-------------
[A month later]
Izaya had been searching for the fake Kanra for a month, he barely had time to watch Yuu and keep up with work but luckily Shizuo offered to babysit ever since the first time he offered to watch Yuu.
Yuu loved talking about Shizuo and one time when Shizuo was watching him, Celty drove by and saw them. She parked her motorcycle and talked to them for a bit.
Very soon Celty started offering to babysit Yuu too since it got lonely when Shinra was working with Sakura. Izaya was glad that they didn't realize who he was and savored his friendship with them.
He was broken out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. He opened it to reveal Shizuo and Yuu, Yuu ran inside and Izaya let Shizuo in. "Thank you for watching him again. I feel really bad but I've just been getting so much work." Izaya said.
Shizuo shrugged. "It's fine, I like the kid. You're a good father even if you have been busy, he's always telling me stories about how great you are." He replied.
Izaya could sense that Shizuo was on edge ever since the first day babysat Yuu but he never questioned it. Shizuo seemed a bit out of it that day so he decided to finally ask.
"You seem a bit out of it today Shizuo, are you okay?" He asked, a concerned look on his face.
"Oh, I've just been thinking...there is this guy I used to know, he got stabbed and everyone thought he died... but some creep said he was alive. I don't know if I don't want to believe it or if I want to believe it." Shizuo said, sitting down on the couch. He held his head in his hands.
"I'm just so confused. I used to hate the guy but now I don't know how I feel, it's frustrating." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
Izaya knew who Shizuo was talking about but had to pretend he didn't. "That must suck. Who was the 'creep' as you so eloquently mentioned?" He asked, playfulness in his tone.
Shizuo shrugged. "Dark hair, all black clothes, I couldn't see his face since he had one of those masks on, the ones used when you're sick." He explained.
Izaya mentally cursed. "He definitely sounds sketchy to me, but I can't tell if he told the truth or lied to get a reaction." He said, pacing around the room.
"You're pacing again." Shizuo laughed. Izaya blushed in embarrassment and sat down, he had grown a habit of pacing ever since the fake Kanra had showed up and Shizuo never missed a chance to tease him for it.
Yuu ran into the room with a paper in hand. "Mister Shizuo I drew something for you!" He said, holding out the paper to the bodyguard.
"Oh, thank you." Shizuo took the paper and looked at the drawing. It was a picture of him, Yuu, and Izaya.
Izaya looked over his shoulder at the drawing and 'awww'ed. "Yuu that's so cute!" Yuu giggled and sat in between to two men.
"Do you like it Mister Shizuo?" Yuu asked expectantly.
"I love it kiddo."
-------------
Mikado, Anri, Saki and Kida stopped their investigation after running into Kadota. They were told that apparently Izaya was alive and well, and that he was back in Ikebukuro.
Mikado was suspicious of course, but the Kanra he was watching in the group chat acted exactly like Izaya did when he was Kanra. How could someone replicate another personality so flawlessly?
He didn't want to believe that Izaya was alive and causing trouble, but if he was alive then why didn't anything happen? Ikebukuro was still the same, nothing bad had happened.
If Izaya was alive then why didn't he do anything? Mikado had more questions than answers, but he was determined get his answers. His new goal was to track down Izaya and question him.
Kida was a different story, he was angry that Izaya was back. 'That monster doesn't deserve to live!' He thought angrily. Saki hugged him to try to calm him down, he hugged her back and stroked her hair.
"It doesn't matter that he's alive. Right now it's just you and me." Saki whispered sweetly, leaning into his touch.
"Yeah... thank you Saki. You're the best." He smiled and kissed her.
When they pulled apart Saki gave him a warm smile. "Anything for you."
Anri was confused, Izaya could have been the reason Saika had been acting up. Maybe he was there when she met Psyche and that was why she reacted the way she did.
That thought scared her, Izaya was never able to not stand out. At least one person knew who he was wherever he went, he stood out too much.
But if he was able to make himself unnoticeable then he was more dangerous than he used to be. 'What if he hasn't done anything because he has some big scheme...' She thought.
Mikado grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers. "Don't worry too much Anri. We can get to the bottom of this." He reassured her.
She smiled and blushed. "Y-yeah..."
Kida looked at the couple while hugging Saki. "Awwww, so cute!"
Mikado and Anri blushed, they were still in the awkward stage of their relationship despite having been together for over a month. Kida laughed at them while Saki watched.
"I would say something to you but you're basically immune to teasing." Mikado mumbled, still blushing.
Anri stayed quiet but didn't let go of Mikado's hand. Saki decided to save the couple from their embarrassment and talked about the issue at hand. "Izaya-kun is back. I'm glad he isn't dead but I don't want him causing trouble. What do we do?" She asked.
"We find out where he is and interrogate him. He's got to have a reason for not causing mayhem for so long." Mikado said, as if he wasn't just embarrassed about holding his girlfriend's hand.
"Or we could have Shizuo kill him..." Kida mumbled.
"KIDA!"
-------------
[A few days later]
Celty was walking around the park with Yuu when Iza came to pick him up. "Thank you for watching him Celty! Shizuo was busy at work so I'm grateful that you had free time." He said.
Celty went to type on her PA. 'It's totally fine! Shinra's been busy all day and I enjoy his company. You're son is the sweetest!'
Izaya chuckled as he read what she typed. "I know, he's a good kid." He ruffled Yuu's hair.
