New Haunts

For a moment Theo's grin faltered, because Mali actually did look a bit hesitant to go inside. Not exactly the kind of date he had in mind if she spent the whole time terrified for her life (that sort of thing looked bad on a man, his dates being terrified for their lives). He waited patiently as she leaned in to check out place, alternating his own gaze between the interior of the Shack - ew, cobwebs - and Mali's face (much more pleasant to look at, the way she bit her lip driving him just a little bit wild). Eventually, she grinned back up at him, and Theo's own relieved grin returned. She didn't seem so scared that she wouldn't go inside, but a little remaining fear was good in that it was a hell of an excuse to get closer to her.

Or hold her hand. Mali wasted absolutely no time, hitting him with a line that made him pause with an impressed little chuckle (he lived for the cheesiness, truly, it was the way straight to his heart), and then just taking his hand for herself. Theo took a moment to appreciate the way her smaller fingers fit smugly against his before being tugged aside - which he also took time to appreciate with a wide grin. That wasn't something a frightened little witch would do, and Theo loved the boldness.

Once they were far enough inside, Theo tugged back a bit, to stop Mali and turn her toward him, keeping their hands together because he was really enjoying that. He eyed her with a playful little grin, sweeping his free hand toward the stairs next to them - one set going to the second floor, the other probably to a cellar of some sort. "Okay, you pick first - up or down?"

Even the doorstep of the Shack was dimmer than the rest of the world, the shadow of the house falling over the both of them as they stood there not-quite-looking at each other, but even in the weak light Theo caught the color filling Mali's cheeks. It was all he had eyes for, really; it made his grin wider and his own little hot flush creep up his neck. The anticipation, the teasing, were quite possibly his favorite part of this little game they played. "You." And Theo would've liked to stand there and look at her all day, really - but they had a Shack to explore, and hands to hold, and reasons to get a little closer to one another.

Considering their options - possibly dangerous upper floor or certainly creepy basement - was just one of these great reasons. Mali stood nearly against him as she made her choice; Theo held tight to her hand to keep his own from wandering, perhaps through her long, dark hair...Down. She wanted to go down. Theo grinned at her and nodded, giving her hand a squeeze at the reflexive tightening of her grip. He watched with curiosity as she pulled out her wand - ah. Lumos. "Ohh, good plan. I knew I brought you along for a reason." He winked down at her before being tugged away to the stairs.

Disaster awaited them on the first step. The first half-step, really; Mali only had one foot down before she came tumbling and squeaking backward, right into Theo, the man with the world's most unfortunate affliction - a bad reputation with door frames. It only took that half-step back for him to unwillingly knock his head against the frame around the stairs, eliciting an, "Ow, fuck," from him and a hand to rub at the sore spot...and a laugh from Mali. He didn't think it was that funny, but maybe that was just the pain in his head talking.

"Oh, my foot's fine," he said, rubbing at the back of his head. With her looking at him though, Theo couldn't fight off for long the grin that so desperately wanted to be on his face. Darn her. He'd have to relieve his irritation another way - a little sass would do nicely. Just a little; they were on a date, after all. "You sure you can do this? If you're that afraid of stairs I'd hate to see what those ghosts down there do to you." He raised an eyebrow, grin taking on a hint of challenge. He'd always heard the Shack was haunted.

"Not a thing," Theo teased, voice full of the things he did actually hope to accomplish on this little date of theirs. If he spent too much more time looking down at her, drinking up their intoxicating closeness, he'd be very tempted to get started too early on those things, so he was lucky she pulled him toward the stairs. He kind of liked this habit they were getting into, her taking charge and pulling him along. "Maybe someone to guide me along, too." Adventure first, definitely. They couldn't do much adventuring at all if they stopped just barely inside the house to act like hormonal teenagers - as tempting as it was. Theo couldn't be sure, of course, but he had a good feeling the same kinds of thoughts were running through Mali's head.

Even if they were, though, that didn't stop the same old Mali - that, up until very recently, irritated the hell out of him - from popping up and scolding him. For saying 'fuck'. Theo would have rolled his eyes at this, had she not also bopped him on the nose in a very cute manner and sent his head swirling again into a more pleasant territory of thoughts. He thought he might actually be willing to watch his mouth just to keep her around - and that was really saying a lot for Theo. He didn't have very much of a filter at all.

One thing the filter would never be able to catch was the cheesiness. He had lines of his own and nothing would ever convince him that they weren't actually all that funny. He was near overwhelmed with Mali's hand in his hair, touching his face - he leaned into that touch unconsciously, warm and smitten. "Mm, thank you Healer Johar. I think I'll come to you for all my examinations." She certainly had a power over him, a bit unlike anything he'd experienced with anyone else. The only thing that stopped him from going completely gaga on these stairs was the reminding throb in his head. The other thing his filter struggled with was the sass. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them - he found himself not really wanting to irritate Mali at all right now, what with the way she was touching him - but she, of course, took them in stride. Their hands were back together, no harm done. "'Course I will." In a moment of boldness before she hopped away, Theo kissed the back of her hand. They were at least inside the house now, had made it all the way to the stairs, it was okay.

