It was finally the day of the weekend. The day that they both had requested to get off work early. Although unknown to Noyiah, Kaz had taken the whole day off and snuck away to prepare a surprise before they went house hunting.

Their apartment was as warm as always but sweat beaded around Kaz's forehead. He darted from one spot to the next and wiped the sweat away from his brow. He rustled by the open bags on the table, most of the contents already removed and placed on the counter each having a specific place.

The apron he wore was bunched up in wrinkled from wearing it. He gripped a large white bowl tightly to his chest. A whisk in his hand and rapidly stirring in the contents.

There was a skillet on the stove where egg whites had been cooked. "Alright round two," he muttered as he leaned forward to read the note from the chief titled,


At the same time, he extended his leg to open the oven door, inside was a chicken fully baked. "Uh oh," he said calmly as he leaned forward with the bowl in one hand. He grabbed the potholder and then removed the pan, setting it next to some tortilla wraps and vegetables.

It wavered on the edge and Kaz cast a quick wind spell to nudge it to safety before sighing in relief. That same wind splattered cream from the bowl onto his shirt and apron and up to his cheek. He smacked his lips and huffed. He refocused and finished whisking the cream and put together the best tiramisu he could. He set it down on the table and nodded to himself, despite the lopsided look of the meal.

The first edition was messier and carefully placed on the other edge of the counter ready to get tossed to the garbage bin.

He shredded the chicken and laid it out on the tortilla wraps with careful precision. The vegetables followed.

In his moment of triumph, he smelled smoke. Whirling around he saw smoke rising from the vegetables in the skillet he was frying to put a final touch on the tortillas.

"No no no no no," he said in hushed rapid succession. he snatched the skillet off and was blowing on it with his mouth, to disperse the smoke as if he forgot he was a wind mage.

He stood in the middle of the kitchen blowing out the smoke, as his apron was a mess with speckled tiramisu cream and some on his face. There were two plates of tiramisu, one lopsided and the other was runny. The apron was bunched up and the heat from the smoke made Kaz sweat.

Noyiah rested her head against the office desk.  Her visit with iris the day before quite upsetting, she felt so hopeless in the situation, she was but a child left to fend for herself, under conditions that broke basic human needs. Everyday that she was in there Noyiah felt like she had failed her.  Her thoughts moved back and forth, about the options she had, which were far and few between.  
Lifting her head up for a moment before letting it fall thudding on the desk and leaving a small red mark on her forehead. “Damnit” she cursed quietly, before lashing out and sweeping everything off the desk, all the papers she worked on, all of them danced around the air and landed on the ground scattered everywhere.   But She didn’t care at this point, today was a bad day, an awful day, and after she had such a nice evening the night before.   She started to hit the desk with her palm as she started to feel another temper tantrum starting but a soft knock at the door distracted her.   She quickly collected herself and then as nicely as possible she asked “ Yes?”

The door opened up to reveal a short stout man, with gruffy sideburns,  he looked at the storm of papers everywhere and then opened his big stupid mouth “ I was wanted to catch you before you left for the day, I need the recruit forms.”   Noyiah stopped for a second and considered the time it had to be getting closer to eleven if not noon.  “ ill have them to you by four.” She responded already at her limit for discouragement.

“Wont you be gone by then?” he asked seeming confused himself.  
 
“What do you mean?” Noyiah asked in no mood to play games.

“ you requested to leave early today didn’t you?”  he asked with a tilt of his head.

Noyiah’s eyes widened as she realized it was the weekend, she asked to leave early to look for a house with Kazimir, how had she forgot.  Suddenly things didn’t seem so bad, the world once dim and depressing seemed lit up and full of joy, like a Switch turn in her brain she look at the man and said “ I’ll have them to you by noon then” she said  motioning for him to close the door.  

As the door Closed, she leapt from her chair, and started to gather papers, putting them into the correct order and tapped them against the desk to aligned them.   Today was going to be a good day after all.

After making sure her work was done, she got up and packed up her things,  if she had to she could wait around but she needed this distraction, she was quickly deteriorating and she needed to recharge in Kazimir’s Arms.

She Pushed the file under the door instead of knocking. “ As promised!” she called out loudly as she started to take off towards the exit.  She swore she heard the man fall down as she yelled, clattering and a fury of movement came from behind the door.   Her best guess was she had startled him and he fell out of his chair, but she wasn’t going to go back to look.

Out the exit like a woman with purpose as she Drudged down the hill and into the streets of the town below, her mission was clear. She rounded the corner and was within view of home,  passing by the gate guards with a nod and into the lobby of her building  giving a slight nod ot the receptionist and she pushed on up the stairs.

Her key clicked in the door, she turned it, but it was seemly unlocked, had Kazimir beat her home? She retracted the key and swung the door open to see a thin smoky haze about her apartment, it smelled of cooking more so then the usual scent of home. She noticed quickly the dishes laid out for lunch and smiled wide. It was exactly what she needed, how had he? She looked at Kazimir with a puzzled look before rushing through the small room dropping her bag and coat onto the bed and pushing the window open. “ You always know exactly what to do” she exclaimed waiting for him to place down hot, or potentially dangerous things before Attacking him with a hug and a peck on the cheek.

He held the smoking pot in his hands and time froze giving him a moment of panic when he heard the key enter the door. The door eased open and Noyiah stepped inside. She would see Kaz standing and looking like an absolute mess. Although she made no note of it. Instead, she immediately entered, dropped her bags and opened the window. Of course...the window.

A smile crept on his face hearing what she said. Nearly forgetting about the pot once more, "Oh yeah." He crossed the room and set the skillet on the window sill. The smoke drifted out into the chill mid-day air. The room was still warm enough from the cooking that it made no difference. "Thanks I just hope you,"before he finished his sentence, Noyiah dove in for a hug, once it was all clear of danger. He hugged her and rubbed her back as she pecked his cheek.

"You probably have tiramisu on you now," he said casually and pulled her away a few inches so she could see the messy apron he had on. He wouldn't want her to get dirty as soon as she returned but wasn't about to turn away a hug. "ah," he let out as he noticed a bit of whipped cream on his hand and licked it off. Then noticed some that had gotten onto Noyiah's shoulder from the side of his face. He took his thumb and scooped it off. "Sorry, I guess I made a bit of a mess. Turns out that wind isn't always the best cooking companion after all,"he added with a single quick laugh. It was relieving to see she wasn't upset about any of the potential mess. It was all cleanable after all and he didn't blow a hole into anything thankfully.

