Show Me the Stars

[Kiera Kaster]

Two weeks had passed before Kiera Potter heard anything from Carter Kaster. She had almost decided that he had changed his mind about taking her to dinner, which was really something she should decide too. Going out on a date with him with was a bad idea, but Kiera had always been attracted to relationships that were bad for her. James had been trouble from the beginning. Kiera knew of his reputation, and she had been dating Alex at the time. She just couldn't stay away and leave him alone. It had been one of the best decisions of her life, even if things had always been challenging dating and marrying a public figure like James Potter. The brunette was working in her Ollivander's when she received an owl from Carter asking her if this weekend would be a good time to take her out on the date that he had promised. Kiera had smiled at the note, pleased that he hadn't forgotten about her after all. Kiera had called her father that day to see if he wanted her children to come for a visit for a few days, claiming that she had lots to do to wrap up the school year rush and the children were growing tired of the shop. Her father had watched them several times when similar situations arose, so he didn't find it unusual. He had happily agreed as he loved to spend whatever time with them that he could. Kiera had written a response back to Carter, agreeing on Saturday night and given him her address and the necessary information that he would need to get past her security enchantments that were very extensive. They had been doubled after her husband's disappearance and redone after Cameron's nomination.

Kiera dropped her children off with her father on Thursday night, so that they could spend a long weekend with him. She would return to pick them up Monday night. Jemma, Lyra, and Link had all been thrilled as they loved Grandpa Kingsley very much indeed. All day Friday, the brunette mother had debated her decision to go out with Carter. She knew he had agreed to go to a muggle place, which would help keep them hidden from notice. Her notoriety in the muggle world had long since faded. Kat was the famous Kingsley to the muggles now. Still, Kiera couldn't help but feel as if she was betraying her brother by dating someone who was his opposition. It would kill him if he found out. Kiera had to remind herself that this was just one date. A first date at that. There was no reason to tell him at this point. Kiera knew her brother would flip out to find out that she was going on a date again after all of this time, not to mention who it was with. She hadn't been on a first date in about thirteen years, having met James at such a young age. Of course, Cameron hadn't been fond of James either, eventually coming around after they married. In the end, Kiera was resolved to give Carter a chance.

All day Saturday, Kiera was jittery with nerves as she cleaned up the house and the mess that had accumulated over the week. She always felt a little guilty when the house wasn't clean because it was such a nice, beautiful house. However, the children were like little tornados that swept through the house on a daily basis. It was all she could do to keep up. The brunette dressed in muggle clothing for the date, making sure to put on heels so that she didn't have to crane her neck up so much to see Carter's face because of their huge height difference. Her fit stomach showed slightly between the top and the skirt. Kiera hoped that Carter would think she looked alright. She rarely dressed up, and she looked different from the woman he had met at the barn. Kiera had little makeup on as she preferred not to wear it, and she didn't need to wear it. She bit her lip as she took one final look at herself in the mirror in her bedroom. The doorbell chimed, and Kiera's heart quickened. She headed down the stairs to the front door. With a deep breath, Kiera opened the door.

 

[Carter Kaster]

It had taken about two weeks for Carter's schedule to open up enough that he was able to even think about a date with Kiera. He had thought about her a lot for the time in between and he had to admit, despite meeting her only once for a short time, not all that long ago, he actually really liked her, it was the reason he had invited her out so suddenly back then. Things were going well for him lately, he was on a roll with his life and then fate saw fit to introduce him to Kiera Potter, the sister of one of his opposition, Cameron Kingsley. He'd never had much of a chance to meet the guy, as they were after all in different departments and he hoped he didn't meet the guy anytime soon, as he was planning to convince Kiera to keep seeing him, even if it was behind her brothers back. Using muggle areas, they should be able to keep away from the wizarding press and no one knew him in the muggle world, not like in the wizarding world. At least there he could just chat with Kiera and not have to worry about ducking between pillars to escape paparazzi, because who wanted to have to do that on a first date? All Carter wanted was to be able to enjoy a nice meal with a beautiful woman and not have to look over his shoulder every five seconds. Kiera had indeed been very smart to suggest what she had, Carter wouldn't have thought of it himself. He grinned at his thoughts, they made a good team, as it seemed.

Keeping his eye on the time, he started to finish up when he noted that he had about an hour and a half to go. He usually stayed late at work, because he didn't really have much to go home too, so as he was clocking out, he was asked by a couple of his colleagues about it. Some of them made jokes and some of them were spot on about his activities, though he didn't show it, Carter just smiled, joked back and told them he would see them in the morning. Working on weekends was something he had accustomed himself too, as when he was younger, he never usually had anything to do on a weekend and often found that working was a lot better then doing nothing. He was probably going to have to cut back his hours though, if this thing he thought he had with Kiera worked out. He would be quite happy to keep seeing her on the down low, at least until after the elections, when they wouldn't have to hide it anymore. The last real relationship he had was more then a few years ago, even though she had been an arrangement, Carter and Kaya had gotten on really well and had talked about marriage, however, she decided she wanted a career and so did Carter and they had drifted apart, eventually realising they wouldn't work and that it had been wishful thinking, they remained friends to this day however.

Kaya had taught Carter a great many things about himself and about relationships, she had been the reason he had told his mother he would no longer agree to her marriage contracts. He would forge his own path and if that meant he never got married then so be it. Not that he was considering marrying Kiera, it was far, far to early for such considerations. Flooing to his home, Carter checked the time again and dumped his stuff on the couch to head to the bathroom. He was only going to have a quick shower, as he'd had one that morning and only wanted to freshen up for his date. He was the sort of person that liked to be clean, he had to have a shower or something every day or he would go nutts, he didn't understand how people could not want to be clean, but he knew for a fact that they did exist. Soon, he was finished and as he changed into some muggle clothes he'd happened to have on hand, for those rare times he ventured outside the magical community, he realised that he actually hadn't been to a muggle area for some time and so he had no idea of the pricing anymore. He did have quite a bit of muggle money to his name from the investments that his grandfather had secured, but he really didn't know much about the form of currency. Either he was going to have to play it by ear, or he was going to have to quickly familiarise himself with the monetary system. In the end he settled for using the floo system to reach his friend Dalton, a muggle born, and have him give Carter a quick refresher course on the muggle currency of New Zealand.

Apparating himself to Kiera's place and following the appropriate instructions left to him, Carter soon found himself standing in front of her door. Calming himself down, as it had been a long time since he had last been on a date, Carter raised his hand to her door and quickly knocked. When he had contacted Dalton about currency he had also asked about any good places to eat, Dalton had made a reservation for him at some flashy restaurant in Auckland that he assured Carter, he and who ever he was with would like. Of course Carter hadn't told the man about Kiera, he'd have never heard the end of it otherwise. Regardless, Carter hoped that Dalton was right, because he wasn't actually sure how much he trusted his nefarious friend. That man had some, extremely, strange tastes. If he was taking Kiera to a wizarding place, he wouldn't have been so worried, he knew all the great places to go in the wizarding world, but the muggle world just wasn't his forte. It wasn't long until Kiera opened the door, and Carter smiled when he saw her. She looked absolutely stunning. Everything suited her perfectly. He was glad she knew what looked good on her. He especially liked the addition of a little skin. He was a man after all and he appreciated the effort she had gone too. "Miss Kiera, you look stunning, you honestly do." He'd not brought himself to drop the sort of nickname he'd given her yet, though he supposed if she asked him to, he probably would. He held out his arm for her to take and smiled, "I have a reservation for us at a place called "The Black Swan". Apparently it is "to die for". It should certainly be interesting in any case." With a description like that, Carter was certainly curious about it.
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