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snowblossomreads · 4 months

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Day 22: String of Lights

Pairing: Sinclair Bryant x Amiee Huang (OC)

Summary: It's Amiee's birthday and Sinclair makes it a memorable one. Kind of a continuation of Day 12 Giver of Gifts.

Tag(s)/Warning(s): drinking, smut, oral (fem receiving), new kink discovery, age gap, size difference, penetrative sex, just a good time 😌

Word Count: 5.1K

A/N: 🎉🎉it's my kid's bday (aka Amiee's LOL) so why not celebrate it with her having some fun with Sinclair 😉😉. I won't hold you all up with my rambles other than saying have fun : D!

MDNI

She had to admit, as much as she complained about not wanting to be fussed over for her birthday, Amiee was very much amazed when Sinclair led her into a restaurant that made her feel like they had walked into the Victorian era.

Everything about the place screamed opulent, from the dark colour scheme to the tall windows where you could peer out to see people walking about on the streets. There was also a little area in the corner of the dining room where a tiny string quartet was, serenading the guests of the establishment.

The spiralling staircase they were led up to was also glowing with strings of lights that had been put up for Christmas. If one looked up from the stairs, one would be able to see a ring of hanging ivy that held lanterns in them which bathed the stairwell in a comforting warm orange light.

They were then directed to a private room where when they stepped in, a few of her friends and her sister stood greeting the couple with a loud and enthusiastic,

"Happy Birthday Amiee!"

Even though she knew they all would be here, their presence, coupled with the surprise of the restaurant that he had chosen for them, caused her whole being to warm at how much joy was in one room. And all of it was geared towards her.

Once she had a chance to greet everyone, they were able to settle down and have their drinks served to them while they waited for food. There was a toast, dedicated to her before they dug into their respective meals and everyone seemed more than pleased with what they had ordered. For her, a spiced duck cottage pie piqued her interest and it had been an excellent choice. The flavors were familiar to her, yet when they were put together, everything was made even more delicious.

"Sinclair you have to try this it's dead good," she praised as she spooned some of the food up and offered it up to the man who perked up at the sound of more food.

Happy to take a bite of her own meal, he leaned over to eat what was offered before he let out a loud moan at the flavour causing her to giggle. The noise also seemed to pull laughter out of some of the others who heard it, as they weren't quite used to someone who showed their appreciation for food as loudly and enthusiastically as he did.

"Mmm, it is delicious!" He sighed now wishing he had also gotten the same. Granted he quite liked what he had gotten to…maybe he should have ordered both?

"Here have some of mine, it's very good as well...it's almost gone though," he added sadly, looking forlorn at how he was over halfway done with his meal.

Amiee held in the soft laugh that tickled at her as she accepted some of his remaining lamb curry and he was right it was tasty.

"Oh it's good too, the spice is just right for this, and the lamb isn't too gamey!" She praised, knowing that probably everything on the menu was delicious.

With how upscale the place was it better have been.

"Maybe we should order some to go?" She asked with a tilt of her head, and immediately that seemed to cause his mood lift.

"Exactly what I was thinking!" Sinclair beamed as he leaned over and planted a chaste kiss on her cheek causing her face to heat up.

Grinning up at him, Amiee repeated his action, pressing her lips on his cheek and laying her head on his shoulder for a brief minute as they just smiled at one another. This seemed to get a rise out of their dinner mates who made little 'oooh' sounds towards the couple at how grossly cute they were being.

"You guys not in front of our food!" Tina, one of Amiee's friends teased, pulling the couple out of their little moment with one another. "Pipe down over there will ya? I don't think we ordered a show with dinner."

Maybe it was the drinks that were causing her to loosen up, as she was almost done with her second cocktail. It was some pretty-sounding one, the drink, a something rose gold or whatever. The drink was fruity and flowery yet the liquor cut the sweetness just right. Being with her friends, sister, and of course, Sinclair, who barked out a laugh at her friend's observation, was also probably causing her to feel a bit lighter. But whatever it was, it made her feel bold.

"No one's telling you to 'ave a look, mind your business!" Amiee teased back, throwing her friend a cheeky look before leaning over to plant another kiss on Sinclair's cheek.

Everyone seemed to get a bit of amusement out of that as they all burst into fits of laughter, Amiee including as she laid her head back on Sinclair's shoulder. Looking down at her, he gave her a bright grin that she returned before he planted a kiss on her forehead which made her heart twist and squeeze in a comforting manner.

They carried on for another hour or so before one of the waiters came out with a lovely cake topped with berries, chantilly cream, and at least twenty-something candles. When Amiee caught sight of it, she was absolutely buzzing as it neared them suddenly no longer full from the meal they had just had.

"Sinclair is that what I think it is?" She chirped, beginning to bounce subconsciously a little in her seat as he took the cake from the waiter and sat it in front of her.

"Of course!" He cheered after thanking the waiter who scurried away. "We can't have a birthday without a cake! Now come on, blow them out separately one by one," he encouraged with as much excitement as she had. "A wish for each one, go on darling!"

She laughed as everyone cheered her on and she squinted her eyes at Sinclair in a playful glare before she did as he told her to. Though, before she even got halfway done she playfully placed her hand in Sinclair's face causing him to protest as his vision was obscured while she blew the candles out all at once.

"See look all done," she laughed as she showed the cake off to Sinclair who couldn't help the hearty laugh that left him at her being so cheeky. "I'm quite a great blower if I do say so myself."

Realizing what she had said, Amiee slapped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide in embarrassment when howls of laughter peeled from everyone in the room from her slip-up. Had her cheeks not already been red from the alcohol, they were surely on fire now.

She was going to blame it on the drinks and how comfortable she was with everyone, because not even a moment later was she joining in on the laughter, unable to take herself too seriously with them having such a good time and all.

Feeling Sinclair wrap an arm around her waist and pull her close, Amiee leaned over towards him, only for his lips to brush against her ears, causing a chill to run down her spine as his warm breath tickled her ear.

"You are a fantastic blower darling," he purred lowly in that delicious voice of his that had her thighs snapping shut and her looking at him with shock.

Yet, a glint of something else was in their eyes as he pulled away and stared at her with a mischievous grin. Their locked eyes were only on each other for a moment, but it was enough to light her belly up with warmth and desire as she felt a fluttering sensation begin to grow.

Taking a deep breath and trying to calm her hammering heart, Amiee turned her attention from Sinclair and back to the rest of the party that was trying to gather themselves. Once everyone had gotten control of their laughter, Amiee was allowed to cut a piece of cake for herself before she let it be passed around.

Sinclair volunteered to feed her the first bite, which was sweet of him considering it took a lot to keep him from digging into food right away. She happily accepted and clapped her hands a little at the subtle sweetness of the cream and how well it paired with the tart berries.

It was excellent, just as the whole night had been, though, it was still young and as they went on, she couldn't get what Sinclair had whispered to her out of her mind. As she licked the cream from her lips, she couldn't help but think of something else that she would enjoy tasting.

Her eyes flicked over to Sinclair who was inhaling his dessert and she felt a pang of desire in her stomach. Well, it was her birthday he wouldn't say no, would he? Looking back down at her cake, she quietly continued to eat as her mind drew up lewd images of them tangled in sheets and writhing in pleasure on his bed. It wasn't a surprise that by the end of everything, her cunt was throbbing furiously wanting to reenact what she had played in her mind.

By the time they had all finished and everyone was waving goodbye, it was past 11 pm and she was aching to go back to Sinclair's place. First, though, she had made sure Angie would be okay getting back to their parent's by herself and the younger woman only laughed and waved her sister off.

"I'll be fine! And by the way you've been staring holes in Sinclair, I think you'd prefer it that way. Have fun you two!"

Embarrassment flooded Amiee once again as her sister walked away from them and she wanted to crawl in a hole for being that obvious. But that desire was quickly overtaken the moment Sinclair placed his hand around her waist and kissed her cheek. It was like flames were lapping at her insides when she looked up at him with glazed eyes that were no longer from the drinks, well maybe just a bit, mostly though it was a desire to be close to him.

"Ready to go darling?" He asked with that brightness that was in contrast to the freezing winter night.

"Y-yeah," she stuttered out, leaning against him as he guided them to his car.

Opening the door and waiting till she was settled, Sinclair closed the passenger side door and got in on his side before they were driving off back to his flat.

Christmas tunes and Sinclair's rich baritone filled the air as he sang along with them, and it was such a sight seeing him bubble with cheer. Yet she was distracted, not by his singing, which was unsurprisingly very good, but by his hands as he shifted gears while driving. It was an odd thing to suddenly be fixated on but she was.

She had always liked his hands and how big they were compared to hers. It was one of the many things she found attractive about him, even if she was a bit bashful when it came to saying it out loud. Being towered over by him always did make her a bit dizzy and when he put his hands anywhere on her she always felt breathless for a moment. They were just so nice and she loved them on her, on her waist, on her lower back, on her thighs, on her neck, on her tits...

A dreamy sigh left her lips and she rubbed her thighs together already imagining the wetness that was pooling in her knickers from the thoughts in her mind. Before she knew what she was doing, she bit her lower lip as she laid her hand on top of his that was on the gear shift.

Sinclair didn't seem to think anything of it as he turned his head momentarily to give her a boyish grin before his attention returned to the road.

They stayed like that for a moment, and when she knew he wouldn't need to change gears again for the time being, she lifted his hand from the gear shift which caught his attention and he looked at her briefly.

"Amiee?" He questioned as she placed his hand on her inner thigh, his warm fingers causing heat to bubble in her stomach at his touch. Slowly she guided him under her dress sliding his hand up, up, up, until he was touching her through her sodden knickers.

"Mmm 'Clair," she moaned breathlessly, rolling her hips towards his touch as he pressed against her gingerly causing her breath to catch and her fingers to grip the side of her seat. "I think- oh, I think, I need a bit of sorting out soon," she managed to breathe out as she leaned her head back against the headrest as he continued to stroke her.

"We're almost home darling," he groaned loudly as he teased her over her clothes a bit more by pushing his fingers slightly into her. His movement caused her to shudder, and let out a broken whine before he slipped his hand away to grab the gear shift as the car began to rattle a little letting him know he needed to shift gears. "Let's not get ourselves killed before we get there."

She whined when his hand retreated, and immediately clamped her legs shut trying to keep pressure on her throbbing cunt that protested him stopping. Thankfully, he had been right when he had said they were almost back because she was on the verge of just jumping him in the car garage when he parked.

It was less than five minutes before they were barrelling out of the car. The cold air of winter did little to dampen the desire that was burning her alive as they entered the lift in the building to take them to his floor.

The lift ride up was filled with tension as Sinclair wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a deep kiss that had her whimpering against his thin lips. His tongue caressed her lips looking for permission that she gave him with no hesitation before. The moment she parted her lips, their tongues were clashing in a passionate dance as they tasted each other's mouths. Tongues licking and searching as they let loud moans of desire fill the air of the metal box.

Hand trailing down her back, Sinclair squeezed her bum roughly beneath her coat and dress causing her to squeal into the messy kiss. Her cunt fluttered at the action and she would have dropped her knickers then and there if they weren't interrupted by the 'ding' of the elevator letting them know they had arrived on their floor.

Quickly they broke apart, breathless and already dishevelled as they exited the lift with urgency and rushed to his door where Sinclair clumsily fiddled with his keys for a second before finally unlocking the door and dragging them inside.

The door closed with a loud slam as Amiee tugged her coat off and kicked her shoes to the side while Sinclair did the same. Neither of them were worried about the mess they were creating and were more concerned about getting to his bedroom lest they ended up on the floor together.

"Sinclair!" She squealed when she turned to him and was being picked up with an ease that had her cunt throbbing as she wrapped her legs around his waist and leaned down to kiss his neck.

He groaned noisily as she peppered hungry kisses against his jaw and face and it was a miracle he hadn't dropped her or bumped into anything as they made it down the hallway. Kicking the bedroom door open, he plopped her on the foot of bed and hurriedly took his shirt off with Amiee taking his lead and discarding her dress to the side.

Before she could take her bra off fully, Sinclair was on top of her with only his boxers hanging on his hips and she let out a noisy groan when she felt his cock rub against her belly as he helped her rid of the pesky underthing. Tossing her bra aside, Sinclair leaned down to take her lips in another desperate kiss, while one of his hands completely covered her breast causing her to arch into his touch. Squeezing the supple skin in his hand, Sinclair went to pinch and pull at her nipple that had her wiggling beneath him in pleasure.

"Sinclair please," she gasped, as he pulled away from her lips and began to kiss down her neck until he was swirling his tongue around her hardened nub and taking the pert thing into his mouth.

She let out another loud whine as she rolled her hips against the bulge in his boxers, electricity shooting in her veins each time he would nip at the bud. He alternated between each breast leaving her breathless and her cunt soaking and wanting the same attention as her soft mounds.

Hearing the neediness in her voice, he pulled away admiring how the red marks bloomed on her chest and he very much considered her a work of art with the way she stared at him with lidded eyes. And he couldn't stop himself from saying just that as he continued to kiss down her belly causing the muscles to clench as he neared the spot she wanted him to be.

"You are a work of art darling, god so beautiful," he groaned as his fingers trailed the waistband of her panties before he dragged them off her in a hurry.

She lifted her hips as he dragged the sodden things off her, and they too were discarded unceremoniously somewhere on his floor for them to find tomorrow.

"Absolutely gorgeous, just like a Monet, or a Picasso," he rambled as he kissed her inner thighs while her heady scent wafted up his nostrils as he neared her core that was aching for him to touch. "Or maybe even one of Le Burn's portraits," he whispered as he nuzzled her dripping opening that had her gasping and gripping the bed sheets tightly. "But," he started pulling away from her just slightly so his voice wasn't muffled. "I think you're more beautiful than anything they could have ever created."

Had her brain not been mush from her desire and they were in a different situation, she would probably have thought him cheesy even if his words made her heart soar as well. Yet, because they were in a more well, sensual moment, it only made her heart beat faster as her opening fluttered from his honeyed words.

She hadn't time to think much of it though, as once he was done with his little declaration, he was diving down towards her opening and began to lap stripes up and down her soaked cunt.

"Oh fuck!" She cried out in delight as a hand went to grip his thick blond tresses as he began to eat her out like...well him. Messy and enthusiastic "Sin-Sinclair oh god yes just like that please just like that love!"

His name on her tongue and her pleas only spurred him on to make her feel good as he lapped at her juices, swirling his tongue against her opening as he began to grind his hips against the bed to soothe the ache in his cock.

Rutting against the sheets, he sucked at her lower lips before pressing at her entrance with skilled digits that collected some of her wetness before he was easing himself into her. A broken moan left her lips at the intrusion as he began to loosen her up, his tongue swirling around her clit and his finger thrusting inside her channel that sucked him in.

One finger became two as he scissored her open and she was sure she was going to explode when he began to hit that rough patch in her that had her hips canting upwards and his name dripping from her lips.

"Right there, right there Sinclair!" Amiee gasped as she rolled her hips in tandem with his thrusts, her insides fluttering, and her channel gripping his fingers as she was pushed further and further towards the edge.

Her eyes closed and her lips parted as harsh pants left her, she was so close, so fucking close. Yet, Sinclair had other ideas because when he felt her body about to succumb to the waves she had been riding, he gave her clit one last lick before he pulled his drenched digits out of her. This caused her eyes to fly open, and a disappointed whine of his name to leave her lips as the fire in her belly seemed to grow with his reluctance to let her finish.

It was quickly quieted by him moving back on top of her and pressing his lips against hers, and she couldn't stifle the moan that escaped her at the taste of her own juices on his lips.

"Not only beautiful but you taste better than any of the wines that France or California could ever make," he groaned as he pulled away and sucked her juices off his digits that glistened with her arousal.

That action caused a stronger pang of desire to wash over her and she was sure if he wasn't in her soon she was going to lose her mind.

"Sinclair," she whined sitting up a little "Please just fuck me already," she pleaded, nuzzling the side of his face desperate for him to calm her twitching insides. "I'm the birthday girl, right? And I want you as my present so please fuck me before I lose my mind!"

Well, she was right. It was her birthday, and who was he to deny the birthday girl what she wanted especially when she had indulged him during his past birthday.

"If that's what the birthday girl wants," he teased, pulling away from her. "Then who am I to deny her?"

Her eyes lit up at his words as she watched him get off the bed and take his boxers off. The moment he slipped the article of clothing off, his cock sprang to attention against his belly and she had to stop herself from crawling over and sucking him off.

Even from where she was, she could see how angry the tip looked and the glistening of precum that leaked from it. It had her even more excited as he got back on the bed and scooped her up in his arms to devour her lips in a hungry kiss.

It was sloppy and wet, as she let him dominate her mouth only to have him let out a whine into it when she wrapped her hand around him and began to pump his cock. Her fingers barely touched when wrapped around him which was a testament to how large he was, or rather how tiny she was compared to him. The thought only spurred her movements causing Sinclair to pull away from the kiss with a throat groan.

"Amiee, fuck, A-Amiee" he stuttered grabbing her hand to keep her from stroking him anymore as he already felt like he was going to explode. "If you keep it up you know I won't make it inside of you darling."

That she could not have, even if she enjoyed the whines he would let out when she would stroke him or suck him off. They were addicting to hear and she was grateful that he wasn't shy about letting her know that she made him feel good. It was definitely helpful their first few times around considering her own shyness about sleeping with him.

"I guess you're right," she sighed dramatically, reluctantly loosening her grip on him so that he could slip away. "Can't have you coming unless it's in me. Be a waste."

"Exactly," he purred, kissing her once more. "Now how do you want me? I think as birthday girl you should get to decide. Unless you want me to decide because if that's your decision then I have to do it because you're-."

She didn't let him finish his question as she pressed her lips against his to quiet him before pulling away and scrambling up to the head of the bed.

Getting on her hands and knees, Amiee lowered her upper body on the mattress, her arse and dripping hole on full display for him as she wiggled her hips at him.

He felt himself throb at the sight of her as he grabbed her waist and got comfortable in between her spread thighs. Gripping his cock, he leaned over her body and lined himself up with her hole, swiping the tip of it against her sticky folds that parted with a wet sound.

"Mmm just like that," she sighed. Her head resting on the pillow she had grabbed to both hold and help prop herself up a little so she would be more comfortable in the position.

He ran the head of his cock over her opening a few times to collect the wetness leaking out of her before he was slowly pushing himself into her tight heat.

A loud shaky breath left Amiee's lip as she felt the burn of his thick length splitting her open and she couldn't stop the way she trembled as he slowly slipped into her. It felt like an eternity as he pulled halfway out before pushing back into her slowly so that her body could get accustomed to how big he was.

He repeated the actions two more times, each time being rewarded with moans that increased louder and louder as he went deeper and deeper with each pass. Until finally,

"Fuck Sinclair," she gasped, her body shaking as he finally slid all the way in her. His body towering over hers as he held her still on his cock while basking in how tight her channel was even with him stretching her out.

The whimpers she let out as her cunt clenched around him were muffled by the pillow that she had buried her face in. She was sure if he stayed still in her for a bit longer she could come just because of the sheer size of him in her and how turned on she was by it.

"Please fuck me please," she begged wantonly, no longer able to hold still and slowly beginning to move her hips back and forth trying to spur him to move.

Letting out a gasp as she slid herself against him, Sinclair decided that it was time to give her, and him to an extent, what she had been pleading for the entire night. Tightening his grip on her waist, he began to snap his hips against hers with such force that she was only able to let out a choked cry once before any other noise was inaudible.

"Yesyesyes oh yes! Sin-Sinclair!" She shouted her voice going up in pitch when he slammed back into her causing her to grip the pillow she was holding as she buried the side of her face into it. "Right there, right there!" Her little sobs filled the room as tears pricked her eyes from how good it felt to be completely full of him.

The sound of skin slapping against skin echoed around the room along with pleas of 'faster', 'harder,' or her simply saying his name over and over as he fucked her. Her poor cunt was going to be absolutely sore the next day the way he was using her, but it was worth it as after all she had been begging him to fuck her. And now that he was, she didn't care as having him in her was worth the soreness that would come afterwards.

Her thoughts were cut short though when she felt his hand find the back of her neck and push her down further into the bed. A warmth bloomed in her stomach at the sudden action and it translated to her cunt soaking Sinclair even more, evident by the increase of noise that suddenly accompanied the action and her crying out in pleasure.

"Aha!" Sinclair half gasped half exclaimed. A bit of amusement in his tone as if he had just discovered something while he continued to thrust into her. "I, fuck, I read that some women, god, like when their partners are a little on the crass side and ah thought this be a good time try."

What a hell of a time to think about that, was what she would have said if she wasn't being railed within an inch of her life and actually coherent. Yet she was, and when she felt his fingers slip in between them, the digits circling her clit causing her toes to curl and her eyes to shut tight, she knew she was in trouble.

"I was going to ask if you liked it, but I think you've already given me an answer."

She wanted to fucking scream. The way he had pointed the fact out sounded so arrogant even if it wasn't supposed to be that way yet for some reason her cunt seemed to love it.

"Oh god!" She choked, barely having time to brace herself for the orgasm that suddenly tore through her, and it seemed Sinclair was caught off guard as well. A noisy groan was ripped from his lips as he stilled against her while her cunt tightened around him and held him close as he began to fill her up with hot spurts of cum.

Their loud moans and whines slowly began to turn into equally loud pants as they both tried to regain any sense they had left as exhaustion quickly settled in. It was only moments later when Sinclair found the energy to slip out of Amiee, did he roll her over to hug her naked body against his.

"Happy birthday darling," Sinclair panted out, kissing her sweaty forehead that had hair stuck against it. She was too tired to even make a noise as he moved down and kissed her lips. "Make sure you go to the toilet soon though,” he mumbled, as he cuddled her the way she had asked him to after their first time together, finding that he also liked very much being close to her after sex. “Even if the chances are slim, ” he yawned, “I don’t want you getting an infection you know. Those are never fun.”

Trying to make a noise of affirmation she only let out what was a mix of a groan and an 'okay'. She would get up in a minute, but right now, she was too tired bathing in the after glow of her orgasm and more importantly, too focused on the new kink she had discovered in the heat of the moment.

Huh, what a birthday surprise this was.

A/N: Sinclair's love language is making sure you use the bathroom after sex because he doesn't want you getting sick. Love that LOL . But also not only did Amiee get what she wanted for her bday she also got herself a new kink that may or may not have been floating in her head already 🤣🤣. Good for her.

Tagging: @deepperplexity , @mercurial-make-em-ups

#sinclair x oc #sinclair bryant x oc #amiee x sinclair #rickmas #rickmas2023 #smut

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smilingformoney · 2 months

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For the Love of Books

IX. Together

Summary: Betty and Sinclair adopt their first child dog, and finally they consummate their relationship.

Preview:

Sinclair was anxious all through their Monday lunch date. He refused to admit it, but Betty could tell by the way his leg was uncontrollably bouncing up and down that he had every disaster scenario running through his head. Not wanting to leave him alone with his thoughts, she walked him to the solicitor’s office after lunch, kissed him good luck, kissed him again when he asked so sweetly for another, then went back to the shop feeling a fraction of his anxiety about the solicitor’s advice. The afternoon dragged. She hoped he’d come straight by after the meeting, but either it was taking longer than expected or he wasn’t coming. She closed up feeling disappointed that he hadn’t come straight to her, and worried about what it might mean for the meeting. Betty locked the front door behind her, the cold wind making her eyes water slightly, and when she turned around she saw Sinclair sitting on a bench, bundled up in his coat, waiting for her. “Clair! What are you doing out here in the cold?” He looked up at her, looking extremely cute with his scarf covering his mouth and nose, his hat covering his ears and head, and only his pretty amber eyes giving his identity away. He pulled down his scarf and said, “I was waiting for you! You looked busy in there.” “Well, I suppose I was, but that doesn’t mean you can’t come in and get warm! Come on, let’s get you upstairs.” “Yes, please.”

Read now on Ao3.

#alan rickman #sinclair bryant #close my eyes 1991 #sinclair x oc #sinclair x betty #for the love of books

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crybabyteqrs · 1 year

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M U S E S

FEMALES / without fandom

・❥・VALERIE | [19-25] | madelyn cline ・❥・HAILEE | [19-26] | sydney sweeney ・❥・BROOKLYN | [19-25] | maia reficco ・❥・EMERY | [21-26] | madelaine petsch ・❥・DELILAH | [20-25] | kathryn newton ・❥・VICTORIA | [20-25] | abigail cowen ・❥・VIOLET | [18-25] | lily rose depp ・❥・OPHELIA | [20-26] | kristine froseth ・❥・AURORA | [19-26] | dove cameron ・❥・VIVIENNE | [19-26] | kaylee bryant ・❥・CASSIDY | [19-24] | hailee steinfeld ・❥・JESSICA | [19-24] | josephine langford ・❥・JORDYN | [19-25] | natalia dyer ・❥・BLAIR | [20-27] | alexa demie ・❥・MADDIE | [18-24] | katie douglas

MALES / without fandom

・❥・LOGAN | [20-26] | benjamin wadsworth ・❥・MILES | [21-29] | drew starkey ・❥・AIDEN | [20-26] | jacob elordi ・❥・ELIJAH | [21-26] | rudy pankow ・❥・NOLAN | [20-25] | ross lynch ・❥・VINCE | [20-25] | gavin casalegno ・❥・FYNN | [21-27] | timothée chalamet ・❥・NIC | [20-26] | chase stokes ・❥・JUSTIN | [21-28] | thomas doherty ・❥・TONY | [34-42] | chris evans ・❥・MILO | [19-24] | joe kerry ・❥・JESSE | [21-30] | dylan o'brien ・❥・AARON | [22-29] | tyler posey ・❥・CHASE | [20-27] | cody christian ・❥・BENJI | [19-26] | christopher briney

FEMALES / with fandom

MALES / with fandom

— my fandom muses are usually just for rp’s on discord, means i probably wont use them in threads on tumblr. but still, if you’re feeling like doing a canon x oc just ask!!

FEMALES / canon

MALES / canon

#- 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬. [-𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬.]

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snowblossomreads · 15 days

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Exhibit 6: Pinky Swears And Theatre Scares

Previous Chapter: Full Up

Summary: Amiee starts her new job and ends up on a movie 'date' with Sinclair.

“Lovely chat Arthur, I’ll send over the numbers to you later today when I get back alright?” There was a long pause as Sinclair half listened to the person on the other side finish talking. “Okay great! Buh bye!”

