Chapter Text
Shizuo has never been one to put much thought into demons.
He’s felt compelled to learn about them in the past, but never really went through with it until recently. Some of his classes have taken to the theme of the renaissance and the angels and demons contained therewith. The research he has done in the past few weeks has mostly been limited to the stereotypical appearance of demons, as the assignment was to sketch out whatever his imagination conjured of something called an incubus and he’d never even heard the term before then. Google was entirely useless with image searches. All he was able to find were half-naked, edgy looking anime characters. Trying to find in-depth descriptions of them wasn’t any better as they’re supposed to take on the form of who one desires most. Maybe it’s meant to be a test of their ability to differentiate what they want most in a partner, but he doubts this particular professor is looking that far into the assignment.
At the time the assignment was given, he didn’t want to ask Celty for the favor of borrowing one of her books. But he was desperate and he’s always found that he likes books far more than the internet as it is too unpredictable and he doesn’t have the patience or self-control to deal with anyone he might meet there. He needs his laptop for more detailed artwork assignments and practice, so he certainly doesn’t want to risk breaking it in a fit of rage over something that shouldn’t matter to him.
So he’d been forced to ask Celty for help.
The book she gave him is one of her favorites. She told him that it’s about demonic princes and their servants. It sounded interesting at the time and she seemed so enthusiastic about him reading it that he had taken it readily. Even if it doesn’t specify enough information about incubi, it’s still something he can discuss with Celty later, and he is always willing to learn about his best friend’s interests.
He has been completely absorbed in it every time he’s picked it up since the day she gave it to him.
The table of contents indicated that each section is close to one hundred pages long, with small synopses in between that give more in-depth information on the less important aspects of the chapters.
The book starts off with Lucifer, which is the only being in the book that Shizuo knew anything about beforehand judging by his cursory glance over the section headings, and then steadily goes through the other seven princes and finally moving on to their servants. The first section has taken him about a week to read thoroughly. He took notes the first few days and has made a few sketches of what he believes Lucifer might look like, though the book is vague so an exact image is next to impossible.
Shizuo is in the middle of reading while sketching out yet another rough outline of Lucifer when someone knocks on his door. He growls under his breath at the interruption. He’s so close to the second section, so close to learning about the next prince. He’s been growing more excited about learning about them so if the person at his door isn’t bleeding or Celty, he’s going to be pissed. He doesn’t close the book in hopes that he can come back to it immediately, but he does place the bookmark he’s been using on the page just in case. Clambering out of his blanket is a bit harder and he trips over it when he finally pulls enough of his legs free to stand upright.
He’s glaring in irritation and discomfort all the way to the door. It’s Kadota standing in the hallway and he’s not bleeding, but he looks apologetic enough that Shizuo’s irritation dies down a bit. “Hey, sorry to bother you. It’s kinda late.”
Shizuo frowns, “It’s fine.”
“Celty said she has something she wants to show you, but you weren’t answering her texts so I came to check on you,” Kadota explains, scratching at his temple in that way Shizuo’s noticed him doing when he’s nervous before class. He’s not wearing his hat and Shizuo’s pretty sure this wasn’t something he meant to do, that this may have interrupted something he was doing because he never walks around without his hat on. He smells faintly of sweat. Shizuo consciously chooses to make the assumption that he was in the gym in the next building over instead of thinking about Togusa’s silent presence behind him. “But if you’re too busy I get it. I can text her and let her know you’re--”
“Thanks, I didn’t mean to cause trouble for you or Celty.” Shizuo interrupts before Kadota accidentally trips over information he doesn’t actually want to hear, “I’ll go meet her.”
Ten minutes later he knocks on Celty’s door. As soon as she opens the door she gives him a small smile and signs several apologies before he can explain that all he was doing was reading the book she let him borrow. Shinra is squealing delight about something Celty has accomplished on the other side of the room and Shizuo deliberately ignores him in favor of Celty’s much more coherent and detailed explanation.
He will never understand their relationship, but at least Celty seems happy.
It’s several hours later before Shizuo returns to his dorm. He smells like incense, lavender, and sage, none of which he wants sticking to his sheets. He glances at the book he left open on his bed and then at the alarm clock that’s glaring 11:37 at him in the purple he settled for over the green he’d used at home. The room itself is warm and dark other than the light from the clock and the small plugin light he has in the kitchenette. It’s hard to make out much detail in the dark, but Shizuo is neat and knows where everything is so he doesn’t trip on his way to pick up the book, sweatpants, and a shirt, before going into the bathroom to prepare a bath for himself.
He hasn’t quite made a habit of reading in the bath, but he used to do so a lot at home. Baths are relaxing enough that he can focus on reading without getting drowsy and he’s rarely disturbed by anyone or can ignore them if they knock on his door. It’s nice to have his own bathroom now that he’s in college because he always felt selfish if he took too long at home, despite Kasuka telling him he didn’t mind.
Shizuo reads while the tub fills and he’s nearly to the last page of Lucifer’s section when the tub is full enough that he can get in. He decided to use the vanilla soap that Celty was kind enough to buy him for his birthday this year and there are small bubbles dancing along the surface of the water when he steps into it.
The water is still steaming, yet he doesn’t feel anything but warmed by it. His heat tolerance has always been exceptionally high. Shinra has marveled over it, along with his strength and pain tolerance and faster than normal healing. Shinra wasn’t around much to see all of the bones he broke in middle school, but he saw too much of what Shizuo did in elementary school. By high school, none of his bones could be broken anymore.
It’s not something he likes to think about.
He’d decided to go to university mostly out of a need to get away from those who knew what he was capable of. He’s very grateful that Shinra hasn’t spread that information around at the college in all four years Shizuo has been here. He can do whatever he wants after Shizuo graduates at the end of next semester.
When Shizuo finally flips to the synopsis of Lucifer’s information he skims over most of it, turning the pages quickly in his excitement to get to the next prince. He hasn’t looked ahead, he hasn’t skipped pages, and it has paid off with how well he understands the information on Lucifer, but he’s impatient.
It’s always that impatience that gets him in trouble.
The very last page is blank so he knows it’s the one that leads into the next section. He turns it quickly, sitting up slightly to give better focus to the page in front of him, and before he’s even caught a glimpse of the name on the page his attention is caught on the sting in his index finger, from a tiny paper cut that’s only just deep enough to pool blood to the surface. He frowns and lifts his hand to lick away the blood, but it drops onto the page.
