"Oi, what the fuck did you do this time, you shitty flea? Care to explain why one of your sisters is over here claiming she is staying with me?!"

Izaya held his cellphone away from his ear until he was sure Shizuo was done saying (shouting) his piece, before putting it back and saying, "If you are done trying to deafen me, monster, I'll have you know that I had nothing to do with this, and I'll have you know I'm in the exact same predicament as you and I am not any happier about it."

As he said this, he glanced at Kururi, who was sitting passively on his couch, idly swinging her legs back and forth. When he made eye-contact with her, she blinked innocently, but he wasn't fooled by the seemingly pure look. He knew that she was listening to every single word carefully, devising plans in her head for what she would have to do and say if he tried to get rid of her. Mairu was usually the instigator of trouble, but he knew Kururi could be quite devious when she wanted to be.

"Well, sorry but I need you to call your sister now and tell her to go the fuck home. I am at work!" Shizuo growled through the phone. In the background, Izaya could hear Mairu's high-pitched voice pipe up in the background asking if Shizuo was calling 'Iza-nii' and if he was, to tell him she was not leaving.

Sighing, he combed his fingers through his hair saying, "Nothing I say is going to convince her. From what I gathered from the information I managed to squeeze out of Kururi, she and Mairu go into a fight of some kind and now they aren't on speaking terms. Look, beast, as I said before, I am not any happier about this then you are. I have work as well, you know. But for now we're just both going to have to deal with-"

"No, fuck no," Shizuo interjected immediately, grounding out his words. Izaya was honestly surprised the brute hadn't shattered his phone yet. "There is no way I'm letting your sister- a little kid mind you - watch me beat the snot out of someone." Izaya could hear Mairu once again protesting in the background that she wasn't a little kid, which Shizuo seemed to be pointedly ignoring.

Izaya rolled his eyes. He understood where Shizuo was coming from, he really did. But he was also suffering in this and the ex-bartender's lack of cooperation on this matter was giving him a headache.

"Honestly, Shizu-chan. She's fourteen, not four. Seeing a little violence out of you isn't going to scar her fragile little mind. I assure you she has seen you punch someone across the city multiple times and I can also assure she has probably done more twisted shit then anything you do today. So just deal with her a couple of hours and we'll settle this later today, okay?"

Shizuo began to speak, no doubt to scream out another protest but Izaya immediately hung up before he could say another word. He knew that little move would REALLY piss the monster off, but he was hoping Shizuo's avoidance of being violent around kids would stop him from marching over to his apartment and trying to smash him flat with a heavy object of some kind. He didn't want to deal with the holes in his apartment walls- again.

He groaned and massaged his temples. One thing was for certain: he wasn't going to get any sex tonight.

Pocketing his phone, he glanced back at Kururi who was staring owlishly back at him. Even though she wasn't saying anything, he could sense the hopeful air around her silence.

Deflating a little, he said, "Want to go out somewhere to eat?"

He took by the way she jumped off the couch and padded over to him, clasping the cuff of his jacket as a 'yes.'

Shizuo felt his phone shatter into a thousand plastic splinters in his hand. Fucking flea. He would make sure the flea bought him a new cellphone before he murdered him. A large part of him wanted to march over to Shinjuku right now and kick the flea's ass, but he couldn't do it. After all, Mairu, no doubt, would follow him to her brother's apartment and despite how much she and her sister badmouthed Izaya, Shizuo doubted she would really want him to straight up murder the bastard.

So he guess he had no other choice but to bring her along with and hope he could lose her along the way.

At the very least, Tom didn't seem to mind. In fact, the bastard was looking like he was trying hard not to laugh. Shizuo actually wanted to keep this job, so he resisted the tantalizing urge to punch his boss and instead fished a cigarette out and lit it, taking a much needed drag.

Mairu trotted beside him, humming some pop song he didn't know as she followed him and Tom to the next client. Shizuo prayed silently that the client would just be compliant and cough up the cash so he didn't have to resort to violence. Izaya could say all he wanted but children shouldn't be seeing shit like that.

All of a sudden, Mairu stopped humming beside him and glanced at Shizuo, asking, "By the way, Shizuo-kun. Is Kururi with Iza-nii right now?"

A spark of hope lit up inside Shizuo's heart. Maybe if he told her where her sister was, the girl would go look for her to make amends and Shizuo could be left in peace without a flea-brat on him. So he said, "Yeah."

His hopes were quickly dashed away when Mairu scowled and rolled her eyes, saying, "No surprise there. Kururi-chan knows Iza-nii likes her better than me…"

Shizuo couldn't help but feel a spike of interest at the girl's bitter words. Giving her a look of curiosity, he said, "Now I don't think that is true…"

He had only heard Izaya talk about his sisters a handful of times, but he had never been able to glean any favoritism of any particular sibling out of him. He seemed to refer to both of them as little annoyances (but Shizuo could tell the flea was actually fonder of them then he was letting on). But Mairu seemed to disagree.

