For the next week Ritchie's mood seemed to be at an all-time high. Sei wasn't mad at her, she now had a coat (albeit on loan) to battle the cold in and, best of all, she felt free for the first time in months. Not having to answer to Izaya was doing wonders for her mood.
Or so she thought.
She kept expecting Izaya to text or call her… Or even show up on her doorstep. The freedom had just seemed too good to be true… But he hadn't. And after the first week she'd started to realise that she'd been waiting for him to get in touch – constantly checking her phone and always making sure to survey the area outside her work.
She'd genuinely believed that some freedom from Izaya was what she'd really wanted. But after a week of not seeing or hearing from him she'd discovered just how much she craved his company. That realisation irritated her beyond belief.
And what was even worse was that she'd found herself extremely frustrated in a sexual sense too. Something that had never happened to her before. She'd always had the freedom to pick and choose her night-time partners when needed.
But she couldn't do that now seeing as, technically, her relationship with Izaya was still intact. They were just on a break of sorts. And she'd also happened to realise that none of the guys she saw in clubs seemed to do it for her anymore. She wouldn't have wanted them anyway.
Izaya may have drove her crazy a lot of the time but the truth was that he actually tended to push her buttons in all the right ways. And she missed that. It was annoyingly ironic for her to discover this now and it only frustrated her further.
The only reassurance she had was that she now had Sei to complain to. Even though her friend still strongly disapproved of Izaya, she'd very nobly accepted that it was Ritchie's choice and that she couldn't hold it against her.
Best of all, though disapproving, she was still very intrigued by Ritchie's unusual relationship and was more than happy for Ritchie to tell her everything. Sei sympathised with her friend's current situation but she couldn't offer a solution either, short of Ritchie returning to Izaya's side.
As tempting as the idea sounded it was one thing Ritchie was refusing to do. She was unwilling to sacrifice her pride. She wondered if Izaya had been feeling the same way and would maybe eventually seek her out himself… She had to admit that the likelihood of that was very slim but she didn't want to be the one to give in. Whoever did first would be the loser. Ritchie didn't want to lose. But it all depended on how long she could hold out.
Another two weeks down the line she was definitely struggling to remember why her pride was so important. She tried to avoid spending any time alone – socialising with whomever she could – and seemed to be indulging herself in alcohol even more than she usually did. She spent a lot more time at work after her shifts ended. And when Kosuke was on bartending duty the bar became her new best friend.
Sure enough, the next time he was working he seemed quite amused to see Ritchie appear at the bar. "Now how did I know you'd be coming to spend more time with me and the bar?"
"Because I just can't stay away," said Ritchie, pulling up a stool.
Kosuke shook his head. "Sometimes I think you're only here for the alcohol; not just to see me."
Ritchie smiled. She generally didn't seem to like 'good' guys but she liked Kosuke. Since he was married with two kids it gave him even more of a protective attitude, but he knew that Ritchie didn't like to be coddled by people and only ever told her to slow down on her alcohol when she got to the legless stage. She appreciated that.
Since she could generally hold her drink better than most people it didn't happen too often anyway. And as long as she was being good Kosuke was usually happy to fuel her addiction.
"Got something you'll appreciate," he told her, producing a bottle of absinthe from under the bar.
"You know me too well," admitted Ritchie, reaching wistfully for the bottle.
Kosuke pulled it away from her and laughed. "Oh no, you're not getting the bottle. Even you won't be able to handle a lot of this. I'll do you some shots and then you can stick to your other drinks."
Ritchie pouted but she knew that getting absinthe for free was still pretty damn good, even if it was just a few shots. "Fine. Hit me."
Kosuke poured out three shots and then gave her what was almost a pint of vodka and Red Bull to go with it. "That should keep you quiet for a while. I'll see if I can find some Jaeger and make a couple of bombs for you."
In response, Ritchie toasted him the first shot glass, which she'd already emptied whilst he'd been talking. It didn't take her long to polish off the others and she'd then finished most of her pint by the time Kosuke had sorted the Jaegerbombs out.
