Minister Liara Lightle's House ~London

Liara sighed as she finally arrived at home, it had been a long day, which was made even longer by her ever growing headage, which was only dulled with potions. And during the day her potions wore off.

"Nox" she whispered with a flick of her wand, to elminate all the lights in the room.

She flicked her wrist again and a soft soothing song started to play from her music player, it was a song Gage sometimes played on the piano. She smirked slightly, it was actually Gage who played the song, she'd recorded it when he wasn't looking. That way she could relax and unwind at home and hear a song that always managed to do that for her with out calling her unoffical boyfirend over every night when he was busy enough as it was she was sure.

She breathed deeply for a moment and slowly felt her tension headache loosen its hold. This was all she needed, perhaps later she would make something to eat and go to bed with a good book. The she would start a new day over again. A whole day of govenors nagging, pure bloods complaining, and muggleborn crying injustice. Liara liked her job, she did she like the power to make others lives better.. to make the world right. But there were times when the world didn't seem to want to be right, and this was one of those times. no right option had shown it's self everything was just wrong.. It was sometimes like this when she wished it was all someone else's problem, but it was only for a moment...

A fire sprung to life in Liara's fireplace, and briefly turned a lurid green. "Paging Minister Liara... Anybody home?" Gage called cheekily seconds before his brown-haired head popped into view, floating amidst the flames. He had already tried the floo at Liara's office to find an empty locked room. Where else would she be, if not home, he reasoned? There was his place but that would look odd after their failed marriage and everything...

Gage grinned ear to ear at hearing the music playing. Just by tuning in he could hear that it was a recording of himself. He hadn't recalled a time he had been recorded, or if Liara had even asked, which intrigued the wizard. If she had done that back when they were less than jovial he would have been beyond furious, particularly if it furthered the blackmail. But things were different now. A lot different. "I hope that's not my evil twin playing that piano I hear!" he joked.

Liara opened her eyes at the familier voice above her music, she sat up and looked toward her fire place,"Gage you cade, sneaking away from Hogwarts already are we?" she said amusemant in her voice, as she sat up, her brown hair partly loose from nearly failing asleep in the chair. Thankfully her make up magically on, and hadn't smugged. She had hung her ministry rode up at the door and was now wearing a black muggle blouse and a black knee length skirt.

"Mr. Gage now no Minister stuff in this house, I swear if I hear the word Minister again today.." she trailed off sighed and smirked at Gage, glad to see him after a hellish day.

"Oh yes, your evil twin who I have foced into submission and made him play soothing music after work is done" she said with a wink crouched in front of the floo.

"You make much better company though" she said as a after thought and in a quieter tone.

A grin tweaked the smile lines on Gage's face. "Gotta start early so I can re-learn all the really cool escape routes," he replied, laughter just beneath the surface. "Besides, I'm fairly certain the kids have re-learned that old phrase 'absence makes the heart grow fonder.' They won't even know I'm gone." The wizard's right eye twitched in a wink. Upon seeing the loosened hairstyle Gage couldn't help but visualize himself removing the accessories that bound it and the inevitable cascade of chocolate tresses that would fall about her shoulders. It also did not take Gage long to notice that Liara had checked her Ministry robe at the door, and that she was dressed in muggle attire. The attraction he felt was not a secret if one looked deep enough into his eyes.

Gabriel chuckled at Liara's lighthearted rebuke. He was tempted to say 'Minister' once more to see precisely what the unsaid response would have been, but refrained. "I could always say it backwards. Although 'retsinim' doesn't quite have that ring to it..." he smirked.

The left caramel-colored eyebrow on the wizard's face twitched upwards with playful intrigue. "Lucky devil..." Gage chuckled regarding the non-existent twin.

"You make much better company though" Liara murmured quietly.

"In that case, mind if I come over for a bit?" Gage asked just as softly. "If you haven't had dinner... I could cook something...?

"... I'm not keen on doing the dishes after, though," he added, yet another smirk on rise to the surface.

Liara chuckled glad Gage seemed happy starting his teaching job, heck he wouldn't be in this good a mood if he wasn't. 'well it is late in the evening, I quite agree with you, no one will ever know. Exciting isn't it?" she asked with a smirk.

She couldn't help but laugh to his comment about saying Minister backwards, shaking her head amused. It shocked her sometimes just how easily Gage could cheer her up, the title of minister felt lighter then it had moments earlier.

