bakerstreet | the ic gift giving meme

Stay back a moment, lad.

[ Akabayashi hadn't actually been involved in the meeting with Shiki that Izaya had been having, but he'd been waiting in the car, and he steps out just as Shiki steps in, his left eye trained on the information broker. He carries a small box - wrapped in red paper with snowmen on it - and moves toward the young man with his usual relaxed gait, cane tapping a little against the concrete as he goes.

He's smiling, and he seems utterly comfortable, as if there's nothing strange at all about suddenly popping out to talk to Izaya himself, or bringing him a gift.]

Do you have big Christmas plans? A date, perhaps?

[Dealing with Awakusu-kai is becoming increasingly like walking on thin ice, but there's not much Izaya can do about that. It keeps things interesting, if nothing else, and they still pay him very well for his services - not that he isn't worth every yen. For now, he thinks he's indispensable enough to be safe, as long as he's careful to some degree. He trusts Shiki, at least, to understand the value of their current arrangement. Akabayashi, perhaps not so much.

So it's not a pleasant surprise when Akabayashi comes out of the car, right when business was supposedly concluded; it's even less pleasant a surprise when Shiki just enters the car the same way he always does, with neither a word nor a look at Akabayashi. Either Shiki is well aware of what Akabayashi means to do (but what?), or he's just not interested. And Shiki should at the very least be interested...

Izaya smiles all the same, hands comfortably tucked away in the pockets of his coat. There's a reason he's turned that into a habit - and, this time of year, he always has the cold to blame it on.]

Nothing that would get in the way of business.

[A not-so-subtle way of suggesting it's none of Akabayashi's concern - but Izaya's smile doesn't waver.]

Though I presumed that my conversation with Shiki-san concluded everything your people need me for...

Now, now, that's no way to be. It's not healthy for a young man like yourself not to have a lady in his life, especially around the holidays.

[ Of course, it's hypocritical for him to speak about such things, probably. It's not like he has any ladies in his life to speak of, or at least not ones of age. And whatever jokes might get made about it, he's not into the young ones.

He shrugs a shoulder, reaches up to slide his glasses down his nose a little, peering at Izaya over them. ]

If Oi-chan didn't know better... well, he might almost think you were feeling put out just by being given a present.

[ Not that he's been given the gift yet. In fact, Akabayashi doesn't hold it out yet either, rather focused on teasing Izaya. ]

[Izaya has a fair idea of just how hypocritical that is - but he also knows that he has nothing to gain by pointing out as much, or dwelling on the subject at all. Izaya has his ways of getting people to say more than they need to, if he's so inclined, and Akabayashi obviously has his own. Izaya isn't about to give the man more of a reply than strictly necessary - and 'necessary', in this case, is nothing at all.]

I wasn't aware that I was being given a present.

[His voice is so overly sweet, it's almost coy. Of course Izaya noticed what Akabayashi was holding, but he wasn't about to jump to any conclusions. If it is a gift for him, he doubts it's anything he's remotely interested in.]

Oi-chan appreciates how hard you young people work and thinks you should be appreciated.

[ He holds out the present as he says it, in both hands, the cane dangling between the fingers of one hand as he does so. His eyes are on Izaya's face, and there's definitely a smile there.

The little snowman-wrapped package is square, and not much bigger than one of Akabayashi's hands, could easily have been balanced on one if he'd chosen. Inside, little crumpled pieces of tissue paper protect a snow dome, depicting the Tokyo skyline. Just the thing for a silly boy who likes to shake things up and see where they fall, right? ]

[There's barely a moment's delay before Izaya accepts the package - with both hands since it's a required politeness, though he's glad that Akabayashi is suffering the same handicap. Izaya doesn't expect the package to be more than just a gift - but at the same time, there's no reason for that gift, and Akabayashi is always unpleasant. Any surprise from him has a good chance of being the same.

Unwrapping is quick and efficient. Izaya takes out the snow dome without the slightest change in his expression, casually turning it upside down and righting it again to watch the snow fall. If he does it as much to check that there's nothing hidden in the base of the snow dome, well... nobody needs to know about that.

