back.

Izaya frowned, "You're supposed to be in bed."

The blonde shrugged stiffly, "Eh, I'm already feeling better. Just answer tell me if your arms ache."

"Yes, they ache."

Shizuo walked over and grabbed the crutches, "You're using them wrong."

"Oh and like you wou-"

Izaya stopped himself. Of course Shizuo would know. He sighed and hobbled over. Shizuo shifted to let Izaya take hold of the crutches. The blonde stood behind Izaya, folding his hands over the raven's.

"You need to support yourself with your hands. Don't let the armpits rest on the padding."

"Isn't that what it's for?"

Shizuo shook his head, "I don't know why they are there. I just know how to use them. Now, move the crutches up to take a step." Izaya listened to Shizuo's orders, and the blonde smiled, "Now, let your body swing as you use your good foot…there, that's how you do it. Don't rest your weight on your armpits. Use your hands. Now keep doing that, but don't move the crutches too far away from you with each step! Just about a foot away. There, now you've got it!"

Soon, Izaya was correctly using the crutches and could easily make it through the apartment. Tight corners and halls still were tricky, but he could manage going through the main portion of the apartment with ease.

Shizuo watched leisurely as he leaned against the wall, smiling as Izaya finally got used to his new "legs", so to speak. Although it was obvious the informant wasn't fond of not being able to put pressure on his foot.

He laughed when Izaya accidentally hit the corner with the edge of his crutch and stumbled a bit. He earned a nasty glare from the raven and merely grinned.

"Hey, don't give me that face. You'll get used to it eventually. You'll even be able to do little tricks. I used to do a ton as a kid."

"Oh?~ I hardly think that you were one to be doing tricks." Izaya joked, moving back toward Shizuo who shook his head.

"I was definitely quick on the crutches."

Izaya hobbled over and handed Shizuo the crutches, hopping on his good foot as he lifted himself onto the counter. "Alright then. Prove it."

Shizuo burst into laughter - a sound so pure and filled with glee, Izaya would have never imagined it came from the brute. "You're too short! Your crutches aren't the right height."

"Improvise!~" Izaya cheered, pestering the blonde until he did so. He rolled his eyes and grabbed hold on the crutches, and lifted his left foot off the ground.

He hobbled a bit, getting used to the short length, before he used his arms to support his entire body. He balanced on the crutches, swinging his legs back and forth for a while before swinging his body to spin on one crutch until he faced the opposite direction. He then lifted one crutch and swiveled a bit, before alternating - spinning in a circle as he wobbled around. He finished with using the crutches to launch his legs over the table, landing heavily on his "good leg" before quickly going back to where Izaya was sitting.

The raven laughed and clapped, shaking his head. "Never in my life have I seen you so graceful. You make a lovely crippled ballerina."

Shizuo grinned and handed back Izaya's crutches, "I bet you'd be a better one."

A grin tugged on Izaya's lips. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to pull back the smile that was on his face. "Is that meant to mock me, Shizu-chan?"

Seeing Shizuo smiling back at him with that teasing glimmer in his eyes made him…happy.

"Maybe. But hey, anything to make the fact you're hurt better, right?" Shizuo winced a bit as he rubbed his back, "Which reminds me, I shouldn't be doing crutch tricks with a sore back."

Izaya nodded and hopped off the counter, using the crutches to propel him faster toward the bedroom. "Aye aye! Even monsters need to rest after a fight! Come faster, Shizu-chan! The bed awaits!"

Shizuo followed after Izaya slowly, his back still hurting, although he wasn't completely stiff anymore. A good nap would do him good. Izaya kicked open the door with one of his crutches, and hobbled inside. Shizuo walked in and climbed into bed, not bothering to pull the covers over him. He planned on getting up after a few hours.

"All comfy?~" Izaya sneered playfully. Shizuo snorted and nodded.

"Yeah, all fine here. What are you gonna do, hmm? Not like you can walk home."

Izaya shrugged, "I'll watch tv or something. Maybe eat whatever food you have around here." He waved his hand as he limped out of the room, shutting off the light behind him. "Don't worry about me~"

Shizuo sighed and closed his eyes, feeling his stresses melting away as he finally was able to rest. When he reopened his eyes, the sun had set, and Izaya had left a note saying he had gotten picked up and would be back in the morning.