Running for Cover

[Karah Love]

While Karah knew that living with someone would be difficult she was happy to try if it meant she could be closer to her boyfriend, Ezra. She adored him whole heartedly and while it scared her a little bit, she was embracing it as best as she could. At times it made her laugh that there was a time when she couldn't stand him. She'd been so hot headed and quick to react to every little thing he did or said, despite not really knowing him. And yet, here she was in their apartment cooking dinner for them while she waited for him to come home. Normally she wasn't so domestic. In fact, she couldn't really cook but the book assured that even the inept could make this meal with the given instructions that she read while the book floated before her, turning the page as she needed it to.

Tonight was a special occasion so she was trying to make it as memorable as she possibly could. It was Ezra's first day at the Daily Prophet which was more than enough reason to celebrate because he was sure to do well there. She was just a simple waitress for now, but only because she still was unaware as to where her passions could lead her. She only hoped that this wasn't something Ezra found to be an extreme pitfall in their relationship because she would have it all figured out soon. It would be very upsetting to her to find this out but she needn't create problems that didn't exist yet. She had to focus on her cooking. The young veela girl diced and sliced precisely, treating this as if she were brewing a potion but forgetting to check on the important part of the dish, assuming that the books instructions were exact but not calling for a fifteen minute area for failure. So when she pulled the meat out of the oven and saw it was charred she gaped in disbelief. To make matters worse, she heard a turning of the doorknob at the front of their home. Karah winced as she looked at the table, so neatly placed, and had to fight to keep from tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She had ruined the special meal she was planning for them and would make the rest of the night a disaster. It's a wonder she could do anything, Karah thought pessimistically as she looked back down onto the blackened meat that would be near impossible to cut, let alone eat. Sometimes her own incompetence astounded her.

 

[Ezra Shaffer]

Big things had been happening in the life of Ezra Shaffer over the past two months. He had managed to graduate from Hogwarts New Zealand despite his subpar grades, and manage to get a job as a reporter. The former Slytherin had also moved in with his long-time girlfriend, Karah. It had seemed like the natural next step in his relationship with her, albeit a very treacherous one. Karah had already been living independently, and after a conversation it had been determined that he would move in there. Ezra did not regret this decision in the least. In fact, he would have proposed to her if he hadn't believed that Karah would run for the hills at such a large commitment. It was amusing to think that he was in love with a girl who had once made him want to curse her. However, as he had matured he had come to find her quirks endearing rather than infuriating. Their friendship had grown gradually, just as his love for her had. Karah had always been the one. Nothing would change that.

Ezra walked out of the Daily Prophet offices with a smug smile on his face. His first day had gone brilliantly. The other reporters had been welcoming to the new staff member. He had set up his desk just the way he wanted it, complete with a picture of Karah smiling. He had even been assigned a story that would run in the next issue. Life was good. The blonde man apparated back to the doorstep of his residence with Karah. Ezra twisted the doorknob and opened the door to a scene that he had not been expecting. "Oh wow, Kare." he said, taking in the scene. The table was laid out beautifully, and it appeared that his girlfriend had been cooking for hours. A slightly burnt smell hit his nose as he noticed his red haired beauty in the kitchen. Ezra dropped his bag by the door and walked towards Karah, feeling like there was something off about her expression. "It looks amazing, babe. This must have taken you hours. You didn't need to do all of this." he said, wrapping his arms around her. Ezra kissed her lightly on her cheek.

 

[Karah Love]

Karah was out of sorts now. It was too late to try to make something else entirely and she knew just from looking at this that it was inedible. She sighed heavily and slumped one of her arms down while the other crossed her chest to hold the opposite to comfort herself as she turned to see Ezra walking towards her. The normally confident red head meekly at her boyfriend, feeling embarrassed at the situation. Her arms wrapped around him loosely and spoke as he touched his lips to her cheek, “I wanted to do something nice to celebrate your first day.” She leaned back, her hands resting on his forearms, and looked into his eyes, “But I’m not much of a chef.” Truth be told, Karah was more embarrassed than disappointed in herself. She knew that being a cook was never something in her prospects because she just didn’t know how to do it but she had made such an effort to try to make the person she loved happy. It was an effort that was complete waste. As she turned away to look back at the meal she had been planning, she rubbed the back of her neck and wondered if she could use magic to fix what would be atrocious.

