One day, when the waiters were cleaning the dining hall up, Shinra called Izaya.

"Izaya-kun! Shiki said he wants to see us." Izaya was taking his apron off when he came into the room.

"Oh? Well… Okay." He left the apron over his bag on the counter and followed Shinra, through some halls and then upstairs, where Shiki's office was. It wasn't much. There was a table with a computer and some files piled up on the other corner of the table. Shiki was staring at both of them who had just come in, and Izaya quickly noticed Shizuo and Namie there too. They all looked a bit lost, or surprised. Actually, looking better, Namie only looked annoyed, as usual. Izaya sometimes wondered why she kept the job if she hated it so much. Then again, he could also ask why she never thought about suicide. Izaya never, ever saw her smiling.

Then again, this was an unusual meeting. Especially because Shiki usually didn't stay until late in the restaurant.

"Good, we're all here." Shiki started. "As you know, we're at November already. I wanted to develop a special menu for Christmas. Many other restaurants are doing it and I can't let us fall behind." Izaya listened carefully, but didn't quite understand why did he was included. It's not like he knew anything about developing menus. Though he was fine while he could discreetly look at Shizuo. His blond hair all messed up by the toque, a drop of sweat just sliding against his skin and he raised his hand to wipe it off from his forehead. No human being could be so handsome. No human beings deserved this man. And even though Izaya loved humans, they simply didn't deserve him. He was meant for Izaya. The brunet smirked to himself, sure that the bitch would just complain and whine if Shizuo went all out on her. He knew he was the only one who could keep up with Shizuo's strength that is a bit too much out of the ordinary. Finally, he snapped his attention back to Shiki.

"I want an entrée, main dish and desert. And since we've got such a renowned sommelier, we should use him too. I want the three dishes with wine on them. And obviously, I trust Orihara is the best one on this country for this." Izaya stared at Shiki, having all eyes laid upon him which was great, since he was adoring all this attention. Of course, his ego went flying off the roof. But Namie quickly called back everyone's attention.

"I refuse to work with this man." And just like that, she walked away. Shinra looked surprise at this act of rebel from Namie, who was usually a serious and dedicated person.

"What? Yagiri, are you serious?" Izaya glanced at her and smirked. He guessed she still wasn't over the last prank he pulled on her. Maybe she never would. But Shiki warned.

"Yagiri Namie." She halted, not looking back. "I hope you know that I want this menu ready as fast as I can. You have to develop this menu for us."

Finally, she glanced back. "I have complete faith on my sous-chef. I'm sure he'll do it perfectly." Then she walked away.

Just like that, she walked away.

Shiki sighed. It's not like he didn't believe on his partner's judgment, but that cold and indifferent way of hers could be their end someday.

Shinra was stunned. He was aware that he was invited to this meeting for the sole purpose of being aware to inform others of a Christmas special.

Shizuo looked confused. He didn't mind working with Izaya, so he couldn't even wonder why she despised him so much. On the other hand, he felt confident when she said she trusted him. Not everyone have Yagiri Namie's trust.

And Izaya was flying high. First off, Shiki told him he believed Izaya was the best from the country and secondly… If he had to work with Shizuo, that meant over-hours right? There was no way they could develop and create a menu together only during work hours. That meant spending more time with him and pulling him away from that blonde bitch.

Izaya grinned a bit. He was getting the upper hand at this.

So when Izaya was heading out, Shizuo called him again.

"Izaya!" He grinned to himself. He loved the way his name rolled out of Shizuo's tongue. It was amusing to have his name spoken by such a powerful and beautiful voice. He turned around.

"Yes?" The brunet was always proud of his masks and he always pretended he didn't give a damn to others. That usually made others to try and get closer to him. Oh, humans, always so masochist. Go figure.

"Hey, about the Christmas menu… When are we going to talk about it?"

"Oh?" Izaya completely turned his body around, now. "Dunno. Do you prefer before work, I suppose?"

Shizuo nodded. "Yeah. I guess after work we would both be tired… And Vorona might not like the idea so much."

Izaya almost glared at the mention of bitch's name, but instead he smiled gently, his words full of poisonous kind words. "Oh, sure. Vorona-chan can't sleep all by herself, right?" Shizuo furrowed his brows and Izaya thought that maybe he suspected this whole act. Fortunately, Shinra, passed through them.

"Bye, Izaya-kun, Shizuo-kun! I'll see you guys tomorrow!" They both responded and waved, then Izaya said.

"Listen, Shizu-chan. How about that… Today is Friday. Give a thought about this and then on Monday we meet, since the restaurant is closed, and then we discuss our ideas. Alright?"

Shizuo considered it for a few seconds and nodded in agreement. "Fine. So see you on Monday." Now, Shizuo left and Izaya dropped his act, sighing tiredly. Forcing a smile was getting more and more demanding for him. Then, a body come up behind of him.

"Orihara." Izaya recognized the voice immediately, twisting his face to look at him.

"Shiki-san?" As mentioned before, Shiki rarely stayed until late in the restaurant. As the executive manager, he was usually the first to go. But when he did stay, he always did the same thing…

"Want a ride home?" … That was offering a car ride to Izaya. The brunet smiled sincerely this time.

"Sure." And Izaya would always, always accept it. They walked out of the restaurant, and since they were the last two to leave, Shiki made sure everything was locked up. When he wasn't there, that was Namie's responsibility. They went into Shiki's black car and Izaya left his bag on his feet, putting on the seat belt and sighing once again. He was tired and frustrated. The car started moving and Izaya concentrated on looking outside the window. He liked the way Ikebukuro was always so illuminated and full of life, just like him before meeting Shizuo again. Now he rarely felt joy. He was constantly trying to fight off the depressed feelings as the same time he craved for them. Izaya was fully aware that he would never be able to convince himself to pull away from this situation. He closed his eyes. The brunet was so weary of fighting this war. He lost most of the fights to an innocent girl who didn't even try to win. She just wins.

Then he felt fingers pushing his hair back in a gentle way. "Are you alright?" He reopened his eyes slowly and stared into Shiki's. Sometimes he wondered how Shizuo and Shiki met.

"Yeah, yeah… I'm just tired." And with that, he closed his eyes again. Shiki petted his hair for a few seconds, and then took hold of the wheel with both hands again. Izaya welcomed the short caress and smiled a bit, closing his eyes again. All too soon, Shiki braked the car.

"Here we are."

Izaya raised his head, looking at his building entrance. "Yeah… Thanks." He opened the door and got out. Shiki called him.

"Orihara."

"Hn?"

"You don't seem well. Please take care of yourself." Izaya nodded with a sad smile and walked inside. He was exhausted and didn't remember much. He dropped himself in bed and drifted off.