Shaking her head, she said, "No, it's definitely true, but whatever you know? She can have crummy old Iza-nii. You're way cooler than him anyway Shizuo-kun!" Smacking her left fist into her palm, she leered and said, "You're not afraid of dealing with people the good old-fashioned way!"

Shizuo found himself taken aback somewhat by the girl's overt-aggressiveness. Izaya had once told him that his sisters were sometimes more sadistic than him. Shizuo hadn't believed a word of it at the time. After all, NO ONE could be more sadistic than Izaya, especially not two little teenage girls who looked like they couldn't harm a fly. When he had mentioned this to Izaya, the informant had just shook his head, clucked his tongue in pity, and ominously said, "You have fallen for their charade, Shizu-chan."

Shizuo had remained adamant that Izaya was lying to him, but now that he saw how excited Mairu looked at just the PROSPECT of violence, a small part of him began wondering if it was true. Mairu had even giggled when he had punched the last client, although to be fair, the sound the guy had made had been kind of funny….

Still, Shizuo felt the need to teach a good lesson.

"Oi, I don't like being violent like that. In fact, I hate it," Shizuo grunted before taking another drag from his cigarette.

Mairu regarded him with confusion for a moment, as if trying to discern if he was ying or not before asking, "If you hate beating people up so much then why are you a bodyguard to a boss who orders you to beat the shit out of people all the time?"

Shizuo frowned and considered scolding the girl on her use of foul language, but he knew it would be hypocritical of him judging by that phone call he just had with her brother so instead he decided to just answer her question and said, "Honestly, because it's the only job I can get… and it pays so might as well right?"

Mairu stayed in a thoughtful silence for a moment before she said in a tone that seemed kind of disappointed, "You sounded kind of like Iza-nii in that last part there."

Shizuo couldn't help but feel a twinge of disgust at himself for that.

Izaya idly picked at the sushi on his plate. He honestly wasn't that hungry, so he just decided to wait for Kururi to finish scarfing down her meal. Setting down his chopsticks and giving up the idea of eating, he rested his chin on his hand and said, "So, care to tell me what you and Mairu are arguing about now? It's been awhile since you've guys have gotten mad enough to separate."

Kururi's doe-brown eyes darted up to him for a flicker, reluctance shining in her gaze, before she returned to her neutral expression and looked back down on her food. She began to chew her food more slowly, but Izaya knew the best way to handle Kururi was with patience. When Kururi saw he wasn't going to give up, she swallowed her food and quietly said, "It's kind of over something stupid, admittedly. It was originally over a boy."

"As it always is…" Izaya said with an eyeroll, already starting to bore of this tale of conflict.

Kururi glanced at him, but continued on regardless, "It started over a boy but it kind of escalated. Mairu liked this boy who is a complete and utter idiot and jackass… someone she could do way better than. I commented on it and she got mad at me. She decided to play dirty and bring up a boy she is convinced I have a crush on-"

"Aoba Kuronuma?" Izaya guessed. Judging by how quickly her head snapped forward it confirmed his thoughts. He smirked and she blushed, knowing she had just given herself away.

Looking at him in shock she said, "How did you know?"

Izaya's smirk grew wider as he said, "I know everything!"

Kururi opened her mouth as if to say something before closing it and shaking her head. Defensively she said, "I do not have a crush on him, we just happen to hang out and-"

"Right, right, that old excuse," Izaya said, motioning his hand to show he wanted to speed this explanation up a bit, "Let's get to the point."

Kururi pouted at him but said, "I got mad… and then, we kind of just got to mud-slinging. Typical stuff… whatever we thought would make the other hurt, we said. Eventually, I began to storm away from her and Mairu screamed at me to go to your house because she thinks you like me better… and I did. Because I knew it would piss her off."

Izaya raised an eyebrow as he said, "Why does Mairu think I like you better than her?"

Kururi shrugged unknowingly and said, "She probably thinks you scold her way more than me or that you hang out with me more or something."

"She is aware that she is the one who tends to start up crap a little more… and she usually seems more adamant in avoiding me, right?" Izaya said.

Kururi shrugged, "I am not psychoanalyzing her here, that is something you'd do."

Izaya let out a chuckle and said, "Touche."

Kururi looked down at her food and she said, "Honestly, I am regretting that we let it escalate the way that it did. We shouldn't let stupid boys come between us…" Izaya knew Kururi had always relied on her sister more than Mairu ever did Kururi. Mairu did the talking that Kururi was too shy to do, was willing to be more daring and instigate more stuff. Kururi acted as the control, but both knew that Mairu could probably have a social life outside of Kururi if she wanted to while Kururi couldn't necessarily boast the same.

