Fire in Her Eyes - Charlie Weasley

Chapter 7 - Face the Pain

Kai woke the next morning feeling sore. She groaned as she rolled out of bed. She might have over done it a bit yesterday. She hadn't made a burn ointment in a while, and she forgot how much effort it took.

She got dressed in black high waisted, cropped tight jeans, a pair of doc martens, and a black v-neck camisole. She threw on a plaid jacket over top, grabbed her wand and checked her watch before heading out the door. She walked into the coffee shop down the road and got a latte and a scone before heading to work. She was tired of Charlie being on her ass about eating. She hated that she really did feel better after eating breakfast, not that she would ever tell him.

Walking into her office, she sat down at her desk, sipping her coffee. With her door open, she could see Charlie at his desk directly across the way. He glanced at his watch, and Kai knew that she had barely made it on time.

She shrugged her shoulders and nonchalantly lifted the scone to her lips, taking a bite, maintaining eye contact. She swallowed her bite and grinned impishly, noticing his eyebrows furrow in a scowl. Maintaining eye contact, she licked her lips slowly before taking another bite. Charlie just looked back down at the paperwork on his desk and she sighed. Maybe someday he'll warm up to her.

She finished her scone, grabbed some papers and her coffee, and headed back upstairs to the potions lab. She had prepared most of her ingredients for the Fire Mite ointment yesterday, so today was getting it started. The ointment would take about four days brew, but it was far less intensive than the burn ointment that she started yesterday. She turned the radio on to her favorite station and hummed along again as she got to work. The burn ointment would have to go back on fire in the afternoon, so she set a timer to remind herself.

Kai began to mix ingredients for the Fire Mite into a cauldron carefully. She began to zone out and the time flew by, until a gentle knock pulled her out of focus. She didn't even have to look up to know it was probably Charlie grabbing her for lunch.

"Give me five minutes, and we'll grab food," she rolled her eyes, giving him a knowing look.

Charlie did his best to keep a smile off his face as he pulled out two containers from behind his back. "I figured you would probably be too busy to leave," a small smile broke through. "But I wanted to make sure you didn't work through lunch."

Kai grinned softly and nodded her thanks. Things seemed to be easier after their explosion yesterday. The air between them was still a little tense, but not the heavy storm it was yesterday. A few minutes later she turned off the heat to the cauldron and checked the time. It would need to go back on in two hours, but the timer went off for the burn ointment. She sighed and took the lid off the burn cauldron, setting it back on the fire with another timer for an hour. She took the gloves off, washed her hands, and then jumped on the desk facing Charlie the same way they were yesterday.

"You like this music, huh?" Charlie looked at the radio that was still playing gently in the background.

"Yeah," Kai looked out the window. "It feels like home. No matter where I went in the States, country music was always there."

"Where's home for you?" Charlie was intrigued.

"All over," Her voice had a slight edge to it that Charlie would have missed if she didn't have all of his attention. "What about you?" She turned the tables, looking at him. "Where's home for you?"

She watched Charlie's face light up and then fall, thinking about his home. "England. The Burrow," he sighed. His hand rubbed his chin as if debating saying more. She couldn't fault him for not expanding. It's not like she had been very open either.

"What's your family like?" Kai couldn't help herself but to push. She kept her voice low, as if how she would speak to an animal that might spook at any moment.