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Shizuo shifted from foot to foot, crumpling the pamphlet in his hands. His eyes focused on the informant standing in front of him.
How had Erika talked him into asking Izaya out on a date? He didn't do stuff like this. He didn't dress up or buy flowers or go on romantic dates! No! He was a simple man who hated violence and loved his brother. So why was it that the universe had decided to torture him? Why couldn't he live the quiet life he always dreamed of?
Sure, at times he was destructive because his anger got the better of him and most of his relationships fizzled out after he slept together.
It didn't take long for Shizuo to realize that most of the women he went out with weren't in it for a long term relationship.
They simply wanted to get "fucked" by a "big, strong man" for the experience or to make their exes jealous. After awhile you start to lose interest in "finding love" all together.
If you haven't already guessed Shizuo didn't have much experience asking people out because he was usually on the receiving end of the question.
So you could say he was out of practice. On top of that he never asked out a man before and now he was asking out his most hated enemy.
Shizuo contemplated what series of events had brought him to this point in his life. Well it all started about a week ago when Kadota called him for a favour.
Kadota explained that his parents were coming to stay with him at the same time as an anime convention Erika and Walker wanted to attend in Shinjuku.
Kadota needed someone strong to watch over them to ensure their safety. Shizuo argued with Kadota for a bit stating that Erika and Walker were capable of looking after themselves.
Then Kadota explained some very worrisome incidents that had occurred the previous year at another anime convention.
What kind of a demented person pulls a gun on a young girl for disagreeing with a stupid fan theory? What kind of demented person kidnaps a guy for looking like an anime character? He supposed it wasn't surprising since Erika and Walker did have a reputation for being a bit odd.
Then Shizuo had a thought. The two incidents reeked of a parasite, the flea really couldn't allow anyone to be happy! He knew for a fact, even though he had no proof, that Izaya was behind this fuckery and that just pissed Shizuo off!
Shizuo had an easier time agreeing after that, he was going to find that parasite and beat him up if he tried anything. Also the fact that Kadota was going to compensate him didn't hurt. He was in need for a little extra cash.
So here he stood in front of a dumbfounded Izaya. He had never seen that expression before from anyone. He saw the usual scared expressions that made him feel like a monster and the wanting expressions that made him feel like an object.
Never did he think that he would see a wide eyed mouth dangling open expression. Izaya had even dropped his knife and what looked like bags of anime merchandise when Shizuo blurted "Go out with me!"
It was all Erika's fault that he was a stuttering mess and making an utter fool of himself.
See, Shizuo had spotted Izaya and was about to go "kill" him when Erika stepped in and explained how if they just stopped fighting they would realize how they were soulmates.
Of course Shizuo yelled at her that she was "crazy"! Then Erika got in his face and firmly told him to "Prove it".
So they made a deal. Shizuo had to ask Izaya out on a date, and she made sure to specify that Shizuo had to say the word, "Izaya, will you go out on a date with me" or something along those lines.
If Izaya declined or tried to kill Shizuo then they weren't soulmates and Erika would not only forever drop the topic, but also double what Kadota was paying Shizuo.
However, if Izaya agreed then Erika would get to watch them make-out for as long as she wanted. Shizuo found this incredibly creepy, and the thought of kissing that parasite made him want to skin himself, but the appeal of double the money was quite alluring.
So Shizuo agreed because there was no way Izaya would ever go out on a date with him. He couldn't lose.
Shizuo then proceeded to walk up to the informant and say hello, which only escalated to a fight that came to a standstill when Shizuo blurted, "Go out with me!"
That occurred 5 minutes ago and Shizuo was officially screwed, and stuttering because Izaya hadn't said a word for 5 minutes.
“You see,” Shizuo continued, “I know we don't get along, but you see I was talking to Erika and well she convinced me that maybe, if you're up for it, we should stop fighting all the time and I don't know I was-kind of-wondering- If you'd want to maybe—if I’m not reading the situation wrong—become… friendlier? Like, you know.”
