Winds of change

Gift of innocence

This was the third client who pissed Shizuo off, and he raised his fist to the shaking middle-aged man and was about to send him flying when his phone rang.

Tom and Sakura looked at him strangely, not that Shizuo receiving a call was odd, but during work?

Unable to ignore the persistent noise, Shizuo retracted his fist to grab his phone from his pocket, and Tom and Sakura kept a close eye on the guy while he did so. Shizuo was only slightly annoyed to see the caller ID as none other than Izaya and sighed in frustration, staring at the screen when it continued to flash up, 'secret lover' encased between two red hearts. Shizuo realized the informant was insistent, so he decided he better answer it because he would only hear Izaya complain later otherwise. Shizuo slammed his foot down on the ground, and the guy gulped and froze up.

Shizuo flipped open his phone, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. "What is it!"

{Shizu-chan,} Izaya purred down the phone, and Shizuo could practically see him smirk.

Shizuo tried to reply more calmly. "What."

Izaya's voice had a playful edge to it. {Whatcha doing?}

Was he serious? Did he really call him just for...

"I'm working, something I thought you were doing," Shizuo gritted out and kept his eyes on the client while trying to have a conversation with his 'in progress' partner.

{Ah! The joys of self-employment, Shizu-chan!}

Izaya knew damn well he'd be at work. Asshole. "Can't you bother someone else for now? I'm busy." Shizuo chewed his lip. "Yes...I guess I miss you too."

Tom and Sakura exchanged a shocked glance when Shizuo blushed ever so slightly.

{You're welcome over tonight. I'm sure you'd much rather be kissing me than be stuck alone in your small apartment.} Shizuo knew Izaya was doing this on purpose.

Shizuo whispered, "I'll see you tonight, around seven."

Shizuo smiled at his phone. Who knew Izaya could be so jealous. The blond knew why the flea had called. Izaya may claim he loved all humans, but he would guess Sakura wasn't one of his favorites. Shizuo turned around, only to be met with a metal pole to his face, and stumbled back a little, grunting more in anger than pain.

"Shizuo!" Sakura cried in worry.

Shizuo growled when the pole bent in half upon contact, and the guy started to whimper.

The man watched as blood seeped through Shizuo's cut. "I'll pay you! I promise!! I'm sorry!"

Shizuo's eyes widened in rage. "Too late!" He grabbed the man by the shirt with both hands, swung him around, and sent him flying into a nearby vending machine. Sakura ran over to Shizuo, pulled a piece of cloth from her bag, and dabbed it over his eye. He moved away from her with a smile. "It'll be fine. My body is quick to heal. It doesn't hurt." She withdrew her hand with a nod, and he could see the disappointment in her face. "Nothing personal."

Tom expressed a knowing grin. No way. He turned to Sakura and gave her a couple of bills. "Why don't you go get us some drinks?" She smiled and quickly ran into a café.

Tom nudged his friend with his elbow. "Sooo, that phone call sounded quite promising, care to share?"

"It's nothing, just an old friend." Shizuo could feel a warmth spread over his cheeks.

Tom's eyes widened because his theory had been correct. "You met someone! When? How long!" Shizuo chuckled. Tom sounded like a teenage girl.

"Two weeks tomorrow." Shizuo blinked, had it been that long already? Was it lame he had been counting?