Within about half an hour she was starting to feel really out of it. Kosuke had refused to give her anymore absinthe and was pointedly staying down the other end of the bar so that she couldn't harass him further.
This was slightly irritating but Ritchie already had another idea in her foggy mind. As soon as Kosuke had disappeared into the back room with another armful of empty bottles she clambered up onto her stool – with more difficulty than she normally would have – and leant over the bar to grab the bottle of absinthe from underneath. She took several hearty swigs before quickly putting it back.
It didn't take long for the extra alcohol to hit her and she was soon finding it difficult to stay balanced on her bar stool. Kosuke noticed straightaway. "Have you been at my absinthe while I wasn't looking?"
Ritchie shook her head, attempting to look innocent. "Nooo…"
Kosuke tutted and waggled his finger at her in a patronising fashion. "No more drink for you."
"You suck," grumbled Ritchie, nowhere near loud enough to be heard over the music.
The next time Kosuke came back down to Ritchie she was slumped over the bar with her face hidden by her arms. He laughed. "I think you need to go home, Ritch." When she didn't answer he added, "I'll call you a cab."
Ritchie sat up properly then, swaying a little, and shook her head. "No. I wanna walk."
Kosuke raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
Ritchie nodded. "Fresh air… Feel better…" she slurred, shakily getting down from her seat to try and prove that she was okay.
"If you insist," said Kosuke, knowing better than to push it. He wasn't too concerned. Ritchie could handle herself better than most girls could – even when she was stinking drunk. "Just watch yourself, alright?"
She nodded again and he watched her totter out of the club, shaking his head. He knew she'd have a hell of a hangover tomorrow. She was lucky that she wasn't on shift for the next two nights.
Ritchie did feel a little better for being out in the fresh air but it was still a long way from actually helping. Kosuke's absinthe really was lethal. Still, she began stumbling her way home.
In her current state she'd forgotten to get Izaya's coat from her locker before leaving work, but she hadn't even realised. She couldn't feel the cold right now. Her insides were still warm from the alcohol intake, making her feel a little flushed.
The walk home seemed a lot longer than usual… Though it didn't help that Ritchie was moving at an incredibly slow pace. She was starting to zigzag a lot more now, straying into the road several times. She eventually decided that she needed to sit down and take a break.
She slid quite ungainly onto the floor next to a park bench. The world still didn't stop spinning so she clung to the bench for support. Maybe if she closed her eyes for a bit she wouldn't feel quite as dizzy…
XXX
Izaya hadn't been this bored in a long time. Things were suddenly a lot more dull without his new favourite toy around. He was still fairly certain that Ritchie would come running back to him, but she was holding out a lot longer than he'd expected her to.
Maybe it had been a risk giving her the option for a little freedom… But it was just more fun that way. Life was nothing without a little risk. He pretty much lived by that ideal.
Over the last week he'd taken to roaming the area between Ritchie's place and the club she worked at during the early hours of the morning. Spying like any good information broker would. He wanted her to be suffering from not being around him. And he wanted to see it first hand.
So far he'd spotted her a few times on her way home from work and she hadn't seemed any different. This irritated Izaya more than it probably should have. Her world was supposed to revolve around him. The game wasn't going the way he wanted it too.
He hadn't seen her at all tonight, even though he'd been lurking around for over an hour. He'd probably missed her, though it was unlike her to leave the club so early on. With an exaggerated sigh he decided to call it a night and began to make his way back to his apartment.
He took the shorter route, cutting through Rikugien Park. Most people wouldn't go that way alone at night. But he already knew who most of the dangerous people of Ikebukuro were and they certainly weren't going to try anything against him. Except maybe Shizuo… But that was just always good fun.
About halfway through the park he spotted a figure huddled up at the side of the pathway. Poor human… Either homeless or too smashed to do anything but curl up on the ground. Izaya personally didn't indulge in substances like alcohol so he found himself to be above such degrading intoxication.
