Title: Handle With Care
Author: MistressKiko
Rating: T (for now. may go up)
Pairing: Shizuo x Izaya
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters!

THIS STORY CONTAINS MALE X MALE RELATIONSHIPS. You have been warned.

I almost wished we hadn't gone back to the daycare center. This little problem between Kyo and Sayu had been frustrating before, but now it was just painful to look at.

It had been juice time. There was only about an hour left until the little ones left for home, and due to their trip to Sosuke's house, they had never been given their juice. It just so happened that Kyo and Sayu had reached for the same juice box at the same time. They paused as their hands brushed, and they stared at each other.

Then Sayu's mouth twisted into a frown, and she roughly pushed his hand away before grabbing the juice box and running off.

"HEY!" Kyo had shouted, but his anger soon turned into frustration, and I was left dumbfounded when he stomped away from the juice without even grabbing one and holed himself up in a corner, back facing the rest of the center.

I exchanged a look with Izaya before sighing. I grabbed a juice box before cautiously walking up to Kyo.

"Hey there," I tested the waters, keeping my voice calm and low. I bent down and tapped the juice box on his shoulder. "You forgot to take one."

"Don't want it," Kyo sulked. I couldn't see his face, but his voice was wobbly, and I realized with alarm that he was about to cry.

"What's wrong, buddy?" I asked, sitting cross-legged next to him and throwing my arm around his little shoulders.

He looked at me, then, eyes filled with tears and nose leaking snot. I suddenly wished I had brought tissues with me.

"I..." Kyo started, but his face went red and the tears started leaking down his cheeks. "I hate... my..."

"Daddy!"

I turned quickly at Kayumi's voice. She was behind me holding a piece of paper and looking the exact opposite of Kyo with a big smile on her face.

Kyo apparently didn't like that happy smile next to his doom-and-gloom, and decided to give his lungs a work-out by wailing loudly. Kayumi looked startled at the sound, as if she just now noticed the crying boy.

"Ah!" I exclaimed, throwing an apologetic look at Kayumi. "Sorry, honey, let me take care of this?" I formed it as a question, but I turned back to Kyo immediately. As a second thought, I continued, "Actually can you go get some tissues for me?"

"... yeah," Kayumi answered from behind me, and I heard her steps walking away.

"Shh, it's alright, buddy," I tried to soothe Kyo. "Just tell me what's wrong when you're ready."

Kyo balled his hands up into fists.

"I... hate... the way I talk...!" Kyo managed through his sobs. He looked so sad it almost broke my heart. As if finally getting that off of his chest was what he needed to continue, he whipped his head up to look at me properly. "I don't wanna fight with Sayu! But Sayu wants me to wead... wead... the wuby... wed... pwincess..."

He fell into sobs again. When it finally clicked, I sighed.

The Ruby Red Princess. What a book for someone who struggled with pronouncing 'r's to read.

"Kyo..." I started, but was startled by tissue appearing in front of my face. I flashed a smile at Kayumi and took the tissue, immediately diving for the snot around Kyo's nose. "Are you feeling sad because of the way you pronounce things?"

Kyo sniffled before nodding his head.

"It's embawassing," Kyo said, closing his eyes as tissue dabbed at them gently. "I want to wead to Sayu, but..."

I smiled.

"Did you explain that to Sayu?" I asked, taking the tissue away from his reddening eyes. He opened them and looked at me curiously. "You know what I think? I think Sayu thinks you don't want to read to her at all. Maybe she feels like you don't want to be her friend?"

"That's not twue!" Kyo said adamantly, eyes widening.

"How about you and I go over to Sayu right now and explain everything to her. Sayu is your best friend. Your talking has never bothered her before, right?" I asked, holding out my hand. Kyo almost looked like he was about to cry again, turning his head to look in Sayu's direction.

"... okay," Kyo agreed softly, taking my hand. Proud of my victory, I helped him up, taking a short detour toward the trash can so I could throw away the used tissue before walking with him to Sayu. He held his head down the whole time, shuffling his feet across the carpeted floor.

"Sayu-chan. Kyo-kun would like to say something to you," I approached, continuing to hold Kyo's hand. It would hopefully give him some courage.

Sayu looked up from her book, which, I noted, was The Ruby Red Princess. She looked a little reluctant, but stared at Kyo expectantly.

"..." Kyo looked to be having a hard time, but finally met Sayu's gaze. "... m' sowwy I wouldn't wead the book. I... sound silly saying... wuby wed pwincess..."

He hung his head again. Sayu frowned.

"You don't sound silly," Sayu denied, hugging her book close. "I like when you read to me."

She looked shy admitting that, and I smiled. Kyo looked up again, staring for a bit, before letting go of my hand and sitting next to Sayu.

"... if you don't mind it," Kyo started, a blush creeping up on his cheeks. He took hold of a side of the book. "Then I guess I'll wead to you."

Sayu's smile was so bright, I almost had to hold my hand in front of my eyes.