Liara nodded, more then happy at his request to come over "Sounds lovely, and no worries what are scrougifies for?" she said with a smirk briefly wondering if Gage sometimes forgot he was a wizard.

She moved out of the way so Gage could enter her living room, she also turned the lights back on, despite her protesting eyes stumbling around in the dark was not a option.

"You have no idea," he replied jovially, mirroring her smirk.

Gage's grin widened at her comment, though blinked in confusion when she mentioned scourgify. A second later it hit him: cleaning spell. "I'm still not keen on doing the dishes," he chuckled. Although, if he were to be any measure of honest, he often did forget from time to time that he was a wizard. Potions were to him like chemistry was to a scientist, or cooking to a chef.

Taking a deep breath, Gage stepped through the fire and into Liara's living room. Normally he was rather inept with the floo since his injury - the whirling about in the floo network sending him off-balance and then sprawling onto the unfortunate person's living room. This time however he managed to keep his balance. It cost him a pair of scraped knuckles, but Gage wasn't about to complain.

Serenely, the wizard took a few moments to glance around the room. "Is it me or are a few things different in here?" he asked lightly. Glancing between the increased brightness and Liara's reaction to it, Gage made his way over to where she stood. "You can keep the lights dim. I work in a dungeon now, remember?" he chortled. Without waiting for an answer he placed a brief kiss upon Liara's forehead and made his way toward the kitchen.

Liara smiled furhter at his statment and laughed "My dear who is ever keen on cleaning dishes? Neither am I" she said lightly. "I will do them tomorrow morning" she added, depending if Gage had any intention of staying after a meal she had the feeling she wouldn't feeling like doing them either help of magic or none.

Liara smiled slightly once her eyes ajusted to the light in the room, she was happy he managed to stay on balance on his arrival. She felt rather bad when it happened sometimes and wished there a better way for him to get there, but alas the floo was the most secure for both of them. So she would try to make it worth his while should such a thing happen again...

She let out a slight chuckle, "How are things different?" she asked.

She smiled again at his show of affection, and almost had a sigh leave her lips, She turned th lights down only slightly " I only dimmed them for mood sake" she softly added as she followed him to the kitchen.

Gage glanced around the room again at Liara’s question. “I dunno. Something just feels different since last time,” he replied vaguely. Sapphire orbs settled themselves upon a portrait hanging on the wall. “Didn’t that used to be over here somewhere?” he asked, gesturing with his cane to the next wall to their right. There was a frame hanging up over there, too, the subjects in both watching with interest. “And if I didn’t know any better the couch seems to be at a different angle. Almost within reasonable falling distance from being spat out of the floo,” he added with a wry smirk.

At Liara’s mentioning she only dimmed the lights for the sake of the mood, Gage craned his neck so he could look back at her. “Half-liar; I think I can still tell when my fiancé has a headache,” he chuckled, teasing lightly, though a genuine smile illuminated the wizard’s face. He preferred not to refer to Liara as his ex-fiance when it was just them, for the ‘ex’ part inevitably made him cringe in some form or another. “I can brew a batch of relief potion while I’m at it if you’ve run out...?”

The potions professor turned around just in time to come face-to-face with a section of wall where an archway led to the kitchen. A grunt of surprise and pain escaped the wizard as he side-stepped his error and strode into the kitchen. “I meant to do that...”

Liara’s kitchen was certainly more orderly than Gage’s own. Everything seemed to have its own prescribed place, and the kitchen was kept as neat and tidy as a single Minister for Magic could hope to keep it. Gage, on the other hand, always had herbs drying and things were placed in his kitchen wherever they could fit. Sometimes the arrangement changed to better suit his needs at that particular time of the year. His counters were stained with juices from various food and potion items, which he proudly felt gave it a unique tie-dye effect that no one could buy or match.

“Anything particular sound good? Or shall I do what I do best and surprise you?” Gage asked with a grin and a wink. Without even thinking about it he scratched the index finger wrapped around the handle of his cane with his thumb, where a simple ring was perched. Were it on the correct finger, it could almost be mistaken for a wedding band...

Liara tilted her head to the side as Gage went on how her living room looked different, his attention to detail astonded her sometimes. It was true she liked to change things up once in a while, change the pictures on the walls, sometimes even spell her furnitute to differently colours and patterns. And.. of course she always placed a couch infront of the fire place, weather for reading by fire light or of someone just so happened to fall out of her floo, he'd have a comfy couch to fall on.

