Tension

[UndergroundGod]

The rest of breakfast proceeded without much fuss. They ate quietly, which was only slightly awkward, much less so than Izaya might have thought, and before long they had eaten, dishes were in the sink, and they were heading to the door so that Shizuo could leave for work. Izaya assumed somewhat naturally that he’d leave at the same time as Shizuo. He’d never done this before, but considering they weren’t dating, that Shizuo had no reason to really trust Izaya alone in his apartment, it seemed like a reasonable conclusion.

They slipped on their shoes, but before Shizuo opened the door--he tugged Izaya in close for a final kiss, one that left Izaya breathless and a little embarrassingly dizzy. When Shizuo pulled away, it took Izaya a full second to compose himself and put a look on his face that was something over than stunned, and it was impossible to hide the faint color that rose to his cheeks.

He followed Shizuo outside, and they headed down to the street together before parting ways and going about their days.

~~~

Four days later, Izaya couldn’t stand waiting. He’d been resisting the urge to seem desperate, so he’d avoided the ever-present urge to track Shizuo down and “accidentally” cross paths with him, but in all honesty, he’d had trouble focusing over the last few days. He’d managed to go to the meetings he’d had scheduled and got a little bit of work done (and a little bit of trolling), but besides that...

His thoughts kept drifting back to the evening he’d spent in Shizuo’s bedroom, the way Shizuo had kissed him and touched him, driven him over the edge three times and had voiced thoughts that implied he wanted more... Izaya had gotten off to the thoughts of it just as many more times, and he didn’t want to have to wait any longer.

It was around late afternoon, which seemed as good a time as any, and after debating with himself for no less than an hour about what sort of message he should send, he finally worked up the nerve to type out, “Any plans for tonight?” and send the text to Shizuo.

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo spent the better part of the last four days just living life as if nothing happened and nothing changed, because really. Nothing had. He hadn’t run into Izaya since the other day and honestly. He was okay with it. Did he want to hook up again, sure. But he wasn’t going to go looking for it, especially from him.

RIght now Shizuo was cleaning up the kitchen from lunch. It was Saturday and he didn’t have much planned for the day other than some cleaning. He did most of what he wanted in the morning.

Glancing over at his phone on the counter as the message came though he raised a brow, dried his hands and picked up his phone. Flipping it open he assumed it was SHrina, he was very wrong.

He sighed a little and debated for a strong minute on just closing his phone and going back to his day. But before he knew it he typed a reply.

“Just dinner at home. Some cleaning.” He hit send and watched the message send to Izaya before he snapped the phone shut and went back to what he was nearly done with.

[UndergroundGod]

It only took a few minutes for a reply to come through, though... Izaya couldn’t say it was exactly what he hoped. It wasn’t like he had any idea how to flirt really, though he’d hoped that the implication behind his text would have been a little more obvious, that he’d reached out with an invitation to hook up, though if Shizuo had picked up on that implication at all, it wasn’t clear in the message he’d sent back.

The message wasn’t an outright turn down either, he didn’t think, but he did chew on the inside of his lip for a moment as he considered how he wanted to reply, how direct he should be, how direct he was comfortable being...

Finally, he replied, “If you’d like to have plans after that, I’ll be free later tonight.”

Casual, straight forward, and hopefully he’d be able to weather the wound to his pride if Shizuo turned him down. When they’d been together, Shizuo had made it sound as if he’d be very interested in hooking up again, but... was there some chance that Shizuo’s one night with Izaya had actually settled his curiosity about the sudden attraction that Shizuo had been feeling for Izaya? Or maybe the magnetic hold he had only really worked in person, and texting was actually a terrible way to try to do this.

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo was just turning off the light to the kitchen as his phone chimed again. He glared at it, it rarely made this much noise. And yes, two notifications were noise to him.

He huffed a sigh and picked it up to flip it open and read the message from Izaya. Free afterward? He was going to shower and read afterward. What the hell was. Oh.

“Do you want me to come over after dinner?” He texted back before he clocked his phone and slipped it into his pocket.

Looking up around his apartment he sighed. He was in the middle of his monthly deep clean so they wouldn't be here. Not this time. He could get most of what he wanted done before dinner, then get dinner and head to Izaya's. Finish cleaning tomorrow since it was Sunday. Yeah that could work. He decided to pack a small bag of things. He knew Izaya would have nothing to fit him and he hated being away from his toothbrush.

[UndergroundGod]

When Izaya's phone buzzed again, he snatched it up, read the reply, and immediately let out a sigh of relief.

