Dodge visits his Fairy Godmother. Things Get Complicated.
Who: Dodge and Maddy
Where: Casa de Maddy aka the Hill Street Theater
When: Morning
The radiator in the corner was chugging away to stave off the cold that was blowing in through all the cracks in the ceiling and walls. While it was certainly warmer than some places the homeless found to sleep, Maddy still felt a damp chill in her bones. Not that she minded as much as she used to. Maddy had grown used to the cold, enough that she didn't have much of a problem walking around in a ill-fitted skirt and light jacket, but it was January and it was cold.
After the strange meeting she had at the church the day before, Maddy had spent much of her time in doors cleaning her little "apartment". The caretaker had found another old mattress for her and Maddy had re-organized her 'bedroom' to look more like a gaudy, mismatched harem, shimmery cloth and beads and giant pillows. All she needed were her eunuch bodyguards and a servant to feed her grapes.
Oil lamps hung from the rafters, making the room almost glow and seem warmer than it actually was and Maddy sat in front of her easel, large piece of paper tacked to the corkboard and she drew her next "masterpiece".
It was Dodge. Dodge sitting on a thrown rather carelessly, a crown held in his hand and fedora still on his head. There were some of his boys in the picture like courtiers. Dodge overlooking his kingdom. She'd probably be mortified if he ever saw it but ever since what had happened the other day, she just couldn't get him out of her head. It was weird, the way he'd looked at her, how he'd taken off her gloves. Taking off her gloves was as good as taking her virginity at this point in her life. Again, if Dodge knew that... The only reason she allowed him to believe he was so "awesome" was because he was a boy and boys were just fragile.
Dodge hadn't slept as well as he would have liked to, but nonetheless he was still up with the sun. The newspaper he'd lifted off a stand after waking up, the brilliant idea came to him, but he'd have to figure a few details out. The most important stop was seeing Maddy. He needed a costume for tonight and the girl who lived above the theater was his best shot.
He'd run into a couple of giggling actors downstairs who seemed to have spent the night in the theater. After a quick few questions he was pointed in the right direction, climbing the stairs to her room with an extra bounce in his step. The idea was brilliant: a great way to see Evie, a great way for his boys to clean up and mostly just a great way to have fun. Reaching her door he tapped on it lightly, hoping she wasn't still asleep.
Maddy's eyes narrowed slightly. She was definitely not used to people knocking on her door. In fact, no one knocked on her door unless they were lost. "Room isn't open to the public!" she called out, putting her drawing pencil and reaching for a pair of simple, brown leather gloves. She really had no idea who it could be.
Dodge put caution to the wind and pushed the door open some, sticking his head in the crack he'd made. "Since when am I just the general public?" He grinned wildly at her, fedora pulled a little low on his brow.
Dammit, she cursed silently, gliding off her stool and casually tossing a sheet over her easel. That would've been embarrassing. "Well my bodyguard is on vacation," she said, coming over to him and pulling the door open more fully. "I can't be too careful. What brings you here?" She offered him a smile and gestured for him to come in. With Roy, she hadn't been too nervous about him coming into her "sanctuary", but Dodge was a bit different. Dodge actually lived in a proper apartment with a bathroom and actual heat catered to the space. He didn't have to sneak downstairs in the wee hours of the morning to take an awkward bath in a utility sink and barricade the door so no one came in. "What brings you all the way here?"
Grinning he followed her lead into the room, spotting the easel first. "What are you working on DG?" The room itself was cozy, obviously a girls room with the piles of pillows and such, but she was a girl after all. "And what body guard? You don't need a body guard." For once he didn't reach for her like he normally would. It was almost as if something had changed, even though he wasn't sure what it was. "I need a favor," he answered.
Sometimes Maddy wished she did have a bodyguard. "It's hard being awesome all the time," she told him. "Sometimes you need a break. What can I do for you?" She casually strode back over to her easel and adjusted the cloth so she was completely sure that it was covered up. She was more concerned about him seeing the painting-in-progress than she was about him reaching for her, but Maddy would be lying if she said it didn't make her wonder.