"Well you know me, like to change thing up a bit, always looking for a better arrangment.." she said with a chuckle.

Her smile soffened and her thumb rubbed the gold ring on her finger when he called her his Fiance, Gage may had been hard to read at times.. even for her. But it was things like that that convinced her that he had a big heart.. one of the reasons she loved him. Though she almost sighed about the headache and shock her head slowly..

"No need.. I still have some, and I had two doses at work... do believe i am becoming immune to them.. going to have to let it go away on it's own. besides its not as bad as it was... I can live with it" she said almost becoming used to the pain right behind her eyes.

Liara laughed at his mutter of meaning to run into the wall.. "Of course.." She said saying it like she actually believed him.

"Anything can beat what I was originally planning on having, toast and Soup... So do what you do best. Tis a good police it I do say so myself" she said following him into her kitchen.

She had the kitchen always stocked with food to cook with.. though there were days she wasn't a very motovated cook. Plus Gage was a better cook then her anyway.. Only thing she cooked decently was pasta, and baking bread. There was a Wine cabnet in the cornor fully stocked.. The french side of her family always wanted wine and breads... so there it was..

"Any ideas my dear?" she asked as she took her brown hair out of its bun and pulled it back again into a pony tail with a red ribbon.

"I shale assist" she said placing her hand on top of his that held his cane.

"If you're sure... I mean, it's no trouble if you want me to brew some," he replied, tone slightly skeptical. Gage called it the 'Healer's tone' even though he had technically picked it up from observing his parents: his mother skeptical of a complaint his father had tried to shrug off "treatment" in the form of light first aid for. Chocolate brows knitted together with concern at her comment about possibly becoming immune to the potion. "Well... maybe we should try a different method of therapy for those headaches?" he suggested, providing a wry but light smirk loaded with suggestion.

"Toast and soup!" Gage echoed in mock lament. With a chuckle, he added, "Merlin, what am I going to do with you?!" Even with his voice down to accommodate her headache, the amusement and playfulness in his tone was inescapable. He watched as Liara pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "You ought to know I'm full of ideas..." Sapphire orbs closed with barely masked bliss at the simple gesture of Liara's hand upon his. When he opened them again, Gage realized his other hand had reached over to encase her hand between the both of his.

"Let's see... I think I'll do this part the easy way, and hope I don't make a mess," he murmured lightly. Squinting as if to concentrate, Gage non-verbally summoned most of the ingredients he wanted: salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, cream, two cloves of garlic, butter, fettuccine noodles, asparagus, and a small mix of apples, mandarin oranges, apricots, and pineapple spears.

"... I'm so not doing that with the spices up there..." he laughed, gesturing with his eyes to the spice rack. "Could you get some of those for me, please?"

Liara smiled at his tone and side stepped his concern, "I am fine my dear don't worry about it" she said as she smirked at his next comment. Though really her headache wasn't that bad.. it had mostly started to go away when he got there

"What theropy would that be Doctor?" she asked playfully as her smile widened.

She blushed and tired to look innocent after his exclimation over her original choice in supper. "Whatever you like my dear" she whispered in a undertone that matched his suggestiveness from before.

Her smile soffened however when his hand seemed automaticly place it's self over hers, and it brought the same joy in her eyes as his kiss had when he first arrived. It Gage ever had any doubt over the ministers feelings for him the look in her brown eyes at that moment could have cleared it all up. She may have left him at the alter, but her heart hadn't. "Yes.. I know smartypants" she said teasingly though her hand still gave his a small squeeze.

Liara almost rolled her eyes at his comment about him hopefully not making a mess, "You and me both Dear" She muttered as she watched the different ingrediants fly into place to be used. She looked curious for a moment on what he was intending to make.

"Ah, Very well" she said a she whipped her wand out, charms were her specaily and she was not going in her tip toe's to get them. Being rather short, being a witch with a talent for charms was rather useful. "Which ones my Dear?" she asked as she fiddled with them. making them dance in place as she waited.

At Liara's playful inquiry about an alternative therapy, Gage grinned. "Oh, it's very effective for both the patient and the specialist. If I told you exactly what all it entailed you'd likely either slap me or kiss me," he replied with a chuckle. "Maybe even both," Gage added, looking Liara directly in the eyes with a cheeky smirk. His eyebrows did a little bounce for additional effect. The wizard caught her whispered reply and grinned. "I might have to take you up on that," he whispered in return, tossing in a wink for good measure.

