Ritchie was starting to feel like the world revolved around her. She could now understand why Izaya had such a god complex. Shizuo had had the easy opportunity to take out his mortal enemy and he'd given it up just because she'd asked him to. Of course that could have been because he was surprisingly a gentleman, but Ritchie chose not to factor that into it.
She'd had the power over Izaya for once and she'd decided not to use it. She didn't regret her decision though. She didn't want to play this game the same way that Izaya did - getting the pawns to carry out his dirty work. She wanted to make the moves herself. When it finally came down to it this was going to be her checkmate.
But lately he was back to being perpetually happy and all of her devious intentions disappeared as she revelled in their relationship being back to normal. Well, as normal as it could be for them.
Though after a while, as usual, Ritchie was starting to think that there was some other reason for Izaya's good mood. Her suspicions were only confirmed when he made her another proposal one afternoon while they were at his place.
"What do you say to going on a date, Ritchie-chan?" he suggested cheerfully.
Ritchie raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"
"A date," repeated Izaya in the same patient tone he often had to use with her. "Isn't that what couples do?"
"I don't know if you've noticed but we're not like other couples," Ritchie pointed out.
She received a derisive snort in response, but it wasn't from Izaya. They weren't alone this time - Izaya's secretary Namie was also in the room, working on the computer. Ritchie had crossed paths with her several times before, but since she and Izaya didn't hang out at his place much during the day she didn't have to see Namie that often.
Not only did Ritchie not understand why Izaya even needed a secretary, she also openly disliked her. Namie made it clear that she couldn't stand Izaya and also showed her obvious disgust over Ritchie's relationship with him. Ritchie didn't like being looked down on and purposely went out of her way to annoy her.
She shot Namie a haughty look before purposely shuffling along the couch and climbing on top of Izaya, so that she was straddling his lap like a common stripper. Izaya watched her in amusement but didn't comment. He could often predict Ritchie's intentions and he knew that she enjoyed annoying his secretary.
"Though maybe I can make the exception," Ritchie said loudly for Namie's benefit.
Sure enough, it evoked the response she'd hoped for. "You two make me sick," said Namie in disgust.
"Don't like? Then don't look and don't listen," replied Ritchie hotly, deliberately twisting her fingers into Izaya's hair and tilting his face up towards hers.
"Gladly," said Namie stiffly, abruptly pushing the chair back and getting to her feet. "I'm not going to work like this."
Ritchie watched triumphantly as Namie left. Stupid woman... The secretary had no right to judge her, especially after what Ritchie had heard about her and her creepy, incestuous love for her younger brother. Yeesh.
Once the door had slammed shut Izaya began to laugh. "How rude of you, Ritchie-chan. You chased my secretary away."
"She was pissing me off," replied Ritchie testily. "I wanted her out."
"And a very fine job you did," chuckled Izaya. He pulled a thousand yen bill out of his pocket and tucked it neatly into the waistband of her skirt. "That earns you a tip."
Ritchie raised an eyebrow. "I'm practically giving you a lap dance here - you've gotta pay more than that," she joked.
"I'm still far more interested in our date," said Izaya.
Ritchie frowned. "And what exactly do you have in mind for this 'date'?"
Izaya gave a casual shrug. "Maybe going to the movies."
"How cliché," said Ritchie, sounding disappointed.
Izaya looked bemused. "Well then what would you suggest?"
Ritchie shrugged back. "I don't know. I've never really done the whole dating thing before."
"Then don't knock my ideas, Ritchie-chan," Izaya grinned.
Ritchie's frown deepened. "So what exactly is your reason for wanting to go on an official date?"
Izaya's expression shifted into his best innocent look. "Whatever do you mean, Ritchie-chan? Do I have to have a reason for everything?"
"I'm not saying you have to have a reason... But this is you we're talking about," Ritchie pointed out. "You always have a reason for everything."
Izaya chuckled. "Maybe my reason is simply to keep you interested."
Ritchie sighed. She was never going to get a truthful answer out of him. Izaya took her sigh to be a good response.
"Is that a yes I hear?" he asked teasingly.
"Fine," said Ritchie grudgingly. "We can go on a date."
Izaya's grin widened. "Excellent!" he said cheerfully. "You're not working tonight, are you?"
Ritchie repressed another sigh. "No, I guess we can go tonight."
"You could sound a little more enthusiastic, Ritchie-chan," protested Izaya, pretending to pout.
"I said yes, didn't I? That's the most you're getting out of me," grumbled Ritchie.