"It's never hard being awesome, it just comes naturally," he reminded her, completely believing every word. Dodge followed after her, ducking around her as if he might sneak a peek under the cloth. "A masterpiece?" he asked, not getting to the reason for his visit yet. "I want to see." He made a move, catching the corner of the cloth in his hand and starting to lift it.
"Lift that sheet any more and I'll rip your nuts off and shove them down your throat," Maddy said, suddenly fierce, her small, gloved hand wrapped around the wrist of the hand he was using. She didn't want to get into the conversation about being awesome. She wished she never said anything about wanting a body guard in the first place. She already had to deal with an actor with grabby hands who got drunk the night before after she came home and she was angry that there wasn't much she could do about it because she was only living at the theater because she was well behaved and helpful. "What's the favor, Dodge?" She still felt guilty about the whole tunnel debacle and that led to her thinking about how strong he was with his arms wrapped around her when he really didn't look it. Uhg. You're such a fucking girl, Keyes. Get over yourself. She'd blame her mood on the rain. And stupid actors. And the completely annoying boy in front of her.
Dodge caved, not that he really figured she'd actually follow through on the threat, but not wanting to test her. He raised his hands in surrender, but the vice grip on his arm, drug her closer. Not that he really cared, because in some ways her closer was more natural than her being farther away. What happened to us Maddy? he thought, trying to push the concerns away. "The favor is something special, something only you could help me with, sweetie."
"Don't call me sweetie," she chided with a frown. This was officially weird. It was awkward and Maddy did not like feeling awkward. And she felt unsure. She hated feeling unsure. This was lame. Lame. Lame. Lame. "Call me.... Supreme Queen of the Universe." Or Maddy. For some reason she wanted to hear him call her by her name. Whisper it in her ear as he ran his hands -- Maddy immedietly dropped his wrist and took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest. "So now you say 'Oh, Supreme Queen of the Universe, I come seeking your aid in my time of need'. Oh, and on your knees." She smirked. "Bitch."
Immediately, Dodge knelt before her, as if he was soldier waiting to be knighted. "Oh my dearest Supreme Queen of the Universe," he started, glancing up although it was hard to see because of the brim of the hat. "I need your help. I need a tux."
If Dodge was anything, he was cooperative. She reached down and tilted the brim of his fedora up with a gloved finger so she could see his eyes. "A tux, huh? Hot date?" Why did those words taste so terrible? Because you're jealous, genius. Uhg. Maddy didn't get jealous. No way did she get jealous.
"Something along those lines," he told her with a sly grin, especially now that she'd exposed his face. Without getting up he reached behind him, pulling the newspaper out of his back pocket. "I have a ball to attended dearest," he explained. "And I have nothing to wear. Be my fairy godmother."
Maddy took the newspaper from him, looking at the headline. A party being thrown in honor for the policemen who had captured that killer earlier in the week. "I see." She dropped the paper on her stool and skirted around him to her boxes and clothes racks. "This is kind of short notice, just so you know." Maddy was decent with a needle, but she might have to alter what she found for Dodge. She found herself more relaxed at the distance between them now and Maddy was able to breathe a little easier. Jerk would get a bigger head if she kept acting like a fucking ninny around him. She was too awesome to act like a ninny.
Once she moved past him he was on his feet again, lithe as if he was a dancer. He was behind her in a moment, arms around her shoulders, tugging her close in a hug from behind. "I knew you'd be able to help."
Maddy stiffened, still in her movements when he pulled her close. Jerk. He must be doing it on purpose. "Of course I'd be able to help," she said, her voice steady and light as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with the situation. "I have enough stuff to open up my own store." And it'd be easier to get a tuxedo from her anyway than it would be to lift one. She half wondered if perhaps he was trying to butter her up, but, she reminded herself, she owed him for the tunnel thing. "Am I gonna have to teach you to dance too?"
"Princess," he chided, catching her arm and twirling her in a circle. "I think I have dancing under control." He grinned at her when she passed him. "I just need to look better than usual." He need to catch Evie off guard. He needed to impress her and show her he was more than just a little kid, like she continued to treat him as.
"That implies that you look decent to begin with," she teased. "Alright. Let's get you something to wear." She darted away from him and to a clothes rack a few feet away, nearly buckling under the weight of all the men's clothes handing from it. "You're kind of gangly," she noted aloud, pulling out some dressing bags and held them out. "Try these. I'll see if I can find anything else."
