I Need Your Help

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo sighed and ran his hands through his hair a bit before sitting back on the couch with a yawn. He reached into his vest and pulled out his smokes and shook one free then lit the end and sighed again as he exhaled.

“Well, I will say that was a decent time spent sleeping at a weird angle. But we should wake up and see what we can do about signals and Celty and shit for this exchange tonight. “ He took another drag of his smoke and then turned to look at Izaya.

Well, damn. This man looked somehow sweet, all messy with sleep. Shaking his head he turned away. “Maybe we need breakfast.” He said, it was half past nine when he looked at his phone. Definitely time for some food.

[UndergroundGod]

Izaya was aware that Shizuo was right there, of course--he was slightly more vaguely aware that he'd basically been using Shizuo as a real life body pillow, but he was doing his best not to linger on that because there was no use in thinking about how nice it had felt to sleep pressed up against a warm body when it would be a cold day in hell before that ever happened again.

He rubbed at his eyes a little more as he pushed himself upright and pushed any of the lingering sleepy thoughts out of his mind, even as Shizuo's comment about sleeping decently despite the weird angle tried to cause some desperate hope to flutter to life in his chest.

"Yeah," he agreed, then was stricken with another sharp yawn before he could finish, "Breakfast sounds good."

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo took another drag from his smoke and then put it out as he breathed out. "Alright well. I guess I'll go and get some breakfast." He said then stood up again. "When do you want to meet back up?" He asked as he pocketed the bud to his cigarette. "And I guess where." He added.

Shizuo also wanted to go home and shower and then eat and just wonder a little, clear his mind some. He was nervous about the exchange, but he was more worried about the state his brother might be in. Tough as he was, he was quiet, and people always hated that about him. Though he was smart, and that he was sure helped. Soon, he'd find out. Tonight actually. He trusted Celty to get him to safety. He just also had to trust Izaya to help make sure he wasn't taken against his will.

He looked up at Izaya again. Stupid sleepy adorable, punchable face of his.

[UndergroundGod]

"Alright well. I guess I'll go and get some breakfast."

The words struck Izaya suddenly, like a slap to the face he hadn't been expecting, and he went still, a forced neutral look settling onto his face in place of any expression that would betray whatever emotion had bubbled up in his chest.

He wasn't sure what he was thinking. He wasn't sure why he'd thought Shizuo's earlier words were suggesting they should go get breakfast together, and not the obvious decision to go their separate ways and meet up later. It wasn't like anything that had happened in the past two or so days had changed anything between them; they weren't suddenly friends, or lovers, or anything at all really except enemies working together against some assholes that shouldn't be allowed to win. Shizuo rescuing and taking care of him in his drugged state, sharing an apartment the last two nights in a row now, or having slept against each other the last few hours didn't mean a goddamn thing, of course it didn't after nearly a decade of deception and death threats (after Izaya had sold Kasuka's information to the kidnappers in the first place), and Izaya really should have known better than to expect anything different.

For as smart as Izaya was, he sure was a fucking dumbass.

After years of solidly knowing there was nothing at all to be gained by hope, apparently all it took was Shizuo showing him a fragment of kindness and tolerance for Izaya to let his stupid fucking heart run away with every last one of his useless brain cells and think that there was a single fucking chance for his relationship with Shizuo to be anything other than what it was.

Hope? Hope was for children, and for idiots. Izaya had grown out of the former a long time ago, but apparently hadn't managed to dodge the latter.

Though Shizuo had technically done nothing wrong, Izaya's mood had gone suddenly sour. He leaned forward, slid his phone out of his pocket seemingly to check his messages, but it was really just to have a direction to aim his face so that Shizuo couldn't see it.

"Russia Sushi, around 4?" Izaya suggested, a faint tightness in his voice. That would give them four hours to coordinate before the exchange, which should be more than enough time, and Izaya would have plenty of time to... shake off whatever stupid notions had crept in on the edges of his sleep-softened brain, and time to coordinate and gather up whatever last scraps of information he could.

