Sinbad X Reader

8. Improvement

"Of course he waited for you," Ja'Far rolls his eyes, "Did you find someone on those 'travels' of yours?"

I shake my head, "No."

He smiles to himself before turning to me, "You have to go over to him and-"

"Ja'Far you finally found a girl you liked?" A familiar voice questions from behind us. We whip our heads around to see Sinbad, for once without the hoard of girls.

"She's more interested in the King," he smirks, before walking away, leaving the two of us alone.

"Hmm, if you're so interested, then why the cold shoulder?" He asks, a mischievous smirk on his face as he shifts closer to me.

I roll my eyes before looking out again at the city, "You've made a beautiful country."

"Thank you, it's almost as beautiful as you," he smiles, continuing with the same old flirting techniques.

"The second I heard about it, I wanted to come running, but I didn't have the option," I sigh, my chest tightening, "I wished I could've been here."

He gives me a strange look, and is about to ask me something, before he changes his mind.

"You've changed, but not as much as I thought you would," I smile, resting my head against his shoulder, taking in his scent, a mixture of alcohol and women's perfume which has rubbed off on him.

He shifts so that we're both staring at each other, "Who are you?" He asks.

I exhale deeply, as I tilt my head up to face him, "That's something I hoped you wouldn't have to ask."

I listen as the band begins to play a new song, and I grab his hand, "Dance with me."

He nods warily, but agrees, never one to turn a woman down I suppose. We make our way to an open space near the band, as his hand wraps around my waist, exerting dominance I hadn't seen the last time we danced all those years ago. Once we begin dancing, it's obvious he's improved. He's no longer the clumsy stiff teenager, he's smooth and controlled. It's alluring, and again I can see how so many women fall for him.

As we dance, the world falls away, just as it's done every time we've ever danced. My chest tightens, remembering how long it's been since the last time I felt his arm wrapped around my waist, guiding me in time with the music, tilting me back and spinning me around. I realize all that's happened since then, we've grown up, lived our own lives apart from one another. Yet somehow, we never forgot about each other, or at least Ja'Far tells me so. The oblivious King still hasn't recognized me, though I'll admit to changing myself in all these years. I suppose the enormous amount of alcohol he's consumed has something to do with it, but I'm still waiting for him to figure it out on his own.

The music begins to slow down, but Sinbad seems reluctant to stop. His face is taught, almost like he's trying to solve a puzzle. I'd imagine he's trying to place me, wondering if I'm one of the hundreds of girls he's danced with before.

When the band lets out a last chord, he releases his hold of me, and I leave the dance floor. A curious purple haired man follows only a few steps behind me. I walk over to the couch he sat on when I first came in, and sit down. He sits as close to me as possible, his eyes still scanning my features.

"Sin-"

Then, as if a light bulb goes off over his head, he pulls me in closer to him, wrapping his toned arms around me. I exhale deeply, as he rests his head in the crook of my neck.

"Is it really you?" He asks, his voice uneven.

"I think so," I laugh softly, pulling away, to his his lips curled into a wide grin.

"W-Where have you been? What took you so-"

I shake my head, "I want to hear about you first," I look around at the people watching us talk from far away, "You've done so much, I wish I had been here."

"Well you're here now," he laughs, "That's all that matters."

I nod, then quickly turn, my (e/c) orbs staring into his golden ones, "What took you so long to figure out it was me!?"

"You look different!" He defends himself, "Plus you've never really... dressed like that."

I look down at my outfit, and shrug, "I wanted to try something new," I wink.

"I like it," he smirks, "(Y/N)..."

"Yes?" I ask, wondering what he's hesitating to say.

"I'm glad your back."