Love Me Till The End

Chapter Eight

Izaya strolled into the kitchen smoothly, concentrating on keeping his legs up. Fuck, who ever thought walking could be so incredibly difficult.

He could only hope that in the coming days he would not only regain his ability to run but also the parkour skills he had been mastering since he was a child.

A child...

Izaya sighed to himself and shook off his train of thought, having already come to his resolve that this was indeed a second chance for him and not a mistake.

Shinra was putting the finishing touches in the hot pot he was making for everyone, humming cheerfully under his breath as he took out some bowls.

The raven frowned to himself. Had the doctor always looked that small?

Shinra's outfit was baggy, his lab coat practically falling off his too thin shoulders. From what Izaya knew though was that Shinra had always taken exceptionally good care of himself. To put it in Four Eyes words...

"I need to stay healthy so that I can make sweet love to my dearest Celty even when I'm old!"

Now though...he looked to be in anything BUT good health.

"Did my death really screw you up that badly? Shinra, I didn't know you cared so much~!" Izaya teased playfully, setting a hand on Shinra's shoulder.

He waited for the usual response which usually involved how Izaya was Celty's main source of income so of course Shinra needed him alive.

"What are you talking about? Did you have a weird dream or something? You never died!" Shinra smiled at Izaya even as his voice forced out words much too harsh for the doctor.

Izaya's own grin fell off and he withdrew his hand, gazing at his friend with skeptical eyes. He never would've pegged Shinra to driven into this behavior from just his death. It wasn't like they were all that close after all, he came to him whenever he was injured and talked to Shinra on the phone. Hell, Izaya had never even been invited to one of Shinra's famous hot pot parties!

So what was the big deal?

"Can you go set the bowls and silverware out on the dining table, Izaya? I just about finished up." Shinra spoke calmly as he poured everyone an equal amount of food.

The informant nodded silently and brought the food out as asked, an uncomfortable feeling settling in his chest. He glanced over at Shizuo who was sitting on the couch, flipping through TV channels slowly.

"Oi, dinner's ready brute. Time to get that obnoxious strength of yours back!" Izaya called cheerfully, attempting to lighten the mood by doing one of his favorite pastimes:

Annoying Shizuo.

Shizuo shot the younger man a furious glare, his eyes blazing already as he gritted his teeth.

Oops, looks like he was already in a bad mood. Izaya chuckled to himself, holding Shizuo's gaze steadily.

"The fuck did you say to me, louse?" He growled, snapping the remote he'd been holding in two.

It was at that moment when Shinra entered the area, his eyes widening instantly at the sight of his destroyed remote control. Shizuo opened his mouth to apologize and offer to pay for a new one when...

The doctor burst into laughter, chuckling so hard he had to hold his stomach. It sounded nothing like his hearty giggles he made around Celty though...it was almost borderline hysterical.

"Oh Shizuo, haha leave it to you! No worries, you can't control your strength after all! It's what makes you, you!" He responded lightly, patting the blond on the back before sitting down at the table to eat.

Izaya stood frozen, unable to comprehend what was even happening. He glanced at his old friend, watching as Shinra calm himself down and begin to eat peacefully. Looking back over at the blond, Izaya saw Shizuo was just as startled as he was.

"Sit down, you two. Let's eat together like we used to in high school! Mind you both that I don't want to hear your constant bickering~!" Shinra grinned and gestured to the other two seats at the table.

"Shinra..." Shizuo began, his voice dripping with concern.

"I said sit." Shinra's rough voice replied as he took a large bite out of some beef.

Izaya slowly sat down in his seat, Shizuo sitting across from him. There was also a bowl out for Celty as Shinra always prepared meals for her even though she couldn't eat. The dullahan herself hadn't made an appearance, most likely having locked herself in her bedroom to think about the current situation.

In all honesty, Izaya couldn't blame her.

After all, what could you think about the appearance of two men who were supposed to be dead? Izaya was positive she'd been suffering over Shizuo's death considering how close the two were. Not to mention that she most likely didn't enjoy seeing Shinra like this.

Hell, the guy was creeping him out.

Izaya watched with narrowed eyes as Shinra joked with Shizuo about the time they'd met in elementary school and all the adventures they had.

The doctor's voice was incredibly forced and Shizuo kept looking at Izaya, his honey eyes showing he shared the same question that was whirling around Izaya's own mind.

Shinra...what happened to you?