If this gift really is to be taken at face value, Izaya has a fair idea of what Akabayashi is trying to say - the general gist of it, at least. Does that mean it counts as a warning? Either way, Izaya's reply is the same - and, just for Akabayashi, the balance between sharpness and playfulness is tipped in favor of the former.]

You'd better be careful, Akabayashi-san. If you're just giving the city away, there's always someone willing to take it from you.

[And Izaya pockets the snow dome, quite casually.]

Edited 2014-12-27 20:45 (UTC)

Reading a little much into a trinket, aren't you, Mr. Information Broker?

[ The look on Akabayashi's face fits right in with the words, that of an old man amused by the antics of the young. He sees that check happening, just as he'd expected, but there's really nothing special about the dome at all; a trinket, nothing more.

That this particular encounter is happening at all is just a tease... mostly. There might be things going on in the city that he's keeping Izaya from attending to a moment longer, perhaps something to do with an earlier message... well, Izaya will never know. ]

Besides, city doesn't belong to Oi-chan in this first place, now does it? Not an old man's world anymore, with all the gadgets and so much of the important business happening on the line...

[ That common perversion of the lingo by clueless old folks is used on purpose, for a laugh. ]

That's what we have young men like you for, isn't it? But perhaps you'll keep in mind a little; that thing will break if you're too rough with it, for all it's fun for shaking up.

[Reading too much into it? No, Izaya doesn't think so. In fact, he rather likes his reading of this particular trinket. He already came so close to taking Ikebukuro from Awakusu-kai that one time, simply because the change seemed welcome... Well, perhaps he should thank Yodogiri Jinnai, after all. For that one unintended side effect, before destroying him for the rest.

Akabayashi's 'clueless old man' act isn't going to fool Izaya, who may not know about that earlier message, but has a great deal of other information about Akabayashi at his disposal. Perhaps even a thing or two that Akabayashi doesn't realize he knows. But Izaya doesn't say anything, merely lets his smile widen briefly, as if he's amused - or simply letting Akabayashi know that he chooses to play along. For now.]

Oh, I'd never break such an entertaining gift. I want to keep watching it a good deal longer.

[That said, snow comes and goes with the seasons, doesn't it? ... Ah, he shouldn't point out as much; he's played with Akabayashi enough for the moment, and he does have other business to attend to, much as Awakusu-kai likes to claim him.]

Thank you for your gift, Akabayashi-san. I'll be sure not to waste it.

[Being such a polite young man, he'll even offer a little bow. If it counts almost as a dismissal, well... that's in the eye (very much singular, in this case) of the beholder, isn't it?]

Good, good.

[ He nods his head as if in agreement, though he doesn't offer a proper bow in response. There's a glance back toward the car, and then a wave in its direction, and then he simply starts walking.

If he fears anything from the streets of Ikebukuro alone at night, or from Izaya himself, he's certainly not showing it. He leans a little more on his cane was he heads off into the night, and there's no sign at all of looking back to see just what the man he's leaving behind is doing.

But before he's out of earshot, over his shoulder. ]

Ought to celebrate the holiday properly, never know when it's the last.

[There are few things that can ruin Izaya's mood, but Akabayashi has a rare talent of doing just that. And a death threat? That's not only unoriginal, it's absolutely distasteful. Izaya's reply comes late, half-whispered purely for his own benefit. There's next to no chance of Akabayashi hearing it, and that's just fine.]

I have no intention of letting it be my last...

[And, with that, Izaya turns and leaves in the opposite direction from Akabayashi, glancing at his messages as he does. For all that Akabayashi is dangerous, Izaya has dealt with worse - and, frankly, he has enough on his mind without Awakusu-kai's petty errands. How he'll celebrate Christmas - well... he'll think about that when the time comes.

In the meantime, maybe he can come up with an appropriate if anonymous gift for Akabayashi in return. It's only fair, isn't it?

That thought is enough to brighten his mood considerably as he goes on his way.]

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the ic gift giving meme

Orihara Izaya | Durarara!! | OTA

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