But as he got closer he suddenly realised with amazement that it was his human. "Ritchie-chan?"
There weren't many things that took Izaya by surprise but finding his girlfriend unconscious in the park during the middle of the night was definitely a little unexpected. He sighed. "You have got to be kidding me."
He strode over and crouched down beside Ritchie. She was still holding onto the bench but there was no doubt that she was asleep. Izaya grabbed her bare shoulder and gave her a rough shake.
"Ritchie-chan, you shouldn't be sleeping out here," he scolded. Her skin was freezing cold – even more so than usual.
Ritchie stirred and muttered something incomprehensible. But she still didn't get up. Instead she released the bench and slid down completely onto the floor.
Izaya frowned. "Come on, Ritchie," he said more sharply, giving her another shake. "You'll get hypothermia if you stay here." As much as he generally didn't care for other people's well-being he had no doubt that she wouldn't be much fun if she became seriously ill.
"Izaya?" Ritchie murmured groggily, opening her eyes.
"Just how much have you had to drink?" asked Izaya with a look of distaste.
"I had absinthe," said Ritchie stupidly, not entirely answering his question.
She looked and sounded so pathetic that Izaya couldn't help but laugh. "Of course you did. And did you plan on spending the entire night here?"
"I needed to sit down," said Ritchie slowly, dragging herself up into a sitting position as if to prove her point. Her speech had improved a little but she was still clearly out of it. Her eyes were wild and she didn't seem to be able to focus properly.
Izaya sighed. "Well you've sat down for long enough so let's go. My place is closer; you can come back with me."
"Kay," Ritchie agreed happily.
Izaya straightened up and helped to pull Ritchie to her feet, practically having to drag her up off the floor. She was very unsteady and was leaning most of her weight against him. She was shaking but he couldn't tell if it was because of the cold or just her drunken state.
"Will you even be able to walk?" asked Izaya disbelievingly.
"Dunno…" mumbled Ritchie, swaying a little on the spot. She now seemed unwilling to try and move her feet now that she was standing.
Izaya couldn't quite decide whether drunken Ritchie was funny or just annoying. But either way they were going to end up being out here all night if she wasn't even going to try and walk. He sighed again – this time a lot louder.
"Put your arms around my neck," he instructed, resigned.
Ritchie obliged shakily and he lifted her up into his arms easily – she was a lot lighter than he'd expected. She didn't even protest at being picked up. That only confirmed just how out of it she was. If she'd been sober she'd have been kicking and screaming.
"Just tell me if you're gonna puke," grumbled Izaya, intending to drop her if she did.
Ritchie just nodded and didn't say anything else. They carried on back to Izaya's place in silence and for a while he strongly suspected that she'd fallen asleep again.
"I didn't like not seeing you," Ritchie told him suddenly, still slurring her words a little.
Izaya smirked. "I didn't either, Ritchie-chan," he said, humouring her. There was no harm in admitting that now. She wouldn't remember it tomorrow.
Ritchie was silent for a few moments, then added, "I'm glad I came to Bukuro, y'know."
"Are you now?" asked Izaya, his tone full of amusement. He liked where this was going. He had a feeling that this was something she wouldn't have told him while sober.
Ritchie nodded again before finally admitting in a much quieter voice that he had to lean in to hear, "You're the best thing that's happened to me."
Izaya's grin widened and he laughed cheerfully. "You're gonna really regret telling me that, Ritchie-chan."
"Hmmm," said Ritchie absently. She probably didn't even know what he was saying anymore.
She didn't say anything else after that and neither did Izaya. By the time he'd reached his apartment Ritchie had fallen asleep again. Once inside, Izaya carried her upstairs and tipped her rather unceremoniously onto the bed. She didn't even stir.