Shizuo doesn’t have time to try to smear the blood away before a faint trail of white smoke pours out of the spot where his blood landed. Both vanish within seconds and he starts to cross his legs so he can sit up straight to make sure he didn’t just imagine what happened.
Suddenly, black smoke begins pouring out of the page, spilling over into the tub across Shizuo’s lap and something solid starts to materialize there. He flinches back, releasing the book and it slips off of the precarious position Shizuo placed it in, closing with a solid thump when it hits the floor. The spill of black smoke stops coming as soon as it’s closed, but Shizuo isn’t paying attention to any of that anymore.
His attention is stuck on the very real, very alive, very naked being in his lap. He freezes, staring at the other’s face in complete shock. He has fangs like what he’s always associated with vampires and there are small curved black horns on top of his head, surrounded by hair that’s even darker. Shizuo keeps his eyes up, unwilling to look at whatever is currently touching his stomach.
The being is frowning in vague confusion and definite anger when their eyes meet. “What did you do? This isn’t my bath,” bright red eyes narrow further, slitted pupils expanding slightly to take in more light, “I don’t like being interrupted.”
He presses in closer to him and digs sharp fingernails into his chest, “Where am I?” There is a growl underneath the words that sounds familiar to Shizuo’s ears, though he can’t place why. “It’s cold here. It’s never cold there.”
Shizuo blinks himself out of his stupor and glances down at the nails drawing blood from his skin. In the process, he catches an accidental view of what is definitely a penis. He quickly looks back up to the relative safety of the other’s eyes and something flicks into focus behind him.
He has a tail.
It isn’t the sharp, arrowed tail of what he’s seen for demons in most human depictions of them. Instead, there’s hair at the end in a tuft that looks even softer and fluffier than what is on top of his head. The tail itself appears just as dark as the rest of his hair, but he can’t see if it trails all the way to his back and doesn’t get a chance to sate his curiosity before the nails in his chest dig in deeper and the being hisses at him. “Answer me.”
“I’m--I don’t know how you got here. Where did you come from? Are you--” Shizuo swallows thickly and sits as still as he can, “are you Lucifer?”
Amusement breaks out across the demon’s face, his frown changes abruptly to a grin and he’s laughing, shaking in Shizuo’s lap as he brings his arms back in to curl them around his stomach. “Me? I’m not. What gave you the impression that I am?” he breaks off in a soft bark of laughter, “We look nothing alike. Lu’s incredibly unattractive, you know. Claims that’s to ward attention away from himself, but I know better. He’s just naturally unappealing. Probably a part of the Fall or maybe from the War itself, but who cares.” He smiles at Shizuo, looking very pleased with himself, even a bit arrogant despite his rather compromising position, “I’m Izaya. Prince of Greed.”
Shizuo frowns at him and sits up to lean over the side of the tub, destabilizing Izaya’s balance in the process. Shizuo hisses in irritation at the pain of his nails digging into his back. The book is closed, but his bookmark is still holding his previous place. He opens it and flips over the few pages to where the smoke had started pouring from. There is a picture of a pair of eyes and teeth in darkness, but nothing that matches up to what’s in front of him. Above it is Mammon, listed in golden lettering for the Second prince’s name. “This says your name is supposed to be Mammon.”
Izaya’s nails dig in further to his back when he tips sideways to look at where Shizuo is indicating. He squints at it and then giggles and sits back up, “Humans come up with such strange names. Lu said they’ve called me Mephisto as well, but Mammon is a new one.” He pauses and frowns at Shizuo, “What is your name?”
“I--”
“Shizu-chan!” Erika’s voice squeals loudly from outside his door, “Shizu-chan I have a surprise for you!”
“I don’t need any more surprises tonight,” Shizuo grumbles under his breath and then louder, “I’m busy, leave me alone.”
“Aww, but Shizu-chaaaaaan,” she whines, “I wanted you to--”
“I don’t care. I’m trying to study and I want to be alone. It’s near curfew anyway, go back to your room.” It was near curfew when he got back to his room earlier, he’s certain it’s after curfew by now. Izaya is giving him a strange look while his tail flicks around behind him.
He can hear her complaining as she walks away but he doesn’t try to focus on what she’s saying. Izaya digs his nails into Shizuo’s skin again and he growls lowly. He opens his mouth to protest but Izaya glares hard at him and he freezes in confusion, “Shizu-chan? That does not sound like a name. Is that a title?”
“Uh. No, it’s...just what Erika calls me. Even though I’ve told her not to call me that numerous times.”
“What is your name then? I do not understand.”
“My name is Shizuo. She just--”
“Why does she add -chan to your name then?”
Shizuo sighs and tries to push Izaya’s hands away from him but he only latches on harder and narrows his eyes further, “I think she does it to be cute. Usually -chan is used by children or by someone you’re really intimate with.”
“Intimate.” Izaya repeats, his eyes lighting up in recognition but he does not look at all pleased even with this knowledge, “So you’re intimate with Erika?”
“No, god no. That’s disgusting.” Shizuo says immediately, “I mean, she’s pretty but I’m not into girls.”
“What does that have to do with intimacy?” Izaya asks, “Intimacy is sharing a space and touch with another being, isn’t it? Or do humans have a different view of this?”
Shizuo scratches at the back of his head and tries to think of a way to explain dating that a demon might understand. “Well, for...humans, intimacy is usually kissing and being exclusively close with one individual. And some people like girls and some like guys and some--”
“I understand what you are talking about in concept, but what you are describing doesn’t exist where I am from, using the same word. Intimacy is just physical closeness with the occasional shared touches, usually for the purpose of blood sharing.”
“Blood sharing?” Shizuo is bewildered by this. He didn’t read about that at all in Lucifer’s section of the book, “Is that like, what vampires do?”