"I am not gangly," Dodge protested despite the fact that he was. He took the bags from her, already tugging at the tie he had on, pulling it off, and dragging his shirt off after it. "Wait, are you going to watch me change?" he asked with a playful tease in his voice, his hands on the waist band of his pants, purposely.
Maddy took a long, deep breath through her nose and looked at him haughtily over her shoulder. "You're really nothing exciting to look at," she told him quite seriously, not allowing herself to be distracted by his bare chest. They'd just shared a bed and slept beside one another. So what if he was half naked and had taken her gloves off and she'd told him her name. It wasn't like they'd actually had sex and they certainly weren't married. She was just out of sorts because she had a weird encounter with her friend and then another weird encounter in church after she cried.
Dodge grinned wildly and threw his shirt at her, digging through the pile of tuxes he picked out his favorite, shucking his pants and tugging on the outfit. It was a little large, but it was still really good look for him, just like everything else he put on. "So, whadda you think?"
"Gonna have to hem the pants," she said. "And I think a smaller jacket would be better. They're all black so hopefully there'll be something smaller but overall..." she pursed her lips, nodding slowly. "You clean up quite nicely." She walked over and reached up to run a hand through his dark hair, eyeing it critically. "Should really cut you're hair. It's a bit of a give away."
Still grinning, Dodge leaned into her hand, looking like a puppy that enjoyed being pet. "I think my hair is fantastic." Reaching up he caught her hand in his. "How is it a give away?"
"It's too long. I watch the people in their private boxes, their hair's shorter than this." Maddy bit her lip. Boy, was Dodge a touchy-feely sort of guy. "I could scrounge up some pomade and we can slick it back and trim it just a little bit. Not a lot. I promise." She didn't know if Dodge was attatched to his hair, but a little bit of a trim should be okay. ""You don't have any fuzz on her your face," she said with a smirk, stroking his soft cheeks and patted him gently. "You have such a cutie wittle baby face."
Dodge scowled under her touch in response to her comment. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Dodge could pass for younger than he was, but it was still harsh being told he had a baby face. He was typically pretty clean-shaven, preferring the look, but still.
Maddy shrugged and pecked his cheek, lips chapped from the cold. "It means that you can get what you want, just like the Doll Girl," she told him, voice soft against his ear like she was sharing a secret with him. "Don't worry, I'd still call you to defend my honor when I'm too lazy to do it myself." She pulled back with a grin and helped him get out of the jacket. "Just be gladd you're not like Finn, eternally fourteen." And yes, Finn was one of her closest friends, but he looked a decade younger than he actually was. Poor guy.
His eyes closed slightly with her kiss, surprising him somewhat. He liked that though, that she would call him to protect her. The mention of Finn though didn't lead to the best reaction in Dodge. His issues with Finn, but they weren't prominent, or they weren't until he dealt with Laura. She'd seemed different after being with Finn and he still wasn't sure what had happened. "I can pass for much older if I want to."
"You can, can you?" she asked lightly, pulling away to look at him in the face, judging for herself. "I'd like to see that sometime. Do you have a cane? A black silk suit? One of the Walker guys comes in with a top hat and a blue and red striped suit and this really nifty cane with a snake head. He twirls it in his hand like a baton and has a pocket watch." She made it sound like she thought he was so dreamy and Maddy pretended to swoon a little bit.
"I can, you'll see it at some point. When you've earned it," he started off teasing before she started talking about one of the Walker guys. His eyes narrowed a little as he watched her swoon some. "I don't need a damned cane."
"Earned it?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "What do I have to do to get that?" she continued a little slyly and went over to a box a few feet away to dig out a bow tie for Dodge. "Do I have to dress up too?" Maddy had only done so once, on her own, just to see if she could make herself look older. Now there was an idea to see if she could try it out on someone.
Dodge considered it before answering. "I dunno, that might work. I'd have to see it to believe it though." Dodge ducked a little lower so she could loop the bow tie around his neck. He gave a shot at trying it himself, but he was mostly used to just a standard tie. Fumbling he gave a small groan of exasperation.
