(no subject)

[zelda_hylia]

Who: Shizuo, Zelda, Zelos
Where: Ordo 3
When: March 3rd, not long after Zelda spoke with Izaya
Style: I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH
Status: Semi-closed, if people would have a reason to be there then that's cool I guess

Zelda had grown angry again on her way home from the park. Sure, she didn't think that Izaya was a monster, but she also didn't think that he was necessarily a good person. Not anymore, at least. Oh, she would accept him if Shizuo seemed happy and if he never did something like that to Sola again, but she didn't like it. The way everything had fallen into place for him was absolutely maddening and it took a great deal of her willpower to not attempt to throw it all into chaos.

He deserved it, but Shizuo didn't. She sighed heavily as she got close to her house, wondering if Zelos was up yet.

Comments

[zelda_hylia]

"Oh goddesses, please don't make him cry," Zelda moaned dramatically. It wasn't as if Zelos had ever cried for real in front of her, but he had certainly whined frequently enough. No, all the crying had been done by her so far. It didn't mean that she wouldn't tease him about it a bit.

"I don't know if I can take it!"

[a_violent_end]

It didn't occur to Shizuo that Zelos might be onto him. He knew that Zelos tended to be on the dramatic side at times, but didn't take the threat seriously. Who'd cry over something like that?

"Okay, okay. Next weekend, then." Though Shizuo wasn't sure he'd show. He honestly didn't know what to think or how to plan. Staying away from Zelda was important, if he wanted to protect her from anymore of Izaya's plans.

It seemed easiest to just agree.

[chosen_gigolo]

Zelos glanced at Shizuo sidelong, fairly certain the man was lying through his teeth. It wasn't about the cake; Zelos' feelings weren't so delicate as to actually be upset at something so petty, but if he can balance hunnies and friends, Shizuo could handle having a boyfriend and a friend.

Goodness knows he's not going to let someone abandon Zelda, especially not someone she obviously cared about.

"I'll hold you too it!♥"

[zelda_hylia]

It never occurred to Zelda that Shizuo would say something and not do it, so she just smiled in response and nodded.

"Don't go into the kitchen while he's cooking, though. He's fiercely territorial," she teased. And really, he sort of was. He got so into it, he'd practically pushed her out every time she needed the kitchen during his Valentine's preparations.

[a_violent_end]

Shizuo could believe that. "I wouldn't be much help, anyway." Sure, he could do enough cooking to survive, but he wasn't great at it. And he preferred to buy his sweets, rather than make them himself.

[chosen_gigolo]

"Nonsense, anyone can stir batter or crack eggs. Just gotta follow directions is all." The Chosen finishes up the dishes and returns for the leftover cake to take it into the kitchen. He cuts one more piece out and puts the rest in the fridge, wrapping the remaining piece in foil and handing it to Shizuo when he's done for him to eat at home later.

[zelda_hylia]

"It's not so easy as that to make it look good, though! And if you stir too much it becomes tough, but if you don't stir enough then it's runny."

Guess who's been reading cooking books but not actually cooking and getting herself worked up about it? Yup, it's Zelda.

[a_violent_end]

"Thanks," Shizuo said as he took the piece of cake. "And yeah - I can do that stuff, I'm just not great at it." Sure, following cooking directions was one thing - having the cake come out perfectly was another.

[chosen_gigolo]

Zelos nods to the taller man in acknowledgement of his thanks. "It just takes practice. You can follow the recipe and it'll come out great but the best chefs know what to do on instinct."

The Chosen plops back down at the table and sighs dreamily. "There's a guy from my world who can cook better with his feet than a five star chef."

[zelda_hylia]

"With... his feet." Zelda stares at Zelos. He can't be serious? He looks serious. He looks... dreamy. "That just does not seem sanitary," she finally settles on saying. Not that hands were clean either, but they could be scrubbed down and you don't have to WALK on your hands!

[a_violent_end]

"That's weird," Shizuo agreed. No matter how good the food might be, he wasn't sure he'd be keen on eating something made with someone's feet. "But I guess if it works for him..." There were worse cooking habits.