She made to climb off his lap, but Izaya wound his arms around her waist and pulled her back. She opened her mouth in surprise but he silenced her by pressing his lips against hers. "Now how about that real lap dance?"
XXX
Ritchie went back home later on the afternoon so that she could shower and change at her place. This left her with two dilemmas - firstly, what to wear on a date? And, more importantly, what to wear on a date with Izaya?
She didn't think he'd particularly care what she wore, but she'd never been on a real date before so she didn't really know what the protocol was for it. She'd only had one other long-term relationship and her boyfriend back then had been too lazy and too tight to bother spending money on dates.
Was this Izaya's real plan behind the date? To stress her out because she didn't know what to wear? Because if so it was working. And that pissed Ritchie off. She'd never worried about anything so trivial before...
That thought cemented her decision. She was going to carry on not caring. They were only going to the movies after all - she didn't really need to dress up for that.
She ended up wearing her favourite red mini skirt, a black lacy top and her black Karen Millen boots. It was pretty much the standard sort of outfit she'd wear for work. Good. She didn't want Izaya to think he'd gotten her to actually put some effort in for him.
She did spray on some of her more expensive perfume and actually ran a brush through her hair, but she told herself that was fine because she generally did that for work anyway. Really.
Once she was ready Ritchie headed towards the movie theatre. She didn't know why they were meeting there and why she couldn't just meet him at his place first - it was virtually on the way! She was sure that this was all just part of his grand plan to annoy her.
Simon was stood on the corner as she passed Russia Sushi. "Miss Honda!" he greeted. "You're off to work early?"
Ritchie shook her head. "Not tonight. I'm just going to the movies."
Simon gave her outfit the briefest of glances with a knowing look on his face. "You have hot date?" he asked, his voice heavily accented as always.
Ritchie grimaced. "Don't remind me."
Simon boomed a laugh. "Still playing Izaya's games, da?"
Ritchie couldn't help a smile. At least some people knew she wasn't exaggerating how difficult her relationship with the informant was. "I try to keep up," she said truthfully.
Simon laughed again. "Just carry on keeping him away from Shizuo. Things have been nice and quiet. No need for fighting."
"I'll keep that in mind," said Ritchie, though she had no intention of doing so. She didn't like things being 'nice and quiet'. Maybe another run-in with Shizuo was just what they needed for some more excitement... "I'll catch you later, Simon."
When she got to the movie theatre Izaya wasn't there. Typical. It was quite cold out and Ritchie still didn't have a coat or jacket of her own. If he didn't show up in the next two-point-five minutes she was going to wait for him inside.
She leant against the doorway, uninterestedly watching people passing by on the street. She wondered how mundane some of their lives were... Were they okay with that? Did any of them constantly crave excitement the way that she did?
As she was watching, one person caught her eye - a tall smartly-dressed man with tidy dark hair, carrying a briefcase at his side. Surprise shot through her. Almost as if he felt her watching, he glanced her way and a flicker of recognition crossed his face, but he quickly looked away and carried on walking. Ritchie stared after him, her mind reeling from the brief encounter. She remembered hearing that he'd moved to Shinjuku...
A hand suddenly passed in front of her face, making her jump. "Earth to Ritchie-chan! You weren't checking out other guys while I wasn't here, were you?"
"Of course I wasn't," replied Ritchie irritably. "You're late by the way."
Izaya ignored her. "So who was he?" he asked curiously.
Ritchie hesitated before admitting, "My brother."
Izaya looked genuinely surprised. "I didn't know you had a brother." For him to not know something like that clearly irked him. It was the basis of his job to gather information after all.
Ritchie shrugged. "I never really had much to do with him. The same with the rest of my family."
Izaya grinned suddenly. "Poor Ritchie-chan and her tragic past," he said patronisingly, patting her on the head.
Ritchie just rolled her eyes. "That would work if I actually cared. My life's hardly been tragic. It was actually pretty cool after my parents kicked me out - I got to live with my... friend."
She stumbled over the word friend, as if she'd been about to add something else. Unfortunately Izaya noticed. He cocked an eyebrow. "Friend?"
"It was a female friend if that's what you're getting at. But we don't talk anymore," said Ritchie shortly.
Izaya's eyebrow rose even higher and his grin returned. "Let me guess," he said in a singsong voice. "You used to be the best of friends but then she did something bitchy and now..."
"She did not!" snapped Ritchie with such force that Izaya actually shut up.
He stared at her in surprise. "You're touchy... What's up with you?"
"Nothing... Can we just go inside already? It's freezing out here," Ritchie complained, hastily changing the subject.