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo waited a moment longer then heard Izaya speak. “Alright. Sounds good. Thanks for the tea and the… well a decent sleep I guess.” He huffed and made his way to the door of Izaya’s office/apartment.

He opened the door and paused looking over his shoulder before making a face and then walked out. He hated him, why did he have to keep reminding himself he hated this man for everything he was the last few days. Just because he was willing to help, how did Shizuo not know for sure that Izaya caused the mess in the first place.

Nine times out of ten, Izaya caused the goings on.

This might very well be the same. So trust him, ehh no. But also he had no choice but to try to some degree. And so far he's been right about stuff. However again he could be right because he knew everything all along and what if this was a trap of his?

Didn’t matter, again. His brother’s life was more important than his own.

Shizuo reached out to Tom to update him on the events that unfolded, leaving out that he was just not going home and that he slept at Izaya’s.

Once back home, he showered, changed. Sent a few emails and left again. He would be early to Russian Sushi, get some lunch and watch for Izaya to show.

[UndergroundGod]

The corner of his mouth flicked up ever so briefly at Shizuo's thank you, taking a vague edge off his irritation--but since the irritation was at himself more than Shizuo, that was all it did. As soon as Shizuo was out the door, Izaya's sour mood returned in full force, and his only choice was to distract himself--at least until Namie arrived.

Though even that wouldn't be as fun as it might normally. He enjoyed messing with her, it really picked his mood up, but he knew he'd have to be polite if he was going to press her for any info she might have about the American drug company...

