Hey guys! I am back after a month! Honestly I lost my inspiration to even start the chapter, but here you are. A whole new chapter, focusing on MARIO KART AW YEAH. :D Honestly I need more fanfics of Izaya just being human and being a dork, because he really is. Especially with Shizuo. And guess what? A bargain gets thrown in the mix of it too! I think you'll be surprised at the outcome, or maybe not~

Anyways, quick question. I could probably write a bit of smut for this book pretty easily (i've never written it before though so it'll be pretty bad), or I could keep it pureeee if that's what you guys want. Smut, or no smut? That is the question. (Please tell me in a review or something that'd be great)

Also, in the last chapter, Izaya said "unrequited love" and I actually meant something like "unparalleled love" instead, but it takes too long to edit so I'm just telling you here.

Hope you enjoy~!

"Hey Izaya, you do realize that everybody's going to think you're plotting something, right? There's no way they won't think you're up to something, and obviously got me involved." Shizuo brought the topic up out of nowhere, still holding Izaya against his chest. It felt warm against the bitter cold.

The informant's response was muffled by the blond's shirt, but still easily recognizable. "We can go back to hating each other in front of people. I don't feel like dealing with that. Especially Shinra." Izaya shivered again, but it wasn't from the cold this time.

"I'm fine with that." Shizuo tried grabbing his keys in his pocket with no luck, thanks to Izaya. "Flea, we're here."

Izaya removed his face from the softness of the brute's chest, looking displeased. "..So it would seem." He sighed, then allowed himself to be put down. The cold air immediately washed over both of them, and Izaya rubbed his arms.

Shizuo fumbled with fitting the key in the lock, eventually getting it. Upon entering, Izaya couldn't help but be fascinated. He had an intense urge to look around, even though the apartment was so bland and simple. This was where the monster of Ikebukuro resides. Izaya had entered the monster's layer, and was still in one piece.

"You look like you just unlocked the secret to the universe. I find it hard to believe you think place is interesting, and even harder to think you haven't been here before." Shizuo snickered, enjoying the new emotions the raven was showing.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Shizu-chan, but I made an effort to avoid your place before. This is the first time I've seen it." Izaya looked at the blond, actually unconsciously smiling.

"Feel free to look around, just don't break anything." Shizuo waved the raven off, who was exploring before Shizuo even finished.

Izaya thoroughly explored every room in the apartment, which didn't take long at all. Shizuo's bedroom, the bathroom, kitchen, a small living room, and a closet was all there basically was. But despite its size, the apartment was comforting. It was… cozy. It reminded Izaya of what a home was supposed to feel like. His apartment didn't feel near as warm, inviting, or cozy, and it was his own house.

"Hey Izaya, you don't like hot chocolate, do you?" Shizuo asked when the informant entered the kitchen.

"Not necessarily."

"That's what I thought… I know you like coffee though." Shizuo reached to the top shelf of a cabinet, pulling out a small coffee maker.

Izaya stared at the machine in slight confusion. "I thought you didn't like coffee?"

"I don't. Kasuka likes it sometimes though, so I make it when he comes over." The blond grabbed the container of instant coffee out of a different cupboard, shaking it in Izaya's view. "I don't have whatever fancy brand you usually buy, so you'll have to manage with this."

Izaya waved him off, sitting at the small table. "I'm sure I'll survive. Just plain black is fine."

Shizuo turned around to finish the drinks, and soon enough they were both finished. The blond brought them over to the table, sitting down with his own hot chocolate.

Izaya took a sip, cautious of not only the heat, but of the cheap flavor. Surprisingly, it wasn't scalding hot, nor was it half bad.. Actually, it was really good. Like, really good.

With two more sips, the informant concluded that this was the best tasting coffee he'd had probably, ever. "Hey Shizu-chan, did you put anything in this?"

Shizuo looked up from his warm drink, immediately amused by Izaya's amazed expression. "No, you said you wanted it black. Why?"

"Well, whatever you did, it's really good." Izaya took another couple sips, relishing the flavor.

"Are you serious? It's just instant coffee." Shizuo sipped his drink as well. "I'm glad you like it, though."

Izaya hummed in response before changing the subject. "Anyways, I'm sure you have a few questions, so ask away~"

Shizuo looked surprise at the informant offering free information. He took a few seconds thinking of one, remembering the conversation from the cold outside. "I asked you earlier and you didn't really respond, or maybe I didn't, but.. how did you know what I was thinking? I even fooled Celty.. I think."

Ah, there it is. The one question where the truth is more far fetched than a lie. Let's see how he'll take this.

"Putting it simply, I have the ability to see somebody's deepest secret above their head, as outrageous as that sounds." Izaya decided it's better to just give Shizuo the simple version before everything gets even more complicated.

