Maddie had never believed in chance; there was no greater good and fate never intervened. People's lives were made up by the choices they made, and the road was never set in advance. So, she was left wondering how she found herself to be standing in front of a building called 'Addison Investigations'. She wasn't even sure why she was here in the first place. An employee of hers had dropped a business card from her bag one day and Maddie had sat frozen in her seat. Apparently, this employee had wanted to hire herself a detective to help her case in her divorce. Maddie had been stumped that his name had come up again after four years of no contact. She had tried so hard not to think about him for so long now and here he was... making her forget to breathe again. Her heart drummed in her chest as she stared up at the building in front of her. Why did she come here? Maybe she should just walk away. Yeah, that would be best. What would she say to him anyway? After the way they had handled their relationship, not to mention their business, he surely wouldn't be thrilled to see her.
She took a few steps back, deciding on not making her presence known. It was for the best that they stay out of each other's lives; all that they ever did was hurt each other. Maddie nodded to herself and clutched her purse close to her chest. Time to go then.
A loud snoring could be heard behind her, drawing her attention. She turned around to find herself looking at a beat-up car with a clearly unconscious body in it. As she stepped closer, the smell of liquor penetrated her nostrils. Some guy appeared to be three sheets to the wind. Well, that wasn't her problem, nor her business. She really ought to get going before David spotted her.
It was then that she saw him; this wasn't just some guy that was splayed out across the front seat. It was David. Maddie stuck her head through the open side window to get a better look and her heart skipped a beat. Yes, that was definitely David Addison. His mouth was hanging open as he breathed deep and even, a gurgling sound coming from his throat.
"Good to see that some things never change," Maddie muttered to herself.
His hair was sticking up in all different directions and he had a light stubble covering his face. The smell of alcohol invaded her senses, combined with a scent that was so uniquely David, that her stomach dropped. Her eyes followed the lines on his face, before travelling lower. Underneath the white t-shirt that he was wearing, she could see broad shoulders and the chest hair that had always tickled her nose in the morning after a round of lovemaking. Longing hit her full force and she had to look away for a moment.
Don't do this to yourself, Maddie.
A soft groaning noise startled her and when she refocused her gaze on him, she found herself looking into his green eyes. He was awake.
It was uncanny how much he still seemed to affect her. One would think that after all those years, such a strong response would fade over time. It hadn't. Maddie found herself gripping the side of the car tightly, trying to steady herself somewhat. Her stomach was doing those strange somersaults it only had ever done around him. They continued to stare at each other without uttering a word.
David's face never revealed a thing about how he felt seeing her standing there, his gaze detached and his eyes void of emotion. Only the way his Adam's apple bobbed up and down showed that at least something was coursing through him.
"Maddie Hayes," he acknowledged disdainfully.
He slowly got up and stepped out of the car. Maddie saw him take a moment to adjust to standing up.
"I guess you're wondering what I'm doing here," she said, keeping her voice steady while her insides were quivering.
"You need a detective," he quipped.
He seemed to have regained his balance and walked past her into his office building, not giving her so much as a second glance. The door slammed shut behind him. Maybe she should take that as a hint, he obviously didn't want her here. She shouldn't go after him. Then why were her feet moving forward, when they should have taken her far away from here? Her hand fell onto the door handle and she took a deep breath. She was really going to do this then.
His office matched the state that David himself was in; files were strewn everywhere, and it just looked like a complete mess. It positively screamed 'mancave' to her.
David himself was in the back, pulling something out of the fridge and drinking it. His back seemed to stiffen a bit when he heard the door open and then close again, but he never turned around. When he was finished with his drink, he sauntered over towards his desk and flopped down into his chair, leaning back to give her the once over.
"Well, this brings back memories of that other time you showed up in my office about nine years ago, doesn't it? The Blue Moon Shampoo girl, ready to put old Dave out of business."
Maddie looked down, not sure what to say. He seemed different, but the same all together. He still hadn't offered her a seat, so instead, she pushed some paperwork off a chair and sat herself down.
"I can't imagine why you're here this time. Did some guy disappear on you and you want me to find him? No, that can't be it; you're usually the one pulling the disappearing act. Oh, I know! You had another marriage gone wrong and now you want me to dig up some dirt so it will make the divorce a bit easier. Am I right?"
She winced at his harshness, but refrained from answering.
"So, tell me, what can your old pal do for you?"
The word 'pal' was spat out as a disgusting thing and in those last few sentences that he spoke, he had basically summed up everything that had gone wrong between them.
"Well, what about you?" she finally spoke up. "Hook up with a married woman lately? I mean, one who's not related to me, that is."