He swore that as soon as Izaya rejected this that he was gonna kill Erika and Walker. Never had he been so embarrassed in his life. It didn't help that everyone was staring at them either. It was pissing him off. He turned to look at the people around him giving them the most ferocious, intimidating death glare he could muster. The crowds dissipated and Shizuo brought his attention to Izaya, “Izaya?” he asked.
"Friendlier?" He questions, tilting his head to the side, looking at Shizuo as if he'd grown a second head. Maybe Shizuo had finally broken the informant. Shizuo could admit to himself that this was insane. His face felt hot, his heart was rapidly beating, he swore he was about to explode. He was probably as red as a tomato!
“Yeah...” Shizuo tried gesturing what he meant through odd hand acrobatics, that somehow Izaya was supposed to decode, “You know. Y-you and m-m-e an-an-d, we-”
“Hang out?”, the flea mumbled softly as if he was trying to buy himself time to sort out his thoughts.
Shizuo nodded, falling silent, focusing on drilling a hole in the floor with his eyes. He wondered if Izaya noticed his body slightly trembling. Whether Izaya rejected him or not the entire experience had been exhausting and humiliating. All Shizuo wanted to do was crawl under a rock and die.
“Are you being serious?”, the words came out slowly as if they were cautiously taking a step toward Shizuo, as if the words were smirking, “What are you playing at Shizuo-chan?
It pissed Shizuo off, that condescending, arrogant motherfucker. He was gonna beat the shit out of him. Shizuo’s head sprung up, he grabbed Izaya by the collar and raised his fist ready to punch the smaller man in the face when he saw it. The hopeful, fearful, seriousness in Izaya’s eyes, "Shi-Shizu-chan?”
“Sorry, I’m not very good at this”, he admitted, his grip loosening, hands falling to his sides.
“Y-yeah, ”, the informant coughed, clearing his throat, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath “It-it’s okay. Uhm, I’m up for it”
"Even after...Uh"
"It's okay, Shizu-chan"
Izaya seemed bashful and if Shizuo was being honest with himself he would admit that Izaya looked kinda cute.
He watched the smaller man pick up his stuff off the ground, “Well, I was going to attend the My Hero Academia panel. It should start in 10 to 15 minutes. Shinra said he would go with me, but he got busy so..uh if you want...you can have his entry pass...and we can go together”
“Oh, uh, sure. Ok”
Izaya gave Shizuo the pass, “so uh, I was just gonna check out a couple more booths before going there...and after I was planning on going to this ramen place I like...do you want to come along...maybe?”
“Yeah, alright!” replied Shizuo. This interaction was way too awkward for this liking. As Shizuo followed after Izaya it dawned upon him that he had lost the bet because Izaya had agreed to go on a date with him. Scratch that, Shizuo was on a date with Izaya. He supposed he should make the best of it.
"I didn't know you liked anime Shizu-chan", stated the informant walking towards a Black Butler booth
"Oh, I don't. Kadota asked me to babysit Erika and Walker"
Izaya stopped, turned and faced him, "So where are they?"
"By that Dragon Ball booth over there" he pointed
Izaya turned towards the booth to see the two, Erika waving her hands above herself with an enormous grin on her face, and what looked like an evil twinkle in her eyes.
"Oh, I guess we better go get them?" Asked the informant.
Shizuo raised an eyebrow. Why would Izaya want those two to come along on their date?
"Why would we get them?"
"So you can watch them, Shizu-chan", he stated matter of factly
"But usually only -"
Izaya didn't wait to hear the rest of what Shizuo had to say as he walked towards two members of the van gang.
"Two people go on the date" he finished lamely to no one. Shizuo made his way over to them.
"-I can get you guys late passes if we hurry!"
"Oh thank you for the invite Izaya, but Walker and I are actually leaving!"
"We have to get here early for the Naruto panel", finished Walker
"Ah, okay"
Shizuo noted how Izaya almost seemed disappointed as his lips curved into a twisted smile, but it held no bitterness. Instead it looked as if Izaya was trying to hide behind it, and the more Shizuo thought about it the more he realized Izaya’s notorious smirk, which he assumed to be arrogance, was actually pain. Maybe he had been too harsh on Izaya when they first met.
