The Troubles of the Brute and the Flea

A Stroll Through Time

"You're still thinking about it." A voice stated calmly, jolting the raven out of his unending thoughts.

Izaya rolled his eyes and lifted up his head to give his boyfriend an exasperated look. "We're walking to Shinra's hot pot party, I'd find it rather odd if I wasn't thinking about it."

How had the blond even figured it out in the first place? The walk from Shinjuku to Ikebukuro had been peaceful, the two men speaking idly to each other. Izaya didn't remember acting so out of character that even the brute would be able to figure it out. Sometimes, Shizuo was so perceptive it was downright monstrous.

Shocking fact, there.

"There's no crinkles by your eyes when you're smiling. So you're faking it, like you do when you're worried about something." Shizuo observed, poking the skin right by Izaya's eyes.

All he accomplished was getting a hardcore death glare from his lover.

"There's never any crinkles by my eyes, I'm not old." Izaya pouted, placing his hands on his hips as he denied his accusation. He was forever 21, after all.

The birthday card he'd received a few months ago from Shizuo that had 'Happy 25th!' written on it was promptly thrown in the garbage where every other lie belonged.

"You also have dimples and freckles. Oh no, I think I spot a grey hair." Shizuo chuckled calmly, taking in another deep inhale of his cigarette.

Ever since Shizuo and Izaya became a couple visits with Erika became increasingly difficult. Especially when they got frequent questions on who topped who.

"Har har, keep laughing until lung cancer takes it from you protozoan." Izaya smirked back confidently, walking ahead of the blond with his head held high. Hips swaying behind him with hand firmly placed on them, Shizuo let the cigarette hang from his mouth as he watched his smaller lover strut down the street like he owned it.

Who topped who? How could Shizuo even begin to answer Erika's question when they never went further than a long -and admittedly dreamy- make out session?

Izaya just didn't seem to be interested in sex, and Shizuo never had the guts to bring it up. What if something happened to his boyfriend that made him afraid of intercourse? Or what if it simply made him uncomfortable and that's why Izaya never made any innuendos on it before? Hell, they had been together for two years and Shizuo never even saw his lover nude.

How were they supposed to live together in a month with such barriers still in place?

Glancing back over at Izaya who had begun to skip around childishly, Shizuo felt his lips tug up into a smile.

No matter, they would figure it out when they got there. Both of them were more than sure about moving in together so of course everything would be okay.

"Izaya, wait up!" Shizuo jogged up to him, pulling the raven close with an arm wrapped around his waist.

Izaya noticeably stiffened, his crimson eyes scanning the people around him so quickly it was almost unseen to the naked eye.

Shizuo caught it, though. Just like how he figured out the difference between Izaya's real and fake smiles. Even after being together so long it was hard for the informant to deal with affection out in public. Kisses were forbidden...and any contact outside of holding hands usually was too. The rules changed when Izaya was nervous though.

It was going to be his first hot pot, his first time actually hanging out with a large group of people that wasn't just a business meeting where the main focus was tracking down a traitor and recapturing them.

For Shizuo, he'd easily been accepted at the gathering Shinra always held without any fuss.

For Izaya...it was drastically different. Most of it was Izaya's fault of course -Kida would be happy to explain why- but the reality was that apart from himself...no one trusted the informant.

It was impossible to, so why would anyone ever want to talk about things with another person that could possibly leaked?

Not that Izaya would do it. No, despite how nervous Izaya was...his excitement easily showed through the brightness in his eyes and the lightness in his steps.

Unfortunately, it was unlikely anyone else would take that sort of risk. A few years ago there was no way Shizuo would so much as tell Izaya his favorite color. (The asshole probably would've already known it anyway)

So in a way -multiple ways-, it was understandable why Shinra initially refused Shizuo's request to bring Izaya over for the next hot pot. He'd asked previous times before and received the same answer, instead going to the party alone.

Each time he did that, Shizuo always went for a couple weeks without hearing anything from Izaya. It was like the informant disappeared from the face of the earth...and he knew why.

That's why this time when Shinra once again told Shizuo no -before he had even ASKED- he firmly stated that he would not be going if Izaya wasn't. The doctor reluctantly agreed after some help from Celty, the dullahan explaining how if they didn't give Izaya a chance than they were no better than he was.

Celty usually had Shizuo's back when it came to stuff about Izaya...she'd helped them fall in love in the very beginning.

Shinra finally conformed after a little help from Celty in the bedroom. If only Shizuo hadn't been waiting in the living room waiting for an answer and having to hear all of that. The brunet agreed to act as if he'd planned the informant from the very start, Izaya being none the wiser.

Shizuo just knew Izaya would refuse to go if he realized he hadn't been previously invited and that his boyfriend practically had to beg for him to be allowed over. And then he most likely would've holed up in his house for a few weeks, focusing on his work and nothing else.

Shizuo sighed, squeezing the tiny human against him tightly.

"Ouch! Shizu-chan, I'm not made of stone. Be gentle~" Izaya complained, laying his head down on his boyfriend's shoulder as they finally reached their destination.

"Sorry, sorry. I forgot I was holding a flea." Shizuo planted a kiss on top of Izaya's head, ignoring the small kick to the shin he received.

Gazing at the door before them, Shizuo let out a small breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"You ready?" He asked, giving Izaya a curious look.

The raven huffed, closing his eyes as he folded his arms. Shizuo noticed how he pulled away to make himself look taller, that same arrogant aura he only suppressed for the blond coming back full force.

"I was born ready, Shizu-chan."

With that, Izaya reached forward and knocked on the door.

Sorry for the super long wait guys, I'm officially back! Super excited to get back into the swing of things, school is finally over for the summer so I'm free to write fanfics for the next few months!

I hope you didn't mind waiting for so long, I apologize once again! The party will finally take place next chapter, along with a whole bucket of angst to officially get the plot rolling~ >:)

Now to get my last fanfic updated so everything is back on schedule (hA what "schedule")

Take care, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!