-๑-๑ ஜ ๑-Chapter 42: Discovery -๑ ஜ ๑-๑-
He was groggy- exhausted. Every single part of his body felt as though it had been packed inside thick foam. Quite like the perception at a doctor when anesthesia started to kick in and everything drowned in a sea of darkness.
It was equally unsettling as it was comfortable.
Only slowly Izaya felt his senses return. Hearing was first, with nothing loud to perceive. Then touch, soft fabric seemed to be covering his body. He was warm.
Like the remnants of a dying stream the memories before his loss of conscience trickled into his mind.
Officers dressed in black, pain, Shizuo- brows furrowing into a tight line, his eyelids fought the temptation of remaining closed.
He moved slightly, expecting a sting of pain to shoot through his body.
But nothing happened. No sign of discomfort, no stabs of anguish.
Eyes getting back some clearance, Izaya pushed himself into a sitting position. Something heavy hindered him.
An arm.
Shizuo.
Like a resting lion the blond's chest heaved up and down. His head rested on his arm in a rather uncomfortable position. It was quite obvious that he had not intended to fall asleep.
Strains of wet hair brushed past a very tense expression as the brute slept.
Izaya's heart fluttered and stung at the same time at the sight.
Why was he here?
Grasping his forehead he tried to make sense of the past events. But doing so was easier said than done. He was dizzy as hell, hot too.
A fever?
Heavy puffs of air filled his lungs as Izaya tried to get his body and mind back in control.
It was then that the sleeping lion stirred. Shizuo's head lifted- groggily, confused at first, just as Izaya was.
He, however, was way faster at grasping the situation it seemed, as his eyes focused on Izaya and his body sprung immediately into tension.
"Are you okay?" Worry and care in amounts Izaya hadn't expected reflected in Shizuo's eyes at the burst. A hand reached forward, cupping Izaya's cheek with utmost caution and care as the blond brushed past some bang's impering Izaya's vision.
Surprised by the genuine reaction and show of care, Izaya couldn't bring himself to back off.
"Kinda groggy. What happened?" he asked instead as dizziness only made it harder to deal with the unexpected situation and burst in his heart.
The question darkened Shizuo's expression considerably.
Worry reflected all too obvious and a bitter smile drew across his lips.
"Apparently you got yourself shot when the police found out you are an incubus."
Chills raced down Izaya's body. Like a geysir releasing a gush of water the memories flooded his mind.
A glance was cast towards his hip- he expected a mess of blood, he expected a wound far beyond repair, clothes sticking to clotted blood and worse-
Instead he found bandaid. Clean and white. He lacked his usual attire. His black shirt had been replaced by a much larger one presumably belonging to Shizu-chan. Pants were not to be found and sprinkles of dark blood stained the blond's sheets.
"It stopped bleeding a while ago." Shizuo informed, as Izaya ran a quick check on all his vital functions.
He was breathing. He could feel every part of his body- his waist didn't hurt, why didn't it hurt-
A bit overwhelmed, a hand found its way to his face, covering his mouth.
"Shit."
A tinge of nausea ran through his mind as various options raced through his mind.
"I saw on the news that they got you and…" the blond faded out.
And suddenly a set of different emotions added themselves to the cocktail in Izaya's head.
Anger. Frustration. Sadness.
Everything he felt upon arriving at his apartment.
"And you saved me? How nice of you." The words sounded bitter as bile. Not a shred of sympathy was to be spotted and Shizuo's expression grew hard.
"Couldn't just stay here after seeing that."
"... and why not?" Izaya chuckled, aware he wasn't being fair. He really wasn't.
As far as his mind was still dizzy and memories unclear he was still aware that Shizuo saved his life.
Again.
Just like back in the alley when they first met.
Je should be grateful- jump in joy of being alive.
And yet he felt nothing but a foreign pain stabbing his chest.
"What?" Shizuo asked, meanwhile, completely confused.
"It's not normal to run and save someone you hate, you know," Izaya ranted, not even sure of the words he said as he tugged at the bandaid covering his waist.
He needed to see the wound- not knowing how bad it was put an enormous pressure on his mind. It could be beyond saving- infected- irreparable. Maybe he was doomed to die anyway and that's why he didn't feel any pain.
