Edit: Shit, sorry! I accidentally uploaded the wrong file. This is chapter 89!

Sorry for the delay! We had a huge thing on tumblr happen that was had to pretty much stop everything. A wonderful person named Sashi is dying of a terrible disease, and we're trying to raise money to allow her to have the surgery to save her. I'm sure by now we hit that the 30K mark, but extra always helps! Her story and the donation site is here: donateforsashi(dot)tumblr(dot)com

And this is where he was working currently. It was his long-standing job. He managed to hold onto this for a month, somehow keeping himself calm as he checked out romance novels for women and restocked shelves. He sometimes skimmed through them, feeling his own pride sinking lower and lower with every turn of a page, coughing every now and then.

On his break, Shizuo got up and headed outside, reaching into his coat pocket to pull out a pack of cigarettes. He slipped one out, fitting it into his mouth and lighting it. He took a deep drag, blowing out the comforting smoke as he watched it fade away into the air.

He had started smoking again during his job as a janitor. The kids constantly pissed him off, and one night when he went home he found the pack Izaya had used to test him, and decided to say a big "fuck you" to the louse with a good smoke. If he wanted him dead, then he'd do his best to make it nice and slow for him to enjoy.

They hurt his chest, and his cough was getting hoarser. But he didn't feel different in any other way. He told Shinra that he was taking his medication still, but in reality he couldn't afford it. The only reason why he could smoke was because his dresser drawer was filled with confiscated packs he collected from kids when he would find them smoking behind the bleachers or on the roof.

As he took a final huff, he dropped the cigarette and snuffed it out with his shoe. He walked back inside, slipping the pack into his coat pocket as he sat down at the desk. He picked up the book he was reading, flipping to the tab where he left off and continued from where he left off.

Dammit, this book pissed him off. It was about some chick who falls in love with some kid who's all mysterious and kind of a prick. And then he turns out to be some god damn vampire or werewolf or whatever - it honestly didn't matter to Shizuo. Why the hell was he reading this stupid thing?

He groaned, setting it down as he rubbed his temples. Normally he didn't mind romance novels. He actually preferred them. But all they seemed to do was piss him off and make his chest ache more than it already did. They mocked him, almost as if they were saying "You can't ever have this, because you're a monster".

"Uh…e-excuse me….s-sir."

Shizuo looked up at the wide eyed boy standing in front of him. He instantly recognized the kid. He came often to this section, mulling around the aisles shyly before leaving and heading toward a different genre. This was his first time checking something out from the romance section, and he was obviously flustered and shy as he held a small stack of books close to his chest.

"You checking those out?" Shizuo asked, assuming that's what the boy wanted. The young blonde nodded quickly, setting his pile on the desk quickly. Shizuo sighed, coughing a bit as he lazily scanned them into the system. The last book he held was one he recognized. "Isn't this a movie?"

"A-ah..yeah…I w-was told to read it b-before watching…" the young man said in a hushed whisper, his voice muffled by the thick scarf wrapped around his neck.

Shizuo smiled, nodding in agreement, "Yeah. I've heard books are better." He frowned slightly as he was reminded of the way Izaya would ramble on about how books were better than films. It was one of the small things he never thought would mean anything.

He finished scanning them in, handing them back to the red eyed blonde. Shizuo blinked, staring at him again before he turned his head down shyly. Red eyes…was that a glare from the computer on his glasses? He couldn't tell before the young man bowed his head, murmured a quick thank you, and hurried out.

Leaning back into his chair, Shizuo closed his eyes and sighed. Damn, he was really starting to see parts of Izaya everywhere. He couldn't seem to get away from the flea. It was like he never left. Shizuo doubted that he would ever truly leave.

The rest of the work day was slow. As popular as the romance section was to young girls, not many came during his shift. The only person who he saw on a regular basis was Erika, who came bounding in five minutes before his work day ended.

"Shizu-chan!"

"Don't call me that…" He grumbled, standing up to grad his jacket. "Weren't you just here yesterday?"

"Yeah, but Walker and I already finished them!" Erika said bubbly as she handed her pile back to Shizuo. He huffed with annoyance and sat back down to register the books back into the library.

"Where is Walker anyways?" he asked, trying to maintain small talk so that he wouldn't be bombarded with Erika's rambling on BL and the like.

"He's back in the van. We were passing through and we thought we'd drop these off." Erika said with a giggle, bending down to look at the 'New Release' section near the counter. "Oh! Which reminds me, Dota-chin wants to know how you're doing! He wasn't expecting you to be working here! What happened to Tom?"

Shizuo inwardly groaned, knowing he was going to be working slightly over-time. "I'm doing fine. Just trying to make a living. And nothing happened with Tom. I just didn't want to go back to work with him just yet."

"Why's that?" Erika pouted slightly, pulling out a large pile of books at random. Shizuo felt his blood pressure rising as she continued to pester him. He could always tell the truth - that working with Tom and walking around Ikebukuro would have him looking out for the flea, and he couldn't handle that right now. But Erika was not the person to discuss his love life with.

"Walking around with Tom wouldn't be good for my lungs in this weather. Maybe when it gets warmer." He said, deciding that it was partially true. He didn't feel like he was completely lying with that answer. Erika seemed to buy it as she nodded quickly.

"Yeah, that'd be best! We don't want you getting sick again!" She set down her pile and began to ramble on about who knows what - Shizuo tuned her out as he started checking out her books. He was sure it had something to do with her romance novels and BL manga. He coughed again, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Hey, you ok?"

He nodded, "Y-yeah. Just a cough. I'm fine." Shizuo didn't want her to worry, and didn't want the message to spread that he was getting sick again. But his chest had been messing with him today. He handed the books back to Erika and stood up to slip on his jacket and scarf. "See you tomorrow I guess?"

"Yep! Same time, same place~!"

"…Great…"

He walked out of the library, watching as the next part time librarian passed by him, giving him a quick hello before taking his spot at the desk. Shivering as he stood outside, Shizuo headed home with his head ducked low to try and block the wind.

Winter was really starting to become a pain in the ass. The cold air killed his lungs, the slush ruined his pants, and the early darkness made him tired. He yawned, coughing as the dry air tickled his throat.

Deep in his pocket, his cell phone started ringing. He pulled it out shakily, his fingers already numb as he held it up to his ear. "Yo."

"Hey, Shizuo."