The look of curiosity on Liara's face made Gage chuckle. Silently, he wondered how quickly it would take for Liara to figure out what he was up to. Most of the ingredients were on one side of the table, while the cans of fruit remained off to the side by themselves. Suddenly remembering another item he had forgotten, Gage glanced around for anything that resembled a canister of sugar.

"Hmm..." Gage uttered, pulling a face full of mock thought. At the same time, he watched with amusement as Liara played with the spices. "You show-off..." he teased lightly. "Let's see... Going from memory here. How about: basil... oregano... parsley... thyme... vanilla... cloves... nutmeg... and cinnamon. Sticks as well as powder, if you have it. Just powder will work if not - sticks just make it look interesting. Pretty please, with a canister of sugar I can't find on top?" he asked, laughter just below the surface. While Liara got the spices, Gage found a stock pot and began to spell already hot water into it for the pasta.

Liara grined and couldn't hide a small blush, he was likely right, hitting and Kissing him sounded like something she would do. She smirked and winked back, "We'll see" she said teasingly as she ran the tip of her finger up his hand she rubbed breifly at his ring, before she trailed her way up his arm and to his face where she rested her hand at his cheek "I am hoping you might" she whispered before rising to her tiptoes and kissing him.

"Love ya.. my dear" she muttered pulling away a bit with a smirk.

She chuckled when Gage called her a show off and simply shrugged, she was allowed to have fun and be silly once in a while couldn't she? She floated the spices off one by one as he named them off, including a canister of sugar which she had dance around his head. She got the Cinnamon sticks by hand and brought them over to him personally. "Do your wonders my dear" she chipped hand them over with a small bit of laughter.

"Well I can see a wonderful pasta for dinner.. and a desert though not sure what it is... yet.. Sounds wonderful though" she said examining all the ingrediants that had been colllected so far.

Gage snickered at her teasing response. He made an attempt to catch her hand when it lingered upon the finger containing the ring he didn’t have the heart not to wear in some shape or form, though deliberately made sure he was too slow. The wizard leaned into the touch, and grinned a little wider at her further whispered remark. As Liara stood on tiptoe Gage bent slightly to meet her halfway in the kiss. Had the press been present he would have gladly flipped off the lot of them with a very rude gesture. They didn’t need to squish their noses into every aspect of his fiancé’s life. Especially her ‘secret’ love life with him!

“Ditto,” he replied, tempted beyond measure to coax her back for a second. But he refrained this time. If he hadn’t, they would likely both forego dinner entirely. Or, at least, that was the half-fantasy the wizard’s mind laid out for him. It was not at all fair what society had done to prevent them being together without political backlash. Merlin, he hated politics...

In all honesty, if Gage were to ever say it, he liked when Liara “showed off”. It brought a lightness to the atmosphere of their relationship. If Liara would not show off, he would, and it could be something they could laugh and/or marvel over. As the spices hovered to the counter, Gage batted each new addition to their appropriate sides like a kitten would paw at a ball of yarn.

As the canister of sugar danced and bobbed around his head the potions specialist laughed and allowed it to continue on for several moments before catching it. When Liara approached bearing cinnamon sticks, Gage set down the canister and gave her a comic expression that was one-half part eyeroll, one and a half parts grin, and one part laugh. “Oh, I shall,” he confirmed with a hint of suggestion as Gage accepted the cinnamon sticks and chuckled. Liara’s laughter was delightfully contagious. Either that or he was simply highly susceptible to it.

Putting the water on the stove to boil upon the left back burner, Gage deliberately left his cane on the handle of the oven. He grinned at her correct assumptions that he was making a sort of pasta dinner plus a dessert. “I think you’ll like it. The dessert actually originated in France during the seventeenth century,” he hinted slightly with a wink and proceeded to cast a spell to wash the asparagus. “You don’t by any chance have a steamer, do you?” Gage asked quizzically and caught the handle of a flying, summoned saucepan. Much like the sugar, he had belatedly forgotten about the piece of kitchen equipment.

Liara smiled, sighed almost longingly after the kiss they shared, and procedded onward to her mission to the kitchen. in all honesty it both shocked and amazed her Gage forgave her as easily as he had after leaving him at the alter like that. She thought for sure he'd never want to see her again after that, even after explaining herself. She'd been guilt ridden for ages after it happened, she still was now that she thought about it.. She was thankful he never brought it up, as it always caused a lump in her throat.

