Hi Kao! Not the anon who asked about angst, but if you're up for it, could you do a character study-ish scenario? Reader is best friends with Mikage, and she's kind of like Izaya in that she's also smart, keeps to herself, and has some admirers. But she secretly only has eyes for Izaya... who just so happens to start dating Mikage, who herself for now is unaware of the reader's attraction.
Would Izaya pick up on this, and would he tell Mikage? Or would he find a more insidious way to mess with them? Would he have, aside from wanting to see her reaction, an ulterior motive for doing so--maybe he doesn't like the passing semblance? Maybe he wants to isolate her? And what would it take to rope Mikage into his schemes?
There was that saying that people say often, how birds of the same feather flock together. Quite frankly, she doesn't quite agree with that at all. Maybe it's more like magnetism, opposites attract and negatives repel. When she had first met Izaya something about him unsettled her in a way that she'd never felt before. Not that he'd done anything to warrant such a reaction, but she thinks that maybe it was sort of a sixth sense. Something about him was so familiar and if she thought about it too much, looking at Izaya felt like she was looking at a reflection of herself.
The gentle smile he offers to strangers looks so authentic that sometimes she feels like it is, but she can see that it never really reaches his eyes. Not that his eyes held distaste for whatever situation he was in, it was usually filled with child-like mirth, an excitement that never seemed to die out no matter what happened. Something about him made him mature but childish all at once; maybe she found that almost charming.
She didn't like to be in the same room with him. Not any longer than she had to anyway. If she could read him better than most people, then surely he could do the same to her. If she made eyecontact she couldn't look away for fear of him thinking that she's flustered by him, but if she continued to let him look her in the eyes, into the windows of her soul, he might find something there to use against her---
Mikage always seems to arrive at just the right time. It gives her a reason to look away. "Hey, we've been waiting for you," she greets her best friend with a nod.
"Sorry about that, I ran into some complications," Mikage replies with a shrug before giving her best friend a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Anyways, I've done my part of the plan, so what's next?"
Izaya beckons Mikage over with a wave of his hand. Though Mikage rolls her eyes at the action, she still comes closer anyway and even gifts her new boyfriend with a kiss to the top of his head. Izaya seems more pleased than usual from the show of affection, but it's probably because they have an audience and perhaps the most important audience member they could have. "For now we lay in wait and be patient," he tells her with a smile so gentle it almost feels real.
She tries not to let her eyes linger too long on their exchange. She hopes Izaya doesn't catch the way her eyes narrow in irritation.
But he does see it, and she knows it, judging by the way his smile changes just a little bit. The way his eyes crinkle slightly and how his nose scrunches up a little bit like he's discovered a little secret. It looks unfairly cute on him. "Hey, you."
"I have a name you know," she replies back, trying to sound nonchalant. She even shakes her head in disappointment. "Did you forget already? We see each other almost every dayā¦" she jokes.
"Mmmmm, let me think," Izaya holds his chin between his fingers in thought, tilts his head to the side so that it bumps against Mikage's in an affectionate way. "I can't seem to recall⦠Was it Thai Fusion?"
Mikage snorts at that, leaning more into Izaya's body now that he was so close anyway. "Are we all listed as food in your contacts?"
"It's to keep you safe, my dear," Izaya tells her with that smile meant only for her.
She seethes silently at the lovey-dovey atmosphere around her two companions. There are two feelings boiling within her now. Mikage was her best friend, and she didn't exactly like that her best friend's attention had to be divided between her and Izaya. And loathe she is to admit it, she liked Izaya and it was really unfair. How he had roped in her heart the way he did was confusing to say the least. She's never liked anyone before, and usually she knew how to play with people's hearts to have them on their knees for her.
"I just remembered something," Mikage's best friend says suddenly, just before Mikage and Izaya could get any closer to each other. It was making her skin crawl. "I have to go buy some things. Do you guys want anything?"
"Pass, but thanks," Mikage says.
"If its not too much trouble, maybe Thai Fusion does sound good right about now," Izaya suggests.
She wonders if his words have a double meaning. Surely it must. The tone is teasing, and his grin is playful. Her heart races a little bit at all the possible meanings but she manages to keep her smile pretty normal. "I'll see what I can do."
As she leaves, Mikage smiles fondly at her best friend. There was just something about her that made her so likeable. "You know," she starts, turning to Izaya. "You guys are pretty similar."
"That so?" Izaya asks. "I don't think I see the resemblance. I think I'm much more handsome than she is."
Mikage scoffs. "Are you jealous of her because I like her more?"
Izaya snorts at this while shaking his head. "The way you like me is different from the way you like her. So even if you like her more in that sense, you like me more in a different sense as well. There is no competition."
"You guys keep making yes or no questions more complicated than they have to be," Mikage flicks Izaya on the forehead, grinning widely when he pouts at her. "Blah blah blah, so much to say without ever saying what you mean to say."
From the window, Izaya sees her staring at them. He carefully drapes an arm around Mikage and pulls her closer. The way Mikage's best friend bristles brings a smile to his face. "You know me too well," he surrenders. He barely had to do anything to push her buttons, she made it too easy.