He was hurting on the other side of that door. It reached out and into him as he sat with his back pressed fully to the wooden barrier, desperately trying to phase through and be by his mate's side. Could he break the door down? Of course he could, but he wouldn't. Not until he said it was okay.

A shaky breath he was sure he wasn't meant to hear met his ears, and he closed his eyes against the wave of distress he felt because of it.

"Izaya please, just open the door. Talk to me."

"Just go away. Leave me alone Shizuo-" A pained gasp had Shizuo gritting his teeth and pushing the back of his head harder against the door, his fists clenching painfully at his sides on the floor. After shallowly inhaling, Izaya continued, "You don't have to do this. There's nothing here for you."

"That's bullshit." He paused to soften his tone. "You're here."

He couldn't figure out what Izaya's words were wet with, venom, or tears, or possibly both. "Yes, me who you hate."

"I don't-!"

"I don't need your obligatory pity, you monster. I knew from the very start that the person I was meant to be with could only ever despise me. It's not unheard of, instincts falling to personal feelings. So, I decided to hate you too, ne; I medicated away my instincts since I guess even a god can't overcome the bondage of being born an omega. You just so happened to catch me when there was a suppressant shortage and I hadn't taken my dose." A self-directed whisper. "You were never supposed to know."

Shizuo tried to breathe past the strangling sensation in his chest. He tried to make it a confident proclamation, but it came out like a timid suggestion when he said, "I never hated you."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying." He turned so that he was facing the door and rested his forehead against it. Carefully, he let out a calming scent, an olive branch, to Izaya.

"Stop it!" Izaya hissed and even through the door Shizuo could smell the spike of indignation and fear- You're scared. Just like me, flea.

"I might not have always liked you, but I never hated you." His tongue struggled under the weight of words he couldn't say- not yet, not now. Someday, not today.

Izaya broke the silence like fragile ice covering something not known but not to be ignored.

"You're alright with it being me, Shizu-chan?

"There's no one else I'd rather it be." He shocked himself with how true that was. Smiling, "What would I do without your smart mouth, huh?"

Izaya's laughter floated closer to the door; it was tentative, and it was real. After another round of silence, the sound of the lock being released and the door creaking open slightly met Shizuo's ears. The pulsing scent of Izaya's heat made his head swim and he had to forcefully remind himself that he hadn't broken into the flea's apartment to knot him.

Shizuo could see Izaya's entire frame shake-from exertion, exhaustion, arousal-as damp and wary rubies appraised him. "Are you just saying that because you want to fuck me?" There was a careful sportiveness to his question.

"No." Shizuo reached through the crack and softly grasped the trembling hand which radiated warmth within his own. "You give your all to me, I give my all to you. That's how this works, flea."

Izaya hummed, then, "But you do want to fuck me."

Shizuo sighed in place of an answer. "We don't have to do anything. We can just-" He almost bit his tongue when Izaya took his hand and placed it between his slick soaked thighs, causing shuddering breaths to pass both of their lips.

"Oh no, Shizu-chan." Izaya's sultry voice had him looking between that panting mouth and where his fingers disappeared between those-son of a bitch-pillow soft thighs which were only shielded by-dammit dammit dammit-the oversized shirt Izaya wore. "You're not getting off that easy, ne."

Neither of them was.

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Ne, it really was just a matter of time before this song was requested. I knew I couldn't stay away from my OTP for too long. (I'm sure the withdrawal would have killed me). These two are always learning, nothing's ever static.

Thanks for reading.