“I don’t know what vampires are, but blood sharing is an exchange of power through blood. For example,” he presses the nail of his index finger in harder against Shizuo’s chest and draws more blood. He lets it collect a bit and then pulls his finger away and toward his mouth, “Your blood contains whatever power you possess, which shouldn’t be much because humans don’t have much power. If you share it with me then I will gain an equivalent to what you have given.” He licks the blood off of his finger and closes his eyes in what looks like concentration, “I don’t…” his eyebrows pull together in confusion and he blinks open his eyes to meet Shizuo’s, “you don’t taste quite like a human is supposed to. From what I’ve been told by the other princes who have been summoned, you’re supposed to taste like iron, but that’s not all I’m getting. That’s hardly present at all.”
Izaya leans in closer and Shizuo presses his back firmly against the wall when he gets too close. Their noses brush against each other and he’s still trying to concentrate on the conversation and not the fact that there is a naked demon prince in his lap, in the bathtub of all places, but it’s really difficult to do that when he keeps moving.
Maybe this is why his mother warned him not to read in the bath all those years ago. He doubts that she experienced anything like this, but if he had listened he might not be in this situation.
“You taste like something I should know.”
Shizuo exhales slowly and reaches to put his hand on Izaya’s waist in an attempt to push him back some, but the other hisses at the contact. He jerks his hand away and tries to ignore the amount of blood trailing down his chest from where Izaya’s nails are digging into his skin, “I’m...pretty sure you’ve never met me before.”
He raises an eyebrow and his lips pull up in amusement, “I’ve never been summoned before. I’m completely positive that we’ve never met.” then he frowns, “How did you summon me?”
“I don’t really know. I was reading the book and I got a paper cut and some blood fell on the page and then smoke started coming out of it and...here you are.” Shizuo explains all in one breath, hoping that if he does it quickly enough that it will seem less unbelievable but Izaya is looking at him with disbelief clear on his face.
“That’s not how that works. You must have done something else. Did you draw a circle or something? Did you think about all the things you’re greedy with? Did you sacrifice someone? There isn’t any blood in here but...you must have done something more than that. I wouldn’t have been brought here otherwise.” He hisses and his tail flicks irritably around behind him, “No one has been able to summon me before. Surely it’s not that easy.”
Shizuo shrugs and relaxes marginally when Izaya’s nails stop digging so hard into his skin. “We can ask Celty when she gets back on Monday. She’s supposed to be visiting a friend this weekend with Shinra. I think they’re just leaving to have time alone somewhere that they won’t be interrupted, but. Will you get out of my lap? We can’t stay in the bath forever.”
Izaya blinks at him and looks around the room, “How do you dry yourself if you don’t have any fire around?”
“Fire?” Shizuo asks but shakes his head when Izaya looks back at him and opens his mouth to explain, “Not right now. Tell me later. I use towels. The blue fabric hanging on the wall.” He indicates the wall to his left, “I only have two so we’re going to have to share.”
This time when he reaches forward to push Izaya back out of his lap he is compliant and doesn’t hiss. He looks incredibly displeased when Shizuo takes his hands off of him and he’s still frowning at the water when Shizuo has stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around his waist. He feels much better now that he’s somewhat modestly covered.
“You can’t stay in there. It’s going to get cold soon.”
“Why is everything so cold here,” Izaya grumbles under his breath. He stands up without warning and Shizuo tries to keep his eyes up and away from his waist or his tail or anything lower. He starts shivering violently and continues to do so even after Shizuo wraps the towel around his shoulders. Around his own shoulders, it barely reaches his waist, but the other is much smaller than Shizuo expected and it blankets him down to his thighs.
“I have clothes I can give you to wear, hang on.”
He can hear Izaya stutter “C-clothes?” while he’s digging through his dresser for something that might fit him, at least better than what he usually wears, but it has been a really long time since he was Izaya’s size and everything is several sizes too big for what he thinks might fit him. He settles for a pair of soft red sweatpants he forgot he owned and a black, long-sleeved shirt. Izaya is standing in the same spot when he comes back and he gives Shizuo a quizzical look when he tries to offer the clothing to him. “What am I supposed to do with those?”
“Put them on,” Shizuo suggests. “You don’t have clothes where you came from?”
“What are clothes?” Izaya meets his eyes and there is absolutely no indication that he’s lying about not knowing what he’s talking about.
Shizuo frowns, “Do you know what blankets are?”
“Of course I know what blankets are.”
“Clothes are like...form-fitting blankets.” He places the sweatpants on the sink and holds the shirt up, “Like this. Except for you, it won’t be form-fitting.”
Izaya narrows his eyes at the shirt. His eyes flit back to Shizuo’s face and then to the shirt again, like he can’t decide whether he believes him or not. Then he drops the towel and steps forward. He doesn’t hold his arms up or move to do anything else except stand closer and stare. Shizuo hesitates, “Do you...want help putting it on?”
“Yes. I have no idea how to use clothes.”
“This is a shirt, but that’s, yeah I can help. Hold your arms up.”
Izaya does as he asks but, “Why do I need to hold my arms up?”
Shizuo shakes his head and can’t help the small smile that Izaya’s out-of-place innocence brings to his lips, “You’ll see. Stay still for me.”
He’s careful to avoid catching the fabric on Izaya’s nails and then his horns as he pulls the shirt down over his arms and head, but he stops there. Shizuo didn’t notice beforehand that there are wings on the other’s back. He has them pressed tightly against his skin, but he can see that they’re black and look leathery like a bat’s wings.
He presses his hand against them and Izaya makes a noise that might be a purr but it’s too short for Shizuo to figure out where it’s coming from. The skin along his wings is soft and when he steps closer to watch what he’s doing and to prevent the shirt from catching against the skin of Izaya’s wings, he can see where Izaya’s tail attaches to his spine. His assumption that the black fur on his tail carries all the way to his back is correct. He’s curious if it’s as soft as it looks but he doesn’t touch it, afraid of what Izaya might do or think if he did.
With the shirt covering his body he looks almost human, except for the horns and slitted pupils and occasional motion of his tail, which Shizuo is not watching for fear of catching an accidental view of the other’s ass. He steps back and Izaya is frowning unhappily at him. “What’s wrong?”
“It feels...constricting.” he tugs the hem of the shirt further down his thighs and his tail flicks around irritably. The sleeves are bunched up around his fingers and elbows and he glares at them when his nails catch on the edges, “How do humans deal with this? Is this how you have chosen to handle the cold? Surely there are better ways.”
“Do you feel any warmer than you did?” Shizuo asks while he tugs his sweatpants on and removes the towel from his waist to hang it back up along the wall, “You’re not fully covered yet so probably not by much.”