"Night Izaya! Shizuo", Erika said as she grabbed Walker's hand and dragged him off.
"I guess that takes care of them", stated Shizuo, trying to lift the mood, but the words tumbled out his mouth awkwardly.
"Yeah, c'mon we’re gonna be late". The words sounded indifferent, but Shizuo could hear the pain as if Izaya was on the edge of tears.
"Okay"
They silently made their way to the auditorium where they showed their passes and took their seats. Shizuo never knew Izaya to be silent. He was always talking, to the point where he just couldn’t or wouldn’t shut up. It pissed Shizuo off, but this, this he couldn't take! The brooding silence was too much for Shizuo to take. He had to do something, but he had no comforting words. He wasn’t a comforting person, and the weight of the ongoing silence was starting to stress him out. Was he sweating? Did Erika and Walker not joining them bother Izaya that much? What did normal people do in situations like this? Did he ask Izaya if he was okay?
"I'm fine Shizu-chan."
"Oh-I"
"It's not a big deal", Izaya shrugged
"It kind of seems like it bothers you"
"Well it doesn't so drop it!", snapped Izaya, "Sorry I-"
“It’s okay” said Shizuo, placing his hand on top of Izaya’s hand and squeezing. He’d seen Celty do this when Shinra was freaking out during one of their hot-pot parties. Shizuo just felt so empathetic towards Izaya at this moment. He couldn’t remember a single time when he saw Izaya genuinely happy and smiling. In school he hung out with Shinra, and Izaya was respectful towards Kadota, but it felt disingenuous. Did Izaya even have friends?
Before Shizuo could ask the uncomfortable question, which most likely resulted in disaster, the panel started, but Shizuo felt Izaya squeeze back and if they held hands throughout the panel then no one had to know.
The panel lasted an hour, and it was actually pretty good. Shizuo thought he was going to be bored, but he found himself immersed in the discussions, the trailer for the new season to come, and even connecting with the character All Might. He was strong and fought for justice even though he seemed to be injured. Shizuo could get behind that.
They walked out, no longer holding hands having let go when they stood up. Shizuo had decided to help Izaya carry his bangs.
Izaya seemed to be genuinely smiling and laughing while waving his hands around expressing his thoughts and theories. Why did Shizuo feel nervous all of a sudden? His heart was beating a mile a minute like he was about a heart attack.
“...I have all the manga if you want to come over sometime... Uhm", offered Izaya, but then stopped as if he had overstepped, "I mean...uhm..uh nevermind. Sorry"
"Yeah...sure", Shizuo smiled. Izaya was really cute when he wasn't terrorizing people. He was funny, and smart and...pretty.
Changing the subject Izaya stated, “So I don't know about you, but I could eat!”, but he seemed really happy with Shizuo’s answer and Shizuo wanted to keep him like that.
"I could eat", Shizuo honestly didn't think he'd get this far. He was so sure he would have killed Izaya by now or Izaya would’ve killed him.
"And you're still good with ramen?"
"Yeah", Smiled Shizuo, shrugging, and with that the two men began making their way to the small ramen shop. Izaya told him about his plans for tomorrow and asked if Shizuo wanted to come with him. Izaya was going to a few more panels, as well as check out a few more booths. Apparently, Izaya was trying to find some good christmas presents. Shizuo didn’t know Izaya even celebrated.
“Isn’t it a little early for that? It’s only November 1st”
“I guess, but I always get really busy in early December all the way into the new year and it doesn’t really die down until March”
“What do you mean?”
“It may sound disheartening, but in the last few years, around the holidays I receive a lot of information requests around cheating partners.So those requests, plus the usual gang and yakuza requests keep me really busy. So I do my shopping in November."
"Oh, do you usually do your shopping at anime conventions?"
"Ha, no. It's rare to see an anime convention in November, but since it was happening I decided why not, you know?They have really nice stuff and it’s not all anime related. Some booths are from small vendors trying to get their businesses off the ground. I usually offer them my services, free of charge of course."