Horror shot through Izaya's mind at the possibility.
The layers were undone. One after the other.
And suddenly it laid bare- the wound, or rather the spot where it was supposed to be.
Blood had clotted in a circular motion around the spot where the bullet had pierced Izaya's skin and the center- was unharmed.
Like a coffee cup staining a circular ring on a piece of paper the skin in the middle was unharmed.
The gun shot.
It healed.
Equally creeped out as he was glad Izaya couldn't tear his stare away from the sight.
An expression of similar surprise reflected on Shizuo's face as he connected the dots.
Shinra.
The hero with healing power.
"So that's why I'm always healing so fast." Shizuo mumbled aloud.
Izaya meanwhile was left in a slight limbo of confusion.
"What?" he asked, hoping that for once Shizuo could explain what was going on to him.
"Shinra rambled something about healing fast, I thought it was another way of trying to tell me how to treat you. But I was wrong."
Shinra-
Of course. Shizuo had no idea how to treat a gun wound, not to mention blood loss. Getting injured all the time he might have picked up a thing or two at Shinra's place, but definitely not enough to treat an injury like this on his own.
Glancing back down to his waist Izaya couldn't help but feel a bitter smile spread along his lips.
Right.
Shizuo's strength, his recovery speed- everything made sense.
"Wow, they were right after all, I am a monster," he mumbled softly, before throwing the sheets off his frame. "Just like you."
Pushing himself out of bed Izaya made his way over to the living room. Bewilderment settled in Shizuo's expression as he followed curtly.
"What are you doing?"
"You don't want the cops busting your place, do you?" Izaya merely commented, grasping his stained coat tossed on the ground in the living room. A bitter frown crossed his eyes and the words felt like hot iron in his mouth. "Thanks for saving me."
Flabbergasted Shizuo could do nothing but stare for a moment.
Izaya wasn't behaving like himself. He knew that. But with the wound, despite having healed already, having taken a toll on his body, and his conscience just really low, he wanted nothing but to disappear from the blond's sight.
His favorite coat was pulled onto his frame. It felt cold and stiff against his feverish skin.
"Hey, the wound might be gone, but you still don't look good-" Shizuo interfered, following as Izaya headed for the front door.
"Thanks for the compliment."
Leave me alone.
"Izaya-" Izaya had been about to open the door, his hand already laying atop the handle. It was Shizu-chan who tore it off, turning the raven around.
Facing the blond only made matters worse as Izaya found himself looking at those warm honey eyes. They reflected worry, care-
Why? What for?
Izaya's chest felt like it was about to burst.
It was suffocating
Not the wound.
But Shizuo's presence.
Choking on a lump in his throat, Izaya croaked. "Why?" He was trying really hard to keep his composure but the question just slipped from his mind.
Shizuo frowned, not getting what the flea was saying.
"What are you talking about?"
A bitter snort escaped Izaya's lips as his eyes narrowed.
"Shizu-chan, you hate me, we are enemies at best, enemies with a deal, a deal that you suggested, why don't you just-" ah crap. His voice cracked right there.
Why? Just why?
And suddenly there was a pair of lips.
Soft.
Tentative.
Gently pressing to his own.
Surprise washed over Izaya's expression and it seemed Shizuo wasn't any smarter regarding his actions as he backed off again, only to lean in for another kiss.
Determination of unknown origin decorated his face as he cupped Izaya's face in his hands.
A frustrated groan was what followed next as Shizuo let his head lean on Izaya's shoulder. Expression hidden and arm leaning on the door, the soft hold on Izaya's wrist gently tightened.
"Fuck you have no idea what you are doing to me, do you?"
Blankness ruled Izaya's mind as he tried to interpret the blond's words.
He was stupefied.
Flabbergasted.
Yet his heart beat out of his chest.
What-
Just what was that-
He wanted to say something but didn't know what. He wanted to move, but in what direction?
All he could think about was Shizu-chan leaning on his shoulder. The hair tickling his neck, the smell of tobacco drowsing Izaya in a pleasant warmth.
Sadly not only positive emotions overwhelmed the raven as he stood.
Moving so quickly from the bed had been a bad idea it seemed as a hard sense of vertigo overwhelmed the raven.