A relieved groan escaped his lips the moment he hung the phone up, and was finally free from the meeting that had run over by a good 30 minutes. Ever since he had gotten in that morning, it had been nonstop meetings upon meetings.

All of it was bullshit though he thought. Just people trying to cover for themselves to make it seem like they were busy. He already had enough on his plate without trying to look busy, as he glanced at the papers and folders sprawled on his desk.

Financial ones, memos from coworkers, and buried underneath those, were probably some things from his solicitor that he needed to take a look at. Yet, with all of that waiting for him, he couldn’t be bothered with i,t as it was not only lunchtime, one of his favorite times, it was also Friday. And unlike most of his Fridays this past year or so, he had plans for that evening.

Well, maybe.

He would first have to ask if she was free tonight, and hopefully, she would be. But first things first, lunch.

Picking up the phone again, he dialed a number and it rang twice before the click of it being answered sounded.

“Hello?”

When the sound of her voice, which was unusually breathy met his ears, he couldn’t stop the grin that erupted on his lips.

“Amiee! Are you free right now? I’m about to head to lunch and wanted to know if you cared to join? I was thinking Italian! There's a new restaurant that opened a few weeks back and it’s magnificent!”

There was a beat of silence after his question before laughter erupted on the other end of the line and he titled his head, confused at what was so amusing.

“H-hiya Sinclair, yeah sure I’ll tag along! My stomach did start grumbling a bit ago so perfect timing. Do you want me to meet you somewhere or…?”

“No that’s alright I’ll come and pick you up, be right there!”

“Okay see you in a sec, bye!”

“Buh bye!”

Hanging up the phone, he took one last glance at all the papers waiting for him to deal with, before promptly ignoring them in favor of grabbing lunch. He be more efficient once he had something in his stomach, other than the nerves that were currently bouncing about in it.

A quick walk out of his office to the one that was only a few feet away from his, he knocked on the semi-closed door and didn’t wait for an answer before popping in.

“Here I am ready for-. What are you doing!”

Enthusiasm turned into confusion, and then concern, as his eyes landed on Amiee’s back, while she stood trepidatiously on the sofa that was pushed against the wall. In her hands, was a rather large picture frame that she was attempting, and failing to hang.

Turning her head just enough so that he knew she heard him, she spoke.

“Oh hiya! I was-.” She turned back around and blindly tried to hang the frame once more before she let out a frustrated sound when she missed the nail again. “Aiya! Fucking shite! Just putting this picture up before we went out. It’s been sitting around and I’ve finally gotten the energy to actually do it.”

“Amiee! Call a janitor or someone to help do it for you!” Panic set in as he practically ran across the room with his hands already outstretched to take the painting from her, only to have her move away from him. “Here put it down you’re going to hurt yourself!”

“No Sinclair I got it I’m up here already!” She protested, as she tried once more to put the thing up only, letting out another whine when she missed the nail a third time.

If she didn’t do it now, it was going to stay leaned up against her shelf for the next month, because she would either forget to ask for help or, just not want to deal with it. With another huff, she got on her tiptoes to try and reach the nail one more time even as Sinclair protested behind her.

Going to try and make sure she didn’t take a tumble off the sofa in case things went tits up, he froze when she reached up to hang the picture once more. Whether she realized it or not, her tiptoeing caused her skirt to ride up her legs, giving him a delicious view of the back of her thighs, which were soft and shapely.

It had been six years, yet the sight of them had his fingers twitching, memories of being able to touch, and caress the delicate skin immediately began to to plague his mind. And if he wasn’t careful, something else would be plaguing him that was very much not appropriate for a work setting.

Though his eyes lingered on her as he wondered if she was still as soft as he remembered. Biting his bottom lips and willing the sudden burst of arousal that was trying to spread like fire, he was snapped out of his trance when a sudden exclamation of triumph rang through the air.

“Aha!”

Turning around, she gave him a pretty grin as she clapped her hands, pleased that she had gotten the picture up on the fourth try.

“There see, told you I didn’t need any help!” Her tone was one of triumph, as she pointed to the picture that was hung against the wall, before she plopped down on the sofa.

Slipping on her kitten heels, she stood and went to continue about her victory against the picture frame that had been haunting her. That was, until she noticed the concerned expression etched on Sinclair’s face. His brows were furrowed in worry, and his cheeks were also awfully red which gave her some pause. He didn’t even let her get her witty comment out before he was letting out a waterfall of concerns.

“Amiee you could have fallen and broken something! What would have happened if I didn’t come and you had lost your balance!”

“Sinclair I-.”

“You could have ended up in hospital or worse!” He fretted, cutting her off once more as he wrung his together hands anxiously. “You have to be more careful please I don’t-!”

There was a pause as his amber eyes searched her brown ones, his own filled with agitation as he fidgeted even more from the confused look that Amiee was sending him. This wasn’t him, he didn’t act like this, he was in control of himself always, even if his own energy got ahead of him at times. But lately, he felt as if he wasn’t, especially when it came to his emotions.

Whether it be because of his divorce, or the fact that the person who he hoped would have been his wife was suddenly back in his life. He wasn’t sure, but all of it just felt so big and he didn’t know how to handle it. His mind began to wander for a moment about whether to reach out to a therapist or just purchase a self help book, but he was coaxed out of it when he felt a tender squeeze on his forearms.

“Clair, what’s wrong? You don’t what?” The sound of her voice questioning him brought him back down and there was a look of wonder in her eyes as she waited for him.

His mind was a scrambled mess with all the feelings that were swirling around, but she patiently waited for him. Even as the silence bordered uncomfortable, she waited, not rushing him for an answer that he normally would already have. Her warm eyes felt like safety as she gazed at him, and the feeling of her hand on his arm seemed to calm him enough so that he could say something to break the quietness of the moment.

“We’ve just…” He trailed off again, looking for the right words for the moment as he bit his lower lip.

God he had read so many books, and he knew four languages fluently yet he couldn’t find the right words. What a mess he was.

“I just…I don’t want anything to happen to you. You’ve already had to spend a lot of time in hospital. Not for you of course I know that,” he added quickly to clarify what he meant. “And plus.” Lowering his eyes to the ground, a bashful look came across Sinclair’s features.

It was a bit unusual coming from Sinclair. Someone so confident that he lit up the whole room when he walked in. But now, he stood with his hands behind his back and his eyes not meeting her own, just like a little puppy who was scared and had its tail between its legs.

“I think six years of not seeing each other is more than enough; I don’t want us to have to keep adding on to that.”

His words sat in the air for a moment as he was hesitant to look up. A feeling of vulnerability that he hadn’t felt since finding out that Natalie had been cheating on him washed over him. But this was a different type of vulnerability, not a constricting one filled with confusion and hurt and anger, but a strange comforting type.

The type you can only be with someone you know wouldn’t judge you for the flaws you possessed, but love you in spite of them. With Natalie, he couldn’t remember if he felt that positive type of vulnerability, yet it seemed Amiee could pull it right out of him without even trying.

“Six years is a long time,” she agreed quietly, drawing Sinclair out of his thoughts only to find her gazing wistfully out the window.

Sensing he was looking at her, she gave her his attention, a small endearing smile on her face. It made her look so soft.

“I’m sorry Clair, but you know it’s just how I am. Always doing something silly so I don’t have to be a bother,” she explained, yet there was a moment where her smile dropped as if she remembered something unpleasant before it returned. “What do they say, something about doing it yourself if you want it right?”

“If you want something right do it yourself!” He corrected brightly causing her to grin knowing it would have that effect on him. “ They say that and it’s one of my favorite things about you! You’re always doing things on your own, never asking for help and being brilliant at it. But you can always ask for my help you know that, right? You’ve never been a bother!”

The way he said it almost made her heart break along with the grin he showed her. Full of warm sincerity and earnestness that she could never not believe him. Matter of fact, she had always believed that he would do anything he could for her. She just wished she thought she was deserving of it.

‘Oh enough of that Amiee!’

“Okay. I promise from now on, that if I do anything that may cause injury or death, I’ll phone you before doing it,” she said jokingly causing him to grin ear to ear. “Here look I’ll even pinky swear with you.”

Holding out her pinky, because she was very much serious about it, Sinclair couldn’t stop the loud guffawing laughter that left his lips at the sight. This was so very silly, yet it didn’t stop him from coming closer to her offering up his pinky and his own promise.

“Yes yes! And I promise I’ll come running to you no matter what! To either stop you or help you!”

Their digits entwined, his larger finger wrapped around her smaller one causing her to giggle as they gave each other bright grins before they ‘shook’ on their promise.

“Excellent! Now that I’ve taken off a few years of your life, do you still fancy letting me tag along to lunch? Or do you need to recuperate?”

“Never! I mean I could never tire of you,” he corrected, as they dropped their hands from one another, even though there was a yearning to hold it again. “But yes lunch let’s go. I think I’ve worked up even more of an appetite than normal after that scare.”

“Well, that just means double the appetizers!” Amiee pointed out.

“And maybe entrees!"

“Oh my god Sinclair can we please come back to this place,” Amiee groaned as she slid halfway down her seat.

Food coma was already starting to sit in as the waiter cleared the table of their entrees, and she didn’t know how she was going to put down the dessert they had ordered. It would get done one way or another, and if she got a stomach ache afterwards well so be it. She wasn’t going to let any of it go to waste.

“It’s delicious isn’t it!” Sinclair praised with far more energy than she had, which was unsurprising. However, she suspected he would be napping after lunch because he would always close his door afterwards. Could it be him taking meetings, yes, but she had an inkling it was a meeting with his sofa.

“I’ve been here five times already since they opened and I think it’s my favorite in the area. Oh, you have to try the linguine frutti di mare when we come back. The seafood is so fresh you’ll love it, it’s divine!’

“Don’t tell me that Sinclair or I’ll end up coming for dinner tonight! Plus I have food at home waiting for me and I don’t want it going bad.”

Unknowingly she had set up a perfect moment for him to ask the question that had been burning in his mind since the start of the day. This was his moment!

“So! You can just eat that for a late night snack if you get peckish during the night. I try not to do that because it gives me heartburn, but I can’t go to bed with an empty stomach it’s impossible!” He happily chattered before remembering what he was going to say.

“Plus I was going to ask if you wanted to come to the cinema with me tonight?” He proposed happily, “A business partner of ours gave me tickets for an early showing of this new film, I think it’s called Candyman? It’s coming out in the autumn and I thought ‘oh, Amiee would like this!’”

Whether it was the offer of going to watch a film with him, or the genre of the film itself, Amiee’s eyes widened slightly, a bit taken aback by the invitation. Being asked to watch a film with him was not something she thought would be asked today but, she wasn’t going to say no! Especially, if she got to spend more time with him outside of work.

“Sinclair, you know that’s a horror film right? And last time I checked you hated those,” she pointed out as she took a sip of her water before continuing, “all of the trailers I’ve seen have been pretty suspenseful and a bit well erm horror-esque, which I love don’t get me wrong! But uhm are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure! Plus I don’t hate them! I just think they should be a little more logical. Like, tell me why do people always split up in those movies? It’s always their downfall!”

Sitting back up as she tried to recover from all the food in her, Amiee laughed at his example. He was right; she never understood the whole ‘let’s split up’ thing in the movies. Did no one ever learn the phrase there’s strength in numbers? Apparently not.

“Or you know when there’s a trail of blood and they follow it?” She added, as she rested her elbows on the table and placed her chin on top of the back of her hands as she smiled up at him. “Especially when they’re defenseless! Like what is your plan if the murderer is still there?”

That seemed to rile him up some more, and she couldn’t hide the amusement she was getting from it. He so hated when things weren’t logical and horror movies to him were far from logical.

“Exactly! I just don’t get it! That’s why I don’t like them, they don’t make sense at all.”

His tirade finished just as the waiter returned with their desserts. A piece of tiramisu for her, and for him, a slice of cheesecake topped with strawberries along with a bowl of fluffy chocolate mousse.

As soon as they thanked the waiter, Sinclair was digging into his dessert, all but groaning at how creamy the cheesecake filling was. Being so engrossed with his food, he wasn’t expecting to see Amiee staring at him when he went to ask how her dessert was.

Though he did note the twinkle in her eyes, and the way her lips quirked and formed a tiny mischief smirk. It was a familiar expression he had seen before, and he wondered what she was up to.

“Mmp-what?” He asked before another piece of cheesecake was in his mouth. “Thisisdelicious.”

“So let me get this right, you don’t like horror because most of them are illogical yes?” She questioned, picking up her spoon and digging into her dessert.

A tiny groan left her lips, as the taste of coffee, and mascarpone combined with cocoa powder, and lady fingers, created a nice and creamy dessert that wasn’t too sweet and had different flavor notes.

“This is good, not too sweet, can really taste the coffee and cream!” She praised enjoying that her teeth didn’t hurt the moment she bit into it like it would some desserts.

“Isn’t it! I would say it’s my favorite but I like all of them,” he admitted freely as he scooped some mousse up and ate it. A happy groan left his lips at the taste as he remembered he had been asked a question. “But yes you could say that.”

“Mhmm, so what you’re saying is all those times you ended up halfway on my lap when we watched them was not because of the jump scares, but because they bored you out of your mind because of how illogical they are?”

Clearly, there was a teasing lilt in her voice, which matched her playful demeanor. Yet, it still caused Sinclair to pause in his eating, as the cutest pout appeared on his thin lips, and all she could think about was kissing them. His brows were furrowed as he narrowed his eyes and he let out a low whine of her name.

“I can’t believe you’re bringing that up here,” he whined, much like a dejected puppy while his gaze turned down and poked at his food.

“Aw I’m sorry love, only trying to take the piss out of you, ” she tittered.

Leaning over the table, she reached over to stroke the hand that was resting on the table with her thumb in hopes of giving him a bit of comfort. There was a slight zing again as her fingers touched his hand, yet it was much less intense than how she felt when he hugged her in his office when they met again. Finally, she was getting used to being able to touch him again and it was more than she could have ever hoped for honestly.

“You know I never minded. Just like how you never minded having to lug me into bed whenever you found me asleep in some random place, which,” she added playfully as she leaned back and settled into her chair. “Is what you’ll have to do if we come back tonight for dinner because I’m liable to fall asleep in the car.”

The insinuation of her agreeing to come to the cinema with him seemed to perk him right up. That and getting to come back to the restaurant later tonight. But mostly getting to spend more time with her had him cheering up. It was something they hadn’t had too much time to do, as they had both been busy the past few weeks so this was perfect.

“That’s okay! I did that when we were in Manchester and it’ll be like you said, just like old times.”

A bashful smile flitted across Amiee’s face as she looked down at her hands, her face warming as she remembered waking up next to him those mornings. Curled up and feeling safe even if her world was trying to fall apart.

She would be lying if she said she didn’t think about those moments every day she woke up. What it would be like to wake up beside him again. God, she missed it. But maybe with this unofficial date, they were one step closer? She really hoped so.

“Well, then Clair, it sounds like we have ourselves a… date?”

There was a bit of trepidation in her voice as she asked him. But there was also thinly veiled hope in it that she almost wanted him to hear.

It seemed though that he had heard or at least caught on to what she was saying as there was a sudden burst of warmth that bloomed in his stomach. Before he knew it, that warmth was radiating from his stomach, to the full smile on his face that had grown without him noticing it.

“Yes! It’s a date!”

Neither of them knew how they survived the rest of the work day after they returned from lunch, solely because their minds were focused on their evening outing. Sinclair, who was normally very much dedicated to his work, was very much the opposite, as his brain bounced from thing to thing.

He had the hardest time focusing on any of the papers that were piled up, only thinking about why time wasn’t moving quicker as he was eager to hang out with Amiee.

Amiee was the same way of course. While not as busy as Sinclair was at the moment, she could hardly focus on the training manuals that she needed to look over. Her brain was buzzing with anticipation, and she found herself pacing around the office more than once. Stopping from time to time, to stare out the window as her mind wandered to everything that wasn’t work.

When the clock finally struck five, Sinclair was the first out of his seat as he quickly and haphazardly packed some documents in his briefcase. He would take a look at them in his home office tomorrow, he had more exciting things to look forward to tonight. Rushing out of the office, he was met with a startled look from Sarah who had only started packing her bags.

“Leaving already Sinclair,” she asked, pausing her packing as she watched him fiddle with the keys to his office.

“Yes!” His tone was more enthusiastic than normal, and a sheepish smile appeared on his lips as he turned to look at her. “Yes,” he repeated more calmly, yet still radiating that bright energy of his. “I have some things to do at home tonight and I wanted to get back early. I know! Very peculiar for me to be leaving so early but it’s been brewing in the back of my mind for days. Don’t let the other know you’ve seen me leaving okay?”

“O-Oh okay, no problem I guess.” It wasn’t like she was going to tell anyone anyway. “Well have a good weekend!”

“You too, buh bye!” He answered, waving back at her and briskly walking away, leaving a very confused secretary who just shrugged and went back to her packing.

When they arrived at the venue, Amiee briefly wondered if they had turned up in the wrong place because this was not your average cinema. Expecting to see the normal brick building and maybe some glass here or there. She was surprised to see them pulling up to a building that was basically like an art school of some sort.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” She asked dumbfoundedly as Sinclair helped her out of the car.

“Yep! They usually do the private screenings of the new films here or sometimes at one of the galleries near Kensington.” He explained as they walked up the steps of the building.

For a Friday night, it wasn’t too busy, but granted, it was a private event, so she shouldn’t have expected a whole lot of people from the public meandering around.

“Wow, never thought I be at a rich person’s cinema,” she mused out loud before she immediately felt the need to lower her voice as they entered the place. “Must be nice to not hear all the talking and carrying on in the public ones. Though I don’t see a concessions booth, and I’m not sure if I appreciate that or not. Do we get like seat side service?”

“I don’t know, I quite like being in the cinema with others, it makes for a good ambience. Some of the ones in the area have gotten upgrades with their furniture and sound as well! But also yes to your point there isn’t usually food here,” he sighed as if it was the worst crime that the place had committed. “I don’t come often because of that, I think the last time I was here it was last summer with Natalie-.”

There was a sudden pause in his speech, and Amiee looked up to catch a forlorn look that crossed his features.

Natalie? Was that the name of his wife? Or soon to be ex-wife? There was this incessant urge to pry a bit more into what had happened because she still wasn’t aware of what had gone on. Call her nosy, but she was just curious about what had happened that caused Sinclair to clam up anytime anything about this mysterious ex was brought up.

But that was maybe for another day, because she didn’t want to ruin a night of fun with questions about the woman. Plus, it couldn’t have been at all good, which only made Amiee dislike her even if they hadn’t ever met. She hoped it stayed that way.

“No food?” Her tone was incredulous as Sinclair handed a man standing by another door the entry tickets. After he gave the passes a quick check, he let them through to the main screening portion of the theatre. “I would have shoved some crisps or something in my purse if you had told me that beforehand,” she continued, steering the conversation away from the unpleasant subject as they searched for an empty pair of seats. “When I was in uni, one of my friends brought a whole meal into the theatre. Snuck it right in with her purse and no one even knew.”

His expression relaxed as she told her story, and he couldn’t help the warm chuckle that left him as he led them to an empty spot.

“That was a brilliant idea from you friend though, how put off would you be if I asked you to shove some sandwiches in your bag next time we do this?”

“Well, as long as you share I’ll do it, but if we get caught I’m going to act like I don’t know you.”

Sinclair feigned a hurt expression, his brows drawn, and a little pout on lips that made Amiee want to laugh, but she held it in, a smirk being the sign of amusement on her face.

“Of course I would share with you! But now that you're threatening to leave me to fend for myself, I’m not sure if I want to!”

“I’m teasing Clair, I'm teasing. I would never rat you out to the theatre authorities. You know that’s not my style. We’re just gonna have to make a run for it if they catch up.”

“We can throw a sandwich on the floor and make them slip just like if it was a banana peel,” Sinclair added, but quickly retracted it at the thought of food waste. “Wait no we can’t sacrifice the food- Oh look the movie’s starting I think!” He whispered enthusiastically as the lights in the room began to dim and the screen began to brighten.

Giving each other one more grin, the two of them settled in to watch the film.

The movie was terrific. Well to Amiee that is. It was a good thing that the place didn’t provide popcorn, though to be honest it was pretty cheap of them not to. So fancy yet no snacks, she was surprised Sinclair wasn’t bothered by that.

Granted if they did have popcorn, most of it would have been on the floor if he had been in charge of it. He had jumped over five times during the first half of the movie. And honestly, him getting startled did more to scare Amiee than the actual movie.

“Oh my god, why are there bees in his mouth? What is he about to do,” Sinclair stuttered out as he watched the Candyman grab the main character, Helen, before kissing her.

Sinclair made a gagging sound as one hand went to cover his eyes, so he could avoid watching the bees swarm down the poor woman's throat. His fingers were gripping the armrest so hard that Amiee was sure it was going to leave a permanent dent when they were done.

“Okay but what would happen if she was allergic to bees? Wouldn’t that mess up his whole plan if she died right then from shock?” Amiee whispered to Sinclair who was trying to block out the whole thing. She was serious though! Why this man was trying to ruin his own plan?

“And if not, what if she chokes on them? Come on he’s dead he should know these things!” She continued unfazed by what was being shown as she had been the entire time.

Well, that was just slightly untrue as both of them had let out pitiful sounds at the fate of a side character’s dog.

“No not the puppy.”

They had both whimpered as they watched the scene that could have been left out for all they cared. Poor Sinclair seemed to be affected by it the worst out of them both. Of course, he would be, he was part puppy and seeing anything happen to his family was upsetting.

The moment had him laying his head on her shoulder as he looked away from the screen. His face buried as if trying to hide away, and instinctively Amiee’s hand went to stroke his head as the scene played out. Sinclair stayed like that until Amiee gave him the all clear, but of course, he stayed on edge the entire time.

Their hands stayed tucked together the rest of the movie and up until Sinclair got Amiee into the car before they drove back to the Wharf for dinner.

“I admit the plot and lore was fascinating. But I’ll never be able to look at bees again in the same way,” Sinclair blanched as the waiter took their menus away after they finished their orders. “And then the poor puppy! Amiee, they didn’t have to hurt it,” he whined, still upset about that part of the movie. “I think I may have nightmares tonight.”

“If it makes you feel any better I bet the pup got a lot of treats that day during shooting,” Amiee offered in hopes of cheering him up seeing as he was mainly upset about the dog. “I bet they used jam or something for the effects and had to keep it from licking it all up. It was probably a fun day for it!”

“Now that you mention it! I know one of the tricks they use to get dogs to lick someone is to put flavored grease on the person,” Sinclair pointed out happily. “ I read it in a movie magazine before and thought that’s brilliant of them. I’d be enticed by the smell of bacon grease too, and I’m not even a dog!”

‘Well not a four-legged one but there are definitely some puppy genes in there.’

Amiee thought to herself as she tried to avoid laughing to herself.

“Yeah! It was probably the same as this movie. Maybe we should see if they can add some bloopers in the credits where we get to see the dog rolling around,” she joked swirling the lemon in her water before taking a sip. “Plus, we don’t need you staying up all night when you have an early morning tomorrow.”

The statement garnered a puzzled look from Sinclair who didn’t understand what she meant. He didn’t think he had anything he had to do in the morning. Unless he was missing something, which he didn’t think he was.

“I do?” He asked, along with an adorable tilt of his head to the side that had her ‘awwing’ internally.

“Yes! I mean…Well actually now that you’re asking me I don’t know!” She laughed. “Don’t you go into the office on Saturday mornings, you’d always used to,” she pointed out, before giving him a cheeky smile. “Unless you’re telling me that you’ve finally fallen out of love with work.”

She always thought it was a bit strange that he went to work on Saturday mornings. Wasn’t forty hours a week and occasionally fifty enough? When she asked him about it one day, he simply just said he liked it, and it helped him keep up with all the work he had.

Secretly though, she always thought it was to catch up on work he hadn’t done due to his time management. Or lack thereof. Even as perfect as he was, he needed a flaw. Hiding her laughter she listened to him.

“Oh well no, I erm,” he paused for a moment thinking of a way to explain the situation while carding his hand through his hair. He thought and thought and yet there wasn’t any other way but to directly say it.

“Well you see…oh god this is such a weird place to be talking about this,” he chuckled nervously, even though there was no humor in his voice and his hand had dropped to fidget with his fingers.

“Then we don’t have to,” she replied swiftly, not meaning to bring up anything heavy. “Sorry didn’t mean to rain on the parade, I just always thought it was funny that you went in on Saturdays. You couldn’t pry me from my bed if I didn’t have to be anywhere,” she grinned.

“You’re such a sleepyhead,” he teased, causing Amiee to give him a proud look before a thoughtful look crossed his features. “But no, please don’t apologize, it's not like you would have known. It’s just, well…” He trailed off with a shake of his head before answering truthfully.

“I stopped going in because, during marriage counseling, the therapist asked me to. They believed it would help mend the issues that had caused us to have to go in the first place.” He explained to her. “It didn’t, hence the divorce, but I did find out I do actually enjoy a nice lie in during the weekend.”

Listening intently up to the end, she couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for Sinclair. He did what he was asked to do, and she assumed that he did try but it didn’t work. Though he did gain something at the end which had her ears perking up.

“Sinclair?”

“Hmm?”

Taking a breath, she spoke.

“This is going to make me sound like a right arse but.” There was a pause as she looked at him, a waiting expression on his face before she finished with, “I’m pretty sure I told you that before!”

By the way his eyebrows raised, he hadn’t been expecting that statement to come from her. Even more confused than before he blurted out, “you did?”

“About the lie in thing? Yes!” Her voice was higher than normal as she tried to keep herself from falling over with laughter. She didn’t know why it was so funny but it was, especially paired with the surprised look on his face. “You slept like an absolute log on Saturday mornings when I would stay over. I don’t know why’d you ever torture yourself going in like that.”

“See but that was easy! Do you know how cozy it is to sleep with you-?”

There was a sudden pause, and he could feel his cheeks becoming warm at his terrible word choice. Brown eyes that had widened at his statement stared at him, and he could see a pale red blush begin to spread across her face.

‘Damnit don’t embarrass her!’

The voice in his head chided him even though in reality Amiee wasn’t embarrassed at all. More flattered than anything.

