While the sincerity of Izaya's love for humanity was debatable, his acceptance of them and all their traits was absolute. In some ways he was truly like an omnipotent being, unbiased in his observations and impartial to both the trials and successes of human beings. He would be the definition of a casual observer, if he wasn't so in love with humanity. His love was anything but casual.
It consumed him, it defined him. Izaya's work was simultaneously his livelihood and his pleasure; which is why when the time came for him to love one human specifically, Izaya's perception wasn't much different from how he loved all human life. Although it had taken him some time to come to terms with it, his love for Chihiro was just as accepting, objective, and loyal as it was to the human race.
When Izaya realized this he had decided that whether Chihiro hated him, loved him, or was indifferent to him, he would still love her; but as he had made clear to both Anri Sonohara and Saika that one night, he didn't care for the idea of sharing his humans with anyone. The very notion of sharing was absurd and infuriating.
(Except for Shizuo, who Izaya didn't want by any means, except maybe as entertainment. He would've liked to use him in his games, but he was far too unpredictable and troublesome. Plus, he just plain didn't like him.)
Super strong ex-bartenders aside, Izaya loved every human and everything that made them who they were.
"Still, it wouldn't kill Chihiro to be a little more….what's the word?" Izaya wondered as Chihiro calmly left his office after dropping off his lunch. The girl who's chin he held in his hand looked up at him curiously.
"Hey, is she your sister?"
For the life of him, Izaya could not seem to recall this girls name.
"No." Izaya gave no further explanation as he released the girl; he slumped back down in his desk chair with a bored expression. "So, this thing with you father. Do you really believe you and him would be better off without your stepmom? From what I've heard, she sounds quite nice."
The expression of compassion worked wonders; no one would be able to tell it was fake. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe for the moment it was real or maybe Izaya got too much into his role he simply forgot.
"I don't care." The girl argued; she was a bit irritated at their interruption and at his sudden lack of interest. She had the slightest feeling of being used. "I want things back to how they were. What should I do?"
Izaya smile grew thin. "It sounds to me like your dad is in love. What gives you the right to tell him who to marry?"
"I'm his only daughter!" The girl insisted. She had clearly been under the assumption Izaya was on her side; he always was when she and her friends came to him for his advice. They were nearly convinced he was a fortune teller. "He should keep me in mind when he makes these decisions. He's responsible for my welfare!"
"Yes, but as his daughter, shouldn't you want what makes him happy?" Izaya replied. "This woman sounds like a good person, so why wouldn't you want your father to marry her? It sounds to me like you're pressing your own issues on the divorce over to him. It's pretty selfish."
The girl was stunned by his callousness; he spoke to her so kindly before, made her feel as if someone was finally taking her view into account.
"You don't know anything." She said through gritted teeth before slamming the door shut behind her; Izaya shrugged and began to open the bento Chihiro had made; he looked at it for as moment before shoving it away with a sigh.
Izaya loved every aspect of Chihiro just like he loved every aspect of every human.
He loved her sarcasm, her anxiety, her uptightness, her humor, her insensitivity, her predictability, her blush, her sense of justice, and her kindness. Izaya loved her body, every inch of skin, every strand of hair; he loved when Chihiro let him take charge in the bedroom, when she initiated, when they went slow or rough. Izaya particularly enjoyed it when she got embarrassed at his intentionally vulgar dirty talk. The best part was when she clung to him and mewled, just like a real kitten. He even loved it when she got upset with him and scorned him when he made her angry.
Regardless of his acceptance, he couldn't pretend he wasn't a bit ticked off at her indifference towards him supposedly flirting with another girl.
"Maybe she's hiding her feelings? Chi-chan's sense of pride as always been skewed." Izaya reasoned. That did sound like something she'd do, but usually she'd get stoic or a bit angry when he hurt her feelings. Walking in on him in a suggestive position with another woman barely made her blink. Chihiro simply gave him his lunch and left as if it were an everyday occurrence.
"It's like she couldn't care less." Izaya took another look at the bento and slide it into the trash can next to his desk. "Why wouldn't she at least get upset that I'm getting so close to another woman? She said she loved me."
It just didn't make any sense. Izaya returned home later that night to the apartment, the problem still stewing in the back of his mind; an inkling of an explanation was forming for her behavior. It didn't help that Chihiro greeted him like she did every other day, as if nothing had happened.