“Offer them your services?”
“Yeah, I get them in touch with the right investors who can help them get their businesses off the ground. Like this guy, named Mike, 3 years ago selling ramen. Got him in touch with this great investor who owed me a favour and now we’re gonna eat at Mike’s shop.”
Shizuo’s eyes widened, “That’s insane! If people knew you did that-”
“They wouldn’t think I’m an evil tyrant trying to make their lives a living hell”
“Sorry”
“It’s fine, I do crazy shit like that. I can take responsibility for my actions, but I don’t do it to fuck with people. I’m just trying to understand...I guess” he paused, shook his head, “but I don’t do it for people to think I’m a good person Shizu-chan. Anyways we’re here”
Shizuo turned to see a restaurant sign shining a fluorescent green light that said, “Gum Gum Ramen”. Izaya grabbed the door and held it open for him. They walked into the restaurant where Izaya was immediately greeted by a short, brunette with the biggest tits Shizuo ever saw on such a small woman. She was wearing a while shirt, black skirt and some very high heels.
“Izzy! Long time, no see”, she greeted as she jumped into his arms. Izaya dropped his bags to catch her in time and safely place her back on the ground.
“Hey, Aimi, I would’ve come by more often, but it’s been busy”, he explained with such a beautiful smile, it made Shizuo jealous. He only wanted Izaya to smile like that with him. He shook his possessive thoughts wondering where the hell that had come from.
“No worries, you know I tease!” she giggled, “Mike will love seeing you”
Then she turned her attention to Shizuo and asked, “Who’s your date Izzy?” The smirk on her as her eyes wandered over his body made Shizuo slightly blush.
Then Izaya spoke words that caused a wave of disappointment to flow through his entire body.
“Oh, Shizu-chan isn’t my date, Aimi. Just a friend”
“Oh so this is the famous Shizu-chan, well nice to meeting you-”
But Shizuo couldn’t hear her, all he could do was focus on the fact that Izaya had said that they were just friends? Why did Izaya lie? Unless Izaya really did think they were going out as just friends? He should’ve been happy that he didn’t lose the bet, so why was he feeling so much pain from those words? He was so lost he didn’t see Izaya place a hand over Aimi to silence her, or the blush on his face. He was so deep in thought he didn’t hear Izaya calling his name until the man waved his hand in his face.
“Earth to Shizu-chan, you coming?”, he was laughing
“Yeah, sorry”
Aimi showed them to a circular booth, while placing a menu in front of them both.
“I’ll get Mike to take your orders”, she winked, “But I’ll get you some water to start, sound good boys?”
“Sounds great Aimi. Thank you!”, thanked Izaya and Shizuo nodded in agreement.
Shizuo decided he liked this place, from the decor to the service and the food prices were decent.
"Do you come here often?", Shizuo asked
"Not as much as I’d like. No one makes ramen like Mike"
"Don't let Simon hear you say that", Shizuo joked, trying to distract himself from the empty feeling that had taken refuge in his chest.
"Oh please, Simon already knows." Shizuo raised an eyebrow willing Izaya to continue, which he did, but he looked more apprehensive now, "When I'm having a really bad day, like getting stabbed bad, I usually come here to get ramen"
"You have bad days?", Shizuo asked, the words sounded like he was surprised by the notion of Izaya feeling bad, and before this day he wouldn’t have believed it, but he was really starting to see a different side to the informant and he just didn’t know how to feel anymore. When had everything gotten so confusing?
"Contrary to what you might think Shizu-chan, yes I have bad days, anyways we should order. I think you'd really like the MAZE MAZE MAZEMEN"
"Really? Why?”
“Because it’s my favorite"
Shizuo laughed, “Okay, then I’ll get it”, feeling lighter until Mike came by to take their order and
Shizuo had to watch him put his arms around Izaya forcing him to swallow his anger. He hated the way Mike Izaya’s face in his hands, kissing his cheeks, making his flea giggle and smile. Shizuo shook his head when Mike greeted him, shaking his hand and then the man took their orders way too enthusiastically for Shizuo’s liking, but he wouldn’t ruin this for Izaya. He looked happy and Shizuo wanted to keep him like that. He’d just have to go punch a vending machine after this outing was over.
