A/N: Well, I started writing chapter three of La Fraise. Doesn't that get me any brownie points? Le sigh. Guess not...

/commencer/

The Way You Look Tonight

-

Riku was not one for dances. Anyone who knew her could tell you that. This was more Risa's style, to be feminine, fun, and flirty. Risa was the twin who enjoyed school dances, dancing with the boys and laughing with them. Not Riku.

Which still didn't explain why she was here in the first place.

Although if Risa was to be believed, which was a laughable thought at times (she was Queen of the Rumor Mill, after all), Riku was here to impress a certain boy.

Who was certainly not Daisuke.

Riku growled silently to herself. Why was it that he pervaded all of her thoughts lately? That is, all of her thoughts that didn't center on the dark-haired phantom thief (damn him for stealing her first kiss!). Wait, she wasn't Risa. Her life did not revolve around boys. Unless there was some weird experiment being performed unknowingly on her, and she was slowly being turned into Risa!

Man, she needed to stop listening to Takeshi.

Except that theory would explain her odd obsessions...

Riku sighed. Maybe she was just going crazy.

"Hey doom-and-gloom! Why aren't you having fun?" Riku's tumbling thoughts were put aside for the moment as she set herself ready to deal with her sister.

"Um, I'm having fun. See the happy-and-cheery smile on my face? Doesn't it brighten the place?" The older twin's lips stretched into a big smile, obviously fake, but Riku was clinging to some desperate hope that Risa had miraculously become ditzy and would believe the act.

She didn't. "Riku, if you're not having fun, you can always go home," Risa gently suggested. She knew how volatile Riku could get, and she really didn't need to deal with whatever mood swing Riku was going through right now because of the simple hope that...he would show up.

"No, no, that's all right! I'll just enjoy the, um, music! Yes, it's very nice..." Riku trailed off and stared blankly at the stereo system. Risa heaved a sigh. Okay, maybe she could spare a few minutes...

"You know, Daisuke came down with a cold this afternoon."

Riku's eyes blazed to life and her attention became eerily focused on her sister.

"What? How did you find out?"

"Takeshi told me. He said Daisuke was really bummed to be missing out on the dance, but his mom wouldn't let him out of the house. So, you see, you really can go home..." Risa felt bad, but she would feel even worse if Riku was still hanging around, miserable, and...he showed up.

"I think...I'll stay for a few more minutes. Then I'll go. But in the meantime, you go and have fun! You don't want to hang around with your socially-challenged, deadbeat sister tonight, do you?" Riku grinned, and although it was genuine, Risa couldn't help but notice something else beneath her words too.

The non-socially-challenged sister grinned back. "All right, if you insist..." Risa hugged her sister and headed back to the dance floor.

Riku watched her go and sank back against the wall. She didn't know why she insisted on staying, if only to avoid the questions she would be bombarded with once she returned home. Peace and silence for a short time was appealing; not having to look at the door every five seconds or be alert on her walk back. Instead, she focused in on her thoughts, and the snap of energy she felt when Risa had mentioned Daisuke's name.

Why was she thinking about Daisuke so much? It hadn't been until Risa had turned him down that she found her thoughts drifting to him. It was almost as if before, he had been a forbidden subject in her mind because everyone knew he liked Risa. So, maybe there was a chance that she did like him, and Risa had been the final block, in her mind, to her feelings for him...

But that was insane. Of course she didn't like Daisuke. Just like she didn't like Dark. Dark! Riku's nostrils flared. That scheming, idiotic, perverted jerk! How dare her mind compare the two together! Daisuke was sweet, kind, and slightly goofy (okay, way goofy...), while Dark was...the complete opposite! How dare he assume it was all right to sneak into a young girl's bedroom and kiss her! It was wrong, it was awful, it was...just something his perverted mind would come up with!

Grrr...Riku decided that interrogation from her parents was way better than the direction her thoughts were going in right now, and stomped out of the gym and on home.