"Hey Izaya." she had just got herself a drink from the kitchen and was heading back to their room; Izaya followed her.
"Hey Chi-chan, how was your day?"
"It was okay." Chihiro sipped at her milk and scrolled through her phone distractedly.
"Oh I see." Izaya sat down beside her on the bed and rested his hand on her thigh, just grazing it with the pads of his fingers.
Chihiro batted it away without so much as looking up from her phone. "Do you mind? Honestly, I don't know when you started becoming such a perv…"
That was the last straw.
"Hey!" Chihiro gasped as her drink fell onto the floor; the glass was shattered and the milk was spreading into the cracks of the floor. Her cell phone had luckily just been dropped on the bed when Izaya pinned her down with surprising force.
"I keep forgetting cause he's so skinny." Chihiro cursed herself as she struggled under his grip. "He does mess with a superhuman for kicks and hasn't been murdered yet."
The smile on Izaya's face didn't cover up the fact his eyes were gleaming dangerously.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Chihiro hissed matching his glare with one of her own.
"Are you cheating on me?"
Chihiro's mind went blank. "Is this a joke?"
"I wouldn't do that to you Chi-chan. I wasn't flirting back there you know. Even if I was, that'd be stupid, since I knew you were coming." Izaya smiled wider. "I just wanted to see what you'd do."
"What does your sick mind have to do with any of this?"
"I get it now. You're seeing other men behind my back aren't you?" Izaya's hold tightened painfully, though he didn't seem to be aware of it himself; his tone was quite conversational. "That's why you didn't react earlier. You don't care who I see, cause you're seeing someone on the side."
Chihiro had ceased struggling to stare up at Izaya with wide eyes; his smile was somewhere between a grin and a snarl. It looked pained.
"Did you get just done fucking them while I was gone? I bet that's why you don't want me now. Am I right?"
"You know," Chihiro began thoughtfully. "You really do have the biggest ego I've ever seen on a person. You weren't curious about what I'd do." she scoffed dryly. "Well, that was probably part of it. The main thing was that you just wanted assurance, right? You wanted me to freak out when I saw you with that girl. You were fine taking the risk of hurting me, of making me upset, just so you would feel more secure. I guess in that case it wouldn't count as a risk to you."
"Well, aren't you so smart." Izaya sounded both impressed and snide. "So you ignored me on purpose."
"Well, yeah." Chihiro retorted flippantly.
"So you have complete confidence that I won't see other women? You don't think I'd ever be unfaithful?"
"You've never given me a reason to think so." Chihiro shrugged. "You're a lot of things, but a cheater? If you were going to see women on the side, I have no doubt you'd just tell me right upfront. You're not the kind of person who'd feel the need to hide that."
Izaya laughed and his hands relaxed around her wrists slightly. "Are you saying I have no shame?"
Chihiro stared up at him dully. "Not that I know of anyway." she tried to wiggle away. "Look, I'm really tired, can you let go now that you've had your episode?"
"I do love it when you're cold." Izaya traced the tip of his tongue against her ear teasingly. "I also love it when you're hot. How about we make up?"
"Huh? We weren't even fighting." Chihiro said in disbelief at the sudden change of his mood. "You were the one being an asshole. Also, it's gross when you lick my ear."
Izaya frowned and let go of her wrists; he turned on his side away from her.
"He's spending way too much time posing as a girl online." Chihiro thought wryly. "I swear, what do I see in him again?"
She sighed lightly and rolled over, putting an arms around his stomach in a half hug.
"I would've been sad though."
Izaya peered over at her curiously, silently asking her to continue.
"If you somehow really were cheating on me." Chihiro explained with a small smile. "I'd totally dump you...but that doesn't mean it wouldn't make me sad."
Izaya turned to her and pulled her up against his chest.
"I guess it's good you're not suspicious of me, but I wish you weren't because you had faith in my character." Izaya said. "Not because you think I would do it, but tell you so if I did."
Chihiro stared at him in slight confusion.
"What I mean is, I wouldn't do it in the first place." Izaya said simply. "You're mine."
Later on, it occurred to Izaya that Chihiro had once again been able to read him.
"She does pay attention, huh?" Izaya twisted strand of her hair around his fingers; he briefly thought of using her hair to play string games. The look on her face seeing her long hair tied up in a cat's cradle would be hilarious. In the end, he decided not to.