“No sorry I-I mean!” Spluttering and tripping over his words, he fumbled for a moment more before carefully stringing the words he found together. “It was nice to have someone that didn’t mind being held or you know, have someone who liked to hang off your back like a kola…it’s very cute, and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

What? Did his ex not cuddle with him often? She needed to meet this woman and find out her problem because who wouldn’t want to cuddle with Sinclair? You know what, never mind, maybe it was for the best that they didn’t meet.

“Well, then I’ll have you know that I for one am glad that you are taking the advice and staying home now on Saturdays,” she chirped truthfully. “You work too hard. It's admirable, but also don’t go working yourself to death! I need someone to spot me when I’m being dangerous.”

He grinned warmly at her statement and all she could do was sigh internally. How was one person so handsome, sweet and playful? It was truly easy for her to forget about her problems with him.

“I will try not to! But also please don’t, it would scar me,” he half joked as it probably would do that.“Anyways, enough about me! What do you have planned? I hope that flat hunting is in the cards because I still don’t like where you’re living. It’s not safe.”

Of course he didn’t.

“Sinclair it’s perfectly safe where I live. I’ve been there for almost two years and the only danger to me is my flat itself,” she joked even though it didn’t seem funny to him.

He just pouted at her and she resisted the urge to playfully roll her eyes at him. She knew he meant well, but she was also used to living in places that were a bit rough around the edges.

That didn’t mean he was wrong though, she did need to find a new place. Not only because she wanted to be closer to the office as the hour commute both ways was draining, but also because she needed an extra room for when Angie came to stay with her.

“If it pleases the court to know,” she informed, sarcasm dripping from her voice, “I’ll probably be moving in autumn after I save a bit.” And it did seem to put him at ease as he let out a pleased ‘good’ while she could only shake her head humorously at him.

“But for tomorrow I’m actually going home! Angie’s getting out of hospital and I was gonna spend a few days with my parents and her. Make sure she’s alright.”

This was the first time Sinclair had heard about this, and his face absolutely brightened at the good news. He knew she had gone back one more time since the initial visit but that was about it.

“Amiee that’s wonderful!” He exclaimed warmly, his eyes shining while Amiee’s cheeks hurt more than usual at how much she had been smiling. “I’m so glad to hear she’s alright. Do you need my help or anything? Since I’ll be at home I can take you if you want? I quite liked the visit last time oh- no that’s not what I meant. I mean you know it had been a while since I went there, not that the situation was any good.”

“I know what you mean Clair,” she said, saving him as she shook her head with a chuckle. “But no, it’s fine. I’ll probably go sometime in the afternoon since I’m going to stay till maybe Wednesday. But it’s great. I’m just super, super happy I don’t have to see her with that tube again. It’s just…ugh.”

Just the thought of her sister in hospital made her stomach churn and she tried to push the thoughts as far away as possible. All that mattered now was that she was better, and they could figure it all out after she was home and on the mend.

“Do you know if she’s going to be alright? I mean you know…I’ve read that with things like that it only takes a few minutes to impact the brain and it can damage-.” Stopping his spiel abruptly, Sinclair looked down for a moment as if a thought crossed his mind before he returned his attention to Amiee who patiently waited. “Oh actually, I shouldn't bring something like that up. I’ve been trying to keep in mind that it’s not appropriate when it comes to stuff like that, sorry.”

What he said was a little off putting as she hadn’t at all found it inappropriate. He liked to share information, and it was always accurate when it came to whatever subject they talked about so she didn’t mind.

Plus, it just meant he cared about what he was talking about and wanted others to know. She wondered briefly if his therapist also told him that. Granted she was getting the idea that it may also have been influenced by someone else. She grimaced at the thought.

“No, no it’s okay! It’s the truth and something the docs were looking out for as well,” she explained. “But thankfully, when I talked to her the other day, even though she sounded a bit croaky, which fair I would be too if I had a tube shoved down my throat. It seems like her motor functions will be fine, and they just want her to do a few months in physical therapy.”

“Thank goodness! That’s scary stuff and I’m glad she’s okay,” he sighed in relief. “Will you tell her I said hello when you see her? Maybe I can send some flowers with you to take to her as well?”

“Clair no you don’t have to! I’ll tell her you said hello though, she’s going to flip out probably knowing that we work together again.”

This piqued his curiosity, as did most things in life, but this really interested him.

“Really how come?”

It was Amiee’s turn to look down and away from him, hiding her face as she tried to figure out how to tell him her sister was a raging romantic, and would probably go crazy knowing they were ‘together’ again.

“Oh god, erm how do I explain,” she laughed nervously as she tucked a short strand of hair behind her ear.“Just know Angie used to consider you as one of my ‘bad’ decisions. But in a good way.”

“I don’t follow, a bad decision? In a good way?” Again an adorable head tilt followed his confusion. “Those can’t exist, they’re the complete opposite of each other?”

“Well okay, how about I put it like this, from the last I read, London’s a city of almost 7 million right?”

“Yes, that's what the BBC showed a few months back. We’re growing at a steady rate.”

“Right, So I don’t think it’s a stretch to say, it’s a bloody miracle that I applied to where you work, and that Arthur happened to not come in, leading you to be the one I had to talk to.”

There was a thoughtful expression on Sinclair’s features as he pondered what that had anything to do with why her sister would freak out. But slowly, he started to get the image and the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. To say he was merely happy was an understatement.

“Rubbish!” He exclaimed, startling her before grinning at her reaction. “Is what I would have said, because where’s the logic in that? But, when you put it that way, statistically a lot of things had to go right for us to run into each other again.”

“Exactly! I’m glad you agree,” she nodded. “And I don’t know about you but I’m proper chuffed that things somehow turned out this way.”

“Me too! I’m happy you’re here Amiee and I hope you don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. If you do, I’ll be sure to follow. There are billions of people in the world, and I don’t want you to get lost among them.”

Because he would be damned if he lost her again.

A warmth bloomed in her tightening chest at his words. His amber eyes were bright, and warm, just like a crackling fireplace on a cool autumn day. The smile he wore radiated that same feeling, as he declared how happy he was, even though just from how he looked, at her one could properly tell how he felt. It caused feelings that swirled in her to push at her, wanting her to get up from her seat and hug him. To never leave again and to stay put with him.

But, she did her best not to succumb to them as her mind constantly reminded her it was too early. That even if her heart, still entangled with his wanted more, she should wait because things had changed and they needed to tread carefully. At least she could promise him she wouldn’t leave again, because truthfully, she didn’t think she could survive that heartbreak a second time.

So with a shake of her head, she smiled at him, a gentle smile that was illuminated by the warm orange lights of the restaurant. A smile that made him forget that there were other people around as everything became background noise. It was just her and him as she spoke.

“No, not this time. Promise.”

By the time they had finished eating, and Sinclair had gotten them back to her flat, it was almost midnight, and they were both absolutely knackered. Helping her get out of the car, Sinclair led her up the stairs to her flat. Her hand comfortably resting in his as they chatted and laughed up until they made it to her door.

“Well this is me,” she yawned, her body alerting her once more that it was past her bedtime after the fun evening. “Thanks for the film and dinner. And I’m going to pay you back one day I swear.” The last part added on as she had been unsuccessful again at paying for their meal.

“You’re welcome and I absolutely won’t accept it unless! You being around is payment enough!”

“Well if you put it like that how can I say no?” She beamed, causing him to reciprocate her gesture with a grin of his own before they laughed. “But really, thank you for tonight Clair, I had such a good time. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve laughed till my face started hurting!”

“Me too! Hopefully…we can do something like this again soon?” He asked hesitantly, not wanting to make it seem as if he was pushing her to do anything.

“I would love that! Maybe we can talk about it some when I get back to town? How’s that sound?”

“That’s absolutely perfect!”

His little shout of happiness was accompanied by him squeezing her hand, reminding her that they were indeed holding hands once more. His larger one engulfed her smaller one and she couldn’t help but enjoy the comfort it brought as she squeezed his back.

“Well, it’s getting late and while you’re lucky to get to snooze in, I have a train to catch tomorrow,” Amiee pointed out as she stroked his hand with her thumb absentmindedly. “Drive safe and please call me when you get home okay?”

“I will! And…will you do the same when you have time tomorrow? When you get settled of course!” He added not wanting to seem overbearing, but just wanting to make sure she was safe.

“Of course,” she nodded before they stood in silence.

It wasn’t uncomfortable, but there was a feeling of underlying energy as they watched one another. Waiting to see who would move first to do anything. If one of her neighbours came out at that moment, they would think they had interrupted a pair of lovers with how close the two were.

“Night night Clair,” Amiee whispered to break the stillness as she looked up at him. Even in the dim light, his eyes shone bright as they stayed trained on her.

“Good night Amiee,” he responded in a murmur as he watched her carefully, admiring how she added beauty to any setting they were in. Even in the hallway of her building.

They stood for a moment, hands intertwined for a little longer before they let go of one another. Lingering for a bit to just say goodbye one more time, Sinclair waved before he made his way down the hallway. Amiee watched until he disappeared around a corner before she let herself into her flat which was illuminated by the hallway light.

Kicking her shoes off and relocking the door, she stood there quietly, her back facing the entrance as her mind raced with thoughts. A loud exhale left her lips before she found her back against the door, and she couldn’t stop the smile that brightened her expression as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Similarly, as Sinclair sat in his car, the radio turned low to provide background noise, he looked in the direction of her flat’s building. Resting against his seat and thinking of all the emotions he had felt that day, he noted that most, if not all of them, were feelings of fondness. It felt good as it had been a while since he had felt that way and it was all because of her.

Still staring in the direction of her flat, he noticed a light illuminating from her window that was not on earlier. A sense of comfort washed over him knowing she was inside safe and he knew it was okay for him to leave. So giving the building one last glance, he whispered a tender,

“Good night darling.”

A/N: Ekkk i had so much fun with this chapter! I hope it makes up for how angsty the past chapters have been. These two deserve some fluff haha. I'll probably be a while in updating again (as if i'm ever quick) as I think I want to finish more chapters before posting but we will see.

#sinclair bryant #sinclair bryant x oc #amiee x sinclair #alan rickman #the art of entangled hearts #blossom writes

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snowblossomreads · 5 months

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Day 12: A Missing Gift (Missing Star + Giver of Gifts)

Pairing: Sinclair Bryant x Amiee Huang (OC)

Summary: In where Amiee plays hostess to a party while Sinclair is missing. She learns later why he was gone for so long.

Tag(s)/Warning(s): mean jokes, defending loved one, kissing, hidden relationships, food(lots of food), gift giving, feelings of unworthiness, fluff and love!

Word Count: 5.4K (Sinclair's getting spoiled I know 😌)

A/N: Heheh so this story takes place before the events of The Art of Entangled Hearts which ,you can read here (come on i know u want to read it) . This little fic is just sweet fluff between these two and a little surprise awaits at the ending 🥹.

Disclaimer: Any resemblance to any person living or dead is just coincidence 🤣🤣 (it's not) Enjoy lovelies!

There were about 15 or so people, including Amiee, mingling in the spacious living room of Sinclair's flat, which resided on one of the top floors, in a luxury apartment building, in Manchester's city centre. All sorts of folks from work had come to the little, or more accurately rather larger dinner party he was throwing for the upcoming holidays, ready to gossip and drink fancy wine and champagne till their heads spun.

It was the weekend after all, and why not indulge, especially if you weren't paying for it. Most of the people there were from different departments though, she recognised two or three of them from her own. She was sure that they knew Sinclair, as everyone who ever met him could attest that he was hard to forget, and even harder to avoid once he took a liking to you.

Speaking of Sinclair.

"Amiee where'd ya say our office puppy went to?" Millie, who she had learned was a lawyer for the company asked as she sat down next to Amiee with a drink in hand. "I know he has a habit of being late, but to his own party? That's a new one even for him!"

"Honestly he's hopeless when it comes to time management, it's the reason he's always in the office so late sometimes," Amiee mused as she took a sip of her own drink. "He said he had some last minute things he needed to pick up and then left me to supervise if he didn't get back on time."

"Oh of course he would! Men I swear," she snickered, though there was amusement in her voice as she spoke. "Well, it's not too bad of a mess. I mean there're drinks and some amusing company I guess. Though, I wonder what's got him so tied up. Maybe he's gone back to the office?"

"Haha, I don't mind.” She actually did mind, even if it was just a little bit, but that wasn’t the point. “And I doubt it. Sinclair wouldn't miss a party, especially his party. He enjoys the company too much," Amiee continued as she fell into a comfortable conversation with the lady. "But," she added, covering the side of her face, and leaning over like she was telling a secret to Millie who was also leaning in to hear. "If he doesn't show up soon I'm liable to just start eating the food without him. I'm starving!"

Both women let out a laugh drawing a pair of eyes towards them.

"Be careful," Millie snorted bringing her drink to her lips. "That's probably a sackable offence when it comes to him. Can you imagine him coming back and all the food is gone?"

"It'll drive him mad for sure! I'm pretty sure we be his mortal enemies if we ever did that!" Amiee cackled doubling over in laughter at the thought of Sinclair marching everyone out of his flat because they had eaten all the food.

It was honestly easier to imagine than one would think considering who they were talking about. That man took his meals seriously!

"A sackable offence to who? Who are we talking about ladies?"

The voice of a man interrupted the two women, who looked up to see a red-faced middle aged man approach them and before he got near, Amiee could hear Millie hiss a soft,

"Not this dickhead." Before leveling a nasty glare at him.

He was a bit wobbly on his feet as he waddled up to them, and it was clear he was going to need to be cut off from the drinks soon in case he got too plastered before dinner was served.

"Bugger off won't you Williams? Can't you see me and our hostess are talking?"

As if he didn't hear her, Williams, whom Amiee didn't know, yet already disliked immensely, seemed to ignore the request to leave them alone, instead doing his best to join the conversation he wasn't wanted in.

"Aw come on Mills be nice," he crooned causing the blond woman's face to twist in disgust at the nickname as she looked away from the man. "Amiee isn't it! Still no sign of our friend Sinclair huh? Chaps probably lost somewhere staring at some billboard that's got him interested. Sometimes I don't think that man is all that there," Williams thought out loud as he tried to sit in the small space between the woman.

This only caused him to almost sit on Amiee's lap causing her to yelp and scoot to the opposite side of the sofa but not without her snapping at him with a,

"Hey watch it!"

"Sorry as I was saying," he continued, not paying any mind to the women who clearly did not want him to be there. "Brilliant at numbers but he's kind of odd fellow don't you think. Talkative too."

"Is that what we are calling people who are interested in a lot of things now? Because honestly I rather be friends with someone like that. Even if he is talkative, at least he has something of value to say, unlike some people," Amiee spat, still annoyed at the sudden appearance of the man and, the apparent audacity he had to insult Sinclair in his own home.

"Millie, what do you think?"

"Oh, absolutely. There's never a dull moment when Sinclair is around though," Millie paused to give the unwelcome guest a dirty look that was clearly telling him to piss off yet he stayed. "I can't say the same when it comes to some people."

The man seemed to be unaware he was nearing dangerous territory with the thinly veiled insults that he was hurling at Sinclair. And if he wasn't, well it was about to be made clear that he had overstepped.

"I mean he's a fine man, brilliant. But you have to agree he's a bit, I don't know, he seems off his rocker sometimes when he starts rambling about all those facts up in his head. It’s bloody weird!"

This had Amiee glaring at the man fiercely as he seemed to have realized what he said had crossed a line.

"No, I don't agree actually!" Amiee seethed lowly, her face hot from anger and her cheeks flushed, but not from the drinks.

Her ferocity seemed to catch both Millie and Williams off guard and had anyone else heard her, she was sure it would have caught them off guard to.

"It's fine if you don't like him, but if you're going to just insult him in his flat, at his party why even show up! If it bothers you so much, how about buggering off like you were asked to. And preferably out of here altogether."

Everyone seemed petrified for a moment as they all took in the way she had just told this man off. Someone she didn't know but already never wanted to meet again, especially with how he talked about Sinclair, who was goodness personified to her.

He had flaws like any other human being, but she wasn't going to stand for someone, especially someone supposedly on good terms with him to speak about him like that. Drunk or not.

The air was a bit tense between the three, but it seemed like luck was on their side in a manner of speaking because not seconds later, the door to the flat opened, and Sinclair was walking in with a few shopping bags in hand and a grin.

"And look everyone it's the man of the hour," Amiee cheered as she jumped from her seat to get away from the uncomfortable situation, leaving Williams confused and Millie hiding her laughter behind her glass.

"Sorry sorry hello everyone! I got caught in traffic trying to get back with some more food and stuff for us!" Sinclair explained enthusiastically as he made his way into the flat, shutting the door with his foot and greeting everyone. "I should have known I get back late, but that just means everyone is already here!"

Amiee smiled as she approached him, happy he was still in his cheerful mood even with the delay, and with all the alcohol in people's blood, they seemed to just be happy he was here. With food of course.

Finding her in the small crowd, Sinclair seemed to brighten up even more as he walked over to her while boisterously announcing,

"Also everyone say thank you to Amiee as the unwilling hostess! She's wonderful to put up with me and my demands."

Her heart leapt, and she felt herself become instantly shy when he said that. The urge to ball up a little was strong as the attention turned to her for a few seconds when a chorus of thank you's and laughter filled the air.

Mortifying wasn't the right word, but she did feel self-conscious as she nodded and gave a little wave and smile to everyone. A soft 'you're welcome' left her before Sinclair was swooped in.

"Dinner in about 30 minutes! Hopefully faster though because I'm starving! I'm stealing Amiee away for help seeing she's already done a brilliant job at keeping you lot entertained. It's a hard chore!"

There was more laughter at his announcement, as he took Amiee by the hand and began to drag her away from the party. She happily let him to, ready to get a break from the crowd of people, and that one twat.

Dragging her down the hall and into the kitchen where they could only hear the chatter faintly along with the low music that had been playing, Sinclair kept his boyish grin as he put the bags of food on the counter before turning to the woman.

"Sinclair that Williams or whatever his name is an arsehole," she stated plainly when he looked at her, not giving him time to tell her how pretty she looked with her outfit.

She must have changed when he left as she was now wearing a festive-looking red jumper blouse with a cowl neckline, along with a red headband that was adorned with a bow in her hair. Speaking of her hair, it had some more volume than it usually did which also looked quite good.

‘So cute.’ He mused in his head as he watched her brows furrow waiting for his response.

"Oh from the advisory board?" He asked nonchalantly as he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arm around her waist to hug her against him. She let out a hum as she hugged him back and deflated a bit in his arms already tired from a night that had only begun. "Oh, he's alright. He speaks his mind a lot even if it isn't the most popular thing. I think it's good to have different opinions even if they aren't said nicely. Though I do prefer them put in nicer ways no need to be snide."

"Sure, but sometimes you can have the wrong opinion and he was being snide," she snarked, as Sinclair chuckled and leaned down to press a kiss atop her head. "He decided to have a go at you before you came in and I let him know he could bugger off if he didn't like you."

"Was he drunk?"

That wasn't the question she thought she would hear.

"Yes I believe so," she answered, tilting her head up with a quizzical gaze at his question only to see amusement shine in his eyes.

"Darling you slagged off a possibly drunk man because he was mean to me did you?" Sinclair laughed in astonishment as he let go of her, only to find a pouty expression directed at him. "He probably won't even remember tomorrow, but it's lovely of you to defend my honour at a holiday party to someone you don't know. Hmm, I think it's the sweetest thing someone has ever done for me actually. Thank you Amiee!"

She sure hoped it wasn't the sweetest thing a partner had ever done for him, or she would need to talk to him about the people he had dated considering it was the least she could do. Granted she probably needed to have that pep talk too as she was no better.

Her pondering was cut short though by Sinclair who interrupted her with a cheerful,

"But also you look very pretty! I like the red on you! But red also makes me think of wine and stuff which reminds me that I'm hungry and I'm sure everyone else is!" He blabbered on as he turned towards the counter to begin taking food out of the bags. "Can you help me get all this food and stuff set up and brought out? Gosh, It seems like I'm making you do so much running around!"

The dizzying array of topics that he had just jumped through would have confused others, yet Amiee followed his train of thought perfectly, amused at how he related seemingly unrelated topics.

"Thank you 'Clair!” She beamed. “And yes, I will help you plate stuff. What kind of hostess would I be if I didn't?"

With a strong team effort, they unpacked the precooked food that he had bought for the party. Along with that, they also took things out of the fridge that had been premade and opened the oven to check on the food that had been in there staying warm.

Amiee only had to keep Sinclair from trying to eat one of the mini pork pies once. Though, when she had turned around for a second, he shoved a sausage roll in his mouth only for her to laugh at his puffed cheeks when he was caught chewing. He wasn't a very quiet eater, and it was very obvious by the sudden groan that he made that he had nicked something.

Once all the food had been plated on the fancy serving plates, and bags were tossed or stored -except one, that Sinclair said was for a surprise later. The only thing left was to bring all the food and plates out for everyone to serve themselves.

Giving each other approving looks, Sinclair leaned his head down as if he was looking for something on Amiee's side, only to find her lips being placed on his. He hummed in delight as they basked in the warm moment with each other, right before they would have to go back to being just good friends in front of everyone.

Oh, the woes of a hidden relationship.

They moaned as their lips hungrily clashed against each other, almost forgetting that someone could walk in and see them snogging like teenagers.

Pulling away, Amiee looked up at Sinclair before amusement blanketed her features.

"Sinclair here you have something on your lips," she giggled as she swiped at his lips with her thumb, trying to remove the lipstick that stained his thin lips.

He hummed as she rubbed it off before she gave him a pleased smile.

"Alright, ready to feed the hungry masses?" She asked as she picked up two different things getting ready to head for the living room.

"If by hungry masses you mean me? Then yes!" Sinclair answered enthusiastically, causing her to let out a loud laugh as she led them back into the front where people cheered as the food arrived.

The abundance of appetizers and small eats had been a hit, as everyone seemed pleased with the variety and the amount of things they could choose from. It came to no one's surprise, that there was such an abundance considering it was Sinclair hosting, and he was notorious for making sure there was plenty to go around.

Someone even complimented the egg tarts Amiee had brought, and Sinclair, once again, proudly proclaimed that she had bought them causing her to be back in the spotlight but just briefly. She would have to tell her mum that they were a hit like she knew they would be.

The party seemed to go on and on with everyone having a good time, and becoming more energetic after food was in stomachs. Someone even opted to do some mock karaoke to one of the Christmas songs that started to play, garnering everyone's attention and laughter.

Throughout the whole thing, Amiee and Sinclair would sneak looks at each other whenever he wasn't deep into a conversation, and both of them couldn't stop the smiles that grew on their lips when one saw the other.

They were hopeless. As it went on though, Amiee found herself tiring of the socialization as she had done enough for the rest of the year and some of the next. Her eyes felt tired, yet people seemed to be having fun still and Sinclair, the ever-energetic puppy, was in deep conversation with a group of three.

How he had the energy, she didn't know, but she wouldn't drag him out of his zone as she was happy to see him happy. But she needed somewhere quiet to recharge from all the noise.

So she made a decision. Surveying the crowd, she made sure no one was looking, and that everyone was talking to someone before she slowly made her way out of the lively room. If she didn't make eye contact no one would notice her.

'Amiee what are you doing you're not James Bond, this isn't a spy movie please act normal.'

Desperate times called for desperate measures, and it wasn't as if she wasn't well-versed in slipping out of crowded rooms. She was usually hardly missed in those kinds of gatherings.

The thought pulled at her heart a bit, and a frown briefly invited itself onto her lips before she quickly and quietly left the room. Once she was confident no one saw her, she kept moving down the hall until she was able to slip into Sinclair's dim bedroom, where the only light source was a lamp on his bedside table.

Cautiously, she closed the door behind her before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Freedom," she muttered to herself, as she padded towards the large bed and flopped herself face forward onto the mattress.

A long groan left her lips as she crawled on top of the bed sheets, and rolled herself onto Sinclair's side of the bed. Snuggling with his pillow, and inhaling the comforting scent that was him, she relaxed, happy to be away from the crowd just for a bit.

"Just rest my eyes for a bit, that should do it." She told herself as her eyes fluttered closed. "Just resting my eyes, that's it Amiee then you'll get up and go back and …yawn… be social."

Closing her eyes to rest them, she was unsurprisingly out like a light moments later.

It wasn't the noise that had awakened her, but the lack of it, as her bleary eyes opened to the dim room that was filled with silence. Getting her bearings together took a few more moments, and her sitting up took the same amount of time as she found herself more exhausted than before.

"Shit," she groaned as she wiped at her eyes to try and wake up. "Did I fall asleep?"

"You did!"

“Oh my god!”

Amiee shrieked, startled at the voice that suddenly came out of the en suite bathroom, which she hadn't noticed had its lights turned on.

Coming out of the room with a white t-shirt, and a pair of cozy joggers that hugged his hips just right, Amiee couldn't stop herself from ogling Sinclair as he came towards her.

"I was wondering where you had run off to!" He started as he sat on the edge of the bed closest to her.

"God I'm sorry 'Clair," her apology was punctuated with a yawn that couldn't be stifled.

"It's okay! You looked so adorable sleeping that I felt bad about oh, uhm, what's that word you all use sometimes," he thought for a moment before finding the word he was looking for. "Mither? Felt bad if I mithered you?"

His attempt to use the local slang made her giggle, as it was so odd to hear anything but his posh upper class London accent.

"You wouldn't have mithered me at all, I would have gotten up, I was just dead tired talking to all those people," she explained while crawling over to his side and leaning her head on his shoulder. "Sorry love, I'll make it up to you at the next party that I know you'll be having."

"Which will be your birthday party you know. I still can't believe you haven't had one before that's absurd you deserve to be celebrated and I want to celebrate you but, you need to tell me where you want to have it."

"Sinclair no it's fine! Please don't make such a fuss about it.” She begged, wrapping her arms around his forearm and putting her chin on his shoulder which was accompanied by an endearing pout. “I don't mind really. It’s not a big deal for me to not have a party, just being with you during it is good enough for me."

"But it is a big deal because you were born and it makes me happy that you are here. And I want to celebrate my favorite person is that so wrong?" Sinclair asked, eyeing her with that longing look that he knew she was weak too.

Ugh, how could she say no when he put it in such terms and looked at her like that. Damn him!

"No, it's not but, hmmm fine, let's make a compromise.” She offered which had him perk up just like a puppy hearing a door open or food being poured into a bowl. “We can have dinner somewhere but only with six people at the most, including me and you."