"Oh, I tried to make Tiramisu but it came out...well the second one I'm sure is edible," he said with a hopeful smile. The note from the chef was still on the table, but so was the haphazard layout of plates that he was still setting up before he got distracted by the smoking pan. The tortillas were ready to be placed on the plates and so was the tiramisu. The one thing he forgot was anything to drink.

“A sacrifice I’d gladly make” she chimed back as he broke free of her hug but took a quick inspection of her cloths to see how bad they were. She nodded in agreement, they were in fact quite dirty now, so right into the sink they would go when she changed.  With a Simple shrug she went back in for another hug, “meh, the damage is done, but I don’t think it will stain so . . .” She reassured, her hug grip increasing as she led fully into a hug, her chin resting on the back on Kazimir’s Right shoulder, with her eyes closed.  This was indeed the Recharge she needed. The ~Ah~ sparked her curiosity and she opened her eyes and lifted her chin to look, but she felt the finger tips run across her shoulder and neck, a sudden wet feeling from where he touched. At first, she thought her rubbed something on her.  But she managed to draw the conclusion that there was something on her.

He apologized for the kitchen disaster, but she didn’t worry about it, she knew that Kazimir knew how she felt about her kitchen and would Right the situation.  She broke from the hug slowly releasing her grip but then for good measure retightened suddenly before letting go entirely “I wouldn’t worry about it, I’m going to grab a quick shower and change, that’ll give you some time to sort this out:” Noyiah said holding her usual smile and motioned to the kitchen.  Secretly she hoped that at the mention of wind magic is her kitchen, that she could still use the damage deposit for the new place. But at a glance nothing seemed broken or damaged beyond repair.

True to her word she moved to the bed, leaning down and fishing her clothes she planned on wearing out from the small side table beside the bed. Turning around with cloths carefully in her hands, making sure not to touch them to her custard/whipped cream covered uniform. She Started heading to the bathroom but turned to look at Kazimir when he spoke about the tiramisu. Taking a glance at it then to Kazimir and beamed a smile. “I’m sure it will be wonderful, but I guess you’ll just have to practice” she said her smile turning to cheeky grin, clearly not worried about how they turned out.   her gaze eventually fell upon the note, she didn’t take long to examine it, but she read the words at the top. It seemed like a recipe of sorts, from where she wasn’t sure, but she valued the extents that Kazimir had gone to try and pull this off.  Not to mention he likely had to buy most of the ingredients specifically for this.

Noyiah Stopped short of the bathroom and simply smiled as she looked back at Kazimir again.  This really was so nice, and to think if she hadn’t by chance ran into him, none of this would have been possible.   closing the bathroom door behind her she went for her shower, sheading out of her dirty work cloths and left them soaking in the sink.    After cleaning up and brushing her hair, she put on the outfit she picked out, though it likely would be hidden by her coat later when she went outside.  She had more outfits for warm weather then for the cold weather Era experienced for a month or two.

Noyiah would emerge from the bathroom fully dressed and ready to leave after lunch.  A simple White Buttoned up Collared shirt, with a Bright blue silted skirt, a more pale steel blue, much like her eye color sowed in under to make it more modest. Paired White tights under her skirt, a small patch at the knee that looked scuffed.  She made her way to the table and sat down in one of the chairs that faced towards the kitchen and Kazimir. “Well Chef, what is Todays Special?” she asked playfully beaming a smile, her lips a slightly more red color then before.

Outfit:

Her remark warmed his heart as he held her close. "Well, I won't complain," he said as he happily took her back with tiramisu smooshed between them. She hugged him close and Kaz relished the moment and smiled as he nestled his head next to hers.

she loosened her hug and Kaz began to pull away when she suddenly went back in to finish off the moment with another quick embrace. Kaz hugged her back gently and let her drift from his arms. She assured him not to worry about it. He had plenty of time to clean it while she was in the shower. "Yeah," he replied and gave her a peck on the check. "Take your time," he gave a cheeky smile, "And I'm not just saying that to get extra time to clean the kitchen."

As she turned to get ready for the shower, Kaz rolled up his sleeves once more and ran some water in the sink and began washing up the dishes and pans. Making sure to get the water ran before she jumped in the shower.

She turned around as he called to her about the tiramisu and smiled back at her compliment and then shook his head with a fake upset look at her mention of getting more practice. He did hope it turned out as good as she had hoped or thought that it would be. He didn't often try and cook anything new but being with her inspired him to try his hand at a few new things.

He diligently cleaned the dishes until he heard the door shut to the bathroom. He looked back at the door and felt a rush of homeliness and satisfaction. It had been a short time but so meaningful. She always had a way of brightening his day. Before she got out of the shower Kaz had cleaned up the mess he made and put his dirty apron in the laundry hamper to be washed later. Luckily the rest of his clothes avoided the flying food.

She emerged from the shower just as Kaz was getting the plates ready. For a moment he just turned and looked at her with a smile when she sat down ready to eat. "You look really nice," he complimented as he scooped up the plates in response to her question. Crossing over to the table he set one plate down in front of her, "Madam, today we have simple yet elegant chicken fajitas with fried veggies."

He set a plate in front of himself and brought some silverware for the table and napkins for each of them. Moving back to the kitchen he grabbed two plates of the tiramisu and brought them over. "And for dessert, we have wind-whipped tiramisu that is hopefully not falling apart," he said with a grin and sat down across from her.  

"How was you're day? Sorry I lied a little. I needed time to get this all ready,"He said but had a feeling she didn't mind.

His willingness to take the hug made her smirk a bit, as she continued to hug him.

His comment about cleaning the kitchen and extra time made her smirk yet again and shake her head/ How she loved the humble charm he had, it was so modest yet so effective on her, it felt like a direct line to her heart, and she was never able to not smile when he turned it on.

As she disappeared behind the bathroom door, she worried that she might have offended Kazimir with her joke, maybe he misunderstood? She questioned internally as she let the water run down her hand checking the temperature. She dismissed the thought, it didn’t matter everything would be fine, she was just reading to much into things like she often did.