Yuu pouted and attempted to swat Izaya's hand away. "Papa, I'm not a little kid! I'm a big boy now!"
Izaya chuckled and picked him up. "Of course you are! But stay this way forever, I don't want you to grow up!" He said, wiping away a fake tear.
Yuu ruffled Izaya's hair to get back at him. Izaya gasped in mock offense. Celty's shoulders shook, as if she was laughing, but of course she couldn't laugh due to the absence of her head.
Yuu laughed as Izaya spun around with him in his arms. Celty watched the pair, amused by the scene unfolding.
Izaya looked at Celty, he had forgotten that she was there. "Celty. Thanks again for watching him. I know he's well behaved but I still feel bad." He told her, putting Yuu down.
'It's really not a problem! I love him! He's such a sweetheart! I might just take him for myself XD' She wrote on her PA and showed it to Izaya.
Izaya hugged Yuu. "No, he's my son! You can't have him." He told her jokingly.
The dullhans shoulders shook again as she 'laughed'. Yuu chuckled and ran to Celty, giving her a hug. "Hurry, take me away before papa gets us!" He ordered.
Celty picked him up and ran behind a tree. Izaya laughed and chased them. Yuu squealed and ran away, dragging Celty along. The dullhan was very amused and would have been a laughing mess if she had the ability to laugh.
"You won't get away with this!" Izaya called out jokingly.
Yuu giggled and kept running away with Celty. "You'll never take us alive!" He yelled.
The three ran around the park, Izaya going slow on purpose. Celty followed Yuu as he ran circles around trees and playground equipment.
Izaya and Yuu were both laughing as they ran, but Yuu soon got tired and sat on a swing to catch his breath.
"Yuu, are you tired? We can go home if you want. It's a good time to rest and eat some lunch." Izaya said, sitting on the swing next to him.
Celty took that as her cue to leave so she started typing on her PA as the two talked.
"Yea papa. Can you make hot pot? We can invite mister Shizuo and aunt Celty." He asked his dad, using the puppy eye attack because he knew Izaya couldn't say no to him when he did.
"Aunt Celty? When did you start calling her that?"
"Just now!" Yuu giggled.
-------------
[Later]
Izaya finished making the hotpot just as Shizuo arrived. Celty texted Shinra about the small gathering and he said that he would stop by with Sakura. She watched Yuu while she waited.
Shizuo said hi to Celty and Yuu before walking into the kitchen where Izaya was. "Yo. This hotpot party was pretty spontaneous." He said, leaning against the wall.
Izaya chuckled. "Yuu asked me if we could do this and you know that I can't resist the puppy dog eyes he has." He complained.
"I don't think this party will be very small though. Shinra probably told Erika and Walker he was coming since they are jealous that you two hang out." Shizuo said, laughing a bit.
"They aren't jealous that you get to babysit my son?" Izaya asked jokingly.
Shizuo rolled his eyes playfully. "I refuse to have them bombard me with questions so I never told them that I was friends with you."
"That was probably a good call. From what I know when I signed autographs for them, they seemed like diehard fans." Izaya said, acting as if he didn't know much about the two manga lovers.
Shizuo carried the pot to the table for Izaya, Izaya tried to carry it himself but Shizuo insisted. "Foods ready. Do you want to wait for Shinra, Sakura, and whoever else they may have invited?" Izaya asked the three.
Yuu ran over to the table. "Let's wait for Sakura nee-chan and mister Shinra!" He said.
Izaya grabbed silverware and chopsticks for the group. "Okay then!" He tried to reach the bowls but he slipped and fell backwards, right into Shizuo.
Izaya immediately stepped away. "S-sorry Shizuo." He said with a blush.
"It was nothing. Are you okay?" Shizuo asked him.
"Y-yes I'm just f-fine." Izaya mentally cursed himself for his stutter and red face.
"Your face is red though." Shizuo said, getting closer to Izaya.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Izaya asked and the ex-bartender placed his forehead against Izaya's.
"You don't have a fever..." Shizuo mumbled before realizing how close they were. He backed away and looked everywhere except at Izaya.
Izaya awkwardly chuckled. "Y-yea. Maybe it's just warm in here..." He tried to desperately blame his blush on something else.
Shizuo nodded, a light shade of pink dusting his cheeks. The door opened and Sakura yelled though the apartment, "Everyone's favorite doctor has arrived!"
Izaya walked to the group with bowls and chopsticks. "Really? Shinra is here?" He asked jokingly.
His sentence got laughs from everyone except Sakura, who was pouting. "Yea Sakura. I'm obviously everyone's favorite" Shinra said as he walked in.
Sakura kept pouring as the group laughed again. "You're all so cruel to me!" She sat next to Yuu while Shinra sat next to Celty.
"Oh, Shinra invited Erika and Walker. They invited Dotachin and Saburo, and then they invited those three high schoolers at Iza's signing." Sakura said.
"Good thing I made a lot of hotpot then. I'll go get more bowls." Izaya said, walking to the kitchen with Shizuo following.
Shizuo was very close to Izaya and that caused him to blush again. "So is seems me being close caused your face to turn red." Shizuo said with a smirk.
"Wh-what? O-of course not." Izaya lied, crossing his arms.
"Liar" Shizuo mumbled before kissing the ex-informant. Izaya's instincts made him kiss back. The two stayed like that until they were interrupted by a snap!
"I'M POSTING THAT!" Erika squealed.
-Sky