Hmm. Six people didn't sound too much like a party to Sinclair, but he decided he was happier that she was letting him do something special for her birthday to care. Plus it was her birthday.

"Okay! Deal darling a dinner party with six people it is.” He agreed energetically. “I'll let you be in charge of the guest list since it's for you. Let me know if you need help wrangling people. I do love people wrangling."

Of course, he did, though he usually didn't have to wrangle people, as he already had a magnetic and sunny personality that people were drawn to automatically.

Great, now she just had to find four people to celebrate within a week or two time. That was next week Amiee’s problem though, as Amiee of the present was tired and ready to just cuddle up into bed and snooze.

"Oh speaking of birthdays and holidays!" Sinclair chirped out of the blue now that her birthday event was settled. "I have a gift for you that I want you to have! It was one of the reasons I was late this evening, which sorry, but thank you for keeping everyone company. Everyone said you were lovely as a hostess!"

"Sinclair what did you buy me now," Amiee whined, as he scooted off the bed and headed to his closet to rummage for the item he had bought today. "You always buy me stuff you know, and you don't have to," she continued as he disappeared, and then reappeared in the room with a medium-sized rectangular box that was just a tad bit larger than his palm. "And it's always such pretty stuff that I hate I can't display at home because my parents and Angie would ask about it."

Walking back over to her, and sitting down, Sinclair grabbed Amiee gently as she wobbled due to the sudden motion of the bed dipping. Grinning at her, he leaned over to kiss her temple and then her lips, which she accepted with a soft noise as she leaned against him.

"I know, I know, but I saw it and it looked so cute and I thought of you because you're also very cute darling.” His compliment had her bashfully dropping her head and shaking it, as a sweet giggle left her lips that made him all the more enthused about giving her the gift. “But it also reminded me that you've never had a Christmas tree, or a Christmas topper for the tree! So I thought well this would be nice to put atop the tree this year instead of a star and you would also have a topper," he chattered happily as he handed the velvet box over to Amiee who apprehensively took it. "Plus I love being a giver of gifts, especially when I can gift you with things!"

The fabric of the box was so soft, and upscale that she wouldn't be surprised if he had paid the same amount for the box as the gift itself. It made her heart ache a bit only because while she was sure she would love it, there was guilt hanging around telling her she didn't deserve it. Making her feel bad that she couldn't reciprocate his generosity with her own.

He never complained about the gifts she would give him, even if they weren’t as luxurious as the ones he could afford to give her. Yet, he was always thrilled when she brought him something. And while she was sure he wasn't faking it, considering it was hard for him to fake emotions, she still felt a bit bad.

Noticing her hesitation, his hand fell to her lower back patting her gently as she played with the box in her hand.

"Go on darling," he murmured leaning over, and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Don't be shy open it! I want to see if you like it!"

Shooting him a timid smile, she looked back down at the box and took the top off delicately placing it down on the nightstand. In the box was filler paper, which she removed from the top only to find at the bottom a beautiful looking angel.

It had dark long hair, which had a golden crown made of flowers sitting atop its head. Brown eyes, with red paint on its lips, and golden angel wings that curved towards the front of the doll’s body. The dress it had on was a beautiful shiny red with golden flowers, and a red sash tied around its waist. The thing was absolutely gorgeous and Amiee was terrified of anything happening to it as she picked it up.

"An angel for my angel! She reminded me of you when I saw it!" He mused and it was so cheesy, but it didn't matter as Amiee was speechless at the gift and how sweet it was. She honestly would probably cherish it forever as she couldn’t take her eyes off the little thing.

"Did you know angel toppers were the first ornaments people made by hand? Usually with straw because well it seemed like everyone used to have that long ago,” Sinclair rattled off. “We then started making glass ones just to put on top of the tree! Quite a long history for something so small."

"She's beautiful Sinclair," Amiee whispered so hushly that he hadn't heard her as he rambled on about the history of Christmas tree toppers that he knew far too much of.

Her fingers brushed the doll's cheek, which was smooth like the porcelain it was made from. And the satin, or whatever its dress was made of, was just as smooth and didn't snag like cheaper quality fabric.

She was so beautiful, and Amiee felt so silly when she felt emotion bubble in her throat as she looked at the doll. It was just a doll yet, it meant so much more to her than he could ever know.

"Thank you, thank you I love her so much," Amiee beamed leaning over and kissing Sinclair's cheek just in time to hide a tear or two that had slid down her own cheeks.

"Can we put her up soon?" She asked turning to the side to wipe her eyes and put the beautiful thing back in the box but not without admiring it some more. "I mean if you don't mind us changing what's on the tree already?"

A large smile shined on his face and he seemed to be on board with the idea considering that he was visibly vibrating with excitement.

"Yes! Of course! We can do it tomorrow!" He exclaimed before looking at the clock and quickly correcting himself. "Well, later today actually but I think we could both use some sleep right?"

“Absolutely! I'm pretty sure my nap made me even more tired. But first I need to shower and get myself out of these clothes." She mumbled, remembering she had fallen asleep with her party outfit still on. "Mind if I steal a jumper for the night though?" She asked, putting the top of the box back on before getting off the bed to ransack Sinclair's closet for any jumper she could find.

"Oh wait I'll get one!" He suddenly shouted shooting off the bed and towards the closet, startling Amiee with how quick he moved.

It was those long legs of his.

"Here you go though darling!" He announced after a second of rummaging through the space before presenting her with another well-worn jumper that he had but not without adding, "if you could bring some of the ones you've nicked back it be great. I think I'm running low on them and I don't want to buy new ones. I could...but I like my old ones better more worn in you understand right?"

Brushing her confusion aside from his sudden rush toward the closet, her face turned warm at his ask before she let out a raucous laugh.

He was right though, she had stolen a few to keep for her own. She couldn't help it! They were comfy and she liked how his clothes drowned her smaller form. Also, they smelled like him and well…she liked snuggling in them when she felt down. But he was right, and for the sake of making sure he stayed comfortable, she would bring some of them back. Only some though because had to keep her inventory stocked up too.

"Hahah yes sir! Sorry, I’ll make sure to return this one and some of the others."

She saluted him before taking the article of clothing, and making her way to the bathroom for a nice relaxing shower. As she made her way to the bathroom, Sinclair gazed at her and kept watch until the door was closed and he could hear the spray of water from the shower start. Once he was sure she was in the shower, he walked back over to his closet where he had kicked a little black bag over so she couldn't see it, had she followed him to grab the jumper.

Getting on his knees, he reached for it and dragged it into the light before pulling another velvet box out of it. This time it was a much smaller box than the one he had given Amiee and more octagonal. Looking behind him, he made sure she hadn't come out of the bathroom, and when he was confident she wouldn't pop up, he opened the box to gaze at the ring that was sat cozily inside.

A beautiful rose gold band with a tracer attached to it. It had an oval garnet center that was surrounded by a halo of diamonds which were themselves surrounded by a diamond shape that had the same jewel in it. The jeweler had said it was a north star design when he picked it and he immediately thought it perfect for her.

He had gotten the call it had been delivered to the store before the party and he decided to fetch it considering he be out anyway. It was quite worth being late for the festivities, and he hoped that when it was time to use it, she would agree when he told her. Grinning at it, he closed the box and stowed it along with the bag somewhere a little more discreet while thinking about the moment he would present it to her.

It was the only thing he could think about the rest of the night, and even more so when they were both cuddled in bed after her shower. Amiee’s head rested against Sinclair’s chest, and his arms were wrapped securely around her small frame as she fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. He hoped that this would one day be an everyday occurrence, and as he turned the lamp on his side off he couldn’t help but kiss the top of her head with a soft murmur of,

“I love you, sweet dreams angel.”

A/N: 🥹🥹 if you've read the story this ending may be bittersweet but i promise these lovebirds will be happy! thanks @renee561 for the angel topper idea it was so cute i couldn't resist not using it 😘 I hope this gave some warm fuzzy feels!

Also the ring inspo.

Tag: @deepperplexity , @mercurial-make-em-ups , @ringaroundthetown

#sinclair bryant x oc #sinclair x oc #amiee x sinclair #(she goes first LOL she's important!)#rickmas2023 #rickmas #blossom writes

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snowblossomreads · 5 months

Text

Exhibit 4: Maybe, Just Maybe

Previous Chapter: Art of Starting Over

Pairing: Sinclair Bryant x Amiee Huang (OC)

Summary: Amiee and Sinclair rush to the hospital while trying to figure out their place in each other's lives. Another life precious to Amiee hangs in a precocious balance.

Tag(s)/Warning(s): Implied Attempted Suicide, Hospitalization, Drug Overdose, Alcohol Abuse, Drowning, Depression

Word Count: 6.7K

A/N: Hooof, is all I can say LOL! This chapter is a bit heavy so do bear with me! Also yesterday from when I'm posting this was Close My Eyes anniversary so happy bday to the movie that gave us a puppy dog (ignores everything else) Anyways enjoy and I'll see you at the end!

A/N+: Jk hold up just in case there is confusion with all the names going on here is a quick blurb for name explanations when it comes to Amiee.

Amiee - English Name , Xuemei (雪梅/Snow Plum) - Chinese Name, Xiao Xue (小雪/Small Snow) - Chinese Nickname

Angela/Angie - English Name and Nickname, Quixiang (秋香/Autumn Fragrance) - Chinese Name

Alright NOW let us continue.

Whatever intrigue Sinclair had about who was calling at this hour had been pushed aside in his mind. He was still busy unraveling from the shock of the delicate yet fleeting kiss that Amiee had placed on his forehead before slipping away. It had caught him off guard yet he also wished that it lasted longer.

Brushing his fingertips along his forehead he couldn't help but let out an irritated sigh at the complicated feelings that were bubbling up.

"Selfish, Selfish, Selfish!" He chided himself quietly as he sunk further back into the couch. "What are you doing Sinclair? You're still technically married so why are you rushing her into something like this? You think you would have learned-."

His self-flagellation was cut off mid-sentence when he heard a sharp wail from the kitchen that caused him to freeze and look down the hallway. It was then followed by Amiee shouting something that he didn't understand before the loud slam of the telephone rang throughout the flat and he watched her fly out of the kitchen into her bedroom.

Something was most definitely wrong and he was up from his seat in an instant as he heard loud rustling coming from her bedroom along with what sounded like sobbing as he approached.

“Amiee what are you doing? What’s going on are you okay?”

His line of questioning was met with silence but before he could poke his head in her room, she had reappeared and he felt as if the wind was being knocked out of his body. Her eyes were rimmed red and tears had begun to wet her cheeks as she kept swiping at her face to clear her vision. But the tears only came quicker.

He had long established that he didn't like it when she cried. She had only done so once in his vicinity and he had gone mad trying to figure out how to stop her from doing so. It wasn’t that it bothered him, well yes, it did bother him, it bothered him a lot actually. He had always seen her as a calm and steady person. Someone he would go to when he needed to complain and she always had a knack for bringing him down from any proverbial ledge.

Yet she was also always a lot of fun to be around, indulging him in his eccentricities and never belittling him for his behaviour that a few would call childlike. She was sweet and an absolutely lovely human and now she was upset. And he wanted to fix that in any way possible because she was Amiee and he wanted her to be alright.

“Sinclair please I need you to take me to Manchester,” she blubbered quickly trying to go past him only for him to gently but firmly grab her shoulders and hold her in place scared that she would run into something with how out of it she was. "I ha-have to go please I'm so-so sorry.”

“Wait! Wait you’re going to hurt yourself darling! Slow down tell me what’s wrong! What’s happened?”

“It’s Angie,” she panted unable to catch her breath as she sobbed again at the thought of her little sister in hospital. “I have to go Sinclair somethings wrong please can you bring me there I need to go p-please.”

A grave look appeared on his feature when she said that and he instantly understood why she was so broken up. With no hesitation, he immediately nodded at her as the thought of not helping never once crossed his mind.

“Yes of course I’ll take you whatever you need!”

It was the last thing said before they rushed out of her apartment, she was barely able to lock her door as she fumbled with her keys only for Sinclair to take them from her and do it for her.

Guiding her to his car with a hand on her lower back he opened the door and let her get situated before he was jogging over to his side to get going. Both were so overwhelmed with the situation that a familiar noise sounded in the air yet neither paid attention. Most of the drive was quiet, in contrast to the one they took hours ago. Sinclair didn’t even think of turning the radio on and he was surprised at himself again when he couldn’t find anything to say to her.

The only sound that accompanied them was the soft hiccups coming from Amiee that would sometimes turn into little whimpers and the bumps in the road as he sped up the M1. He was sure if they got pulled over the fine would be astronomical but it didn’t matter. What mattered was getting to the hospital as soon as possible as he was unsure of the condition of her sister as he sped down the motorway. It wasn’t until maybe an hour or so into the drive when Sinclair glanced in Amiee’s direction to check in on her and found her slumped into her seat. Her arms were wrapped around the bag she had bought with her and her head was slumped in the direction of the window.

She had fallen asleep.

With all the adrenaline that had been rushing through her and the clock now showing almost one in the morning, he was not surprised that she had.

‘She gets cold easily remember?’

The thought floated in his mind when he saw her and he automatically began reaching behind him to pull his jacket off the back of his seat. With one hand on the steering wheel and eyes fixed on the road, he somehow managed to pull the jacket loose. Holding it in his right hand, he carefully leaned over and was able to lay it on her without too much fuss and without driving off the road. A win for everyone he thought as he heard her let out a small sound before going silent again.

Giving her one last glance over, Sinclair went back to concentrating on the quiet roads even though his mind was less quiet with various thoughts that he couldn’t decipher. While he was used to his mind being loud, he was also used to it being clear, but at the moment it was as clear as London’s foggiest days.

That was a novel sensation.

So, he sat in silence most of the drive which was also a novel thing and only when they were about 30 minutes out from Manchester proper did he decide to nudge Amiee awake. It only took a shake of her shoulder and the call of her name before she was stirring in her seat and coming back alive.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only thing coming alive as her head began to pound and her eyes hurt even in the dark. To compare this to a bad hangover was accurate, except for the part where she didn’t even have the chance to have a drink.

“Sin-hiccup-clair w-what where are we, did I fall asleep?” She questioned as she wiped her eyes which felt sore and tried to blink away the drowsiness that seemed to want to stick around.

“You did, I didn’t want to wake you until we got near, I’m sure you’re exhausted,” he chattered as he rubbed the sleep from his own eyes.

Sitting in silence had gotten a bit dull after a bit so he had turned the radio on to a low buzz to ward away any exhaustion. It had helped if only a little, but he was starting to feel drowsiness attempt to bubble up again and was glad to now have someone to talk to.

“We just passed the sign saying Manchester’s about 30 miles away and thought better to wake you up now and make sure that I’m going to the right place. I assume we are going to the Royal Infirmary but I haven’t been here in so long that maybe they built a new hospital somewhere and we need to go to one of those?”

“No you’ve got it right,” Amiee quipped her voice a bit low and raspy as her throat felt dry like sandpaper from all the crying she had done for almost an hour. She could use some water but that would have to wait.

Shifting in her seat because she needed to stretch, she noticed that she had something soft lying on her front that wasn’t there before. Eyes flickering down, she could tell that it was a suit jacket that was engulfing her smaller frame and keeping her from getting too cold. Not only that, but the scent that wafted from it was the same dark citrus that was distinctly Sinclair and she couldn’t help but want to wrap it around her like a blanket.

“Sinclair?”

He hummed his acknowledgement before flicking his eyes in her direction and noticed she was tugging at the jacket.

“Oh! I wanted to make sure you stayed warm,” he explained glancing over at Amiee who was playing with the neckline of the jacket and pulling it close so that it was under her neck. “I know the cold makes you feel bad, and well…,” he paused for a second, “you’re already feeling bad right now so I didn’t want you to feel any worse so I hope it helps even a little.”

She could see the timid smile that broke on his features as he said it and for a moment there was another emotion other than sadness and confusion that swirled in her mind about what was going on.

“It does,” she whispered before adding a soft, “thank you.” It was almost inaudible but by the way his smile grew and the way he sat up in his seat, exhaustion fading suddenly, she was sure he had heard it.

They talked some more as they approached the centre of the town. It was mindless chatter, yes but she let him talk to her, keep her from thinking too hard and he seemed plenty happy to do so. As he spoke the empty motorways became empty side streets but the scenery changed from forest on each side to houses, shops and all types of large buildings.

It wasn’t long before they were following signs to the hospital and within a few more minutes they were pulling into the lot for the emergency department. Even on a Friday night, technically early Saturday morning there were unsurprisingly quite a few cars as even if it was the weekend people didn’t stop getting hurt or becoming ill.

Oh, if only.

As soon as the car was put into park, Amiee quickly unbuckled herself and put the jacket aside before she leapt out of the car and began to walk briskly towards the entrance. Sinclair followed suit once he turned the car off, jogging to catch up to her as she was already across the parking lot. Once inside the hospital, they made a beeline to the receptionist who was not paying any mind to the coming and going of people or the people sitting in the waiting room.

“Excuse me,” Amiee asked as she approached the counter “My sister is here and I was told I needed to come as soon as possible. Is there any way you could tell me where I could her?”

Not even looking up at her, the receptionist began to shoot her down by saying,

“Visiting hours are over you’ll have to come back-”

“No no no you don’t understand,” Amiee interrupted, panic starting to bubble up suddenly and the urge to just run and look through every room to find her sister growing stronger. “My mum called, said it was an emergency they are up there already with her if you could just let me go up.”

Finally looking up at the two, the woman examined Amiee for a movement before she looked at Sinclair who had just come from behind and absentmindedly placed his hand on Amiee’s lower back. It caused her to look up at him with a worried expression before she turned her attention back to the older woman behind the desk who eyed them curiously before asking,

“What’s the name?”

“Angie-, no sorry Angela Huang they came in just a few hours ago I think.”

Turning to her computer, the woman began to click around and type something while Amiee bit the inside of her cheek and began to shift her weight from one foot to the other. Even with the clicking noises of the mouse and the sound of keys clacking her mind refused to stay silent and began to spiral again.

Was Angie okay? What had happened? Did someone do something to her? What if it was too late what if she-.

“Ah,” the sound of the receptionist brought her back as the lady turned back to them. “Ms. Uhm. Ms. Angela is in room 437 which is in the ICU bay. You and your husband can take the lift behind the doors up to the fourth floor,” she directed pointing towards a door that was diagonally behind them, “and then cross the bridge over to get there.”

While they had heard her, they both were frozen at her statement about Sinclair being Amiee’s husband. Did they look like they were a couple?

“Oh, erm we’re not-.” Sinclair began to fumble his words but thankfully the receptionist seemed to continue to go about what she had been doing earlier too busy to pay attention to them.

Wanting to keep it that way, Amiee interrupted with a, “thank you so much!” Before grabbing Sinclair and pulling him in the direction that they had been told to go.

The lift ride up was practically silent other than the sound of the mechanical gears of the machine working to pull the metal box. Both of them were too busy thinking about what the woman had said and also thinking about what to expect once they reached Angie. Did they seem so familiar with each other that they looked like they could be married? Sure, they were comfortable around each other having dated and all. But there had to have been something else that the woman saw to cause her to think they were married.

Right?

So caught up in their thoughts, the sound of the lift dinging to let them know that they were on the fourth floor startled them though both tried to mask it as they exited the lift and began to almost jog in the direction they had been told.

They had only made it a few feet before Amiee flew from Sinclair’s side with a loud cry of,

“Mama! Baba!” Leaving her lips as she ran towards an elderly couple who he could only assume were her parents as he had never met them.

They were both sitting alone outside of what they guessed was the room that they were directed to. Neither of them were speaking as the older man was slumped over with his head in his hands and the older woman was staring straight ahead. It was only when they heard Amiee’s voice did they seem to be pulled out of their stupor.

“Xiao Xue!” The older woman gasped standing quickly as Amiee ran towards her before giving her mother a tight hug.

Her father a bit slower to rise ambled over to the two women and offered Amiee a small pat on the shoulder as he stood beside his wife and eldest daughter. He had never been one to show a huge amount of affection so it didn’t surprise her too much when he didn’t embrace her as her mother had.

“What happened, what’s going on?” Amiee spoke in rushed Mandarin, pulling away from her mother and looking between both her parents trying to get as much information out of them as she could. “Why are you both sitting outside? Are the doctors in the room right now?”

Nodding, her mother began to explain what had happened all while barely keeping at bay fresh tears that threatened to spill from her once more. Apparently, when they had come home that night from the neighbours, they had noticed that some of the lights were on and the sound of running water in the bathroom.

Assuming rightly that Angie had come home from wherever she had been, they both didn’t think anything of it until they wandered into the hallway and noticed that there was water pooling out from underneath the bathroom door. That’s when her mother started to call out to Angie and when there was no reply the second or third time, she opened the door to find her youngest, unconscious slumped in the tub with water covering the lower half of her face.

“She wasn’t moving or breathing,” her mother wept and Amiee was close to joining her while her stomach tightened and twisted itself in knots. She increasingly thought she was going to be sick with each passing moment and each word that was spoken.

There had to be a reason. This wasn’t her sister. She had seemed fine when they had talked a few days ago. Happy about school starting in just a few weeks. Happy about moving to London and being near Amiee. No no no this was all wrong. Not Angie, she would never do something like that.

She would never k-.

Amiee couldn’t even complete the sentence in her mind as she stood there listening to her mom’s recount.

“I told your baba to call the ambulance and I turned the water off and tried to keep her head up as the water drained but why?” Her mother wailed loudly and stomped her foot in confusion and frustration. And most of all pain. “Why would she do this?”

There was no answer Amiee could give to her, only wrapping her arms around her mom in an attempt to console the weeping woman as she didn’t know what else she could do feeling as confused and lost in the situation as she was. Hugging her tight Amiee glanced up at her baba who seemed unnerved. While it was expected in this situation there was something odd about how he had barely said a word to her. His eyes averted from her own and trained on the ground as if he didn’t wish to look at them.

“Baba-.”

“Excuse me are you all the family?”

Before she could ask him how he was, a voice from right behind them called out causing Amiee to let go of her mom who dabbed at her tears as a man in a white coat, who they assumed was the doctor came up to them.

“Yes we are doctor,” Amiee answered now in English while going to shake the doctor’s outstretched hand. “I’m Amiee the sister and this is mom, Grace, and dad, Andrew,” she introduced pointing at the respective parent who also shook the man’s hand and said their hellos.

“Wonderful, I’m Dr. Davies and I apologize for having you all wait for so long but I first wanted to let you know that Ms. Huang is currently stable and doing fine right now so you all can breathe easy,” the man stated. And god did they all let out an audible sigh of relief. “But,” he continued, looking down at a chart in his hand, “we did have to put her on a ventilator because she was going through respiratory failure and wasn’t getting enough air. We think she'll be on it for maybe a week or so but with how young she is we’re hoping for a shorter amount of time.”

“What is um ventilator? Respiratory failure?” Grace asked in a slightly accented English, puzzled as she and her husband seemed a bit unfamiliar with the term the doctor had been using.

“Ah I’m sorry your daughter was having trouble breathing on her own and so we currently have a machine helping her do it,” the doctor explained as the older couple nodded while Amiee anxiously raked her hand through her hair barely able to listen to the man speak as the only thing on her mind was her sister. “Once her lungs gain their strength again, we’ll be able to take her off of it.”

Understanding shone in their eyes, but before either of the parents could thank the man, Amiee had dropped her hands to her side only for her to cross it against her chest before speaking.

“And her being underwater for a long time I guess caused this?”

There was a brief pause for a moment at her question as the doctor looked at her with an unreadable expression that had more questions suddenly forming in her mind.

“Well, yes that is what we think at first glance.”

At first glance?

“What do you-”

She wanted to ask him what he meant by ‘at first glance’. Was it or was it not the drowning that put her in the hospital it was a simple yes or no question to Amiee but it apparently wasn’t meant to be answered at that second as before she even finished, her mother interrupted.

“We can go see her yes?” Grace asked already making a move towards the room anxious to see her daughter to make sure that she was okay even if the doctor insisted she was.

“Yes of course but please understand that when you go in your daughter will have a, um, mask over her mouth and nose that helps her breathe she isn’t in any pain but some people are shocked when they first see a loved one in this manner,” the doctor assured them before continuing, “also we usually only let two people go in at a time so if it would be possible could one of you stay behind?”

Seeing that her parents were about to protest, Amiee cut them off speaking up for herself before they could,

“It’s fine I can wait! My parents can go in first.”

Even if she wanted to see Angie right then, she didn’t think she could handle it at that very second with how fast everything had been moving. And then the way the doctor seemed to be holding something back when she asked him her question. She needed to know what was going on.

“Xiao Xue,” her father finally spoke his voice raspy and tired; it was borderline fragile sounding which had her eyes widening just slightly as it was not at all like him.

“Baba it’s fine, I’ll be here waiting and will talk to the doctor,” Amiee replied in his native tongue trying to assuage the thinly veil concern in his weary eyes that she could finally see.

His expression had her already queasy stomach twisting more as it was a familiar look she had seen before but she couldn’t quite find it in her memories. It was an uncomfortable look to say the least as her mother began to fuss wanting him to come on so that they could see her sister.

Giving her one last glance, he turned around and followed his wife who was hurrying to the room. She watched as they started to enter the room, pausing only for a moment at the doorway before going in and closing the door behind them.

When they did, she felt her entire body slump, the tension in her muscles giving out immediately and the self-restraint that she had been holding in on the verge of collapsing. But she couldn’t collapse, not yet, she wanted her questions answered. And it seemed as if the doctor sensed that too as he was quick to grab her attention once her parents were out of earshot.

“Amiee, yes?” Dr. Davies questioned, pulling her from her thoughts and focusing her back on him. “About your question earlier,” he started a bit cautiously and seemingly nervous as he spoke. “I’m sorry if I seemed to beat about the bush regarding it. I was just a bit unsure if it be doing more harm than good trying to explain the full situation considering well…” He paused as he tried to find the right words and Amiee who had gone through this a million times before only let out a sigh that was accompanied by a slight shake of her head.

“You mean my parents?” She offered her tone a bit irritated already knowing what he was trying to imply. “I appreciate it doctor but I think I would have appreciated it more if you did try. Just because English isn’t their first language doesn’t mean they wouldn’t understand with some effort.”

The words had more bite than she intended to and she could see from the way the man’s face twisted that he didn’t miss the aggression and impatience that had been stewing in her during the whole ordeal. If he was offended by it, he seemed to quickly shrug it off before making an attempt to explain why he had hesitated initially.