As she left the bathroom fully dressed and clothed, she pulled the chair out, and received a praise that made her smile again. “Must have gotten all of my Beauty sleep then” she said causally dismissing it, despite how much it really meant to her and then asked about the meal.

Kazimir explained the meal as he set the table, it was kind of nice not having to do everything herself, it really felt like it was them against the world sometimes. Noyiah nodded as she listened to the meal plan. “how exquisite” she said speaking intentionally differently to play up the elegance of the meal at hand.  As he threw in the bit about the Wind whipped  Tiramisu she couldn’t help herself but to quickly play it up “Most excellent, a true master of the finer balance between magic and culinary brilliance, and best yet it’s not served from the roof” she tossed in for the laugh, taking part herself as she snickered at her own joke.

As she was asked about her day, she would clear her throat remembering her tantrum at the desk but chose not to disclose that bit of her day. “it was . . well . . . it was pretty awful really” she said unable to find the right words to make her day seem better. “ but its so much better now” she explained “ I mean I could get used to this” she said leaning forwards to scoop a bit of the tiramisu with her pink and popping it into her mouth. Using the napkin that Kazimir gave her to wipe the moisture of her pinky.  “ mmmhhm” She said obnoxiously fake with a playful smirk. “the eggshells are a nice touch” she said turning her head slightly to watch Kazimir’s Response,  of course there wasn’t any, or at least none in the portion she had taken, but it was fun to razz  him a little.

She had intentionally not said anything about the lie, it was in the sweetest way possible to lie, and well she would encourage it more if it got her this sort of treatment. She stopped to think about when the last time someone else had home cooked her a meal, and the only conclusion she had come to was when she was back home, which suddenly seemed so long ago.

She casually downplayed his compliment. Something that made him smirk with how sly and yet innocent she could be at times. She wasn't an arrogant person in the slightest and that only served to make her even more beautiful to the wind mage.

Seeing her sit and enjoy his set-up brought a warm feeling to his heart. It had been a long time since he did this for anyone and it was delightful to have this moment. The little things that made her smile and filled him with glee.  

When she began to play into his performance it made him smile yet again. While they played with the moment, her grandiose statement about the wind whipped tiramisu caused a red hue to appear on Kaz's face. He wasn't ready even for a playful compliment like that. A laugh escaped him as she joked about the roof. He quickly cleared his throat to compose himself and said, "Only the best for you my lady." She laughed at her own joke and Kaz couldn't help but think about how cute and endearing it was to see.

Hearing about her awful day, Kaz leaned forward on the table from his side and reached his hand across to put it on hear,"Sorry to hear that." When she flipped it to how good this moment was, he leaned back to his side with a smile, not wanting to ask further about her day and just enjoy this moment. He grinned with a fake cocky smile, "Well I suppose I'll have to do this more often then."

Her 'mmmhhmm,' brought him in initially until it lasted a little longer and he realized what she was doing. He sat back with his arms crossed and a cocked brow. His face showed he wasn't truly upset about anything and simply responded with, "uh huh,"

Then she made a comment about eggshells, "WHAT? EGGSHELLS," he uncrossed his arms and leaned over the table to exam the tiramisu to see these little culprits. Thinking she was serious but in a playful way of putting it. Once she responded to his sudden excitement, his eyes narrowed as he realized it was all a rouse.

His eyes met hers with a devious look, "Well, in that case, I can't have you eating eggshells." He lowered his head so the tiramisu was eye level and stuck his tongue out just far enough to the side of his mouth to pinch it between his teeth to aid in his concentration. He beamed with a smile as he aimed his hand at the cake and in her direction. "I'll just blow them off real quick for you," He teased with a quick gentle burst of wind that only ruffled the top of the tiramisu but didn't disturb it.

It may have been a bit more playful than he was sometimes bu showed he was truly comfortable around her.

Noyiah Smiled as they played up the meal, it was silly and completely unneeded but it was quite fun, and she hoped that she remembered moments like this when she had bad days, how quickly a mood can change, or how no matter how bad things seemed they could share moments like this, moments they both treasured.  

When he apologized for her bad day, she waved her hand dismissively, it wasn’t his fault she couldn’t come up with the answers to the issues she had. Often it was a result of her taking on too much and trying to juggle the workload until she crashed.  Not unlike the tantrum she threw in her office, though this one was more so because she couldn’t figure out a way to get iris from her cell without causing more harm long term. There was an answer somewhere she just had to figure it out.

Looking up at Kazimir as she blatantly stole a scoop of Topping off the Dessert, she kept a childlike grin knowing fully what she had done, and it only seemed to encourage her behavior as he responded with the ~uh huh~. His look of disapproval made it all the more fun, as she poked, teased and prodded him in action and conversation.

The bait was set and Kazimir took it, it amused her how gullible he could be sometimes for someone who seemed to at least match or best her intelligence.  However, he seemed to be leading her on for the next bit he set up, he made a comment and Noyiah looked at him and then to the dessert again, before realizing what that might imply. At the point he said he’d blow them off she quickly Covered her face attempting not to get splattered by the mess she though was for sure to come.  The gentle breeze didn’t do as much as she thought it would as she spread her fingers just enough to poke an eye out to take a glace at the giggling toppings.  “sit down, we are going to be late if you keep this up” she said with a cheeky smirk still, playing it off like he was the reason they would be late, and ending the fun so they could have the nice meal that Kazimir set up for her.

She smiled and then pushed her chair back to get up, walking past Kazimir she dragged her finger tips along his shoulders as she passed behind him. Going to Retrieve two team cup and the pot for tea, filling it from the tap she clicked the stove on, it clicked a few times before the gas ignited and started the flame. She then turned back to the table and placed the cup down from behind Kazimir she leaned over him and placed both cups onto the table near the center. Pecking him on the cheek as she retreated back to her spot." Really though, thankyou for doing this."  

From her chair she leaned forwards and dragged her chair closer to the table, as she motioned for Kazimir to go first. While she waited for the kettle to boil, she would watch him serve himself to get a better understanding as to how to build a good fajita.