Well. At least that crisis was now over. And what an adorable way for things to play out.

"Shizu-chan!" Izaya called out from near the front door. "Miyo-chan's mom is here!"

A quick glance at the clock proved it to be ten minutes to pick-up time, and I stretched my hands over my head. My body felt tired, and I almost regretted promising a trip to the aquarium tomorrow. Knowing how excited the kids were going to be stopped any regrets, though.

All the parents were on time picking up their children, which was nice. The peace and quiet that came with the end of the day were pretty damn nice, too.

"Are the mini lovers alright which each other now?" Izaya asked as we wiped down the tables. My lip curled.

"Never call them that again," I said dryly. It was just too weird when they were that young. Izaya stuck his tongue out at me. "Yeah, I think they'll be fine now."

"Think Sosuke will be here tomorrow?"

"I hope not."

"You are so mean to that boy. He happens to be one of my favorites."

"I have no trouble believing that," I replied, shaking my head. I kicked a stray toy over to the toy shelf, too lazy to pick it up properly. I was such a good role model. "Where'd Kayumi go?"

"She's sitting out on the porch. I think she has something for you," Izaya replied. I suddenly remembered her coming up to me during the Kyo drama.

"You do the records tonight," I said, making my way to the front door. I jumped when a hand slapped my ass.

"Anything you want, Shizu-chan," Izaya said playfully, prancing away before I could do anything. That man...

I didn't go any farther with that thought, walking out onto the porch. Kayumi sat in one of the chairs, staring out into the distance with her arms wrapped around one leg. Her blonde hair was almost orange in the setting sun.

"Hey, you," I greeted, running a hand through her hair. She looked up at me and smiled tiredly.

"I finished my drawing!" She said, grabbing the paper from the table and holding it up. There were two figures in the picture, holding hands with a rainbow in the background. From the yellow hair atop both their heads, I knew who they were immediately.

"That you and me?" I asked, holding it up in the light. "Absolutely gorgeous! You could be an artist. Thank you, Kayumi."

Her smile widened at the praise.

"You're welcome!" She said happily, swinging her legs.

"We'll be heading out of here soon. Just give me a couple minutes," I promised before heading back in. I continued to look at the drawing as I made my way to the office, focusing on the clasped hands. I was taken back to my earlier thoughts about how I wished I could have more time with Kayumi. Would Vorona hear me out?

"This stuff is sooo boring," Izaya complained as soon as I entered the office. He was spinning in our chair, holding the records book and a pencil in his hand.

"That's why you usually stick me with it," I replied with a disapproving stare, to which he just grinned. I started searching for a tack to hang up Kayumi's picture.

"By the way, Takeshi's mother still hasn't paid for last month," Izaya said.

"What?!" I asked, putting down Kayumi's drawing and looking over Izaya's shoulder. Izaya poked at the page with his eraser.

"Well, either that, or we forgot to write it down," Izaya said. I groaned. I really couldn't remember if she'd paid or not. Now we would have to ask, and that looked terrible.

"You are handling the mom," Izaya said, in the same tone I'd used when I told him he was handling records tonight. I sighed deeply.

"Fine, fine," I agreed, grabbing my keys. Izaya threw the records book on the desk and followed me out. Tomorrow was going to be hectic.

"Look, look, I'm a pufferfish!" Sosuke exclaimed loudly, puffing up his cheeks and nearly going cross-eyed in the process. Behind him, a large tank of water sat, and a real pufferfish looked on curiously. The rest of the children laughed at his antics.

I sighed. It must have been a 24 hour bug, because the little trouble-maker had bounded into the Daycare Center this morning like nothing could hold him down.

I still have suspicions he was joking.

The tour guide who'd met us at the front door this morning was a nice lady, but seemed a bit frazzled with the kids. I couldn't blame her; they were so excited.

"If you'll follow me to the next exhibit.." The tour guide trailed off, gesturing to her right. Miyo scampered up to me, arms thrust out in front of her.

"Shizuo-sensei, lift me!" Miyo demanded, jumping up and down. I chuckled and held out an arm, bracing myself for her to jump up and swing from it like some monkey bar. She clung on for dear life in this way as I started following the rest of the kids.

Kayumi looked back and saw us and immediately demanded to be picked up as well.

These kids were going to become my work-out equipment soon enough.

I sneaked a glance over at Izaya. He was tinted blue in the light that shown through the water tanks all around us, his eyes staring into the water.

"No dead fish I hope?" I asked, loud enough to get his attention. He seemed a bit startled, as if he were caught in a daydream, before turning to face me with an amused smirk.

"Not yet, anyway. Gonna protect me?" He asked, purposefully fluttering his eyelashes. If I didn't have two kids hanging off me, I would have pushed him.

The tour concluded with paper whale masks for all the children, of which they promptly put on and then pretended they had spouts. We eventually rounded them up at the food court and got plates of food in front of them for a distraction.