It was out before she could stop herself and she almost blushed. It wasn't like her to show her true colors like this. He was staring her down until she began to feel uncomfortable.
"I shouldn't have come," she breathed.
"That may be so, but you're here now. Might as well rip off the band aid."
Maddie felt her heart squeeze painfully in her chest. He seemed to have become quite bitter. David Addison had always been known as a jovial man; the life of the party who never ran out of things to say. The positivity in him had always been staggering to her. She didn't catch any of that personality now, though. She secretly found herself wondering if he still sang.
"I uh… your business card sort of dropped into my lap yesterday. It seems like one of my employees has been thinking about hiring you."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, so I found myself becoming curious about how you were doing."
David gave her a wry smile.
"Right as rain."
"That's good to hear. And your business?"
He stretched out a bit and looked around.
"Well, contrary to the state that you found me and my office in, it's actually going quite well. You just always seem to catch me at a bad time," he told her, giving her a wink.
Ah, there was some of his old personality!
"Well, it's nice to see that you landed on your feet after Blue Moon ceased operations."
"I wouldn't say that I landed on my feet, but yeah… I landed."
He looked her dead in the eye when he told her that and Maddie felt herself squirm in her seat a bit.
"I know. It was tough when we had to let Lou LaSalle take over for us."
The memory if seeing David for the very last time was still vivid in her mind. LaSalle had ushered them out of the office with a hefty pay-off, but no amount of money could every replace the joy Maddie had felt while working there. She and David had quietly walked out together, like they had done so every day for the past 5 years. Only this time, it would be their very last goodbye at the end of their stroll. No more 'see you tomorrow' or 'I'll meet you for the stake out later tonight'. Maddie had felt like her heart was going to shatter into a million different pieces and she had tried her best not to cry. David had been muttering something about the good deal they had gotten from dear old Lou. When they had reached their cars, that was it. They had both clammed up, not knowing what else to say. They had so much history together, but neither of them had ever been very good at putting it into words. He had given her an awkward hug and wished her well and that was that. They had both stepped into their cars and driven away. Maddie had cried all the way home.
David cleared his throat, pulling her away from her memories.
"So how have you been doing?"
"Better than I had expected, actually. I ran across a designer and lent my name to him. We're selling sunglasses together now."
Maddie smiled to herself.
"That sure ought to bring in a few bucks."
She looked up and stared into his eyes, searching for… what, really? His face was still completely blank as he looked back at her and that annoyed her to no end. He had been the father of her baby, the baby that wasn't meant to be, and that would always make her feel something towards him. Didn't he feel something towards her? Well, besides animosity? If he did, he was doing his very damn best to hide it, though.
"I should go," she blurted out, getting up before she could change her mind.
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Short visit."
"Yeah well, this is… obviously there's still…. Maybe I should just keep my distance until more time has passed."
"And you think that helps?"
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her eyes darted around, focusing on anything but him.
"No," she confessed.
David got out of his seat and walked around his desk, leaving Maddie very nervous about what he was going to do. When he stopped right in front of her, she felt a nervous fluttering inside of her.
"What did you come here for, Maddie?" he whispered in that low, husky voice of his that always made her go weak at the knees.
She closed her eyes when she felt him lightly touch her hair, just like he had done all those years ago. Goosebumps broke out all over her skin.
"I don't know."
His fingers were leaving her hair and trailed their way across the skin of her neck. When he grazed that spot below her hairline in an obviously deliberate move, her eyes flew open again.
"What are you doing?!" she gasped.
"Proving something."
She shot him a confused look. Now what did that mean? What did he have to prove?
"Nothing's changed, has it?" he spoke up in a firm voice. "Thank you for stopping by."
He stepped back and Maddie felt like hugging herself; protecting her from his penetrating gaze.
"What do you mean, nothing's changed?"
"Exactly like I said. I'll ask you one last time, Maddie Hayes: Why are you here?"
"I already told you about the business card."
"Yes, but why did you decide to stop by?"
Maddie rolled her eyes at him. This was getting ridiculous.
"Can't I visit an old friend?"
"You and I were never friends, Maddie."
His words hit her like a wrecking ball, nearly crushing her heart and making her momentarily forget how to breathe. All the blood left her face and her hands began to tremble.
"Right. Uhm, I guess I should go then," she almost stuttered.
She turned her back towards him, getting ready to head towards the exit, when he spoke again.
"We could never be friends. We'll be in love till it kills us both."
There was an ache in David's voice that she definitely caught and it froze her to the spot. She slowly turned back his way, seeing a strained sideways smirk creep up his face.
"Lord knows I'm already halfway there."
Maddie knew that he was referring to his hangover, which was probably tearing through his body, but she hated that he sounded so glum.
