Can't Get Enough - 8. Arc 1, Chapter 8

Arc 1: Ch.8

Izaya’s heart beat quickened from the gentle touch the handsome beast gave him. His cheeks flushed a dark shade of red as he continued to hold onto his forearms. He wasn’t used to such soft gestures; maybe this was what he needed. He sighed against him as he wrapped his arms around him and massaged the back of his hair. He really wasn’t much for romance…but this, this was something else. The info broker kissed him back softly.

Shizuo’s eyes widened at the returned kiss, but he didn’t push the smaller man away from him. It wasn’t forced or rough, it was just a simple and innocent kiss. Then it dawned on him that Izaya was still bleeding. He pulled away from the kiss, quickly grabbing the flea’s arm, looking at the blood. He pulled him away from the scene, not caring if people saw them. “Come on, you need to clean up.” He led Izaya back to his apartment.

Izaya felt his face with one hand, and looked down at a few bleeding scratches on his arm. He didn’t even feel the pain when he scratched himself which made the wounds worse. He could feel the pain afterwards though. He let Shizuo lead him wherever, and guessed that they were headed towards his apartment.

The blonde pulled him inside the one bedroom apartment and ordered him to sit himself in the kitchen. He got the first aid kit from the hall closet and sat down next to Izaya. He opened up the small box, getting the few things to clean the wounds on Izaya’s arms. “Fuck, still being a pain in my ass, even after ten years.” He breathed deeply, “You said possession? I wouldn’t doubt it. After all, Shinra does live with a headless rider. I don’t think it would be strange if other strange things happened in this town.”

Izaya hissed quietly at the sting. Of course Shizuo knew how to use his first aid kit, he probably needed to buy a new one every week. Izaya looked at the other man. He appreciated that he was there when no one else was around. His own parents thought it was a disgrace that he was even alive. “Yeah, which is why I thought that Celty would be able to help, but Shinra said no.”

“Because I don’t think she can. I don’t think she can just scythe the spirit out of you.” After the basic cleaning, the blonde stood up and boiled water in the electric kettle, wanting to make some coffee for the two of them. He served them coffee, adding milk to his own. He took a sip and looked up when he was asked a question. “Why did I save you?” he repeated, quickly looking away with a blush on his face. “I don’t think that’s any of your business, flea.”

Izaya sipped on his coffee nonchalantly. “Shizu-chan is blushing! Even if you call me flea and louse, I can tell you don’t mean those anymore.” He bit his own lip.

“They’re nicknames,” the blonde muttered, “I ain’t changing them any time soon.” His eye twitched when Izaya started poking his cheek, as if he wanted something. “You want to know that fucking badly? Look, you’re a prick to nearly everyone, you know this. No one likes you,” he flat out stated. “Look, point is, no one is there for you when you need it. I think everyone should have someone there for them.” He drank more of his coffee, not sure what else to say. “As much as I hate to admit, we need each other.”

“Awe, Shizu-chan! We need each other sounds so cute,” he joked. Sentimental moments weren’t his forte. They may have come easily to Shizuo, but not Izaya. However, he couldn’t agree that no one liked him. “And what would you do without me, ne? Without your flea, louse, maggot, eee-ziiii-aaahhhh?” He laughed.

“Shut the fuck up!” Shizuo snapped, slamming his cup to the table, shattering it. “I was being nice and you go and fuck it up!” His hazel eyes watched as the leaner man drank his coffee, all carefree and shit. The blonde fidgeted with his hands, unsure what to do with the flea. He looked down into the raven’s liquid crimson eyes. “I’m not welcomed by many either. My brother is about the only one that cares for me; my parents don’t even want me as their own son. How fucked up is that?” he asked, not expecting an answer. “Ever wonder why I’ve put up with you?”

It was the first time that Shizuo revealed anything about his past to Izaya. Shizu-chan didn’t seem like the person to tell everyone his problems, only people that he trusted. And the best part was, he didn’t expect anything back. “You’ve never put up with me, Shizu-chan,” he reminded him, “but go on.”

“Please, I put up with you or I wouldn’t have dragged your ass here to help you,” he retorted. He averted his eyes when Izaya stared at him with those bright red eyes. What was with him? It was getting harder and harder for him to look at the info broker. “Forget it, you’ve pissed me off, I’m not telling you shit, now.” The hardest part for him was how he would even tell the flea his feelings. He saw Izaya making fun of him because of it, which discouraged him from ever doing so.

Izaya smiled warmly. “Putting up” with him was one thing and, “Saving his ass because no one else would,” was another. “Ah, but now that you’ve said that, you have information to hide.” He could take a few guesses, but wanted Shizuo to speak for himself. “You can’t keep anything from me.” Izaya was so caught up in the moment; he didn’t notice their faces were inches apart. He could feel Shizuo’s sweet breath on his face. “Can you?” His crimson orbs gazed into caramel ones.