Izaya is staring at his pants when Shizuo looks back to see why he isn’t responding, “What are those?”
“Pants.” Shizuo explains lightly, “They’re less annoying than shirts are.”
“Those look worse,” he whines and backs up against the wall beside the sink when Shizuo picks up the pair he chose for Izaya. “They’re going to cover up my tail!”
“It’s not that bad, calm down. At least try putting them on before you decide you hate them.” Shizuo takes a step closer and when Izaya doesn’t reach out to take the pants from him he kneels down and grabs his ankle. “You’re acting like a child. Lift your leg.”
Izaya glares down at him and hisses, “No. I don’t want to. You just want me to be uncomfortable.”
Shizuo narrows his eyes and tugs Izaya’s leg up, upsetting his balance and making him scramble to flatten his back and hands against the wall. He pulls the material halfway up the other’s calf before he hears an agitated growl and Izaya tries to yank himself free of the hold Shizuo has on his leg. “I don’t like it. I don’t need pants!”
Shizuo looks up to tell Izaya to calm down but he’s met with fangs and a glare. Izaya swipes his claws at him and Shizuo grabs his wrist before his nails meet his skin. The other tries to pull his hand away and looks confused when he can’t. Shizuo himself can barely feel the strength Izaya is putting into it, but he can see it in the tension on his face, at the corners of his lips and the tightness around his eyes. He releases him at once and Izaya falls over, but Shizuo catches him before he hits his face on the floor and raises an eyebrow at the growl the other releases at the contact, “Would you rather I’d let you fall and get hurt?”
Izaya narrows his eyes and bares his teeth menacingly at him, “How are you that strong? You’re not supposed to be! Humans are weak.”
There is a part of him that wants to lash out at the insinuation that he’s unnatural, the very thing he’s heard for his entire life. But Izaya is a demon, he doesn’t mean this in the same way as everyone else that’s made assumptions about him because of his strength. He isn’t calling Shizuo a monster, he isn’t screaming in fear from his touch. He’s upset because he’s somewhere unfamiliar and he’s cold and with a human that doesn’t match up with the norm.
Shizuo sighs and releases the hold he had around Izaya’s waist, “I’m...different, I guess. I don’t have an explanation. Will you just put the pants on so we can leave the bathroom? You’ll be more comfortable if you can sit on the bed with blankets around you and I’m really tired so I’d like to figure this out so I can sleep.”
Izaya glares at him and yanks the material out of Shizuo’s hands, “Fine. But only because it’s cold and I want the blankets.”
Shizuo doesn’t stay still to watch him tug the pants over his hips, instead picking up the shirt he had originally grabbed for himself and pulling it on as he walks out of the bathroom. He remembers belatedly that the book is still on the floor and the tub is still plugged but he doesn’t turn around for fear of being met with the sight of Izaya’s ass or too much leg or even his hips. Thinking about this does nothing to distract him from the very real presence of a demon in his dorm room.
Normally he would text Celty about something like this, but he’s worried about Shinra seeing it and interrupting their weekend for possibly no reason. For all he knows, Izaya might disappear in the next few hours. This could be temporary.
Shizuo sighs and pulls another two blankets out of his closet, tossing one on the couch and the other onto the bed. In a last-minute thought, he searches through his dresser for that thick pair of socks Erika bought him for his birthday. He never understood the purpose behind them, but he thinks Izaya might like them and they’re thick enough to help keep him warm.
He’s been sitting on the couch for a few minutes by the time Izaya steps out of the bathroom and he almost starts laughing. Unable to fight back the smile of amusement that breaks out on his face, Shizuo averts his eyes and stares at the curtains instead.
Izaya has put the sweatpants on backward. Shizuo doesn’t know how he accomplished this when he’d already helped pull one of the legs partially up his leg for him, but he doesn’t say anything about it. When he feels like he can face him without bursting out into breathless laughter, he glances over at him to find red eyes on him. The highly agitated tail swishing around behind him catches Shizuo’s attention before he can focus entirely on the expression on the other’s face. Now that he has a full view of the other and the whole length of his tail he’s reminded of a lion’s tail, except he’s never seen a black lion in person before. “Your tail seems fine to me,” Shizuo announces and his voice comes out blessedly level.
Izaya, however, is not fooled. “This is not amusing. I do not like having something impeding my movement.”
Shizuo doesn’t watch him at all while he crosses the room and sits lightly on the bed. And he definitely doesn’t think it’s cute when he unfolds the blankets and pulls them around himself and curls up into a ball. Demons aren’t supposed to be cute. “Aren’t you warmer with it on though?”
“Blankets are more useful.” Izaya glares over at him and rolls onto his side. His hair fans out and Shizuo suddenly remembers the sharpness of his horns.
“Uh, I um,” Shizuo trips over what he’s trying to say because how exactly is one meant to ask a demon prince to be careful not to tear fabric with his horns, “is there any way that you can keep your horns from ripping up the pillows? I don’t have enough time to go get more and I hate ordering stuff online.”
Izaya looks at him like he’s grown a second head. Which, when he thinks about it, might not be usual to him. “I can.” is all he says in response.
They’re quiet for a while and eventually, Shizuo remembers that he forgot to empty the tub. The book is still on the floor, closed and looking far too ordinary for having dropped a demon in Shizuo’s lap. He’s tempted to leave it sitting there, concerned that he might accidentally summon something else, but it is Celty’s book and he’s positive she wouldn’t want him to leave it on his bathroom floor.
Izaya is asleep in a tight ball when he comes back.
Barely any of the outline of his body is visible beneath the two blankets, but his head and the fingers of one of his hands are pressed against the pillow above the line of material. He looks peaceful, innocent despite the fact that he is a prince of hell and can’t possibly be innocent.
Shizuo doubts he’s supposed to look this cute, but he doesn’t know if he looked any different or more intimidating in his own dimension.
He settles himself on the couch and focuses on pulling the blanket over his legs in an effort to stop staring at the other. Shizuo doesn’t remember the last time he had someone in his bed, if ever. Aside from Celty when she’s accidentally spent the night, he’s never really had anyone stay in his room for long periods of time. He prefers to be alone where he can’t do any harm to someone accidentally.