Grasping Shizuo's shirt he tried to hold his balance.
"Shizu-chan, I'm kinda-" his voice failed him as his mind grew numb.
Leaning back it only took a brief second for Shizuo to understand as Izaya's body grew noticeably slack.
Quickly reacting, in a motion so swift one could have thought he was carrying people around everyday, he scooped Izaya into his arms.
Head tilting back, Izaya tried to ignore the wave of vertigo the shift caused as he was carried to the couch.
Soft cushions embraced his body and Izaya moved his arm over his eyes to block the swirls of chaos for a moment.
"Better?" he heard Shizuo ask, and he certainly didn't need to see his face to know what kind of expression he was making. It swayed in every syllable he spoke.
Nodding softly he assured the blond.
He was okay as long as he was laying down. The vertigo was starting to fade. The heat to his body, not so much.
He was an idiot. Of course, just because his monstrous body had healed the shot wound at an inhuman speed didn't mean he was fine. It must have taken some sort of toll on him. Using his time stopping ability surely hadn't been helpful for it either.
He might not be injured, but walking away was no option yet, Shizuo was right.
It was only then that Izaya heard the sound of people talking.
Uncovering his eyes he glanced to the side.
The Tv in the living room was in fact on. It was quiet, the volume down to a barely audible setting.
He hadn't noticed it at all before.
The news were being shown, and despite not really catching any of the reporter's words, the topic was quite clear from the headliner.
The police were sending more forces to capture the incubus on the run.
"They are searching for me," Izaya mumbled, merely stating a fact, but Shizuo visibly tensed at the words.
It was obvious his entire attention had been on Izaya to the point he didn't even notice.
"Don't frown so much Shizu-chan I will convince them somehow." Izaya hummed softly, closing his eyes again as it was more pleasant to his throbbing mind.
"Convince?"
"That I'm not an incubus." Again a puzzled expression surfaced on the blond's face.
"But you are," Shizuo replied, dumbfounded.
It was a matter of fact. Izaya sighed.
"Yeah, you know that, I know that, and considering how you mentioned Shinra I'm guessing he concluded as much as well."
A soft tinge of guilt plagued the blond as his thoughts trailed to the doctor.
"He was the only one I could think of. You were bleeding so much, I thought-"
"You thought you could get rid of me?" Izaya interrupted. He meant it as a joke- the words just served to stop the blond from saying out loud how Izaya nearly died.
But Shizuo's expression wiped his mocking smile off his face.
It was full of emotion. Raw.
He seemed like he was about to say something and Izaya wasn't ready.
Urgency drove his lips as he continued. "How did you even find me?"
He had a hunch what it was. It might be a good thing, but who was to assure him of that?
The wonderful feeling of hope in his guts. He didn't want it destroyed by the truth.
His heart was beating fast.
"I heard you cursing."
Izaya blinked. The question he had asked had already gone by his mind.
"I cursed?" he repeated, before realizing the blond meant to say, that's how he found him so quickly. "I'm pretty sure I didn't say anything. And definitely not loud enough for you to hear from afar."
Looking at Izaya like a deer caught in headlights it took the blond a moment to take in the words and their meaning.
And suddenly his expression cleared in a moment of realization.
"So that's why-" he mumbled softly, breaking off halfway.
"... what?" Interest piqued Izaya asked. But Shizuo hesitated. His expression seemed unsure.
"Sometimes I can hear you."
Question marks spread across Izaya's expression as he tilted his head.
"Congratulations, most people can."
"No, I mean-" Hands gesturing, Shizuo tried to fish for the right words. "Sometimes I hear you double. Like, when you feel really good I-"
Eyes widening, Izaya quickly interrupted. "Wait, wait, wait-" he smiled, an abashed expression settling in his face as he connected the dots. "Are you trying to say you can hear what I … think?"
to be continued~
HOHOHO look at me thriving xD anothe update after a weeeeek- AND I ACTUALLY MANAGED TO UPDATE ALL OTHER STORIES TOO *0*0*0
Is this it?! Me finally updating... ON TIME?! xDD
Na jokes aside I hope I can pull this off weekly now xD So from now on you can look forward to Friday and if not all updates- then at least a few xD
With that being said I hope you liked this feelsy chapter and see you next Friday ;3