★ SPARKS FLY★
A LITTLE EXCUSE

harleen. She was really strange. Not that Kaveh found her ridiculous! She was special. In an interesting way. And suddenly she was the reason why he couldn't concentrate on his drawings. He had inspiration and he knew how he wanted to draw his ideas, but every time he started she crept into his thoughts.

He didn't know her well. He didn't actually know her at all. But that was exactly what bothered him! He wanted to know her better. He had never had such an urge to spend time with someone. It was crazy, but she had fascinated him. And somehow he wondered if he was just a casual encounter for her or if she also found him interesting in some way.

Kaveh looked up from his unfinished drawings and over to the large window. It was already dark outside and he could see a few stars twinkling through the windows. Stars. The stars also reminded him of Harleen. How could someone he had spoken to twice have such an effect on him?

He felt really stupid. He felt like one of the protagonists in the plays in which a romantic story was told within 45 minutes. Kaveh had nothing against the theater! He just had something against stories that were told way too quickly. He liked long stories. Stories in which lots of beautiful and exciting things happen and only towards the end did everything really become clear. But maybe that was just his hopeless idea of ​​romance.

Only the smell of fresh coffee made him look away from the window. There was a large cup of coffee right in front of him. A star was formed from the foam.

»I'm sososo sorry, Kaveh!« Harleen. Her soft voice rang out, causing him to raise his head. She was standing behind the table, directly across from him. »I only noticed recently, actually 10 minutes ago, that you also gave me your drawings. You've probably already been looking for them!«

He hadn't. He hadn't even noticed until just now that he had given his drawings to her too. But suddenly he was even happy about it. At least it had led to him seeing her again.

Harleen pulled back the chair and sat opposite him. She placed the rolled-up drawings on the table. »You know, the drawings you had with you when we bumped into each other,« she said. Did he look that confused? »Anyway, the coffee is a little excuse.«

»A excuse?«

»Well, because I noticed it so late and... I was looking at your drawings, if they were somehow secret projects, I'm sorry for my curiosity.«

Yes, Kaveh didn't just find her interesting if he was honest. He thought she was absolutely adorable. The way she spoke and looked at him. He was a pretty unsuccessful architect, he had hardly any money and worked himself to death. He wasn't really used to being treated so nicely.

»I could have noticed myself that I gave my drawings to you,« he replied, almost amused. »Besides, they weren't all that important projects.«

Harleen raised her eyebrow. »Not so important projects?« She took one of the drawings and rolled it up. »I thought, whatever that is, it's pretty cool.«

Kaveh couldn't help but laugh. »You think it's cool, but you can't even recognize what it is?«

An amused smile appeared on her lips. »I'm sure it's a big hall.«

»It is! Actually this hall is already finish.«

»Oh, so another building that you can admire.«

»Not really. The hall is in place, but my client is not yet completely satisfied.« And that was also one of the reasons why Kaveh had sleepless nights. He had no idea what to change about the building. »To be honest, I kind of regret accepting this request.« Because this client thought he was more important than anyone else. And he wasn't! Kaveh still had other customers to take care of too.

Harleen tilted her head to the side and smiled encouragingly. »Can I see the building?«

»Now? Don't you have to watch the stars?«

»You know, the stars will still be there tomorrow,« replied Harleen. »Sometimes an outsider's opinion helps and you already helped me.«

She wanted to help him? And he could spend some time with her? That sounded temptingly good. Almost as good as the coffee smelled. »It's quite a walk.«

»Lucky you, I love walking under a starry sky.« She rolled up the drawing again and stood up from the chair. »So are we leaving? or do I have to beg you to give me a little of your precious time?«

Kaveh chuckled a little. »You don't have to beg, I have time and I'm grateful for your help.«

»Ah I knew it! Of course you couldn't say no if I ask you.« She was right. He couldn't say no. And he didn't want to either. Maybe she would really be able to help him and even if not he would probably have a pleasant evening with Harleen. So he could only win.

It was pleasantly warm outside. The stars twinkled and gave them light. Harleen kept looking up at the sky as if she was looking for something specific. She walked next to him and Kaveh repeatedly caught himself looking down at her. He was an architect. He could judge what was beautiful and why. After all, that was his job. Create beautiful things, discover beautiful things.

And he could certainly tell that Harleen had her own unique beauty. In terms of looks alone, she was beautiful. But her kind personality made her even more beautiful. Kaveh had no idea what was wrong with him, but he liked her. Faster than he had ever liked anyone. Maybe he needed someone like that to feel less stressful.

     »So tell me, what exactly bothers your client about your work?«

     If only Kaveh knew that. »It's not spectacular enough, that certain something extra is missing... he has a new problem every day.«

     »Well then, perhaps the main problem is the customer themselve.«

     He had to laugh. He liked that about Harleen too. She managed to make him laugh, she managed to make him relax completely. »Perhaps you right.«

     »Of course!« She laughed. »Don't I always?«

    »Well I don't know you well enough for that yet.«

     She nodded and jumped onto the low stones to their right, the stones stretching all the way along. »Well then we should change that.« Absolutely. He wanted nothing more than to find out more about her! »Don't you think so, too?«

     Naturally. Of course he thought so too! He wanted to know where she came from, why she studied at the academy, why stars, did she have siblings, what did she like to do in her free time, why did she balance on stones... Kaveh really wanted to know all this stuff.

     »Sure.«

     Harleen grinned. She jumped off the stone, landing with her feet right in front of him. She looked up at him. »What would you like to know?«

     Kaveh staggered back a step. He really wasn't used to having someone so close to him. Well, yes he wasn't used to having a girl so close to him. And that made him nervous. »You've always lived in Sumeru?«

     »I was borne here and I probably will die here.«

     »You always wanted to, well..«

     »Stargazing?« She finished his sentence. »Yes, my brother did that too and I always wanted to be as smart as him.« She giggled. »If you ask me, I'm the smarter one out of the two of us now.«

     Kaveh raised his eyebrow in amusement. »How come?«

     »He had so much potential, but then he met this pretty lady and moved to Fontaine for her... now he sits behind a desk and does office stuff.« Harleen rolled her eyes. »It's not that love isn't something great! Only I personally couldn't give up everything, my principles, for it.«

     Kaveh thought that made sense. This somehow showed him that she was her own independent person and didn't need someone to give her life meaning. More like someone who added something to her life.

     »Now it's my turn!« Harleen stopped abruptly and looked at him. »Why do you bother yourself with such tasks that don't let you sleep at night?«

»What do you mean?«

»You're working yourself to death. The few times I've seen you, it was well after midnight, you looked tired, and what do you get for your trouble?« She paused, but answered the question herself. »An ungrateful client.«

She wasn't wrong. Actually, she was absolutely right, but Kaveh had to take these clients. He had no other choice. »I don't know about you, but.« He considered telling her the truth, he was kind of embarrassed, but somehow he trusted her. »But I can use every penny.«

Harleen nodded. »I understand.« She did? Really? »I try my best and help you!«

Kaveh couldn't help but smile. »If that's the case, you should know that my client likes old-fashioned architecture.«

»Sure, who doesn't.«