I know they don't actually interact as kids but I needed them to. It's too cute to pass up.

Enjoy~

"Heiwajima's having a birthday party."

"I know. He gave us all invitations."

He glanced up from his book, eyeing the group of kids by the classroom door. Most kids their age would have looked at least slightly excited about their friend's upcoming tenth birthday. However, these kids were not the friends of the birthday boy in question, and they were not happy. In fact, the looks on their faces looked closer to fear than anything else.

Orihara Izaya looked back at his book, though really he was just listening to what was being said.

"I'm going..."

"What? Dude, he's a total loser!"

"But what if he beats us up for not going?!"

Izaya almost laughed. He closed his book and stood up from his desk, walking over to peek out the window across the room. Sure enough, he was a familiar little brunet boy walking around outside, handing out invitations to those that were in their class. Izaya had seen him doing the same earlier before class started, the other gripping the invitations so hard his little knuckles had went white. Even now he was still probably...nervous? He looked nervous, at least, as far as Izaya figured.

It was kind of sad, seeing as how Shizuo was far from the most liked kid in their class. It was kind of a surprise that he'd even worked up the nerve to ask people to show up. But, really, Shinra was out of town that weekend and wouldn't go. As for the others...

Izaya turned around and huffed, walking over to the other kids. "Don't go."

The kids, startled, looked over at him. "B-but what if he beats us up?"

"He won't beat you up," Izaya told them, hands on his hips. "Birthday parties are for friends only and if you aren't his friend then you can't go."

The group of kids looked hesitant still and Izaya almost whined. Almost. He huffed again, instead, and crossed his arms. "He'll beat you up if he knows you're just going so he won't beat you up. So don't go. I said so."

It wasn't like Izaya ever had any actual authority over the other kids, but they always listened to them. This time around, he hoped that they would listen.

"It's past noon."

Shizuo blinked, brown eyes wide as he glanced at the clock on the wall. He bit the inside of his cheek and glanced down at his lap before he squinted at his baby brother. "Sh-shut up! They're just late!"

Kasuka puffed his cheeks out a little bit but kept quiet, not wanting to upset his already, clearly, distressed brother. Shizuo sighed and pushed away from the table, walking over to the sink where his mother was washing dishes. He tugged, lightly, on her shirt to get her attention. "Did anyone call yet?"

His mother paused and smiled a bit as she looked down at him. "Not yet, honey..."

Shizuo's frown deepened and he looked down. "Okay..."

His mother winced and shut the water off, drying her hands before she ruffled the boy's hair lightly. "Hey, it's like you told Kasuka, right? They're just late, I'm sure. And even if they don't come I'm...I'm sure you, me, and your brother can have a good time. Your dad too, when he's home from work."

Shizuo looked at her, leaning into her touch. "...That's not the same...my family can't be my only friends..."

His mother hesitated but the ringing of the doorbell made her smile a little. She ruffled Shizuo's hair again. "See? I bet that's one of your little friends right now." She told him, leaving to answer the door.

Shizuo felt himself smile a little, honestly a little surprised that anyone had showed up at all. Inviting people over had been a stretch, an idea his Mother had suggested because she wanted him to branch out. Just passing out invitations had been a hassle; Shizuo didn't know how to approach people at all.

He heard his mother speaking to another woman, the parent of whoever had showed up. Shizuo took a second to collect himself before he rushed out to the front door to greet whoever had showed up.

Seeing Orihara Izaya standing in the door way, a carefully wrapped present in his hands, made Shizuo pause mid-step. Every cell in his body lit up with the urge to fight, but his mother's presence-along with the presence of Izaya's mother-kept him stiff and immobile. Shizuo's mother glanced over and smiled at him. "Ah, Shizuo! Your friend Izaya-Kun is here."

Izaya smiled at him then, a smile that looked too friendly compared to the smug sneers the raven would give him whenever he got a higher spelling quiz grade. "Happy Birthday, Shizu-Chan."

Shizuo wanted to yell. He wanted to scream. His mother looked delighted, and a little relieved, and it made Shizuo sigh under his breath, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, Izaya..."

"Ne, Izaya," The woman, Izaya's mother, gushed as she gently nudged her son. "You never told me your friend was so cute."

