vatheon | they've got a little bit of catching up to do

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they've got a little bit of catching up to do

Who: Shinra Kishitani and Shizuo Heiwajima
Where: Shizuo's apartment
When: 3/09 evening-ish?
Style: I'll follow you!
Status: Closed

Today felt like a good day to pay Shizuo a visit.

Now that he was away from the comfort of his old apartment in Ikebukuro, Shinra was giving a go of breaking his old habits and exploring the town a bit more - even if that just meant lounging on someone else's couch instead of his own. He'd certainly met his fair share of new faces, but there really was nothing quite like talking to a friend from the not-so-good old Raijin days, who still remembered the ups and downs of Ikebukuro. Preferably one who wasn't Izaya.

Shinra opted for the short elevator ride up to Shizuo's floor, absent-mindedly tapping his fingers against the pockets of his lab coat as the doors slid open. He stepped out and bounded across the hallway with large steps, feeling particularly chipper as he rapped a fist against a sturdy-looking door.

"Hey Shizuo, it's me, Shinra!"

It had really been too long since he'd spoken with the blonde; after their first meeting got cut a bit short by a dramatic reunion with Celty, the commotion of Vatheon had sucked up far too much of the doctor's time. Plus, if what he had heard on the street was any indication, the blonde had plenty to tell him about.

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Shizuo hadn't been expecting company, and as such, Shinra was lucky he was home to answer that knock. He had been spending a lot of time anywhere other than his apartment in the past few days. He was home, though, and he answered the door.

"Hey," he greeted Shinra. "What are you doing here?" Despite the somewhat impolite greeting, it was actually kind of nice to have some company at his apartment, now that he was back to living alone. He stepped aside so Shinra could enter.

"What, a guy isn't allowed to stop and check in on his friend?"

Shinra returned the lackluster greeting with a grin and a wave, slipping past Shizuo into his apartment. The place looked roughly the same as it had when he'd last been there, though his memory had curiously decided to hone in on Celty's features more than anything else he'd seen that day. He made himself comfortable in the nearest chair and leaned his head against his hand, turning to smirk at Shizuo.

"It's been a while since I've seen you," he noted with a sigh, "Dare I ask how many buildings you've torn down?"

Shizuo walks over to the kitchen counter, where his cigarettes are. He pulls one out and lights it before heading over to sit in the living room with Shinra.

"Not many. At least not lately." When he first showed up at Vatheon he had caused plenty of destruction. But since he and Izaya had stopped fighting he no longer caused mass damage. Just a little bit of a destruction here and there, in the form of uprooted park benches and lampposts.

"How's Celty?" He hadn't seen her in a while.

Shinra's eyes linger on the cigarette between Shizuo's fingers for only a brief second before he turns his attention back to Shizuo. He'd learned a long time ago that lectures on lung health only hurt his own well-being. With a body like Shizuo's, he'd hardly be surprised if those cigarettes had no effect on him at all, anyway.

"Celty's been great as ever!" It doesn't take him long at all to pick up the subject of his beloved dullahan. "She's been out and about a lot, so I haven't seen her as much as I'd have liked, but we've got some big plans ahead of us." Only his slight hesitation betrays his disquiet at Celty's busy life even in Vatheon. The fact that they were together at all was a gift in itself - that was what he tried to tell himself, at least.

"I guess the next course of action would be to ask you about your special someone, eh?" He waggles his eyebrows suggestively.

Deciding not to comment on his smoking habit was a good choice. Shizuo wasn't in the mood for that kind of conversation. He already quit one thing this week, and he wasn't looking to add to the list.

"Yeah, I got that she's pretty busy." Though Shizuo's personal opinion was that Celty wanted to distract herself from Vatheon. When they talked about the city, she had seemed unnerved by it. "It's good that you're here now." Honestly, Shizuo didn't really get their relationship, but from what he had gathered through observing their reunion, Celty seemed happy with him. And she deserved to be happy.

Then he paused, cigarette hanging loosely from his lips, eyes narrowing. "My special someone?" Shizuo hadn't been expecting that question. Had Izaya told him? That was...strange. Not bad, just unexpected. He wasn't sure, though. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah...I'm hoping she gets some more time to kick back and relax in the coming weeks." Shinra's voice flattens out as he finds himself dwelling on Celty's recent behavior. He did pick up something that seemed like unrest from her, but she didn't seem ready to talk about it yet. Over twenty years and she still felt like she had to keep things bottled up like that...she really was amazing, in every sense of the word.

The coy grin on Shinra's face grows wider with Shizuo's confusion. Had Izaya really kept it a secret that he'd told him about their relationship? A vague phrase to the tune of "the first person I've told" vaguely echoes in his memory. Shizuo was bound to find out sooner or later; worst case scenario, the furniture around him might cushion a blow.

Or it might impale him. Only time would tell.

"Playing dumb, I see. Or maybe you've been struck dumb by the ferocity of your love?"

"I hope so too."