Maddy moved forward and batted his hands away, slowly tying it so he could sort of see how she did it. "See it to believe it, huh?" she asked lightly. "Because I'm such a pretty little girl?" the last bit perhaps sounded a little creepy, especially as Maddy dropped her voice low and smooth. She hated those words. They made her skin crawl but it's what she'd been called by men -- older men -- for years that it was all she actually had to describe herself. "There. Do you want me to show again?
He was busy trying to watch her tie the bow tie in the mirror behind her, that he almost missed the tone in her voice. "Because you're you, Maddy," he explained, using her name. "You're not quite the 'get dressed up all pretty like' type. If I remember correctly when I got home last night you were wearing overalls with fake blood on them." It was a simple explanation. She had her own persona, her own style and he appreciated that. "No, I think I can manage, lemme try first," he told her, untying it and running through the same steps again. The bow wasn't perfect but it was a start. He'd have to practice a few more times.
"No one's called me that in so long," Maddy said softly, nodding in approval at his attempts at the bow tie. "Not bad." She reached out and undid it, doing it again slowly so he could see. "You don't think I dress up to look pretty?" she ventured curiously. She didn't and Dodge obviously knew that. "Then again, I guess I don't really have much of an occasion to." She undid the bow tie again and redid it. "Those kinds of people bug the hell outta me. Look like fucking hookers."
Dodge rested his hand gently on her head. If it had been long since she'd gone by her name, he wondered when it was she had last. The orphanage? Her older brother? "Of course you don't, and not just because you don't have a reason too. It's not your thing." He watched her tie the tie again, seeing how she did it so smoothly and knowing full well he'd be spending an hour in his room practicing before leaving for the ball. "You're pretty in you're own way though." The compliment was genuine and nonchalant.
Maddy rolled her eyes. "H'okay, Dodgy Dodger." She took a step back, ducking out from under his hand and went digging around with the suits. "This one might fit you better," she said, pulling another jacket out and tossing it to him. "I got another favor to ask you," she ventured. "This one is almost as important as looking for my brother." It was. This could potentially ruin everything she'd come to build.
He caught the jacket with ease, swinging it across his shoulders to put it on. It fit better than the first, although still a little loose around his middle. That didn't surprise him though, he was an underfed street kid. Clothes didn't always fit well. "What sort of favor would this be then?" he asked mildly as if she was just asking for directions. Damn, the tux looked nice, but not paired with the black eye.
Maddy beckond him to follow her as she headed over to the other end of the attic apartment. It was an old dressing table brought up from the dressing rooms, the mirror splintered from a fight between the lead and her understudy. She started opening drawers, pulling out various compacts and bottles to see if she could cover up the scrapes and impressive black eye of his. "I was at church yesterday and I met this one lady and she recognized me from the orphanage."
Dodge made a face at the makeup. Sure the black eye looked terrible but it was still a badge of honor. Plus it might make Evie more sympathetic. Despite the cracked mirror it was a good chance to get a solid look at himself. Contrary to what Maddy might say the outfit made him look a little bit older. "Did she seem interested in taking you back to the orphanage?" Getting picked back up by the system was a fear of most street kids. Many had escaped for a reason.
"She was nice and everything. Asked if I need help. She remembered me from an open house her and her husband came to, I guess." Maddy undid a couple of compacts and flicked on the light switch so the few remaining bulbs around the vanity mirror glowed. She scooted towards the end of the little bench, tu rning to straddle it and gestured for Dodge to sit so she could start matching cover-up. "I told her she had the wrong girl but I'm not sure she believed me." Maddy grabbed a little sponge and rubbed some of the pale paint on. "But she might go and ask the nuns and they're gonna want me back." Damn nuns.
Unwillingly he sat, letting her smear the muck on his face. "So where exactly to I come into this?" he asked trying hard not to flinch too much. "And did she say she was going to talk to them?"
