Tate Langdon's eyes stayed on Mel's for only a couple of seconds after the kiss had ended, a moment for which their eyes locked completely in their surprised state. But then his eyes lowered to look at the small ball of fur biting at the small pieces of grass of the lawn, and a smile crossed his lips along with a low chuckle. "I'm sorry." He said finally, making Mel's eyes therefore blink away the surprise that had taken over them.

Her eyes lowered to look at the kitty on the grass as a small version of a frown crossed her forehead; it hadn't been until that moment, when she'd been able to think straight, that she wondered what exactly had just happened. "Why are you apologizing?" She questioned in a soft tone after allowing her tongue to grace her lips in a soft manner, as if with that action itself she'd be able to seal his kiss forever.

Regardless of the smile that remained across his lips (ones that the owner found herself noting had been soft), Tate's frame fell toward the grass, his back resting against the fresh lawn as his hands loosely tucked under his head and a laugh flew toward the sky. "Because I don't want it to look like I kissed you just because my poor teenage-bound heart is broken over my ex-girlfriend finding comfort in my identical twin brother." His eyes fell toward the kitty at his side as surprise reined over him completely at the sudden honestly that had left his lips; thus, he decided to continue the thought. "Because it's nothing like that." He admitted without taking his eyes away from the meowing ball of fur. "I've actually wanted to do that for a while." He noted within the realisation he had been attempting to push aside moments prior. "The moment, as strange as it sounds, just felt right."

Mel hadn't been aware that the words that left his lips were the ones she'd been hoping he'd speak until she heard them, and an overwhelming sense of relief filled her completely. Her lower lip seemed trapped lightly between her teeth as she wondered about the possibilities; but before she could think twice about it and talk herself out of the idea, she moved closer to him, laying her dainty frame on top of his relaxed features, allowing a hand to lift his face so his eyes could meet hers before she leaned in closer, and making the distance between their lips disappear once more. Only then did her hand lower to rest calmly on his chest, feeling the ghost of what she knew once to have been a live beating heart. She felt Tate's own lips shift in a smile in the middle of the kiss; for he'd tried not to, but he couldn't help it. One of his hands lifted until it rested softly on the place where her jaw became her neck, allowing the kiss to linger for a couple of seconds longer than the one he had planted against them before; the only sound was that of the wind playing with the leaves of the trees and the little meows that the little curious kitten released as both friends' tongues played with one another. At least until Mel finally broke the kiss; for her eyes didn't look away from the lips she had so ardently kissed when she decided to speak. "See..." She started on a tone only one notch higher than a normal whisper and a smile that played along his own when her eyes finally met his. "I'm not sorry."

Tate's lips simply shifted toward a mirroring smile as he allowed his eyes to roll only slightly. "No?" He replied in a tone that nearly matched hers. "Then I'm not either."

Mel's smile didn't disappear, even as she rolled off to rest by his side, somewhere far enough for Tate to lift Alice and set her in between them, but close enough that she could simply move her hand a few inches to take Tate's if she wished to. "I told you Alice liked you." She stated once the reality of their connection became obvious enough to become impossible to ignore; after all, what else could she say that her lips had not already proved?

Something that the ghost could easily agree with regardless of if she hadn't spoken thus, merely smiling by the time he replied to the statement she had given. "Maybe she'll decide she likes keeping me company at night." He boldly stated without moving his eyes from the kitty that had started to try and climb onto Mel's stomach. "I could use some company, too, you know?" The fingers that lay by his side picked at some of the grass under his skin as his eyes travelled up to the slightly darker shade of blue of the L.A sky.

"What?" Mel wondered with a frown across her forehead but a smile on her lips. "Aren't you forgetting a little detail, Tots?" Their eyes met once more, his with a light shade of confusion crossing his dark browns and a shade of playfulness becoming eminent on her own liquid blues. "She's my kitty."

"Yeah, yeah." Tate's eyes rolled, but he allowed his frame to shift to rest on his side, propping himself up on his elbow so he could look down at her. His hand moving to pet the little gray ball of fur that had curled up beside Mel after a failed attempt of climbing onto her stomach. "Can I get partial custody...?" He wondered before looking at her again. "Just when you're not here?"

