I haven't dropped this story. I have two more chapters coming after this one. Or three, depending on how well I can organize the timeline for it. Anyway, I'm hoping to update this darn story more frequently. I had a five month writer's block...apparently and it really bothers me. Please review to show me that you're still with me!

Shizuo's POV

I feel like I'm freezing my tail off like usual. I wake up earlier than I really need to, or even want to, because the damn flea is hogging the sheets again. I look over to his side and see him cuddling with a clump of comforter before I practically tear it from him. He hangs on as long as he can before letting go and flopping on the bed. He stirs in his sleep but replaces the comforter for my arm and holds onto it tightly, snuggling it unconsciously.

"Oi, flea." I say as I shake him a little. "It's morning."

"Nice of you to state out the obvious." Izaya says in his sleep. "Let me sleep some more." He purrs as he stretches a little before repositioning himself in a comfortable spot. He clings to the pillow and finds the cool spot under it that he likes so much. He hums a little as he finally finds it and his tail starts swinging in front of my face.

"Hell no. You wake me up early because you steal the sheets. Take responsibility and make me breakfast to make up for it." I say as I begin shaking him more violently. "I can't go back to bed after I'm awake, you damn well know that."

"How can I not, when you keep reminding me, protozoan? You don't have to stay over if you don't want to be woken up early." Izaya says as he opens one of his eyes. He mews before rubbing his head against my shoulder and then wrapping his arms around me. His purring gets louder as I hold him closer to me. "You know, you should take responsibility too~ Last night you rattled me up, but didn't finish what you started."

"I told you already that I want to wait. Besides, you're the one who jumped on me. I didn't do any 'rattling' flea."

"Pffft, playing the innocent again, I see." Izaya says in disbelief. "Ah, it's snowing again." He says as he slips on his lazy shoes for around the house and opens the curtains. "What do they call this?" I get up and stretch a bit before scratching the back of my head. My tail wags as I sneak behind Izaya and nuzzle close. I nibble his ear a bit before pulling away and holding him.

"It's a white Christmas." I answer him as I look out towards the city below. Damn, we're really high up. If we still hated each other like before I would have tossed Izaya out the window. "Since Shinra and Celty are on vacation in Europe for the holidays and you already sent everyone's Christmas gifts by mail, we have nothing to do but laze around here and get fat."

"First of all, Shinra and Celty do not encompass our lives. Secondly, I thought it would be much more convenient if we just sent all the gifts by mail; that way we have more time to spend with each other~"

"Okay then we're going to spend Christmas 'with each other' while getting fat." I add as I head downstairs to the living room. I collapse onto the couch and sigh as I reach for the remote.

"If anyone in this house is getting fat, it's you not me." Izaya says as he jumps on the couch beside me. He lies on my lap and sighs as he lies on his arm comfortably looking at the TV. I put my hand on his head before slipping my fingers through his silky, black hair. He purrs again as he starts to relax and close his eyes. "Hmmm…" He says before touching my knee. "You want some sweatpants?"

"You sound like you're my wife." I say with a laugh.

"I might as well be. Without me, you'd be a mess." Izaya adds as he turns and faces me. "Hey, how about we go out and eat a cake? Then, you can go take me to see the Christmas lights in the city." I smile at him and ruffle his hair to annoy him. "You brute! I hate it when you do that!" Izaya says as he tries fixing his hair with his fingers. I nip his cat ear as he fixes his hair and nuzzle my head against his.

"We can head to Ikebukuro later. It's barely morning. How about you make some breakfast and I'll watch some cartoons." He glares at me sternly before wrapping his arms around my neck and purring loudly into my ear. "Damn louse…" I say as I feel him start to lick my neck. "My point exactly…you're always the one doing the rattling…" I say as he slips his hand under my shirt and starts feeling my chest.