He skipped breakfast, his appetite gone, made himself more tea instead, and settled in for a few hours of work, both for the exchange tonight and otherwise.

~~~

Around 3pm, just as Izaya was leaving his apartment to take his time getting to Russia Sushi, Shizuo's phone rang, the caller ID listing a blocked number, just like every time the kidnappers had called him.

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo saw Russian Sushi come into view in the distance as his phone ran. Checking the ID he swallowed hard. Might be the kidnappers. He sighed and flipped it open. “Yes hello?” He said, holding the phone to his ear. Stopping in his tracks to listen carefully.

“Shizuo Heiwajima,” the gruff voice on the other end of the line said, clearly distinguishing his voice from Izaya’s, “this is Mr. Takahashi. Your brother is still safe. Do you have everything ready for the exchange tonight?”

“Of course I do!” Shizuo snapped before he switched the phone to his other ear and moved out of the middle of the sidewalk. Standing off to the side against the hall, he breathed in and counted to five then breathed out. “Yes, I’m ready.” He said again a bit more casually. Why was this nutbag calling anyway?

The kidnapper briefly reiterated the agreed upon details; $500,000 in unmarked non-consecutive bills, no police involvement, 8pm at the address of the agreed upon location. Then continued, “You should enter the warehouse through the front doors, alone, on time. We know the information broker has been assisting you in negotiations, but if he accompanies you tonight, we can’t ensure your brother’s safety. While we... are aware that Orihara reserves the right to sell someone information and then immediately turn around and work against them, our bosses don’t appreciate his involvement and won’t tolerate it any further.”

“It’ll just be me okay.” Shizuo said with an eye roll and a small sigh. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, we’re all set.” He confirmed. Glancing up at Russian Sushi and the time he chewed the inside of his lip. Still plenty of time to meet with Izaya.

“Wonderful,” the man said, still sounding a bit grim in contrast of what he was saying. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Heiwajima. We’ll see you in a few hours.”

[UndergroundGod]

Izaya had eventually managed to take his mind off his foolishness. He'd gotten over a dozen pictures of the inside of the warehouse and the surrounding streets and only had to dish out a bit of praise in exchange for them. He'd explained the situation to Celty, and she'd agreed to help out for free since it involved Shizuo's brother (though she did text Shizuo to check in and make sure he was actually involved in this whole situation). Even Namie had been provoked into giving him a little more insight into Phizenica, and into the sorts of things they made for the government, which gave him an entirely new line of research to delve into inpreparation for the evening.

So although he wasn't necessarily in a good mood as he headed to the restaurant to meet Shizuo, he did feel more prepared than he had that more, which meant he felt far more settled--settled enough to want to eat.

He arrived at least thirty minutes early, returning Simon's enthusiastic greetings and ordering himself a rather late lunch.

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo snapped his phone shut, shoved it back into his pants and pushed off the wall. Walking the rest of the way to Russia Sushi.

Giving Simon a greeting he walked in and looked around for Izaya. Spotting the man he walked over and slipped in across from him. “Got yourself some fatty tuna?” He asked and shifted more comfortably.

“Hey, can I get a cheap sushi platter and some tea? Thanks.” He said and set his phone on the table before looking up to Izaya. “They called me, while I was on the way here.” He said.

[UndergroundGod]

Izaya had eaten through about half of the pieces on his plate when Shizuo arrived. He wasn't a fast eater, and though he rarely had big meal, this was his first meal he'd had that day, so it was a bit more than he would normally order.

In that order, he'd gotten four pieces of otoro sushi, which was of course his favorite. He'd eaten two already; the other two he would save for last, once he'd finished everything else on his plate. He was a bit surprised that Shizuo had acknowledged it. Sure they had eaten here together in high school a couple times (with Shinra as their tenuous peacekeeper), and otoro had been Izaya's favorite for as long as he could remember so it had surely been his favorite then as well... but he hadn't expected it to be a detail that Shizuo remembered.

Then again, maybe he'd just recognized what was on Izaya's plate and was commenting on it, without connecting it at all to Izaya's preferences.

"Mm," Izaya acknowledged while he finished chewing. It was common for kidnappers to confirm details a few hours before the meet up as far as he knew, just to lay down ground rules, assert dominance, what have you. "Good," he confirmed once his mouth was empty, "Everything the same? Still meeting at 8 tonight at the warehouse?"

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo nodded at his plate and chuckled to himself. He thanked the waiter for setting his tea down. “Yeah they confirmed the time and place and amount of money.” he said and sipped his tea. “They also know you’re involved and wanted to make sure that even though they were tipped off about my brother, they didn’t want you involved further.” He paused and looked up.

“Izaya.” Shizuo said through suddenly clenched teeth. “Did… did you sell information to these people about my brother?” Oh is this what the guy meant on the phone about Izaya’s involvement with the exchange. The sushi was placed down before him and the chopsticks snapped in half. This low life, butt kissing fleabag. Of course this was his fault, wasn’t everything bad in this city, HIS fault.

[UndergroundGod]

Shizuo's words made Izaya pause immediately, his chopsticks hovering over his next piece of sushi as his heart gave a dull thud.

