𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱

Any scrap of control he had left vanished when her eyes flicked down to his lips. They both wanted this so bad, so why were they holding back? Heath had spent too many years unhappy. And now, the girl who brought him happiness stood within grasp. So many times had he held back from seizing what he wanted in life, so many times he had taken the backseat for friends, for his family. The detective always looked out for other, always made sure everyone else experienced happiness, never taking the moment to care even a fraction about his own life, his own happiness.

Leaning down, his nose grazed against hers. "Oh yeah, you like the sherlock holmes thing I got going on?" he teased, lips turning up in a small smile. His hand threaded through her hair, and it took everything in him to drag the moment out. He could have just grabbed her, could have just kissed her right there. Hell, he could have kissed her an hour ago on the log near the bonfire in front of anyone. But if he never got to do this again, he was going to savor it.

their noses touch for a moment and she lets out the softest breath she hadn't meant to be keeping in. " i might, " though the toothy grin that replaced her smirk was as much of a confession as he was ever going to get. his hand was in her hair, though his movements were slow, much too slow for ingrid's liking. taking the lead from someone else was never ingrid's style, but in this moment she continued to follow his. the woman was afraid that any action she took would snap him out of it, having heath cut the moment short again.

then his other hand was on her, and it was enough contact for ingrid's own to leave her pockets. she needed more, more of him. one hand slide up the arm around her waist, resting on his shoulder. she was about to speak when his lips covered hers. the witch's free hand flew upwards and her arm wraps around his neck, pulling herself even closer to him ( if that were even possible ). the kiss is returned with fervor. ever since they had parted before ingrid had been thinking of this moment. the one that she had tried to convince herself would never happen again.

"I'd frame that too," he said with a smirk. There was something about her tendency to commit petty crime that intrigued him. He'd engaged in theft before himself, but mostly as a means to an end, needing to find a way to feed himself or even make rent when he was younger. What could she possibly be doing it for other than the rush? A good girl with a little bit of a bad streak? He hadn't known it before, but that checked all his boxes. She was his type.

When they came to a stop, he took a few steps closer to her. He could see the worry on her face, the furrow in her brow. "I wish there was something I could do," he said, tilting his head to the side to look at her. Heath fought with his fists, was used to being the body guard for people he didn't even know. But to cause that wrinkle in Ingrid's brow? He wanted to kill the demon himself, though the idea was completely idiotic. "Ah, well, if anyone can kick his ass, I'm sure it's you." He caught himself looking at her too long, falling too deep into her eyes.

" careful now, " the warning mostly empty, coming with a bit of a smirk of her own. comments like that, even playful nature of it struck her deeper in the wake of the moment they'd shared outside of the bar. most of ingrid's impulses were destructive and most of the time violent ( verbally or physically ). the itch to take wasn't necessarily victimless, but it was much more removed than putting her hands or magic on someone else. gave her a feeling of control when she felt it all slipping from her grasp.

the witch should have taken steps backwards in time with his movements. instead she stays firmly planted in her spot, legs feeling like lead as he moved closer. " you did do something, " ingrid assures him with a strong nod. " the whole sherlock holmes thing was helpful. " to manage the spell she was meaning to do, ingrid needed to know what the demon looked like if she didn't have anything of theirs. the photo gave her that visual. " well i've got like fifteen years of pent up anger to fire in his direction. i figure that's gotta do some damage. " the power of positive thinking right ?

"If you ever get arrested, I am framing that picture, just so you know," he said, raising his eyebrows at her in jest. He only smirked at her words, not pushing to know more even though he wished to know everything about her. All the nitty gritty details, the stuff that couldn't be found with a thorough online investigation. He wanted to know things he wouldn't admit out loud, like what her favorite flowers were and if she took cream and sugar in her coffee. Those thoughts were not welcome, as they only led him further down the rabbit hole, only spun around in his mind, making him feel like a teenager with a crush.

a small smile tugs at her lips at his statement. " not in your lifetime, you're more likely to see a wanted poster than a mugshot, " she says matter-of-factly with a raised brow. ingrid would be damned if she ever got caught. that image he had shown her that night in the alleyway was hopefully the first and last time she'd ever be spotted. the silence that hung in the air only seemed to heighten the tension that she could feel between them. she wanted to fill it, to ask him questions, just to keep him talking. at any moment one of them could come to their senses and in would come the distance. right now ingrid just wanted to be closer. feelings she couldn't explain starting to swirl inside of her.

“ WHAT CAN I SAY? life’s tough, we should all be wearing helmets. “ the man joked with a snort. the hand holding onto the cup he’d been offered, swirled it around. “ besides wouldn’t appearing trustworthy be the exact way for you to ‘ get me? ‘tsk, tsk, i’m on to you. “ he stated with a playful tilt of his chin. “ how very wicked witch of the west of you. “ he deadpanned with a roll of his shoulders, listening to her he nodded.

they couldn't help the stifled laugh from falling at his words. wearing a helmet wouldn't have helped her much in the past few days. " oh my gosh, who pissed in your cheerios to give you that kinda attitude ? " benni asks with another laugh and shake of their head. " clearly you don't trust easily, i think i should start working on that. " the last half of their sentence was more for themself. a reminder they would truly need to take to heart in her future. " i'd say i'm starting to feel more like the tin man these days, " they said giving him a nod.