"Then why don't you just apologize to her then?"

Kururi shook her head and said, "Cause I doubt she is ready to forgive me yet. You know how vengeful she can be."

Izaya did. Mairu was more vengeful than he was at times and stubborn as a mule.

"Besides, it's kind of a pride thing. Much as I want her back, I'm not going to apologize if she is not going to apologize. She is just as culpable as me… and I am not one for just forgive and forgetting." Kururi added. Izaya stared at her and then laughed, shaking his head saying, "You guys took after me way too much."

Clapping his hands together he said, "Tell you what… we'll go back to my apartment and you can watch TV or something while I do a few pieces of paperwork so Namie doesn't skin me alive."

Kururi nodded and commented, "She looked pretty mad at you when you left with me."

Izaya said, "She's always mad though, so that isn't too surprising. Afterwards though, I'll try to talk to Mairu and see if I can work things out with her. If I do though, you gotta promise to apologize if she is willing to apologize and then go the fuck home."

Kururi nodded in agreement to that statement but added, "Good luck trying to get that to happen."

Izaya didn't say anything but in the back of his head, he knew he was going to need it. Especially if he had to confront Shizuo with her.

It seemed like the gods had felt some mercy to Shizuo's plight. He hadn't had to resort to violence with any of the clients. One guy he had to intimidate a little before he squeezed out some cash, but otherwise, he hadn't gotten any blood on his knuckles, much to Mairu's dismay. He could tell the girl was bored to death and had hoped at some point the dullness of it all would drive her away, but she stubbornly stayed by his side all the way, just hoping the next place would allow her to see some violence.

Now he was off of work and didn't have anything else to do. Part of him knew he should go back to Shinjuku but he wasn't ready to confront Izaya yet, so he decided to cool down. He asked Mairu if she wanted to get ice cream with him to which Mairu eagerly agreed yes.

So now the two of them were sitting on a park bench, licking at their ice cream. A couple of passerbys were gawking at the sight of Shizuo Heiwajima and one of the Orihara siblings sitting by each other, but one glare from Shizuo would be enough to scare them away.

They sat in companionable silence for a bit before Mairu asked, "Shizuo-kun… did you and Yuuhei-san ever fight?"

Shizuo nodded, "Plenty of times."

Mairu looked at him skeptically and said, "I mean fight-fight. Not a petty little argument."

"I hit him with a refrigerator once if that seems angry enough to you."

Mairu actually gaped at him for a second before saying. "But you guys always seem so close!"

Shizuo said, "We are close, but shit like that happens… especially when you have as short of a temper as me. I am not proud of any of the fights. We both said and did things. Hurtful things. Shit that I wish I could take back honestly. But I don't necessarily regret them either."

"Really?" Mairu said. She seemed to debate whether or not to press more before saying, "Why?"

"Because they taught me something. Every time I hurt him too bad or said something mean, I would reflect on myself and I guess in a way it began to teach me that perhaps I should try to manage my anger more. I know I don't do a very good job at it… but for Kasuka's sake I do my best not to let it take over too often. I try to be the better person. That I guess besides is an apology is the most you can hope for from someone… to hope they learn from their mistakes and to mind your boundaries for next time."

Mairu stayed in thoughtful silence before crumpling and saying, "Yeah, but the first step to that is forgiving each other and I don't think Kururi-chan is ready to forgive me yet."

"Actually she is, if you just head back to my house," a voice suddenly quipped.

Shizuo and Mairu both jumped at the sudden interruption and the familiarity of the voice.

"Iza-nii?" Mairu said.

"Flea?"

Lo and behold Izaya slid out of the shadows and said, "In the flesh."

Before Shizuo could ground out anything or grab something to throw, Mairu quipped out, "How long were you listening in on us, you creep?"

"Long enough to hear the important part," Izaya said, walking over confidently. "I am glad to know that both of you are willing to apologize to each other as this makes my job certainly a hell of a lot easier and it makes getting you guys out of my hair sooner…"

Mairu despite herself, said, "Kururi-chan wants to apologize?"

Izaya nodded, "Told me herself."

"She would tell you something like that…" Mairu grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Why? Because you think she's my favorite?"

Mairu gasped in shock at that, her eyes widening as she said, "She told you that?!"

Izaya chuckled and said, "That's the problem with secrets isn't it… it requires that you have to trust the person never to tell someone else… and people are quite fallible. I thought you knew this, Mairu?"

Mairu looked pissed, like she was going to punch something and Shizuo was debating if he should let her attack her brother to protect him when Izaya suddenly said, "Well, your secret is nothing but a foolish delusion. I don't like either one of you better than the other and I have no idea where you got that sentiment. You are both annoying little brats."