“I understand and I apologize I just thought with the already delicate situation of things it be better if there’s a clear understanding of well…the whole matter.”

“I’m assuming the fact that my sister almost drowned to death isn’t the only situation you’re talking about is it?”

“No, unfortunately, it isn’t,” the man said as he looked at this chart once again before back at her with his eyebrows drawn together and a slight frown on his face. “We took some blood samples when she was first admitted and the labs came back fairly quick. Her blood alcohol content was at a .30 which is incredibly dangerous as that much is technically classified as alcohol poisoning.”

This had Amiee taken aback for a moment. .30? No that was not right and she wanted to ask him again if he had read those numbers correctly. Sure, her sister and she liked to have a glass of wine or something every now and then but Angie was never one to indulge more than necessary.

Even at family gatherings where drinking games were aplenty, she had never been one to partake in excess always complaining about how she didn’t like the way it made her feel. She didn’t have time to ask him though because he continued explaining what else they had found from the labs.

“That’s not all, there also seemed to be a high level of a class of medication called benzodiazepines, or benzos as most people call them in her system when we ran the test.” He continued and she could feel the bile in her stomach try to slowly make its way up her throat because she knew what was about to come even if she didn’t want to hear it.

Angie would never. She would never. Never. Never.

The words were chanted over and over in her head as the man continued to speak, yet she could barely hear his words over the noise in her head. If she was truthful, she didn’t want to hear those words only if to save her from the immense buildup of guilt that she had long thought she’d thrown away.

How had she not known?

“I’m not aware if you know this but these types of medications do not react well with alcohol even in normal doses and the amount that was in her system was more than enough to render her unconscious and even put her in a coma had she not been rushed here. Because of those two things even after she wakes up, we would like to keep her for some psych evaluations just to be on the safe side.”

Had her heart been a glass object it would have shattered in a million pieces at his words. Oh how she wished it was though because at least once it was shattered there would be nothing left to hurt.

But it wasn’t and the stabbing pain that she felt in her heart had her breathless. At a loss for words, Amiee could only stare at the doctor who wore an expression of pity, or concern or something of the two. Yet she couldn’t discern it, too busy trying to not allow the giant hole of despair to drag her into its depths and drown her.

“Are you saying that she tried to k-.” The words caught in Amiee’s throat as her mind felt scrambled and her eyes began to burn with the familiar sensation that seemed to come more easily these days.

How many times would she be on the verge of crying this week she wondered as she tried to swallow the tears down yet they refused to hide. Seeing her struggling to get the words out, it was easy to make an inference of what she was trying to say and the man tried to ease her mind even if it didn’t.

“While we don’t want to jump to conclusions,” he spoke choosing his words carefully, “we do want to make sure that she is okay both physically and mentally. Could it have been an accident absolutely but it’s something we take seriously.”

As much as she had wanted to believe that it could have been an accident, a mere coincidence she couldn’t help but let her mind wander to the negative. With everything he had just told her, from how much alcohol was in her blood, to the medication, which she had no idea she had been on, how could it have been an accident?

Yet the thought that it was purposeful, the thought that her sister, her baby sister, would do this. It refused to stick in her mind and she could only nod in understanding as she feared if she talked the strength that she had left would fade and she would only be left in a puddle of tears.

“I’m terribly sorry this happened Ms. Huang but the good news is that she’s stable now and we don’t expect that to change,” the doctor said as he went to pat Amiee’s shoulder.

She wanted to brush his hand off of her. The gesture, she knew, was meant to be in goodwill, in comfort maybe, and she knew it wasn’t anything but that. Yet she was so hurt, so confused. Angry, and tired as it felt like everything was crashing onto her and she just wanted it to stop. Why couldn’t it all just stop for a moment and let her breathe? It’s all she wanted to do.

“Thank you doctor,” she finally rasped out, her voice not sounding as her own as he gave her one more pat before dropping his hand.

“Of course,” he answered shuffling his clipboard under his arm, “if you all need anything don’t hesitate to call for a nurse at the front desk and I’ll make sure to check in at the end of my shift to update you all on anything.”

Nodding, the doctor gave her a tight smile before retreating down the hall in the direction she and Sinclair had come rushing from just moments ago. Yet as she stared in that direction, she couldn’t help but ponder briefly that something was missing. Her mind whirling and whirling trying to overcome the haze of everything that had been dumped on her while trying to remember what that missing thing was.

Until it finally dawned on her that she wasn’t missing something but someone.

“Oh god! Sinclair!” Amiee half shouted half croaked as she forgot for a second that she was in a hospital and didn’t think the staff would appreciate her screaming in the hallways.

Her feet began to guide her faster than her brain could think and before she knew it, she was turning down a corridor where the unmistakable sound of her lost friend chattering could be heard. He had a knack for making his presence known to everyone and it seemed as if a poor nurse doing her job was the victim of it as she turned the corner and saw him.

What they were talking about she didn’t know but it seemed as if the nurse was trying to get away but Sinclair continued to talk. And as she got closer, she could hear him telling her about the Human Genome Project that had really begun to take off at the start of the decade.

“And did you know that with the help of human genome sequencing, the hope is to be able to develop more medical techniques that can help cure all kinds of diseases along with better protocol to take care of people! I think that’s wonderful, don’t you? And with the amount of money we’ve sent over to help fund it I think it’ll be a great success!”

Enthusiasm dripped from his words as he spoke to the nurse who seemed to be trying to get away but to no avail, as he kept talking not letting the poor woman get a word in. Deciding that it would be for the best to free the nurse, Amiee approached and went to get his attention.

“Sinclair there you are!” She exclaimed, causing him to stop talking and turn in her direction. “I was wondering where’d you run off to I thought you had up and left me!”

There was a joke in there somewhere but she didn’t think it had quite landed as his smile faltered at the sight of her. Or rather at the sight of how red and puffy her eyes were, an easy telltale sign that she had been crying. With his attention on her, the nurse high tailed it away silently not even offering a goodbye. It would have been funny to Amiee if the mood was lighter but it was anything but.

“I got so caught up talking to the doctor I hadn’t even realized you gone missing until I looked around and you weren’t nearby,” she explained, giving him the tiniest smile she could muster when she noticed that he was holding a little tray with four paper cups in it once she was beside him.

“Oh I was just fetching some tea for us and then I got into a lovely conversation with, Nancy here-,” turning to introduce the nurse, Sinclair paused when he noticed that she was gone but it didn’t seem to bring him down at all as he turned back to Amiee. “We talked, well mostly I think I talked about the human genome project because she said her cousin or uncle one of those is working on it at his university!”

“Really? That’s brilliant,” she responded despondently not in the mood to fake enthusiasm as she was too tired to put on a face.

She just wanted to see her sister and go to bed in hopes that when she woke up everything would be okay. That when she got up her sister would be healthy and alert even if that was the very opposite of what she would be according to the doctors.

Sinclair noticed and immediately his expression darkened a bit as he went to put a comforting hand on her shoulder and it took everything in her not to rest her cheek on it. His touch was the opposite of the doctor’s. It was the only touch she could stomach right now and she wished it would stay even if she didn’t dare say it. So instead, she made no move to remove it, only moving forward to close the distance between the two of them.

“Is Angie okay? I’m sorry I didn’t stay, should I have?” He bumbled unsure of the correct answer in a situation like this. “It seemed like it was something that some stranger shouldn’t put their nose in and I didn’t want to intrude so I told myself I should maybe get everyone some tea because I’m a bit knackered and I’m sure you all are too!”

Looking down at the drinks briefly, Sinclair turned his gaze back onto Amiee and she couldn’t stop the way her heart swooped into her stomach. It ached yes, but it was different from the painful sort that had plagued her the entire night.

“You’re not a stranger Sinclair you know that,” she whispered not wanting to answer his initial question right that second as she was still processing what she had been told and was unsure if she wanted to even tell him.

Not only that but she was unsure if she could tell him without just breaking down completely. But otherwise to her, her words were true, even if they hadn’t seen each other for years he didn’t feel like a stranger and if he was well, she had never felt so comfortable with a stranger before.

“I should be the one apologizing for dragging you all the way out here in the middle of the night. I didn’t even say thank you yet.”

“Nonsense you think I would tell you no and make you wait until the Tube was running in the morning?” He asked a bit indignity a pout forming on his lips that had her feeling something other than the dread and sadness that had plagued her. “Of course not, I was there and I could help so of course I did! And even if I wasn’t I would have come. I’ll always help you Amiee you’re my friend!”

‘And I love you!’

Those words he left unspoken for the fear of being misinterpreted worried him more. Yet he did love her, she was his friend and he loved her so much that he hated seeing her so hurt and broken up. He loved her like a friend. A friend that he never wanted to be away from…a friend he wished had stayed. And a friend that he wanted to be as close to as they had been all those years ago.

Yet he would be silent. He had learned because of her how to be silent and not always let his feelings be known even if it was learned in the worst way possible. And plus, this was not the time of place. Amiee had enough to worry about, he didn’t want her to be under more pressure. So he stayed silent as she looked at him though unbeknownst to them both their thoughts were almost on the same plane.

For her, he had proclaimed his care, and his friendship with such convection and such honesty that for a moment she wondered why she had done it. Why she had run away so long ago. Maybe because it was how honest he was, how truthful he was that she was afraid that it would have been seen as her using him. Maybe he could have helped her, maybe if she had stayed things would have turned out differently.

So many maybes because she hadn’t been brave. But she had also been so young and the situation she had been put into still had her wondering what would have been the best approach. But still, maybe he could have helped if she had just told him and not tried to take the burden on herself things would be different. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

There were too many of them to deal with and while her past kept trying to linger, the present was where she was needed even if it was equally daunting. She would have time one day to sort her past out. But she needed to be here.

Taking in the softness of his expression that was directed at her, she felt a strange surge of relief begin to flow in her. Even if she was exhausted, desperate for answers, and still confused by everything at least he was there. Someone she could trust, someone who had a place in her heart that no one else could take. He was there and she was thankful for that least.

So with a smile that was less forced than the one she had given him earlier, she reached her hand up and brushed his cheek gently. A puzzled expression blanketed his features as he stared at her curiously though he made no move to push her away.

And with it, she spoke words that weren’t exactly what she wished to say but she at least hoped he understood why, and hoped that the gesture was enough. For now.

“Thank you for always being a wonderful friend,” she paused before adding a soft yet audible, “love.”

His amber eyes lit up and his puzzled expression began to morph into one of joy. With each second that passed, the way his smile grew wider and brighter had her thinking that maybe, just maybe everything would be okay.

A/N: I hope you all are still here with me! I promise the story isn't going to be all doom and gloom but my brain was like we have to have some semi balance of plot and the plot was attempted murder of a sibiling. Ahaha…anyway tell me how you're feeling and if you enjoyed it (even if it was a downer). Probably won't update until next year as i have some other fics I want to write but dont worry we'll see these two again!

#sinclair bryant x oc #sinclair x oc #sinclair bryant #alan rickman character #the art of entangled hearts #blossoms writing

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snowblossomreads · 8 months

Text

Exhibit 1: Unfinished Business

Pairing: Sinclair Bryant x Amiee Huang (OC)

Summary: In where Amiee goes to interview for a executive assistant position and unexpectedly encounters her first love and her first heartbreak.

Tag(s)/Warning(s): past lovers reunited, mild racism, slight hints of depression and anxiety, hints of pining, nothing too crazy in this one

A/N: And she's back with another series for an Alan character! What can I say I love him and I have a very soft spot for Sinclair because he's a puppy and didn't get his happy ending >:| and I'm here to give it to him.

As always thank you @smilingformoney for letting me talk ur ear off about the old man and this character in particular as we team up and try to give him some happiness and other things 😌 Enjoy all!

When Amiee woke up Monday morning in her rundown flat that had more holes in it than Swiss cheese she knew that day would be a defining point in her life. Whether it was good or bad, she wasn't sure but she was hoping that the water dripping on her forehead from a leak in the roof wasn't a sign of things to come.

"Ah for fucks sake!" The irritated huff left her louder than the grunt she made as she got out of bed, legs tangling up in the sheets and causing her to almost meet the cold wood of the floor face first.

Roughly swiping at her forehead she went in search of a bucket to catch the water all while cursing to herself and mentally noting to let her landlord know that his DIY hole patching had not done the job and that she would prefer not to be waterboarded in her sleep.

After moving her bed, gritting her teeth in the process as the metal frame screeched against the floor, she dropped the bucket on the ground letting the sound of water dripping be her background music for the morning as she proceeded to get ready for her interview. One that was either going to end in her getting out of the shitty flat she lived in and her foot into the door of London's financial sector or going back and living with her parents. And while she loved her parents she could not and would not go back and live with them.

She rather jump off Tower Bridge.

Letting out another irritated huff, she quickly went to start her day with her usual routine. Brushing her teeth, washing her face, and combing her hair that was never quite straight and always had little waves in it. It was one of her flaws that her mother always talked about when she was a child. Everyone else in their community had pin straight hair that was easily kept unlike hers which frizzed easily, especially with the fickle English weather.

It hadn't been a surprise that she chopped it all off when she was fifteen tired of dealing with it and the constant complaining. Boy did her parents almost lose their minds. She couldn't sit for weeks after that.

Blinking back the memories and pushing the emotions that wanted to well up from that sudden memory Amiee shook her head lightly and looked at her reflection in the mirror above the sink.

"Time and place Amiee don't need to give these rich pricks anything more to pick you apart for now."

Ah yes, rich pricks as if she wasn't trying to work for said rich pricks in hopes of enriching herself even if it wasn't exactly the position she had seen herself in after finishing graduate school at the top of her class.

"Go to a good school they said," she bitterly muttered to herself going over to her closet and putting on a long-sleeved dark blue dress that fell just below her knees and had a matching cloth belt that she tied to the side. "Get good grades they said," she continued searching for stockings and putting them on, hopping from one foot to the other. "And that's all you need to get a good job, bullocks." She grumbled more annoyed than one should be in the morning.

Walking out of her room with a pair of closed-toed black pumps in her hand she passed through the kitchen, grabbing a binder that was filled with extra CVs and other documents that she thought might be helpful for the interview.

The next stop was her door where she put on her heels and examined herself in the mirror hanging on the back of her door. Picking at some invisible lint on her dress she let out another sigh before giving herself a pep talk of,

"Well don't fuck this up."

The Tube ride to the Docklands from where she lived was unsurprisingly busy with people packed together on the seats and in the aisle for their morning commute. It made the ride feel far longer than it was as people bumped into her as they got in and out at their stations.

Finally, when they had made it to the station closest to the building where the interview was to be held she quickly made her way out of the tunnels and was careful not to bump into the many people with their morning beverage of choice who swamped into the carriage as she left out of it.

Within ten minutes she had made it out of the station with no issues and was now standing at the entrance of the building that would likely decide her future.

It's not that serious Amiee stop being such an absolute downer.

Was the first thought that entered her mind as she walked into the building the second was whether or not those glass lifts had been there when she came the last time. She vaguely remembered there was some construction going on when she came but being so flustered at applying to every place she could find accepting applicants she had to admit that she hadn't paid too much attention to the little details.

But now that she was, she couldn't help but notice how ornate that place seemed to be. Glass lifts with sunlight streaming from the glass ceiling. A fountain surrounded by greenery. And when she looked up she noticed that the railings of each floor also had ivy and other greenery hung over their edges.

She had to admit it was impressive as she made her way to the bored looking receptionist who was paying no mind to the foot track around her.

"Excuse me, I was wondering if you could ring Mr.Arthur Williams in Stocks and Trade and let him know that his 9 o'clock is here?"

Looking up from whatever had her attention, the receptionist stared at Amiee as if she had not heard her the first time and instead countered with an unpleasantly sharp tone of,

"I'm sorry who are you and what business do have with Mr.Williams? He's a very busy man and doesn't appreciate being bothered with charitable nonsense."

Ah yes because clearly, she got up and dressed this morning to come to pander for some charity.

"My name is Amiee Huang," she answered as pleasantly as she could as she saw the receptionist narrow her eyes as if something had been confirmed. “And yes I understand how busy he is, that's why I'm here to interview for the executive secretary position that was posted for Mr.Williams."

It took everything in Amiee not to grit her teeth as the older woman looked over once more before picking up the phone and dialing what could only be assumed the man in question.

"Hello, Susanna is Arthur in today? He supposedly," her eyes flicked up to Amiee who stared at her with the most neutral expression she could muster at that little change of tone before continuing to talk to the person on the other side, "has a candidate interview today at 9 is that correct?"

A pause as she listened to the other person speak.

"Oh, I see well I'll let them know then bye-bye."

Hanging up the phone with a click, the receptionist looked back up at Amiee though this time it seemed like her entire demeanor had changed as a fake smile plastered itself on her features as if she just hadn't been implying that Amiee was in the wrong place and had no business here.

"Mr.Williams isn't in today but one of his senior associates will be interviewing you. Take that lift up to floor 20,” she said pointing to the one closest to them, “and Susanna should be waiting to greet you."

Wanting to be done with her, Amiee copied the smile the older lady had and thanked her before going in the direction she was pointed to but not without muttering a soft,

"Stupid cunt," in Mandarin.

The ride up was at least uneventful as she was the only person in the lift, though as she reached the top floor she did momentarily think about how uncomfortable it was looking down all those stories as the lift made its journey upwards.

Heights were not her thing.

Finally making it to the 20th floor she was indeed greeted by a bubbly brunette who had come bounding down the hall just as the doors to the lift opened and Amiee was stepping out looking around the place curiously.

"Amiee welcome! So glad you could make it! I'm Susanna," she beamed going to shake Amiee's hand vigorously, almost shaking her whole arm as she did so. "I'm so sorry about the change this morning but Mr.Williams called in earlier and let me know he was feeling under the weather but he didn't want to postpone the interview so one of his colleagues will be doing it for him."

"That's fine it happens. I hope he starts feeling better soon," Amiee responded, nodding at her as she wasn't sure what to say and was more concerned about being interviewed by a colleague and not the man himself.

While it could be a good sign that the man was eager to hire her it could also just be an excuse to say she was interviewed and the notes he got back weren't what he was looking for. That made her stomach turn even more.

She really needed this job. Even if it wasn't what she wanted, it at least got her foot in the door of the company and it would pay much better than her current salary as a bank teller.

God what a fucking joke her life was.

"Great well if you just follow me I'll take you to where you need to be," she directed, dropping Amiee's hand and turning in the direction she came from before practically power walking to where they needed to be.

While she appreciated the straight to business demeanor the woman had, it would have been nice to be able to ask the name of who exactly she would be interviewing for so she didn't come off as rude. It was the last thing she needed to do as she took a sharp turn at the corner with Susanna who was cheerfully saying hello to her colleagues that were passing by.

Following close by, they only stopped their trip across the floor when Susanna entered an unoccupied office before turning to Amiee with an outstretched arm motioning to her to come in.

"Alright here we are," she started her tone still as enthusiastic as before as she showed Amiee to a padded seat across from a dark mahogany desk that had a few books and papers scattered on top of it along with two picture frames and other objects. "Mr.Bryant should be with you in one second I believe he's just finishing up a projections meeting with some of the investors."

Amiee, who had just taken her seat, froze at Susanna's words. More specifically at the last name of the person who was supposedly interviewing her. She hadn't heard that last name in years yet it apparently still had power over her as she felt her heart skip a beat before thumping a little faster in her chest.

It couldn't be...could it? She wasn't sure how common that last name was but for it to also turn up at this type of institution in London of all places. No no it couldn't be. The universe didn’t like her that much to give something like that to her.

About to pipe up and ask the woman what this Mr.Bryant’s first name was, Susanna was already halfway out of the door waving at Amiee and telling her 'good luck' before she closed it behind her with a 'click'.

"Tsk so weird, these people are so weird," she grumbled to herself thinking about the rude receptionist and the way too excited woman whom she assumed was also an assistant to someone.

Trying to clear her head of the continuous succession of awkward situations, she opened up the binder in her hand and grabbed a copy of her CV just to take a look at what was in it even though she already knew what was there.

Though it didn't take long before boredom set in and she was placing the paper down on the coffee table in front of her and sinking into the chair. Her eyes bounced around looking at the sparse decoration that this Mr.Bryant had lying around interested in the little trinkets that were laid about.

A few books lined up on the corner with a mini stone bust and some other items nearby caught her eye. There were also a few paintings hung up around the room to make the room feel a little less barren. He also had a nice window view with a couch just in front of it that he could look directly at from where his desk was that showed the rest of the city skyline.

She had to say it was a nice office and whoever this Mr.Bryant was, even if it wasn't the one she knew, was definitely doing well in life. And damn did she want this.

And as if her thinking about this mystery interviewer summoned him, she heard the door open and the sound of a laugh that made her heart plummet to her stomach soared through the air as the man closed the door behind him chuckling at something that had been said to him.

"I am terribly sorry for my tardiness," he started walking to his desk and plopping the stacks of paper in his hand down without looking up once, "I had to take a call before my meeting this morning, and then of course that made the meeting run late since we had to discuss the current interest rate hikes that have been happening thanks to the recession that we've been in for almost a year as you know though if I have to speculate the way the trends are going with those rates and the unemployment numbers at the moment it seems that by the end of the year we-."

Coming around his desk and towards the sitting area of his office the man continued to babble seemingly not even taking a breath as he droned on until he laid eyes on the woman who was sitting in the chair waiting for him.

That got him to stop talking as he paused in mid-sentence. His mouth agape just as hers was as they both looked as if they had just seen the dead rise again and it felt just like that as they hadn't seen each other for almost six years. In the grand scheme of things it wasn't a very long time yet so much had happened between then that it might as well have been decades.

"Sin-Sinclair?" The syllables of his name stuck to her throat like a two day old scone that hadn't been warmed up as she tried to force them out of her while she stared up at him unblinking.

She hated how her heart thumped so hard as she looked up at him, examining the features that she had thought about so often when she was overseas in America studying. His blond hair was still thick and vibrant just as his personality had always been.

Aquiline nose still beautiful as ever and which balanced so well with the rest of his lovely facial features giving him an all around attractive look.

Fuck so she hadn't gotten over him sue her. How did anyone expect her to get over someone like him who happened to have been her first love and unfortunately her first heartbreak even if it was a mutual one?

"Amiee?"

She could see the way his amber eyes lit up as her name rolled off his tongue and she was sure her own brown ones were shining as well. The shock was slowly subsiding at the realization of who she was and quickly being replaced with a barely contained enthusiasm. His entire posture seemed to change as well as his shoulders that had been squared, relaxed and the brilliant smile that had captivated her the very first time they met years ago showed up instantly causing her heart to squeeze tight.

Standing up from her seat, binder being tossed aside haphazardly, she couldn't help but let her feet take her to him. It was an automatic response for both of them it seemed as Sinclair took a step closer to her also before opening his arms and meeting her by wrapping her in a tight hug, a raucous chuckle leaving him as he picked her up ever so slightly that her feet lifted off the ground.

It in turn caused her to laugh loudly ignoring the fact that there were people outside probably being nosy at the noise coming from his office and that she was technically at an interview. She couldn't care less as she hugged him tight wondering if the universe was finally paying her back for all the things it had thrown at her in her almost twenty-eight years of life.

Huh, maybe the universe didn't hate her as much as she liked to claim it did.

"Sinclair!" She gasped laughter bubbling out of her as he sat her back on the ground.

"Darling what are you doing here sit sit sit it's been ages," he grinned all but dragging Amiee to the couch that was closer to the window and plopping down on it and patting the seat next to him which she took crossing her legs once settled.

"I thought you had moved to the States I didn't know you were back! Oh you have to tell me about school I hope it was good for you and that you enjoyed it there, where was it you went again? Cornell yes? I think I remember you telling me that I heard that an entrepreneur was the one who founded the school how thoughtful of him to do that. Oh and the food in your area how was it anything of interest? I know New York City is famous for its hot dogs and such but you weren't in the city proper were you? And what about-"

"Sinclair slow down you're making me dizzy," she interrupted with a laugh as she saw he was about to spout more questions at her before letting her, "one question at a time I promise I'll answer all of them!"

And she did, one by one explaining that yes she had gone to Cornell for her graduate studies and that she did four terms of school work there while also doing four terms of mandatory work in between them. She also told him about her trips to New York City itself and of course all the foods that she got to try. That had his eyes lightening up even more and she had to hold in her chuckle loving how much he still was into anything food.

"Oh and Sinclair the bagels there are to die for, there are so many varieties that they have! Some with spring onions and chives in them, or like sesame seeds and garlic. They even have cinnamon sugar ones and put some sweet cream cheese on it and fruit and, mwah!" She exclaimed almost salivating at how good the bagels they had in New York were compared to the regular old plain ones they had in London. "You could literally find someone selling them on every corner and it was heaven I swear to you I ate so many of them you wouldn't believe I know you would love it!"

"Ugh that does sound wonderful you know how much I enjoy a good sandwich of any sort they are just the perfect food. Bread some sort of filling that you want maybe some crisps if you have some and there a perfect meal with little to no mess who couldn't love them," he explained knitting his eyebrows and making hand gestures as he basically explained the process of sandwich making.

"Sinclair you haven't changed at all have you," she smiled shaking her head a little at how enthused he was over the little things.

A shadow seemed to cast itself over his features, his eyes dulling just a little at her words but it had disappeared so quickly that she thought maybe a cloud was passing through and darkening everything as when she blinked he was his relaxed self again. Even so, she felt something strange in her heart at that sudden change. It felt like it had dropped again but not as it had earlier from a happy surprise.

"Oh not at all I quite like myself the way I am and if I remember correctly most studies say that one's personality usually stays fixed most of their life unless they are actually trying to change it. Which again I don't believe I need to as I don't seem too offensive don't you think?"

He titled his head at her when asking the question, his hair flopping a bit to the side and all she could think about was how much puppy energy he gave off with the expectant look he was giving her that had her brain go haywire at how adorable she had always found him.

Good lord Amiee pull yourself together, why don’t you?

"No you’re the perfect amount of offensive," she teased a cheeky smirk on her lips before she added, "you of all people should know that I've always loved your personality even if you sometimes take me hostage as you go down random rabbit holes!"

A loud guffaw left him at her answer before both of them were steadily laughing again which took them a minute to come down from but once they did it was Sinclair who finally acknowledged what they were technically there for.