“It’s easy for us to get to hell. Because part of us came from there. Ingrid doesn’t have that. If she gets stuck down there we might not be able to fix it. So when she gets here, you get to make sure there’s no grievous skeletons in her closet that leaves her damned. It’s not like it’s just a free pass in there. Second… this is going to be your first time going. And I need you to remember the part of you that does belong there is going to be hungry to get out. You better keep yourself controlled. And if you can’t, I need you to tell me.”

Sighing, he closed his eyes. “Third, you need to not jump right in. We have to make sure we work as a team. Because if I lose you again….” Asher’s jaw clenched and he looked at the ground before he turned around to avoid eye contact altogether. “Just promise me if anything happens you won’t stay and you’ll get out with Ing.”

"I mean, not magic exactly, but demon magic, our magic. Have you never tried it? I have some books I think you'd really enjoy. But that's for later," she said, completely skipping over the Teddy question. He'd have to figure that one out for himself. The hellhound put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Ingrid goes where I go. She's coming with us, and she'll come back safe too. And come on, get your head out of your ass, Asher. There's no world where I leave you in hell."

She released her grip on his shoulder and dug through the bag. She found a pair of wrist straps with quick action releasing darts and tossed them toward him. "Put those on. If we hit him enough times, these weapons should absorb his energy or whatever and weaken him enough to the point where we can, you know," she mimed a finger across her own throat. "Cut his head off. Gruesome, but effective."

"There's a crossbow in there too, I think," she said as she slipped a pair of the wrist cuffs on herself. They were equipped with about four darts each, easily discharged with a swift punch. The cuffs and every other weapon had been crafted by Theo, imbued with the ability to drain magic by Kaya, and of course decorated by Kaya as well. "Now like I said, don't be weird." She wheeled around to face the redhead who strolled up to the steps, "Hey Ing, ready to kill a demon?"

the emergency text from kaya had ingrid moving at damn near lightning speed to the lockwood's. with absolute zero context this could have been theo related or demon related. two wildly different situations. instead of ruminating over what it could be she just moved quicker. seeing kaya and asher outside the house ingrid mumbled an incantation to strengthen her hearing, seeing if she could gather a bit more context before skipping up the steps. Ingrid goes where I go. She's coming with us, and she'll come back safe too. And come on, get your head out of your ass, Asher. There's no world where I leave you in hell, was what she heard before she cut off the spell. that was all the context she really needed. hell, that meant only one thing; demon time.

now actually within ear shot a toothy grin plastered over her features. " oh i was born ready, " she muses with a hefty nod. her fingertips twitched with power at the mere thought of getting to kill the son of a bitch that hurt kaya and her family. her eyes scanned the bag and some of its contents. weapons. " any of those for me or am i strictly witchly ? "

As Felicity twirled to the catchy beat of the music at the lively bonfire event in town, she found herself completely immersed in the joyful atmosphere. Lost in the moment, she accidentally collided with someone nearby, causing her to stop abruptly and turn around in surprise. With a sheepish smile on her face, she quickly stepped forward and offered her sincere apology to the person she had bumped into, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Are you alright?"

Kaya's rambling stopped dead in its tracks as soon as Theo approached. For a second, she stood looking at him completely dumbstruck. Until he opened his mouth, Ingrid opened hers, and she snapped back to reality. God, what had gotten into her? Had the kiss really been that good? Well... yes, but that wasn't something she wanted to think about while her best friend was standing right in front of her. Even that passing thought made her cheeks turn red.

AN AWKWARD AND SHEEPISH snort slipped the raven haired boy’s lips, shoulders feeling tense as his expression almost looked pained ⸺ unsure of where exactly he should focus, theodore decided his hands were the best anchor at least until be mustered up enough courage to pretend he could make contact with either of them.

ingrid could barely contain the almost giddy expression that was threatening to take over her entire face. the flush on kaya's face and theo's awkward movements were so cute. the witch had to continuously bite her tongue. this was a moment she saw coming years ago. her gaze moves to meet kaya's and a quick lift of her brows shot in her direction. theo and kaya had been constants in her life and the thought of them together just made sense. clearly they were figuring it out and ingrid was happy enough watching from the side lines.

He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as she spoke. Poking fun at her petty crime habits was always a good time. He didn't actually know that much about it, other than the one photo he'd seen. It could have been the only time she'd stolen, for all he knew. But that wouldn't stop him from teasing her endlessly about it. "I've actually got your mugshot framed in my office," he jested, looking down his nose at her. They seemed to get closer and closer, even though his body was planted firmly in one spot. They were like magnets, unable to stay away. "I definitely don't know everything," he said, hazel eyes finding hers. But god, did he want to know everything about her. When had that happened? How could he turn it off?

" well now i know you're lying, " she chuckles with a shake of her head, " i have never been arrested. " thankfully. surely she'd get her ass absolutely handed to her by both of her parents and that was the last thing she would ever need. " cute to know i have a fan though, " she teases as one hand lifts to push her hair over to one shoulder. letting the light breeze cool down her neck. it really was starting to get warm and she couldn't decipher the exact cause. being close to him seemed to affect her more than she'd like to admit. no, he certainly didn't know everything. why did she have the urge to tell him everything ? " and you probably never will, " a brow raised as she spoke. maybe it was a challenge, a dare even. the witch felt herself wanting to know about him. wanting to unlock the apparent vault that was heathcliff blackwell.