The breeze blew over the toppings, barely disturbing it. An inconsequential jiggling of the top but Noyiah had guarded her face to be safe. Kaz gleamed a cheeky smile of his own seeing that he had got her back a bit for her luring him in to believe there were eggshells in the mix. That had only happened to the first one, he thought to himself but would never tell her that.

When she poked her hands out she'd see his smile and then turn the tables yet again. he puckered his lips at her own cheeky response that implied he was the only goof. With a grin, he sat back in his seat, "Well I certainly wouldn't want that." He straightened out the plates on the table and aligned the utensils as Noyiah stood to pass by him. Her fingers caressed his shoulders sending a nearly imperceptible shudder through him. Whenever she did that it was as if she had complete control of him, in the most pleasant of ways.

He looked over after hearing the click to see she was making tea. How could he have forgotten the beverage part of the meal? he shook his head at his own silliness and turned back to the meal, seeing the playful smudge on the tiramisu where her finger had scooped some away.

A warmth came from behind him as Noyiah leaned over him to place the cups. Another simple and cute gesture. He took his hands and gently stroked her arms when she pecked him on the cheek. Her hair tickled the top of the shoulder she had run her fingers across, and he closeness brought back the smell of vanilla.

"The pleasure is all mine Noyiah," he whispered back as she retreated to her seat. With her hand gesture, Kaz readied the small tongs that were on the table. He scooped the chicken first onto the center of the soft tortilla shell. Then a couple of tong fulls of vegetables. The moist chicken bled into the vegetables, mingling the flavors together. He folded the shell in half, making it look more like a tack on its side, and handed the tongs towards Noyiah. "There you go. Hope you enjoy it."

After she took the tongs, Kaz looked down at the fajita in front of him for only a second. His mind going back to running in the wild. Tearing apart meals with his bare hands and cooking them over an open flame. Now he sat with a fork and knife in his hands and a smile on his face. He stole a look at Noyiah with that same smile and those thoughts faded to the far recesses of his mind. He dove into his meal and instead of using the fork and knife, he simply lifted it and took a large bite.

The back of the fajita began to spill out. Peppers and stips of chicken pocked free. He quickly grabbed the back and leaned forward to hold onto it. Stealing it from the back before they fell out, he popped them into his mouth. His eyes trailing back to Noyiah to see how she was fairing in her craft.

After the moment, the kettle whistled, "Oh, I'll get it," Kaz said, setting down the half-eaten fajita. The tortilla flopped open and juice ran to the side of the small plate. He grabbed the kettle and moved back to the table, silently humming to himself. The tea flowed into their two cups one after the other and Kaz set the teapot on the side of the table, before sitting down.

Watching carful as Kazimir put together his Fajita, she developed the understanding as to how to build and eat it. She hadn’t never had them before but they seemed straight forward, simple yet seemed delicious, the smell of the chicken and the vegetables were nice,  she detected what could have been Garlic, possibly chili peppers and maybe a bit of cayenne, she was pleasantly surprised the by the lunch he had set up, and though she had though it a few times before she did so again, this was exactly what she needed to make her day better.

Kazimir handed the Tongs over to Noyiah as she nodded in thanks, as she took the min her right hand  using her left hand to scoop up the tortilla and then cupping her hand to create a pocket for the protein to sit in. she picked up a few pieces of the chicken and placed them into the tortilla, then using the same tongs she  grabbed a few peppers and the some of the other vegetables that were available.  She decked out the tortilla, and when she placed it back onto her plate it unfolded and the juices from the chicken and sauces leaked over the side and onto her plate. Placing the tongs down in the bowl with the veggies, she heard to starting boil of the kettle as it soon let out a loud whistle.  Kazimir quickly claimed the duty, which she was kind of glad for, as she wiped her hands off on the napkins, she was given moments ago.

Looking at the leaking mess she created as she  tried to fold it back up to a finger food, as she shook her head picking the tortilla up the moisture soaking through, weakening the tortilla as the insides broke through the bottom and spilled down onto her plate,  dropping it in defeat she picked up her napkin again, and re-wiped her hands once again. This time grabbing the fork and cutting her losses, she was sure it would taste just as good if eaten with utensils and she could try again for the next one not making it so full next time, if of course she wasn’t full by this one.

When Kazimir poured the tea, the entire table would smell of chicken Fajitas and Chi Tea. “thanks!” She would exclaim as she moved the tea cup closer to her plate and resumed her attempt to eat the monstrosity she had made. She took her fork and tilted it using the side to chop into a piece of the tortilla and then scoop up the carb with all of the other aspects of her plate, once satisfied she had a combined forkful of the different flavors she would bring it to her mouth, being careful not to get much on her lips, in fear of ruining her makeup, realizing that in hindsight she should have likely done her makeup up after.

The taste was good, consistency with nice, the Favour complex yet mild enough it wouldn’t be too much for the pallet with desert in mind.  Noyiah nodded in approval, as she finished up the mouthful she made a satisfied “Ah~” ditching her fork to the side of her plate to get her napkin to softly wipe the corner of her mouth getting ready to tell Kazimir the places she had booked viewings with. “So, down to business.” She said with a smile as she placed her napkin back down trading it in for her cup of tea, but holding it and not taking a drink yet as she continued her statement “ I have a few appointments set up for viewings,  I have one  that is on the east side of town, near 8th avenue and Daisy boulevard.  It’s smaller then I think we want but worth a look. “she paused now to take a drink of the tea, which was not overly good and had a slightly burnt tea leaf flavor.  Making a slight face of disgust she placed her tea down. and then continued. “after that we have a four o-clock near the park, it has a patio on the second level that over looks the park, mind you its not much of a view mostly just tree tops, but it found it a nice sentimental view given the nature of out date and our meeting.” She would pause to see if he was keeping up and to stop him from drinking the tea without warning him of “ it’s pretty awful tea, sorry I forgot how easily Chi burns”  taking the time to take another bit of the sopping meal she had made of her plate, she took a good forkful and popped it into her mouth with no issues this time.  Placing the fork down and finishing her bite she looked back up  “ and lastly we have a apartment that is above a coffee house, a new one that opened up in the north end of town, I think it was on Temple Avenue or something,  I know its not what we are looking for but it’s a 4 bedroom apartment with quite a nice lay out, that would give us a bit of options,  we can use the spare rooms for office space and studies.” She suggested as she looked back up at Kazimir, getting ready to stand up again.  As she picked up her cup and walked around the table pouring it out and filling her tea cup with water and then returned to the table, realizing how badly Horribly made Chi tea went with the flavors that the fajitas offered.

