Impress Me Not: The Architect

Chapter 11

"Are you guys talking about the Powells?" someone asked from across the hall. They looked to see a quiet member of the cupids walking up towards them.

"Akari!" Benny ran up to her and gave her a hug. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Hi Benny," Akari smiled. "I heard about your last case that you were on. Congratulations on the success!"

"Thanks," he put his hands on his hips, looking proud. "It was all my idea to put those two together. With, uh, a little help from Will."

"He still owes be some of his breakfast," Will winked at her. Akari was a quiet cupid, but a lovable one nonetheless. Being from Japan originally, it took her a while to get used to the culture of the rest of the cupids. Cupids from Japan were usually the odd ones out. But she was great at her job, and had gotten many awards for pinning the best couples together.

"I'm sure this case you're on now was all your idea too," Akari giggled a bit. Her dark brown eyes and black hair reminded everyone of mocha, and that's exactly how she liked her coffee.

"How do you know of the Powells?" Sarah asked. "I thought you only focused on cases in Japan and the middle east?"

"Lou Powell is a special case," Akari sighed and sat down. "All of the Powells are, actually. But I was put on Lou's because he's a Closed Heart case, and a serious one at that."

"He's a Closed Heart case?" Will asked, looking back at the screen where Lou and Valentino were eating dinner. "Why?"

"It's complicated," she shook her head. "Not a lot of musicians wind up with closed hearts. Lou just had to focus on Valentino a lot when their father was taken from the picture."

"What happened to their father?" Benny asked.

"I'm not supposed to say," Akari shook her head. Then, she looked at Benny with a sparkle in her eyes. "But, since you two are on Valentino's case, you should probably know."

She motioned the two of them to come closer to her and whispered her answers in their ears. She even smelt like mocha when you were this close to her. It made Benny wish that he had gotten some coffee before coming back to headquarters.

Maybe he could try making a fancy one with their coffee pots in the kitchen part of the breakroom.

"Yikes," Will said. "That would definitely explain why Valentino's not the nicest to people."

"It was a sad story," Akari touched her heart. "Lou focused so much on Valentino around that time, and all the touring with his band, he didn't have time to find love and keep it. He put his brother over his own needs for a long while."

"Hey," Sarah crossed her arms. "Why don't we get to know the story of their father? We're a part of this by proxy."

"What do you mean," Akari furrowed her eyebrows. Then she looked over at Will. "What are you all planning?"

"Well," Will put his hand behind his head. "If I told you, you'd have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Will," Akari shook her head. "Now is not the time to be doing anything crazy. You know no one in the department has forgotten your worst mistake due to one of your crazy ideas."

"You mean Gabe and Silvia?" Benny asked. When Akari nodded, Benny laughed. "This one might just be worse than that."

"Don't say that!" Akari gasped. "You have no idea just how long the boss yelled at Will for! He demoted him all the way down to the filing department after that!"

"Ugh," Justin shook his head. "I hope I never have to work in that section. I get lost in those files so easily."

"There's a trick to it," Will joked. "Look, nothing is as bad as the Gabe and Silvia incident, okay? I'll finally admit that."

He wished the department would stop talking about that. He still heard little whispers of it from some of the higher cupids. And every time a new hire came to shadow someone, one of them made sure to tell them how much Will messed up.

It was all the way back in the 70s. That's how much these people never forgot.

"I still don't get that," Justin frowned. "It was just a failed case. Why was it so bad?"

"You just had to be there," Will sighed. "Trust me, Justin, it was bad."

"What are you doing now, though?" Akari asked, looking at the television screen. "Have you found someone to pair him with?"

"Are you going to make that promise first?" Will asked. They really couldn't have anyone knowing this time. If anyone they didn't trust knew then they would rush to end this little rogue project before it even started blooming.

"You have my word," she nodded.

Will patted a free spot on the couch right next to him and waited until she sat down. After that he pressed a button on the remote that switched the camera on the television to Casimir's.

"Will!" Akari gasped. "Do you know how many rules this breaks?"

"Just one," Justin said. "The others are all if he does it without the anticupid's consent."

"You agreed to this?"

"I..." he looked down, his voice more than a little nervous. "I don't think he should be in our department."

"This is just a test," Sarah said. "That's why it was allowed."

"They're a good match," Will smiled. "I know it."

"I hope you're right, Will," Akari said. "If not then you all are going to get in a lot of trouble."

"Even if it fails," Will said. "I don't think it's going to hurt Valentino. He's the best at ending relationships before they even start. The toughest thing with him is actually getting to start the relationship."

"That's true," Akari laughed a bit. "I had to give advice to every cupid that had his case. They could never get it right."

"That's where the wild card comes in," Benny said. He was excited to see where these two would wind up going. "I just hope that your case winds up okay."

"Lou Powell is a tough one," Akari sighed. "But I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Besides, he's going onto my home turf for that tour."

"Ooo!" Sarah rubbed her hands together. "Sounds like a juicy story."

"Hopefully it won't be," Akari laughed. "These two don't need anymore drama than they already have. Just don't worry about Lou, I'll take care of him. You guys worry about your cases. This isn't going to go down well, Will."

"With my luck in this line of work," Will shrugged. "Nothing usually does. But love is like that sometimes." He looked at the screen and smiled. "Sometimes it's not wanted until you have it, and sometimes it's the only thing that keeps you from making an even worse mistake."

Author's Note: Hi guys! We have a new cupid! I hope you enjoyed Akari. She's a quiet gal, but she loves her job and the friends around her. She's been in this profession almost as long as Will has. While there are some Cupids that aren't going to be in this book, I'm going to be bringing more in as the story progresses. It's going to be a blast, I promise you all!

Thanks for all the votes and comments!

-Saturn