Chapter 37: Together…?

Embarrassment was a human emotion for all Izaya knew. A demon feeling it was new to him and only caused this whale conversation to prove even more amusement.

"It's a holy spell. Made to guard from attacks," Shizuo groaned quietly and Izaya snorted.

"Attacks?" Not quite the way he could have worded their intercourse, but he guessed in demonic terms it held a similarity.

Groaning deeply, Shizuo met Izaya's eyes with amusing fervor.

"Usually priests cast them on themselves when being preyed on by demons."

Ah. So it was something like a shielding spell.

Izaya understood completely, but that was no reason to stop teasing this demon, was that?

"Prey, huh?" he repeated, deliberately choosing the latter part of his explanation and grinned. "Gonna eat me whole or stir me up first?" Izaya whispered and his fingertip brushed the golden marking on his stomach, only to trail upwards to the depths Shizuo had reached previously.

His insinuation was clear and Shizuo's gaze even more amusing by the way it battled an onslaught of lust and embarrassment at once.

"You are so goddamn crazy," he groaned, but Izaya merely shrugged.

"I'm serious," he hummed, and smiled in a way that was meant to be understood in just the right ways. "I didn't expect it to be this large, you might have rearranged my insides."

Alluring. Sexy. Seductive. Hot.

Adjectives Shizuo rarely used to describe anything suddenly swarmed his mind as he met Izaya's gaze.

His words were causing sensations they should wield no power of and suddenly Shizuo found himself extremely horny again.

Fuck-

Was he crazy?

Why did that idea turn him on?

He was sick in the head or something-

He wanted to mess Izaya up.

He wanted to protect him from any harm.

How could both thoughts live in his head?

Groaning loudly Shizuo rubbed his temple in a weak attempt to chase away the newly sparked surge of adrenaline. "You are confusing the hell out of me," he spoke, but despite meaning to convey simple words, Izaya felt the way Shizuo was restraining himself.

"How so?" he whispered, and Shizuo moved. Pulled Izaya closer.

"I want to protect you," he whispered, his nose almost touching Izaya's at the way he lacked distance.

"I know," Izaya breathed and for a second he stilled as the demon's eyes narrowed.

"But I want to mess you up so bad."

Alright, so why exactly was this a huge turn on?

Feeling his own chest return with the heat from before Izaya smiled. "Not like I mind."

A groan was all that followed however, and before Izaya knew it he found himself pulled into Shizuo's chest.

But the action was too rough and a bit too fast to serve a decent seduction.

"You should," Shizuo announced and the wings he had accidentally unfolded earlier were drawn back. The horns that had glown in the darkest of purple were starting to fade their colors and with a soft smile on his lips Izaya looked up to meet Shizuo's gaze.

"Worried about me?" It was clear that this was no introduction for round two, but rather a means of aftercare. Careful eyes traced Izaya's expression before the demon nodded.

"Very."

And somehow Izaya felt his chest flutter at that declaration. He didn't even know why.

Was it the way Shizuo held him? Not during sex but right now? As if he were the most precious object in the world? He didn't know. All he knew was the craving he felt to remain in this state for as long as possible. Forever if possible.

And his lips moved before he could think about it-

"Why do you care?"

It was a stupid question, really. What did he even expect? He was asking a demon.

"I don't know," Shizuo whispered, and Izaya couldn't quite help but feel the slight bite of disappointment. "I can't even tell where this is coming from. It's you-" Shizuo continued without waiting for Izaya's reply, and suddenly they were there.

Shizuo's hands, cupping Izaya's face and a gaze too honest to cast aside as merely confused. "I just look at you and it's there." Shizuo was struggling. He was trying to describe something he hadn't felt before.

And Izaya could tell.

He could tell by the way his voice changed and his own heart fluttered for a brief moment and the demon groaned. "I just know I don't want you gone. I don't want to lose sight of you for even a moment. I want you smiling and happy and free of pain and listen to your stories until the day I die."

Izaya swallowed hard.

Had this been some random human, telling him these things he would have doubted every syllable spoken. Hell, he would have doubted a demon too if he had. But this demon right here? Shizuo?

Looking at him he could spot no trace of a lie, no trace of insecurity swaying in his words. He meant what he said in every way possible and Izaya felt his breath choke for a second at the sensation it brought.

"You make it sound like you love me."

Bold.

Too bold.

"Love?" Shizuo repeated, and as feared, the demon had no concept of what the word meant. And yet- why was Izaya longing to make the demon understand?

Why did he suddenly feel more vulnerable than he did seconds ago with Shizuo at his throat and inside his body? "It means you feel connected to my life. To my thoughts, to my words," he whispered, and his face lifted to meet Shizuo's gaze in the leap of faith he extended towards the demon. "And you typically want your partner to feel the same."

