Two is better than one

-slayers64

A.N. - just a short little something I made on a whim. I told a friend about the general idea of things and that I didn't know if it would be that enjoyable since I didn't have much of a plot at the time, but she convinced me to give it a try and see how far I can take it, so I'm gonna dedicate this to her.

For: CloudsofSand

Hope you like it! ^^ If you want anything in here in particular, just message me.

Disclaimer- You deeply wound me each time :'( (no, I do not own durarara)

P.S. - This fic will be rated T for now, but the rating will go up due to the nature of this fic.

And now I would like to clear something up before you all start reading:

Celty has her head in this fic (meaning she can talk)

Izaya and Shizuo do not know each other (meaning this is their first meeting)

Izaya is still in high school and Shizuo is out of school

Izaya may seem a little happy in the beginning, but this story has a lot happening and both Shizuo and Izaya have their share of screw ups, so don't expect it to be happy go lucky for ever.

(Shizuo's P.O.V.)

Running a hand through blond locks of hair, Shizuo huffed, annoyed at his current situation. "Okay . . ., remind me again why I'm doing this, please?"

His co-worker Tom, chuckled lightly at his response, clasping a hand over the debt collector's shoulder in a familiar way. "Come on now, don't be like that. I know it's a bit of a hassle that your old hair stylist had to quit her job, but really this guy is good, promise! He's really good at hair styling and really knows how to keep a conversation going. The guy himself is a bit of a mystery, but he seems decent enough," Tom reassured, his eyes closed slightly in amusement.

Shizuo rolled his eyes, taking a drag of his cigarette, as he inhaled the cancerous stick, savoring the nicotine that seemed to relax his nerves. He'd been going to the same hair stylist for about seven years now and really enjoyed her company as well as her skills. The woman wasn't exactly the best at conversation but she tried her best, and it actually comforted the blond man to know that he didn't have to try so hard in conversing back. Unfortunately the woman's boyfriend had gotten himself into a bit of trouble as of late, so regretfully she was forced to resign from her job, resulting in the two moving.

Now Shizuo who had been going to the same hair stylist for years was forced to look for a new one. He wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea exactly, since Celty had been the only hair stylist he'd ever trusted. What if this new guy was some sort of freak, or he tried to get Shizuo to change his hair color, or was bothered by Shizuo's quietness, or asked a bunch of personal questions, or what if he-

"We're here." Suddenly getting cut off from his turmoil of thoughts, Shizuo looked quickly from his co-worker and then to the small building in front of them. It was a small little place, but had a good location and seemed to be a respectable establishment. It made the ex bartender a little nervous, standing in front of the place, unsure of what he wanted or who this new hair stylist that Tom had recommended even was.

Standing numbly in front of the door, Shizuo stared at the sign blankly, seeming to focus on the store hours intently, but really just staring into space. Tom, easily picking up on his kohai's uneasiness, rolled his eyes playfully.

"Well? Are you going in or not?"

Swallowing thickly, Shizuo stomped out the quickly deteriorating cigarette and groaned under his breath.

"Alright, alright, I'm going in. Just . . . don't rush me!" He snapped, his mocha eyes wavering.

Grinning, Tom brought a hand up to rest on the blonde's head, ruffling the fading blond tresses.

"Looks like you could go for another dye as well," he recommended, noticing the natural brown poking out from the roots.

"Yeah, yeah, just get of here and go finish that errand you said you had to do. I've got it from here," Shizuo grumbled, shoving the hand away, embarrassed.

The man grinned, shaking his head.

"Alright, alright, just try to relax and when you go in there, ask for an "Izaya Orihara", they'll gladly be willing to help you out. The people in there are very kind, if not a tad bit strange." Tom spoke, clapping his co-worker on the shoulder one last time, before waving a hand in dismissal.

Shizuo grunted a mutual good bye in his stead, before redirecting his attention to the door. After Tom left, the blonde had come to the conclusion that he had been standing there for quite some time, when a person from inside came to open the door.

"Hello~? May I help you, Sir?" A voice questioned with an undeniable purr in its tone. The sudden appearance surprised Shizuo slightly, making him jump back a bit. The action summoned a light snicker from the raven in front of him, before the voice continued.

"Easy now, I don't bite~ Were you looking for a hair cut or something?"

The reply earned a blush of embarrassment from the taller of the two, as he sighed mentally.

'Here goes nothing. There's no turning back now . . .'

"Uhm yeah . . ., a haircut and a dye would be nice . . ." Shizuo answered awkwardly back, scratching the back of his head.

"I was told to ask for an "Izaya Orihara" from a co-worker of mine." Shizuo added on, leaning from one foot to the other in a nervous habit. The man seemed to brighten up at this as a big grin etched across his face. "Looking at him~ It seems my skills have spread far, indeed," the dark haired man purred, confidently.

"Well come on in, I can take care of you right now if you'd like." The man offered, stepping back, as he motioned his hand in a waving gesture to beckon the blond inside. Shizuo nodded stiffly, walking inside, caught off guard that this "Izaya Orihara" was so young looking.

Allowing his gaze to glide over the man for a moment, Shizuo took note of his appearance. The guy seemed to be about in his late teens or early adult years. He had fine, dark black hair that ran down shortly, framing his face, and piercing red eyes to match. His outfit consisted of a tight fitting red shirt with a black half jacket that hugged his body attractively, and black form fitting pants which only added to his superior looks. Sure he was a bit on the short side, but it didn't really take away from his looks, instead only amplifying them. The guy was a tad bit on the thin side, but didn't seem to be too bad off; a little more meat on his bones would be nice, but hey, can't be perfect. He seemed to be pretty fit and had high cheek bones as well. In short, the guy was pretty good looking.