Mike left and they began chatting again while they waited for their food to arrive. Shizuo learned that Izaya actually wore glasses, but usually settled for contacts because he hated the way his glasses looked.
Shizuo tried to disagree, telling him that he probably looked fine. Shizuo bet Izaya looked adorable if not hot with his glasses, but he kept that last comment to himself.
"Subject change please Shizu-chan!", He laughed nervously, so shy Shizuo wanted to grab him and just kiss him.
"So how's your family?", he asked instead
"The twins are good! They're excelling at school and at the dojo! I'm very proud actually. I'm sure eventually they'll be able to kill me"
Well that was rather self-deprecating and Shizuo didn’t like it. Did Izaya really think his sisters would try to kill him? Then again he wanted to kill Izaya until he actually talked to him, but his sisters should know their brother? Right?
He didn’t want to pry so instead he asked, "What about your parents?"
"I don't know", Izaya replied, looking towards the waiter serving his food, thanking him.
Shizuo did the same Shizuo as he asked, "How do you not know?"
"I don't talk to my parents much. I think Mairu and Kururi talk to them more than I do."
"How come?"
"Well my parents weren't around when I was growing up. My grandmother took care of me until I was about 4 years old, then she died. After that, the help took care of me." Izaya pauses, looking like he is deep in thought "Well kind-of, they usually gave me my school work for the day then went off to play without me."
"Play without you?Weren’t you like 5"
"I had above average intelligence, and yeah they never let me play. They used to play these games behind locked doors and never let me join in even when I finished all my school work."
Shizuo didn't know what to say, he was dumbfounded, was Izaya seriously expecting him to believe he didn't know that the butler and the housekeeper had been fucking? For someone with above average intelligence he sounded really dumb. Shizuo didn’t know if he should laugh or feel pity towards the flea.
He had to figure this out, so as casually as he could muster he asked "What was the game called? Maybe we can play sometime?".
Izaya took a bite of noodles then answered, "Not sure, but when I listened through the door I could hear a lot of moaning and movement. Also a lot of screaming, something along the lines of "oh God" or "Jesus", but I don't really know. It may have been some type of wrestling game. I never got to play so I wouldn’t know how to play Shizu-chan.”
"I know how to play. I can teach you if you want.", taking a bite of his ramen to hide the smirk that desperately wanted to settle on his lips.
"Really!?"asked Izaya in disbelief, biting his lip with wide hopeful eyes that made Shizuo almost feel bad for the words coming out of his mouth because Izaya just looked and sounded so innocent. On the other hand, he was starting to wonder if Izaya was a virgin and it shouldn’t, but it was really turning him on. He didn’t even know “Virgin flea’s” were something that could turn him on.
“Yeah, anytime you want”
They continued chatting and eating, all the while Shizuo wondering if the reason Izaya was so messed up was because he didn't have very many healthy relationships. Did Izaya have any friends that hadn’t used him or just found him interesting like he was some sort of experiment?
It seemed like even Shinra was only interested in being Izaya’s friend in school because he wanted to show Celty that he was capable of having friends. So it was no wonder Izaya turned to illegal activity. It was a cry for attention that worked in all the wrong ways. What a lonely existence.
Shizuo could hear the guilt in Izaya’s voice as he told Shizuo about how Shinra got stabbed and he could hear the pain of being in juvenile detention. How his parents hadn’t even showed up for the trial. How he had taken full responsibility for something that wasn’t his fault. It’s not like he forced his Nakura motherfucker to stab Shinra. That was Nakura’s stupid choice, Izaya just blamed himself for it, and when he got revenge on Nakura it was because he thought that was the right thing to do. Still, Shizuo could hear the guilt in Izaya’s voice and the sadness.
Maybe all Izaya needed was someone to care about him and be there when he needed them to be. No one had even bothered to visit him when he was in juvenile detention. He was so young, he must’ve been so scared and felt so alone. What kind of parents choose work over their child’s cry for help! No family, no friends, no lovers...lovers?