"She didn't say but I knew she was thinking it." She frowned a little bit and grabbed some make-up a shade darker and blended it in. Much better. "If you hear anyone asking for 'DG' or 'Maddy', let me know, alright? Even other Streets." Maddy looked at him seriously, her bright blue eyes dark with the intense, no-nonsense look. "I'm not going back to that place. I'd rather die." Not that she wouldn't be able to handle herself, but what if they tried to send her off to a nunnery or something. Keep her forever and ever. "This lady's husband, I don't really remember what they said he did. A doctor or a cop or a lawyer or something. I don't know, but I'm not taking chances. I need you to be my warning system." She'd go into hiding if she had to, although she'd absolutely hate to leave her little nest here above the theater.
"Did you tell her your name is Maddy?" Dodge frowned in concern. He shook his head a little trying to push the thoughts away. "It doesn't matter much in that regard though. No one knows you as Maddy. I'll spread the word around though, any adult looking for DG gets sent in another direction. And any kid goes through me." Dodge didn't doubt his law would be kept, it always was. Reaching out for her, his fingers tangled in her hair some. "No one's gonna make you go back. Promise."
"Damn straight no one's gonna make me go back," she confirmed with a grin, letting him tangle his fingers in her hair while she kept gently covering up his bruised eye. For as long as she'd known him, he'd been a flirt and that's what made it easier for Maddy to brush it off. That it was just how Dodge was. "But I don't like having people search for me. Especially people I don't want looking for me." She felt bad for Janey. The woman seemed nice, in a little bit of a desperate way, and if her and Maddy happened to meet on the street again, she'd be polite, but passing on the street was different from having people actively look for you. And there were worse things than the nuns out there that would look for Madeline Keyes. Dodge knew the streets. He had dealt with enough little kids to know the terrible things that could happen. "Okay, if I mixed some of this stuff up for you, think you could cover the eye yourself?"
"The boys should have the word spread by tomorrow. The nasty weather, plus our big business tonight might slow them down, but don't worry." He glanced back at the mirror eying her handiwork on his face. There was still evidence of swelling, and the space around his eye seemed a shade darker than the rest, but mostly the makeup covered it well enough. "If you figure it doesn't make me look like a sissy, then yea, I think I can handle it."
"You don't look like a sissy, I promise," she assured him. "You'll be fine at the party. I take it you won't be rubbing elbows with the Walkers," she smirked, meeting his eyes in the mirror.
Dodge really hadn't considered the Walkers themselves much as far as the ball was concerned. Seeing the event in the newspaper had caught his interest for one major reason: an easy score. His boys would be in waiting outside, eager to pick pockets or catch the attention of drunken celebrators on their way out. He though, wanted to be inside, at the party. Honestly he felt like his invitation not making it was some sort of mistake, despite it being a police related function. Spotting that it was at the Drake was an added bonus, Evie would be there. And if he could show up, looking the part, maybe he could catch her eye. "I don't have much to do with them, but I suppose they probably wouldn't hate it to have the Dodge at their beck and call."
Maddy raised an eyebrow, eying him speculatively. "The Dodge would be interested at being at the Walkers' beck and call, huh? You want to be another bitch to the mob?" That didn't sound like the Dodge she knew, who was his own 'king' so to speak. But really, if Dodge got himself in trouble, she was the one who was going to have to go in and rescue him from perilous danger. Dodge being in peril made her stomach churn.
"Never said that," he reminded her. "I just said they would probably be interested." There'd been offers, especially right after Patrick conveniently didn't make it to trial. Mostly they'd come from the Syndicate, but Dodge knew full well he could be an asset on the streets, considering his reputation. At the time he'd turned the answers down flat, sure he could provide for the collection of kids that he'd inherited without any concerns. If someone asked now though, and offered care for his kids, food on their table, rent covered, and warm clothes, especially on wet days like today...well Dodge would have a harder time saying no.
She shrugged, grabbing a little empty container and scraping in some concealer for Dodge to use later. She added a bit of green to help with some of the reddish swelling. "Of course they would be. Your network of spies is an incredible asset." She put the lid on the container and grabbed a clean sponge and started digging through the drawers to see if she had any pomade. That churning feeling in her stomach intensified slightly at the continuing thoughts of Dodge working with the mob. "I only express concern because that puts me in a bit of an awkward position."
