The Fall of Izaya Orihara

Chapter 33

Izaya's POV

I watched as Shizuo's face shifted from surprise, to sadness, to guilt, as I explained my nightmare to him. He shifted slightly on the couch, pulling me close. His shoulders drooped as a deep sigh emerged from his lungs, the air ruffling my hair. His face remained the same, his usual scowl, however I saw through it. Hazel eyes shone with guilt, darting away from mine, not making eye contact. I didn't expect this reaction, and nudged him slightly with my elbow. He looked down at me for a moment, and I raised a brow. He simply sighed again in response, looking away again. His voice was barely audible, however I could feel the words reverberating in his chest as he spoke, "I'm sorry...it's just...ugh." His hand moved to run through his hair, "A few months ago I very well could have done that. And I thought those things of you..."
That's not unexpected, however it did nothing to lift the heavy weight from my chest.
Shizuo took notice of the dejected look on my face, pulling me to sit on his lap, my head leaning against his chest.
"Izaya....I'm sorry. Back then I didn't know the real you yet..." I gave a small nod to his words, biting my lip.
"I'm sorry you have nightmares like that..." he mumbled again, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. "If you need to get out and think, that's fine by me. But if you ever wanna talk about your feelings or anything, I'm always here to listen..."
He rested his chin on my head, and this time I was the one to sigh.
"I know...thank you, Shizu-chan..." I managed to whisper, feeling choked up, "I love you..."
I could nearly feel him smile at that, nuzzling my hair. "I love you too, Flea."
I felt so emotional around him, and a part of me hated it, disgusted at my own humanity. The other part of me felt so free, happy I could finally be open about my feelings to someone. After bottling up my emotions for most of my life, I didn't really know how to hold them back or control them without holding them completely. The smallest thing would have me bawling my eyes, or smiling like a gleeful idiot.

Me and Shizuo sat like that for a while in silence, simply enjoying each others presence. That was, until a certain protozoan's stomach growled loudly enough to shake me from my thoughts. Shizu-chan and me looked at each other in slight surprise before laughing loudly and getting up to make food. I made the bacon and eggs while Shizuo tried his best at making pancakes.
In the end, the food was nearly perfect, except for the pile of burnt pancakes in the trash from Shizuo's failed first attempts.

We ate in a comfortable silence, and once we were done, Shizuo did the dishes. I helped him put away, and found him eyeing a small bottle hidden on one of the higher shelves. I knew what it was, however I didn't expect Namie to have hidden it in such an open place. Before I could stop him, he pulled it from it's hiding place and eyed it carefully. The bottle had one label, 'Yagiri Pharmaceuticals' in bold letters, giving no information on the contents.
"What's this?" The blonde asked with a curious look, and I shrugged. "I know what it is, but not what it contains..." I admitted, and Shizuo shot me another questioning look. "It's Namie's." He nodded, still looking confused. "What is it then?"
"Poison, not sure what kind." I shrugged, and watched as Shizuo nearly dropped the bottle in surprise.
"Poison?! Why the hell did she put poison in your cabinet?" He questioned, tossing the offending bottle into the trashcan.
"Because she tries to poison me? She hates me after all. She's managed it a few times, but I recovered obviously. Never eat the food that woman makes. Only reason she sticks around is because I have something of importance to her, and I pay her." I explained, not understanding his surprise.
I swore I saw a vein pop in his forehead, and he took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. "That's all sorts of fucked up..." he growled, shaking with bottled rage. I shrugged again and finished putting away the dishes, not wanting them broken. Shizuo went out for a smoke to calm himself.

I made my way over to the couch, flopping down on it with an exhausted sigh, my lack of sleep catching up to me. The couch was uncomfortable at best, but I paid it no mind. Shizuo returned after a moment, sitting next to me, smelling of smoke. I instinctively cuddled against his form, a yawn escaping me. He chuckled at the sight, patting me on the head before lifting me up and bringing me back to bed. He held me close as we laid there, and it wasn't long before sleep took me in it's warm embrace once more.