That's it. He was basically telling the demon he loved him. That he loved Shizuo. For no reason. No logical sense.

But Shizuo blinked and Izaya's heart sank.

"Do you feel the same way?" Shizuo asked and Izaya showed a bitter smile.

What a cruel question to ask the person that just offered their feelings on a silver plate. But he was a demon. For better or worse, so blissfully unaware of many things and so Izaya took a deep breath.

"I think I do. Though I really don't know why."

And Shizuo's chest felt like it's about to burst. Right then. Right there. Those words- they stirred emotions he had only started to feel recently and it was as though someone had finally opened a window in a very dark room.

The hold he had on Izaya tightened just the slightest bit as he pulled him into his chest.

"Ah crap. I think I'm injured," he groaned, and Izaya blinked in mild confusion.

"What?" Too unbelievable was Shizuo's reaction. Too pleasant and convenient to accept it as the truth.

"My chest feels all tight all of a sudden." Shizuo whispered, and his gaze only confirmed what his lips had said as he met Izaya's.

He was speaking the truth.

This was no misunderstanding.

Whatever it was that was on Izaya's mind that forced him to feel this connected to Shizuo, it was the same for him.

And suddenly Izaya just felt his own chest burst with waves of heat. Laughter bubbled from his chest before he even knew he was chuckling and suddenly he cupped Shizuo's face on a whim.

"Let's make it feel even tighter then," he whispered, and leant in for a kiss.

Soft. Emotional. Carrying more weight than any before had ever held.

It caused Shizuo to think he was the happiest demon alive right now.

With Izaya in his lap- and his words- his actions-

The gentle kiss was broken not before a full minute had passed and the demon smiled as his forehead met Izaya's in a gentle touch.

All of a sudden it just felt like they were Shizuo and Izaya, but more as if they were a combination of themselves. Only complete when together.

A soft breeze brushed across the landscape and the sound of leaves dancing on the ground reminded Shizuo of who they were and where they were.

Hell.

He was a demon.

Izaya was a human.

No matter how he looked at it, none of this was normal.

"... where is this coming from?" Shizuo whispered, and his hold on Izaya tightened as though he was afraid the answer would make him disappear like a spirit that was only to be seen as long as it wasn't addressed.

Izaya seemed to share the superstition somewhat as his own hold on the demon tightened.

"I have a hunch," he started quietly. "It might be wrong, but, seeing how you feel the same way as I do I think I might not be too far off."

Cold and warmth was something both perceived equally and so the cool breeze picking up shortly felt like a harbinger to both.

"Have we met before?" Shizuo asked into the silence and Izaya noted with impression how sharp Shizuo was. He had reached the same conclusion as him and since Izaya couldn't remember shit about anyone he knew-

"Probably." Izaya agreed, but the second he did he felt as though the vaguity of his answer was fabricated. "No, definitely, considering the sensations we both feel," he announced and the grasp on Shizuo's shoulders tightened. "I feel like I have known you for ages. Now even more than before." And considering the way he conveniently forgot only the people he met, it was highly likely that someone kept this memory from him on purpose.

"Maybe I was a demon at some point and died. Maybe you were human at some point and met me in my past life," he spun further, but Shizuo quickly negated the assumption with a quick shake of his head.

"I have been alive for a millenia."

Right. But had he?

"Yeah, that's the part that doesn't make sense. Are you sure you did?"

Shizuo blinked at that, almost unsure, but-

"I was told so from multiple sources, along with a friend," he explained, but that was far from enough to convince Izaya.

"Still, do you know how death works? And reincarnation? Does it really have a set time frame?" Izaya insisted and Shizuo frowned with doubt.

"And I just happened to run into you, the second you arrived in hell?" Closing his eyes for a second he seemed to contemplate the idea, but he sighed.

"That's too much of a coincidence."

Exactly.

Izaya had a feeling the goddess was somehow involved with that one. and that idea only sent chills down his spine.

Because if she was able to send Shizuo her way without ever getting in touch with him, then who was to say she wasn't planning all of this?

Who was to say she wasn't waiting for the perfect moment, one of happiness and height to strike?

Her intentions had been quite clear, she wanted to make Izaya suffer.

And suffering had a lot of different approaches than to simply be killed.

Now that he had found Shizuo- there was more than simple torture or death that could be used against him.

His body stiffened from the sole imagination and Shizuo noticed.

"Are you alright?" His gentle arms circled his body, as if to protect him from anything around and Izaya smiled bitterly.