Dodge had been watching his reflection and now was messing about with his curls in the mirror, ever the vain one. "They are. Hell they are more than just a network of spies, but yes. Still, it's dangerous getting aligned with that sort of nonsense. I ran into a girl the other day who's running scared that someone might try and take her out. What kind of people would consider killing off a girl, let alone a street kid?" The whole little Laura Culligan issue had made him uncomfortable. He hated seeing kids on the street living in fear. Hence why he'd agreed to help Patrick in the first place. "How exactly does my allegiance affect you though?" he asked, eyes finally moving from his own expression to watch her in the mirror.
"Oh, I dunno, lots. I'm Supreme Goddess of the Universe, remember," she reminded him imperiously, grinning at him slyly back at him in the broken glass. "And if you get in trouble with the mob, I'm going to have to fly in like The Goddamn Batman and rescue you and then you're just going to have to be on your knees all the time begging to repay the favor. And a Dodge on his knees is a good Dodge." Oh, it sounded incredibly dirty and could clearly be taken in so many ways. And Maddy did it on purpose. She so, so, completely did it on purpose. Dodge's reactions were always worth it.
"So you are going to save me?" he teased lightly, raising an eyebrow at her in the mirror. The comment about him being on his knees though struck home, and he lunged across the small bench, catching her around the waist and tickling her mercilessly. "And what makes you think I'm better on my knees than any other way hmm?"
Maddy screeched with giggles. She squirmed with surprising strength in his hold, trying to escape his fingers. "O-oh my god! Let go!" she yelled. "B-Because I-I -- christ stop! I like it when you're -- omf hahahhahahaha -- subs-s-serviant!" She was breathless from laughter. Maddy was ticklish and always had been. The day Dodge figured it out was the day she started living in [cleverly disguised fear] trepidation that her weakness would be shown to the world. "J-just more awesome --- hahahahahahaha! -- than you!"
Still grinning, Dodge eventually ceased his attack, but his hands still lingered on her, just in case. "You like it when I'm subservient eh? I see how it is little miss bossy pants." The playful grin switched, sliding easily into the Cheshire Cat grin he used when he was feeling particularly devilish. "I think you're mistaken. I think you rather like being dominated." She'd opened the innuendos door and Dodge was not the type to be outdone.
Maddy straightened, her chin tilted up and her queenly gaze stared him down. "You think I can be dominated?" she asked. "I? Madeline Keyes-" Since Dodge knew her name. "Can be dominated? Please. Any time you've dominated me was only because I allowed it." Like... being hogtied over someone's shoulder and carted away to Dodge's "castle". Maddy only allowed that because she felt it prudent to allow Dodge to keep his "manliness."
His next move shown in his eyes, but it was only just a flash before he acted on it. Before she could squirm away, he gave her a solid tug towards him and kissed her, square on the mouth and hard.
Maddy wasn't expecting it. To say that she was expecting him to kiss her would've been a downright, absolute, 100% completely a lie and if she denied it, then God totally wouldn't answer her prayers for help.
She'd been kissed before. Kissed by those her age, kissed by men twice, three time, even four times her age. Worse had happened too, and so Maddy was quite ready to knock him on his ass and give him what for but it clicked, then. She understood what he was doing because her and Dodge were alike in so many ways. So, she let him kiss her. She let him think that he dominated for half a count of Mississippi before she reached up, tangling her hands in his hair, and started kissing back, just as firm and hard as he was. She shifted in his arms, getting onto her knees on the bench so she was just a little taller than him and tilted his head back, putting herself in the position of control. No one got to dominate Madeline Keyes without her say so.
He'd won, for a full second or two there, he'd won. He'd caught her completely off guard and figured she'd punch him in the stomach or something worse. Just as he was starting to celebrate in circles in his head she changed the game and now he was the one off guard. Not exactly Dodge's idea of a good time, even if, well she wasn't half bad at the kissing part. In some failed attempt to get the upper hand on her, he shifted backwards some...and promptly fell off his end of the bench.
Maddy was still holding onto him and Dodge was holding onto her, so she went falling with him, the two of them landing in an awkward sprawl of limbs, Maddy straddling his chest, and gripping his hair. She looked down at him, mouth red and swollen, eyes big and blue and startled and, surprisingly, a little vulnerable. Maddy was dumbstruck. It was... a nice kiss. Dodge was... a good kisser and she was straddling his hips and this was... Maddy wasn't sure what to think. Her head felt fuzzy.