As his mind begins to wander so do his eyes. And the only thing in the room that he’s interested in, the only thing that is new and different is Izaya.
Izaya is small. Much smaller than Shizuo would have expected if he’d been given the chance to create a mental picture of what Mammon looked like beforehand instead of having him land in his lap before he’d even read his name. He looks delicate and fragile, not that Shizuo has any inclination to test whether he is in actuality. Shizuo knows that demons are hardy, it said as much in the book, but he didn’t get a chance to look through Izaya’s section and there is a distinct possibility that there is information in there that is wrong if Izaya is to be taken seriously about calling Lucifer unattractive. With how cold he gets Shizuo doesn’t feel the slightest bit threatened by any magic he could possess because surely he would have used it to warm himself or lash out at Shizuo with more than just his nails.
And he feels oddly protective over the other already. He isn’t sure if that’s from the blood-sharing thing Izaya spoke about or if there is some detail the two of them are missing in all of this. He doubts Izaya would be able to tell him if he asked because he’s never been summoned before. The only one he can think that might know the answer is Celty and he’s not going to disturb her so that may have to wait until Monday if the problem is still relevant by then.
He stares at Izaya’s relaxed expression for far longer than he means to and eventually he must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knows his alarm is going off. He can already feel the effects of staying up too late on one of the few nights he has to get more rest.
Shizuo reaches out to shut off the alarm but his hand connects with empty air. He’s confused for several groggy moments until he notices that the sound is further away than he’s used to it being. The noise drags him further into consciousness and it’s about the time he’s shifting his weight onto his elbows that he notices the extra pressure on top of his chest. He blinks the blur of sleep from his eyes and is met with a dark head of hair right below his chin. The sound cuts off a moment later and Shizuo doesn’t move to reset it.
The blankets he gave to Izaya are still wrapped around him and when Shizuo risks a glance over at the bed he sighs in relief that his sheets and pillows are undamaged. But that doesn’t help him understand why Izaya moved from the bed onto him. Surely the mattress is more comfortable than Shizuo’s body.
He doesn’t move for several minutes. He isn’t sure if Izaya will lash out at him if he does. It’s possible that he will wake up in a foul mood and Shizuo wouldn’t blame him if he did. As he wakes up more he becomes aware of faint vibrations coming from the demon’s chest that he wasn’t able to feel before. But there isn’t enough sound coming from him aside from his breathing for Shizuo to be able to tell what it is.
Then Shizuo notices that his hands aren’t lying across his stomach like he thought they were. One is holding loosely to Izaya’s thigh and the other is draped over his waist. The only thing about this that keeps Shizuo from recoiling is the even breathing coming from the other.
He doesn’t want to wake him up quite yet, doesn’t think he’s mentally capable of dealing with this situation this early in the morning even as it is now. There are too many things about this that he doesn’t understand, but he can’t figure it out on his own and apparently, Izaya isn’t going to disappear to return home without some action on Shizuo’s part.
It is at least an hour before Izaya shifts and blinks open his eyes slowly. Shizuo can feel hunger starting to gnaw away at him and Izaya’s stomach gurgles in complaint as he stretches languidly on top of Shizuo. He smirks at Shizuo’s hiss when he drags his nails across his shoulders and then sits up, dislodging the blanket nest he’d formed around himself in the process. Shizuo watches in half-amusement as he shivers and yanks them back up to cover his shoulders again.
“Why did you get off the bed?” Shizuo asks in a low voice, “Did you decide you needed to scratch at me immediately upon waking up in retaliation for me trying to help you?”
“It’s your fault I’m here at all, actually. So it wouldn’t be in retaliation for your assistance but for your disruption.” Izaya’s smirk wavers and he plays with the edges of the blanket rather than meeting Shizuo’s eyes, “I was cold and you’re the only thing around that was producing enough heat.”
“What d’you mean? Can you see heat or something?” disbelief carries into his voice and Izaya laughs in response.
“Is it that unbelievable, Shizu-chan ?”
Shizuo growls before he can stop himself, “Don’t call me that.”
“Why not? We’re intimate, aren’t we? You didn’t get that upset when Erika said it.”
“We aren’t intimate, you’re just living in my room until I can get you home. This wasn’t a voluntary thing, Izaya .” Shizuo sits up and lightly pushes Izaya off of his lap so he can stand up and go brush his teeth. “I don’t know what your problem is with Erika already, but she does it to be cute. It isn’t, but she isn’t living in my room at least. People will think things if you call me that outside of the room.”
Izaya makes a small pleased sound from where he’s sitting, “So I can call you Shizu-chan when we’re not around other people? I don’t see why you’d be shy about something like that. After all, you just said I’m just here until you can get me home.”
Shizuo glances at him through the doorway and he has a smug look on his face, but his grin is too sharp for his liking. It makes him think the other is planning something and he doesn’t like it. Now that the knowledge that Izaya might be here for a while has sunk in he’s suspicious of him. He feels that this is justified as the other is a demon prince and of all the demons he could have summoned accidentally it had to be the prince of greed. He has no idea what Izaya would have an interest in collecting or what he might be greedy over here on earth, but he’d rather not find out. Izaya might be cute and act innocent, but Shizuo knows better than to believe that and refuses to trust everything he says.
It hits him that he’s suddenly responsible for another being that has no idea how anything works. He doesn’t like clothing and he’s always cold and apparently, he’s flirty despite not knowing what that means. Shizuo has absolutely no idea what he’s supposed to do, but he’s always been good at adapting and following his instincts. His instincts are screaming at him to protect Izaya and though he doesn’t understand this, he doesn’t question it, doesn’t really have a reason to yet.
It could be his size, it could be how inhuman yet still somehow human he is, or it could be from something Shizuo doesn’t yet understand, but whatever it is Izaya seems fragile and lost. The sharpness in his smile and the shadows in his eyes only further convince him of this.
Realizing that he’s been staring at the demon on his couch while he brushes his teeth, he blinks and shuts the door between them to prevent it from happening again.
When he makes breakfast he doesn’t expect Izaya to eat any of it, or at the very least he expects for him to hate it and demand something different, but he eats with wonder in his eyes and finishes everything on the plate Shizuo made for him.
