Warning: This chapter contains a lovestruck Izaya. :3

And note: Celty's dialogue is in [brackets] because she isn't actually talking. So if you're new to DRRR...there you go. xD

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I need to stop this.

Izaya wiped the tears from his eyes, throwing his head back with a sigh. Something- no, someone- had been on his mind lately. It was driving him absolutely insane. Especially since that someone was…

Shizuo Heiwajima.

Izaya didn't like to get too attached to people. Nothing lasts forever, and he knew that. But lately he had felt this extreme want to be near the bartender, even if he ended up being punched in the face repeatedly.

He didn't care. Shizuo could hurt him as much as he wanted. Any kind of contact had been enough for him.

It had been.

The desire to be close to Shizuo had slowly escalated into need, and soon enough it just…wasn't enough. He needed the blonde to hold him, caress him, kiss him…
After arguing with himself over it internally, he decided he really was in love with Shizuo- as much as he didn't want to admit it. But he knew denial was going to get him nowhere. He tried to forget those feelings, tried to push them away and pretend they weren't there. But it seemed like he just wasn't going to win this one.

Izaya sighed again, spinning around in his chair. He stopped, and bit his lip, feeling tears starting to well up in his eyes again.

Suddenly a knock on the door caused him to jump. He quickly composed himself, wiping his eyes and rubbing them, hoping that he didn't look too distressed. "Come in," he said calmly.

The door opened and none other than the Headless Rider, Celty Sturluson stepped into the room. She walked up to the Informant's desk. She started to type something on her phone, but stopped and erased it. She typed something else and held the device up so Izaya could see it.

[Izaya…were you crying just now?]

"Of course not, Celty. Why would I be crying? That's so silly of you to s-"

[Don't lie! Did you get abducted by aliens or something?] She typed frantically, shoving the phone in his face.

"Hardly. Please, Celty. I'm fine, really."

She stared at him. [I don't believe you.]

Izaya bit his lip. "Okay, you got me Headless Rider, I was crying."

[Care to tell me why?]

He took a breath. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

She nodded, and Izaya closed his eyes. "I…I am in love with someone," he began. "And I've realized it's not something that's going to go away, as much as I want it to. The person…I am in love with…he's not exactly my type. But for some reason unclear to me…I just can't stop thinking about him."

If she could, Celty would have been smiling. It was nice, she thought, for Izaya to actually be feeling something for someone.

[It's a guy? So it's Shizuo, right?]

He cracked a smile. "D-don't be absurd! Shizu-chan and I hate each other, there's no way a relationship between us could ever- O-oh God…" He drew in a shaky breath, slowly starting to cry again.

"M-My sincerest apologies, Celty, I'm…I'm not usually like this." He choked out, gripping the armrests of his chair tightly. "S-so, what brings you here anyway?"

[Forget it. I'm worried about you now. Do you want to talk more about it?]

Izaya shook his head wildly. "No, no, that won't be necessary. I'm sure this silly attachment to Shizu-chan will cease…eventually..."

She quickly typed a long response. [Izaya…I know how you're feeling right now. When I first realized I was in love with Shinra, I was the same way. I thought we could never be in a relationship, because, well, we just didn't seem like we'd fit together. And I thought he'd never love someone like me. But look where we are now! So, what I'm saying is you should tell Shizuo how you feel- you never know, maybe he likes you too.]

Izaya's eyebrow twitched. Shizuo…like him, too? That would never happen. "I'm inclined to believe that he will never feel anything but abhorrence for someone like me."
[You need to have a little more faith in yourself.]

"Perhaps," he said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair.

Maybe Celty was right…