Sinbad X Reader

20. Tenrou

"Good morning Princess," the purple haired man smiles at me from across the room, his golden eyes wide and bright, lacking the squint I have from just waking up.

I break into a grin upon seeing him, ecstatic that he's finally returned, "Sinbad!"

He moves elegantly across the room, his shoulders back, standing tall like he's about to fill me in on all the success of his journey. When he reaches me, he tilts his head downward, placing his lips on mine roughly. I embrace the passion he brings, which mixes with the longing I've had to do this since he'd left. We stay that way for a moment, locked onto each other perfectly. His hands drift to my sides, pulling me closer to him, before we part and break into an embrace. I rest my chin on his shoulder as he does the same on mine, as I inhale the sweet scent of cloves and mint, it's intoxicating, the smell I've been remembering while cooped up in this room. I let myself enjoy it for just a moment longer, before we part.

He looks more tan than he was when he'd left, like he's been spending long hours in the sun. And he looks healthier, like he'd been in battle for an extended length of time, training, and came out victorious. Of course, these are all just assumptions I make in anticipation for the story he owes me.

"You look better," he tells me, looking mainly at my lack of bandages, "Do you feel alright?"

I nod, "Actually yes, the herbs your doctor gave me seem to have worked. Along with the whole staying in bed thing."

"And how'd you do at that," he laughs, probably imagining I'd be secretly walking around at night when everyone was asleep.

I give him a small shrug, the secretly walking around thing definitely happened more than once.

"As long as you feel fine now, that's all that matters," he smiles, "I presume you have to go to the doctor again to be cleared?"

"As soon as you take me," I laugh, "No one else will do so much as move me without your permission. What exactly did you tell them anyways?"

"Just that you're a handful, and to not let you hurt yourself."

"A handful?" I ask, raising a brow in question.

He simply nods before changing the subject, "I went to the Kou empire."

I pause before continuing to ask what happened, wondering if he saw Judar while he was there.

"I went to go discuss a treaty between them and Baalbad, and I ran into Judar," his face contorts for a second, a mix of uncomfortableness and anger, "He asked me about you, like he was genuinely concerned? I told him you were fine, and he just walked away, but before he did, he told me to tell you that you didn't have to worry about him coming after you anymore."

"Strange," I murmur in response. Maybe Judar did think of me as a friend after all. If Sinbad's relaying it correctly, then it must be true. Either way, if he isn't going to bother me, then I probably don't have too much to be stressed about. Like I said, everything's coming together for me.

"Sinbad," I start, "I was wondering if you could tell me how I could arrange a trip to Tenrou for next week."

He looks at me in confusion, "Are you going for Aria's coronation?"

I give him a small nod, "How'd you know?"

"I've been paying close attention to Tenrou ever since you left," he pauses, "I didn't think you'd want to go however."

"Why wouldn't I?"

He doesn't give me an answer to my question, but instead tells me, "Of course I can get you a ship to go there. Would you want me to come along?"

I nod eagerly, "Only if you don't have any other responsibilities, I wouldn't want you to put off doing something else. I can handle going alone. After all, it's not like my Mom's around to do anything to me."

He mirrors my sad expression for a moment. I'm not sad that she's gone, she's done some awful things to me, but I am sad she had to die for me to be able to go to Tenrou. Maybe if we'd had a better relationship I could mourn, but all I can do is look forward to going back, despite how wrong I feel about it.

"We can leave as soon as we get you back to the doctor," He smiles, small dimples forming in each of his cheeks. He looks younger when he grins like that. It's a childish smile, one that makes me happy to be alive, even if it was just to witness it. It sends an almost electric feeling straight into my heart, which makes waiting around for him, all that much better, because it makes me cherish these smiles.

----

While I'd been practicing walking around while Sinbad was gone, I hadn't quite had to experience walking such long distances as the port. Normally, walking would never be an issue for me, it was something I did for fun. But now, cramps build up in my legs even after walking for ten minutes. Breath stopping cramps, like all the muscles in my leg are going haywire, and the only thing controlling them is their own intuition to just move. I catch my legs almost giving out a couple of times, but I manage to stay upright. I wonder if the doctor was right to clear me before we left. I'm thankful she did, or else I would've been stuck in a wheelchair when we arrived, or carried everywhere like a child, but still, I'm struggling.

When we set sail on the ship, Sinbad looks anxious. He thinks me returning is a bad idea, meanwhile, I'm just happy to be heading home.