Damien Sullivan flickered open his eyes as he heard the bathroom door click shut. For a moment, he stared around the room. Smaller than expected, the blinds were lopsided and the floor covered in clothes. Somehow, he knew the basket was the ‘clean’ space and he couldn’t help but smile at that.

He tossed the blanket to one side as he rolled onto his back. In one fluid motion, he catapulted himself up from the bed. And nearly knocked his head on a hanging plant he had missed. Steadying it with one hand, a low chuckle came from him.

Damien felt the largest grin he had in ages plastered on his face as he pulled on his boxers and then his pants. He had worn jeans the night before, a real treat for himself as he was painfully used to suits.

Strolling from the room, he made a beeline for her kitchen. It was a small affair, just to the right of the hall leading from the bedroom. The apartment was small - the back half housed Madelynn’s bedroom and bathroom, and the front half was the living, dining, and kitchen areas.

In fact, the wall of the kitchen facing the living room had a weird gap filled with railing about three feet up from the ground. It gave everything a warm feeling, a feeling that called to him. It felt more…real than his own home.

The kitchen itself was simple, barely square shaped, and the counters made a perfect L on the opposite wall from the bannister wall. There was a small table shoved into the corner with two chairs around it, covered in take out boxes.

“That does not bode well for breakfast.” He murmured, picking one of the boxes up to give it a whiff. He pulled it away, his face scrunching up as he waved a hand in front of his face. “Oof, that’s rank.”

Tossing it in the trash, that was somehow not overflowing, he pulled open the fridge to peer inside. The wasteland that greeted his eyes was rather offensive. A carton of almond milk sat on the top shelf, a package of questionable lettuce, a thing of tofu, peanut butter, and an assortment of sauces filled the fridge.

“Who puts peanut butter in the fridge?” Closing the fridge, he opened the cupboards to find it all in a similar desolate state. “Right, looks like we are ordering food.”

Luckily, he had managed to keep his phone in his pocket. Even more lucky that he had his favorite place to eat on speed dial.

“Yeah, it’s Damien. Different address…” Damien prattled off his order, and then slipped the phone into his back pocket. He hoped it wouldn’t offend her, but he could not bring himself to eat in here with the kitchen in this state.

Grabbing the trash can, he focused firstly on what was easiest - the copious amounts of garbage. With a silent prayer that cleaning this up wouldn’t kill the budding feelings he had for Maddie, he got to work.

In truth, he was grateful for the distraction, as well as the stark contrast to his own life. When he had met Maddie the night before, he hadn’t known what to expect, but this messy, angry woman made him smile.

Even so, he did find cleaning up all her to-go containers to take very little time. The next step was the sink full of dishes. She, surprisingly, had a working dishwasher and soap.

“Maybe she’s just been busy.” He mused to himself, though he himself doubted it. She herself had been put together, with her large blue eyes that seemed to see into the depths of his soul.

Her lips, full and luscious with their natural pout, popped into his mind as he put dishes from the sink to the washer with record speed. They had been painted red, and he knew if he looked, he’d find leftover kisses in questionable spots.

He liked that. It made him feel marked, even more so than the hickey burned into his neck, or the scratches that decorated his back.

A knock at the door alerted him to the arrival of the food. Drying off his hands on the only towel he had found, Damien headed for the door quickly.

He opened it, flashing a grin at his favorite delivery man.

“Morning, Tony.” Damien chuckled at him. Tony was a bit soft around the edges, despite his height that almost rivaled Damien’s.

“Morning? It’s nearly noon, man.” Tony handed him the green bag that read Mickey’s on the side, and a drink carrier with two coffees. “Put a shirt on, why don’t ya?”

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“You’re just jealous.” Damien pulled an extra ten from his wallet, and handed it to Tony. Tony flashed him a middle finger and Damien chuckled loudly, waving to his friend as he left.

As soon as he closed the door, he hustled to the kitchen. He had kept a couple plates after loading the dishwasher, as checking the cupboard yielded very little results in the way of dishes as well.

It was alright, as Damien worked with a similar amount of dishes when he was a college student.

He quickly wiped down the table, humming to himself happily. As he finished cleaning up, he lifted his head, catching the sounds of singing coming from down the hall.

A slow smirk spread across his face again, and he grabbed the plates, setting them on the table with a fork, a paper towel for a napkin, a spoon, a glass of water, and the coffees. He quickly spread the food out among the plates and gave a satisfied nod when he was done.

“There…I hope she likes it.” Heading down the hall, he opened the door to find her only in a shirt, and dancing as she sang with a brush for a microphone. Leaning on the doorframe, he clapped, enjoying the view of her simply just enjoying life.

