Disclaimer: If I owned Durarara! Shizaya would be canon. But I don't. Siiighhh.

Starts out alright, then turns serious and slightly angsty. Grahh… I was originally planning on doing fluff. It's also unbeta-ed and not proofread because I spent five hours procrastinating and trying to find out where the International Date Line & Artic Circle were. I hate geography. T_T

But nevertheless, enjoy and Happy Valentine's Day!

shiroi yuki / 白い雪

Shizuo Heiwajima hated Valentine's Day.

He couldn't stand it. The chocolate, the girls' giggling and blushing, the boys' competition over who got the most chocolates… It was, for a lack of a better word, simply annoying.

It wasn't because he wasn't popular. Oh, no, he got loads of chocolate every year. Hell, the girls at Raira Gakuen who weren't scared of his strength actually liked it. And so, on that dreaded day, he opened his shoe locker to get bombarded by boxes of chocolate. Or if they were brave enough, he even got approached by blushing, flustered girls who (somewhat timidly) handed him chocolate.

It annoyed the hell out of him. The vending machines and trash cans knew, especially after being thrown with more passion and ferocity (and getting severely dented afterwards).

So, of course, Izaya had to make it worse.

It was the end of the day, and most of the students had filed out and left for home, or somewhere with their friends. Shizuo himself was at his shoe locker, getting ready to leave. It was starting to snow, and a light layer of white covered the ground outside.

He pulled a plastic bag out of his knapsack and started to move the chocolate from his locker to the bag. He hated to waste food (and some of the girls actually spent time making these gifts), so he would always take the chocolate home. Sighing, he wondered if Kasuka would like some, then shook his head. His brother probably got enough as it is. Then, all of a sudden…

"Shizu-chan~!" The brunet's voice rang out in the empty hallways.

The blond turned around, dropping the bag of chocolate. Waves of hate radiated off his body, and he glared at the one who addressed him. His fists shook with anger just upon hearing the flea's voice.

"What do you want, flea?" he said between clenched teeth.

"Ne, Shizu-chan, you look angry!" Izaya grinned. "I wonder why… Could it be because you didn't get any chocolate?"

…Well, obviously he didn't see the pile of chocolate surrounding me.

"Or maybe you didn't get chocolate from the girl you like? Could that be it?" The lyrical lilt to his voice had a teasing tone, which pissed the blond off even more. He started to advance.

"Then again, who would want to be with a monster like you?"

Shizuo froze. Izaya had struck a weak point.

It was true that, when he was younger, he injured the one he loved the most with his strength. After that, he realized that he was a monster. The strength and power he wanted so much to protect his loved ones…actually hurt them. So he distanced himself from everyone; even Kasuka, his own brother.

The only person who dared to approach him on a daily basis was that annoying flea. He wasn't afraid. He wasn't afraid of Shizuo, and that was probably why the blond hated him so much. How could he get close to anyone, if he was going to hurt them in the end?

"What's wrong, Shizu-chan? Scared?" Izaya spoke quietly. His voice still had that teasing sound, but held more serious undertones. His eyes—those beautiful red orbs—looked…sad, almost even worried.

"Y-you-!" The brunet's face was mere centimetres away from his own. His cheeks flared red and he jumped back, slipping on some chocolate. He landed on his back, elbows stinging from breaking his fall, the linoleum, tiled floor emanating cold. Izaya didn't hesitate. With amazing speed, he moved forward and straddled the blond.

"Are you scared, Shizu-chan? You are, I can tell." Izaya bent down, gently leaning his forehead against Shizuo's. Surprisingly, the blond didn't make a move. "You don't want to hurt anyone. That's why you hate it when those girls try to get closer to you. You're terrified of accidentally hurting them with your strength.

"I know about that woman you used to like. She had to close down her store, right? And she got hurt; sent to the hospital. You blamed yourself, so you never talked to her again.

"It's your strength, Shizu-chan. That's what makes you a monster."

As his rival spoke, Shizuo's eyes lost their brightness. His heart clenched as the familiar agonizing pain of pure loneliness came back to him. He slowly closed his eyes; he was falling, falling, falling back into that engulfing, deep darkness…

"But you know…I'm a monster, too."

What?

"I mean, how else would I be able to…"

Be able to what?

"Be able to…"

His eyes half-open, he glanced up at the flea who uncharacteristically couldn't seem to find the right words to say.

"To what, flea?" He spoke in a whisper, almost unable to believe what was happening.

"Nothing. Never mind. Forget what I said." Izaya pulled away, getting off of the blond. He started to walk away; but he only took a few steps before Shizuo exploded.

"What? That's it? You say all that and just fricking leave? Is this just a game to you?"

Izaya smiled—a sad smile. "Maybe, Shizu-chan. But if it is, then I lose."

For the second time in less than an hour, Shizuo Heiwajima stood speechless.

"I lose and you win."

He pushed open the doors and stepped outside. It took a few seconds for the situation to set in, but then the blond raced out after him.

More snow had fallen since he'd last been outside, and now it was hard to see anything but white. He frantically turned around; searching for the person he'd just been talking to.

Where…where is he? Ah!

He saw a flash of brown and black and ran towards it. Izaya's fur coat became more and more recognizable, until he'd completely caught up to the teenager.

"Izaya!"

The Orihara turned, surprised that his rival of all people called him by his first name, and with no honorific, no less. But he hid his surprise with a glare, spitting out his next words.

"What do you want?"

"I…"

Shizuo wasn't sure what to say. He didn't know why he followed the brunet, why he felt like if he didn't, he would lose a chance for…something. Something important.

"Why are you here?"

And Shizuo didn't know what the right thing to do was. Without thinking, he stepped forward, bending down so his face was mere centimetres away from Izaya's. Their eyes locked; red staring into brown.

Shizuo didn't know when their lips met, or who leaned in to close the gap. He just knew that when their lips melded together, it felt so right. He heard Izaya let out a small moan, and took that opportunity to slip his tongue into the other's mouth.

His left arm slipped around the brunet's thin waist, the other coming up to cup his lover's face. In return, Izaya moved his arms around Shizuo's neck, pulling them closer together.

"Mm…"

Shizuo explored his partner's mouth, tasting Izaya and nothing but Izaya. Their tongues met to perform a beautiful dance of power.

The blond opened his eyes slightly, and saw silent tears streaming down the brunet's face. He pulled away, panting slightly, and leaned his forehead against Izaya's.

"What's wrong?" he murmured, kissing away the tears that stained that beautiful porcelain skin. He was so frail, he was afraid that he would break.

"I-I wanted this…f-for so long… S-Shizuo… Y-You don't know…how much I-I wanted y-you…"

Shizuo just pulled the brunet closer. He returned the embrace.

"Shh… I'm here now…"

Izaya looked up, his red eyes holding some hope. This time, Shizuo didn't hesitate. He leaned down, pressing his lips to his lover's.

"I love you."

-Owari-