Kaz made note of how expertly and carefully she crafted her meal. Much more precise than when Kaz just grabbed it and shoved it towards his mouth, holding onto the bits that were falling out. He glanced back just in time to see the tortilla fall apart on Noyiah's hands and he quietly smirked to himself.

The tear flowed into the cups and entangled in the air with the smells of vegetables and chicken. "No problem," he replied and sat back down across from her. He smiled again seeing her resort to using forks. Kaz picked up his own utensils, paused a moment, and then joined her in eating with fork in hand.

"I'll make something a little less messy next time," he commented with a playful grin, about the care she took to in keeping her makeup unsmudged.

When she was ready, Kaz set down the silverware, his meal almost complete, and listened to what he knew would be a detailed response. He nodded at the first option. She was clearly not too excited about it, he thought, as she didn't list any amenities the home had. All the while Kaz turned the teacup in his hands, waiting for it to cool enough for him to drink. He cocked a brow at her look of disgust in drinking the tea but thought nothing more about it.

"A few already. It always amazed me how you find time to accomplish all the things you do," he snuck in before she continued about the next few houses.

Her explanation about the second house was much more intuitive. The remark about her reasoning behind it warmed his heart. She always had a way of reminding him how thoughtful and caring she was. "So far that one sounds delightful. A second floor and a view of my favorite place,"he added looking into her perfect blue eyes. He then rose the cup towards his lips but Noyiah's warning held him still.

He smiled without a word and took a sip. There was a small tringe in his eye from the harsh taste of it. He forced it away into a lopsided smile. "It's not bad," and truthfully it wasn't that bad. Just a hint of burnt flavoring. "But perhaps I'll make the tea next time," he teased her lightly.

Leaning back in his seat, he brought his hand to his chin. Thinking and thinking about the options. "the last two sound really good. A big place would be nice. Although I don't know what we'd do with all the extra room. You do need an office space though and as long as it's not on the bottom floor I'm fine. And you do like coffee. I think that one is worth a good look. Plus," he stood up. A look in his eye that told Noyiah something cheezy was coming her way. "You are the only sentimental view that I need," he said with a smile, fully aware of how cheezy he was being.

While she poured out the cup of tea, Kaz gathered the plates and put them in the sink. "Which one do you prefer? Or I guess we should probably look at them all first huh?," he nodded towards the door and then grab the doorknob. This time was different. They were going to leave here in search of a place to spend their future at. "Shall we."

“Its fine, I just don’t often eat these” Playing if off as if she had ever eaten fajita’s, maybe it was a common thing for their demographic, but her mother either didn’t like making them or didn’t like them, resulting in never having them as a child. And although Noyiah liked the idea of adventure she really did like her usual routines and life style.

Noyiah nodded. “ I might have dipped by a few houses while on patrol . . to check for possible criminals and to leave nice letters to the owners” she said with a slight smirk, not sure how he would take this, on one hand she had an idea as to how much Kazimir did for the rune knights, and she was clearly taking advantage of the routes that were near the houses she liked. On the other it wasn’t like she neglected to do her job, just bending the rules enough just to be considered not broken.

She glanced at the teapot and then back to Kazimir and nodded in agreement “its probably for the best, I just don’t enjoy the tea I make myself.” She didn’t pick up on his attempt to pick at her, instead she seemed more passive about the idea of it, and he had made a good point she did find a lot of time for a lot, though not everything, she took a look back at the bag that laid on the bed, maybe it was time for a vacation, the very thought made her smile wide as she recalled their date night and talked about going to Sin, camping and their dance through the park.

She awoke from her trance as she blinked a few times and then looked back at her plate, cutting the remaining piece in half, and skewered the bigger bits together on her fork. After her mouthful she wiped her mouth with a napkin and nodded as Kazimir finished up his adorable opinions about the houses she described. She smiled as her tossed out the cheesiest and likely the most Forced lines she had heard him say yet, she was caught speechless though, not sure how to respond to something like that.

Luckily her silence didn’t last too long as she was asked her opinion about the houses, a question Kazimir tried to retract but at this point he didn’t have an option, she had thought about them all, and formulated these thoughts also while on patrol, though she would choose to not mention that. “I would have to say that I don’t like the idea of settling on any of them, not that they are bad, but I feel like it will be a house we live in for a few years at most. But out of the three I like the idea of the last one, the coffee house underneath is definitely a plus and the extra rooms would be nice.” She said as stood up and picked up her coat from the bed. She slides it on over her outfit and tied the belt, picking up her satchel she headed towards the door as Kazimir did. “Sure” she said offering her arm out for him to take after she had gotten to the hallway.

Afterwards they would head towards the first location she had mentioned, on the east side of Era, Noyiah didn’t know to much about the east side, having spent most of her life on the south or in the central ring. She had a few cases that took her that way but not many.

"Well,I guess we'll have to change that then," he said with a smile, thinking about all the different meals they would enjoy going into the future together. He hadn't grown up here but he had spent enough years to know that these ws not a food too commonly eaten around here.

Her response got a small laugh from Kaz, "Well played. as sneaky as ever," he teased. The expression on his face clearly not bothered by her act. kaz did his part for the knights but was pretty laisez-faire at times. There were times to be serious and times when lenience was a luxury. He thought of the times he was on patrol and instead of staying in thought he spoke on it, "Its a better use of a patrol than the times I get distracted by music. There's just something about a melody that always pulls me in." He wouldn't admit the times where he was mid mission or being chased that hewas nearly caught because live music had stolen his attention for a moment. Or the times he stopped to just sit on a building and overlook the city.

"I happen to rather like the things you prepare," He responded. The chi tea may have been a bump but he generally enjoyed all the things she prepared and her choice of tea. It wasn't long after that, that she wistfuly loked away. She had a beautiful way of being lost in thought. He did wonder what she was thinking but instead of asking he took a final bite of his meal. He thought about all the days they had spent sitting at this table and all the days still to come.

