They had been in this awkward place for the past 2 months. Well, not awkward per se, just not where Owen would have liked them to be.
That night, he had held her until her breathes even out, that was when he picked her up and sat down on the bench, and she curled up into his chest. She eventually fell asleep in his arms, when he got worried about how cold it was, he entered the house using the spare key, he laid her gently on the couch in the living room, unfamiliar with the rest of the house. He covered her up with a blanket, and sat on a chair beside her, not wanting to invade her personal space too much, and he too fell asleep.
Amelia apologized the next morning, sincerely guilty for how he spent his first night back. Owen, being the kind soul that he is, reassured her that it was okay. They shared a ride to the hospital that morning, and ever since, they have been 'friends'.
Owen was always checking in on Amelia, and unpredictably, she wasn't annoyed by it at all. She shared her daily stories with him and they generally talked about things happening around the hospital, there were brief moments of silent stares where Owen got hopeful, but he was shattered every time Amelia ran away from them. It didn't get much deeper than that, but he decided to be patient, as she would slowly figure her feelings out, right now, everything was stained by grieve.
…
"So Richard and Catherine's wedding is on again," Amelia shared with Owen as she caught him on the catwalk
"Yeah, I heard, are you going?" Owen was quick to think of this as an opportunity to get things moving
"Well, maybe, if this time whatever melodramatic event is delayed to play out the actual wedding, that'll be something else," Amelia joked inappropriately.
Owen couldn't help but giggle, then turned to the hopeless romantic in him "I think they love each other and share common purpose, they're going to get married, and it's going to work."
"You're all smiles and sunshine," Amelia teased Owen, not meaning for her grin to be as big, "I'll try to go, but it depends on how the day goes, I'm on call tonight."
"You can ask Nelson to take your shift so that you'll be there when I win the bet," Owen joked, but he really wanted Amelia to see Amelia outside the hospital again, hoping their conversations would finally evolve.
"So we're betting on them now, huh?" Amelia raised her eyebrow at Owen with a smirk, "Tell you what, I'll actually check with Dr. Nelson, and I might come after all." She regretted it almost the second she said it. She knew she needed to socialize, though she hoped she could spend the evening in the hospital quietly, but something about Owen bringing it up again made her feel a little excited about it.
"That's great!" Owen didn't bother hiding his eagerness, "I was thinking we could go together?" They were now at the stairs, Amelia had a free 10 minutes so she just tagged along, as Owen was heading to a nurse station.
"Thanks, but I don't think I'll need a ride, I'm pretty sure Meredith won't miss it," Amelia said vaguely, it wasn't clear if she truly missed the point or was avoiding it.
Owen chuckled at the response, "Uhh, Amelia, I didn't mean the ride, I meant, together, you know?" he narrowed her eyes at her, his heart pleaded for her to say yes, just one word could make his day, and maybe he could work his way from there.
Amelia paused and looked at the floor. She was avoiding it, of course, the brilliant neurosurgeon had caught on to what he was asking, she merely couldn't handle to make their feelings for each other official, but she tried to not completely shut off. "Owen," she looked up to meet his eyes, "I'm going to be there, and you be there, okay?" she said, begging him to understand, hoping her eyes could relay the emotion.
Owen nodded forcing a smile, of course he understood, he was disappointed nevertheless. He decided this wasn't as bad as a total rejection, and maybe he'd try to get a dance at the wedding.
…
"Didn't anyone tell you it's not so nice to look this beautiful at another bride's wedding?" Owen flirted smoothly as he joined the table that Amelia was sharing with April and Arizona.
"Hey," Amelia's attention was diverted from the girl chat to Owen, she blushed and grinned timidly. Arizona and April pretended to continue their gossip, however; they were both listening closely. "If you came here to be all like 'I told you so', you better save it, the night's still young," she tried to start small talk.
He chuckled softly, "I'm not sure drunken guests count," he chaffed.
She threw her hands up and acted dramatically disappointed, which made Owen laugh lightly. "Well, I'm pretty happy they finally figured it out, it's so sweet," she mentioned as she looked at them with a tranquil simper. She had noticed Owen glancing at her after the bride and groom said I do, she was moving her head to settle her gaze on him too, but they both embarrassingly looked away when they caught each other. It was too early, and too crazy, to think like that, but the mental picture lingered in their heads.
Owen shared the sentiment and enjoyed the view of the seemingly euphoric couple. His eyes unwittingly redirect themselves to Amelia, he sighed, mesmerized by the wonder beside him
Come on skinny love just last the year,
Pour a little salt we were never here
my my my, my my my, my-my my-my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer
"Can I have this dance?" He invited Amelia optimistically
She was snapped out of her dream, and looked at Owen and then shortly at April and Arizona, who were doing a lousy job of hiding their eavesdropping, they widened her eyes at her, prompting her to get up already.
She took his hand and nodded sheepishly, with a small sly grin on her face, "Yes, of course."
They moved to the dance floor, effortlessly melting in each other's clasp.
And I told you to be patient
And told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different kind
She lifted her head from the warmth of his broad chest, and smirked at him, "Hey, look, over there," she whispered, pointing with her head toward an middle-aged couple, engaged in what appeared to be a foolish quarrel.
" let's play a game, what's their story?" She said, only loud enough for the two of them to hear.
"Um, okay," Owen paused a minute, he fancied the idea. He narrowed his eyes, and then announced, "she woke up at night to go to the toilet, he had left the seat up, and now she's mad,"
" 'It's not that you left the toilet seat up, it's why you left the toilet seat up' " Amelia mimicked an old overemotional lady's voice. They both laughed as they pictured the scene .
"Ahh.. this is fun," Owen sighed recovering from their suppressed giggles, "Okay, what about.. them, what's their story?" he swayed Amelia along the dance, to point her to a younger couple.
"Oh, there's no story here, probably cousins, they couldn't find dates so they just came together, " She said, concluding that they were too boring to discuss
"What? Noo! Definitely not," Owen challenged the suggestion, grimacing
Amelia raised her eyebrows, surprised at Owen's strong disagreement, "What makes you say that?"
"Look at them," Owen started, fixing his gaze on Amelia , "the way he's looking at her right now, it's just obvious that.." he paused for a second, "no, certainly not cousins."
Amelia shrugged, studying the scene a little more, eventually spotting what Owen was talking about. It made her automatically smile, she turned back at her partner to see the same look in his eyes as that young guy did.
They slowly moved till their faces were millimeters apart, letting their lips lock in a gentle kiss.
A/N: So I hadn't planned for the analyzing of the deck scene, but it just seemed like it fit. I tried my best, determined to upload it before tonight's episode, since I think there won't be a ceremony outside the hospital, as we can predict from the sides, but obviously I'm relatively new at writing, so constructive criticism is appreciated.
Also, I read somewhere that skinny love is when two people love each other, but they're too shy to admit it, but they still show it.. and I just thought it fit Amen perfectly. I hope you like it xx