Did Izaya even date? Shizuo couldn’t recall ever seeing or hearing about Izaya date.Back in highschool rumors about the flea's sexuality spread like wildfire, but nothing was ever confirmed.
Did Izaya ever have his first kiss? Why did he all of a sudden want to be Izaya's first kiss? He had to figure this out without scaring Izaya.
So as casually as he could, he asked "So what was your first kiss like?"
Izaya looked taken back, "Excuse me?"
Shizuo shrugged, repeating the question “What was your first kiss like”
Izaya looked down at his twiddling thumbs, "If you must know Shizu-chan. I've never kissed anyone before."
"How come?"
"I don't know" he mumbled under his breath, then softly Shizuo heard him mumble, "What about you?"
"Bad", laughed Shizuo, "I was 16, got drunk at a party and this girl kind of just stuck her tongue down my throat."
Izaya giggled, "That's hilarious"
"Yeah, it kind of is”, he agreed. Would it be too forward of him to ask Izaya if he wanted to have his first kiss? Shizuo supposed there was only one way to find out.
“Do you want to?"
"Want to what?"
"Have your first kiss?"
"I guess, it's not a big deal if I don't, but yeah eventually. I'm sure it would be nice. Maybe", he said, finishing off his ramen and whipping his mouth with a napkin.
“That was good.”
"Yeah” agreed Shizuo, playing with a single mushroom at the bottom of his empty bowl, “What if ...I kissed you?"
Izaya was confused. It was no surprise to anyone he didn't have many friends, if any. Did friends kiss each other? Was this normal? He always thought friends played games and went out to restaurants. He understood that friends were supposed to show up to your birthday party and be there for you when you were having a bad day. He never had that, but he wanted that. He always thought only people in romantic relationships kissed. Maybe he was wrong.
Besides, Shizuo was actually pretty nice when he wasn't throwing vending machines at him so why not kiss him? Who else was gonna do it? This might be his only chance.
"Uh.. okay….sure", he said slowly, watching Shizuo move closer, reaching out to cup his cheek. He was so close their lips were almost touching.
"Close your eyes", whispered Shizuo grinning. Izaya did as instructed and closed his eyes. He was nervous, breathing heavily and then he felt it. Shizuo leaning forward and gently pressing their lips together.
Izaya didn't know where to place his hands so he settled for gripping onto Shizuo's shirt. It felt weird to kiss Shizuo, but in a good way. It felt really good not being in control. It felt amazing having Shizuo’s body so close to his, he never wanted it to end, but it seemed just as it had begun it ended. It took Izaya a minute to regain his composure.
"Hmm", he finally breathed out, lost in a dizzy haze, eyes still closed.
"That good?", Shizuo asked and Izaya could hear the smirk on his lips. He knew Shizuo was looking down at him, could probably see him blushing as red as a tomato.
"S-shut up Shizu-chan", he pouted, finally opening his eyes to see Shizuo laughing as he pressed their foreheads together. Then he was leaning in for a second kiss. Izaya didn’t think about it as he tilted his head slightly, hands moving from Shizuo's chest to wrap around his neck, lips connecting and feeling, what could only be described as, butterflies. He could feel Shizuo's tongue lick his lips and he instantly parted them, his own tongue flicking out to meet Shizuo's.
Surprisingly, there was no awkwardness to the situation. It felt natural to be this connected. It felt right to deepen the kiss every so often and be taken over by all the breathy noises filling the space between them when then broke for air every few seconds. Izaya had never felt this way. His body was reacting on his own like he needed Shizuo to live.
They finally broke apart when Aimi interrupted them with a cough. Izaya was so embarrassed. He could see the all knowing smirk on her lips, and the condescending I-told-you-so in her eyes, “Your bills boys. 15% discount for special guests.”
How was he going to convince her that the kiss meant nothing, that it was just a kiss between friends. Something that came about because Shizuo pitied Izaya for never having his first kiss. He was never going to live this down, and it didn’t help that Shizuo decided to be a gentleman and pay for both their meals. He was giving Aimi the wrong idea, which meant Mike would get the wrong idea because Aimi would tell him as soon as they left, which meant Izaya was going to be relentlessly teased.