She seemed more than ready to give her well thought out opinion on the homes. Her quick response gaveaway just how much thought she had put into them. Somethign that he wa certain she would have done. if she had already narrowed all the homes down it was probably due to careful investigation. But he wasn't prepared for her to say none of them. He tilted his head ini curiousity.

"Oh. Well then let's pick out our temporary home until we find the perfect one," he replied with a smile. It was always warming to here her talk about their future. And how easily she spoke about spending years together. The nice little things that showed she felt the same about him as he did for her.

"I like that one the most too. Let's go with that one then. I just got a promotion and I have a good amount of savings."
They had yet to really talk about finances, even with the thought of buying a house together. Kaz felt if there was any time now was as good a time as any. He eluded to it a bit without going into a lot of details. But he knew that Noyiah was a keen investigator and could have put together the clues. She had access to his record with the knights, knew that he spent most of his time in the wild, and nearly all of his gear was at best for a c-rank mage. All leading to the fact that he...lived a really cheap life up to this point. And yet, when he spoke about it, he wasn't uncomfortable. He spoke about it with the ease of all their conversations.

She crossed over to the door and Kaz's eyes got wide, "oops," he said, looking at the tiramisu still sitting on the table and then towards the dishes by the sink. He crossed over to the table and placed the dishes in the sink except for one, which he placed in a carry box that he had in his bag, usually used for pancakes.. He held it in his hand and a fork in the other. "I got so excited about the houses that I forgot the most important part,"he said steppng over to the door. He looped the hand with the fork through her arm and snuggled close. He switched the carrier of tiramisu with the fork. The carrier was in the arm he looped around hers and the fork was in his free hand. He took a quick scoop of the tiramisu and offered it to her. "Eggshells," he said with a cheeky smile.

Then they were off to the first house. Kaz carrued the tiramisu, sharing it between the two of them. One in which he went to, but something in his heart told him they would end up with the third one. Kaz followed her lead as she probably knew the area better than him, having grown up here. And Kaz well...he didn't pay much attention to street sings. If she ever mentioned them he would just grinand scratch his head.

They did arrive at the house.It was a small cozy looking place with a cheery woman waving them over. It was made of old brick and a small chimney poked out of the top.

It came to her as a relief that Kazimir didn’t think her not giving one hundred percent on patrol was an issue, and even shared a bit about how captivated he got when he heard music.  Something she would have loved to try, she had learned a small, tiny unusable amount about the violin, though she never actually got to play one she just learned a bit about them from distant family members. Cursing herself for not keeping up with that hobby, and pursuing it further, she looked back to Kazimir and smiled her lips curling a bit at the sides as it mixed with a smirk. Recalling them walking through the alley behind the royal Orchid.  It was why he felt so distant perhaps? Or maybe she was over thinking, shaking her head gently and swaying her hair as she dismissed the thought.

“Excellent, Its a lot more effort then you’d think, there’s a lot to be mindful of, luckily I am well practiced in such things” her smile turning far more into a smirk as finished the last bite from her plate before Kaz collected them all.

He had such a nice  go with the flow attitude, which was why it was so much fun to throw him off, but she didn’t do that this time, she simply apricated that despite what she said he was happy to move to a temporary place until they found the one they might want to stay in forever.  Noyiah was pretty much all about purpose, she didn’t like wasted time or effort, and didn’t like to do things that didn’t yield a benefit, so Temporary was something she avoided quite a bit, but this time she thought about it and the idea of a temporary house together didn’t feel bad. If anything, it gave them some time together in a neutral Area where Kazimir didn’t feel like a guest in her house and that they could work on together to make it what they wanted.

Money seemed like such a Trivial thing to worry about,  if she needed more she would just go and make more,  but it was good to know that Kazimir was doing well, and had a good amount of savings for them to fall back on if they were in finical trouble. “ oh, congratulations, I didn’t know you were promoted” she said slipping each of the arm of her coat on and then tying the belt.   She crossed the room, not wanting to compete for praise she neglected to mention she was nearly done her training that would accept her as an apprentice knight.  Moving out into the hall way she heard an opps from Kaz and looked up questioning what was wrong, but was relieved  when she seen It was the tiramisu, “Opps indeed, I forgot all about the best part” she said  still holding the apartment door open for when he got it together and brought it with them.

He set it on their linked arms,  not the worst idea but it would suck if they didn’t make it down the stairs with it,  she braced the side of it with her other hand until they were in a nicer location for it to rest undisturbed,  the sudden offer of eggshells catching her off guard a bit as she looked at him with a raised eye brow and then as her gaze shifted to the forkful she smirked “  oh yea! sure, if you’d be so kind” she opened her mouth to allow him to place it in her mouth “ Ah” was let out as she waited for it,  eventually she would clamp down making it obvious that she was holding it with her teeth. A cocky smirk forming before they made eye contact and shed let go.


As they walked, Noyiah would remain a bit quiet as she sorted through things in her head, breaking concentration to take bites when offered, but ultimately thinking about if the first house was really even worth looking at. As they approached, she would see the house as they rounded onto Daisy Blvd.  outside was a pleasant looking woman, she waved at them and Noyiah Raised her arm that wasn’t linked with Kazimir. “Miss Shepard?” she asked already knowing the answer. “It’s nice to talk in person, thankyou for sending the letter back for me, and allowing us to view your home” She mentioned as they got closer.  

Miss Shepard smiled and greeted them with hellos,  and brought them in,  the First house was  Nicely kept, it was tidy and well furnished, seemingly something from a midclass family, it had two bedrooms on the bottom floor,  a small kitchen about twice the size of Noyiah’s current one.  Upstairs looked to be a study room, a storage room and a large bathroom.  The inside of the house was done with trim that reach waist high and then drywall painted a calming peach color, the trim a tad darker led the room to feel bottom heavy. Small bits of tile lined the backsplash of the kitchen and there was quite a few counters to work from unlike Noyiah’s Kitchen.   Miss Shepard would walk them all about, telling them of the memories they had within her house, how she raised a son and how he went off to work in the mines of Seighart mountain. And that now with it just being her, she wanted to downsize.

The entire time Noyiah nodded as the woman spoke, keeping her opinions to herself as they were already nice enough to allow her in to look.  “ its very cozy, thankyou for the tour” Noyiah responded with after they finished and were lead back into the main room where the door was.