And the suggestion that Shizuo would come over to his place... Izaya had been planning to ask if Shizuo wanted to meet at his place or Izaya's, had wanted to offer his apartment as an option, but if Shizuo was comfortable claiming that for himself, Izaya didn't mind that at all. Shizuo's place hadn't been uncomfortable really, but there was no denying that Izaya’s apartment was far fancier. If Shizuo had wanted him over there, Izaya would have at least been able to prepare this time, pack a little overnight bag, but Izaya wasn't going to complain about getting to sleep in his own bed tonight.

He messaged back a moment later, “Sounds good~ Message me when you're on your way.”

Done with his work for the day (not that he’d have been able to focus anyway), his attention turned to internet forums to waste away the next few hours. He’d already sent Namie away for the day, his apartment was pretty much always clean so it wasn’t like he needed to tidy up or prepare for Shizuo’s visit. All he had to do was wait.

[tossingtrashcans]

"ALright, I'll reach out then." Shizuo said before he slipped his phone back into his pocket and went back to cleaning his apartment.

Few hours later, he was happy with this as a stopping point. He pulled his phone off the charger and grabbed it to stuff into the bag he had by the door. Texting Izaya. "Hey, have you ate? I'm about to leave my place and wanted to know if I was bringing dinner or eating before getting there." He snapped the phone shut and slipped his feet into his shoes before going over his check list in his head. Wallet, keys and phone. He picked up the bag and wrapped it across his body before he left his apartment.

He'd give Izaya till he got to Russia Sushi to get back to him.

[UndergroundGod]

As soon as Izaya heard his phone go off he grabbed it to check it... though it wasn't the message he expected. He ended up staring at Shizuo’s message for nearly a full minute, rereading it multiple times, as if he hadn't read it correctly the first time, as if the message would unveil some secret meaning if he just focused enough...

But of course, the message remained exactly as it was, and Izaya was left to accept the strange fluttering in his chest at the idea of Shizuo bringing him food and try to come up with an answer.

“I haven't eaten,” he eventually typed back, because it was all he could think to type in response to the question Shizuo had posed. He'd had a meager breakfast, and something of a snack instead of an actual lunch. He’d known he would be reaching out to Shizuo this afternoon and he'd been so anxious about it that he hadn't been much in the mood to eat, and even after Shizuo had agreed to come over, Izaya had been so excited and full of nervous energy that food had been the furthest thing from his mind.

That also meant that food was the last thing he'd expected Shizuo to bring up. For whatever reason, the idea of inviting Shizuo over to fool around was one thing, but there was something particularly flustering about Shizuo bringing him food for them to eat together beforehand. He hadn’t shared a meal with Shizuo in years, not since high school, when Shinra had tried a handful of times to make them get along by forcing or tricking them into meeting him at Russia Sushi to eat together.

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo was halfway to Russia Sushi when his phone went off. Pulling it out and flipping it open he stopped and read Izaya's reply. Typing out a fast. "Alright. I'll bring you something." He then closed the phone and pushed it back inside his vest pocket before he started walking again.

He really didn't think it was that big a deal, ignoring the fact that Izaya was who Izaya was and all. He'd always gotten dinner before doing other things with people. How was this any different than in every way possible. Izaya was someone he couldn't trust, he knew that. The man was full of devious thoughts and motives. However, Shizuo had now seen a side of Izaya that wasn't selfish.

Shizuo doubted he could change the man, but maybe. Just maybe he could help make him more understanding to others.

Walking into Russa sushi he greeted the man, placed his order and Izaya's usual order and sat and waited.

Chatting up Simon a little and playing off where he was going. Meeting a friend is all he admitted to before he picked up his bag, paid and left.

With his bag of clothes over his shoulder and dinner in the plastic bag by his thigh he walked the rest of the way to Izaya's office/apartment.

He texted Izaya once he got there, "Heading up." Before he entered the building and got on the elevator. He took in a deep breath and knocked and rang the bell, waiting. It was weird. All the times he'd been here before he's never actually expected anyone to let him in, till now.

[UndergroundGod]

When Izaya got Shizuo's reply about bringing him food, Izaya felt an unexpected heat on his face that he quickly did his best to ignore by opening up one of his frequently visited webpages to start browsing, trying to focus on anything but the idea of eating a meal with Shizuo before the evening would turn to the physical activities that Izaya had had in mind when he'd reached out to Shizuo. It was hard to wrap his mind around, for whatever reason, so he just did his best to think about anything else.

It worked well enough that the next chunk of time passed fairly quickly, and before Izaya knew it, Shizuo texted him again about heading upstairs. Izaya’s nerves kicked into gear again, and he had to restrain himself from hopping up and getting to the front door embarrassingly quickly when he heard the knock. He actually made himself stop and count slowly to ten, before taking a breath and opening the door.

He put on as casual a grin as he could as he stepped back from the door to let Shizuo inside as he greeted, “Come on in.”

Once Shizuo had stepped inside, Izaya prompted, “Do you want anything to drink?”