"Yeah. I just came up with a terrifying theory."

"I guess you won't share it?"

"Not if I can help it."

They were talking about the goddess here. No matter how strong Shizuo was, he was just a demon. One among many living in hell. There was no way he could rival the one creating this place even if he wanted to.

"Why did you try to run away?" Izaya asked instead, shifting the topic into a more productive direction. "If you felt the same then-"

But Shizuo only groaned at that.

"It's exactly because I felt that way. It makes no sense. Where is this coming from? I don't even know you-" And suddenly he paused. Immediate regret from no source along with a sense of wrongness clouded his mind at the words spoken.

"Feels like a lie to say that doesn't it?" Izaya smiled, and Shizuo couldn't help but notice that he was right.

Saying he didn't know Izaya-

"Like swallowing fur," he agreed and Izaya smiled at the vivid picture.

There were so many questions left unanswered and yet somehow he felt content just with that simple reply.

"So what do we do? Just accept that we seem to belong together? That we are bound by fate or some shit?" Shizuo asked. "Maybe it's a curse or a spell we aren't aware of-"

What Shizuo spoke of was obviously meant to be bad, but Izaya could see no issue in his assumption.

"Would that be so bad?" he asked instead and Shizuo groaned.

His head rested against Izaya's shoulder and for a second he seemed lost.

"How can you accept this so easily?" he whispered and his voice carried worry for what it would mean to continue like this.

But honestly?

Out of everything that had happened inside hell, this was by far the most pleasant experience.

"I have just experienced too many surprises in the last few days. Finding out I'm apparently destined to be with a demon is among the more pleasurable ones," Izaya snorted.

Bafflement was all that Shizuo showed for a second of confusion.

"You sure you are alright with that?"

Alright, huh?

Funny how Shizuo talked like he was just complying with his silly desires.

Leaning forward Izaya let his lips brush Shizuo's for a brief moment as his gaze lifted to meet the demon's.

"Every fiber of my body says yes, so who am I to disagree?" he whispered and Shizuo's eyes softened. Closing the distance he brought their lips together into a short, but passionate kiss.

Izaya's arms locked around his neck at some point and Shizuo's rested on his hips as he kept him close.

It was when their foreheads met in a brief moment of intimacy that he sighed.

"What you say makes sense, but-"

"Is that why you tried to ditch me?" Izaya whispered quicker than Shizuo was to voice his doubt and the demon stiffened.

"You were exerting quite the effort to stay completely out of sight," Izaya added and seemed to hit the bull's eye as the hold on his body tightened.

"I'm weak," Shizuo whispered, "Weak to my own urges. To my own power. Forget losing control, this sensation of being drawn to you out of nowhere scared the hell out of me."

Ah.

He was afraid he would fuck him against his consent.

Kill him during it too probably.

It was a gruesome idea that would make him want to stay away too.

"Guess it's a good thing I didn't resist then," Izaya hummed as a joke, but Shizuo only flinched at that.

"Don't say shit like that," he groaned, and Izaya's own eyes softened as he realized he had overstepped a line.

"It was just a joke."

Soothing silence wrapped the two of them in a blanket of peace and before long Izaya spotted movement in the corner of his eyes.

The anilas that had accompanied them before had apparently caught up to them.

Slow motions and curious eyes glanced at the two of them and Izaya chuckled.

"Seems like we had spectators."

Tensing shortly, Shizuo seemed to expect another assault executed by a demon, but upon spotting the fluffy creatures he smiled.

The creatures were harmless unlike most of hell's inhabitants and for a second his eyes narrowed.

Insecurity of what was to come claimed him before he knew it and he sighed deeply.

"What now?" Shizuo whispered and his eyes trailed to the path Crysteria's carrier had taken. They weren't far off. An hour's worth of walking maybe.

But the idea of what the arrival would bring- "Are you sure you still need your favor from the demon lord?"

Favor, huh?

It wasn't like Izaya expected anything great from the ruler of hell. It was a gamble to even go there with no guarantee for results.

And yet… no matter what happened just now there were too many questions left unanswered.

Especially if the goddess was really just waiting for a chance to strike.

Because now it wasn't only him she could hurt and so he confirmed his earlier request.

"Desperately. Now even more than before."

to be continued~

We are nearing a grand milestone hahaha C: Next chapter will be … C: xD

See you in the new year with a plot twist xD

And also- Sorrrryyy - x'D I keep underestimating how stressy Christmas season is with everyone visiting and stuff so yeah- long story short, this is the only update I have ready for today x'D

I promise this is no harbinger of the new year hahahaha

But hey at least I god damn finally added the last chapter of my forgotten story, "Let it snow" x'DD