Time

How long it takes for two people to become friends is relative. How long it takes to become the love of someone's life can take but an instant. The amount of time it took a man and a woman to become the love of each other's life, whether they were meant to be or not, was somewhere in between.

Leak

Knock, knock

"The roof is dripping water on my bed."

"So…?"

"So, Lord Gallant, either give up your bed or fix this."

"I think you're confusing gallantry with being whipped."

"That, I can fix."

Dark

"A trap door? Who does that?"

"Rich, paranoid men with a lot of time on their hands."

"Hey! Watch the hands!"

"I'm not touching you."

"Then what…"

Window

"Did he just –"

"Jump out the window? Yeah."

"We're up three stories."

"Apparently, he knew who I was."

"I'm jealous."

Fear

He wasn't a coward by any stretch of the imagination. Many a man have had the same problem when his heart beat too fast, and his palms sweat profusely, and his mouth went dry, and he couldn't properly form the words…

This had to be said very carefully. She was staring right at him, with this look.

"Well? What do you think?"

"I…I think that particular robe has perhaps too much fabric and might be designed incorrectly."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Meaning what?"

"It makes you look…" he held his hands up with space between them then gradually drew them farther apart.

Daggers came from her eyes, and by sheer force of will, he didn't turn and run.

Sorry

"Look, I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Uh-huh."

"I swear! I did not know that he was going to proposition you."

Drink

He watched her take the bottle to her lips and drink. The old man next to them had an identical bottle, took sparing sips, and nearly hack out his cuts. She offered him the bottle.

"Thank you, but no. I rather like my liver to function for a while longer."

"Wuss."

First

There were fireworks. A rather new occurrence, but festivals everywhere had them now. White and red sparks exploded in the sky. Green and blue scattered and rained down on watchers and passersby.

She walked on in front of him, moving through the crowd and barely glancing at the explosions. A funny, little impulse struck him, and he didn't ignore it. He caught her hand, and she turned to snap at him.

His lips took hers before she could.

There were fireworks.