"Yes. A seated knight now. One step closer." He tried to remain humble about the statement, but he did appreciate her praise. Kaz had long term plans with Noyiah both within the knights and in their personal life. As such he may have had an eye on Noyiah's progress through the knights and was aware she was nearing a promotion herself. Something that he wouldn't bring up just yet, but was already thinking of the perfect way to celebrate it. He also wanted her on his team with the others, once he was able to form one.

Seeing how unstable the plate would be there, he opted to hold it in his hand and the fork in the other. His arm still lopped around hers. He smiled at her cocked eyebrow, finally he had thrown her a bit off until her smile came. Her "Ah," made his smile wider at how jovial she could be sometimes. The things that made his heart patter in his chest.he rose the dessert and placed it in her mouth. She clamped down before he even had a chance to pull away. Her cheeky smirk bringing a gleeful laugh to the wind mage. "you got me,"he remarked as their eyes met and she let go. He shuck his head and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"It's a pleasure," he greeted the woman.
Thankfully Noyiah took care of the introduction as Kaz observed the home. It was nice enough, and his opinion didn't change much as they began the tour. The woman was delightul and the home was very nice. But all he could think about was the third home. He strolled through the home, running his hand across a shelf and trim, then a chair. Testing out everything but not committing to any of it. It was big enough he thought. More kitchen space which would be nice for the cooking they would be doing.

The stood back in the furnitured living room. The couch was over-stuffed. The kind you could sink into and drift away. It was well lit with two decorative lamps on the sides of the room.  

"Thank you. I hope to hear from you soon." miss shepard asked with a pep in her tone.
"Thanks for your time," he glanced at Noyiah briefly trying to gauge what she was thinking. Calling the place cozy was a good sign as to how she felt about it. "We'll let you know. Thanks." He reached out to shake her hand before walking out with Noyiah.

He extended his arm  for her to take this time and once they stepped away from the house he said, "So...What do you think about just going to the last house?"
He had an idea that she didn't like to waste too much time and going with the best one first may seal the deal early.

A cheeky smirk appeared quickly as she clenched the fork,  but it hurt her teeth a bit to do it, but the pain subsided and the joke was amusing, and it seemed Kazimir immediately knew as to why she did it, it was very nice being with someone day in and day out who appreciated her humor.
 
After they greeted the woman with small cozy house, they thanked her and headed out “ have a good rest of your day, thanks for making the time for us” Noyiah responded as she  went out with Kazimir, once they got to the street Noyiah would relink her arm with him, after they moved away from the house a bit Kazimir asked if she liked the house. “ its not bad, it was small, a little smaller then what I was looking for, and I kind of just realized I don’t even have enough furniture to furnish even a small home, I wonder what the other ones would looked like with my furniture all spread out.” she said, not dismissing the possibility of living there entirely,  the location wasn’t to bad, it would shave about 10 minutes of the thirty minute walk to work. But it wasn’t as big as she hoped, and she couldn’t figure out how they would accommodate a griffon there.

As they wandered about towards the other appointment, which they would likely be early for,  after all she spaced them out an hour each for showing and walking to the next one,  but there wasn’t much traveling they would have to do, except maybe the last one.  As they headed towards the park Noyiah looked at Kazimir and asked “ I cant imagine the amount of change you have had to get used to, are you sure your good with all of this, I mean you and I met, and then you have been basically adapting your entire life to fit mine.” She asked, a heavy question indeed but Noyiah didn’t want that to not have been at least thought about, she didn’t want him to one day wake up and not like his life,  he was very romantic in telling her any where she was he would be there happily, but life was more complicated then that.
 
She didn’t ask anymore question just listened to what he might say and nod. His answer would be one she analyzed later In detail, not that she didn’t do that sort of thing already but she would make sure to commit it to memory,  if she knew anything about Kaz it would likely be another cheesy line, which was fine either way, but she wanted to at least leave that question in the air so it was thought about.
 
As they approached the next house they noticed that it was a little rugged and needed some love and care, the outside looked ratty, and the shingles were falling off, the eavestrough peeled away from the wall and hung freely, it looked far better in the dark.  Something out of place that caught her attention was the sale sign it was pulled from the ground and rest against the wall close to the front door. “ I might have been purchased already” Noyiah pointed out motioning towards the sign.  “should we even knock or just move to the next one?” she asked looking at Kazimir.

They began their walk away from the house. It was smaller than they were looking for and Noyiah didn't really seem too excited about it. It was closer than where they lived now but not quite right. If they were going to find something together it would need to be a place that they both lit up about. Even if it was just a temporary place.

The park was getting closer and closer as they were arm and arm. The trees looked the same as they did when they danced through it. Kaz's mind was adrift with thoughts of the homes. When she began to speak Kaz casually tilted his head to hear her. But it was a much more serious question than he would have ever guessed. His eyebrows rose and settled once the full question was out.

"Oh...you think so," he questioned as he looked up at the sky with a soft tone to his voice. "This is the easiest change I've ever had to make. Changing things to get used to being with you, that's as easy as feeling the breeze on my face," he gave the cheesy line he knew she had come to expect but also knew she was a very detailed and to the point person when it came down to it. So he'd give her a more pragmatic response.

"It's been a change for sure. Being with you is easy. It's been wonderful but odd to get used to living in a house. Just because I've been in the wild for so long. But I wouldn't have it any other way," He gave her a slight tug closer towards him. "To be honest it hasn't been much of a change. It worked out really well for me. I came back and wanted to rise through the ranks and kinda settle down in Era and in the knights. So finding you was... well. Perfect timing for me. We met at a time I was looking for this kind of change."

"So I wanted to be here and find a place. Get used to things. So I don't look at it as me adapting to your life. If anything I'm glad that you're willing to adapt to me. I come with some difficulties and a griffon. One day I think I want to become a kingsguard. But I don't worry about it or needing to move cause well...things will work out," he said with a smile." he knew that his work would take him away at times. The life of a knight was one of missions and travel at times, but hopefully, it would be with her.

He then leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "Plus it helps that I think I'm falling for you."

He let that moment linger and before long they arrived at the rickety looking house. Kaz stopped, "hmmm. Perhaps...let's just move on to the next one."