The blond raised an eyebrow at the raven, clearly not expecting an answer, and definitely not that one. "If you were making that up, you'd at least come up with something believable, so I'm going to assume that was the truth. But let me repeat, just to make sure I heard you right. You can see somebody's deepest secret above their head."

"Basically."

"And you've never used mine against me as blackmail? What does mine even say?" Shizuo was starting to get a headache, something that happened often when he was with the flea.

Izaya sighed. "Yours was that you're gay, and that's not exactly something I can use against you, because I am too."

"Wait, you're gay? And what do you mean 'was'?" This was starting to feel more like an interrogation to the raven.

"One question at a time, Shizu-chan. First of all, I literally asked to date you, and you're questioning my sexual orientation now? I suppose I'm more 'demi' than anything though, but you get my point." Izaya took another sip of his coffee, glad it helping him through this fun conversation.

"Fair point, but what did you mean 'was'?" Shizuo had a bad feeling about that word.

Izaya frowned into the empty bottom of his cup, before answering. "Simple. It changed."

"Changed to what?"

"It changed to you wanting to die sometime today." It felt weird saying something like that so casually, but they've been actively trying to kill each other for years now, so it wasn't too bad.

Shizuo hummed in response, before asking another question. "Can you see everybody's?"

"Everybody but Celty's, that is. I'm sure you and Shinra know them anyways though." It was interesting to see all the different kinds of secrets people had, and sometimes it surprised Izaya how similar they all are. When it came down to it, everybody was human.

"Can you see your own?" Izaya's story was pretty bizarre, but Shizuo's best friend is a Dullahan, so he's not one to judge.

The informant looked up at his own secret, that was currently swooshing around letters, unreadable. "I can. I just told you my biggest secret, so now mine's changing as well."

"What's it say?"

The words soon stopped their foggy transition. Izaya wasn't surprised by the actual wording, but how there's no way he can tell Shizu-chan.

Izaya Orihara is in love with Shizuo Heiwajima.

Izaya has known this fact for years. Since the first time they met, Izaya was in love. It just took a couple years to finally place the feeling, and by then, it was far too late. He had mistaken it for hatred, or maybe he had known from the beginning, but it was much too late, even from the beginning. Shizuo had hated him from the start, after all, before Izaya had even said a word.

The raven frowned at the wording and it's inconvenient timing, before looking back at an expectant blond. "I.. I can't tell you." Please, just please, accept that answer.

Izaya internally winced because of Shizuo's delayed reaction, before he finally sighed. "Sorry, that was a stupid question. Of course you have some personal stuff you can't share." The blond stood up from the table, grabbing both empty cups and putting them in the sink. "It's fine if you can't tell me something, but don't make up any elaborate lies. Just say 'I can't tell you' and I'll understand."

"Thanks.. I guess." Izaya sighed, looking back at the words above his head. At least Shizuo is accepting of a lot. Like, a lot lot. His best friend is a mythical creature, but honestly.

"Alright, come on." The blond grabbed Izaya's arm, dragging him out of the chair.

Izaya stumbled a bit, trying to keep up with Shizuo's pace. "Where are we going?! I can walk myself, you know!"

Shizuo ignored him, but slowed down considerably before shoving the raven on the small couch in the living room. "Have you ever played Mario Kart?"

"Who's Mario?" Shizuo's look of horror worried Izaya.

"What in the world did your childhood consist of?!"

"I uh.. took care of my sisters, if you must know."

Shizuo plopped down on the couch, handing a remote to Izaya after turning the television on. "Well, you're an information nerd, and I'm gonna teach you some very important information, my dear flea."

"I'm sorry, what?" Izaya glanced at the blond, not sure if he heard correctly, but also hoping he didn't.

Shizuo simply grinned as the game loaded in. Izaya watched as he clicked on the two player system after turning the Wii remote sideways. He loaded in the rules after clicking on solo racing ("Izaya, team racing is terrible. All they do is let you down. So much."), taking his time sorting through the rules. What in the world does 'CC' stand for?

He took the change to study the remote in his hands. A nice, black color with buttons all over. An A, B, 1, 2, a literal home, plus sign, and minus sign? Who designed this thing?

"Do you want the wheel?" Shizuo had finished setting up rules while Izaya carefully studied the remote, more confused than when he started.

"Do I want the what?"

The blond got up and grabbed a white plastic car wheel from a drawer next to the TV, handing it to him. Well, taking Izaya's controller, snapping it in, and then handing the controller and wheel back to him.

"Shizu-chan what is this?" The informant was so uninformed right now it was hurting his heart and his head.

"Well, Mario Kart is a racing game, so some people play better with a wheel. I personally don't like it." Shizuo shrugged, clicking a few more buttons on the screen. "Ah, you need to choose here."