After they’ve eaten Shizuo explains that he has assignments to work on but that he works in the afternoon, “I’m going to bring you with me and you’ll need shoes. I don’t have any that will fit you so we’ll need to leave earlier than I usually do.”
Izaya glares at him about this and curls up in a ball on the couch in what appears to be protest until he falls asleep.
Shizuo finishes his class homework assignments within two hours and reluctantly takes out his sketchbook to work on the incubus assignment. He’s still not entirely certain what an incubus would look like and his mind wanders over all of the information he’s read about them as he draws without a specific goal in mind. By the time the alarm he set to get ready for work goes off he has completely zoned out and when he focuses in on what he’s sketched he’s startled to see Izaya. The only difference between the drawing and how Izaya is currently lying are the blankets covering him entirely, hiding his tail from view but leaving the top of his head and his face in the open.
Shizuo shuts off his alarm and glares at the page for a few moments longer. Izaya stirs and he shuts the notebook quickly.
Izaya doesn’t immediately open his eyes this time. He turns over onto his stomach and stretches his back like Shizuo has seen cats do, and then he cocks his head to the side and looks over at him with a slightly bleary gaze. “We have to go soon.” is what Shizuo says and then he’s turning to stand.
Izaya doesn’t respond immediately, he just makes small sounds of protest and then sighs and then yawns once but doesn’t move to follow Shizuo to the closet or the dresser to look for anything to wear.
Shizuo dresses for work before he sifts through his day clothes to try to find something reasonable for Izaya to wear, but he already knows that nothing will fit him properly. It’s then that he remembers Izaya’s wings and tail and how very not human he looks. It’s not near enough to Halloween that it would be reasonable for him to dress in a costume and even if it was he would look too convincing.
People will ask questions, especially if they think it’s a costume.
“Izaya, do you have any way of looking less like a demon? Humans tend to question things that seem abnormal to them.” He turns around to meet Izaya’s eyes and he looks like he’s considering how to answer. “If you don’t then you might have to wear a hat and cover your tail with a shirt, which you said is uncomfortable.”
“It is uncomfortable. Even having blankets around me is uncomfortable, but something as restricting as these clothes are is even worse.” Izaya’s eyebrows draw together and Shizuo is tempted to tell him he can stay in the room when his horns start to shrink and his pupils fill out. When his horns are entirely gone and his eyes look normal except for their color, Izaya smiles triumphantly at him, “How do I look?”
Shizuo stares at him and waits to see if his tail makes an appearance and when it doesn’t he smiles back, “Almost human.”
“Almost?” Izaya asks in confusion and glances down at himself.
“Yeah, almost. Your eyes are red, which isn’t a human color, but no one will ask about that. People wear colored contacts all the time.” Shizuo turns back to his closet and in the very back he finds a flannel button-down shirt he doesn’t remember bringing with him from home at all. His mother must have put it in the closet when he wasn’t looking during her visit, thinking it was good luck or something to have an old shirt in the closet. He takes it out to check the size and it’s actually too small for him. Izaya raises an eyebrow at him when he turns around to hold it out to him.
“Why can’t I wear what I have on?”
“Because those are way too big on you and everything looks like it’s about to fall off of you.” suddenly he remembers something else that Erika has bought for him in the past that he had no intention of ever using, “I have some leggings I think, hold on.”
Izaya takes the shirt from him and asks “Leggings?” but Shizuo doesn’t answer him. In the very back of his underwear and sock drawer, he finds them. He holds out the surprisingly soft material to show it to Izaya and he balks, “What are those? How do you put them on?”
He sounds as confused as Shizuo had the first time he’d seen them so he chuckles, “I can help. If you let me this time. I’d rather you didn’t try to claw out my eyes if you can help it.”
Izaya narrows his eyes, “I don’t like clothes.”
“Yeah, I know, you told me that. But you’ll have to get used to it while you’re here.”
This earns him a growl, “Humans are weird. What’s wrong with walking around without clothes, you all look the same.”
“Didn’t you say last night that it’s cold here? Maybe we do it because it’s cold.”
After several more minutes of arguing, Izaya ends up dressed in a pair of Shizuo’s darker jeans. He seems content in them and the shirt covers up most of what makes them look too big on him anyway, except where Shizuo had folded them at the bottom but even that looks like a style choice.
The only thing missing is shoes and Shizuo doesn’t have anything he could use. Izaya could potentially get away without wearing shoes for the length of time it’ll take them to walk over to the store to pick a pair out but Shizuo doubts he’ll be comfortable without at least a pair of socks on his feet. Then he remembers the pair he brought out last night.
“You probably won’t like these either but--”
“Are you seriously trying to give me more clothes? My entire body is covered.” Izaya huffs in annoyance.
Shizuo doesn’t respond. He sits on the floor and holds out his hand for Izaya to give him his foot. Izaya hisses at him, but sits down on the floor opposite Shizuo and kicks his feet forward into his lap. “I don’t understand why this is necessary.”
“You will when we get outside.” Shizuo responds automatically, beginning to grow used to Izaya’s complaints, “It’s colder out there than it is in here.”
Izaya doesn’t complain about the socks once Shizuo finishes putting them on him. He doesn’t know if he’s starting to realize why Shizuo is giving him all of this to wear or if he’s just being passive-aggressive now, but he accepts the silence and collects his wallet and keys and ignores the annoyed hiss that comes from Izaya when he slips his shoes on.
He’s probably realizing that those are what Shizuo is planning to go get for him.
Izaya shudders as soon as they step outside into the wind and Shizuo avoids eye contact with everyone giving him looks. It’s incredibly unusual for him to have someone walking around with him, especially a stranger. And even further, it’s very obvious that Izaya is wearing clothes that are too big for him and Shizuo knows what that looks like to outsiders.
He ignores the looks that others give to them and keeps his pace slow so that Izaya can keep up with him easily. Occasionally he looks over at Izaya to see him gazing around at things in amazement.
Izaya asks about the trees and the leaves and why some of the leaves are on the ground, he asks about the wind, he asks about the sky and the sun, he asks about a cat they walk past. He asks so many questions that Shizuo is struck with how much Izaya doesn’t understand or know about.
And when Shizuo stops in front of the shoe store he watches Izaya’s expression change from one of childish amazement to confusion at his own reflection. He remains silent until Izaya looks at Shizuo’s reflection and their eyes meet. “Have you seen a reflection before?” he asks, low enough that no one but Izaya will hear him.