"Okay, so I don't play fair, not like I ever did in the first place." Izaya admits as he lifts my shirt a bit. I hear a sudden knock at the door as Izaya's attention shifts to said door with his ears erect and his body alert. He gets off me slowly before heading over to the door. "Ah…it's your brother." He says as he lets Kasuka inside. "How unexpected. I didn't know you knew Shizu-chan was even here and it also surprised me that you even knew my address."

"One time when I visited my brother he had your address on his refrigerator." Kasuka explains dully. "It looked like the note was set on fire though."

"Heh, nostalgia." Izaya says as he hums. "Well, welcome and Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too, Izaya-kun, Ni-san."

"Merry Christmas." I say in return. He's never been good with timing, but I'm glad he's here. "I thought you were working on that new romantic comedy movie you were talking to me about." I say as he walks over and hands me a bag.

"I have a day off today." He says dully. "The present is for both of you to share."

"I'm kind of scared of what that means." I say as I try to look in the bag. Kasuka closes it swiftly and looks at me with that expressionless face before whispering in my ear. "Ah...thanks."

"Better not be keeping secrets from your lover, Shizu-chan~!" Izaya says as he tackles me and nuzzles his head under my chin. "You can sit down Kasuka. I'm sure since my sisters are your biggest—and scariest—fans they'll be here any second." Suddenly the doorbell rings again, but Izaya insists that it's my turn to answer it. I smirk before pushing him off the couch and poking his bottom with my foot. He glares at me before heading over to the door.

"Where's Yuuhei?!" I hear Mairu say annoyingly before saying anything else. She gasps as she peers into the room and finds my brother sitting across from me. "Not fair! You already have a bedtime buddy! You can't have his brother too! Remember what we told you?"

"Yes, 'If you lay a hand on our Yuuhei we'll tear your arms off and hit you with them until not even Mom can recognize you.' Was that it?" Mairu and Kururi look at each other, looking as if they're trying to remember if that was their threat. Mairu smiles and nods as she pushes Izaya out of the way.

"Lucky guess." She mutters as she enters the living room with Kururi trailing behind her.

"Lucky guess? I remember you two saying that so distinctly and so threateningly that I couldn't sleep for a week. I mean, it's one thing to go around and sneak into my room, but it's another thing to do so in the middle of the night with a clever in your hands!"

"No wonder Shizuo likes you. You're just like a girl." Mairu comments with a laugh.

"Girl." Kururi repeats dully. I snicker a bit before I get a smack to the head.

"What the hell was that for?!" I ask as I rub the back of my head.

"You were being rude. Aren't you supposed to defend your oh-so wonderful, exceptionally handsome lover?" The flea says as he makes a sort of puppy-dog face. He's supposed to act like a cat.

"I should smack you for lying about all the compliments you just gave yourself. There's kids in the room; you should set a better example for them." I tell him smugly.

"Oh, by the way brother, Izaya-kun told me the other day that he had given your Christmas gift early." Kasuka mentions blandly. "Did you like it?" Did I like it? I can't answer that honestly since I don't want Izaya to know I liked it and I can't tell Kasuka what it was since it's really embarrassing. I look at my brother calmly and nod.

"It was okay." I shrug to make Izaya pissed. The second I answered his question I saw Izaya get ticked off at the corner of my eye.

"What do you mean it was 'okay'?" Izaya asks in irritation.

"Maybe he didn't like it because you were a virgin and didn't know how to do it right, big bro~" Mairu smirks.

"Shut up! We weren't talking about that!" Izaya says nervously.

"Oh yeah? Then what were you talking about?" Mairu asks with a smug look.

"I made him a cake." Izaya says shortly. It wasn't the greatest cake I've ever seen, but it actually tasted really good. "I don't know why you guys have such dirty minds." They get it from him.

"Anyway, here we got you both gifts, you little demons. And here's yours Kasuka."

