At first, Izaya forced Shizuo to walk five meters in front of him. Far enough to not be associated with him, but close enough to watch over him and have idle chat if Shizuo felt it was too quiet. Of course, that didn't mean that Izaya responded.

At one point, Shizuo had grabbed a pole and threatened to rip it from the ground unless Izaya spoke up. The information broker had kicked a pebble at him and walked on, telling him to watch his temper.

This routine repeated every Thursday night. Izaya would show up at Shizuo's apartment, wearing another odd outfit as a disguise. He would shove Shizuo a paper bag filled with clothes for a new outfit, telling him to wear it. Once Shizuo grudgingly wore whatever outfit Izaya had brought him - thank God, it wasn't completely awful, and Shizuo was ok with wearing it - they would walk silently through the streets of Ikebukuro; pausing occasionally to allow Shizuo to catch his breath and recover from the small coughing spells that occurred from time to time.

Soon, the late November nights turned into December. Snow started to fall occasionally during their brisk hourly walks. Despite the cold weather, Izaya still showed up at Shizuo's door, covered in bulky clothing and fur. When Shizuo would complain, Izaya would insist that the cold air would help strengthen his lungs.

By the third week of their chilly strolls, Shizuo had grown annoyed at the silence and stopped abruptly. Izaya instantly froze in his spot, still exactly 5 meters away from Shizuo. The edges of his long black coat and the vibrant red scarf wrapped around his neck fluttered in the wind around him.

"What?"

"I feel like an idiot."

The raven haired man raised his brow, "Hmm?"

Shizuo scuffed at the ground his the toe of his boot and shrugged, "I feel ridiculous walking around every week at night talking to no one." he grumbled. Izaya smiled a bit at that and pressed a hand up to his ear, bending at the waist as he turned his ear closer to Shizuo.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of the crowd~"

"There is no fucking crowd! It's god damn midnight!" Shizuo yelled, causing the only other human walking the street to look at them. Shizuo sneered and clenched his fist, shoving his hands in the pockets of his new jacket. "I said I feel stupid and it's too god damn quite! Plus it looks suspicious with you following me! So just walk closer!"

Izaya feigned a pout, "But Shizu-chaaaan~"

"Flea! Now!" the older man barked. Izaya huffed and sidled over, closing the gap by two meters. He hunched forward a bit, staring at the ground as Shizuo nodded. "Good. This is the pace we'll walk at."

"So picky." Izaya hummed as the two began their walk again; pushing against the icy breeze and the flakes of snow that fluttered around them.

As much as Izaya detested having to walk to blatantly close to Shizuo, he didn't mind listening to Shizuo ramble. He never replied or threw in his own opinions. He just paid attention quietly as Shizuo talked 'bout whatever was on his mind.

One week, Shizuo had rambled on about Kasuka. How he missed his brother, and how he hoped the younger sibling was doing well. He talked aimlessly about their childhood, and how he used to get so angry at Kasuka for stupid things. Yet his brother never seemed to get scared. He liked that a lot.

Another week, Shizuo had rambled on about some guy in the store that had pissed him off, and how he really badly wanted to take that guy down and teach him a lesson. But he somehow managed to calm himself long enough to walk away.

It was always interesting to listen in on Shizuo's thoughts. For someone as simple minded and brutish, he was actually a gentle person. Moral and calm inside his head. He really couldn't help those violent urges.

It reminded Izaya of Tsugaru.

But he forced the thought of his mind, shaking his head as he walked. He squeezed his eyes shut. No. I am not going to think of Tsugaru. He doesn't exist. Neither does Psyche. They were never real. Do not let Shizu-chan win this bet.

"Oomph…Hey, why'd you stop walking?" Izaya hissed as he glared up at Shizuo. He had walked right into him, unaware that he had stopped to stare up at the sky. Izaya followed his gaze, and watched as the dark sky lightened with heavy snow clouds that softly released its precious and delicate creations.

"I really like the winter…" he mumbled calmly. Calmer than Izaya had ever heard him speak before. It shocked him to the core, to hear such soft sounds come from that rough mouth. It effected Izaya stronger than he could have ever imagined possible.

"I was never all that fond of the cold…" Izaya choked out, struggling to keep his voice from dropping to a whisper. It felt almost wrong to speak loudly. But he didn't dare hush his voice.

"Mm, I don't like it either. But I like the snow. It's comforting."

"It reminds me of death."

"It reminds me of a new beginning."

Izaya stepped forward to stand beside Shizuo, staring up as the snow fell onto his face. He curiously looked at Shizuo, to find him smiling slightly as he too gazed up at the night sky.

All was silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the whistling of the wind and the rustling of tree branches. Izaya shivered a bit and sidestepped closer to Shizuo. Dammit, he knew the brute was warmer than the air around him. But his pride wouldn't let him come closer. At least not in public.

He hissed to himself. He shouldn't even get that close in private! Dammit, he's thinking too much…

"Oi, Flea."

"Mm?"

"You know. If I never met you-"

"Don't start getting sentimental on me, Shizu-chan."

"I'm not." Shizuo chuckled, shrugging a bit as he glanced down at Izaya. "Just thinking aloud."

The smaller man sighed, "Go on then."

Shizuo smiled and looked back up at the sky, "If I never met you, I wouldn't have started smoking." Izaya blinked and narrowed his eyes, glancing at Shizuo. The ex-blonde continued, "You always caused so many problems. So much stress. Just in the first year, you managed to frame me for many things, got me stuck in detention on multiple occasions, and somehow nearly got me to flunk all my classes. With all the bullshit you pulled, I turned to smoking as a way to cope.

"It kept me calm. Made it easy to shrug off whatever you planned on doing that day and keep pushing on. And when I was able to get angry enough and fight you, I was able to cool down with a nice, long drag.

"It's funny. That if I never met you, I wouldn't be here. I would have probably never started smoking. Sure, I still wouldn't have attended college, and I wouldn't have held down a job. But at least I'd be healthy and happy. I wouldn't be sick."

The wind picked up and ruffled around them, breaking Shizuo's ranting for a moment as the two shivered from the cold. Shizuo coughed into his hand, hunching slightly as he caught his breath. He swallowed and cleared his throat a bit, patting on his chest with his fist. "Heh…seems like the cold is getting to me."

Izaya nodded silently, feeling Shizuo's eyes lying on him. Watching his every move. Izaya stared at the concrete, pushing away the snow that was collecting near his feet. He made a uncomfortable noise and pulled his hood over his head. He grabbed Shizuo's hand firmly in his own and started walking. Shizuo trotted a bit to catch up with Izaya's fast pace for a moment when he was tugged out of his daydreaming, and followed Izaya.

"Izaya…"

"You need to get home before you get sick again." the informant muttered as he trudged along, refusing to look back.

Only Izaya knew that the reason for this was because his cheeks were flushed. But he told himself it was just from the cold.