Mairu stamped her foot on the ground and said, "You're lying! You do like her better. You never yell at her as much as me."

"Well, I mean… you are more increasingly violent towards me than she is," Izaya said.

Mairu stammered and said, "True but…"

"And who is usually the one convincing her to do the stupid crap…"

"Me but…"

"And who is the one I get phone calls from the school all the time because she decided to beat the crap out of some girl."

Mairu actually smiled a little at that one and said, "I am but…"

"But nothing. You cause the most trouble, therefore I scold you more, but that doesn't mean I dislike you more than I do your sister. It just means you have to learn to cover up your tracks a little better if you're going to be doing stunts like me…" Izaya said.

Mairu actually faltered at that and said, "But…"

"Tell me, Mairu. When in my lifetime have I ever lied to spare anyone's feelings, even yours?"

Mairu paused again at that, before tears welled in her eyes. Dropping her ice cream cone, she ran to Izaya and hugged him. Izaya flinched at the hug and said, "Okay, okay. I said I didn't dislike you less than your sister. Not that I wanted you being all sentimental with me… I got an image to upkeep here."

Mairu took a step back and smiled, wiping at her eyes as she sniffed, "I hate you too, Iza-nii."

Izaya smiled and said, "Good. Now head back to my apartment and make up with your sister. Shizuo and I have had about enough."

Mairu nodded and began darting towards Shinjuku immediately.

Shizuo, who'd just been standing there watching the whole thing go down, watched as Izaya let out a sigh and said, "Sorry about her. Hopefully she didn't cause too much problems for you, neh?"

Shizuo snapped back to reality and shook his head, muttering, "No, no. She was completely fine."

Izaya nodded and began to walk back to the apartment when Shizuo said, "Izaya… can I come with you?"

Izaya blinked at that before smirking and saying, "Sure thing… looks like you need to wash your hands anyway, Shizu-chan."

Shizuo glanced down and saw that his ice cream had melted on his hands when he was distracted. He let out a rather loud curse which caused Izaya to let out a laugh.

By the time the two of them arrived home, Kururi and Mairu were already hugging and grasping each other as if they hadn't seen each other for years.

"I am so sorry, Mairu…" Kururi sniffled, clutching her sister tighter.

"No, no, it's me who should really be sorry. I am the one who took it too far over a stupid guy anyway," Mairu said.

"But I was the one who made the comment…"

"You were just trying to help me. I see that now."

There was only so much of this schmaltz that Izaya could take. Rolling his eyes, he commented, "Alright, alright. Everything is wonderful again for the Twin Terrors now can you please go home? I got to swallow about twelve pills with the headache you two have caused me."

Mairu and Kururi grinned at him before Mairu separated from her sister and said, "Come on, Kururi. We wouldn't want to be around when Shizuo-kun and him start fucking anyway."

"Oi!" Shizuo said in shock. He knew the twins were aware that Izaya and him had started a thing a few months ago… but he didn't expect them to be so… explicit already.

Izaya seemed to have no shame though as he said, "Yes, yes… we do get rather loud. So please leave."

The girls let out a simultaneous "Ewwww!" and set of giggles before they began filing out of the door. Before they left though, Mairu said, "Thank you for everything by the way, Shizuo-kun!"

"Oh uh… no problem," Shizuo said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously with his now clean hands.

Kururi didn't say anything, but Izaya didn't miss the grateful look she threw his way. He just replied back with a nod.

Eventually the door closed and Shizuo and Izaya both let out sighs of relief.

"I've had enough sibling interaction for the next three months…" Izaya said with an eyeroll.

"Oh, come on," Shizuo teased, looking at the flea, "It wasn't that bad, Iza-nii…"

"Don't make me vomit, Shizu-chan," Izaya said clippedly.

"Seriously though flea, that is the nicest thing I've seen you do for anyone," Shizuo said. He had learned tonight that Izaya Orihara wasn't as evil as he seemed.

"Wow. Unfair. I treat you very well in bed, Shizu-chan!" Izaya pouted, sticking his lip out intentionally, stirring something within Shizuo.

Trying to play coy though he said, "Hmm… I can't seem to recall. Care to give me a demonstration of when such a time occurred?"

Izaya grinned at him then, excitement dancing in his crimson eyes. It seems he would be getting some sex tonight after all...

A/N: Ahhh. I love the Orihara siblings and their bond with Izaya and it's one of the things I wish the creators would explore more honestly. So I couldn't resist writing something that involved both Shizaya and them. I had a lot of fun writing this even though it took me forever (I started this when I was a senior in high school and I am almost a sophmore in college for cripes sake).

Also, while researching the twins, I found out their birthdays are on Valentines Day which makes me really mad I didn't know that before I wrote my Valentines fic. lol.

As always, critique is wanted and I hope you enjoyed!