"Now now enough of all that as I guess we are here for a reason," he started as they both tried to compose themselves from the laughing fit over silly things. "I am a bit confused because if I remember correctly this interview or what is supposed to be an interview which I think we have established has turned into a reunion which I do prefer as they are more entertaining, is for an executive assistant and I don't understand why you of all people applied for it. Surely every institute that needs a capital expenditure analyst or financial trends director or anything along that line has been calling you darling? You're absolutely brilliant even when you first came on the scene and I only assume you've gotten better since."

Ah yes, what they came for.

Visibly deflating a little now that they were on the employment topic Amiee could only sigh trying to explain to him why she was here applying for a job she knew she was overqualified for while also trying to dodge the bigger why. The one about why she was back at all knowing it might frustrate him and bring up some things from the past.

"Well unfortunately it seems I'm only brilliant enough to help people deposit their checks and withdraw money at the front desk of my local Metro," she muttered, already feeling that low sensation that would sometimes blanket her chest at night when she thought about how things turned out. "Ah and don't forget the weird stares from some of the elderly, I get it a lot, guess they aren't used to having a Chinese girl like me handling their money." She continued shrugging her shoulders a bit despondently as she saw him frown a little.

"Even with that though you know I can't justify letting you be hired on as an assistant," Sinclair replied, sighing as he watched the expression on her face turn from crestfallen to a vexed confusion.

"But I'm qualified for it aren't I?" She questioned knowing the answer was a resounding 'yes' and feeling herself become warm with nerves and frustration as they talked about the position. "I can do so much better than any of the applicants you've- Arthur technically, has gotten and it might as well be that I'm working for a discount all things considering."

"I know you're qualified for it, that's not the issue, the problem is you're too qualified for it."

Words she had heard before no doubt as he watched her expression fall, a frown replacing any happiness that had been on her features earlier and causing him to feel his heart drop, yet he continued.

"And the thought of you taking memos for Arthur of all people doesn't sit well with me," his face twisting a bit as the man's name fell from his lips. "The man has gone through four assistants in three years and for someone with a job like his, he's a bit of a brute and does like to bully people for no reason. I wouldn't want you working with that man even if it's just to take memos or get him his coffee."

"So are you saying I'm wasting my time then?"

"No, well… yes actually," he quickly corrected himself, trailing off nervously as Amiee raised an eyebrow in his direction.

Worrying his lower lip a little bit she knew he had more to tell as she had picked up on his nervous ticks after only knowing each other for a short amount of time and it seemed as if that hadn't changed at all.

"Sinclair?"

Huffing and looking at her she could tell he was a bit annoyed and also a bit upset by the turn of events as he always had a hard time hiding how he really felt which was something that she did like about him for better or for worse.

"I wasn't supposed to say this of course to the candidate that was being interviewed because of course why would you tell them? But apparently, Arthur gave instructions to just interview the person coming in because it had to be done. He's already made a decision not to go with anyone this time around for one reason or another.” Amiee exhaled sharply and felt her body slump deeper into the sofa at the news.

Fuck. Well, there goes that.

"I'm sorry love," he murmured seeing her expression darken, his own demeanor matching hers as his hand went over to stroke her knee to comfort her yet stopping himself and remembering where they were and what they weren't.

They were only friends now, nothing more.

"Well, I guess that's that then huh?"

The question not really directed at anyone was spoken weakly as she stared at nothing in particular, too busy trying to hold back the tears that wanted to spill. There was that familiar oppressive pang in her chest that usually only came when she was laid awake at night thinking about how she had done what she had always been told to do yet here she was nowhere close to where she thought she should be.

"No...no not quite," Sinclair piped up the many thoughts in his head forming an idea that had escaped him earlier on but was now burning to be raised. "I think there might be a solution to this that benefits us both if you would like to hear it? I understand if you don't seeing as it might not be a guarantee but I think it may interest you and actually be better than what you came here for what do you say?"

His words brought her down from the proverbial ledge that her thoughts were spiraling into and it snapped her back into reality. Looking at him she cautiously nodded, curious to hear what he had to say and if she was honest a bit desperate. "Go on..."

As if her permitting him to speak to his heart's content was the best thing he had heard he launched into what he had been thinking about.

"Currently I've been having to juggle the accounts of a few many clients, some big, some small but all equally lucrative in their own way. I don't trust some of the others to handle them though because they are so stuck in their ways and refuse to hear any thoughts from any other person which is ridiculous so I've been thinking of trying to find someone else as qualified to help manage some of the accounts but you of all people know how hard it is to find someone trustworthy in this profession. But now that you're here I was wondering if it's of any interest to you? I think you be absolutely brilliant at it, you've never been one to take risks you knew wouldn't pay off and you always knew when to slow down when necessary. What do you think?"

"Are you asking me to...work for you?"

"No no absolutely not," he rebutted, shaking his head, his hair following the motion of his head as he looked at her with bright eyes full of enthusiasm as he chattered on, "I want you to work with me. I would give you these accounts you do what you think is right, and of course, you can talk to me if you have any concerns or want any opinions but the big decisions would be left to you."

Taken aback at the offer, Amiee could only sit there with a wide eyed stare as he searched her expression for any signs of what she was thinking.

"Sinclair wow I ... I uhm I don't know," she stuttered out not sure why she was having reservations about this.

She had come in to interview for an assistant job and was now being offered something much more lucrative. Something she had been chasing for almost a year now with no luck and now it was standing in front of her and she was hesitating. And to top it all off she would be working with him again…

"This is kind of sudden and all and the offer is lovely, it is but is there not some kind of policy in place that prevents a position from being suddenly open and without other interviews being scheduled? "

"Oh nonsense,” he stared with a wave of his hand dismissing her concern. “Companies are always creating jobs for specific people just because someone wants them in. I don't see anything wrong with it as many people get into their jobs because they know someone or they know someone who knows someone. Hell, there are several directors here that I'm told are in the same family by marriage or whatever and you don't see them thinking about the morality of it all. And in this economy even if you know someone it might not be good enough, but not only do you know someone, me of course," he said pointing to himself making Amiee roll her eyes playfully at him, "but you deserve it, and are more than capable of doing this job and I won't accept anything other than a yes."

Well if he insisted. And he was insisting and so was her bank account and mental health and it be stupid to ignore any of those things.

"Sinclair I hope you remember how I take my tea because it looks like you'll be seeing a lot more of me."

It was her way of saying she accepted and he couldn't be more than happy about it.

"Brilliant absolutely brilliant!" He exclaimed, shooting up from his seat with a blinding grin on his features and turning to Amiee who was following suit.

There was an equally large smile on her face as Sinclair outstretched his hand to her to shake and she couldn't help the way her eyes fell for a split second to watch how his larger hand held hers firmly yet gently as they sealed the deal informally.

The sensation of his fingers wrapping around her hand felt warm and familiar, sending a pleasant feeling through her. It was something she had missed and from the soft glint in Sinclair's eyes, he had felt the same.

Their moment lasted only briefly before they were letting each other go pulling away even if there was a hidden desire to stay close. Yet there was work to be done.

"I'll talk to the head of HR for this department after my 11 o'clock about it and I'll give you a ring about anything that they may need from you is that alright?" Sinclair asked as he paced over to his desk, Amiee following suit and swiping her binder of information that had been forgotten earlier from her original seat. "I'm sure you're eager to get started and I'm just as eager for you to start so I'll try to bother them as much as possible."

"Don't do that Sinclair," she chuckled patting him gently on the shoulder as she went to stand by the edge of his desk closest to the door and about to take her leave, "I'm sure they have their hands full without you showing up every hour to see if they've done what you ask."

"They do indeed but I just want to get this done, you know you're doing me a big favor today I've had a lot on my plate recently and you know I'm not one to complain about that but unfortunately it's not even of the savory variety,” he joked sitting down and swiveling his chair in her direction.

"Well I'm happy to be able to hopefully work closely with you again, I-." Pausing, she tried to carefully choose her words yet she found when it came to him she always had a hard time not stumbling. It was a bit maddening. " I enjoyed it a lot our first time around you know working together and such."

He nodded,

"I did too, including the such stuff."

Clearing her throat she gave him a little nod, her head dropping a little to not expose the way her cheeks had heated up causing them to shade a bit red.

"I best be going then you have a meeting soon right?" She asked, peaking at the clock which read 10:30, and wondering how time had flown so fast.

As if he had already forgotten it he looked down at his watch and huffed a little.

"Unfortunately I wish we could speak longer I want to hear more about everything but maybe later?"

"Yes I would like that very much," she responded before waving at him and going to let herself out. Though before she could turn the knob his voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Two sugars and a splash of milk," he stated as Amiee's hand landed on the doorknob causing her to freeze in place and turn back to look at him.

"What was that?"

"Two sugars and a splash of milk,” he repeated a shy smile appearing on his lips. “You asked me if I remembered how you liked your tea. You prefer either assam or white jasmine but you don't like milk in the jasmine and prefer it as is or with one sugar. Honey is okay to..."

She almost burst into tears.

"You know me so well, don't you," she whispered, eyes softening while a tiny bashful smile flitted across her lips.

"I hope so," he responded with an equally gentle look that had her mind racing.

"My number is on the CV that's on the coffee table. I'm sure HR has it somewhere but in case you want it...it's there," she said, turning back around and opening the door before adding, "have a good day Sinclair."

"You as well Amiee," his voice drifted towards her before she exited his office and shut the door.

The moment they heard the door click on their respective sides was the moment that their minds cleared enough to let them both know that there was unfinished business between them.

A/N: And there we have it! 😌😌 I'm excited for when they both get back together but we have a few things to get to before that (plot and conflict and all) I'll try to make it not to painful : )

#sinclair bryant x oc #sinclair bryant #alan rickman character #the art of entangled hearts #blossom writes

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snowblossomreads · 3 months

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Exhibit 5: Full Up

Previous Chapter: Maybe Just Maybe

Summary: Filled with guilt about her sister, Amiee hopes for the best. But when it comes to dealing with her feelings about Sinclair, she slowly begins to drop her guard. Meanwhile, Sinclair also comes to terms with feelings that may have never left. Someone from Amiee's past reappears.

Word Count: 9.0K (Will she ever be brief? No)

A/N: I promise this is a happy story even if it seems like shenanigans pops up each chapter 🤣! Gotta have something to drive the plot forward you know!

Also another language note: Angie calls Amiee 'jie' which is the term for older sister and Amiee calls Angie 'mei' which is the term for younger sister. Off you go now.

Read on Ao3 or here!

"Jie!"

The urgency in her sister's voice caused Amiee's eyes to snap open as she felt the side of her bed dip the moment the little girl scrambled under the covers. Still half asleep, Amiee was confused, and didn't have time to ask questions when she felt the tiny body of her sister tremble against her.

"J-jie something under my bed," the youngest stuttered out, as she cuddled close to Amiee who instinctively wrapped her arms around her baby sister.

"M-mei, w-what?" She yawned, blinking back the sleep in her eyes, just to see her sister peering at her from under the covers.

"Under the bed! Something under the bed."

"Angie there isn't-." She paused as another yawn left her lips, and her eyes fluttered closed for a moment. "Isn't anything under your bed. Floors settling probably."

Angie had no idea what the floor settling meant, and instead let out another tearful wail because in her five year old mind, there truly was something under her bed.

"Mei-, Angie don't, don't cry!" Wide awake now, Amiee turned to her side so she could fully face her little sister, and hugged the little girl tight who hid from the noises of the room.

"There's nothing under your bed Angie I promise," she cooed gently, patting her sister's back who hiccuped loudly as she sobbed. "I made sure to kick them all out before you got here!"

"B-but I heard-." Her tiny voice broke again as she cried harder and Amiee couldn't help but feel a wave of worry for her sister. Not wanting her to cry herself sick, or wake her parent's up, Amiee quickly thought of something.

"Oh come here," the older girl whispered, slowly moving them around so that Amiee's back was facing the open, and her sister's was against the wall.

"See! If something's under the bed now, they'll have to get through me. And your jie will sort them right out!"

"Don't w-want it to get you," Angie snivelled, her big wet eyes directed at Amiee who felt bad, yet slightly amused at her little sister.

She didn't remember if she was ever scared of the dark, or what was potentially in it. Maybe she was, but she couldn't recall it, only remembering times she would go to her parents if she had a nightmare. Other than that, nothing. Angie would grow out of it, once she realized there was nothing there, but for now, she would make sure her sister wasn't sacred.

"It won't get me! The things in the dark know better than to mess with your jie," Amiee giggled, placing a comforting kiss atop her sister's head and beaming at the younger child. "Plus I'll always protect you! That's what big sisters are for! Now get some sleep okay? You're safe mei."

Angie, who had finally calmed down, nodded as a large yawn left her lips before she snuggled close to her big sister.

"O-okay," she agreed as she began to drift off, but not before she could add," night night jie, thank you!"

Amiee smiled at her sister's words and closed her eyes, hugging the child close, as to make sure the little one felt safe which in turn made her feel calm.

"Good night mei."

It seemed though, even with all she had said and promised, she hadn't protected her sister well enough.

"Mei."

Amiee's voice, a shaky gasp, joined the sound of the machines working to breathe life into her sister as she approached Angie, who lay motionlessly in the hospital bed. The rattling sound of air being compressed and forced into her body, the mechanical beeps of the monitors hooked to her, and the buzz of the lights above them assaulted Amiee's senses.

She could barely think, or speak as she suddenly found herself by her sister's side. Her fingers entwined with her sister's lukewarm hand, while she tried to ignore the I.V. line that protruded from the back of her palm.

The peaceful look on Angie's face would be less eerie, less frightening, had it not been accompanied by the piece of equipment that masked her face. Supporting her lungs, and keeping her with them. Yet it felt as if Amiee herself needed that same support, as all the air had left her body at the sight of her sister.

"Oh love," Amiee croaked, her words wavering as she desperately searched her sister's face for any sign of life, knowing she would not find much at that moment. "What did you do mei? What did you do Angie?" Her fingers gripped the limp hand tighter with each question she asked, even though she knew none of them would be answered.

No longer able to bear the sight in front of her, she leaned over her sister, her lips brushing against the unconscious woman's cheek as she kissed her softly. She couldn't tell if the warmth she felt was coming from Angie, or the tears that she spilt as she buried her face against her sister's.

Silently, she stayed leaned against the woman, even though her first instinct screamed at her to get in bed and hug her sister. To protect her as an older sister should. But she held back, knowing it would do no good.

Over and over she would whisper to Angie that it would be okay. That she would only be here for a little while and then, they could take her back home and she could start uni soon if she was feeling better.

"And you can live with me if you want," Amiee mumbled, as she stroked the hand in her own. "My flat's not too big you know. We might have to share a room for a little bit, I don't mind if you have it though. But I…I got a new job so I can maybe move out soon. Just found out today from Sinclair." She paused on the man's name before continuing. "You remember him right? H-He brought me to visit you and he's still as sweet as before. Maybe you can help me think of a way to thank him?"

There was no reply. She knew there would be no reply, yet she couldn't stop herself from talking to her sister about anything.

She stayed for what felt like an hour before she finally released her sister's hand, but not before giving her one last kiss on the cheek.

"I'll be back okay?" She whispered gently, stroking her cheek with her thumb before moving a dark strand of hair away from Angie's face. "You get some rest and get better. Ba and ma, we'll come see you again later, I promise. You just be good for the doctors."

Her answer only came from the machines with their beeping and compression noises. Tears formed her in eyes again, blurring her vision momentarily, but she shook them off, smiling a sad smile. Standing straight, she wiped her eyes and straightened her clothes before turning, and walking towards the door to leave. But before exiting the room, she threw one last glance at her sister whispering a shaky,

"Good night mei."

When she left the room, Sinclair's voice was the first she heard coming down the hallway. He had volunteered happily to sit by her parents and keep them company as she visited with her sister, even when she told him it was okay for him to leave and get some rest.

"Tired? No, I'm wide awake! Here I'll sit with your parents and chat with them, I'm sure they'll like some company!"

Before she could answer, he had already made a beeline towards her parents, startling them slightly at his sudden appearance. They seemed wary at first, but it wasn't long before he was chattering their ears off. Sinclair did have that ability where people were quick to open up to him. It honestly was hard not to with all the questions he asked and the bright energy he radiated.

Noticing that she was approaching them, Sinclair shot that boyish grin in her direction that seemed to pierce through some of the grey clouds that floated overhead. She tried to give him a reassuring look as well, but all she could muster up was something akin to a wince.

Quickly excusing himself from her parents, Sinclair jogged up to her, his questions already spewing from his lips before he was in front of her properly.

"Is she okay? I mean, of course she not what a dimwitted question, but you know…how is she?" He asked, watching as her eyes averted his own.

She instead looked at the ground and crossed an arm against her chest. Her fingers dug into the skin of her forearm, causing it to blush a pale red from the force, and Sinclair couldn't help but wince. His own fingers tingled and twitched with the urge to grab her hand and move it away before she broke skin and hurt herself.

"She's…she's okay 'Clair." She mumbled lowly, just as how she kept her head low as she felt her skin prickle at the stares that she could feel from her parents. "Sleeping, like the doctor said, but..she doesn't seem to be uncomfortable I guess."

"Good that's good, sleeping helps heal the body you know, with all the muscles relaxing it can keep the body from working too hard."

"I've heard."

Her answer was short, and she didn't seem keen to continue the conversation that would quickly turn melancholic if they continued. Not one to want to be left in silence, and thinking that chatting would keep her mind off of things, Sinclair continued to bumble on.

"Erm well, it's a bit late," he pointed out as he peered at his watch before letting out a surprised noise."It's almost five actually! Do you want me to bring you and your parents back to their house?"

"Oh no you don't have to we can wait a little longer, probably catch the Metro..."

Sinclair watched as she continued to keep her eyes low while the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach continued to grow and grow. While she hadn't been okay the entire time, it seemed that something had changed, and that she was withdrawing even more. Maybe she just needed a good night's rest?

"Amiee?"

"Plus you've already driven this far for me and…" She trailed off as if she hadn't heard him call her name. "You should get some rest 'Clair I'll get my parents home."

Cheeks puffing out as a large frown marred his features, Sinclair exhaled loudly. He was confused, and yes a bit tired, but mostly he was worried for Amiee. And he be damned if she tried to out stubborn him in this moment.

"Nonsense!" He exclaimed, the nasally sound of his voice a higher pitch than normal which startled her, and caused her to look up at him with wide eyes. "You and your parents need some sleep too and the Metro doesn't start running for another hour or so. Plus I'm here already, so let me help."

"But-."

"No buts!"

He interrupted, effectively putting his foot down in the matter. He was going to help her one way or another, even if she complained about it.

"Sinclair…"

His eyes stayed trained on her and he watched as she nibbled her lower lip, before she looked at her parents. Her ma was resting on her ba's shoulder, and he paid them no mind as they 'bickered' about them essentially.

"When did you become so bossy?" Amiee sighed, though she had a tiny sly smirk on her lips.

"They call it having excellent task delegation skills at work!" He answered proudly with a large grin and his hands on his hips.

All he had to do now was puff his chest out and glow a bit, and he would be like one of those Saturday morning cartoon characters. It was a silly thought, but it was enough to have Amiee release the painful looking grip on her arm and giggle.

"Of course they do, that's why you're the boss right?"

"Exactly!"

Biting her lower lip, she looked back at her parents who were resting, and then back at Sinclair, who wore a pleading look. His eyes shined with hope, as he waited anxiously for her answer. His fingers fidgeted as the cogwheels in both of their brains spun. And whether it was the want for her parents to be able to rest at home, or simply the fact that she didn't have the heart to turn him down again, she weakly nodded before turning her attention to the elderly couple.

"Okay, okay uhm, ba, ma," Amiee called to her parents, who turned in her direction as Sinclair watched her walk over to them. Her shoulders were still slumped making her seem much tinier than she was as she began to explain. "Sinclair wants to bring us home is that okay?"

"No no, we wait here." Her mother started immediately, already shaking her head as she sat up from resting on her husband's shoulder. "He already brought you here. You can't trouble him like this Xiao Xue," she chided in Mandarin towards Amiee who winced, before repeating it in English as Sinclair came near. "You trouble you're friend too much, no good!"

At her mother's word, Amiee's hand went back to her forearm, and Sinclair watched as her fingers found that familiar patch of skin that had already endured her pressing and pinching. He frowned as he stood by her side listening on.

"I know…" She replied, her eyes darting up to Sinclair and back to her parents, as she tried to convince them, but failed to find words as her brain was too tired at this point.

She was exhausted, and she didn't want to fight them, and if they wanted to wait for the Metro she would stay with them. But god did she just want to get somewhere and curl up and just sleep away everything that had happened.

Seeing she was at a loss for words, Sinclair quickly pipped in, "It's alright! Amiee's a good friend of mine and I offered," he announced, turning the elderly couple's attention to him. "Please let me bring you home. I know it's been a long day for you and it's not a bit of a bother to me!"

There was a pause as husband and wife looked at each other, a silent conversation going on between them before they looked at Amiee. Another moment of silence intervened before her father let out a sigh saying something that sounded like, 'swan le swan le' and adding 'okay' in English. Sinclair was sure that he wasn't saying anything about a 'swan', but it did sound like that…maybe he would ask Amiee later if he remembered!

The tense silence seemed to fade at her father's acceptance, and Amiee dropped her arm with an audible sigh of relief leaving her.

"Okay um I need to talk to the doctor before we leave, um." Looking around wildly, her mind was sluggish yet running rampant as always while it tried to organize everything she needed to do. Though before she spun herself into a tizzy, she suddenly felt a hand on her arm.

Eyes focusing, she was met with the dark eyes of her dad, who patted her arm and then let her go.

"We wait for you with your friend at his car," he stated. Short and simple.

"Oh…hao ba, okay," she said, a bit surprised at his going along without too much fuss. Though with how exhausted they were bound to be, it shouldn't have caught her off guard. "Is that okay Sinclair?"

"Yes of course! The car will be warm and we'll be waiting for you when you get done."

Nodding, she watched Sinclair begin to guide her parents down the hallway. His tall frame contrasted her parents' slightly smaller stature as they ambled next to him. She could tell he was trying his best not to stride too far ahead of them as she heard him chatter on and on to her parents.

The sight made her throat constrict a little but she shook it off, not wanting to bring old memories up of things that couldn't be changed. Shaking her head to clear her mind, Amiee went in search of the doctor.

She was right when she said she wouldn't be long. They had only been in the car for less than ten minutes when Amiee came bounding up to it with papers in hand that she said were just some notes from the doctors. Once she was in and buckled up, they began making their way to her parent's home which Sinclair remembered was in Cheetham.

The ride was quiet other than Amiee giving him directions here and there, and within a few minutes, they had pulled up to a row of familiar brick buildings. Each building had two entrances, and if Sinclair had remembered correctly, Amiee had once told him her family lived on the bottom floor while they had a neighbour upstairs. Granted, no one was seen at the moment considering the sky was still dark, though, it had begun to lighten up, signaling that it was almost twilight and it would be morning soon.

God had they been up all day?

It wasn't surprising considering how her eyes burned as she blinked, and she couldn't stop the loud yawn that escaped her lips. She just wanted to lie down and not be asked to do anything. Yet, she realized very quickly as Sinclair turned the car off that she didn't want to sleep in that house.

Not in the room she used to and still did share with her sister when she would come to visit. Nor did she want to step foot in the bathroom where it had happened. Plus, their home was tiny, and there certainly wasn't room for Sinclair to sleep over unless he wanted to sleep on the couch or Amiee's bed, which she wouldn't mind letting him.

But it was more of the fact that her parents would probably be vehemently against both options. Even if he had been helpful, she wasn't sure whether they would want a stranger, regardless of how helpful he was, sleeping in their home.

Her mind mulled over these thoughts as she heard her parents thank Sinclair for his help, and he brightly responded about how happy he was to be able to. The car jostled a little as the elderly couple exited the car and together Amiee and Sinclair watched them enter the building.

"Sinclair?"

He turned his attention to her, about to respond, but only doing so with a large yawn that he couldn't stifle. Once he was done he wiped his eyes, and a sheepish smile graced his lips.

"Sorry I guess I'm more tired than I thought."

A pang of guilt filled her gut at his words but it also caused her to be more confident in her choice.

"Don't apologize, it's been a long day, " she started with an apologetic look. "Can you wait a minute? I'm sorry for asking so much but, I'm going to make sure my parents are okay, and then, we can find somewhere to stay. That's…if you don't mind me coming?"

His eyes went wide, and the brief bout of drowsiness that he had seemed to fade at her question.

"No- no I mean yes, I mean, you're more than welcome to come with me, but I just thought…You're not going to stay with your parents?"

"No…I don't think…" She paused. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep there," Amiee whispered honestly, her head hanging low. "I don't know if you remember but me and Angie, we share a room. And I don't think I can…"

She was at a loss for words, but Sinclair seemed to understand as he placed a warm hand on her arm, causing her skin to tingle as she looked up to see a soft smile in her direction. Her poor heart wanted to explode at the sight.

"I'll wait for you and we can find somewhere."

She gave him a thankful smile, her hand reaching to lay over his as their eyes met and lingered on each other. They stayed that way for a moment longer before she exited the car to check on her parents.

Once she made sure they were settled, she didn't explain much to them, only saying that she was going to go with Sinclair, and that she would call them when they had gotten to wherever they would end up at.

She had readied herself for a disagreement, and again was surprised when they didn't put up much of a fuss. Though she could see in her mother's eyes that she wanted to say something. Yet, nothing else was discussed as she kissed them both goodbye, telling them she would be back in the afternoon.

Leaving the house, she walked passed the closed door of the room that she tried to ignore and made her way back to the car where Sinclair waited for her. Confirming she was ready, Sinclair started the car and they were off once more in search of a hotel to stay the night…well morning.

Surprisingly, the first, second and third hotel they had gone to were full up. And Amiee groaned when the concierge mentioned that there was a football game in town. How could she have forgotten that the season had started? Thankfully, the man noticed how tired they both seemed, and called up a few hotels, finally finding one just down the street that had an opening.

"Maybe I should have slept in the car," Sinclair joked, as they made the short journey to the hotel they were directed to. "I didn't realize just how busy it could get during football season. It's just started too! And hotels are already full up. Amazing!"

He sounded more excited than bummed out about having to walk the streets of Manchester in search of a hotel with available reservations. Without his enthusiasm, she was sure she would have just collapsed on the streets.