"David," she breathed. "You'll be fine. We'll both be fine. I'm sorry that I interrupted you here."
He kept staring at her, almost keeping her locked in place and Maddie hardly knew where to look. She fidgeted with her hands and her eyes nervously flitted towards the door. What happened to them? How did they get from not being able to imagine not seeing the other one the next day to this horrible angst that existed between them?
"I should go."
"Which is about the third time you've said that in a timespan of maybe five minutes. I'm not stopping you, Maddie, so what's keeping you?"
A blush crept up Maddie's skin, knowing that he was right. She was stalling, lingering. Had she lost her sense of reason? She should just get out of there. The hour shouldn't hold anymore meaning than it already did.
"Nothing's keeping me. There's nothing here for me. I wish you well, David. If you want, I could put in a good word for you with my employee? Make sure she hires you?"
David shrugged.
"Fine. You do that."
Her shoulders slumped when Maddie realized that she wasn't getting through to him. It was like she was looking at a brick wall. Nothing penetrated his exterior.
"Okay then. Bye."
"Bye."
He turned away from her and sat down at his desk, pulling together the paperwork lying on top of it. He never looked up when she opened the door, nor when she walked out.
Maddie almost stumbled onto the pavement outside, her lungs working furiously with her quickened breathing. What the heck was that in there? Why had it felt as though her insides were being torn apart? And why had he been so cold and callous? She had no idea who that person was in that office. All she knew is that she really missed the David he once was.
Fighting for composure, she ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath. There, she could handle this. She had said her 'hello's' and now, she could move on again. She smoothed out her skirt and that's when she realized that she didn't have her purse with her.
It was still in there…with him.
Maddie released an irritated groan, squeezing her fists in agony. Well, there was no way she could be without that purse. It held too many important things to be left behind. She would just have to face David again.
Come on! You're Maddie Hayes! Stop fidgeting, march in there and take what's yours. Then, get the hell out!
She did just that. She straightened her shoulders, shook her hair back and walked back inside like she owned the place. Though what she saw once she had made it past the door made her stop dead in her tracks. Her heart almost broke when she caught sight of him, sitting hunched over at his desk with his hands pressed to his eyes. He had obviously dropped the armored suit, thinking that she had been gone, and seemed to be having trouble with the emotions coursing through him. He looked up in shock when he saw her standing there, but it was too late to put the mask back on. She had seen everything.
"I uhm…," Maddie croaked. "I seem to have left my purse in here."
David's eyes left hers to search around until he found what they were both looking for. He got up without a word, circled his desk to where she had been seated mere moments ago and picked up the lost item for her. Then, he turned her way, holding the purse out to her.
The silence was deafening when they stared at each other, each of them lost in their own agonizing thoughts. Maddie reached out for her purse, her eyes never leaving his. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest with the realization that heat was suddenly replacing his detached gaze from earlier. He placed the purse in her hands and their fingers brushed against each other. She stood transfixed as she watched him take her in…slowly, leisurely.
"Thank you," she mumbled. "I'll uhm… I'll leave you to it."
She wanted to turn away, but she suddenly felt his hand take hers, pulling her back. Every sense in her body warned Maddie for what was to come if she didn't leave that instant. It was like she was stuck in cement, though. She watched him, completely mesmerized by the way he was looking down at their interlocked hands.
"David, I need to leave," she almost whispered….
He didn't answer her. Instead, he brushed his thumb across her palm in a move that she hadn't figured would ever be considered sexy before. It was now. Her senses were heightened to the extreme and every moment of his fingers on her skin sent a shiver down her spine. Why had she come here? She knew that they were better off out of each other's lives. They both knew it. They were just too different.
Of course, that hadn't stopped them before. She was like a moth to his flame, paying little heed to whether she would get burned in the process. His green eyes locked onto her blue ones, his gaze unreadable but no longer cold.
"We have to stop doing this," she found herself uttering.
David frowned at her.
"Doing what?"
"Finding reasons to be in each other's lives."
"Are you finally being honest now?"
The need for his touch almost outranked the need to breathe. She couldn't be anything but honest about that.
"Yes," she therefore answered him.
Of course, her being honest wouldn't change a thing. She was only pouring more salt into the wounds by being here. Not just that, something had already messed David up so much that he had been drunk as a skunk last night. Obviously, nothing had changed about his ways and she would never be able to live with that.
"You smell awful, you know that?"
She was grasping at straws. It was something she had always said to him when she was running out of words.
"I'll be just fine…"
"It's not that."
"What then?"
"You smell awful!"
"You look awful"
"Yeah well, you smell awful!"
He carefully smiled at her, probably remembering the same thing as well.