Izaya shakes his head slowly and then looks at himself again, “It’s strange. Nothing is reflective like this there.”
“You don’t have mirrors?” Shizuo turns his head to look at Izaya rather than his reflection. His shoulders are tense and no matter how much fabric is covering him he can see that he’s shaking. Whether it’s from the cold or emotion, Shizuo isn’t certain.
“No. We don’t exactly need to be able to see ourselves. Humans are the vain ones. Or supposed to be.” he whispers the last part and then he turns his head to look at Shizuo again, “Why do you have them?”
Shizuo sighs and runs a hand through his hair, “It’s mostly to look at ourselves, honestly. They can be helpful with certain situations aside from that though.” Izaya nods and Shizuo is relieved that he doesn’t need to expound on that point. “Let’s go in now, I’m sure you’re colder out here than you will be inside.” Izaya nods again and follows him inside the store silently.
It takes a good ten minutes before they walk down an aisle filled with boots and Izaya suddenly freezes when he sees a pair of black boots. They don’t have a heel, which surprises Shizuo given that most boots have at least a bit of one, and they look like they’ll probably sit about mid-calf on his legs, but he seems to like them so Shizuo sizes him and picks the proper set out and has him try them on.
He doesn’t complain at all about feeling constricted in them. Shizuo thinks that he’s just picky about what he wears, but then he also didn’t complain about that with the socks this morning so maybe he’s less sensitive about his feet.
Shizuo tells Izaya he can keep them on. The older woman at the register smiles warmly at them when they approach her and Izaya watches with wide eyes while she scans the box and Shizuo informs her that he doesn’t need it.
They step outside again and the wind blows hard to meet them. Izaya shivers and tugs the sleeves of the jacket Shizuo gave him further down to cover his fingers. “The cafe I work at is only a few minutes from here. It’s...going to be awhile before my shift ends so you’re probably going to get bored.”
Izaya raises an eyebrow, “Bored? There are humans everywhere. I won’t get bored.”
And he doesn’t seem to. By the time Shizuo’s break rolls around, he has only made eye contact with Izaya once and that was when he was helping to bring an order to the people at the table next to him. Every time Shizuo risked a glance over at him he looked engrossed in whatever was holding his attention at that moment, whether it was out the window or at one of the tables in the cafe itself.
Shizuo makes coffee for both of them and brings over two cinnamon muffins. Izaya greets him with wide eyes and a small smile at the food and drink he sets in front of him, “Shizu-chan! Humans are so fascinating when they aren’t screaming in pain. This is a wonderful place to watch them from. Just look how many there are in this room, all packed together and comfortable despite that. And it’s warmer in here than it was in the shoe store. I am very grateful. Though neither are as warm as you are, they will have to suffice for now. I have so many questions for you and I have no idea where to start!” Izaya gushes and Shizuo takes a few sips of his coffee as he speaks.
“I think you should eat and drink first, then I can answer your questions for you. I have fifteen minutes. We have plenty of time for you to tell me what you’ve learned.”
Izaya fills his entire break with questions about some of the most mundane things, but it’s refreshing, Shizuo thinks. Izaya seems fascinated by the smallest things and he always gives Shizuo the entirety of his attention while he explains something, pauses for a few moments to take in the information and then he’s asking something else. By the time his break is over, they’ve drawn the attention of at least two other tables with Izaya’s small outbursts of giggles, but Shizuo shrugs off their attention like it means nothing.
“I have to get back to it, but when I finish we can pick up dinner and go back to the room so we can talk in peace.”
Izaya frowns and growls a low note of displeasure, but nods his acquiescence.
Shizuo chooses sushi for dinner and orders a few sample boxes so that Izaya can find what he likes. Shizuo himself isn’t picky, so he can eat whatever Izaya doesn’t.
The entire evening is filled with questions and quiet giggles and Izaya’s smiles. The sharpness of his gaze is filled with amazement rather than the darkness of that morning or the odd tension when he saw his reflection and Shizuo is thankful for it. Smiles and happiness are things he’s good at dealing with. He doesn’t know what to do or what he can do when others are in bad moods or upset in some way. He’s a very physical being and he doubts Izaya would appreciate hugs or casual touches, but he slept on top of him last night so he really has no idea what Izaya’s boundaries are with such things.
Near midnight Izaya starts to yawn and his eyes start to look distant so Shizuo finds clothes for him to wear to bed and searches through his closet for a second toothbrush for him. He finds one and offers it to the other who gives him a confused frown.
So Shizuo shows him how to use it and then remembers that he hasn’t explained the functions of everything in the bathroom. “Uh, Izaya do you...need to pee at all? I don’t think I explained that to you yet.”
Izaya raises an eyebrow and smirks at him, “I’m not human, Shizu-chan. I don’t do that.”
“Oh.” Shizuo stands there for a moment, dumbfounded. For some reason, he’d assumed that his body worked like a human’s. “You were able to eat though. Do you...not work like a human in other ways?”
Izaya laughs at him when he realizes what he’s said and he’s certain that his face is bright red with how hot it feels. “I don’t know what you mean by that, but it’s possible. There are some similarities of course. And I do like food despite not needing to excrete waste from it. That is solely for humans and animals. Something that I am incredibly grateful for.”
Shizuo doesn’t know what to think of that. It’s strange to consider that Izaya’s body works differently from his own and, ignoring all the vulgar ways that his brain could go with that, he wonders if Izaya sweats. He probably doesn’t since he’s so used to living in such a hot place, but he’s curious nonetheless.
He doesn’t ask any more questions. There has been enough embarrassment during the last day and a half, there is no need for him to add to that with questions about the habits of demons when Izaya hasn’t shown the slightest sign of discomfort at heat or physical proximity. Quite the opposite in fact. But Shizuo feels strange, like he shouldn’t ask about those kinds of things, like Izaya himself is supposed to stay a secret, even to him.
He lets Izaya have the bed again and lays across the couch. He’s in the process of trying to get comfortable when he hears a sound start-up from across the room. At first, he thinks it’s the air conditioning unit turning on, but then it continues and it fades and grows louder in waves.
It takes him several minutes to realize that it is the sound of purring.