"Well just know, if we ran out of options I would have made my parents let you stay," Amiee grumbled, exhausted as they almost neared the hotel. "They're a stubborn lot but I think they'll have a hard time saying no considering all the help you've given. Can't lose face you know."

"That's okay! I wouldn't want to make your parents uncomfortable it's their house. Plus I like them a bunch! Your dad's quite interesting," he grinned as they made one last turn and saw the building that they had been directed to.

Towering with its gothic style architecture and very historical looking, it screamed posh and Amiee wondered what terrible bill they were going to get settled with.

"You like them a lot and you just met them?"

"Well yes, you're very interesting, so it's no surprise that you have interesting parents is it?"

If his use of interesting was a way to say dysfunctional she would agree, but he genuinely seemed to believe they were interesting in a more well...normal definition of interesting. Well…if he felt that way it was fine, even if she thought they were just a regular family with their own issues and quirks.

"If you say so 'Clair. Oh we're here, it was the Townhouse Hotel right?"

"Yes! I wonder if they are serving breakfast already? I could use some food I'm usually waking up around this time." He rambled as he opened the heavy glass door for her. "After you!"

Smiling and thanking him, she stepped into the building and was followed by Sinclair as they made their way to the lobby.

"Good morning!" The bright voice of the receptionist rang out as she noticed them coming towards the desk. "Welcome to the King Street Townhomes, checking in I presume?"

"Hello! Yes! I think the front desk at The Alan called checking to see if you had any rooms available for very late and last minute check-ins." Sinclair explained to the woman as Amiee examined the lobby with curiosity.

She noticed that it gave very art deco vibes which was in contrast to the more serious gothic architecture of the building. There were also some black and white drawings hung up, photos of woman with their hair being replaced with plants as they stared at anyone that walked by. The images were charming and she was only brought back to the moment when the receptionist let out a pleased sound.

"Oh yes! Give me one minute to pull up the reservation book," the woman hummed typing quickly before letting out a noise of approval. "Yes! We have a lovely room on the the top floor that overlooks the city with a king size bed. Perfect for a couple!"

"Well that's great but uhm would there happen to be something larger? I mean bed quantity wise?"

"I see…um, one moment let me check." A few seconds passed before she let out another sound signalling that she hadn't found what he was looking for."No, I'm so sorry sir, other than that one, we are quite hemmed in. Though there is a rather lovely sofa in the room!"

"Erm Amiee…"

Maybe they should have just stayed at her parent's house.

"The moment I lay down I'm going to be asleep so if you don't mind sharing I don't either."

If she was exhausted, she knew he had to be absolutely shattered considering he had been actively helping her run around. Plus it's not like they hadn't done it regularly before, the sharing a bed thing. She didn't want to fuss about anything anymore and from the relief on Sinclair's face, he didn't mind one bit either.

"Okay we'll take it!"

"Perfect! And when do you expect to check out?"

So many questions!

"Is the room available until Monday?"

Monday?!

"Sinclair?"

"Well I was thinking, you might want to stay a little longer you know because of well…you know…" He muttered, as his voice trailed off and he looked at her with eyes that twinkled with nerves. "I'll call in Monday, tell them something's coming up, it shouldn't be a big fuss. And since it's an emergency your job wouldn't mind would they?"

Biting the inside of her cheek and thinking about how someone could be so thoughtful and kind, she shook her head.

"No, you're right I don't think they would mind. Plus even if they sack me, it's not like I'm sticking around much longer, right?"

"Exactly! Monday it is then," he cheered before looking at the receptionist and asking, "if that's possible?"

"Of course sir! I'll get you both checked in."

After exchanging information and payment, a process where Amiee tried, yet failed in her attempt to get Sinclair to let her pay for something, they were directed to the lift that would take them to the room. A very pricey room that she continued to complain about not being able to at least help with.

The lift ride up and search for their room didn't take long, and by the time they walked in, they were ready to just jump in the large bed that was calling out to them. It looked so very comfortable with its plush pillows and even plusher looking comforter that Amiee wanted to dive right under. But, she also was in desperate need of a shower, wanting to get rid of the feeling of being in a hospital. She didn't know how, but it clung to her skin and she wanted it off.

"Sinclair you don't mind if I shower first do you?"

"Not at all! I think I'm actually going to go back down and search for some food! All this running about has me a bit peckish! "

"Well eat enough for me to," Amiee teased gently causing him to grin and nod. "If I'm asleep when you come back just roll me over if I'm taking up too much space."

"I won't!" He blurted out truthfully, causing her to laugh at the honesty."Good night…Maybe!"

And with that, they were both off to do their own thing. Once she had called her parents telling them she was at a hotel, she quickly showered. Her body relaxed under the hot spray of water as she washed the very long day off of her. It was just what she needed honestly, and before long she was dressed in her jumper and sweats while plopped on the sofa in the room.

She could hear the spray of the shower go off again as Sinclair had come back right as she stepped out of the bathroom. The steady sound of water had her eyes fluttering close, as she tried to clear her mind from any unwanted thoughts that were quick to find their way to the top of her mind. Trying to think of anything else, something more pleasant, her thoughts easily found their way to the man she was about to share a bed with once again.

She had missed it. Sharing a bed with someone she loved. There had been dalliances when she was in America. A few boyfriends here and there, but somehow they left her bed feeling colder than it had been before.

But not Sinclair, waking up with him always felt so warm even on the most frigid winter days. It had been so nice, waking up to tangled limbs, her body pressed against him as he held her close.

There had also been times when she would wake up only to find him curled up next to her like a little puppy and she was holding him! She loved it, she loved being by him, wrapped around him or him wrapped around her.

Just being close to him made her so happy. So, so happy…But no, this was not that, they were only sharing out of necessity and the thought only made her sigh.

"Oh Sinclair." She whispered tiredly, as she cradled her arms against her front, wishing he was the one doing it. Her aching eyes felt heavier and heavier with each second that passed as she tried to imagine him holding her and soon enough she was fast asleep.

"Amiee I-."

Stepping out of the bathroom with a t-shirt and his boxers on, Sinclair was about to tell her something but stopped mid-sentence. The many thoughts that always seemed to run through his mind also went silent as his eyes fell on her sleeping form. She was all balled up on the loveseat in the middle of the room, her short hair covered some of her face as her arms were wrapped around herself.

Her legs were pulled close to her, and her chest rose and fell at a steady pace. She looked so sweet to him. So tiny and vulnerable and everything in him wished to hold her tight. Make sure she was safe and cared for after everything that had happened.

Creeping over to her as quietly as a Sinclair could, he admired her for just a moment. Drank in the serene look on her features and how beautiful she was as she slept. Even after those few years apart, the feelings he had for her rushed back into his heart, and he wondered briefly if they actually ever left.

But that was something he would have to deal with later, because, from the way Amiee had fallen asleep, he was sure she would wake up with a sore neck. So he did what he was familiar with as he had been used to guiding her to bed whenever he would have to wake her up. He had learned she could fall asleep in the most peculiar places, and it was quite endearing to him, and Sinclair found he didn't like to disturb her.

With that in mind, he went back to the bed and pulled the sheets down on her side while also making sure her pillow was nice and fluffed. Once that was done, he came back to her and carefully, so as to not wake her, which was highly unlikely, slid one arm under her legs and the other behind her back before picking her up with ease.

Her head fell against his chest as he stood, and when he looked down, a strong yearning swirled in his body when he glimpsed her face. His cheeks heated up, and he quickly tried to focus on the task at hand. Quietly and with practiced movements, he walked over to the bed, and gingerly deposited her on the mattress.

She stayed sleeping the entire time, not making any noises or jostling as he pulled the covers up past her shoulders and tucked them around her so she'd stay warm.

Turning the lamp off on the bedside table next to her, he made his way to the opposite side, and got underneath the duvet cover. Once comfortable, he reached over to turn the light out on his side, but not before looking over at Amiee again.

Weary eyes drank in her sleeping form and watched as she slept buried underneath the covers. Cosy, safe, and hopefully having dreams that were similar. He really only wanted happiness for her, and as his thoughts continued to swirl around, there was a realization that no, his feelings for her probably never left. That there was still love for her in his heart that was more than just platonic.

"You're such a mess Sinclair," he mumbled to himself as he shook his head, yet he knew his heart was right.

He still very much loved her.

Sighing at the thought, he took one last glance at her and uttered softly,

"Good night darling."

Before turning the light off on his side, and closing his eyes in hopes of calming his heart.

The morning, or better yet the afternoon came much quicker than anticipated, and it was Amiee who had stirred first. She hadn't remembered being this cosy when she had fallen asleep, but she was now and not at all against it.

All warm and surrounded by soft blankets and pillows, and the warm body that she was cradled against was extremely comfortable...

Wait. What?

Bleary eyes snapped open as her vision took a moment to focus before she was met with the sight of messy blond hair and a still sleeping Sinclair. His arms were wrapped around her upper back, and her head was laid slightly against his shoulders as he snoozed on.

For a moment, she stayed still, taking in his resting form that she hadn't gotten to admire in quite some time. His face was softened by sleep, and his hair, now tousled but still fluffy, laid against his forehead. Honestly, she would stare at him all day if she could. And if she had paper and pencil and was not so comfortable in his arms, she would have doodled him, though she was sure it would have woken him up.

But just laying here in his arms, just as they used to do, had her stomach fluttering and heart pounding, and she couldn't stop the way her fingers reached up to touch his cheek. Her digits lightly danced over his skin, finding their way down to his jaw where she could feel stubble grow, and there was a subtle zing that spread in her that had her shivering.

She paused only for a second to hold in a loud exhale, before she continued her adventure with feather light touches. Curious digits continued their exploration for a moment, only to freeze when they hovered over his lips, and she couldn't stop the little sigh of his name.

Ever the deep sleeper he was, it seemed like today was not one of those days, as the sound of his name seemed to rouse him immediately. He let out a low groan and mumble, causing her to startle, as she yanked her hand back to her side. It was just in time, as no sooner had she done so, tired eyes were fluttering open.

At first, they were unfocused just as hers had been, but a second later as his brain began to warm up, he realized that he had pulled her close as they slept. And now they were pressed together. There were so many feelings that rushed through him, but the one that stood out the most at the moment was mortification.

"Amiee! Oh god I'm so sorry!" He croaked, voice shaking as he immediately tried to pull away from her in case he had made her uncomfortable.

As quick as he was to try and move, she was much quicker in catching his hand, and causing a ripple of shock to run through his system as she dragged it back towards her.

"Wait! No please," she begged, her voice a bit low as it was still filled with sleep yet there was an urgency, a subtle yearning that was in her tone. "Can we stay like this? Just for a little longer," she pleaded softly as her grip on his hand tightened. "I…it's been awhile since…I mean it's nice, I haven't slept this good in a while." She admitted, and Sinclair immediately felt his shock turn into relief that was dotted with joy.

The tenseness in him melted away immediately at her words, and he let her put his arm around her again. She even went so far as to carefully cuddle close to him and he had no complaints because, like her, he too hadn't slept so deeply in a while.

Laying in silence for a little while longer, they both basked in the feeling of being near one another and the safety that seemed to come with it. For Sinclair, the last few months of his marriage, had been devoid of that feeling and if he was honest, he suspected it had run out before the summer of last year.

And for Amiee, well, it had been years. And they both wanted to cherish the little bit of peace before they had to face what the rest of the day and weekend would throw at them. So they stayed in each other's arms for a bit both wondering if they could allow themselves to start from where they had ended.

From the way their grips tightened against one another, they both had come to the same answer even if neither of them knew what the other was thinking.

After a while of being wrapped together, both of them finally decided to get up and start the day that had already turned into the afternoon. Once they started moving again, everything, including the weekend, went by in a blur.

Sinclair stayed around Manchester, visiting old haunts and meeting an old friend or two while Amiee on the other hand went back and forth between her parents and the hospital. She did get to see her friend Tina, who when she heard what had happened, had immediately come to see the sisters.

There was another…or maybe two more crying episodes during that whole thing, but afterwards Amiee decided that it was enough.

"No need to over due it," she urged herself as she blew her nose in the hospital bathroom for the 30th time, before going back to keep Angie company until her parents arrived.

Back and forth from hospital she went, then to her parents for dinner on both Saturday and Sunday, without Sinclair unfortunately, and then back to the hotel to get some rest. It all would hurt a little less when she was finally back in bed with Sinclair, who would hold her firmly as they tried to wind down from the day. It felt right, he made it feel like it would be alright, and she would easily fall asleep as he stayed up to read for a bit before drifting off with her.

Monday came around much too quickly, and Amiee knew she and Sinclair needed to get back to London. Angie was still stable and the doctors had let her know that everything was looking better each time her lab work came in.

So they agreed that they would check out, have lunch and then visit the hospital one more time before heading back. Each of the first two things went splendidly, lunch even better as she and him visited an old spot near where they used to work. There was so much laughter which had been rare that weekend and as they went to the hospital, she had begun to feel much better than she had in days past.

Their conversation in the lift was light, opposite of the oppressive silence the first time they had rode it up. Everything seemed to be looking up and she was slowly feeling a bit like herself again. But of course, that feeling was never allowed to stay long, because as they approached Angie's room, Amiee immediately noticed the man who was sitting just outside of it, and she froze mid-stride. Sinclair, who was nattering on about running into an old colleague named Davies, noticed this and stopped to see what was the matter.

"Amiee what are you doing back there? I know Davies and you are best mates but-," he stopped mid way through his joke when he turned to see the petrified look in her eyes and immediately, concern washed over him. "Amiee what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

And how right he was. His voice seemed to have caught the attention of the man sitting, and when she and him locked eyes she felt as if an impending car crash was about to happen as the man stood up and began to approach them.

The urge to run away crept into her heart as she saw him coming, yet it felt like her feet were cemented to the ground as he got closer. Her stomach dropped, and her heart raced, and it took everything she had to not turn around and run when she heard him call to her.

"Amiee-?"

"Xiao Xue!"

Interrupted by the voice of the man behind him, Sinclair turned around, only to get a glimpse of this mystery person who strolled past him, leaving him confused as he went up to Amiee. He watched the man swagger up to her, slide his arms around her waist and then tug her close into a tight hug.

Confusion turned into something else as Sinclair watched. His face immediately warmed, and his heart, which up to this point was feeling light, immediately darkened as he watched the man embrace her. What was only mere seconds felt like hours, but the discomfort he felt only turned more negative.

For all the words he knew, he couldn't describe it, but he knew he didn't like the dull pain that lingered in his heart from the scene in front of him. Sinclair was a logical man, but he knew the feelings he was having were not. But, he had never been logical when it came to what he felt for her.

When the man finally unhanded her, Sinclair exhaled, not even realizing he had been holding his breath.

"Tony h-hiya," Amiee stuttered out once she had been freed from the man's, Tony's, grasp. She had subconsciously taken a step back when he let her go yet, he seemed to fill that space by stepping closer to her.

"Only hiya? You're acting like you don't know who I am? Living in London's got you all posh now, huh?"

The sudden needling of her reaction had Amiee stunned for a second and it took her a moment to regain her thoughts.

"N-no it's just I wasn't expecting anyone else here except my parents. So I'm a little surprised that's all."

"Yeah, your parents told my parents what happened and you know how they can be," he explained nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulder. "Wanted to come and check how Angie is, you guys are like family you know?"

"Right family…" Amiee mumbled, as her eyes darted around looking for an escape before they fell on Sinclair who was still standing where he had been just a moment ago.

"Well speaking of family," she blurted out, going around Tony who turned around and followed her with his eyes. "While he isn't family, this is Sinclair he's a really good mate of mine!"

The sound of her saying his name, shook Sinclair out of his shock, as he finally got a view of the man who had appeared out of thin air and caused a bit of angst.

"He drove me up from London when ma called Friday night and's been looking out for me," she rambled on as she stuck herself to Sinclair, causing Tony to raise a curious eyebrow at the two. "Sinclair this is Tony we grew up together, kind of. Tony, Sinclair my really good mate and soon to be coworker!"

Gesturing at them both during the introduction, Amiee just watched as it felt like the men were sizing each other up. Tony was looking at Sinclair with a peculiar look that made her uncomfortable. And Sinclair, the life of the party, the puppy in human form who always liked making new friends, well, he seemed wholly uninterested.

It was Tony who closed the distance between them first, offering a handshake and tight-lipped smile.

"Nice to meet you Sinclair, always good getting to know new people innit?"

"Yes it is," Sinclair answered dryly, as he tried to muster a smile of his own while he unballed his fingers that were in a fist to shake Tony's hand. "But only when they're interesting," he added as they stared at one another. "I prefer meeting interesting people very much but the dull one here or there is fine too."

Amiee had to keep her entire expression from morphing into one of shock. Her mouth almost dropped at Sinclair's word, and she almost did a double take at him to make sure she had heard him correctly. And if so, well, she knew it was time for them to leave because something had made him wholly unhappy.

"I'm going to visit with Angie and my parents for a minute, hopefully, a nurse doesn't kick us all out for overcrowding," Amiee interrupted quickly as the two men dropped the other's hand as she spoke. "Sinclair do you wanna wait for me in the car?"

Once again, her voice calling his name seemed to snap him out of whatever was going on in his head, and there was a shift in demeanor as he looked at Amiee.

"No that's okay! I can wait for you," his answer more enthusiastic than anything that had been said in the past few tense moments.

"Are you sure? If you want…um," she hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to word her next question and it drew a curious look from both men. "I think Angie wouldn't mind too much knowing you visited her. You could come in if you want."

His eyes widened.

"Amiee you don't-." As he was about to respond, telling her that it was fine and that he didn't want to make any of them uncomfortable he was interrupted.

"I don't think your parents would want some stranger visiting your sister and seeing her…you know." Tony pointed out as Amiee turned and glared at him.

"Excuse me?" She asked, not wanting to feign as she didn't hear him, but wanting to make sure she heard correctly.

He repeated what he said, but this time only in Mandarin, so Sinclair couldn't understand what was being said. The man also found it appropriate to add that Sinclair 'wasn't family'.

"I don't think that's up to you Tony," she gritted back out in English, not playing whatever game he was trying to. "She's my sister. It's nice that you've come to visit but I don't think it's up to you on who can't visit her."

She was fuming mad. And Sinclair had honestly not seen her upset like this before. Sad yes, hurt, yes. But she seemed highly vexed at this man and Sinclair decided he didn't like anyone who could get her so upset.

"I'll wait here," he butted in, catching both Amiee's and Tony's attention. The former looked up at him with a questioning expression as he explained. Because as much as he hated to admit it Tony had been right to an extent.

"Your parents might not like it too much if I visited and I would feel bad if I upset them even more than they are right now."

"Sinclair you won't be though!"

"No it's okay, plus!" He grinned digging into his jacket and pulling out a little book. "I brought entertainment!"

She shouldn't have been surprised that he had a book hiding in his jacket the whole time but she slightly was.

"Okay but don't wander off and leave me like last time," she joked, remembering how she found him talking a nurse's ear off the other time. "I don't wanna have to play hide and seek in the hospital looking for you.

"No promises!" He chirped out with a warm grin.

She returned his warmth with a tiny smile of her own before it dropped as she looked at Tony who seemed a bit displeased. Giving him a little wave, she continued to walk down the hall, and was followed by Sinclair who only mumbled a quiet goodbye before leaving Tony standing on his own.

As much as she wanted to take her time with seeing Angie before she left, it seemed like that was decidedly not going to happen. When she went into the room, she asked her parents why he was there, and they just said the same thing about family.

'Why are you making a fuss? You should have thanked him for visiting your sister!"

She fumed quietly, holding back angry tears as they slagged her off. Telling her she should be nicer to him, and that she was acting silly. Sweeping under the rug what they had constantly tried to goad her into doing. What had sent her running away almost six years ago. If they didn't think she knew what they were doing now, they were wrong. They could chide her all they wanted to.

Tell her that she needed to settle down with someone who was good for their family. That understood their culture and everything that went with it. Someone who could take care of her, and them because they were ageing. On and on they went.

But nothing was going to change. They should have learned the first time around that she would never marry that man.

The visit was short.

Amiee kissed Angie goodbye and gave stiff hugs to her parents before leaving the room, only to find Sinclair sitting all by himself. No Tony was in sight, and relief flooded through her veins when she saw that.

"That wasn't long at all," Sinclair pointed out as he looked at his watch and then back at her quizzically as she came next to him "Everything okay?"

"Mhmm, Angie's doing real good, and my parents they," she shrugged, not wanting to get into what they had to say. "They're fine I just…I'm ready to get back to London. As much as those beds at the hotel were nice I miss my leaky flat."

That had him sitting up straight with wide eyes full of concern.

"You flat leaks?" Sinclair asked as he got up from his seat and put his book back into his jacket. "Amiee that's not good! You could have mold growing somewhere you need to talk to your council member if the landlord isn't fixing things! You could get sick."

"Yeah the ceiling did but I think it's patched up alright now," she shrugged. "I haven't woken up with water dripping on me for a good week now so I think it's alright."

He huffed as they made their way to the lift, telling her he would talk to the landlord himself if it wasn't fixed, and she couldn't help but snicker under her breath. It sounded like a joke but he was serious.

Getting into the lift, she once again noticed that they were alone, and it was a bit surprising considering it was a hospital and there were a lot of people around. She didn't complain though. Happy to appreciate the silence, and not have to deal with other people after the one-sided row with her parents. And how could she forget the storm cloud that lingered with the unexpected meeting with him?

She never wanted Sinclair to meet that man, and now the thought of him discovering what had happened caused her to feel unwell. It was selfish maybe, but she wanted to keep that to herself, locked away somewhere because even if nothing happened, there was still a sense of shame she carried around about that.

She was testing the waters and when he didn't move to pull away, she squeezed his hand. For a moment, he did nothing, and she feared she had overstepped. Yet, when his grip tightened around her fingers she couldn't stop her shoulders from sagging as a sense of comfort washed over her.

For the rest of the lift ride down their hands stayed joined as Amiee stayed leaned against him, thankful that she had her best mate back.

#sinclair bryant #sinclair bryant x oc #amiee x sinclair #the art of entangled hearts #blossom writes

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snowblossomreads · 7 months

Text

Exhibit 2: Somebody That I Used To Know

Previous Chapter: Unfinished Business

Pairing: Sinclair Bryant x Amiee Huang (OC)

Summary: In where Sinclair keeps his promise and goes to deliver the good news to Amiee even as he continues to deal with drama from his own ongoing issues.

Tag(s)/Warning(s): None! A bit of a transition chapter.

Word Count: 4.7K

A/N: Already back with a second chapter what can I saw I just want these two to get back together and be happy but alas plot (dont worry I won't drag it out too much...) Anyways onward!

After Amiee had left and he had finished his call with another client, Sinclair did as he said he would do and made his way to the Senior Human Resources Officer who dealt with job requisitions for their department.

He told the man what he discussed with Amiee (with great passion at that) and how sooner would be better for this position as it had been something in the making for a long while.

"And do you have her qualifications on hand?" The man behind the desk asked, his dark eyebrows raising as Sinclair rummaged in the folder he had carried over.

"Yes of course right here though I'm sure I can spout off all the things she's done as I already looked at her file before coming by. She's absolutely brilliant Michael and did I tell you I worked with her before when I was at the Manchester office?" Sinclair prattled on as he handed the sheet of paper off to the man who took it from him and began to scan it. "I can't say enough good things about her work and it's quite a crime that no one has given her a chance other than to be an assistant which I think is absurd."

Nodding at Sinclair's words absentmindedly the other man scanned the front of the page before turning it around and looking at the back of it.

"Hmm impressive, impressive indeed, and you say she was applying to replace Arthur's old assistant huh?" He asked curiously looking up at Sinclair who nodded at his question. "She could probably do Arthur's job and half of the others too with these credentials."

As if Michael had spoken some wise truth that no one else seemed to understand, Sinclair threw his hands up dramatically with a noisy exasperated noise.

"Exactly what I thought I'm glad someone is seeing some sense around here. When she told me what she was here for I thought someone was having a bit of fun at my expense but no she was dead serious and I just couldn't let a good opportunity go to waste to work with her again, especially with how stellar her work always is."

Looking once more at the paper Michael nodded.

"Well from all of this I don't see any issues with hiring this Ms..." His eyes narrowed at the paper lips moving as he tried to sound out Amiee's surname but he was taking too long for Sinclair who happily assisted.

"Huang, Amiee Huang!"

"Ms. Huang right," Michael articulated looking up at Sinclair who was rocking on his heels. "Let me just talk to the director today and if she's okay with it, which I'm sure she will be, then I'll get the requisition out tomorrow and we can handle the rest of it internally."

Sinclair clapped his hand in joy, an enormous grin on his features as he thanked the other man with an enthusiastic, "brilliant I'll leave it with you then!" Before turning around and making his way out of the office ready to go enjoy a nice earned lunch.

There was a new Italian spot having its grand opening today and while he knew that all the carbs would probably make him drowsy for the rest of the day he was too impatient to wait until tomorrow as he was sure their day one food would be the best considering it's always important to impressive the first time.

His grin was ear to ear, and he felt like humming a tune as his spirits were higher than it had been recently considering the personal turmoil he had been going through.

But again it seemed like the turmoil decided to make its presence known once more because as he passed by his office his assistant, Sarah, popped her head out of her cubicle calling to him.

"Mr. Bryant I know you're about to leave but you have a call on line two they said it was important and needed to talk to you."

"Important? What's so important that it can't wait until after lunch? Also, just Sinclair is fine Sarah we've known each other for three months now!"

"Uhm right Sinclair, well..." Walking over to him as he was closing his office door intent on leaving and excited about his meal, she lowered her voice to a whisper before answering him."It's Natalie."

Any enthusiasm that he had from the day immediately drained out of him at the sound of her name and he couldn't help but feel his mood plummet dramatically.

The smile he had wilted and even Sarah thought the surrounding air had suddenly chilled as he turned fully to speak to her.

"If it's important tell her to have her solicitor speak to mine I don't want to hear from her and I've told her to not call. I thought I told you this already," he chided with a harsh tone before immediately feeling a smidgen of guilt when he saw her wince but he was getting impatient with the whole process and becoming equally tired of the out of the blue calls from Natalie who would not sign the divorce papers.

Her solicitor was always coming back with some made up rubbish and it had just caused the whole affair to become more draining and devastating to deal with. It was his fault really had he known this would happen he would have at least insisted on a prenuptial agreement if only to save them all from this back and forth. Though really it would only be saving him as it seemed that someone was getting some sort of entertainment from the entire thing.