[chosen_gigolo]

"It's an expression, c'mon. Though he probably could cook with his feet, come to think of it." Maybe he did... the thought is definitely not horrible appealing, but Regal's cooking... he could suffer through the idea of him flipping pans with his toes if it meant that party on his tastebuds.

[zelda_hylia]

"I see. What a strange expression." Zelda has no idea why anyone would want to say something like that. Cooking blindfolded would get across the same feeling, surely? It's a little embarrassing that she took him literally if he didn't mean it.

[a_violent_end]

Oh. Shizuo supposed he should have known that it was an expression, but they were in Vatheon, not Ikebukuro. There were people stronger than him there. Anything was possible. He shugged.

[chosen_gigolo]

"Well, it's kind of just something we say about him more or less since he was running around in handcuffs..." Now there's a can of worms he's not really willing to open right now. Not to mention it made their journey sound like some crazy bondage adventure (though he's pretty sure Regal liked the handcuffs.)

"...It's a long story."

OK FOR REALS THIS TIME.

[zelda_hylia]

It did make it sound like a crazy bondage adventure. Zelda says absolutely nothing and just stares at Zelos, red. Why would a group of people keep someone in handcuffs and force him to cook?!

pfft

[a_violent_end]

When Zelda didn't respond, Shizuo felt as though he should. But he couldn't think of anything constructive to add, and he wasn't really curious about the kind of details that could result from a topic like that. So he settled on saying, "Oh."

[chosen_gigolo]

Eesh, tough crowd! Zelos gets up again, stretching exaggeratedly. Time for a well placed subject change! "Anything you'd like to actually do for your birthday, Zelda-hunny? We can totally make it happen."

[zelda_hylia]

"No, this is quite enough. I appreciate the offer, though! I will probably just finish the book I was reading on human anatomy and physiology and go to bed." She looks thrilled with the idea. Muraki had asked her to help in the clinic occasionally. Her type of healing didn't require medical knowledge, but she hated to feel ignorant anyway.

[a_violent_end]

"I guess I'll get going, then. Let me just grab my things." He left his piece of cake on the table and headed to what was his room for a brief period of time. All he really had to take was his clothes and a couple of miscellaneous things. Luckily he had kept the bag he had carried them in originally, and it was easy to repack.

[zelda_hylia]

By the time Shizuo had finished packing, Zelos had wandered off again. Zelda was ready to see him off with his portion of the cake. She looked a little wistful, but not overtly upset.

"All ready?"

[a_violent_end]

"Yeah," Shizuo replied, feeling uncomfortable. He planned on this being goodbye for a while. He couldn't say that, because he didn't want to hurt Zelda, and that made it even more difficult. He set down his bag and regarded Zelda for a moment. Then, even though it was definitely awkward and embarrassing, he hugged her - briefly.

"Happy birthday," he said as he let her go.

[zelda_hylia]

She kept her arms at her sides as he hugged her, just then realizing that she knew what was going on. The air around Shizuo was one that Zelda was very familiar with; the stoic stance of someone saying goodbye for someone else's sake. Because they would be better off that way.

Is this how Link had felt when she sent him away? Totally paralyzed and unable to protest, but desperate to stop what was happening? She would never know now. She certainly didn't have the right to ask Shizuo to stop, it would be beyond hypocritical of her. She didn't say another word, not trusting her voice.

She just smiled.

[a_violent_end]

Shizuo wanted to say a lot of things. He wanted to tell Zelda to take care of herself and to stay away from anyone who could hurt her. He wanted to let her know that even though he wasn't going to be around her, that she could always ask for help, especially if she needed him to beat someone up. He even wanted to promise that he'd be able to spend time with her again some day - but that was selfish and he wasn't sure if he could keep that promise.

Relationships came with sacrifices, and this was a big one. But Shizuo had made a choice.

He couldn't say the word goodbye, though. He returned Zelda's smile, and managed to do a decent job of it, because he tried hard. Then he gathered his bag and the cake, and settled on saying, "See ya."

[zelda_hylia]

"See you later, Shizuo." She raised her hand in a wave, then opened the door from him. She was upset, but resigned to it. She probably deserved to fully understand how it felt from this end.