"Itadakimasu!"
Izaya separated his chopsticks and despite his enthusiasm it was in a tentative manner that he sampled the murky noodles that filled the large bowl in front of him. He blew on the richly scented steam-like aroma before taking a small bite.
"Hey, this is actually very tasty!"
Shizuo shrugged. He sat next to Izaya on the counter of the open small stall that normally could sit six. With Shizuo the available seating space was considerably encroached upon so it was not surprising that the two of them had the place all to themselves. Behind them a steady stream of people walked by, the rapid steps submerged in the din of the city at night. Some of these, especially those forced to take a short break from their blind race through labyrinths as they waited for the light to change, noticed the contrast between the small teenager (Izaya easily could pass for one) and the blonde giant that dwarfed his surroundings.
"Why wouldn't it be tasty, ramen is good."
Izaya drank warm broth that tasted of home cooked meals such as had the vaguest idea of.
"So it is! This place sure is a find, though. Are you a regular here?"
Shizuo nodded as he poked around for the slices bits of pork that could be vaguely discerned in the muddled looking but very flavorful mix of ramen and baby vegetables.
"Yeah. This is the real stuff, none of that instant crap you had around."
True to his word Shizuo had taken Izaya on something of a date.
"It's much better than those ramen cups, I'll give you that! Can I have a refill?"
Izaya held the already empty bowl with both hands and smiled.
"You sure eat a lot for a light weight."
"Only when the food is good. But this sure is great, eating outside like this. Thank you!"
Izaya was already wolfing down his second serving, slurping all the way. Shizuo watched him with growing surprise.
"I suppose you should eat plenty and recover."
"True that, Shizu-chan. And who knows, maybe I'll grow a bit and all!"
"Yeah, right."
"Stranger things have happened."
"Like what?"
Izaya's smile grew cryptic.
"Like you and I having dinner together in such a peaceful way."
Shizuo shrugged dismissively.
"I told that I'd take you out. And I'm not a liar. Unlike you."
Izaya giggled as he added soy sauce. This was how things should be between them even if he was rooting for some sweeter developments down the line. Shizuo was still on his guard, in fact he cast him glances over his glasses as if he expected Izaya to do something crazy or another (such as to use his chopsticks as lethal weapons, perhaps even of the mass destruction kind. Shizuo did not put such impossibilities quite beyond Izaya), but the overall tone was that of testing the waters and not a prelude to the storm.
"Ah, Shizu-chan, feeling obliged is never good."
Izaya could go for a third round but he did not want to tax Shizuo's wallet any further. And so they left shortly after, Shizuo parting from a few bills since he insisted on paying. Izaya hesitated on taking his arm and decided not to because he did value his life.
"You can be such a gentleman, Shizu-chan!"
The reply was a snort. They walked into Sunshine City, Shizuo with a cigarette tucked at the corner of his mouth and ruthlessly ignoring all the NO SMOKING signs on the pavement.
"Don't go expecting roses or something like that."
"So what do you want to do now? Pachinko?"
Shizuo tensed and for a split second Izaya was afraid that he was about to get hit.
"I don't like pachinko. I never win and that makes me angry. And it's noisy."
The only time Shizuo went to such parlors it was to collects debts.
"I see your point. So, what do you do for fun?"
Izaya suspected that it would be exceedingly boring but it did not matter. Just spending time together was enough to give him a very strange feeling of wondrous joy that he associated with leaping from rooftop to rooftop as he often did in dreams. Shizuo took a lot of time considering the question and for a few speechless moments he simply rubbed his chin. They walked side by side but Izaya had to dash every two steps in order to keep up with his striding pace. Izaya was becoming slightly apprehensive with this silence and about to break it when Shizuo tossed away the cigarette and said, in his flattest tone,
"Come."
Izaya obeyed without adding any of the many witty comments that occurred to him. His fanciful imagination wanted Shizuo to grab his hand and take him away as often happened in those highly cheesy movies that Izaya watched for laughs. But he knew that while they were already treading some sort of continuum of miracles Heiwajima Shizuo remained Heiwajima Shizuo. They turned many corners and crossed many a half asleep street, so that Izaya was not precisely lost by the time they stopped in front of an underpass, he knew Tokyo's geography by heart, but not quite as sure of his relative location as usual. Izaya turned around and saw nothing but bland building façades around and the underpass suspended as if it were in mid-air against a backdrop of lights amidst darkness.
"Is this it…? There's nothing here…"
"Hush. Wait a sec. Impatient flea."
Izaya sighed. Then closed his arms and waited. And waited a bit more.
"What exactly am I waiting for, anyway?"
"You'll see."
Izaya gave up. Maybe this was a trippy joke of sorts. Izaya was about to protest again when a train came racing down the underpass, heralded by flickers of light that preceded it and that became a kaleidoscope as its many windows flashed brightly, propelled forward by speed that made them alive. From where they stood it a shower of shiny silver enveloped them in a magical world of motion and beauty. Izaya opened his mouth in amazement and Shizuo kissed him without a hint of romantic flair but just in the right way. Izaya wrapped his slender arms around him and kissed back with all he had so that they could feel each other's body in the same embrace under the falling light. Even after this was on they did not break apart.
Which was why Celty caught a good sight of the new lovers as she rode on her horse/motorbike, winding up just behind them, so that she could not possible fail to notice that they were Heiwajima Shizuo and Orihara Izaya. The shock caused her to lose control of her living vehicle and sent her flying helmet first into the asphalt. Shizuo and Izaya did not even notice. Celty was on her feet immediately and furiously typing on her PDA. She halted before they could sense her presence (seeing was out of the question since they both had their eyes closed as if the rest of the world did not exist) and if she could have blinked she would have had. Eventually she simply shrugged and got back on her bike. She was about to leave but then decided to take a picture before that. Shinra would never believe this without some evidence and somehow she wanted to ask him about it. Celty hoped that Izaya was not about to do something nasty to Shizuo but she supposed that if that happened, Shizuo would simply kill him on the spot. She cast a final glance before riding away. Perhaps she was wrong and Izaya was not heartless. By the looks of it and judging the way he clung to Shizuo, he was anything but. Humans could be so hard to figure out.
Izaya was breathless by the time he emerged from the kiss. He was also a bit flushed, a smile dancing uncertainly on slightly swollen lips.
"Shizu-chan, you sure can kiss."
"So you're back to '-chan'-ing me again?"
"Shizuo-sama!"
"It's getting cold. Want to come over?"
"Can I?"
"I guess it'd be fine."
Izaya zipped up his jacket, grabbed one of Shizuo's hands in his and placed it in a fur covered pocket.
"Let's just stay here and watch more trains."

They did so until the last rain rolled by. Later they watched TV on Shizuo's old sofa and made love on the creaky bed. Which was not to say that Izaya did not chuckle at Shizuo at times when he should not (namely when some bouncy idol was on the screen) and that Shizuo did not step on Izaya's toes every now and then (literally, even). More than anything else this normality edged them closer to the status of a couple. As did details, a brand new toothbrush and a glass were tucked on the bathroom sink. Izaya smiled. He could get used to this.
"Izaya, water's ready. Are you getting in or not?"
"Why don't we bathe together!"
"Don't push your luck. You go first."
Izaya laughed. Without a doubt, he could get used to this. He splashed about and hummed that horrendous song that he now found amusing. Life was a wonderful thing now that the one human he really loved was closer than ever. Orihara Izaya was happy. And two was the best number ever.

The End.