"I thought we already gave my brother his gift." I ask as I see Izaya handing Kasuka a different gift than we had already given my brother. No doubt that Izaya decided this all on his own. He tends to do things like that; even going as far as surprising me with extravagant gifts on special occasions, leaving me looking like a complete idiot because I'm left empty handed. Who the heck celebrates an anniversary after one month of being together? How was I supposed to know to celebrate such a thing? "One-month anniversary" I'm sorry but I bet he was just making that up to make me look foolish.

"This one is specifically from me." Izaya says happily. I knew it. Again I look foolish. I'm empty-handed because I thought that whole "we can buy the gift together and give it to your brother" was enough. I should have bought him a wallet or a belt or something even more boring and unoriginal like a tie, but that's just what Izaya would expect from me.

"Ah, Izaya-kun, thank you." Kasuka says as he opens the gift and reveals a nice stylist jacket. That would have gone great with a tie.

"Aw, come on Kasuka. If I told you once I told you a million times to call me Nii-chan." Izaya says slyly. I twitch my eye a bit as I see Izaya making a smirk. "I mean, I'm practically your brother-in-law wouldn't you say?"

"Hmm, I suppose so. Nii-san just has to have the courage to propose." Kasuka says simply.

"You set him up to say that!" I say angrily.

"Now, now Shizu-chan remember your blood pressure?" Izaya teases.

"Screw my blood pressure. Apparently since I'm with you, I already threw away all the care I had for that weeks ago!"

"There's no need for you to get all worked up over something like this." Izaya says happily as he pats my brother's head. Kasuka immediately starts rubbing Izaya's jawline, his weak spot. I usually use that tactic whenever I want him to just be quiet, but it usually doesn't work for one reason or another. Over the phone, I might have mentioned that to my brother. Izaya slowly drifts off into an unconscious dream beside Kasuka and starts purring. His tail relaxing beneath him and his head resting on my brother's lap. Somehow I'm jealous.

"Why does he relax when you do that?" I ask him. Kasuka shrugs his shoulders and continues to pet Izaya's hair and scratch his jawline gently. Mairu and Kururi start playing with their brother's ears, making them twitch in irritation.

"Get off of me you little beasts." Izaya says as he rolls over and allows Kasuka to massage the back of his neck and head. "And for your information Shizu-chan you do it way too rough. And no you little demons, I didn't mean it that way!" Mairu and Kururi giggle a bit before pulling and tugging on Izaya's tail.

"Ni-chan we want to go make snowmen with Yuuhei!" Izaya glares at them and sits up. I guess he's mad because they're ruining his moment. I get up and grab him by the back of his shirt and grit my teeth and growl at him.

"I think it's a good idea to get out since you weren't looking forward to staying indoors anyway." I say to him. "You little—" Izaya smirks and laughs a little as I dangle him.

"Jealous, Shizu-chan?" He asks me with a smug look. I growl a little louder and start shaking him up and down as if he's a ragdoll. "Geh, don't be so rough with your precious kitty-cat~"

"I'll be as rough as I want to be with you." I say menacingly. Mairu starts laughing and telling me that what I said sounded wrong. I don't care if it did; they can take it either way as long as Izaya gets the message that he's clinging to other's way too easily. Kasuka gets up suddenly and says that a little stroll would be nice since everyone's getting a little tense. By "everyone" he meant me.

In Ikebukuro~

"Damn, it's freaking freezing out here." I say as I try to warm up my hands with my breath. Izaya snickers at me before handing me some mittens. At first I refuse since I tell him that they're for chumps who can't handle the cold, but then when that freezing breeze whirls around us, I snatch them away from him.

"If I find a nice stick, I can play fetch with Shizu-chan, just like old times." Izaya says happily as he starts to skip.

"If you do, I'll jab it so far up your—"

"Ni-chan, didn't you tell me over the phone before that Izaya-kun's been really clingy?" Kasuka asks as he walks alongside me, with Izaya's sister's trailing closely behind. My brother isn't the type to interrupt people, but I suppose he had a good reason to.