"While we're being honest, what happened here?" she had to ask, looking around his office.
"What? You don't like my decorating?"
His personality was beginning to shine through and it warmed Maddie's heart. She had been quite afraid of his attitude earlier and feared that the David Addison that she had known and loved was gone. He was still hiding underneath somewhere, though.
"I got some bad news about a friend last night and I…lost it," he explained.
"What happened to your friend?"
"He died."
David dropped her hand and looked down, while Maddie gasped, not expecting what he had just told her. She watched him shuffle somewhat, digging around to try and rebuild the wall around himself.
"David, I'm sorry," she offered.
"Yeah well, that's life. Isn't it?"
"Still, you must feel horrible."
He stepped back and leaned against his desk, shrugging his shoulders before crossing his arms in front of him. He still wasn't that much of a talker.
"If there's anything that I can do…"
"It's all right, Maddie. I'll be fine."
Maddie nodded absentmindedly, not knowing what else to do or say to make him feel better. Instead, she knelt down to pick up some papers that had been discarded onto the floor.
"As long as I'm here, I could help you clean up a little. Tidy up this place."
David sat unmoving on top of his desk and watched what she was doing.
"You don't have to do that."
"But I want to."
"Maddie…"
She stood back up again at the tone of his voice, clutching the papers close to her.
"Don't. We both know that this only makes things more difficult."
"Difficult how?"
"Difficult to let go once you walk out of here," David admitted.
He looked right at her when he spoke the words and Maddie felt as if her very soul was being turned inside out. It had almost broken her the last time she had walked away from him. She hadn't even thought of what it would feel like to leave this place with the knowledge that it would be a goodbye… again.
"Of course…. ," Maddie mumbled, looking down at the papers still held in her hands. She hesitantly stepped forward and placed them next to David on top of the desk.
"I'll let you get on with it then."
Their eyes locked for about the tenth time that day, speaking volumes between them.
"I really am sorry about your friend."
"Thanks."
Maddie nodded to no one in particular.
"Well, goodbye then."
"Goodbye."
They were still gazing at each other, waiting for the other one to move. No one gave an inch, though.
"If you wait long enough, the outside world might come to you instead," David tried to joke.
"What if I don't want the outside world to interrupt just yet?"
It slipped from between Maddie's lips without thought and her stomach knotted when she watched David's grin fall from his face. In the short time that she had been in here, her heart had been working overtime, and she wasn't sure if it would ever get the right rhythm back.
"Maddie…"
He sounded pained…strangled. Maddie knew exactly how he felt. This had been a mistake; dredging up old feelings had been a mistake. Still, her body always soared at his nearness and her soul recognized its' counterpart. It was almost impossible to stay away…or to forget. She could see her own feelings reflected in his eyes; the incredibly green, cat-like eyes that would haunt her till her old age.
David let out a wounded growl, before he swooped forward and pressed his lips to hers. It was desperate and full of a need that could only be fulfilled by letting their passion ignite one more time. Their tongues danced to the fire that would forever burn inside of them. Maddie couldn't press him close enough, her hands disappearing into the little hair he had left. This was heaven and hell at the same time.
Then, the kiss ended as abruptly as it had begun.
"Are you going to be all right?" Maddie wanted to know.
"Sure. You know me, I'll bounce back. Land on my feet…whatever."
"Okay."
Maddie took one last look around the office.
"Addison Investigations… I'll be sure to look it up from time to time. See how you're doing."
"You do that. And whenever I see one of those sunglasses, I'll know that you're doing not too shabby yourself."
A last pained smile and she headed over towards the door, her feet feeling so heavy that it felt like a chore to lift them. She turned around for a quick wave, plastering her own mask on, not wanting him to know how torn up she was on the inside.
"Take care," she whispered.
"You too."
She took in the lines on his face, the full lips that had always drawn her attention and the glimmer in his jade-colored eyes. Then, she almost pushed herself out the door.
Once outside, she had to keep herself from tumbling down onto the sidewalk, gasping in what felt suspiciously like pain. Her eyes burned, her lungs struggled and she felt an enormous weight pressing down onto her chest. Tears suddenly blurred her vision and a lone tear slid down her cheek.
She instantly knew that no man would ever make her as go as deep as David Addison did, which was why she needed the distance. She needed the calm in her life. She needed safety and stability. With those thoughts in mind, she pulled herself together and began to walk the long road that took her away from him….
Author's note: This story comes with a little surprise. I'm leaving how this story ends to you, dear reader! You see, I'm not used to writing multi-chaptered stories for 'Moonlighting'. So this could remain a one-shot, unless you want a different outcome to this. Let me know in a review if you want more chapters or if you like the ending the way it is. Thank you!