"I don't know how to choose, Shizu-chan." Izaya retorted.

The blond grinned again. "Oh, yeah, right." He reached over, practically leaning on Izaya, forcing all his warmth on the raven. Izaya had to physically hold back a blush. "You have to hold this down to go forward, this to go backwards ("why do I need to go backwards" "trust me, you will"), press up- er, sideways I guess, to use your item, and pressing down will make some items go backwards instead, and on edges you can either shake the controller or press this-" Shizuo showed each of the buttons to Izaya carefully, but he was having trouble concentrating when the blond was so close.

"H- How about you just show me in the game? That seems a lot simpler, and I'm a fast learner. I'll be beating you by the end of the night!" Izaya pretended like he didn't stutter, and his heartbeat wasn't going crazy.

"Are… Are you sure about that?" Izaya nodded, despite the blond's look of doubt. "Okay, whatever you say." He chuckled, clearly enjoying himself.

It took him a few moments to get used to where the buttons are and what they do, but it was no different from a computer (Izaya what the frick are you talking about) once you think about it. Shizuo basically told him what to choose, something about automatic and manual, and now they were on character selection.

Shizuo immediately chose a green… dinosaur? "Shizu-chan, what is that?"

"Who, Yoshi? He's my favorite character." Shizuo stated like it was the most obvious fact in the world. "You need to choose yours too, flea."

"Any recommendations? Do stats change based on character?" Izaya skimmed through the characters, confused at… is that a turtle or a lizard… and… what is a Waluigi? He can't possibly be human with that nose. (I stg Izaya hate on Wario instead please) And are those mushrooms? Why are people playing as mushrooms?

Shizuo paused for a second before answering. "Well, depending on who you choose, you can get different sized cars or bikes. Bigger karts go slower, but can't be shoved as easily, so it's up to you. I haven't unlocked all the characters either, if you look at the blank question mark box things. Just don't choose Mario."

"Who's Mario?" Didn't he already ask that?

"Red cap guy right there." Shizuo pointed towards a guy in a red cap. Not sure what he was expecting.

"You don't like him? Why not?" It was strange for Shizuo not to like the supposedly main character in a game he loves.

His voice was still calm, but Izaya could sense the rage seeping out. It's something he's quite familiar with, after all. "He is the absolute worst character. He constantly sacrifices Yoshi and his own brother to pits of death, and takes all the credit for things his brother did! Mario is an actual piece of trash, and to be honest, I probably hate him more than I hated you yesterday!"

"More than me?! Yikes. I'm not sure if I should be taking notes or avoiding him at all costs." Izaya laughed.

The blond sighed, done with his rant. "Well, you need to choose your character, flea. I need to demolish your pride."

It took a solid minute for him to decide, but Izaya finally settled on a blond girl in a bright pink dress.

"You chose Peach? What made you choose her? I thought for certain you were gonna go for Bowser or something, since you seem to love all humans equally or whatever crap you always spew."

"I have a thing for blonds, I suppose." It took physical effort not to smirk as he felt Shizuo's eyes stare directly at him, as if he were trying to see if Izaya was joking. Izaya wished he was.

The vehicles came up next, and Shizuo immediately went to a car called the 'Wild Wing.'

"Are there any stats I should be worried about?" Izaya scrolled through the options. All the cars were a shade of pink.

Shizuo hummed, "Hm, I'd go with the Standard Kart or the Classic Dragster… Maybe Standard Kart would be better, so you learn the basics."

"What's so good about the Wild Wing?"

"It's got good speed and drift."

Izaya clicked on the Standard Kart. Pink with a white stripe. "What's a drift?"

"Ah, you can either hold B or 1 and you'll do a mini jump before doing a skid, which gives you a boost and lets you take sharp turns." Shizuo scrolled through the maps, eventually deciding to go with the first one, Luigi Circuit.

And the match was starting.

"Shizu-chan I've forgotten how to play."

"You never learned how to play in the first place."

"Shizu-chan I've forgotten all the controls you just tried to teach me."

Shizuo sighed. "It's fine. It's only us two anyways. Oh- hold down 2 right before the two disappears. It'll give you a boost."

And so the race began. Izaya was having a mini panic attack over something as simple as a video game, and Shizuo was helping (and laughing) at him. At first, the raven ran into basically every wall there was. Shizuo was obviously having fun, laughing at the flea every time he made a disgruntled face. The blond had even turned his car around at one point and was going backwards down the track.

"Stop taunting me."

"Well, get better already."

"I will personally fight you."

"Yeah, that's what I'm here for. You're just not living up to anyone's expectations."

"You can't expect me to be perfect at this. I just picked up a controller for the first time in my life."