The echo of Mel's light laughter directed itself toward the sky as both her hands lifted to cover her face for a couple of seconds. She couldn't understand why her heart couldn't stop beating so fast, or why her stomach seemed to be absolutely filled with butterflies given the already admitted attraction the two held for each other, but she simply nodded and shrugged a shoulder to the strange, yet very welcome request. Lowering her hands to rest on her stomach and her elbow at close distance to Tate's hand and her kitty, before she dared speak again. "Sure," she breathed. "Just don't steal her from me, yeah? I'm supposed to cuddle her at night."

"I won't." I mean, you could always cuddle me, but I won't. Tate completed in his mind with a smile that invited the owner to listen in within his own encouragement as he attempted not to think about anything but what happened at that moment; regardless of if, somewhere deep inside, the intruding guilt upon his long-time infatuation with the dirty blonde upon the second floor of the house remained pushing him onto an unhappy trail. Of course, he tried to control the frown that insisted on coming across his face while the pit of his stomach shifted onto the raging realisation that had pushed him in the half demon's direction prior; the understanding, the lack of remorse upon letting Violet go and be free with whomever she wanted, his eminent decision to ignore any sense of torture that Mel easily pulled him away from. After all, he hadn't lied when he'd stated his desire upon her before; it had been a desire that he had ignored due to his own guilt over Violet and the hold he no longer had on her, one he had pretended wasn't there for weeks. But he had decided against it, given himself to the encouragement from the owner only moments prior; thus, he had nothing to feel bad about, did he?

"Good god." Mel's voice echoed within their small bubble, pulling the ghost away from his reverie in order to lift his eyes to look at the very attentive features of the half demon he'd kissed; her eyes seemed focussed on the kitten, which nibbled on the grass before her with might and inspired a smile upon the owner's lips. "Look at her," She encouraged as if the two weren't doing exactly thus already. "Is it weird that I'm a bit scared to let her roam round the house on her own?" She wondered before looking up toward Tate's hues. "I mean, this place is so big and she's so..." she looked down at Alice, who suddenly looked at her as if she understood what she spoke."... tiny."

To her surprise, Tate smiled, but without much of a flare, he lifted a hand to pick up the little fluff ball toward the owner's face, aware of the kitten's little paws searching for a place to set within their cute wiggles, and simply smiled as brightly as he could manage to before speaking. "You really think I'd let anything happen to this face?" He asked, making Mel smile when as if on cue, Alice let out a soft little meow toward her just before Tate lowered her to the ground again. "Don't worry," he reassured. "I'll take care of her when you're not around, Mel."

Her eyes remained on Alice's huge blues, and, within the reassurance that echoed from the ghost's lips, the owner finally felt her worry lift slightly before she moved to sit up on the grass so she could pet the kitten. "Well, good." She lowly thanked. "Or I'd have to take my revenge on you, Tots." She voiced, allowing a calm playful smirk to lift her lips by the time her eyes finally looked into his again.

"Yeah," Tate's own lips mirrored her smirk regardless of the feigned annoyance within his rolling eyes. "Throw me up against the damn wall again; just like everybody else."

It was such a statement that allowed the upbringing of her smile to widen across Mel's lips as she rolled her eyes and lowered them to look at her kitten again. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

When Tate sat up as well, he moved closer in her direction and shook his head. "No way," he announced, fully aware of his lack of ability to recall the last time he'd laughed (or especially smiled) as much as he seemed to be doing that very day; his grin held such continuance that his cheeks ended up sore from it. "I'm going to hold that over you forever if I can."

Because of it, the owner's head shook as she found her heart beating wildly again within her careful movements even closer in his direction, careful, of course, to not bother Alice thus; it was a certain playfulness and disbelief that decided to light her features as her head tilted lightly to the side to be able to look at the other when she spoke. "Why?" She asked. "Because you got beaten by a woman?"