Shizuo moved his head, not wanting to look at Izaya, but the damn info broker kept moving to keep eye contact with him. “Fuck! Don’t you know how not to piss me off?!” A part of him just wanted to smack him. “You expect me to tell you something I don’t want you to hear? My luck, you would hold it against me the rest of my life.” He raised a brow when Izaya grinned slyly up to him. He stood up without a word, going back to his bedroom and returned with a small box. He pulled out a white and pink envelope and slid it over to the other. “That look familiar to you?” he questioned. Izaya pulled a Valentine Day prank on all the boys in their class that year.

“Of course I remember that! Every boy went all crazy because they thought a secret admirer liked them. It was one of my best pranks ever. Wait, why do you still have that? You don’t think that I’m a girl, do you? Sorry, Shizuo, but I have XY chromosomes.” He was shocked that Shizuo still had the stupid piece of paper.

“I know you’re a fucking man! I’ve seen you naked enough to know the difference, I’m not that stupid!” he snapped at him, getting mad at the lame jokes he kept telling him. He took a deep breath, needing to stay calm. “Then you also know that everyone tore them up after learning it was a prank. No one figured out who it was, but after I was accused of being the one doing it and teased by Shinra, I figured it was you. But, I still kept it…I’m the only one that kept the stupid love letter.”

“Why did you keep it if you knew it was me?” Izaya knew far too well that Shizuo keeping something stupid had a significant value, like the bartender getup Kasuka bought for him. He wouldn’t wear the stupid outfit if he didn’t love Kasuka so much. “You like me?” Izaya blinked, “You liiiiiiiiike me.” Izaya smiled genuinely.

The blonde stiffened, “How did you come to that conclusion?!” he yelled in denial. He watched Izaya tilt his head. The gesture was kind of cute. “Kasuka always said, ‘Brother, you’re bad with words. That’s all the more reason to cherish every letter you send or receive.’ It might’ve been a prank, but in a way, it meant something to me.” He put the letter back in the box.

“It only meant something to you because your brother told you to keep it? He’s right, you know, you’re not smart with words at all.” He smirked, receiving a glare from Shizuo. “You keep random things, like your bartender outfit, and now I know why. But, if you kept every single letter since, your house would be filled! So that means my letter is special.”

“No, that’s the only letter that came from someone that wasn’t my brother’s.” He stared at him for a moment when Izaya asked if he would like him more if he were a girl. He thought about it before. He wished Izaya was a girl, or to find a girl that acted like him and wasn’t afraid of him. He ended up liking him because he was a part of the few who weren’t afraid of his freakish strength. “I thought that at first. I found it unfair that the only person who wasn’t afraid of me had to be male, but I got over it.”

“Unfair?” The info broker had to hold down his laughter. “You honestly expected that someone other than a man wouldn’t be afraid of you?” He imagined a girl dating him. That would be a disaster! She’d probably cry from fear every day, and end up in one of those shelters for women. “Anyways! I’ve never had the idea that anyone would like someone evil like me,” Izaya stated proudly.

He knew this was a mistake; the fucker was going to end up making fun of him anyway. At least Izaya was trying not to, guess it was a start. Of course it would be his luck to end up liking someone like Izaya. Who else would put up with that crazy bastard? “You’re not evil,” he told the other.

“I’m not evil? Come on now, even without being possessed, I am a heartless asshole. You even said it yourself.” He reminded Shizuo, as matter-of-fact.

“No, I said you’re an asshole, I never said you were heartless. And you’re not evil; I’ve dealt with people that are a lot worse than you.” He reached a hand out to flick the flea in the forehead. “I should take you on my debt collecting rounds one of these days, if you think you’re that evil.”

“Debt collectors! Hah! What happened to, ‘All the violence in the city has something to do with Izaya Orihara,’ or, ‘Don’t talk to him, he seems innocent, but he’ll make your life hell.’ Isn’t that what people say about me? And the worst part is, Shizuo, it’s true. I make people miserable and sometimes people even want to kill themselves because of me, because it’s fun. And if you tell me that debt collectors are worse than that, I’d be amazed.”

“I didn’t say debt collectors, I said the people on my round. You do know I collect debt for Tom, right?” He sighed, “Of course you do, why wouldn’t you? Would make you a shitty info broker if you didn’t.” The blonde patted Izaya’s dark hair, “Compared to the people I deal with every day, you look like a cute little kitten. Unlike them, you’re not out for my blood.”

Izaya pushed Shizuo’s his hand off of his head. “What about the knife throwing game that I play with you?”

“You’ve only ever hurt me once, that was in high school. Really think about it, we have never really touched each other; despite the fact we’re always trying to kill each other. Besides, your game doesn’t work all that well if I break the blade with my teeth.” His face just turned a shade of red, hearing the damn flea purring, and quickly turned to look the other way. “Why the hell couldn’t you just been born less annoying? How the fuck did I even get a crush on someone like you?!”

The informant was about to answer Shizuo with facts about personality traits, until he actually admitted that he liked him. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, at a loss for words. “Oh wow! Shizu-chan, it took you ten years to form that sentence. It isn’t even sentimental, either. ‘How the fuck did I even get a crush on someone like you,’ really isn’t a way to persuade another. But luckily, I’m Izaya Orihar-nya.” He reached out and pawed at Shizuo’s tie, “And you’re my monster.” He pulled the tie closer and kissed Shizuo chastely.