Izaya's eyebrows rose again but he conceded. He'd enjoy trying to scoop out the information himself later on. "Fine. Let's go and pick a movie."
Ritchie followed him into the foyer and over to inspect the board that listed all of the current movies. "Just for the record I don't do rom-coms."
Izaya gave her an amused look. "Do you really think I'd choose a romance movie?"
Ritchie shrugged. "Just thought I'd throw that out there."
Izaya chuckled. "Trust me, you don't need to tell me for me to guess that." His attention returned to the board. "How about this one?"
He pointed to a movie named Ghost Hunt. Ritchie made a face. She'd seen a poster for that one tacked up outside. "I don't do horrors either."
Izaya grinned. "Aww, do they scare you, Ritchie-chan?"
Ritchie flushed and punched his arm, a little harder than she'd intended. "No, I just think they're stupid."
Izaya didn't look convinced. "Well I think we should watch this one," he insisted, rubbing his arm absent-mindedly.
"Why do you get to choose?" protested Ritchie.
"Because this was my idea and because I'm paying," said Izaya simply, waving a credit card in her face.
Ritchie stared at him in surprise. "You're paying for me?"
Izaya laughed. "Why are you so surprised? I'm hurt, Ritchie-chan."
"I'm just confused... Why exactly are you paying for me?" asked Ritchie suspiciously. "I can pay for myself."
Izaya gave a dramatic sigh. "I keep telling you this is what couples are supposed to do."
"And I keep telling you we're not your everyday couple," Ritchie pointed out.
"I guess you're right," said Izaya with another chuckle. "Haven't you ever had a guy pay for you before?"
He intended the question to be sarcastic but Ritchie shook her head. "Nope. I've had random guys buy me drinks in clubs but that's not really the same thing... That's just because they want to get into my pants."
Izaya smirked. "And what makes you think I'm not doing the same thing?"
"You already know you don't have to pay to do that."
Izaya laughed loudly at that comment and teasingly ruffled Ritchie's hair. "Good to know."
Then before she could even protest he danced away from her, over to the ticket booth, and promptly ordered two tickets to the horror movie he'd been looking at. Ritchie huffed to herself and folded her arms across her chest, feeling annoyed.
"You suck. I can't believe you're gonna make me watch such a shitty movie," she said grumpily when Izaya joined her again, looking pleased with himself.
"Aww I'm sorry, Ritchie-chan. I'll hold your hand if you like," he mocked, attempting to catch hold of her hand as they headed over to the movie screen where the horror was showing.
Ritchie swatted his hand away. "I told you I'm not scared!"
But when they got inside the screening room she felt the dread increase in her stomach. She hated these kind of movies. They made her imagination play tricks on her and she always ended up having nightmares.
"Can we sit right at the back?" she requested. She wanted to be as far away from the screen as possible.
Izaya gave her another amused look. "What are you implying, Ritchie-chan? I've heard plenty of rumours about people who sit at the back of movie theatres..."
"Oh just shut up and go," ordered Ritchie irritably, giving him a shove.
She was feeling grumpy again when they sat down. She hadn't even wanted to go on this date in the first place. Now she had to sit through a movie that she really didn't want to see... Though at least she hadn't had to pay for it.
She sat through the movie previews in silence, wondering why they were even here. What possible reason could Izaya have for wanting to go on a date? She knew he always had a hidden motive for everything he did, but she really couldn't figure out what it could be in this case.
She highly doubted he'd been on a date before. Most girls would avoid someone with his reputation like the plague. She wondered if he'd ever actually had any previous relationships...
"Have you ever had a girlfriend before?" she found herself asking.
If Izaya was surprised by her question he didn't show it. He just grinned and simply said, "That's information you'd have to pay for, Ritchie-chan."
Ritchie rolled her eyes and sighed loudly for his benefit. Of course. She hadn't really expected anything helpful. The opening credits for the movie started to roll so she didn't get the chance to try and question him further. Now she just had to figure out how to get through the next hour and a half without paying much attention to the movie...
She slid down in her seat as far as she could without it looking obvious, hoping to try and block the screen with the back of the chair in front of her. She frowned when it didn't work.
She didn't want Izaya to figure out what she was doing, but she really didn't want to watch this movie either. She remembered when Sei had made her watch The Unborn... She'd had nightmares for a week and had been too scared to walk to work on her own. It was pathetic. She should have dragged Izaya away from the ticket booth and forced him to pick something else while she'd had the chance.
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His gaze was fixed on the screen. How much pride was she willing to give up to keep from admitting how much horror movies freaked her out? Repressing a sigh, Ritchie snuggled up against Izaya's side.