Not even a second after, the ghost exclaimed his reply: "Exactly!" Regardless of the admission, he let out a short laugh; one that allowed him to feel himself sinking into a comfort he hadn't felt in a while, for a big part of his brain attempted to ignore the familiar loop shedding awareness into his brain as it yelled at him to Stop getting so close; all whilst the tiniest part, way in the back of his skull, continued on encouraging him along upon his freedom from the ghost upon the second floor. Could it really be that easy? Mel's laugh pulled Tate away from his thoughts.

"Come on." She said as she nudged his arm once. "Your masculinity cannot possibly be that fragile." She stated, forbidding her eyes from parting from his within the playfulness that befell her. "Be a man and accept you're not all powerful."

"Hell no," Maybe it could be that easy, he thought, simply forcing himself to stop thinking at all about anything other than what happened upon that moment. "Take the demon out of you and I'd have you against the wall in five seconds flat." He attempted to conceal the grin that slowly appeared to be taking over his face, but it was useless.

"Oh, please." The owner's eyes rolled as a low chuckle left her lips. "I may not look like much, but I'm a strong woman." She admitted. "Part demon or not," Suddenly, the light of her gaze became challenging in his direction, regardless of the continuous lively means of her disposition. "I can take you down in less than a minute."

It seemed enough to make Tate's brow rise in protest before he allowed himself to look over at the cat; and within his frolicsome demeanour, a shoulder lifted, alongside his smile, a mindless shrug. "I wouldn't want to make you look bad in front of Alice," He admitted before he even dared look into the blue diamonds he'd grown to love looking into with a teasing lift. "So, for now, I'll take your word for it."

Mel's eyes only became able to roll again within the laughter that left heavy from her lips, but the smile remained across them, even after the chuckling had subsided, before she stood in a rather swift manner and turned around to look down at Tate. "Words are just words, Tots. Come on." She encouraged as he lifted his brows. "No demon powers." Her lips lifted into a light smirk as her eyes looked straight into his own.

It only allowed for a scoffed breath to leave Tate's parting lips. "Alright, body snatcher." He voiced in a feigned careful note as he stood up from the freshness of the grass, trying not to smile as he moved, to continue the game the two had settled on once again. Once up, both his hands rose in a playful, yet defensive manner as he waved his fingers in an encouraging motion toward Mel to attack him. With no demon powers, Tate felt pretty sure he could get her against the wall, the ground, the house or whatever else he wanted in much less time that she claimed. "Bring it on."

Thus, the owner's brows rose, but the smile remained evident across her lips. "No way." She took a step toward her ghostly friend and narrowed her eyes; easily fighting against the adrenaline that would bring upon the abilities she claimed to not need in order to defeat him. While strange, and rather against her nature, the half demon successfully kept everything away and simply stood in place within the means to solely use force. "I'm not making the first move, Tots." She smirked not allowing herself to look away from him. "Challengers never make the first move."

It was an action that made the ghost sneer, lowering his eyes a little before he inched closer to her; he had to remind himself to be gentle, not too forceful, not too harsh; it's just a game, he reminded himself, even though he knew that, if she felt herself being hurt, she could have him across the lawn in any second. Continuing with the game, his hand lifted in a forward motion to attack, but Mel easily blocked him and even ruffled his hair; something that had her smiling, but only allowed the ghost to roll his eyes. They moved forward and back as each of them attacked, until within one of the many movements, Tate's body tightened before he tried to reach out for Mel's waist; he stumbled, sort of on purpose, and released her frame with one of his hands to press it against the brick of the house. He didn't exactly mean to slam her against the wall, thus, an extra effort went into his strength to stop her just before her frame crashed against the red material, but there she rested, gasping as she felt herself being trapped between a brick wall and Tate, and leaving the ghost almost unable to not easily bloom with pride. "You lose." He voiced toward his demonic friend, his face merely inches away from hers.