With her agreement, they would move to the last house. It was situated atop a coffee house. The establishment was quiet. The people inside read books and sipped coffee as they poured over paperwork. The aroma drifted out from the building filling the air around it. No doubt wafting upstairs through the open white wooden shudders on the top floor. There was a small balcony that went out over the side of the coffee house. It was surrounded by vines with flowers dotting it.

The building had large windows, some of them full length and swung open wide. The top was shingled and the living room could be seen from the street. It was rounded like the wall of a tower and lined with windows that would let light pour in through white curtains. A woman waited for them at the base of the building. A side entrance up a winding staircase led to the front door from the outside.

The weather had become increasingly worse the longer they had stayed out. Now that they stood before the home the desired a harsh blizzard began to blow in. A woman yelled out from the coffee shop, "We are closing. The bad weather is hitting early."

Kaz nodded and pulled Noyiah close. It would seem they would be unable to get to the house today.

"Well. What do you think? let's get out of here before we get stuck in the weather. We can ty again another day." Kaz asked before they stepped forward. If she agreed, he would go with her back home and shelter each other from the blizzard that was rolling in.

Noyiah moved through streets with Kaz, listening to his answer to the question she asked, it was as she suspected, as she spotted the romantic gesture coming through, as he explained how easy of a transition it was. Which all his answer did was seem to bother her, it seemed like he never gave it any thought at all and just rolled with it, which was not something she wanted, she wanted to know what he wanted, not just roll with it. Luckily before she could calculate a more aggressive way to ask, he started to reexplain it in far more detail, which by the end Noyiah nodded, it made more sense to her, as to how he could just show up back in town after so long and just roll into a Relationship and be content.

After he explained in more detail his answer, she snugged up the linked arms as they walked, a smile present as she looked about the streets they currently walked, and suddenly he leaned closer and whispered into her ear. It was Likely the cheesiest thing he had said to her yet. She smiled and shook her head. As they passed by a tree Noyiah’s leg swung out and contacted the truck of the tree, knocking a Bunch of the snow free and let it Lump down on them like someone had poured buckets of snow on top of them both. “then suppose the feelings mutual” she agreed, smirking that she would even refer to something as clique.

Noyiah would shake the snow off her as she realized how close they were to the coffee house, the small Sign stood out despite being covered in snow. She patted her clothing to knock lose the snow on her shoulders, and then without breaking free from their locked arms she would scoop the snow that had fallen down her coat, mostly from her neck. But the house seemed too run down to bother with, so she agreed. “yea it’s probably for the best” she nodded, and they would turn towards the other building.

As they moved through town it seemed the wind had blown in a small storm, large Chunky flakes of snow dropped down, obscuring vision every now and then, though it didn’t seem to bad until they turned down the street with the coffee house, it happened to be a perfect wind tunnel as the wind and snow funneled down the street and directly at them, it was going to be quite a bit worst then Noyiah had originally thought, As they got closer Noyiah spotted the woman, she seemed to call out awaiting their arrival. It did in fact seem like the weather had blown in abruptly and they were emptying out so people weren’t stranded. She was pulled closer to Kaz as the wind blew through her coat, stealing her body heat, or what little she could retain between bursts of wind, it was a welcomed motion as she nuzzled in waving her free hand up and yelling into the wind “Another time, Stay warm!” turning with Kazimir. He mentioned getting out of the weather and Noyiah nodded again agreeing but trying not to lose her body heat she didn’t respond verbally.

Noyiah would lead them through a different alley attempting to get out of the wind, and with a dizzying route between back alleys and other less traveled area’s she would lead them both homes again, it was a bit of a letdown, but the lunch was nice.

As they got into the apartment Noyiah would discard anything cold or wet, stealing the blanket off the bed and wrapping it around herself. “1 out of 3, that’s just unlucky” she said slumping onto the couch cocooned up in the blanket for her warmth. “ I guess it’s a snow day” she said with a smile, after all it wasn’t all bad. “ can you put on tea? Please.” she asked seeking anything to restore her warmth, she really didn’t enjoy being cold, and at this point her teeth started to Chatter, if she was looked at she would will herself to stop, resisting it long enough until he looked away and then would continue.

At this point they would be confined to her apartment, they were snowed in for the most part, and she wasn’t too upset about that, besides Cuddling on a cold day was a unusual use of her time but she enjoyed it all the same.
[EXIT]

Her snug up to him made him realize that she appreciated his answer that was a bit more straight forward. He wouldn't want to risk leaning too hard into fancy words that brought about her wrath. It seemed as though even she had a limit when they walked by a snow-covered tree. She smiled and then suddenly kicked the trunk of the tree. Lumps of snow fell down towards them. Kaz saw it coming and his immediate reaction would have been to blow wind at it and disperse it. His stomach tightened, ready for action. Instead of sending out a burst of wind, he let it fall on his head with her.

It nearly masked the words that she spoke in return to his. It was reassuring to hear she felt the same way. She had asked him an important question about their lives. It made him wonder what exactly she thought and felt. Something he'd ask her about later. For now, they had to go look at houses.

That was the plan at least before a terrible surge of wind came through. Flurries filled the streets and clung to roads. Noyiah yelled back at the woman renting the house and they were off. Moving to find safety in the shelter of their home. Noyiah led him through a series of winding streets. Everything whizzed by as fast as it could with two people plodding through the mounds of snow that began to form.

Once up the stairs Noyiah rushed to the blanket and bundled up on the couch. A cold draft lived in the home with them, from some unseen source. The winter outside was like it bled into the walls and radiated inward.

"I think it just means we should have gone their first. Only a little set-back," he said reassuringly her. Nodding back at her he moved towards the pot and heated up some tea. He stood by it until it was warm enough. He glanced back over when he heard the chattering of teeth. As soon as he looked the sound stopped, only to continue when he looked away.

He smiled and said, "You know I can sense the vibration of that chattering."The tea whistled once again and he filled two cups to take them over to her. He sat down next to her until she opened the blanket and he slid in beside her.

She took one cup and he put his arm around her so they could both keep warm. "This should keep us warm enough," he said, holding the cup close to his lips and blowing some of the steam away before taking a sip.

Exit