And the only source he can think of that makes any sense is Izaya, which still seems unreasonable but the longer it goes on and the more his eyes adjust to the dark the more clear it becomes that it is Izaya.
Izaya is purring. Like a cat.
Shizuo puts his hand over his eyes and tries to ignore the abnormality of the situation. It’s not all that hard to do, really. Especially considering he didn’t believe in demons two days ago and now he has one in his bed. The fact that Izaya purrs is more proof that he’s not a human, which is both comforting and confusing.
Shizuo falls asleep to the sound of his purring.
And wakes up to Izaya on his chest again.
He wonders if this will be a habit and if he should just stop giving up the bed because sleeping on a couch that’s too short for him to sprawl out completely on can’t be good for his body.
Izaya doesn’t take as long to wake up this time and when he opens his eyes he stares at Shizuo before he sits up to stretch. Shizuo quickly moves him out of his lap and swings his legs over the edge of the couch.
“I have to work again today.” he doesn’t look at the other as he says this, busies himself with picking out an outfit for him and then taking his work clothes into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.
The demon apparently felt the need to remove his pants in the middle of the night. And Shizuo failed to notice for the entire hour he was lying awake with him on his chest. Luckily his hands weren’t touching skin, but there is still adrenaline pulsing through his veins.
He exits the bathroom after a shower and getting dressed to find Izaya struggling to put socks on. He’s fully clothed, which Shizuo is thankful for and nothing is backward so he doesn’t need to adjust anything aside from helping him with his socks and boots.
“Do you want to bring anything with you to do or are you alright with watching humans again today?” Shizuo asks while he ties Izaya’s boots and Izaya gives him a look of disbelief, as if that question is somehow offensive. “You don’t have to, I just wanted to ask so you’d have the option.”
“What would I bring with me, Shizu-chan? One of those things that you use all the time?”
Shizuo frowns at him and looks at what he’s pointing at, “You mean a sketchbook? I’m an art student, I’m supposed to fill that by the end of the semester.”
“Can you show me what you put in it?” Izaya asks and when Shizuo meets his eyes he can see mischief there.
He narrows his eyes, “You already looked at it, didn’t you? You don’t need to see it again.”
“Aww, come on, Shizuo! I didn’t get to see everything in it. You got out of the shower too fast for me to get very far.” Izaya is whining and Shizuo growls and Izaya flinches when he accidentally tightens the laces of his boot too much.
“Sorry. You shouldn’t look at my stuff without asking. I’ll show you if you really want to see it that badly.”
“Can I bring it with me so I can look through it?” he’s looking at him with wide, curious eyes again and Shizuo is beginning to suspect he does that on purpose, “It will give me something else to do, and maybe the humans won’t be so quiet around me if I am doing something other than staring at them or out the window. And I’m curious what sorts of things you find worthy of putting in something so important.”
Shizuo lets go of Izaya’s calf and stands up, “It’s not that important. It’s just a semester project. I’m supposed to draw an incubus for another class and I’ve been putting practice material in it for that as well.” he ruffles his hair and then stops when he remembers the sketch of Izaya that he has in that particular sketchbook, “Um. But I’m worried it’ll get damaged if you bring that one. I have another one from last year that I can let you bring, hold on while I get it.”
The demon doesn’t voice any complaints and takes the notebook from him when he holds it out, “We do need to go now though. We can eat breakfast at the cafe. I’m sure you’re hungry.”
Both of their stomachs growl after he says this and he chuckles while he turns to grab his keys and wallet so they can leave.
The day goes by quickly after breakfast. Izaya does what he said he would and slowly looks through the sketchbook without looking up for a long time. The cafe is rather empty for much of the morning, but he expects that on Sundays since most students are in their rooms or the library cramming in homework and studying or sleeping as much as they can to make up for the lack of sleep during the week. Shizuo’s schedule is fairly consistent all week and he works in the evenings usually, which is enjoyable because the students and faculty that show up tend to be too exhausted to talk much.
Izaya chose a different table today. The one in the corner must have seemed less conspicuous to him, but Shizuo knows it’s the favorite of most customers and they’ve all thrown sideways looks at the guy no one knows wearing too-big clothes and staring at a sketchbook.
When he has a lull in customers he brings coffee over to Izaya along with one of the sandwiches he made earlier and Izaya smiles gratefully at him before returning to his slow progress through Shizuo’s notebook.
His lunch break is spent answering more of Izaya’s questions and only some of them are directed at his art instead of the people who have visited the cafe that day. Shizuo has noticed the way his coworkers are looking at him about bringing a guy with him to work for two days in a row, but none of them are brave enough to ask him about it and it’s one of the few times he’s been thankful for how intimidating he is because he doesn’t have an explanation for it other than the generic ‘he’s my friend’ that no one would believe.
Shizuo hasn’t ever really conversed with any of them so they’re unlikely to try to ask out of friendly curiosity either. Except for Tom, but luckily he’s not working until tomorrow morning when Shizuo is in class.
After lunch business picks up rapidly all the way until 5 when Shizuo’s shift ends.
Generally, he would go back to his dorm room and make dinner, but he’s exhausted and is in the mood for cake, which he doesn’t have the time to make himself before he has to sleep. So he brings Izaya to one of his favorite bakery restaurants before returning to the room.
Izaya seems just as tired as he is and puts up absolutely no fuss about the far too large pajamas Shizuo gives him. And when Shizuo climbs into bed next to him he doesn’t respond at all, only rolls onto his side and presses his back against Shizuo’s arm.
He doesn’t hear purring until he’s already at the edge of unconsciousness.
Shizuo wakes up before his alarm goes off with an arm around Izaya’s waist and the other’s head burrowed in his shirt. He chooses to lay there, unmoving and with his eyes closed for the remaining few moments of rest he can get. When his alarm goes off he’s careful to shut it off and not move too quickly, hoping not to wake Izaya up.
He dresses in casual clothes and brushes his teeth with the door closed to make the least amount of noise possible and then he picks up his bag and sketchbook from beside the couch. He catches a glimpse of Izaya’s face before he burrows deeper into the blankets, still breathing deeply and purring occasionally.
He pulls on his shoes and shoves his keys into his pocket, steps out the door and closes it near-silently in hopes of not waking the demon in his bed.
Then he takes two steps and abruptly hits air that feels like a wall.