He’d have to text Mike and Aimi later to explain because there was no way he could have an awkward conversation right now. He might die. Maybe that was Shizuo’s plan all along. Vending machines didn’t work, why not try embarrassing him to death.
They left the restaurant, saying their goodbyes, making their way to the train station.
"Shit", Shizuo swore
"What's wrong?"
"I missed the last train to Ikebukuro"
"Oh, well you can sleep at my place if you want"
"You sure?"
"Yeah, it's only a 15 minute walk from here"
"Thanks"
The walk to Izaya's apartment was fairly quiet. Izaya was thinking about the day's events. He hadn't been this happy since his grandfather took him to the carnival when he was 4. Shizuo asking to go out with him had felt so good. No one had ever wanted to go out! Earlier he had called Shizuo his friend, but were they actually friends? Had he overstepped? If he had overstepped maybe Shizuo didn't mind. He did kiss him after all. He really wanted to ask the blonde if they were, but no sentence he formed in his head didn't come off as desperate or insecure. Izaya was just happy someone wanted to do stuff with him! What if he fucked that up somehow?
"I'm on the 12th", stated Izaya as they entered the elevator.
Shizuo pressed the button then leaned back against the railing of the elevator facing Izaya.
"I had fun" Shizuo started trying to fill the silence. Not that it was bad or anything, he just wanted to hear Izaya speak.
“Me to” Izaya responded, shrugging, "Did you want to..uh...uhm"
“I can help you shop for early Christmas gifts”, he smirked.
"Go-good." he stuttered stepping out of the elevator. Shizuo following behind him, "Sh-should we exchange numbers?"
"Yeah, here", said the older man, “type in your number.”
Izaya took the phone and as they walked down the hall to Izaya's apartment. Izaya typed in the number then gave Shizuo his phone back. Shizuo saved the number under the contact name "Izzy"
"Why am I not surprised", he shook his head.
"What?! It sounds cute"
They enter the apartment. It's big, and spacious and Shizuo feels an emptiness he doesn't like because it doesn't say someone lives here, it says someone is temporarily occupying this space, that it's transferrable.
There are no pictures of friends or family, only a desk, some books, a couch and TV. He watches Izaya place his bags by the door, take off his shoes and move towards the kitchen. He does the same and follows.
"Do you want anything to drink Shizu-chan?"
"What do you have?"
"I have tea, coffee, beer, some vodka soda and some other alcoholic drinks that I can't name off the top of my head"
"Do you drink a lot?"
"No, it's mainly for my clients.", He's laughing, "I'm not an alcoholic Shizu-chan"
Yeah, but you have the makings of one he thinks to himself. Instead he asks, "can I get a beer"
Izaya grabs him a beer out or the fridge and he gets himself a vodka soda. They go to sit on the couch, Izaya turns on the TV to some random channel where some kind of talent competition is taking place.
They watch in silence for a while when he hears Izaya ask nervously, "Shizu-chan, are we...are we friends now"
It sounds like Izaya is holding his breath. Shizuo turns his attention to the smaller man sitting cross-legged on the couch. He doesn't want to be friends though he wants more, but friends is a step up from enemies so maybe eventually.
He opts for nodding, and saying, "Yeah, of course"
Izaya gives him a small smile, "okay"
They turn back to the show, maybe they’re not a couple, but Izaya looks happy and that’s enough for Shizuo. He’ll try to be a good friend to Izaya, and maybe Izaya won’t feel so shitty and maybe he’ll stop terrorizing people so much.
Maybe after they go out a couple more times Izaya will catch on and realize Shizuo wants to date him, but for now he’ll settle for falling asleep on the couch with the informant snuggled into his side.
For now Shizuo is just happy, not only did he win the bet because Izaya assumed they were out as friends, but he made a pretty, funny, sweet friend.
Maybe he’ll buy Izaya something nice for Christmas with the money he won.