"I know it's just that she insisted, and I thought,-"

"No, no, I don't care I don't want to speak with her tell her I'm out of the office or something and that I won't be taking her calls. I'm going to lunch if something actually important needs my attention I'll be at the new restaurant around the corner."

Eyes wide at the heated tone that was unnatural for her usually light-hearted boss, Sarah could only nod and stutter out an "o-oh okay I'll do that have a good lunch sir."

He huffed as he watched her scurry off, immediately upset at himself for snapping at her like that. She had been nothing but helpful since she first started but these past few weeks had just been tumultuous dealing with his hopefully soon to be ex-wife and her solicitor who kept constantly stone walling his own and wasting everyone's time.

Sighing, he told himself to bring her back something from the bakery nearby as an apology... but speaking of food.

"Maybe I'm just hungry, I bet some food would help yes it always does," he muttered to himself as he went on to lunch hoping to clear his thoughts from all the unpleasantness.

A few days had passed since Amiee’s run in with Sinclair and she had not heard from him since. While she assumed he was plenty busy with his job and life in general, it was still hard to brush away the sense of gloom that hung over her due to not hearing back from him.

Whether it be because she just wanted to talk with him more or her wondering if she had actually gotten the job she wasn't sure but either or she still missed him. She had been so shocked at seeing him that in her stupor she didn't ask for his number which was idiotic on her part.

Letting out a weary sigh, Amiee unlocked the door to her flat, jiggling the keys a little because of how finicky the lock could be just like everything in the building. With a ‘click’ it unlocked and she couldn't be more relieved to be home after the grueling day she had. Maybe some wine and dinner would make her feel better about all of this.

Whatever ‘this’ was.

Sure she was only a bank teller but dealing with people every second of the day was the absolute worst for her especially when everyone who came in seemed to forget instantly how to behave decently. Closing the door behind her with a huff, she shrugged off her coat putting it on the coat rack she had dragged back out a week ago.

Next were her shoes which fell to the floor with a clatter as she ambled into the kitchen. She would pick those up later but right now she was gaggin' for a nice glass of Moscato she had gifted herself with a few weeks ago.

Grabbing it from the fridge and getting a glass from her cabinet she was about to pour herself some to relax before the phone rang causing her to stop in mid motion.

An irritated grumble left her lips as she went over to the landline hanging on the wall picking it up and walking back over to the counter hoping the cord would reach far enough. Who was calling her on a Friday night?

"Hello?" She answered pouring the rose-colored liquid into her glass before screwing the top back on.

"Hello Amiee? It's Sinclair!" The bright, energetic tone of his voice coming through from the other end had her frown dissipating instantly at the warmth and happiness he exuded even when he wasn't in person.

"Hiya Sinclair! I was wondering when I was gonna hear from you," she chirped, smiling as she took a sip of her wine and leaned on the counter, fingers twirling the landline's cord as she talked. "How's it been plenty busy, huh?"

"Yes which is always a good thing in our world you know, if you aren't busy it may be a sign that people are about to be made redundant or something like that I know that's what happened last year to some people scary time. Though I wasn't worried not one bit as I'm quite good at my job as you know," he proudly added, causing Amiee to snicker in her drink at his confidence.

She couldn't fault him for it though as it was a well-won confidence with how good at his job he had always been.

"That's not the point! I'm so sorry for not ringing you sooner I've had a whirlwind of things that have come my way since earlier this week but that's a lot of mundane and tedious things that I don't want to bore you with or feel like talking about. Surprising I know! But what matters now is that I have time and wanted to see if you were busy tonight. I have some news to tell you I think would be very well enjoyed over dinner if you're free?"

Her mood was already lifting from hearing his voice but the dinner invite and prospect of good news was the cherry on top that had her buzzing.

"No I don't have owt going on tonight, just got home from work and all but I can wash up a bit and put something on. Where do you want me to meet you? I just need a little time to hop on the Tube."

"No no absolutely not I can come pick you up it be rude of me to ask you to come somewhere and have you figure your own way to the place you know I wouldn't do that to you. Where do you live? I can stop by. I'm still at work at the moment but can leave in a bit if you're far off. Most everyone is gone for the weekend so there's not a chance of someone slipping in and needing something."

She froze mid motion of taking another sip of her drink when he said that.

"Err em, I don't think that be such a good idea, I live a bit out of the way from the office and I don't want you getting into rush hour traffic either with the maniacs out there."

It wasn't a total lie, it took her about forty-five minutes to make it to the area on a good day taking public transportation. And even if he was taking his car, add rush hour traffic time and it would be about the same plus the annoyance of people all around which was worse to her.

"Nonsense I'm usually one of the madmen out there in traffic actually," Sinclair chuckled, "it takes me about an hour or so for me to commute to work so wherever you live I'm sure it's no worse, now come on where should I pick you up from I know this place that just opened up around Leicester Square that I think you would like!"

She paused, Leicester Square?

"Around Chinatown?" She asked equally surprised and equally amused.

"Eheh yes I know cliche," his laughter was low and nervous sounding as if Amiee had caught him red-handed doing something he shouldn't be.

But it was endearing to Amiee and honestly, she wasn't going to say no to good Chinese food, her ancestors would rain their wrath upon her if she did. And with Sinclair going she was sure it would be fun just like the old days.

"They have great food over there and I sometimes drag some of the others at work there for lunch and dinner," he rambled on, "it's great because you know they have a variety of stuff on the menu so it keeps the fussing to a minimum. Oh, I don't know why I'm telling you this I know you know so now where do you live so I can pick you up?"

She knew he wasn't going to let up until she told him; he was a persistent man, and if he insisted it was almost like him telling you he was going to do it. So letting out a hum she decided to just get it over with knowing she was about to give him a stroke when he found out where she lived.

"Well okay if you insist, and I know you do," she answered, hearing a faint 'good!' on the line. "I live in the brick flats on Brantwood off High road in Tottenham you can take the A10 up and it'll get you here. The flats you can't miss them, the only ones on the block I think."

"Amiee!"

His voice seemed to jump a pitch as he shouted her name, the tone of his voice making her want to laugh but also had her wincing ready for him to list off crime statistics of the place. Which he did. How did he even know all of this?

"That area has one of the highest crime rates out of all the boroughs! For every thousand persons there is a total of 105 crimes that takes place what in the world are you doing living out there? I know it's more expensive in a safer area but that place it's the worst of the worst. Goodness I know bank tellers don't make as much as they should working with the public and all but do they not pay enough so that you can at least make it to work the next morning?"

"Sinclair-Sinclair it's fine," she tried to calm him but to no avail as he continued going on about how unsafe the area was for her to be in.

It truly wasn't that bad. As long as she kept her door locked and wasn't meandering certain corners late at night she hadn't really felt unsafe. Sans the almost being waterboarded to death, but that was not the neighborhood's fault. But Sinclair was not having it as he went on about how unsafe the area was, his voice going higher with distress on her behalf.

"I still don't like it," she could hear the frown in his voice along with the rustling of paper in the background as he rambled on. "No I don't like this at all as a matter of fact I'll be picking you up and bringing you home from now on until you can get somewhere nicer you know knife cases have been up 20 percent right? I know it's the recession's fault people being desperate and all but I don't want to think about something terrible like that happening to you! I can help you find a place if you want I know a few places nearby that would be good for you and oh and if country life is better we can do that too. That's where I live it's beautiful out there you should visit I think you would love it. We could be neighbours that would be fun I'd love seeing you on the weekends and we could nose about with each other! But no, I don't like the idea of you walking from the station by yourself especially when it gets dark early in the autumn."

"Alright alright!" Amiee interrupted trying to keep herself from laughing while stopping Sinclair's tirade that she knew would not end if she didn't interrupt him. "I give! If I let you pick me up and drop me off do you promise not to go on a tangent about me living here?"

"I can't promise you that but I will do my very best not to if you let me pick you up and drop you off yes. Andmaybehelpyoufindanewplace."

He tacked on the last sentence rather quickly causing her to let out a guffaw at the sense of urgency in which he said it.

"Okay we can talk about that too but now that we have that sorted are you coming to pick me up soon? If you leave now you'll get out before traffic picks you and maybe," her tone becoming a bit cheeky wanting to tease him a bit, "I can show you around the neighbourhood."

"I'll have to politely decline the nose around your neighbourhood but yes I’ll be on my way in a moment! I just need to pack up and leave something with my assistant and I'll be on the way. Which flat number do you live in?"

"Ground floor number 2."

"Perfect see you in a bit buh-bye!"

"Bye!"

The phone clicked signaling he had hung up and Amiee shuffled over to the phone's base on the wall to do the same. It made a ‘click’ as the receiver popped back in and instead of going back to the counter she stood there with her hand on the phone as a smile grew on her face.

A warm feeling was bubbling in her stomach, and it made its way up her chest tickling it before it reached her throat where it stayed for a moment before she was grinning like a madwoman.

"Ahahahaah!"

A bright laugh burst from her lips as she leaned over, outstretching her hand for support on the wall as her shoulders shook with the force of her laughter. Sinclair was such a silly man. Silly but absolutely lovely and the way he easily brought a smile to her face seemed to not have changed.

It was nice. Knowing that some things would never change when it came to some people. And it seemed like things hadn't at all changed between them which had her thinking that maybe, just maybe they could continue where they had ended? It would be nice. They were already going out to dinner, and when he had hugged her earlier on it was so comforting and warm.

"No no no stop it Amiee he's probably married to a pretty woman who actually comes from somewhere who also didn't run off to another country because she couldn't cope," she scoffed to herself wiping the tears from her laughing fit away from her eyes.

Granted she didn't notice a wedding band earlier so?

Rolling her eyes at herself and standing straight she walked back to the counter and knocked back the rest of the wine before setting the glass in the sink.

"Alright you," she muttered to herself, attempting not to cause herself to spiral into self pity and instead thinking about what to wear. "Let's go get ready don't go and rile yourself up for no reason."

Almost an hour went by after they hung up did a knock at Amiee's door draw her attention away from the telly that had a game show, the Crystal Maze if she remembered correctly, playing. She wasn't one for them but she had gotten dressed pretty quickly with a long sleeve burgundy velvet blouse and some denim shorts and with time to spare she sat around for a bit and watched some mindless programs.

It was really fun actually, and she had gotten so engrossed in it that she had yelled answers out at her screen while also challenging herself to solve the puzzles before the real contestants. She had proudly gotten all of them correct and given herself a mental pat on the shoulder.

'Sinclair would probably like this I wonder if he's watched any of it.'

She thought offhandedly as she shut the program off, making her way to the door and looking through the peephole to find the person who she knew was there.

Still dressed in his office attire, minus suit jacket, Sinclair stood there rocking on his heels, hands in his pocket as he looked to his left and right no doubt wary of his surroundings.

She really was going to have to tell him that the place was not that bad. But she was sure it would fall on deaf ears considering his upper class upbringing and of course all the facts he knew. Those two things a lethal combination.

A clipped laugh left her throat as she unlocked the door opening it to a very enthused looking Sinclair.

"There you are! I was afraid I gotten the wrong place because I didn't see the flats then it turns out I gotten turned around and come up from the opposite end, traffic was indeed dreadful as you mentioned but someone down the street pointed me the right way," he exclaimed as he took a glimpse at her outfit before adding on enthusiastically, "but you look very pretty and that colour looks great on you, not that you aren't always pretty and that there are any colours that I think look bad on you but this one suits you well!"

His compliment was so honest and given so freely she couldn't help the blush that crept its way across her cheeks as she beamed at him. Any time when she went on a date in the States, which this wasn't a date she tried to remind herself, and the guy gave her a compliment it always felt off. Like it was something they had to say and not truly genuine which to no one’s surprise caused the relationship to fizzle quickly.

But with the way Sinclair's eyes glimmered as he gave her the compliment paired with a grin that was really the only bright thing in the building's hallway she couldn't help feel a pang of sadness. Which was not what she thought she would feel, but it made sense considering they could have been going on an actual date had she not run away years ago...

Ugh.

Physically shaking the negative thoughts out by shaking her head 'no' and hiding it as if she was just being bashful about his compliment, which she did sort of feel, she narrowed her eyes in his direction.

"You look quite fit yourself this evening. Are you sure dinner was the only thing on the agenda or do you have something else up your sleeves?"

Not catching the teasing tone in her voice at first, Sinclair's face warmed and she could see the startled look cross his features as he rambled about how it was only dinner and if she wanted to walk around a bit in the square after it would be good since the weather was nice and they could chat more. He would bring her home afterwards of course but that was it, nothing nefarious just two old friends catching up.

Sinclair frowned as the words left him. They were just friends now and just like at the office he hated that. But his life was messy right now and he couldn't drag her into it even though unbeknownst to him her own life was still as complicated as it was in the past.

The thoughts subsided though once he saw the grin that Amiee could no longer hold back slowly appearing on her features. Her eyes glinted with playfulness causing him to realize that he had been had, and that she was only joking causing him to let out a little huff and pout.

“Don't joke like that you almost gave me a heart attack! For that you're going to have to let me snoop around when we come back I expect a full tour of your flat. I want to see what you’ve done with the place.“

Amiee cackled because of course that would be the payment Sinclair wanted for startling him. A tour around her flat so he could poke and prod at things. He had always been inquisitive, read: nosy, about new spaces and he found it a treat to be somewhere different so it was no surprise he would find a way to get a tour.

"Really a tour of my flat Sinclair? I say you were up to something scandalous," Amiee snickered as she shuffled to the side to put her shoes on, allowing Sinclair to peek his head in, his curiosity piqued. "Plus, it's just a regular flat you know nothing fancy like I know you're used to, just somewhere I can put my stuff that's it."

"That's not true my wi-," Sinclair's words died at his lips and Amiee seemed to freeze at the syllables, her heart going to her throat.

All the words starting with that sound ran through her mind in that moment of silence.

'His what? His wick? That doesn’t make any sense Amiee. Witch? Rude. His widow? He's not dead what are you talking about don't be so daft!'

Her word game was interrupted by him continuing his thoughts albeit more slowly than usual as she put her shoes on trying to ignore the word he obviously meant.

"Somebody that I used to know, well I still know them but I guess not as well as I thought I did used to live in one of these flats not one of these flats specifically but similar to yours a little bigger maybe I don't remember it's been ages since I was in there so my memory about it isn't to clear. But either way it is interesting because you live in it and I know you have something interesting lying around in here. You always had interesting stuff in Manchester hanging in your cubicle like you're tiny paintings those were quite nice I hope you still have them."

Coming back in front of him, shoes on and ready to go, she could only agree to his demands knowing he wouldn't stop and still a little stuck on the earlier part of the conversation.

"Alright it would be rude of me to not let you have a look around because I know it's such torture for you if you don't get to nose around," she joked stepping out into the hallway and making him back up a little so she could close the door and lock it.

When she turned Sinclair was beaming at her like she had just told him some especially good news which to him this probably was.

"Perfect! Now let's go then traffic should be cleared up by now and we should make it in time before the dinner rush you'll love this place I know you will," he bubbled offering his left elbow for her to take.

Ever the gentleman still.

Nodding at him, she wrapped her arms around his elbow and only then did she see the golden gleam of the object that felt blinding as she glimpsed it. Its color and placement causing her let out an inaudible dejected sigh that made the night suddenly feel dull.

'His wife.'

A/N: 🙃Hopefully this get cleared up quickly no? Being in love with a married man who you don't know is trying to divorce is complicated no? Anyways let me know you're thoughts! (Scurries to write the next chapter)

#alan rickman character #sinclair bryant x oc #sinclair bryant #blossom writes #the art of entangled hearts

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snowblossomreads · 8 months

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The Art of Entangled Hearts (Masterlist)

Pairing: Sinclair Bryant x Amiee Huang (OC)

Summary: Being the eldest child of immigrant parents was never the easiest thing in life but Amiee did it with as much grace as she could even if there had been an untold amount of tears. Then came Sinclair Bryant who Amiee found some joy and comfort in with his carefree nature and equally gentle demeanor towards her. Yet life is always fickle and likes to get in the way and after almost 6 years of not seeing each other, they come back together to find that their hearts never untangled from each other.

Chapters:

Unfinished Business

Somebody That I Used To Know

Art of Starting Over

Maybe, Just Maybe

Full Up

Pinky Swears and Theatre Scares

Ao3 Link

#sinclair x oc #sinclair bryant x oc #the art of entangled hearts masterlist #masterlist #blossoms writing

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smilingformoney · 4 months

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3… She turned. Was that —? 2… He reached her just in time. 1… “Sinclair?” Happy New Year! His lips tasted like butterscotch.

For the Love of Books, Chapter 6, Butterscotch

Art by @sleepybradipo

#alan rickman #close my eyes 1991 #sinclair bryant #sinclair x oc #for the love of books #sinclair x betty #SCREAMING SOBBING CRYING THROWING UP ETC ETC ETC #LOOK AT THEM LOOK AT MY BABIES!!!

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snowblossomreads · 15 days

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The thoughts replayed over and over until Amiee found herself brushing against Sinclair's side while her hands found his. He looked down at her, but she didn't look up, only playing with his fingers until she hesitantly wrapped her hand around his loosely. She was testing the waters and when he didn't move to pull away, she squeezed his hand. For a moment, he did nothing, and she feared she had overstepped. Yet, when his grip tightened around her fingers she couldn't stop her shoulders from sagging as a sense of comfort washed over her. For the rest of the lift ride down their hands stayed joined as Amiee stayed leaned against him, thankful that she had her best mate back.

SOBSS THANK YOU SO MUCH @turpinsimp-blog FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL ART 😭😭😭😭😭😭💖💖💖💖💖💖 IT ENCAPTURES THE MOMENT BEAUTIFULLY AND I WANNA CRYY THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU (sOBS)

#amiee x sinclair #the art of entangled hearts #fleur is amazing 🥺#sinclair x oc #sinclair bryant

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smilingformoney · 4 months

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For the Love of Books

VI. Butterscotch

Summary: It’s a race against time for Sinclair as he tries to get to Betty before midnight.

Read now on Ao3 or below the cut:

A thousand thoughts were running through Sinclair’s head as he drove down the motorway. He was usually a careful driver, especially in his vintage cars, but now he was driving as fast as the speed limit would let him, cursing any slow cars or roadworks that got in his way.

When he got to Truro, he pulled into a petrol station to refuel and to buy a local map. The friendly woman behind the counter helped him find the address he was looking for, and he was off again.

12 Seaview Terrace, Falmouth: the home of Betty’s parents.

***

His final argument with Natalie had happened on Christmas Eve of all days. After getting his diagnosis from the doctor, Sinclair took a few days to read up on chlamydia and understand exactly what it meant.

He could only have got it from her, and she could have got it from… where?

Sometimes symptoms took months to appear. Sometimes they never appeared at all. It was perfectly logical that Natalie could have got it from Richard during the summer. Just because he was getting symptoms now, that didn’t mean she’d caught it recently… did it?

Sinclair wished they hadn’t had sex last week, not just because it was wholly unsatisfying for both of them and only confirmed his fears that any passion they’d had in their marriage was gone, but because if they hadn’t, and he’d still contracted symptoms, he’d know at least that they’d both caught it during the summer.

But now that doubt was eating away at him. What if it hadn’t come from Richard? What if it had come from someone else? Would that be worse, or better? Did she even know she had it?

Sinclair knew one thing for certain. He was never going to have sex with his wife again.

There was no passion left, no trust. He told himself he loved her, but that was a lie.

Shit.

No.

Was it a lie? How long had it been a lie?

Sinclair couldn’t even remember the last time he’d said I love you. It wasn’t the sort of thing he said if he didn’t mean it.

He used to say it every day. Every good morning, every good night, every hello or goodbye was accompanied with I love you. When had it stopped? When did he last say I love you to his wife? When did he last mean it?

Was it before the affair? Or after?

There was no good time to have the conversation, so Sinclair sat Natalie down in the lounge as soon as he was able.

He wasn’t sure what to expect from her. Learning that your husband - and therefore you - had chlamydia would usually be shocking, but Natalie had been so detached and dispassionate for so long that he wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d just shrugged it off.

Instead, they argued. They shouted. Rage and frustration and tears were aplenty, and Sinclair knew it was their last argument, he knew it was their last anything, that their marriage wouldn’t last to Christmas Day. But still, even in mid-argument, he didn’t want to end it now, not in the heat of the moment. They needed to calm down, to think rationally, to be able to process the inevitable and discuss the consequences.

Sinclair considered himself a controlled man. Yes, he was emotional, but he was also sensible and so many times he’d been able to keep himself from making rash decisions in the heat of the moment. For a man who talked non-stop, he knew how to bite his tongue.

But Natalie had only to say one sentence for that to be thrown out the window. Not even a sentence - a word. If she’d said it differently, he might have held back. He would have seen red and it would have taken every ounce of control he had, but he might have been able to walk away until they’d both calmed.

But she slipped. She showed her true self with a single word and Sinclair didn’t hesitate to tell her their marriage was over.

He slept in the guest room that night.

***

Sinclair glanced at his watch. A quarter to midnight. According to the clerk, he would make it to Seaview Terrace in twenty minutes.

He put his foot down and, for the first time in his life, left the speed limit behind.

***

It was the worst Christmas Day of his life.

It was too late to change their plans. All their friends who were either single or married without children came over and they had an adult’s Christmas Dinner. Sinclair tried to sit further up the table from Natalie, but she wormed her way in next to him and was more affectionate than she’d been in months, if not years.

As if that could fix anything.

When it was time to go home, Sinclair offered to drive home his friend Claire, claiming she’d had too many drinks to drive herself. Claire was fine, but when Sinclair whispered his reasoning to her, she played along and thanked Sinclair profusely for driving her home.

Sinclair decided not to mention to Natalie that Claire lived ten minutes away from Betty’s flat.

After dropping Claire off, Sinclair went to Cornelia Street, but to his dismay the lights were off in both the shop and the flat, and there was no answer at the front door. He was about to leave when he saw a note taped to the inside of the shop door:

Owner gone home for Christmas

Closed until 5th January

Apologies for any inconvenience

Of course! What an idiot he was. She wouldn’t want to stay in that flat on her own for Christmas, not when her family were down in Cornwall.

Well… he’d have to wait.

***

Sinclair didn’t particularly want to park his nice vintage car out on the street, but with no other parking, he didn’t have much choice.

He knocked on the door to Number 12. While waiting, rocking on his heels anxiously, he checked the time. Two minutes to midnight.

***

Christmas Day had been ruined. The week after was extremely awkward. New Year’s Eve would be awful too. Sinclair usually loved this time of year, but it was hell to him now, having to pretend that he and Natalie were still together and doing just fine, because appearances had to be kept and he didn’t want to put a downer on everyone else’s holidays with a break-up.

The day before New Year’s Eve, Natalie still hadn’t packed a thing. She was still acting as if nothing had happened and every time he tried to broach the subject of her moving out, she avoided it and found an excuse to go out.

So he did what he’d never wanted to do: he called Richard.

When your wife won’t move out, who do you call to get her out? Her brother, or her lover? For once it was helpful that they were one and the same.

Richard agreed he’d be over on New Year’s Day.

***

The Bennett home was as on the beach as it could be. It was basically their front garden. So of course, on New Year’s Eve, the whole street had a celebration on their little strip of sand, with Stuart from Number 21 out on his boat with the fireworks. Safe? Probably not. Legal? Also probably not. But it was a tradition, and nobody had stopped them yet, so Betty stood on the beach looking out to sea, champagne in hand, waiting for the fireworks to start when the clock struck midnight.

***

Sinclair wished he had Betty’s parents’ phone number. All he wanted was to speak to her, to hear her voice, to ramble to her about everything and get a witty response in return.

All he had was their address. He had written it down some weeks ago when she’d told him he could visit with her in the summer. But there was no point in writing to her - by the time a letter got there, she’d probably be back.

He was looking thoughtfully at the entry in his address book when Mei-Li came into the kitchen to start preparing for the New Year’s Eve party.

“Is Betty coming tonight?” she asked conversationally.

Sinclair loved that Betty and Mei-Li got on so well. He also liked that Betty didn’t call her Millie.

Christ, how did he never see the signs?

“No, she’s back in Cornwall with her family. You know, I’m glad that you and Betty get on, Mei-Li, it’s really nice to see.”

“Oh, she’s lovely! When’s she moving in? Or is it too soon?”

Sinclair frowned. “What do you mean, too soon?”

Mei-Li paused, her cheeks flushing slightly. “Oh - sorry. I guess I assumed - with the break-up… it’s not because of her?”

“Why would it be because of her?”

“Never mind - forget I said anything —“

She tried to turn away, but Sinclair’s curiosity was piqued and he had to know.

“Please, tell me. Why… why do you think Betty would have anything to do with it?”

“Because - well - I thought you might have left Natalie for her. I see how much you like her and she’s head over heels for you so I thought —“

“She’s what?” Head over heels??

No. She couldn’t be. Could she?

“Nothing - never mind —“

“No, tell me!” Sinclair asked urgently, his stomach in knots as if he was a teenager with a crush. “Did she say anything to you?”

Mei-Li fiddled with her apron anxiously, trying to carefully toe the line that Sinclair always made so blurry between employee and friend.

“Well… last time she was here we were talking about boyfriends and she told me she has terrible luck with men. She said she… she’s in love with her best friend, but he’s married.”

For the first time ever, Sinclair’s constantly moving train of thought came to a grinding halt.

Could it be? Did Betty love him as he loved her?

…As he what?

Did he?

Of course I bloody do, his inner voice told him.

He ran to the cupboard to grab his car keys. For fuck’s sake, Natalie had taken the Accord out to go to the bloody hairdressers!

He’d have to take one of his other cars. The Alpha Romeo would make the trip… probably.

He’d miss the party. But why should he care? There was a New Year’s party going on in Cornwall, and he needed to be there.

***

Everyone was gathered. The countdown began.

10…

She’d never had a New Year’s kiss.

9…

Footsteps on the sand, someone running late to the New Year.

8…

Nothing ever changed at midnight.

7…

It was fun to pretend it did, though.

6…

The footsteps were getting closer.

5…

“Betty!”

4…

Were the footsteps for her?

3…

She turned. Was that —?

2…

He reached her just in time.

1…

“Sinclair?”

Happy New Year!

His lips tasted like butterscotch.

#sinclair bryant #close my eyes 1991 #Sinclair x oc #alan rickman #for the love of books #I WROTE THIS BTWN THE HOURS OF 2 AND 4AM GODBLESS

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