I keep saying I'm not going to write anything with these two and work on all the other stuff I have due but... right. :)

Enjoy!

Anticipation Makes Everything Better

He slumped against the wall, placing all his weight on his left leg and gripping his right thigh as if it would help control the pain. He was sure it was broken. He'd have to call a cab as soon as he got out into the open, though the problem was going to be how to get there in the first place. The initial adrenaline that had dulled the pain in his leg as he had ran away had faded, leaving him with a roiling sensation in his stomach that ebbed in accordance to his pulse.

Shit, he thought, tipping his head back to hit the wall behind him as he sucked in breath after breath to calm himself down. He knew there was something fishy about the sudden appearance of this new gang, and he'd meant to keep a watch on their previous link to the yakuza, but he hadn't been counting on their stupidity. He felt a gurgle of laughter bubble in his throat, warring with the need to breathe properly. Humans were indeed so fascinating. It was so easy to calculate their intelligence, and think in terms of common sense, but sometimes! Sometimes they didn't follow his calculations and did something completely unexpected, like act in accordance to their stupidity and not their intelligence. To think they'd had the nerve to try and kidnap him. He chuckled to himself, already lost in the haze of possibilities for appropriate punishment.

"Louse!"

Izaya froze and almost forgot the dizzying pain.

Leave it to that bastard to show up at a moment like this. Izaya grit his teeth and forced his lips to tug into a wide grin, putting his hands in his pocket and making it seem like he was doing nothing more than leaning against the wall. His leg burned and his body trembled with the effort.

"Ah, Shizu-chan, what a pleasant surprise. Didn't expect to see you here, isn't this a bit far from your usual haunting spots?"

"Unlike you, I have an actual job, and sometimes it takes me places," Shizuo spat out, walking down the alley with the barest hints of a predatory smile twitching at the corner of his lips. Izaya felt his own forming in response, but this was bad. There was no way Izaya would be able to go up against Shizuo in this state, and if Shizuo realized what was going on… Izaya had to plan this right.

"Well, I'm glad, I didn't think I'd get my dose of Shizu-chan today," Izaya crooned, lips working on autopilot as his brain whirred trying to come up with a way to get away. It had to be quick – the pain was nauseating, and Izaya didn't know how much longer his leg would hold up.

"And I didn't think I'd get a chance to beat your face into the pavement today, louse," Shizuo's grin was nearly manic, the way it always was when faced with the prospect of a fight with Izaya. He stooped down to rip off a long metal railing, bending it like taffy in his hands, and heft it menacingly.

"Aw, you think of me every day, Shizu-chan?" Izaya let the most obnoxiously sweet smile grace his face, readying himself to carry out his plan. He glanced quickly upwards, just fleetingly enough that he could pretend he hadn't wanted Shizuo to see it. But Shizuo was sharp, sharper than he appeared, at least. Shizuo would see it, and, believing that Izaya was about to jump upwards to escape, would swing his makeshift weapon in that direction. Izaya, however, would duck at that exact moment, using the split second of surprise to club the handle of his knife against Shizuo's head. All he needed was to knock Shizuo out—then he could call a cab and go home. Or to Shinra's.

But Shizuo was sharp. Maybe too sharp.

He started to swing his makeshift weapon, but suddenly stopped halfway, railing hanging in midair. Unfortunately, Izaya had already began ducking, and it took everything he had to not cry out and buckle as he had to abort his hit-and-run motion mid-way. Fuck. He could feel the broken ends of the bone digging into his skin, distending it and threatening to outright break it, if it hadn't already. His vision darkened as he rode the pain out, going down on one knee and breathing heavily.

"The hell?" he snapped, glaring up at Shizuo. But Shizuo had a peculiar frown on his face and was studying Izaya. Probably noting the sweat that dotted his forehead and wan face and the way he couldn't disguise how he favored his right leg.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What could you possibly be talking about? I'm peachy keen as always."

Shizuo peered closer at him and suddenly smirked, his stance relaxing and shoulders dipping down, "Had a run in the yakuza, didn't you? I heard there was a new group," Shizuo spat his cigarette out, "And only someone new to the area would be dumb enough to mess with you. At least they gave you a souvenir."

"Isn't that a little hypocritical, Shizu-chan? Are you calling yourself dumb now?" and Izaya didn't know how much longer he could keep up conversation, but damn if he ever learned to shut his mouth. It was going to get him killed one of these days, "I mean, I've known of your protozoan brain for ages, but I didn't realize you knew it too."

Shizuo snorted, "Is that the best you can do? You really are worth crap when you're hurt."

"Yes, well, we all have our limits," he ground out, body beginning to sway, and he had to put both hands flat on the ground to steady himself, but he did not let his body's weakness dull the pride in his eyes.

Shizuo watched him consideringly, taking out another cigarette to replace his burnt out one and lighting it, cupping the flame around his mouth as he breathed in and coaxed the fire to grow. The orange glow slid under his sunglasses and illuminated his eyes, eyes that had not left Izaya's face for a second even as he flicked the lighter back closed and pocketed it.

What is he waiting for? Izaya thought, wondering if he was going to have to come up with another course of action to get away. He hated situations like this – he hated it when things were out of his control. Usually, no matter how dangerous or risky a situation seemed to be, Izaya already had several backup plans ready, or had already predicted how everything would turn out. He never walked into a situation he wasn't sure he could get out of. Today was a rare exception. Normally, Izaya never took risks with things that were precious to him, and the most precious thing was himself.

Finally, Shizuo sighed and held out his hand, letting it sit there, large and simple, "Let's go."

Izaya looked at it suspiciously, body tense and trembling faintly, and he wanted to stand up so badly and be at eye level, or as near as he could get, to Shizuo, "And where would we go, my dear Shizu-chan?" he managed to get out through gritted teeth.

"Where else, Shinra's," Shizuo said, like Izaya was three years old.

"Well, aren't you a gentleman," Izaya muttered, voice stretched thin like a rubber band, fingernails scratching the ground as the pain peaked and the world swam. He turned his head slightly. If he threw up, he wanted it to get on Shizuo's shoes.

Shizuo grinned and stepped closer, wrapping a hand around Izaya's arm to lift him up and simultaneously whisper in his ear, "I won't take you when there's someone else's mark on you. The day I finally do you in, I'm going to be the one to cause every single bruise and break on your body."

Izaya was going to have to write that quote down or something in order to relive the shiver, completely unrelated to his pain, that coursed through him at those words. Shizuo hefted him in his arms like he was nothing more than a bag of feathers, mindful of his leg, and began to walk without any preamble.

"Trust me, Shizu-chan, I'll be taking you up on that promise," Izaya murmured, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards mischievously as he wrapped his arms around Shizuo's neck, making himself comfortable. Shizuo grinned in response, canines glinting dangerously.

Izaya is eating my brain. -_-;; Not much substance to this one, but it was fun to write Izaya in pain.