Falling wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't landed on him as well, or he wasn't already hurting from the previous day's bruises. It took a second or two before he could focus on her, sitting on top of him and looking like he felt. That had been different to say the least, and not gone anything like he'd expected it to. Or had planned it to. Which was mildly frustrating, but the frustration helped clear his head that he may or may not have hit on the way down. "You're sitting on me."
She nodded slowly. "Yeah. We were sort of attached to each other when you fell," she said seriously. Her fingers flexed in his hair, almost thoughtfully, fingertips gently massaging his scalp. That was a nice kiss. That was... her first proper kiss. Why was it that everyone thought they could kiss her? That wasn't very fair. Maddy suddenly frowned at him. "Jerk," she muttered and leaned down. She kissed him this time, dammit, her mouth softer than his was, but still insistent and somewhat forceful.
"Actually I think you pushed me," he told her playfully, obviously enjoying her touch. "And how am I a..." the comment was interrupted by her kiss, which was easily not what he was expecting at all. He'd played boy toy before though, usually to older women, but it still meant he knew what he was doing. And the game was on, she was trying to prove her dominance than he could counter. Reaching up he slid his hand under her hair, right at her chin, holding her face. The grip was tough, but still gentle. His other hand clamped harder on her waist, while he turned the kiss around, now in his favor. Damnit he was going to win this one, no matter what it took.
Oh, no he wasn't. Maddy shifted, having some difficulty keeping her wits about her and adjusted her weight on her knees so she could pull them up, ending with Dodge sitting up and Maddy on her knees straddling his lap. She moved her hands, one still keeping hold of his hair, the other braced on the wall to steady herself. She nipped at his lips, increasing the pressure of her mouth on his. She was going to win this, dammit. Dodge would submit, once and for all, to her and she was not going to acknowledge that he was a very nice kisser that made her knees feel like jelly. Dammit, this was war.
Hah! She'd slipped up. He'd been more vulnerable lying down, but now, sitting up, he'd win this. Untangling himself from her lips briefly he dropped his head some, mouth teasing along her neck, just light enough to distract her. It leaned her back some, and gave him a reason to twist a little. Once in position, he used a combination of her hold on the wall and the nearby bench to slid her back, pulling himself to his knees, and then up completely to standing, pulling her with him. Once he had her up, her back was against the wall. Finally he broke off the kiss, hands planted on either side of her on the wall while he leaned down over her. Victorious.
Maddy's eyes shot open in automatic fear when her back connected with the wall, having been in that position too many times to be entirely comfortable with it. Her brain was having a problem catching up when Dodge pulled away from her mouth and she hoped that she masked her fright fast enough for him to not have seen it. She frowned, breathing heavily, looking up at him and his height. "That wasn't fair," she muttered.
He caught the fear in her eyes because he'd been watching her closely for surrender. It wasn't commented on, just stored away like everything else. A point of reference for next time, not that there would necessarily be a next time, but just in case. Dodge had never intended to scare her, just win. Which, he decided, he did. "All's fair in love and war," he reminded her, surprised that his voice seemed a little breathy. Pushing away from the wall with ease, he tugged at the tie and shucked out of the jacket, turning his back to her and moving a step or two away.
She ran her hands through her hair, straightening it somewhat although it was difficult with the gloves that she was wearing because her hair kept sticking to it. ""Since when was this about love?" she asked, eying his back warily. "Besides, I stopped kissing you before you stopped kissing me." In all actuality, they had probably parted at the same time, although he was the one to pull his mouth away. "So I think I proved my point."
Dodge didn't answer the love comment. It wasn't about love, he'd meant it more about war, but the saying had fit, not matter which side of the line the shoe fell on. He'd moved on to taking off the dress shirt, puling it off his shoulders with ease. Before he'd been facing her and the pattern of bruises that had appeared overnight weren't visit but now she'd probably get a good show. The damn bastard had kicked him in the back when he tried to walk away from the fight. "I believe I stopped first. And you're the one with her back against a wall."
