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"Yo, Shizuo. Up for a break?" Tom gestured with a swish of his dreads to the ice-cream cafe coming up on the corner.
Shizuo regarded him from behind dark shades. "We've got another two hours until we're due for a break, boss."
Tom sniffed. "That's right, I’m the boss and I say it's alright if we take that break early. So?"
A grin broke out across Shizuo's previously stern face, and he chuckled. "Well, when you put it like that, it's hard to refuse."
Tom grinned back for a fleeting second and then frowned, shielding his eyes from the sun with his forearm. "It's been hotter than a witch's teat all goddamn day. The forecast never said it'd be this hot."
"You should know by now not to plan your days around those crack pots." They reached the small shop, and sat down at a table in the area that served as a patio. They'd have to go inside to order, but they both wanted to rest their legs from a day long walk beneath the hot sun. Punching retards wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Not that it was a sought after job in the first place... Shizuo sighed, holding his forehead in his palm. Man, the heat must really be getting to me. I'm rambling inside my own head.
"Shizuo? That last guy knock your head a little too hard or something?"
Speaking of which... His neck was still hurting from the end table that had broken over it. He wouldn't need a neck brace, although he couldn't say the same for the other guy. "Nah, only hurts when I think about it. Or when you bring it up." Shizuo glared with mock intensity while rolling his shoulders, huffing out a breath in satisfaction when he felt his joints pop.
Tom knew Shizuo was tough, but he couldn't help but worry from time to time. It came with the territory of being old friends, he supposed. "We have been going at it since noon... Oh, fine, you've convinced me. I'll cover the tab this time. But you better not eat out the place."
Shizuo shook his head, muttering. "That was the one time. And it was my birthday!" He shouted at Tom's retreating back. "Plus I was drunk... no thanks to you, you bastard..." He was still grumbling petulantly to himself once Tom came back their ice-cream. Shizuo was handed a triple scoop waffle cone, piled high with cherry chocolate chunk ice-cream. They'd spent enough summers working together to know each other's preferences, so it went without saying that Shizuo would get something rich and sweet while Tom was content with flavors a bit more mild while still retaining texture.
Shizuo was just about to take his first bite when he shot out of his chair, nearly toppling it in his wake. He didn't know what had caused him to jump up, but a knot had formed in the pit of his belly, moving his limbs before he was cognizant of it. He tracked his surroundings, searching for the unknown threat. Shizuo didn't think twice as he dipped his head to lap up melting droplets that were sliding down his cone, the relaxed image at odds with the intensity in his eyes. He managed to notice what he was doing halfway through, and then felt that same detached feeling of his body moving without his knowledge or consent. Did his brain really get fried from the sun like he thought? Or was it the after effects of that blunt object ramming into the back of his skull? Shizuo tried to shake it off. Literally. He wiggled his arms and legs to the point that a scoop of his ice-cream dislodged and plopped to the ground.
Tom looked at Shizuo like he'd suddenly started up a street performance. "Shizuo... I think you need to sit down. Are you feeling alright?"
Shizuo could only nod, as apparently his vocal chords were no longer responding to simple commands. He stepped backwards, feeling with his feet for the chair. Tom had to spring up and push it in lest Shizuo fall smack on his ass. Okay, now was a good time to legitimately worry. Did he have a concussion? Was he dehydrated? He clenched a fist in his hair when he saw Shizuo's vacant expression. This wasn't normal.
"Hey, I'm going to go inside and get you some water. Sit tight." Shizuo wanted to make an angry remark about how he wasn't a child and he sure as hell shouldn't be treated like one, but his voice still wasn't working right. It wouldn't pass through his windpipe, no matter how hard he tried to force it. The hand holding his cone started to shake.
He felt that knot in his gut pull at him again, but he didn't think he had the strength to stand, and that scared the shit out of him. No matter the foe in his path, he could, and would always face it head on. He started to panic when his legs started to tremble as badly as his hand; they were in no shape for fighting or defending.
Shizuo looked up from his ice-cream that he had mindlessly begun to eat while he struggled with his motor functions, and saw something that made his blood run cold. "I... za..."
"That ice-cream taste good, Shizu-chan? Cherry chocolate chunk, right?" Izaya strolled up to the table Shizuo was slumped against, swinging his arms out at his sides like he hadn't a care in the world. "How about that tea earlier, that taste good too?"
Shizuo's brow furrowed as he remembered the asshole that had smashed a table over his head. He'd made tea for them before his lights got knocked out, and unthinking, Shizuo had taken a cup. His eyes flashed with rage and confusion, which Izaya soaked in like it was his own personal spotlight.
"You can't blame him for drugging you. He kind of needed the money, wouldn't you say? So did that pretty part-timer inside with your friend. Scooping out ice-cream just doesn't pay the bills, I guess." He sneered as realization began to dawn in Shizuo's clouded eyes.
"I was wondering if the drugs would kill you, but from the looks of it, they'll only drag you under. Obstinate as ever, eh, Shizu-chan?" He laughed when Shizuo's arm fell sluggishly on the tabletop when he tried to deliver a punch. "Watching you pass out and suffer from heat stroke could be fun, though. Maybe you'll die from dehydration?" Izaya cocked his head, as if calculating how long it took a person to die that way. His sharp gaze caught sight of Tom through the glass windows of the shop entranceway, talking on his phone and looking fit to murder. "Looks like I'll have to take a rain check on that one. See you around." With a parting wink, he turned and walked away as nonchalantly as he'd come, for once not having to run from a hound snapping at his heels.
Tom rushed out as soon as he saw Izaya's back, saying "Vorona's on her way. Hey, hey! Look at me, stay with me, come on, Shizuo."
Shizuo could barely see the hand being waved in front of his face, things quickly fading into black. He stared at where he saw Izaya slink off to, stubbornly keeping his eyes open until his vision tunneled and consciousness was torn from him. His head thumped onto the table before Tom could catch it.
The ice-cream cone fell from his grasp to splatter on the ground in a slow spreading puddle.
END