a/n: In an attempt to stop craving Cobalt Violet's Sinn/Mars fanfiction I've decided to try and write my own. Enjoy, and review!

Disclaimer: Sinn, Mars, Annie, the cat in the kitchen, and much of the characters (except for Adaline whom Cobalt Violet was so kind to pick up!, and the basic story plot)

Pensive

"I had a sister." The words were spoken so quietly that they were almost missed completely.

"Hmmm?" Mars had been watching his sister, Annie, wipe copious amounts of pasta sauce off of the kitchen table; it had been one of the children's better pranks. "What?" He looked over from his place on one side of the doorway to Sinn who was leaning against the other side.

Sinn glanced at him for a moment before looking back into the kitchen. "I had a sister." He said.

"I didn't know that." Mars replied, ignoring Sinn's use of past tense, he took a moment to scratch behind his ear. He'd come to learn in situations such as this, not to question the other man, it just clammed him up. The topic of Sinn's family had come up once, just once, during Christmas time five months before when Mars had asked the dark haired man where he was spending his holidays:

"I'm stuck with Annie in that crowded house! I have to make sure she stays far away from the Egg Nog, she's a quirky drunk." Mars had laughed glancing up from his steaming cup of tea to the other man beside him.

"That's nice." Sinn replied, looking disinterested. He was stirring his tea absently and staring into the fire.

"So?" Mars prompted after a few seconds.

"So…what?" Sinn suddenly scowled into the fire and threw an irritated glance at Mars.

"So…what are you doing for the holidays?" Mars took a swig of his tea and swished the drink in his mouth for a moment before swallowing contently. Raspberries.

Sinn's face had cleared of emotion at the question and he looked down at his drink as if just remembering it was there and took a sip. He wrinkled his nose at the overly sweetened tea and glared at Mars.

"I'm going to Egypt." He said almost defensively, still glaring at the blonde.

"Ah!" Mars replied enthusiastically, ignoring the fierce glare. "So, you have family there?"

Sinn abruptly turned to face the fire and Mars noticed his hands clenching around the tea cup for a moment. When Sinn looked back at the man, he had a peculiar look on his face, as if he were looking somewhere far away.

"Not anymore." Sinn stated softly, staring into the distance. "Not for a long time now."

Suddenly his eyes snapped back into focus and he glanced at the oddly silent Mars.

Then he spoke quickly to fill the silence that was rapidly growing awkward.

"I go for the weather." Strangely Sinn had found himself in the sports teacher's place – trying to lighten the mood. "I hate the cold weather of Christmas."

Mars glanced down at his drained tea cup. He tried to read the shapes of the tea leaves, tried to see into a part of the future or a part of the forgotten past. Yet the tea leaves didn't show him anything. Rather, they congealed together in a scented clump at the bottom of his cup. He looked up with a smile –

"Ah, just like a cat! You are a sun bather! You're so pale though." Mars tilted his head regarding the other man and pushing the awkward air that had spread between them away. The last part of his statement clung to him. Sinn really was pale. Ivory skin covered him and the only blemish to the man's complexion seemed to be the rising blush on his cheeks that from the fire. Mars glanced up, at the hair that was shining in the firelight and then glanced down, eyes catching onto Sinn's brown velvet ones. At the other man's eyebrow quirk, Mars realized he'd been staring and he cleared his throat, feeling strangely stifled and hot.

Biting back his unaccountable panic, he managed to chirp out another witty response, something about Sinn being a kitty cat, that had the other man scowling again in a second the soft gleam suddenly gone as quickly as it had come from his eyes.

The night had gone on from there in companionable silence – on Sinn's part at least.

"She was nothing like your sister." Sinn said, leaning back contentedly on the door frame and watching as Annie swatted the rag at the cat who had been sulking at her feet.

"Oh?" Not a question, Mars reasoned with himself.

"She was more...quiet."

"Reserved?"

"No, not so much so." Sinn frowned at the cat, who was eyeing him from the other side of the kitchen with spite. "She just knew things, but never told anyone them."

'Huh' Mars thought, and then, knowing he was pushing the hypothetical envelope-

"So…she was…"

"A seer?" Sinn asked sarcastically, not fooled and his glare in the blonde's direction made Mars wince. "Yes, I suppose you could say so." Then, noticing Annie's approaching form, he pulled away from the doorway and into the hall keen to go the opposite direction, except Mars grabbed hold of his sleeve.

"Where are you going?" It took the blonde a second to realize he had been holding the other man; his hand seemed to have reached out unconsciously.

"To the loo." Sinn snapped, an irate cat, yanking his arm away. "Do you mind?" He bit sarcastically.

"No, no, not a bit!" Mars but his palms out in surrender and waved them. "By all means," he smiled roguishly, "don't let me keep you."

Sinn gave the taller man a scorching glare and then swept down the hallway shoulders tensed yet still graceful.

Mars stood staring after him, an unreadable look on his face. He stood this way even when Sinn had turned the corner and disappeared. He stood this way until he felt his sister's hand on his shoulder. After a moment he looked down at Annie and saw that she was watching the empty hallway too.

Review!! And I appologize for the shitty spacing b/c this site sucks at editing!!!!!