"What are you doing?" Izaya asked, his tone laced with amusement.
"Trying to get comfy. It's cold in here," Ritchie grumbled, thinking that would be a good enough excuse.
"Are you sure you're not scared?" asked Izaya with a smirk.
"Positive," insisted Ritchie, straight-faced.
Izaya sighed and pulled away from her. Ritchie sat up and gave him a questioning glance, then realised he was taking off his coat. He threw it onto her. "Now will that keep you quiet?"
Ritchie nodded fervently and pulled the coat closer around her shoulders. When Izaya settled back into his seat she still pressed up closer to him again. He sighed a second time.
"Hey, you were the one who wanted a real date," she pointed out quietly.
She felt rather than heard him laugh. "True," he whispered back, obligingly sliding his arm around her.
Ritchie didn't even protest. She'd managed to discreetly arrange Izaya's coat so that the lapel blocked most of the screen from her direct eye line. She could now get away with not watching the movie properly without it looking obvious. If Izaya thought she just wanted to snuggle then so be it. Maybe this date wouldn't be quite as bad as she thought...
Unfortunately it didn't stay that way. Every time Izaya shifted in his seat the coat that Ritchie had so carefully arranged moved too. She ended up seeing a lot more of the movie than she'd wanted to. It had already made her jump twice, which was embarrassing enough. And now she was sure to get nightmares as well.
Overall it wasn't a very fun evening and Ritchie was feeling distinctly moody by the time they'd left the movie theatre. Izaya, however, seemed positively entertained by how bad the movie was. "Don't you think that the people in these movies just deserve to die? If you go wandering around alone in the dark then you're just asking for trouble. Maybe a ghost will try and sneak up on us too..."
"Oh just shut up. It was a stupid movie - let's leave it at that," Ritchie grumbled through gritted teeth. She knew he was purposely trying to scare her.
The movie was already doing its job at freaking her out, without Izaya there to make it worse. She was seeing shadows around every corner and she could swear she kept hearing noises behind them... It was stupid. She walked around on her own at night all the time and it was never a problem. She never worried about the possibility of muggers or rapists or serial killers... But put the idea of ghosts in her head and it made her totally paranoid.
"Can we not cut through the park?" asked Ritchie when they were a block away from the entrance to Rikugien Park. "Hey, are you listening to me?"
She turned to find that Izaya wasn't there. She'd been so busy watching shadows that she hadn't even realised he wasn't still walking beside her. She stopped dead in her tracks. Crap... Was he messing with her? Or was she really being stalked by a ghost that had decided to pick him off first?
She tried telling herself she was being stupid, but she still felt ready to bolt at the next noise she heard. "Izaya? Come on, this isn't funny..."
She had barely taken a few steps when somebody suddenly grabbed her shoulder and murmured into her ear, "Boo."
Ritchie shrieked and wrenched herself away, her heart pounding in her chest. Of course it was only Izaya and he burst out laughing at her reaction. She flushed, feeling angry and embarrassed. "You're such an asshole!"
"You should have seen the look on your face! It was priceless!" choked Izaya, still laughing.
Ritchie huffed and turned away from him. She felt a little of her anger subside but not enough. She'd never seen Izaya properly laugh like that before... It would have been quite pleasant if it hadn't been at her expense.
"Aww I'm sorry, Ritchie-chan," said Izaya teasingly, stepping up behind her and sliding his hands around her waist. He was shaking from trying to repress his laughter.
"Leave me alone," grumbled Ritchie.
Izaya pulled away and turned her around to face him. "Oh really? So you actually want me to leave you to walk back to your place on your own?"
Ritchie blanched at the idea. Walking alone through the dark streets of Ikebukuro didn't sound particularly appealing right now, let alone having to spend the night in her quiet apartment on her own with nothing but bad dreams to keep her company.
"Fine, so horror movies freak me out. So what?" she said, trying to sound defiant. "Was that the real point of this date? To try and scare me senseless?"
Izaya just laughed at her. "Has it ever occurred to you that I may have been telling the truth before? I really did just want to keep you interested."
Ritchie frowned. "Why would you try so hard to keep me interested?"
Izaya sighed and shook his head. "You don't ever listen to me, do you? You're my favourite human. It'd be such a pain if you got bored and I had to find somebody else as interesting as you to play with."
"I honestly don't know if I should be flattered or insulted by that," said Ritchie, still frowning. "And for the record, dating isn't really the best way to keep me interested."
"Oh?" Izaya's eyebrows rose, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "And what would be the best way?"
"Just keep on being your weird, twisted self. That's been working just fine."