Well, there it was. Izaya had been waiting for the other shoe to drop, had been wondering if it would... But of course it had. It had been obvious since the other night that the kidnappers hadn't wanted him involved beyond their initial purchase. Izaya knew his reputation, and he didn't _blame_ the kidnappers for taking preventative measures to keep him away from the exchange tonight, first drugging him (and likely planning on containing him until Shizuo was in their possession) and now apparently outing his initial role in this to make Shizuo turn on him.

And really... he'd done this to fuck with Shizuo, to piss him off, to get him to come after him again as Shizuo's rampages against him were the spice of life for Izaya; they were the only way, up until two days ago, that Izaya had ever been able to get Shizuo to look his way. Shizuo coming to him for help hadn't been part of that plan, hadn't been in his predictions, so that had sent the whole thing a bit sideways...

If Izaya had been able to figure out some other way to get Shizuo to pay attention to him years ago, he'd be doing that instead, but... here they were.

Regardless, as usual, it was the timing of the attention that was most irritating. Shizuo's food had only just arrived, and Izaya wanted to finish his own meal before Shizuo made another fruitless attempt on his life.

"Shizu-chan," he said with a faint huff of irritation, as if Shizuo had just mentioned an urgent errand that needed running, instead of accusing him of the action that had led to their current position. "I don't suppose you can wait to kill me until after we've finished eating, can you? I'm nearly finished."

Though he had a perfectly well-formulated argument for why he'd done what he'd done (outside of the very personal desire for Shizuo's attention), Shizuo wasn't someone who listened to reason. It was the most frustrating thing about him, as far as Izaya was concerned.

Well, Izaya thought to himself, at least Simon was literally no more than five quick steps away from them, within grabbing distance if Shizuo needed to be held back. Izaya had noticed his eyes lingering in his direction since his arrival, and doubly so since Shizuo had shown up several minutes ago. Izaya couldn't blame him for wanting to keep an eye on the two of them interacting in his restaurant knowing what their interactions normally involved. Izaya wouldn't want his place of employment entirely destroyed by one of Shizuo's outbursts either.

When Izaya glanced pointedly over at Simon again, his eyes were dead set on the two of them, probably having heard Shizuo snap his chopsticks and knowing it was a sign of coming storm.

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo growled a little and raised and waved his hand at Simon. “Look. You are a rat, a flea. A pile of garbage and I hope you never forget it. However I need your help to save my brother. I can’t do this without your assistance.” He stabbed the table with the end of the chopsticks.

“So yes, we will eat our food, go through with the plan and then you will leave this city and I won't see your smug face for a long time.” He said as he then used the small short chopsticks to pick up his sushi and popped the first one into his mouth.

He should somehow not be shocked that Izaya was the one that sold the information in the first place. Everything, everything sour that smelt like shit in this damned city that was wrong was Izaya’s fault. He never should have thought that MAYBE, there was a chance of anything else.

[UndergroundGod]

Shizuo's response... was equal parts surprising, and not. Surprising in that Shizuo didn't entirely lose his shit that way Izaya had expected (perhaps in the way the kidnappers had expected as well), but not surprising in that Shizuo did his normal round of name-calling (which only hurt as much as it ever did, and not enough for it to show on Izaya's face at all) and threatening, and recommitted them both to the plan at hand.

Most of Izaya's disappointment was just in that it would have been amusing to see Simon come over and restrain Shizuo. Or in the fact that... well, the thing he'd done to provoke Shizuo hadn't really provoked him at all, and though Izaya had always known that Shizuo was beyond his predictions, he'd always had faith in him reacting to certain things, and this had been one of them.

He wondered vaguely if one day, Shizuo would stop responding to his antics entirely, and the thought immediately left a sick, hollow feeling in his chest that he shoved aside to deal with never. He wondered more if he might not find some way to end one of their lives before that day had to come.

"That's surprisingly reasonable of you, Shizu-chan," he said with a grin that betrayed none of the struggle happening in his head and in his chest. As Shizuo picked up a piece of sushi, Izaya did the same, chewing and not really tasting, eating more so because he said he would rather than still feeling hungry.

After he finished chewing, he gave an almost helpless shrug.

"In my defense, if I hadn't sold them the info, someone else would have. It wasn't exactly well hidden." _And someone would have had to work a whole lot harder to get it together,_ Izaya thought, though he wouldn't say that bit out loud, as it may raise questions as to why he had a folder on his desktop about Kasuka in the first place. "In fact, maybe I could set your brother up with a cyber security expert of some sort after all this. It shouldn't take less than five minutes to remotely access someone's entire calendar with to-the-minute details and locations. I'm honestly shocked he hasn't had more run ins with shady journalists and stalker fans."

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo shrugged and sat there silently as he ate his food. He listened to Izaya but he honestly didn't care. This man was never going to change. He really thought- no. Shame on him for thinking that perhaps Izaya had an ounce of emotions for anyone other than himself. Maybe after all of this he needed to just, move past hating him. He wasn't worth the wasted energy. This was low, selling information about his kid brother.

He wasn't about to disrupt one of his favorite places to eat just because Izaya is who he always has been. He respected this place too much. And maybe he was maturing.

"So our plan stands then for tonight?" Shizuo asked as he continued to eat his meal. He was ignoring Izaya in the other regard. Other than to let him know he needed to button up on his plans for his month apparently.