Guilt pitted in her stomach at the map of bruises over his back, angry and vicious and a stark reminder against his skin that it was all her fault. She shouldn't have told him she was going in the tunnels. She should've just gone in there herself and she wouldn't feel indebted to anyone. She took a step forward, reaching out to touch the bruises for closer examination but caught herself and crossed her arms instead. "Yeah, well, I would've gotten your back against the wall if you gave me a second." She so would have too. Maddy walked over to his clothes laying over a box and brought the bundle over to him, keeping her eyes averted in an illusion of giving him privacy, but not wanting to look at the bruises wrapping around his body. "I could tape the pant legs up and hem them properly another time, if you think you're going to need the tux again."
The sly smile was back. "I actually think I might enjoy that, you trying to pin me against the wall." Folding the tux shirt neatly, he took his clothes from her, and pulled his own shirt on over his head. When she asked about the tux, his thoughts drifted to Evie, despite what had just happened between himself and Maddy. The idea of taking her out, dressed to appear as important as he thought he was was intoxicating, but he knew she wouldn't see the entertainment in it. No, he'd have to find another way in. His boys were looking, but he still hadn't figured out where she was staying. Maybe he'd just have her followed. "Don't worry about the extra work," he told Maddy. "I doubt I'll need it more than just the once."
Maddy nodded and walked over to the dressing table to grab the make up for his eye so he could change his pants. "Anything else I can do for you?" She wanted to hit something, her eyes moving from the mirror and his cracked reflection to her covered easel. "I have things to do today so I need to know if what else I need my fairy godmother powers for." She felt angry all of a sudden. Angry and a little violet and frustrated and she didn't know why. Stupid boy. Making her feel crazy.
He'd slipped out of the rest of the tux, and pulled his own pants back on, tucking the shirt and straightening the tie. "If you're the fairy godmother," he started, turning back towards her and coming up behind her. "Does that make me Cinderella or Prince Charming?" Having bounced back from their encounter swiftly, in his eyes she'd shifted from Maddy back to DG, the girl he trusted and protected, despite what she thought. Again his arms were around her shoulders resting his chin on the top of her head. A familiar touch between Dodge and DG.
She met his eyes in the mirror, the smirk on his face. "I was thinking the horse that gets turned into a footman personally," she said with a saccharine smile. She wanted to hit him with the piano bench, to grab him by the shoulders and shake him and yell at him that she wasn't the little girl he found running around his territory all those years ago. He was supposed to be thinking about her all the time. That's how it worked. She was not the kind of person who was supposed to feel all weird around boys. He was supposed to be like all the others, wanting to own a piece of her so she could keep him down at her beck and call. Not... trying to be on her level and still at her beck and call. It was weird and unfair. "Although I think you might look more mouse like."
He scowled a little, but the smirk was still there just behind it. "I guess I'll just have to take what I can get then. At least he still got a night of being something a little shinier than he already was." Pressing a small kiss against the top of her head, he released her. Retrieving his jacket and fedora, donning both and tucking the tux under his arm, under the jacket. "The boys will have word out by tomorrow. DG doesn't exist anymore, or at least not in this part of town. Find me if you have more trouble. And avoid these strangers who seem to want to send you back to the places you hated."
Oh, he had to be doing this on purpose. He had to be bringing that up to make her feel guilty. "Thanks," she said instead with a grin and opened the door for him. "If you need anything that you forgot, let me know, okay?" Please don't. Please just leave and go have a nice time at your stupid party. You're draining my awesome by bringing my previously fine day down because of course none of it was her fault. Dodge had kissed her. Dodge had caused all this and she had to find something else to focus on. "And tell me all about it, okay?"
"No sweat, call it even for the tux." Dodge always kept track of his debts, something would always balancing something else out. "You'll be my first stop with all the details. Especially if my Princess Charming appreciates the outfit. Then I might owe you another one." Grinning he headed out the door and down the steps, the light carefree attitude ever present. He'd won the little battle of might upstairs, despite whatever might come of it. His devil may care attitude would have nothing of pondering what might have changed between their relationship now.
Maddy shut the door hard behind him, making sure it was locked this time. Princess Charming she thought bitterly, a sour taste in her mouth. With those words echoin in her head, she stormed over to her easel, ripped off the sheet and viciously tore down the picture she had been working on, ripping it as many times.
Stupid boys.