Izaya sighed for what felt like the millionth time and ran a hand through his hair. He knew that he wouldn't have gone to such lengths for anyone else and the idea bothered him a little. "Richelle Honda, you'll be the death of me…"
XXX
When Ritchie woke up the next morning she was almost sure that she was dying. The world was spinning before she'd even opened her eyes. She knew that if she moved even an inch she was going to puke.
So she lay there with her eyes still closed, trying to think what had happened. The last thing she could remember was stealing more of Kosuke's absinthe from behind the bar… Damn. That had been some real powerful stuff. How had she even gotten home?
She cautiously opened her eyes and found herself looking up at a ceiling that she knew wasn't her own. Her brain felt mashed and she was confused for a long time before she realised why the room was so familiar.
Crap. She was at Izaya's place... Had she somehow managed to find her way here whilst she was drunk? She cringed, worried about what she might have said to him. She couldn't remember a thing! And this surely meant that she'd lost by caving first, drunk or not.
Feeling distinctly unhappy, she sighed and closed her eyes again, willing herself to go back to sleep and hopefully skip most of her hangover. Of course, it was never going to be that easy.
"Ritchie-chan? Are you awake?"
"No," said Ritchie shortly, keeping her eyes firmly closed.
"Don't be rude, Ritchie-chan," Izaya tutted. "You should be grateful to me after last night."
Oh god… Ritchie didn't even want to know why she was supposed to be grateful. "Right now I just want to sleep."
"Don't you want to know what happened last night?" Izaya sounded far too amused for her liking.
"No. Sleep first," Ritchie insisted.
Izaya sighed loudly, obviously thinking that she was just putting off the conversation. The bed moved as he got up, causing Ritchie's stomach to lurch sickeningly.
She groaned. "Don't make the bed move unless you want me to throw up on it."
"Charming," replied Izaya.
"Sleep now," Ritchie repeated as an attempt to dismiss him.
Izaya laughed. "Fine. Just try and recover quickly. You're so boring when you're hungover."
Ritchie didn't even bother with a sarcastic response – another sign that she was best not to be disturbed. She listened to Izaya head downstairs then began to will herself back to sleep again.
Eventually it worked. When Ritchie woke up for the second time her head hurt a little and she still felt tired, but she'd at least slept the nausea off. That was definitely success enough. As long as she wasn't going to puke then she could put up with the rest.
After lying there for a while she reluctantly pulled herself out of bed and headed for the bathroom. She swilled her mouth out with water then drank some more from the faucet. She stood there for a few minutes, contemplating whether or not to have a quick shower, before deciding that she would.
It wasn't the first time she'd showered at Izaya's and it wasn't the first time that she'd had to use guy's shampoo either. She didn't really care – it smelt nice so that was good enough for her. By the time she'd run a towel through her hair after getting out it was almost completely dry again. One of the benefits of it being so short.
She picked up her clothes and decided that they smelt a little strange. What on earth had she been doing last night? She wrinkled her nose. She certainly wasn't putting them on again.
She padded back through into the bedroom. She was going to have to borrow some of Izaya's clothes for now – she couldn't really see him caring. She searched through some of the drawers and fished out a pair of boxer shorts and a plain V-necked black shirt. That would do.
Ritchie felt a lot better for being clean and, although she would have liked to crawl back into bed, she knew she would have to face the music sometime. Sighing, she grudgingly headed downstairs once she was dressed.
Izaya was sat at his computer as usual and smirked when Ritchie appeared down the stairs. "So she survives!"
"She does, unfortunately," said Ritchie sarcastically, traipsing over to sit down on the couch.
Her response only made Izaya's grin widen. He clicked off his computer before bounding over to join her on the couch. He then laughed at the wary look on her face. "What? Aren't you dying to hear what happened last night?"
"I really can't say I am," said Ritchie dryly. "But I'm sure you're still going to tell me all about how I came crawling back here."
Izaya looked amused. "You didn't come crawling back here."
"I didn't?" asked Ritchie, confused. Maybe she still had some dignity after all. "Then how did I get here?"
