The Fall of Izaya Orihara

Chapter 36: Izaya's Birthday Special

Izaya's POV

I never cared much for birthdays, just another meaningless day. A day to commemorate mortality. My birthday had seldom been celebrated, not even as a small child. I always had back luck on my birthday, having gotten myself stabbed and sent to the hospital last year, while Shinra was on vacation with Celty.
So I thought today was going to be the same, either normal or soiled with bad luck. Just another day. I was wrong. I had also managed to forget that today was my birthday, somehow.

When I woke up, it was to the smell of bacon and eggs, and my shoulder being gently shaken. I opened my eyes, blinking a few times before glancing around in confusion. Shizu-chan was standing next to the bed, smiling like a gleeful child. He held a plate on a wooden tray, along with a glass of apple juice. I shuffled into a sitting position, and he set up the tray, like a small table on the bed. "What's all this for?" I questioned, confused at the gesture. "Breakfast in bed!" The blond replied cheerfully, still smiling. I raised a brow at him, my confusion still evident. I shrugged, and began eating the food as Shizuo sat down at the end of the bed. The food was good, if a little burnt.

I looked up at him again, meeting his gaze, after I finished eating. He flashed another smile before tidying up, bringing the tray, plate, and glass back to the kitchen. I quickly got dressed before following behind my boyfriend. He was already dressed, and humming a happy song to himself as he cleaned the dishes. I eyed him suspiciously as I sat at my desk, turning on my computer. No new information requests or meetings, my schedule for today empty. I sighed, turning it off before heading to the couch, sitting down on it and pulling my knees to my chest.

Shizu-chan quickly finished the dishes, and sat down next to me on the couch, continuing to grin like an idiot.  He turned on a movie, and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I didn't much pay attention to the movie, my mind elsewhere as I tapped away on my phone. As soon as the movie was over, Shizuo shot up from the couch and went to the kitchen. Grabbing a...picnic basket? from the fridge. He then went to the door and slipped on his shoes, motioning for me to follow. "Where are we going...and why do you have that?" He flashed me another grin as we left the apartment, "It's a surprise~"
I decided not to press further as we left Shinjuku. It was early afternoon by now, the streets of Ikebukuro full of people chattering like birds. Shizuo led me to the park, as I avoided curious looks from civilians.

Once there, we went to a more secluded part of the park, a small hill with a single large tree. He laid out the checkerboard patterned quilt, sitting down on it before laying out the food inside. I sat across from him, confused. 
"A picnic date?" I pondered, and he gave a nod. "You've been working to hard, and I wanted to do something nice...I want this whole day to be special" Shizuo replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. I gave him a small smile, "Didn't take you for the romantic type, Shizu-chan." He shrugged, pouring me a glass of punch and handing me a plate. There was crackers, cheese, onigiri, watermelon, strawberries, and sandwiches. I grabbed myself some onigiri, as well as some of the fruit. I ate quietly, Shizuo doing the same.
"How do you usually celebrate your birthday, flea?" He asked after a bit. "I've never celebrated it, and the only gift I've ever gotten was a knife in my gut last year..." I hummed, taking another bite from my slice of watermelon. "How do you celebrate?" I asked, returning the question. "I usually just spend it with my friends and family. We get drinks, eat cake, and stuff like that."
"What bring you to this topic, if you don't mind me asking?" I asked, confused. Shizuo looked a bit surprised, before shaking his head, "No reason, just curious."

After we finished eating, we laid in the grass, bathing in the sunlight beaming down on us. I felt peaceful as the wind ruffled our hair and the grass, sending dandelion fluff flying through the air. "Do you want to go to the arcade with me?" Shizuo piped up, breaking the silence between us. I sat up, nodding. Shizu-chan rose to his feet, reaching a hand out to me. He helped me up, and I brushed myself off as he grabbed the basket. He put everything away quickly, mumbling something about having to take this back to his apartment before we head to the arcade.

The trip to Shizuo's apartment, and then to the arcade, was uneventful.
The arcade was fun, I managed to rake in a bunch of tickets, winning a giant teddy bear as my prize. That was, before Shizu-chan got so mad at a game he broke it, and we were promptly kicked out. Shizuo held the giant teddy bear, and we brought it back to his apartment before heading out again. "Russian Sushi for dinner!" He announced, as we walked in its direction. Shizu-chan was being strange today...he was way more awkward than usual, and he seemed to be hiding something.

When we got to the familiar restaurant, I was surprised to find all the lights off, the store looking unusually vacant. The sign even said it was closed, but Shizuo dragged me in anyways, the door unlocked. I looked around the dark restaurant in confusion, "Shizu-chan it's obviously closed, we should leave..." I mumbled, and I could faintly see him smile. Suddenly the lights were switched on, familiar voices all yelling together, "Happy Birthday Izaya!"
I gaped like a fish, not expecting this. Everyone was here, the van gang, Simon, Tom, my sisters, Celty, Shinra, Mikage, Namie, and even Mikado, Anri, and Masaomi, as well as many others who I knew. The restaurant was decorated with streamers and Simon even held a cake with my name on it. It was all so surreal, and I couldn't stop myself from smiling. A real, genuine smile.

We all ate dinner, cake, and overall had a normal birthday celebration. Of course, some people gave me gifts as well, all of them being knives as they didn't really know what else I liked. I was genuinely happy, tossing my mask away as I enjoyed myself. After the party, me and Shizu-chan headed to his apartment, exhausted after an amazing birthday. This would definitely be one to remember. 

Sorry for lack of updates, I've been busy and unmotivated oof