Thats the Tea

Shizuo is one of those people that is sick so rarely that it’s unfair. So the few times he has been sick it’s a doozy. He’s had bad headaches (mostly because of izaya), but never really had a bad migraine. Until tonight.

The first time he gets a bad migraine I imagine he doesn’t know what’s wrong with himself. He’s dizzy, his head hurts bad, he’s nauseous, and ultimately has less control on his strength. He probably is sent home from work and told to rest. Tom (and vorona if she’s still in Japan) probably worried if he will get home alright since he seems pretty out of it. He probably assures them it’s fine and heads home.

He probably winds up calling Shinra once home since he doesn’t know what else to do about it and Shinra is.. well at least sometimes seems like a genuine doctor! Notably celty is worried. I imagine it’s a lot like when people joke about farmers admitting themselves at hospitals. If he’s complaining about pain and seeking relief it must be already pretty bad since he brushes off the ‘little’ stuff. Like being shot.

Celty would race Shinra over to go help shizuo because you gotta get pain meds and lay down and a lot of migraine care is made easier by someone to help you since moving around makes it so much worse.

For some reason izaya finds out (don’t ask me why, I make the rules) and since he gets migraines he sort of gets it. So once Shinra and celty have helped and cleared out, izaya goes to bring shizuo some things that help him with his own head pains. So he gonna go with a bag of things to check in on his boyfriend they are dating and room mates I have tricked you into domestic shizaya

Izaya gets shizuo ice packs, Gatorade for electrolytes, some crackers for snacking on since it’s important to eat still, and a cute plush to hug because when sick and sad you need something soft.

Shizuo is a grumbly sick patient, but also probably very sensitive. Big soft boy. Just wants to be a child and be waited on and likes gentle head pats. He won’t hug izaya cuz he’d be worried he would hug too tight but plush is acceptable. Can’t hurt a pillow.

Izaya probably can’t be convinced to leave and will lay down with Shizuo to keep him company, play a podcast on his phone if something for white noise so shizuo can sleep the pain away. The proximity is nice and shizuo is able to feel looked after and restful.

They fall asleep together and shizuo is glad for the company. Izaya acts like it’s no big deal later but is happy to have helped. He probably also is a sappy dork cuz he thinks Shizuo’s not paying any attention due to pain.

Shizuo however,takes all this care as learned information for helping izaya in the future and izaya is eventually embarrassed by that fact. ‘You’re supposed to be sick not paying attention to what I say and do— dumb brute’ ‘yeah yeah here’s your ice pack flea’

Izaya is stubborn enough to put off a headache to finish work. He’ll take medicine and drink water and just try and put off rest until the work is done or he absolutely has to lay down. Adhd be damned he hyper focus and forget to tend to his needs.

Very rarely does his work demand so much focus that he needs to put off his own health but it does always feel like when the crunch time is the hardest that the migraine hits the worst. It’s obvious to anyone else it’s stress induced but he’s often the last to clue into that.

His migraines are chronic and usually induce dizziness and nausea so he often will just take medicine and try to sleep it off. In the event he can’t get to sleep before the worst of it hits, he will lay awake in pain for several hours browsing on his phone.

When Izaya has a migraine he has no strength to mask or perform his informant role. Due to this he prefers to be alone as not to ruin his reputation, however the lonliness of laying awake in pain by himself isn’t much better.

He’s had migraines since highschool. They set in late during the last half of the years at raijin.

Shinra has known about them since school and wondered if they came on due to the storm of things that occurred, but Izaya presumes they’re genetic from his parents. It’s possible it’s a bit of both.

Izaya doesn’t call on Shinra for help as there’s little he could do anyways. He’s also unsure if Shinra would leave celty’s side just to keep his pitiful self company. The answer to that might hurt more than his headache so he doesn’t want to find out. So Izaya’s never asked. The few times Shinra has found out about izaya’s headaches he’s always shown concern though.

While Izaya doesn’t ask for help often, the few times Namie has been around for his debilitating migraines, he’s asked for her to fetch things or at least handle some work issues so he can lay down. Namie, whether through contractual obligation or genuine care, has helped on occasion.

Izaya once was looked after by his sisters when he was younger and evidently it bothered them to see him like that. So he’s made an effort to not ever let them know when he’s sick.

Izaya doesn’t mask for anyone but shizuo. The only person that can’t know he’s unwell is Shizuo and so he puts great effort into appearing like he’s fine even if his head is throbbing. The chance that shizuo hesitates, due to Izaya being sick, or goes easy on him is one that Izaya can’t take. It would sicken him to be looked at with pity by shizuo. He doesn’t want to be treated like he’s weak, least of all by his enemy.

Bonus Shizaya headcanon: Izaya would love to be looked after and cared for but he’s rejection sensitive and wouldn’t want shizuo to knowingly say something that would hurt Izaya too close to home when he’s already so sensitive due to being sick.

Bonus Shizuo headcanon: Shizuo doesn’t know what a migraine is but he knows he’s had bad headaches before. (Usually induced by cases of extreme prolonged anger—usually caused by Izaya)

Shizuo: Migraine? Isn’t that just a fancy name for a headache?