She chuckled when he batted the spices like a cat and caught her dancing sugar, "We should do this more often" she said with laughter in her voice, despite the dweary painful way the evening had started out Liara was now having fun, and her headache was just about non-existant thanks to Gage. Leave it him him to take a stress headache and turn it upside down.

She tilted her head curiously at the desert, she wasn't much for old family recepies of deserts though at times she wished she was.. she had no idea what he could possibly be making, but looked forward to it nontheless. She trused she would love it just as he said.

"I am sure I will love it, my dear" she said with a chuckle at his wink.

Liara thought for a moment, did she have a steamer?

"Ah lets see.. Mother stocked this kitchen for me with all sorts of things.. still haven't used them all" she said as she started opening cupboards searching for a steamer. She tapped her fingers on her knee while crunched down as she rummaged through the pots and pans.

"Ah ha! there you are! Yes we have a steamer!" she announce triumpantly as she handed it to him beaming. "I can see mother rolling her eyes at me right now" she muttered sheepishly, but she really didn't care, the light in her eyes was evident with that.

“I certainly wouldn’t complain if we did,” Gage responded automatically with a playful wink. Despite the silliness, he was quite serious about that. The wizard hoped his love’s comment meant that her headache was finally letting up. Or at least a part of him hoped that. Another part was actually hoping for post-dinner time with Liara draped across his lap, with his hands upon her head in a different, almost acupressure-esque technique to soothe the headache. He had seen his father do such a thing for his mother when she came home with a migraine. With any luck that "other part" might have some of its wish yet, with all parties willing of course.

Gage couldn’t resist the smirk that crept onto his face at Liara’s statement. Moms tended to be like that: making sure their children had the means to get by. Admittedly it changed in format as the child grew older, but the goal was always the same. He watched as Liara searched for the steamer and would have helped if not for his leg. It didn’t take her long to find so Gage didn’t feel too bad about being unhelpful with that. “Awesome,” he answered with a grin to match hers.

“Let ‘em roll, I say,” Gage remarked, taking keen notice of the light in her eyes. He had envisioned a similar expression on her face when they were due to be married, and for a moment was taken back to standing at an altar (even though it was really a kitchen counter in the present) waiting for his bride-to-be. It was a short-lived memory. After giving himself a light shake from the thoughts Gage placed the asparagus inside the steamer and cast a charm on it for to get started with that task. “She’d probably shake her whole head and roll her eyes if she so much as peeked into my kitchen.” The wizard shook his head. “So long as my counters are left as they are I really couldn’t care less what anyone does with it,” Gage chuckled.

A confused expression crossed the wizard’s features as though he were trying to remember what he had had in mind to do next. He glanced from Liara to the asparagus to the pot on the stove. Almost as suddenly he was brought back to the present, and limped lightly toward the saucepan. “I’m also going to need a skillet or something similar,” he muttered, pointing to the saucepan and miming the differing dimensions he was looking for. “Woudja, please?” Gage asked, donning a playfully childish pout. Assuming she would, Gage began to open all cans and cartons of food with magic and removed the papery outside of the garlic cloves by hand.

Liara smiled, it certainly made her day brighter, really though her headaghes were the result of her job. Anyone who knew her well would know she cared for her job deeply as well. She concidered it apart of who she was, when things got difficult in the courts on in her office she gave it her all to solve it, even if it went over her head and when it went over her head was when her head felt like exploding.. Gage coming over like this was like a mini holiday. Where she could just be herself and not think about the troubles her country was in..

"Then it is a Date" she said simply a gleam in her eyes. An idea was forming in her head but she didn't want to voice it just yet.. over dinner perhaps.

She chuckled, "Your counters are so full of potion stuff and who knows what else" she said shaking her head at the memory last time she had been in his kitchen. The smell of all the herbs and cooking concotions reminded her of Gage though, he smelt faintly of it a lot of the time.

She blinked ay his confused expression as if he was lost in thought, she folded her arms smirking slightly waiting for him to continue.

She gave him a nod when he asked for the sausce pan, "Aye aye... Professor" she said playfully looked around for her sauce pan. She pouted when she found it hanging high above her head. She suddenly felt like a little girl again, needing her father to reach things she could not. It seemed that problem still exisited, but since she had been asked to get it, she would get it, her lack of hieght not accontable. As before she pulled out her wand and levitiated it down so she could reach it.

She then set it on the stove before leasurly walking her fingers up Gages arm with a playfull smile. "What next my dear?" she asked.