"Yeah, every time I say that I better head home, he makes me stay the night. And when I get back from work he's real clingy, cuddles up with me on the couch, wants me to hold him all the time, wants me to pet him all the time too. And then there's times when I'm in the shower and I hear him meowing a lot from the living room. Stuff like that can get a bit irritating." Especially for me.

"Maybe he's—"

"Don't say in heat because Shinra already suggested that and I'm pretty sure that's not it." Kasuka isn't one to talk about weird shit like that, but I've heard Shinra suggest that so many times I'm starting to believe everyone might think the same.

"…" Not you too Kasuka… "Well, then I suppose he just has separation issues." Kasuka says with a shrug. "Some people get attached to objects if they've been deprived from them for a long time. It's a feeling of 'I might not ever have this again' or 'it might disappear so I better make the most of it.'"

"Why do you know so much about shit like this?" I ask him.

"I study it in my spare time." Another shrug. "They're playing in the snow." Kasuka says as he points over to the little bugs making a snowman (probably of my brother) and Izaya making snowballs. "I know this is a personal question, but have you two…?" He starts to make weird hand signals that look so awkward and vague that I can't tell whether he's referring to sex or a wrestling match between bacon and eggs.

"No." I say simply. "We're waiting."

"Ah. Izaya-kun said that you were 'too chicken' to pleasure him in bed. So, I'm thinking the plan to wait isn't mutual between the two of you." That little… "Perhaps he's clingy because of that. He's hoping to clear up any doubts that he has in his mind about you loving him. And his way of trying to communicate these insecure feelings is through behaving in an overly loving manner to prove that he is worth loving and to make sure that he's loving you enough so you can reciprocate those feelings."

"This is the most I've ever heard you speak, Kasuka. You've got to lay off those books. You're turning into Shinra." I say as a shiver runs down my spine. "Soon enough you'll be turning people into animals." I say in a whisper over my shoulder so he doesn't hear.

"Do you understand though?" He asks dully.

"Yeah, I understand." I say as I scratch my head. "I understand that I'm not smart enough to understand what you just spouted out of your mouth."

"Haha, that's just like my Shizu-chan; never able to understand anything that isn't comprehendible to a rock." Izaya laughs. I reach down on the ground for some snow, shape it into a ball and throw it as hard as I can at him. Naturally, I hit him and it shuts him up. Mairu and Kururi tell Izaya how he walked into that one. Well, Mairu tells him, Kururi just repeats the word "walked."

"He really does love you, Ni-san." Kasuka says simply as he watches Izaya shake off all the snow from his face. I look at him and smile before laughing a little.

"Yeah."

Izaya's POV

Just when you think you're flirting is completely flawless, you're boyfriend throws a snowball at your face; Shizu-chan takes my remarks much too seriously. I was just playing with him, but he has to be so sensitive about it. I did say "my" Shizu-chan; I thought that would hint to him that I was trying to be endearing. I sigh and then notice my head is the only part of my body that isn't covered in piles of snow. I look at Mairu and Kururi patting down more snow on either side of me, making me into a godly snowman.

"What are you rug rats doing?" I ask as I feel most of my limbs losing feeling because of the cold.

"You were daydreaming so we decided to take this opportunity to make your body as cold as your heart." Mairu says as she pats more snow on me. Kururi doesn't say anything; she just nods. The fur on my ears and tail ruffle up as I feel completely offended. I grab a hold of them both as I emerge from the snow and hiss at them. "What? We were just kidding." After all that I've done for these two, they decide to make a cruel comment such as that? "You've become really sensitive lately. Are you pregnant?"

"Guys don't get pregnant. What the heck are they teaching you at school?" I ask with a glare. "And I am not sensitive. You would feel offended if I said something like that to you."

"Well, before you got together with Shizuo, you didn't care what we told you." Mairu says simply.