It only took a couple of moments for Mel to take a breath before she confused Tate with a sly smirk. "You sure about that?" She wondered, before moving her arm only slightly to take hold of his hand, and without much force, she made him stumble forward toward her within the means of twisting him around, folding his arm into a position she knew would be uncomfortable for him, and used her other arm, placing her left hand on the right side of Tate's stomach, to push him to the side, doing a quick turn and finding herself facing his back as his face rested, as gently as she could manage to make it, against the brick wall. Their breaths came jaded, but it didn't seem to matter, for, shortly after, the half demon reached for his other hand before he could do anything, locking it behind his back along with the other. Regardless of the attack, she made sure she didn't hurt him, resting the front of her body merely inches away from his back as she leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "You were saying?"

The defeat had the ghost immediately laughed strangely against the bricked wall, and due to the pressure of her frame against his, the entirety of the situation made his eyes shut. Damn. "Come on, Mel." He taunted within the chuckle that fired his lips. "How did you know I like it rough?" He grinned, pressing his head against the wall and releasing any tension within his shoulders.

Along a movement as quick as the one before, the half demon slowly loosened her grip on his arms before twisting him again so he could face her, never letting go of his hands for more than a second so he couldn't escape; instead, her thumbs rested on an strategic place where she knew that if she pressed hard enough, she'd numb them. "Well, I didn't." She admitted as she moved an inch closer to her friend. "But I guess new information could always come in handy, yeah?"

Tate's eyes peered down at the lift of Mel's lips through the blonde mop upon his head, squinting a little with a large smile across his own before brown orbs rose to look into her mesmerising blues. "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

To his enjoyment, the short echo of a feigned happy moan left from pressed lips before she spoke. "Quite a bit, actually." The owner stated without daring her lips to lower from that satisfied smirk they carried.

But Tate had other plans, for he leaned forward and licked his lips as their proximity promised an expected contact, but he stopped just before their lips touched, allowing his breath to crash against parted brims upon the whisper he allowed between them: "You know," His eyes lowered to look at the full pink of her lips, "to everybody else it might look like you're flirting with me."

It was the crash of his warm breath against her lips that left Mel unable to move, yet her eyes travelled to look at the closeness of Tate's lips to hers, but when they looked back up into his eyes, the joy of seeing the familiar depth of his brows easily relaxed her. "Oh, really?" She whispered back, feeling the soft brush of her lips against his and a short crack of electricity that ran upon their contact. "Well, everybody else just might think you're well flirting back."

For all that he loved, that smile couldn't disappear. "That's because I am." Tate admitted with within his boldness before he closed the small gap between their mouths, all the while as he tried to pry his hands away from her tight grip, to press his lips less subtly against hers.

Of course, within their ardour, the hold the owner's hands had on the ghost's wrists slowly loosened as her lips shifted to a smile against his; her heart beat wildly by the time the gentleness of her digits laced upon the roughness of his own. And within their connection, and attempting to make such a movement subtle and perhaps even sheepish, the ghost moved against her frame until every single point of pressure allowed them to twist to the right until her back hit against the bricked wall again, and, given the fact that their fingers already laced together, the movement that followed only rose their arms up above Mel's head. Only then did the ghost even dare pull away from the kiss that had enthralled them both. "Oh, look," he whispered lowly against the warmth of her lips before the space between them grew so his eyes could meet her own. "I seem to have won." He lightly whispered, finally letting go of her hands, and feeling the ease with which they fell against the back of his neck in a somewhat unexpected embrace.

Still, even through the motion, Mel's head leaned back to rest against the brick wall as her head simply shook. "It doesn't count, Langdon." She announced. "My guard was down."

The breath of a chuckle brought forth a gentle shake between both their frames. "Maybe." He allowed within that grin that seemed unable to disappear. "But I still win." With a simple nod and a smirk, he dared make the space between them disappear again, pressing his lips against the soft warmth of her own whilst his head drowned against the speck of guilt that wanted to push him away. Ignore it. The little voice he'd decided to ignore until the realisation of his freedom suddenly whispered, Violet will never be yours again, and it doesn't matter anymore. Even as a small frown crossed his features, the press against the owner's lips remained, for he knew, at that moment more than ever, that the little voice he finally listened to was absolutely right: Mel has taken hold of your heart.

To Be Continued.