The grin broadened when she rounded on him, her mouth opening and closing as if she could not find the words. Clearly she had not been expecting him, and the thought nearly made him laugh.

“Breakfast is ready, Pink.” Damien turned to head back down the hall. He figured she’d follow in a moment, and that was fine by him.

His cheeks were flushed as he thought of her just flying around. She was rather cute, but he figured she would not appreciate that just yet, as she looked about ready to gouge his eyes out a moment ago. Though…She had been rather sweet the night before.

As he sank into the chair to wait for her, Madelynn did not disappoint or make him wait very long. In fact, she burst into the room, breathing deeply through her nose, eyes wide as she stared at him. Her wings flapped rapidly, one hand on the wall and one on the banister at the end of the row. She had put on black shorts, nearly short enough to touch the hem of the shirt.

“What are you still doing here?!” She hissed at him through clenched teeth.

Damien motioned to the plates of food, and winked at her. He found he enjoyed her flustered expression, or was it rage? Either way, it suited her.

“Eating. Care to join me?” He watched with growing fascination as the vein in her forehead continued to throb. Then her eyes slid to take in the kitchen, head tilting as she slowly lowered to the ground.

“Did you…?” Shaking her head, she looked at him again, her brow knitting together. “You didn’t have to clean.”

Damien nodded his head as she slowly came over to the table. She sank into the chair next to him, looking down at the plate before her. It had a croissant, some berries, a side of peanut butter, and toasted soybeans.

“I know. Eat. I had to get the eggs removed. You don’t eat any animal products, yes?” In contrast, Damien had a slice of toast, a cut of honey glazed bacon, some soybeans himself, and two eggs.

“I…Thank you.” Maddie picked up the fork, eyeing the food in front of her. He felt rather pleased with the thank you, but did not push any further interaction.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, Maddie devouring her meal after a moment of hesitation like a ravenous animal. She reminded him of a small dog - quick to anger, a bit skittish, and always hungry. He liked it.

“Did you expect me to be gone?” He reached for his coffee, taking a long drink from it.

“Ah!” Her eyes snapped up to his, the whites showing as both brows raised. “Well, I mean…I’ve never brought someone home before.”

“Why not?” Damien dipped his toast into his yolk, smearing that golden goodness onto it before bringing it to his lips.

“Well…It just never happened before.” Her cheeks flushed as she gave a shrug, “I mean, I…”

Damien paused, licking some yolk from his lips. He could tell she was trying hard to find the words, by the way she worried her bottom lip with her teeth and averted her gaze.

“Did you want last night to be a one night stand? Because,” He angled his body to face her better, “I would enjoy continuing to get to know you and seeing where this could go.”

“Oh is that so?”” She looked at him, sitting up straighter. A smirk suddenly danced at the corner of her lips, and he reached out to grab the edge of her chair. In one tug, he pulled her closer to him.

“Don’t you?” Damien arched a brow at her, enjoying her attitude as she relaxed.

“Maybe.” Madelynn nodded her head slowly after a moment, “But only if you take me back to the empanada place.”

He smirked at her playful wink, placing his hands on her waist to lift her out of her chair. Madelynn, taking the hint, straddled him as he placed in his lap.

“Deal.” His lips brushed her soft ones, feeling her arms snake around his neck to pull him more. Greedily he let his hands slide up her hips, feeling the subtle curves of her body as he deepened the kiss.

Damien tugged at her bottom lip with his teeth, sweeping his tongue into her mouth as she parted them with a low gasp. Her fingers wove themselves into his hair at the back of his head, arching her back to press herself firmly into him. He could feel her breasts through the shirt, rubbing against his own bare torso and he grabbed her rear to pull her firmly against himself.

“Already excited?” She moaned into the kiss, and he pulled back to trail wet kisses down the side of her neck.

“Easy enough with you.” Damien caught the hem of her shirt with his thumbs and slid his fingers underneath. Following her smooth flesh, he started to pull it up, his goal to take it off her petite frame.

“MADELYNN!” A loud voice called from outside the front door as suddenly someone banged on it. “YOU BETTER BE ALIVE IN THIERE!”

Madelynn yanked her head back from him, glancing over her shoulder with wide eyes. Damien glanced toward the door, dropping his hands from under her shirt as his eyebrow raised.

“Have any outstanding debts?” He tried to keep his tone teasing, but he had not accounted for interruptions.

“Worse,” Madelynn groaned, sliding off his lap to head for the door. “It’s my friend, Diana.”