"That doesn't mean it didn't hurt. Just because I never told you two that it was hurtful, didn't mean I was okay with it." I say as I drag them by their hoods and head over to where Shizu-chan and Kasuka are chatting up a storm. "Shizu-chan!" I say as I cling onto him. "These two said something hurtful to me~! Comfort me."

"They're kids. I hardly think they could hurt your feelings." Shizu-chan says simply. "Besides, I thought you never listened to anyone's insults."

"How can I not? I have ears don't I? And especially now that I have cat ears, my hearing is tenfold." My tail curls around Shizu-chan's leg as I purr into his chest. He wraps his arm around me and tells the two demons to leave me alone and to go play in the snow with Kasuka. They gladly agree and take Kasuka by the hands and drag him along. "Shizu-chan, what were you talking about with your brother?"

"I was telling him how much I hate you." Shizu-chan teases.

"Such lies you tell. I know how much you love me~" I say happily as he ruffles my hair. "You know, I think Shinra misinterpreted the serum's side effects. I feel completely normal, aside from the ears and tail. Perhaps we'll be able to stay our semi-normal forms until Shinra finishes the antidote."

"I hope so. I don't want to keep pissing on fire hydrants. The police officer warned me about it twice already." Shizu-chan says in irritation.

"It's your fault for not going to the bathroom at home~" I say to him teasingly. He pushes me playfully while I do the same before piling on some snow on his head I was saving in my pocket. He chases me like usual and Kasuka and my sisters join in the mayhem by throwing snowballs at the two of us. For a while we continue to enjoy the snow before it starts getting late.

After a while Kasuka said he had to head back since it was getting really cold and my sisters were complaining non-stop that they were freezing, so they headed back on the subway. I stayed with Shizu-chan to watch the Christmas lights for a little while before we decide to head back too.

"This is romantic." I say as I rub my hands together. The cold wind starts nipping at my nose and my hands are starting to feel a bit numb, but as soon as Shizu-chan holds them in his own, I feel much better. "Your hands sure are warm."

"Heat packets." He deadpans as he shows the many packets he's been stashing away in his pockets, not even sharing them with me.

"You jerk, you've been hoarding all those and not once offered one!?" I ask angrily. He smirks and kisses my cheek.

"If I had, you'd keep your hands in your own pockets." He pauses and holds my hands more tightly. "This way, you'll want to keep holding my hands." Man, I thought he wasn't smart enough to come up with something like this. He's truly an enigma at times. The Christmas lights suddenly turn on as the clock strikes seven. I look at the twinkling lights and wonder why they seem to look brighter than last year and how I feel much more content now than I had ever been before. I look over to Shizu-chan and laugh inwardly. I suppose I've become much too soft.

"I love you Shizu-chan." I say as I cling onto his arm.

"I love you too, Flea." He says with a smile.

"I'm still going to punish you for not sharing." I say with a smirk.

"You're not going to play that stupid Nyan Cat song are you…" Shizu-chan says with dread.

"Oh, do you not like that song?" I say menacingly.

"I'd bury myself alive in a coffin filled with scorpions and rattlesnakes if you play that song." Shizu-chan says angrily.

"Well, it's a good thing I have that song on my iPhone then~!" I say happily. "I wonder where you're going to find scorpions and snakes during this time of the year and in Japan." Ah, we're not much of a cutesy kind of couple, but I don't mind much. I wonder when I should tell him that I've been gathering some of the neighborhood stray cats every now and again to practice singing songs together in cat 'language.' Ooh, I'm having so much fun!

A/A

A/N: If there are any really bothersome mistakes, you can point them out. Sorry about the really late update. I haven't forgotten this story, just been slumped with writer's block. Thanks for all the lovely reviews up to this point! And on another note, I love Nyan Cat. Pfft, I know there's people who don't and I'll say that it is annoying, but I like what I like xD This is probably the shortest chapter by the way.