Shizuo's mother laughed softly. "He's a cutie, alright. Hey, Shizuo, why don't you and Izaya go play in your room? You've got your game station and everything hooked up, right?"

Shizuo did not want Izaya in his room. "If he wants to play..."

Shizuo did not want to play video games with Izaya.

Izaya, though, only smiled wider as he made his way into the house. "I want to. Where's Shizu-Chan's room?"

Shizuo bit back a groan, gesturing for the other to follow him as he led him down the hall. They walked into Shizuo's room, Izaya striding right past Shizuo and plopping himself on the bed. Shizuo's eyebrow twitched as he shut the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I came for your birthday party," Izaya drawled as he looked at him. "Duh."

"I didn't invite you," Shizuo hissed as he crossed his arms.

"And yet I'm the only one who showed up," The raven retorted, sounding a little too pleased with himself.

Shizuo paused, frowning. "...They're all just late."

"No, they aren't coming." Izaya told him, nodding.

Shizuo threw his arms up in exasperation, clenching his fists. "W-well, how do you know, huh?!"

"Cause I told them not to," Izaya muttered back at him.

"What?!"

"...I think you're angry."

"You jerk!"

Izaya eyed Shizuo, who glared back at him, and then he sighed. "They didn't wanna come over anyways, Shizu-Chan."

"Shut up!" The other snapped. "You ruined my birthday party and-"

"They were only gonna come so you didn't beat them up."

Shizuo paused, blinking in confusion. His head, slowly, tilted as he felt his mouth go dry. "I...I wouldn't have beaten them up..."

"That's what I told them," Izaya sighed, shrugging. "You shouldn't invite jerks who don't like you to your parties, Shizu-Chan."

Shizuo grit his teeth and looked down, clenching his fists again. "Yeah, well then why are you here?"

"Because birthday parties are for friends only." Izaya slid off of the bed and stood in front of the other, holding out the neatly wrapped present Shizuo had noticed earlier. When Shizuo looked up at him, mocha eyes wider than before, Izaya felt his face heat up as he smiled. "I want to be friends with Shizu-Chan."

Shizuo hesitated, unsure of what to do. He and Izaya had been enemies since...well, since forever. They competed for grades and at sports and they even had a race the previous school year to see who could eat the most cookies during the classroom party. (Shizuo had won, surprisingly.) The point was, he remembered, was that they had never ever been friends.

Izaya waited patiently, biting the inside of his cheek. "...At least open my present, Shizu-Chan."

As if waking from a trance Shizuo jerked and looked down at the gift being held out to him. He took it slowly, examining it. It was a rectangular thing, whatever it was, wrapped in a light red wrapping paper. Shizuo eyed Izaya carefully. "...It's nothing weird, right?"

"Nope."

"You're sure?"

"Positive~"

"It's not-"

"Shizuo."

Shizuo huffed and rolled his eyes, nodding as he started to unwrap the gift.

"..."

"..."

"...This is that game I've been wanting for like, months."

Izaya smiled brightly. "Sure is."

Shizuo examined the case of the video game before he looked back at the other boy, stunned. "How did you know?"

It was Izaya's turn to hesitate. "...I called Shinra."

"...This is expensive."

"I saved money."

"From what?"

Izaya shrugged. "Christmas and birthday money...it's what Shizu-Chan wanted, so it's okay."

Shizuo felt his face heat up and he bit his lip, taking a deep breath. "...Thank you, Izaya."

Izaya's grin returned and he shrugged. "You're welcome."

Shizuo smiled just a bit and glanced towards his TV and video game console. "...It has a two player option, you know."

"I've never played video games before." Izaya told him, glancing towards the game console.

Shizuo rolled his eyes and grabbed Izaya's wrist, dragging him over to sit in front of the TV. "I'll teach you then, dummy. It's easy."

Izaya blinked in surprise and then smiled a little bit. He watched as Shizuo got the game set up, tilting his head again. "Ne, Shizu-Chan?"

Shizuo paused and glanced at him. "What?"

"Happy Birthday."

Like I said, mighty need. I need more of these two interacting in any way possible.

Review?