Shizuo really didn't like that grin on Shinra's face. It seemed to suggest something. "That's stupid," he replied to the exaggerated expression. "And I'm not playing anything." He had just been caught off guard. Izaya telling people about them hadn't occurred to him.

But it was actually a really nice thought - that Izaya would share something like that with people. It made their relationship feel more official.

Assuming that was where Shinra managed to get the idea.

"Did he tell you?"

"There's nothing stupid about the art of romance - trust, me I'd know."

A certain exasperated dullahan could state a long argument against the fact, but the sentiment held. As much entertainment as Shinra was gleaning from Shizuo and Izaya's relationship, he was glad they were finally able to get over their ridiculous differences. Maybe some time spent together — and, he noted with a wily chuckle, they must certainly be getting plenty of that now — would help them both in the long run.

He rapped his fingers against his cheek, relishing in a dramatic pause as he gauged Shizuo's reaction. Giving him too hard a time might end with a few broken bones on his end, and he certainly didn't have as much of an incentive to harass him as he did Izaya. Still, he wasn't one to turn down a little bit of fun at his friend's expense.

"'He'? Could you possibly be referring to your longtime enemy turned tender lover?"

There was nothing stupid about love, but there were a lot of things stupid about the way Shinra went on and on about it. Shizuo just wasn't the kind of guy who appreciated long, overdramatic statements that served no other purpose than to ramble. That and...well, he hadn't really discussed his relationship with anyone other than Zelda, and even then it hadn't been such an open conversation.

"He did, didn't he?" Shizuo didn't sound too upset about it though. He kind of liked that Izaya would be willing to share that fact - especially considering that Izaya wasn't the type of person to share many details of his life. Shizuo took another drag from his cigarette, then said, "Okay. Yes." But did not elaborate any more than that.

"Well, aren't you being quiet about all this? And to think Izaya was so eager to dish out the utmost details on your manhood with relatively little provocation. He had nothing but praise for you, if you were curious."

Maintaining an entertained smirk, he chose not to mention that Izaya was mostly joking when that particular topic of conversation sprang up. He wasn't entirely surprised with Shizuo's taciturn response, of course. Shizuo was more of a listener when it came to discussing heartfelt emotions with the doctor, and a reluctant one at that. Shinra was sure he was happy about recent developments, and didn't really need or expect an outright statement of the fact.

"I do owe you both a well-earned congratulations, of course. You'll have to double-date with Celty and I sometime!"

He chuckled as he considered the idea. A date with a dullahan and his two best friends...what a marvelously strange life he led.

Shizuo narrowed his eyes as he flicked some ash from his cigarette. Izaya wasn't exactly the type who dished out details - and what the hell did he mean by manhood? It was irritating. Maybe even a little embarrassing. Whatever he meant by it probably led him into deserving getting hit with something. "Shinra, shut up....or I'll throw this chair at you." He took that moment to stand and walk over to an ash tray, where he put out his cigarette.

"Talk to Izaya if you want to do that stuff." He wondered if Celty knew about him and Izaya, too. He figured Shinra told her.

"Message understood!" Shinra pulled his best innocent smile as he spread out in his seat, taking the gamble that he'd remain in one piece if he didn't push it any further. Shizuo was too good a friend to really throw a chair at him...he hoped.

"Well, you sure sound thrilled at the prospect." He chuckled lightly as he folded his arms behind his head. With Celty as busy as she'd been, he hadn't gotten the opportunity to tell even her yet. Their secret, if they thought of it that way, was still a secret with him. His grin widened as he pictured the dullahan's reaction to the news. It would be just adorable.

"How did that happen, anyway? You two becoming an item, I mean."

He'd been curious for just about as long as he'd known about their relationship. How did two people who had been hell-bent on destroying each other confess to feelings on the absolute opposite end of the spectrum?

Shizuo didn't really consider it a secret. And if Izaya had told Shinra, then he probably wasn't trying to keep it under wraps, either. Which, he shouldn't. Because this was serious. Especially after everything they had been through to get there.

That question was a very loaded one. How they did become an item? There had been curses and kisses and promises and blood and stab wounds. Then Shizuo hurt Izaya and Izaya convinced Sola to jump off of a building and die, and Shizuo was upset, but then there was another curse....

Yeah. No way in hell was Shizuo going to get into that much detail. Just thinking about it was kind of frustrating. He didn't have the patience to recount it all.

"It just sort of happened. Slowly, though. During a fight, I caught Izaya and realized I couldn't kill him. And he couldn't kill me, either. And then a lot of stuff happened with curses. But we realized that we...you know." Shizuo sat back down, but leaned back in the chair to stair at the ceiling. "I don't know. He's always been the one person who could really handle me. And I handle him. And. It just happened." He sighed, thinking about how he risked their relationship, and how Izaya reacted. "It hasn't been easy, but I think we're finally there."

The fact that Izaya had willingly told Shinra was a fairly good indicator that they were fairly open to telling others about their relationship - or, at least, that Izaya was. Shinra knew well from experience that if he wanted to keep something a secret, it would stay that way.