Izaya and I, being the adults, sat on either side of the far end of the bench-like tables, listening to the kids' mindless chattering. Sayu was scared about getting shots in the next week, Takeshi's older brother was turning ten tomorrow, Miyo was showing off a brand new scar, and I swear if Sosuke didn't stop making my daughter laugh, I was going to stab my fork straight through my plate.

I felt someone tap my shin beneath the table and forced my attention away from Sosuke, landing my gaze on Izaya.

"Earth to Shizuo," Izaya teased and I rolled my eyes, pointing the ends of my chopsticks at him accusingly.

"You're one to talk. You were spacing out during the entire tour," I remarked.

"You were watching me that closely?" He replied with a grin, and I mentally slapped myself. I walked right into that one. However, this was Izaya we were talking about. I'm pretty sure he could take anything I say and twist it into something flirtatious.

… and maybe that wasn't so much a bad thing.

It was cute sometimes.

"I've been caught. Just can't take my eyes off you," I replied, heaving a sigh. His grin widened.

"I'm glad you finally admit that," Izaya said, happily going back to his meal. I put my chopsticks back in my bowl, but don't move to take another bite. Instead I merely observe the situation, mainly dragging my gaze back and forth from Kayumi to Izaya and back again.

If I was really serious about this... which I had already determined I was... I couldn't keep having Kayumi come see me without her knowing I had a boyfriend. It would be wrong to both of them.

Heh, "glad I finally admit that" indeed. There were many things I had to admit.

Like how I wanted Kayumi to be a bigger part of my life. Which meant talking to Vorona. And the wonder of how my little girl would take to the idea when her mother was so against it.

I tapped my chopsticks against the bowl absentmindedly before finally dropping them and making to stand. Izaya looked up curiously.

"I'm heading to the restroom," I announced, slipping from the table and making my way to where I was pretty sure the restrooms were located. Sometimes buildings just really needed to hang their direction signs in more appropriate places.

Thankfully I find it with ease. The entire bathroom is sea-life themed, even offering lobster-shaped soap dispensers. I do my business and wash my hands. The soap is probably something like 'Ocean Breeze'; I can't quite determine the smell.

This aquarium is a really nice one. I'm glad it's so close to us.

I go to grab the door handle, but snap my hand back when the door suddenly swings open. To my surprise, Izaya is standing there, halted in his pursuit. He was probably surprised by me being right at the door too.

"What are you doing here? Who's with the kids?" I asked immediately. Please tell me he did not leave the kids... leave my daughter... out there alone?!

"Calm down, the tour guide from earlier came by and I asked her to watch them for a second," Izaya explained, holding up his hands defensively as he walked into the bathroom and let the door swing shut behind him.

My heart calmed, then I raised a brow.

"You didn't answer my first question," I prompted. His expression turned devilish in an instant.

"Anyone in here~?" Izaya asked loudly, peaking around the corner to evaluate the situation. When nothing but an echo greeted him, he turned his crimson eyes back on me and advanced, "Remember what I said about catching you alone?"

I felt his body weight looping around my shoulders and heat spread across my cheeks.

This was not alone, this was a public place, did he really follow me in here to pin me to the counter and...

As his mouth met mine, I determine yes, yes he did, the sneaky little bastard.

It was our first proper kiss, and what a kiss it was. His fingers gently massaged my scalp, threading through my hair and tugging me down onto his lips. I wrapped my arms around his lithe body, relaxing back against the counter and humming contentedly as our lips met over and over. I could taste mint on his lips and was amused at the thought he definitely planned this.

Voices grew closer to the restroom door, and I pulled away.

"We need to get back to the kids," I muttered, though I didn't unwrap my arms from his body. His once-closed eyelids opened and he attempted to glare at me, though it turned out being more of a pout than anything else.

"Spoil-sport," Izaya accused, and I grinned. "Hey. Come to my house tonight."

I raised a brow.

"Thought you were finished using me for manual labor," I jested. I was only slightly distracted by the way his fingers kept brushing back and forth over the back of my neck.

Only slightly.

"We could have a movie marathon."

"Mini marathon, you mean. Don't forget that we work tomorrow."

"Look, I just want an excuse to cuddle," Izaya said, revealing his true intentions.

"Kayumi would be there," I warned.

"She can join the cuddle pile."

I rolled my eyes for show, but inside, I felt conflicted. I was scared of how Kayumi would react to me being so close to another guy... even if she seemed to like Izaya.

"I'm gonna have to pass on this one," I said a little reluctantly. Izaya's brows furrowed in distaste, and I quickly pecked him on the lips again. "We have work, and I have Kayumi for the week. We'll go on a date or something next week, I promise."

Izaya stared up at me, obviously still displeased, for a while before sighing and burying his face into my neck as his arms squeezed my shoulders.

"I'll be expecting ootoro for this," Izaya said before pulling back from our hug. I blanched, feeling my wallet shiver from inside my back pocket.

SHOCK. SURPRISE. A CHAPTER AFTER 3+ YEARS.

I'm horrible. I know.