"I'm so glad you asked, Ritchie-chan!" exclaimed Izaya happily. "Why, I found you asleep in Rikugien Park and had to carry you back here."
Ritchie stared at him in disbelief, cringing internally. Okay, maybe she didn't have any dignity left. "Please tell me you're joking."
"What do you think?" said Izaya, still grinning.
Urgh. Of course he wasn't joking. Damn… Falling asleep in a park, huh? That was bad even for her. She definitely wasn't going to drink absinthe again! Well… Not for a while anyway.
She then noticed the look on Izaya's face. He still seemed far too amused. "Why do I get the feeling that you have something even worse to tell me?"
"Because you're just so intuitive," said Izaya happily. He didn't need any prompting to continue with the embarrassing story. "You were very keen to tell me last night about how happy you were that you moved to Ikebukuro."
That already sounded bad. But unfortunately, Ritchie could sense that there was still more to come. "And what else?" she asked slowly, positively dreading the answer.
"And that apparently I'm the best thing that's happened to you," said Izaya, positively beaming.
"Oh god…" groaned Ritchie, burying her face in her hands. She'd tried so hard to deny to herself how much she enjoyed being around Izaya. How was that supposed to work when she was getting drunk and admitting it to Izaya himself?
Izaya laughed and patted her on the head. "Oh come on, Ritchie-chan… It's not that bad! It's not like an 'I love you' or anything."
"Yeah, I definitely wouldn't hold your breath on that," grumbled Ritchie from between her fingers. With a resigned sigh she lowered her hands and curled up on the couch beside Izaya, resting her head on his thigh. Oh well, it was pointless ignoring it now. "For what it's worth, I did miss being around you."
She expected him to mock her for it but, amazingly, he didn't. Instead he just idly played with her hair. "I did too, Ritchie-chan."
Maybe it would have been nicer if he'd sounded more sincere. But for now Ritchie didn't really care. She was just happy to be back. She did have more questions however. "So how exactly did you find me in the park at such an ungodly hour? Were you following me again?"
"Maybe," replied Izaya.
"Why?" asked Ritchie.
"Because I wanted to see if you were suffering from not seeing me," explained Izaya simply.
"Oh thanks," said Ritchie sarcastically.
"You're welcome," Izaya chuckled.
As twisted as his reason was Ritchie was still strangely pleased by the idea. He'd sought her out before she'd gone back to him. That meant that she had won. Score one to her. Though she kept that thought to herself – she knew that if she said it out loud Izaya would find some way to counter it.
So instead she fell silent, absent-mindedly running her hand across Izaya's leg as he continued to stroke her hair. Her hand came dangerously close to his groin and he stiffened, pulling at her hair a little harder.
Ritchie smiled to herself. It looked like she wasn't the only one who had missed this aspect of their relationship too. She abruptly sat back up and twisted round to face him. Then, before he had the chance to say anything, she pushed him roughly down onto the couch.
Surprise flitted very briefly across Izaya's face. Ritchie loved that she still had the ability to do that. She climbed on top of him so that she was straddling his stomach and pressed on his chest with both hands, holding him down.
Of course, his trademark smirk shifted back into place and he opened his mouth to make some smartass comment, only to have Ritchie cut him off as she crushed his lips with her own. Izaya responded eagerly and wound his arms around her, pulling her body down onto his.
Ritchie manoeuvred one of her hands between them and underneath Izaya's shirt, beginning to pull it up. Only then did Izaya break contact with her mouth so that he could remark, "You don't waste any time, do you Ritchie-chan?"
Before responding, Ritchie ran her free hand along the side of his neck, digging her nails in just underneath his jaw line. Izaya groaned and arched himself up underneath her. She pressed another kiss to his lips. "If you know what's good for you you'll shut the hell up."
XXX
Author's Note!
Happy New Year, folks! Hope none of you got too sozzled during the celebrations (I was good this time, though I'm still recovering from my work's Christmas do xD)
Same rules for submitting OCs apply. See chapter eight.