Shizuo had a non-descript bag in hand that obviously contained whatever food he’d brought along, though Izaya couldn’t know if he brought drinks with him or not. Since Shizuo had brought food, Izaya figured the least he could do was offer a drink, especially since (thanks to Namie more so than to his credit) his fridge had a stocked selection of various drinks for when Izaya had clients.

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo nodded in his general direction as he stepped into the apartment and looked around. Taking his shoes off carefully he pushed them aside and walked further in.

“Uhh yeah a drink would be good. “ He said and moved the strap on his shoulder up over his head. “Where do you want the food?” He asked. He saw the coffee table by the couches and the tiny kitchen off back behind some stairs.

He did however remove his bag and drop it to the floor by the entrance before he turned to look at Izaya.

[UndergroundGod]

“Coffee table is fine,” Izaya said, motioning across the room towards the couches and television. He usually ate there, or just at his computer desk, or at least he did when he actually ate a meal at home, which wasn’t frequent. Most of his meals were eaten out at restaurants, and it was rare that he actually had more than one or two full meals a day, making it even rarer for him to actually sit and eat at home.

He figured Shizuo could make his way to the coffee table without his assistance, so Izaya then headed to the kitchen to check his fridge while suppressing the litany of ShizuoIsInMyApartment ShizuoIsInMyApartment ShizuoIsInMyApartment that was on repeat at the back of his head.

“Tea? Coffee?” he offered immediately, knowing he had those without even glancing, before he go to the fridge, and added, “Water, Calpis, Soda?” And then, if Shizuo was interested in something alcoholic, the fridge also contained, “Happoshu, Chuhai?”

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo looked up on his way to the couch area and listened to Izaya as he rattled off drinks he had. He just didn't think about it honestly when he was getting the sushi. Setting the bag down on the coffee table he looked up and then called out, "Calpis or soda is fine." He said as he moved around the table to sit down on the couch. Pulling the two sushi platters out he set them on the table and shook out the chopsticks and soy. He got his favorite sushi platter and then he knew what Izaya liked and got him some of those and what he remembered him eating according to Shrina.

Shizuo looked up as Izaya came into view and gave him a half smile.

[UndergroundGod]

At Shizuo’s reply, Izaya grabbed one of the Calpis sodas from the fridge, then grabbed himself a bottle of the unsweetened green tea. He typically didn't think much about his drink selection, as it was Namie who greeted guests and got them drinks when appropriate, but he found himself glad for the selection now, because otherwise tea and coffee would probably be all he had to offer Shizuo.

Drinks in hand he rounded the corner, back to the hall, then around again to get to the living room, where he saw that Shizuo had set out the food from the bag. He noticed immediately that it was sushi, likely Russian Sushi if Izaya had to guess, but it wasn't until Izaya was much closer, handing Shizuo the drink and standing right next to the table, that he realized the tray that was sitting closer to him very clearly contained otoro.

He just barely resisted the urge to do a double take, and tried his best to minimize the look of surprise on his face that Shizuo had bothered to remember his favorite food.

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo reached for the Calais and cracked it open taking a small drink before nodding. He urged his attention to his sushi abd popped the lid off the container. Glancing at Izaya before he looked up at his face he tilted his head a little.

"Are you okay? You look sick. " He said. Izaya seemed flushed and stuck. "If you're not feeling up to this anymore we can try again some other time." He said moving his hand out for a soy packet. Opening the packet he dumped the contents into the soy pocket that the lid had.

He really just wanted to eat, relax a little and then potentially get Izaya to make all those cute noises he knew the man could make again.

[UndergroundGod]

Shizuo’s words surprised him, jerked him out of his light trace, out of the shock of seeing the food Shizuo had ordered for him.

“No, I'm fine,” he said with a little shake of his head, his lips turning up into a genuine, though slight, smile, a far different expression from the one he had on when he was teasing. He turned to sit down in front of the tray, setting his drink down before leaning in to open up the sushi, the aroma of it hitting his nose and reminding him how little he'd eaten that day, making him acknowledge that he was actually hungry. “Just surprised,” he added as a bit more of an explanation, then asked curiously, “Did you remember that I liked otoro, or was this just a happy accident?”

He knew they'd had a handful of meals together, obviously, but that was years ago, and it wasn't as if they were ever friends. Izaya has his own secret reasons for having some idea of Shizuo's preferences, but he didn't have some delusion that Shizuo had spent most of the last decade secretly pining, so it seemed odd to Izaya that he'd remembered a personal detail like that. Of course, he supposed it was also possible that Shizuo had asked Simon to pick something out for him, but that would have involved Shizuo asking for food for Izaya, and Izaya quickly determined that was incredibly unlikely given their agreement to keep things between them.