-

Meanwhile, a certain goofy 14-year-old was sound asleep, dreaming sweet dreams, when suddenly his eyes opened. The only problem was that instead of reddish-colored eyes peering out into the gloom of the room, they were dark, almost as dark as a moonless sky...

-

Riku was still huffing and puffing her way home when she heard a branch crack nearby. Her body froze. Great, this has to be the one night when I actually have to put all my expertly taught self-defense skills to use. Life is a bitch. Riku spun herself around and prepared to defend herself when suddenly her jaw dropped open. And then she screamed.

"PERVERT!"

The dark-haired bishounen face-faulted and quickly tried to quiet the screaming girl. Which, as he should have realized, wasn't working since his mode of action was to encircle his arms around her lithe body and smash her face to his chest. Riku froze for an instant, then attempted to thrash her way out of the embrace.

"Rele meh!"

"What? Can't hear you, sorry love."

"Dou ca meh lo!"

"Nope, still can't hear you. Tell you what, if I release you, do you promise not to scream?"

Dark patiently waited until her body stopped whipping around, and he felt a nod against his chest.

"Okay..." Dark slowly let go of the girl and stepped back. Only to find daggers of fire being aimed at him. "Um, not okay..."

"Not okay? What the hell are you doing here? With me?" Riku kept her voice down, but her tone was no less malevolent.

Dark's charm turned on. "I heard there was a dance tonight. I heard you would be here, and I wanted to see you." The phantom thief's grin was just barely a smirk, but he had learned to walk that fine line a long time ago. As anticipated, a light blush dabbed the girl's cheeks, but what was not anticipated was when she marched up to punch her finger into his chest, punctuating her next words.

"You wanted to see me? How about doing it in a less mysterious, perverted, stalkerish manner!" Dark's eyebrow twitched, and he opened his mouth to reply until Riku quickly went on, "Or how about not seeing me at all!" The girl ceased her punching, drew herself up, spun around, and started stalking away. At least, that was the plan, until a warm hand closed around her wrist and intervened with her departure.

"But that won't do. I wanted to see you, whether you like it or not."

Riku didn't turn around, but she huffed.

"Now, doesn't that sound just a bit stalkerish?"

Dark's low chuckle reverberated through the air, and Riku felt it prickle the back of her neck. But there was something so warm about that sound...

"How about this? I'll let you go on your way in return for a dance. It seems rude to let you go home without a dance when you look so beautiful tonight." Dark slowly pulled her closer to his body. "Did you dress up for me?"

"No!" The word immediately came out of her mouth, and Dark almost paused, but he shook it off. It was true, actually; she hadn't dressed up for him. She hadn't even planned on seeing him...

"So, do we have a deal?"

"Why?"

Dark looked down, surprised. His hands were now on her shoulders, and she was looking up at him with the most innocent, curious expression. The bishounen pursed his lips. For some reason, he didn't want to give her some cheesy line. He wanted to give her the most honest answer he could muster. However, this being the infamous phantom thief Dark, known for being a thief of hearts perhaps more than a thief of stolen artifacts, found that the most honest answer seemed a bit fake. But, it was honest.

"There's something about the way you look tonight..."

Remarkably, Riku seemed to settle for this answer (maybe he was rubbing off on her...). She nodded and smiled up at him. For reasons she couldn't articulate, Riku decided to go along with this little deal of his. The good part was that now he owed her, but besides that...maybe it would sort out some of her heart's confusion...

"Well, aren't you going to ask me to dance?"

It was mild, but challenging. And Dark loved it.

"Milady, would you care to dance?"

Smiling, really smiling, Riku accepted the dashing phantom thief's offered hand, and as music that seemed to come from the heavens swayed over the area, the couple waltzed around, a princess and her knight enjoying this one moment of simplicity.

/fin/

A/N: Ah, I love one-shots. You don't have to write consequences or supply overly complicated reasons. They are in the moment.