Shinra listened to Shizuo's very annotated story with an expression of curiosity. The fight was certainly nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, it was surprisingly fitting that their relationship would begin just as their acquaintanceship had: with a fist and a switch blade.

The realization that the two couldn't kill each other took a little more consideration on the doctor's part. He'd always wondered if, when push came to shove, Shizuo would be able to finish the job. Angered or otherwise, he was no killer. Izaya, on the other hand...

Well, he wasn't a firsthand murderer, as he'd always been careful to point out. Perhaps they faced some kind of stalemate when it came down to it: a literal match of brain versus brawn that ended in an unexpected kind of tie. Shizuo was right, they really were the only two who could manage to handle each other.

"Damn, I have the weirdest friends." He grinned at Shizuo, though it was easy to see that his well wishes towards the two of them were genuine. "Maybe your combined oddities will cancel out, and you'll miraculously turn into normal people."

It had been a stalemate of sorts that started it all. Shizuo wondered what would have happened if he had never caught Izaya, if they had never discussed need like they did. It was entirely possible that they would be in the same position - a thought that made him a little uncomfortable. He liked where they were, now.

"Nah," Shizuo replied with a shake of his head. He sat back up and turned his attention to Shinra once again. "Neither of us will ever be normal people." That's why acceptance had been such a big deal - and why it took such drastic measures to get there. "But maybe that's not so bad."

It certainly would be interesting to see this relationship unfold. His smile grew noticeably wider as he thought of the two of them exchanging chocolate and flowers in the middle of the plaza. Of course, he was hardly in a place to judge; at least they were both human. This all certainly weren't traditional, but it looked like Shizuo was finally at peace with himself, and Shinra was happy for him.

"No, I think you're right." He chuckled as he took the liberty of propping his feet up on Shizuo's coffee table. "With any luck, this might even amplify your bizarreness until you destroy the entire bubble in a violent frenzy of love."

Shizuo was beginning to feel at peace with himself. And Izaya had really been instrumental in getting him there. After all, there was nothing more powerful than having the man who once called him a monster and mocked him for lack of control tell him that he believed he could do it.

"I don't know about that, either," Shizuo replied, shaking his head at the exaggeration. Then again, it was him and Izaya they were talking about. "Hopefully we don't destroy anything."

"That'll certainly be a first."

Shinra hadn't seen the two of them fight since they were all in Ikebukuro — it's probably the longest they've gone in years, from what he'd seen. He only hoped their relationship didn't end prematurely, for reasons along with his own sense of goodwill towards his friends: he could hardly imagine the level of destruction that would result from a nasty breakup between the two of them.

"That's always a good expectation for freshly bloomed love," He noted with a smirk. "It gives the phrase 'The course of true love never did run smooth' a very literal meaning in your case."

Oh, Shinra. You are certainly right. A little unrest between Izaya and Shizuo had already led to some terrible things. Luckily, they have moved beyond that and it didn't seem as though they'd be returning to such events.

"Yeah. It really isn't easy." Shizuo gave a rough nod of agreement. "But it's working out, now. And I think that's good." Maybe it could even start running smoothly, now. That would be nice.

"I'd think the same!" The whole bubble would probably benefit from Shizuo and Izaya staying on good terms with each other. Though, with them being far more than that as it stood, there wasn't too much to worry about at the present moment.

"A little 'physical activity' with Izaya might help your mood a lot, too," He lewdly noted. "Maybe all those anger issues were just a manifestation of your deprived libido." A quick, relatively painless measure of Shizuo's hormone levels would have many questions about his temperament ages ago, if only he'd ever agreed to a few tests at Shinra's hands. Luckily for him, Shinra wasn't one to easily lose hope.

Shizuo glared freely at that. Conversations about his libido were off-limits, obviously, since it was a personal matter and none of Shinra's business whether 'physical activity' helped to vent his frustrations. "It's creepy for you to think about that stuff," Shizuo informed him, still glaring. "You shouldn't talk about it." There may have been a thin threat laced in that statement. Shizuo still wasn't above chucking at item of furniture at Shinra if he deemed it necessary.

It was almost frightening how quickly Shinra could forget what would and wouldn't get him hurled into a wall in Shizuo's presence. It wasn't like these discussions bothered him, after all; there were few things, if any, involving the human body that could embarrass him in the slightest.

"I'm saying that a little bit as your friend who enjoys making you uncomfortable," He admitted with a lighthearted smirk, "But mostly as your doctor who's genuinely concerned about your physical well-being."

"I don't need help with that," Shizuo replied, looking away. Shinra had no tact - as usual. He couldn't say he was surprised. "I'm physically fine. I'm always physically fine, you know that." That wasn't exactly the point of what Shinra was trying to say, but it was easily to broach the topic that way than with what Shinra really meant. Besides, Shinra probably did not want to fluster Shizuo too much, lest he did get furniture chucked in his direction.

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they've got a little bit of catching up to do

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Sorry for the slowness! My mountain of schoolwork turned into an avalanche.

No worries!

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