Mali hopping down said stairs made Theo laugh. "Show 'em who's boss," he encouraged, wrinkling his nose at her, when she winked back at him. Then they were off, Mali tugging him down the stairs at a rapid rate and Theo being thankful for his long legs the whole way down. He got one quick look around the dim cellar before Mali was squeaking again - this time even dropping her wand. The two of them were encased in near total darkness. Theo's grip on Mali's hand tightened; he pulled her toward him, not just to feel their hands together but her actually up against him. He would hate to lose her in the dark. "Just a sec; don't run off, now," he announced to the darkness, rummaging in his pocket for his own wand.

When he found it, he cast Lumos and held it above his head, searching the ground for where Mali's wand got off to. There wasn't really much down here, and he fairly quickly saw it had rolled toward a corner of the floor. A very, very cobwebby corner. Hmm. Theo took an involuntary half-step back, pointing at the corner with his hand that was in Mali's so she would be moved a bit in front of him. "Um, there it is." He chewed at his lip. It was still too dark down here to see properly; to see if there was anything crawling around in that web.

"Mhm, not astray - just into dark, creepy basements. I know your game plan, little one." He winked at her and tapped her nose just like she did him. Because man, was it his game plan, too. He was almost positive they were on the same page - he was certainly getting that vibe, at any rate, why else were they having such a difficult time looking away from one another, unable to move even another inch apart - so there was no shame in that. There was attraction there, a lot of it, and it only made sense that a teasing little romp through the Shack be a part of it. That was the foundation of Theo and Mali's time together, back when it was irritating and now when it was exciting. Teasing, pulling back only to pull right back up to try and get the upper hand. This time, the chase was just a little more wanton.

And just like in all those other times, though she be but little, Mali was getting the upper hand early. She was bolder than he would have ever expected - even though he shouldn't have been surprised, Mali could both dish it out and take it like a champ and he knew this - but either way it was sending his mind into a whirlwind. She barely had to do anything at all to plant all sorts of ideas in his head - a little tug on his shirt, her biting down on her lip. "Well, if it's for my health..." It drove him crazy - but he couldn't let her win. Oh, no. Not yet. Maybe he would a little later (the bottom of the stairs they stood at the top of was an attractive option), but the more they dragged it out, the sweeter it would be when they finally succumbed. In the meantime, they could both occupy themselves with thoughts of examinations, and Theo could put a little more force behind his kiss on her hand. "Always."

And as they always did whenever they were around, spiders ended up being the (also inevitable) kink in Theo's plan. Spiders. Why did it have to be spiders? What else could one really expect from a dank and dark basement...but still. Why spiders? Theo hated the bloody things. They were creepy, and crawly, and just ugh. Mali, of course, caught onto this rather quickly - and Mali, of course, apparently was not nearly as afraid as him. Theo drew himself up at her grinning accusation. "Nobody likes spiders, Mali. Not anyone sane, anyway. They're disgusting." He almost would have been annoyed, having to take this hit to his ego in front of a cute girl all because of some eight-legged freak, but there was the return of Mali's fingers through his hair and his reset button hit, filling him again with warmth in the slight chill of the basement. He was funny, and cute, she said - who cared at all about spiders?

Theo. Theo cared about spiders. He watched Mali examine the cobweb with a mixture of amusement and abject horror, just waiting for her to get bitten, when she looked back at him and her face fell. Theo went instantly white as a ghost. There was only one thing that look meant - he was being attacked! He stiffened up, ready to swing about wildly and karate chop everything in reach because it was the only proper way to get rid of spiders, but Mali told him not to move. Oh gods, it was worse than he thought. The spider must be huge. Theo bit down on his lip to keep himself from whining as she approached him. And then...

And then there were her fingers. Five little legs crawling across his shoulder, not eight. Theo blinked away several moments before he realized what was happening - by that time, Mali was in the midst of a giggle fit. Oh, bloody hell. All the tension drained so suddenly out of Theo's body it inadvertently brought him half a step closer to Mali - well, maybe not entirely inadvertently. That was pretty good; but now he had to step their game up, if he was going to let her get him that good. And there was the little matter of how adorable she looked, losing face in the wandlight, and how much her light touch against his neck made him shiver. A grin returned to Theo's face as he scooped his free hand under Mali's chin. "Quiet, you." And he leaned down to press his mouth to hers, because who didn't want their first kiss in a dark basement; but Theo didn't think it really mattered, thoughts of darkness and spiders (still yuck) and little games melting away into warmth as he truly realized how long he'd been wanting this.