Day 7 Shizaya week prompt - Moving in together! I hope everyone participating in Shizaya week had a great time, whether they were contributing fan works or supporting them!

Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara

Domestic Beliefs

Izaya's ideas of how domestic life is are completely different than Shizuo's.

Shizuo can see the moment Izaya begins to regret the decision they made to move in together.

It's while they're moving in the kitchen boxes. Izaya had been unpacking one of the boxes while Shizuo brought the last one up, and he manages to catch the edges of a frown curling on his boyfriend's lips before it disappears as soon Izaya realizes Shizuo is there. He sets down the toaster he had been frowning at and gives Shizuo a smile as he directs him to set the last box on the table.

Moving in together had been a logical decision – the two have been dating for almost a year already, and spent the majority of their time at one another's apartments. This step made sense, and when Shizuo had asked Izaya, Izaya hadn't hesitated to say yes. Now though, Shizuo can see the cogs spinning in Izaya's overactive brain, and can tell that he's regretting one of the few hasty decisions he's ever made.

Since Izaya's already unpacking the kitchen, Shizuo gives him time to himself and heads to unpack their stuff upstairs in the bedroom. He knows better than to try and offer help to Izaya – while Shizuo doesn't care where his kitchen items go, but he knows Izaya is very particular about the kitchen set up. It's better to let Izaya figure out how the kitchen is going to be arranged and arrange it that way, and just figure out the placements himself later.

Two hours later, Shizuo is finished, and wanders back out of the bedroom to find Izaya still arranging the kitchen. Of course, part of the reason is obvious – he's trying to put some bowls on the top shelf of the cabinet and Izaya's too short to reach. There's a chair by the table that the idiot could pull over and use, but Izaya's too stubborn to do so. Shizuo also knows that he's too stubborn to admit he needs help or to ask for it, so Shizuo goes over and puts the bowls up there himself.

The weird look is back on Izaya's face, gone before Shizuo can properly figure out what is exactly is going on in his boyfriend's head. Instead it's replaced by a pout, one that Shizuo's fairly certain more for show than anything.

"I could have gotten it," Izaya's reaching for the next stack of items, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out they're supposed to go on the top shelf as well, so Shizuo grabs them before Izaya and sticks them up next to the bowls.

"It's fine," Shizuo shrugs and follows the line of stacked items down the counter putting them on the top shelves of the cabinets they're in front of. Out of the corner of his eye he can see the odd look on Izaya's face again. It looks like he's pained, biting his cheek and resisting saying something.

"I could have gotten it," Izaya unnecessarily repeats himself, before detaching himself from the situation and entering the living room area. There are two bookshelves, and Shizuo had set the boxes with Izaya's books in front of them. Shizuo had avoided unpacking them earlier because Izaya didn't follow any logical cataloging system he knows, so it's easier to let his boyfriend unpack and arrange his own books.

While Izaya's doing that, Shizuo finishes unpacking his box of knickknacks and other things. He takes the time to run out and pick up Russia Sushi as well, Izaya not even noticing his disappearance until he's catching his attention to get him to eat.

"When did you go out?" Izaya confirms Shizuo's thoughts as he takes the takeout box from his boyfriend's hands, settling onto the couch.

"When you were rearranging your books twenty times," Shizuo answers, opening his own box. He's about to dig in, when Izaya's soft mutter stops him.

"There's an extra roll," He mutters, poking his chopsticks at the sushi instead of eating it.

"Yeah," Shizuo agrees, stuffing a sushi roll in his mouth. "I asked Simon for an extra one when I was picking it up."

"Why?" Izaya asks, that weird look back on his face.

"Um," He's not certain where exactly Izaya's question is aimed at. "I told Simon that we were unpacking our new apartment, and he said something that probably was supposed to mean 'Congratulations' and when I asked for an extra, he put in an extra?"

"No, I mean, why did you ask for an extra?" Izaya reframes the question.

"Because you haven't eaten all day?" Izaya is making it seem like that it's a bad thing that Shizuo asked for extra. "And I thought you would appreciate it?"

"But…" Izaya at a loss for words is a rare sight, and one that Shizuo is presently witnessing as he fumbles for the right words to accurately sum up his thought process. "Why?"

"'Cause it makes you happy?" Shizuo's not sure what the right answer here is. "And I like seeing you happy?"

But Izaya's still pulling a weird face.

"Look," Shizuo sighs, trying to rein back his annoyance, because this is Izaya and Izaya is a spazz from time to time who doesn't understand the proper range of human emotion. "Didn't your parents ever do nice things for the other without being asked?"

Izaya shrugs.

"I don't know," He responds listlessly, poking at his food, frowning at it. "Maybe?"

"You know," Shizuo tries to clarify, because Izaya doesn't always have an appropriate understanding of what nice gestures are. "Like, helping out without being asked? Getting you and your sisters out of their hair for a few hours when you were being nuisances?"

"No?" Izaya just seems more confused.

"I don't need a reason to do something nice for you," Shizuo gives up on the examples.

"I get that," Izaya is getting frustrated, which makes Shizuo feel slightly okay for being frustrated himself. "It's just," He moves his hands in a gesture as if they will convey the words he can't find.

"What?" Shizuo asks. "It's just what? That you don't appreciate it? If you don't want me to do it anymore, just let me know." He's aware he's starting to lose his temper a bit, so he takes a deep breath and loosens his grip on his chopsticks.

"That's not it," Izaya informs Shizuo, shifting his gaze to stare at his boyfriend like Shizuo is a puzzle he's trying to deconstruct. "If Shizu-chan wants to do gestures like that, who am I to stop him?"

"But there's something else that's bothering you," Shizuo continues for Izaya, because even though Izaya think's his mask is completely unreadable, Shizuo has learned how to read between the lines.

"It's not exactly the picture I'm used to," Izaya admits. "Gestures like Shizu-chan's aren't… aren't ones I grew up seeing."

"Yeah, well," He snorts as Izaya flops against his shoulder, picking at his ootoro, "Get used to them. Because they aren't going to stop."

"If you say so," Izaya makes it sound like a chore, but there's a content smile on his lips that tells a different story.


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