Catching the blonde's eyes raking up and down his body, the hair stylist grinned, cheekily.

"Like what you see~?" He purred, winking suggestively at Shizuo, earning a sharp blush in response.

"W-what! It's not like that, I swear! I wasn't trying to perv on you or anything, honest!" Shizuo fussed defensively, waving his hands around in an exaggerated manner, as his cheeks stained an uncharacteristically bright shade of pink.

Puffing out his cheeks, the raven laughed hysterically, bending over with mirth. Shizuo stared dumbfounded at the raven, confused and insecure at the man's reaction. He didn't know whether that was a good sign or a bad sign, so he just decided to stand there awkwardly as he waited for the guy to catch his breath.

"Ahahahah! Geez Mr. Bartender, take it easy. I'm only fucking with you," Izaya spoke up, his voice laced with humor. Shizuo winced at the crude wording, only fueling the man's fun. "Alright, run it by me what you need again?" Izaya asked, graciously changing the subject, as he looked up at Shizuo, questioningly. Once he answered, Izaya nodded with a hum, motioning for the debt collector to follow him. Leading the way to the very back, Izaya grabbed a black hair apron and wrapped it around the blond, before motioning for him to sit down and lean his head back. Placing a dry towel under his neck, Izaya looked down at the blond.

"Hey, so what's your name anyway? I'm usually very good with names, but I don't think I've ever seen you around town before." Izaya asked conversationally, turning on the water to wet his customer's hair. Shizuo hissed at the hot temperature, earning an amused smirk from the raven above him. "Awe~ Can Mr. Bartender not take the heat? I'm sowwy, I'll turn it down!" Izaya teased, his eyes closing to slits, as he adjusted the water accordingly. Shizuo growled at this, before biting in. "My name is Shizuo Heiwajima, not Mr. Bartender."

Izaya seemed to consider this for a moment, before snapping his fingers. "Alright got it, I'll call you Shizu-chan!" He chirped, drenching Shizuo's hair with warm water. Shizuo growled, clenching his fists tightly. "Don't call me that! What's wrong with you?!"

Izaya grinned childishly, as he uncapped a bottle of the salon's shampoo and squeezed a general amount into his palm. "Hey, I think it's cute~ Does Shizu-chan not agree?" Izaya asked mockingly, as he gently began massaging the substance into the dark tresses. Shizuo grunted at this, glaring up into vermilion eyes accordingly.

"It's too familiar, that's why. And it's childish too." Shizuo bit back stubbornly, as he subconsciously leaned in to the feeling of the raven's gentle massaging hands. He had to admit it felt nice. As for his new hair stylist, he couldn't say much about him yet, besides the fact that the guy annoyed him a little, but other than that, he was still rather neutral in his opinion. Izaya rinsed out the shampoo, adding in conditioner, as the two went back and forth for a while over the nickname.

After a while, Izaya squeezed out the excess water from the blonde's hair, and wrapped a towel around his head, finally instructing him to sit up and follow him to a close by chair. Luckily there weren't many customers, so Shizuo didn't find himself waiting for the raven to return much; instead his attention was purely on him.

As the two conversed, Shizuo quickly learned that Izaya enjoyed talking a lot, especially about his customers and Shizuo was no exception. At first it had made the blond a little uncomfortable, but as time went on, he began to settle down and even added to the conversation. The raven liked to ask a bunch of questions it seemed, but rarely revealed anything about himself, and what was revealed, usually came in snippets so that you couldn't really piece one and two together.

Even as they went through the process of cutting and dyeing, rarely did their talking ever die down, ranging from many different topics. It was hard for Shizuo to keep up at first, but gradually he adjusted to the onslaught of growing questions, taking each one in stride. They went from subjects such as:

"So do you really work as a bartender? I mean you are wearing the outfit,"

to questions like:

"So how long have you been dying your hair?"

The list went on and on and when the questions became too much, Shizuo just found himself ignoring the man. The guy was a bit chatty, he would admit, and Shizuo could easily see himself getting annoyed by him, but for the most part there just wasn't enough to base a solid opinion on him. He really didn't seem like that bad a person and at least he kept Shizuo entertained. It was a lot different from talking with his old hair stylist; Celty had always been the quiet type, only adding conversation in when it was needed. It was relaxing being around her and Shizuo often found himself comfortable enough to vent to the woman. She was a very trustworthy person and the two even hung out on occasion when their schedules weren't so full. Shizuo had to admit that he would miss her. She was a great friend.

Getting used to Izaya might take a while, he'd concluded, but maybe it would be a good change. It would give the blonde a chance to talk and get to know a new person, and who knows? Maybe eventually the two might become good friends, just like what had happened with Celty and him.

As he found himself slowly warming up to the idea, Shizuo felt somewhat content, and was highly considering thanking Tom for suggesting him to Izaya.

That is . . . until the guy started hitting on him.

A.N. - Alright so everything this first chapter is supposed to be kind of fluffy and playful but just so you all know, it's not always gonna be like this. Both Shizuo and Izaya have a lot of shit going on in their lives.

And sorry if the end seemed a bit sudden, I didn't actually plan on stopping like that, but it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Hope you all enjoyed! R&R please!

P.S. - I'll let you guys take a vote on whose p.o.v. you would like me to do each chapter. :3