The red head sighed once more in frustration, deciding to forget about it for a moment longer. “How was your day, Ezra?” she asked, her gaze returning to his as she gently reached for his hand. Her fingers interlaced with his affectionately and Karah couldn’t help but smile. It was sort of unbelievable that they were living together because she had always assumed that to Ezra she was just a dalliance because of her veela blood but as she looked into his eyes she knew that there was much more to their relationship than an attraction.

 

[Ezra Shaffer]

Ezra chuckled softly at his adorable girlfriend as she confessed to her lack of cooking skills. She looked as though ruining dinner was as horrible as losing a pet or something. The blonde haired man knew that Karah didn't have any talent that revolved around the stove. Ezra really didn't mind that she had burned dinner. He didn't expect her to wait on him or spend all of her time cooking and cleaning. "It's the thought that counts, Kare. Thank you for trying." he said, kissing the top of her fiery red head. "Just having you here to come home to is the perfect end to the day." Ezra told her, looking down into her beautiful eyes. He leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips. He meant all of what he had just said. It was still hard for him to believe that Karah actually moved in. If she would let him, Ezra wouldn't hesitate to marry her. However, he knew that it was in his best interests to wait until she was ready and not to try and push her. Ezra knew that he would never want anyone else.

"Oh, it went very well. The other reporters that I met were very welcoming. I was assigned my first piece to write for the new issue." Ezra said, grinning. Things had gone very well indeed. He looked down at their entwined fingers before pulling Karah closer to him. "Since dinner didn't turn out the way you planned, will you allow me to take you somewhere nice for dinner? Do you feel like it?" he asked her. Ezra liked to dote on Karah when she would allow him to do so. He wanted Karah to know how truly special she was.

 

[Karah Love]

Karah was trying to be upset but when Ezra said certain things it made it nearly impossible so she couldn't help it as her lips curled into a smile as they kissed. He knew just what to say and do to turn everything around sometimes and even if she felt stupid for not being able to follow instructions written in a book she knew as she looked into his eyes that he didn't think of her that way. He made her feel like she was intelligent and like nothing else mattered except how they felt about one another. Although when they first met she had complained that he was an arrogant toerag to her friends, she couldn't believe her luck in being with someone like Ezra. "You're amazing," she said before kissing him again.

Then, Karah beamed brightly as she listened to Ezra talk about his first day at the Prophet. "That's fantastic! I'm so happy for you," she said eagerly, relaxing as they found themselves closer together. As she listened to the offer she smiled again. "I'd love that," she answered lovingly. "Ezra," she began feeling bold, "I-," but then loosing her bravery as she looked into his eyes. She did love him but was not quite ready to say it. "I should probably clean this up first," she said after a moment of silence. For a Gryffindor, Karah could be so gutless sometimes.

 

[Ezra Shaffer]

Ezra loved how supportive his girlfriend was of his career. He knew that she didn't exactly love her current job waiting tables, but he also knew it wasn't forever. Karah was destined for bigger, better things. She just had to figure out what it was she wanted to do. Ezra loved his new job at the Prophet, and he wanted Karah to be just as happy with whatever career she chose. "Thanks, Kare." he said as she told him she was happy for him. The blonde kissed his girlfriend once more as she agreed to going out to dinner. Ezra looked at Karah curiously as she hesitated over her words before quickly moving on to say that she needed to clean the dishes. Ezra had a feeling that she hadn't been worrying over the dishes. However, he knew better at this point in their relationship to press it. Karah would speak her mind soon enough.

"Don't worry about it, Karah." Ezra said regarding the dishes. "I will clean them up when we get back." he said, kissing her on the cheek. He typically did things like that the muggle way, but would consider doing them by magic if it was really late when they got back. "I was thinking that we could go down to the little Italian restaurant on the corner a few blocks down. What do you think?" he asked her, still holding her in his arms. Ezra didn't think that he would ever get enough of Karah Love. She was special, and it wasn't just her veela blood that made her that way.