"What? The great Izaya Orihara, master of information and whatever other crap you do, isn't perfect?"

"Shizu-chan, you're treading on thin ice right now. I will destroy you." Izaya couldn't help but grin, actually having a lot of fun despite their conversation. "Ha! I passed the finish line first! I win!"

"… Izaya, there's three laps. That was just the first one." Shizuo failed holding back a snicker.

"Are you kidding me?!" Izaya's voice cracked. He was determined to win, though there was no possible way. The raven cleared his throat. "Doesn't matter! I'll still beat you! I think I've got this controller thing under control!"

Shizuo grinned, an idea popping in his head. "Tell you what. I'll play the next race with only one hand, and if you manage to beat me, I'll listen to all of your orders -to an extent- for a day."

"And if you win?" Izaya glanced over, before quickly returning his eyes to the screen.

The blond shrugged, clearly more relaxed than the raven. "I dunno. Nothing, I guess? It's more of a 'getting your hopes up' thing."

"I don't want your pathetic attempts at getting my hopes up. I already know I'm gong to win!" Izaya finished the second lap, closely followed by Shizuo.

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, Flea."

"I do say. And you know what? If you win, I'll listen to three -no, five- orders you give me, also to an extent. Redeemable at any time." Shizuo immediately began plotting what to do with his soon-to-come reward. The flea obviously doesn't know how video games work if he thinks he can beat Shizuo, just because the blond was going super soft on him. Really Izaya what have you gotten yourself into.

Shizuo hummed an agreement, letting Izaya finish in first for the next two laps, completing the race. "I'll let you choose the map this time. And you better keep your end of the deal, Flea~"

"You doubt me, Shizu-chan? I'm offended~" Izaya feigned hurt. The raven looked over the map courses, slightly scared at what a 'Rainbow Road' was. In the end, he chose 'Moo Moo Meadows', the next map down on the list. "How about this one?"

The blond grinned. "You should probably choose something else if you want a chance at beating me."

"And why is that?" Izaya glanced over.

"Do you really think you can beat me on my favorite map? There's no way you'll win without items."

That only fueled Izaya's drive more. He clicked on the map, starting the race. "And what'll you do if I beat you on your favorite map?"

"Tell you what. I'll raise my end of the deal. I'll listen to your orders for a week."

"Deal."

The match started. Shizuo and Izaya were tied in the beginning, Shizuo trying to get used to one-handed controls. Izaya smirked- if Shizu-chan was gonna be this slow the whole time, he would definitely be the winner of the race.

And then everything went to crap for the raven. About halfway through the first lap, Shizuo suddenly got a lot faster, passing the flea with ease.

"What the heck?!"

"Ah, yeah, it took me a minute to get used to the controls. It's been a while since I've played Mario Kart, especially one-handed. Good luck, 'zaya."

"I don't want your luck, Shizu-chan. I'll win this with skill!"

"Well, your skill better kick in soon, or you're going to lose."

"Shut it!"

Shizuo failed at holding back a snicker, successfully drifting around a corner and using a ramp. Izaya was just passed into the second lap, while the blond was almost done with the lap already.

Shizuo's posture was relaxed, leaning back on the couch, enjoying a good race (it really wasn't a competition). Izaya was leaning forward, concentrating as hard as he could on winning against the brute, a frown across his face.

It only took another minute before the race was finally over. Shizuo had won, just like he expected to. He grinned, realizing earlier just how fun it is to taunt the flea. "Hey, you might've had a chance if you didn't get stuck on that cow for a whole minute."

"I am eating a steak for lunch tomorrow, and a hamburger for dinner." If Izaya had the blond's strength, the controller in his would be crushed to dust.

"Hey Izaya," Shizuo started, pausing till the other looked at him, "I think I'm gonna redeem one of those orders now."

"Right now?" Izaya raised his eyebrows, suddenly feeling nervous. The blond would actually kill him if he didn't keep up his end of the deal, and he didn't plan on breaking it either, but he also didn't want to die.

Shizuo put the controller on the table next to him. "Close your eyes, and no peeking."

"I'm scared to know why."

"Just do it."

And so Izaya did. He closed his eyes tightly, prepared for any sort of blow to the face or otherwise. He wouldn't know where it's coming from or going with his eyes shut, and thus, couldn't dodge at all. Shizuo had the perfect opportunity -again- to probably kill him, and even though Izaya knew the blond would never do that, there was still a small bit of doubt in the back of his head.

After what seemed like forever, Izaya finally felt the blond… on his… lips? Wait…

Shizuo was kissing him.

I MENTIONED IT AT THE BEGINNING AND I NEVER DO NOTES AT THE END BUT DO YOU GUYS WANT THIS SERIES TO HAVE SMUT (look at the top for more info please)