I Think I Love You

Sinbad 2012 Fanfic

A/N: We watch this as one of our "Trashy TV" shows, which generally are non-comedy shows which make us laugh anyway. I'm predisposed to like historical (or quasi-historical) shows, so was quite looking forward to watching this one.

As per most shows I seem to watch, I much prefer the secondary/support characters more than the main characters, and Sinbad is no exception. Anwar is by far and away my favourite, and Rina is second. And I think they make a far better pair than Sinbad / Rina, which seemed to be the way the writers were going to start with.

There's plenty of indications (to me, anyway) that Anwar has quite a crush on Rina fairly early on, but the thing that sparked this story was a small scene in Episode 8 where Rina sounded utterly horrified that Anwar would leave the group to go with Kuji. And an enormous short story resulted, with a sequel currently being written…

X-X-X

Burning knowledge, how could they? Anwar was horrified. Sinbad and the rest of the crew didn't understand; they knew things that were learnt on the streets and alleys and by-ways of the city, not from dusty scrolls and books. They didn't feel the same sinking in their guts as he did when confronted by the piles of parchment heaped up in front of the university entrances, just waiting for the local guards to come along to put them to the torch.

His mind whirled with the implications of what the scholar was saying about the changes to the regime, and the old magic coming back, so scientists and scholars were under close scrutiny, and that included the professors of the university.

Movement behind him, and a soft voice asked, "Your father?"

"Professor of Medicine," he answered distractedly, running a hand over his face and trying to determine what the best course of action was. He had promised Sinbad to help him find his grandmother, but now knowing that his father may be in danger, he was torn. The family he was born into or the family he had made, which was more important? He came to a decision, blood-family first in this instance.

"I'm sorry, I have to leave."

Sinbad answered, "Nothing to apologise for."

Nala interrupted. "But we agreed not to split up." The Princess was always the voice of reason, but this time Anwar didn't want to be rational, he had to see to his family's safety.

"I don't have any choice, I have to warn them," Anwar pleaded with Sinbad, trying to come up with a plan to escape from both Sinbad and Gunnar if Sinbad decided that they were safer sticking together.

Surprisingly, Sinbad clasped Anwar's hand, and said, "Go. Find your family. Take them to the Providence, they'll be safe there. We'll meet you later."

Anwar nodded, feet automatically turning towards home.

"I'll go with him," Rina piped up. Both Sinbad and Anwar looked at her in surprise, Sinbad opened his mouth to disagree, Anwar was surprised that she would put herself in unknown danger for someone she didn't know. Rina was self-sufficient, and kept herself to herself mostly, and Anwar was almost certain that she was carrying a torch for Sinbad since he had saved her from drowning when they had first met. He smiled involuntarily at the thought that she was choosing to go with him rather than Sinbad for once.

"What?" she continued in the face of Sinbad's obvious disapproval. "I know all the back ways and alleys in this city." She gave Anwar a half-smile, "Wouldn't want him getting lost."

He nodded back in gratitude, happier that someone would come with him in case things went bad. Although, this was not how he had planned on introducing Rina to his family. He knew that his father in particular would disapprove of his only son taking up with a street-thief of dubious background. Not that what Rina was or where she came from bothered Anwar in the slightest, but his father set great store by it, and Anwar wanted to please his father.

The two of them skittered through the deserted streets, keeping an anxious eye out for guard patrols. It wouldn't do for them to be picked up for breaking some law they were unaware of, and they were easy targets, even with Rina taking them via as many back ways as she possibly could.

"So, you lived around here?" he asked breathlessly, trying to keep watch every way at once.

"Here, there, wherever I could find. A doorway, a rooftop, it wasn't too bad," she answered dismissively. "It was colour and life, and all sorts of people you couldn't imagine."

This was more about her past than she had ever told him before, and he was anxious to keep the conversation going. He so rarely had the opportunity to talk with her about something that wasn't the latest adventure Sinbad had dropped them into that he was relishing this chance. Even though he should have been concentrating on his parents.

"I wonder if our paths ever crossed?" he mused, following her around the corner and up a flight of steps. They were getting closer to the courtyard where his family house was, he recognized some of the landmarks in the area now from when he had gotten lost coming back from his university studies.

She turned to face him, a wicked smile on her face. Standing a couple of steps up the staircase meant their faces were level, and if he screwed up his courage (and avoided the small knife she had in her hand), he could lean in and kiss her. Something he had been thinking about a lot recently.

"I doubt it," she said. "I'd've robbed you and left you in the dust." And with that, she raised her knife in a mock-threat, before turning and bounding up the steps again.

He watched her for a moment, ruing yet again another missed opportunity, although he quite liked all his bits just where they were, and she could be mean with a knife if she thought she was threatened, before he gathered up the skirts of his robes and followed.

They still hadn't encountered anyone by the time they got to the courtyard where his family house was located. "Where is everybody?" Anwar wondered aloud. There had always been a collection of aunties under the tree in the centre of the courtyard, gossiping about everyone who passed, and having no qualms about asking some of most embarrassing questions at the most inopportune times.

He was about to cross the courtyard to the front door when Rina grabbed his wrist and pushed him back to the shelter of the arches. "You must know a back way in," she hissed.

Anwar shook his head. "What? Sorry?"

"You mean you've never had to sneak in late?" Anwar could hear the rolling of her eyes in the tone of the question, and all of a sudden was feeling guilty that he had always been a good son, and didn't have the sneaking around experience that Rina obviously expected him to have.

"Typical." With that, she ducked around the sandstone columns, grabbed his hand and pulled him along after her. Even after he was following along meekly, she didn't let go of his hand. It was tiny compared to his, like everything else about her. But it fitted well, like it was meant to be there.

Another couple of minutes ducking through small alleys that Anwar didn't even know were there, even though he had lived in the neighbourhood his entire life, Rina stopped in front of a tiered wall with a window near the top.

"This one," she said confidently, letting go of his hand to point to the window above their heads.

Resisting the urge to take back her hand – what was wrong with him? – Anwar shaded his eyes and peered up at the wall. "Are you sure?" he asked. "They all look the same to me."

This time he could see her rolling her eyes at him. "Of course I'm sure," she snapped. "I don't make a living from breaking into the wrong houses, you know." With that, she scrambled up onto the narrow ledge and wriggled feet first through the open window. He heard a soft thud as her feet hit the floor, and then an approving "Very nice."

Anwar followed her clumsily up the wall, and through the window. Not being used to breaking into houses like Rina was, he crawled in head-first, and then discovered why she had gone feet-first. It was a long drop to the stone floor, and he was going to land on his head.

Rina looked up at him from where she had crouched on the floor. "Come on then," she said, barely hiding her smirk at his predicament.

He wriggled a bit more; there was no way he was going to be able to get down in a dignified way. "Yes, I'm, ummm."

With a barely-concealed sigh, Rina took hold of his flailing arm, guided it to a hand-hold on the wall, and then braced herself as he let go and tumbled into a heap on the floor. He considered lying there until the embarrassment went away; it seemed that he was forever going to be making a fool of himself in front of her. But the slipper tapping an impatient rhythm on the floor just in front of his nose encouraged him to get up. He stood up hastily, ineffectually trying to brush the dust off his robes, and avoiding Rina's gaze.

He was about to suggest that they look for his parents, when the sound of footsteps and the swish of clothing could be heard through the archway to the rest of the house. It was too late to hide somewhere in the room, and Anwar braced himself for a shriek of surprise from whichever of the servants came through the door.

An elegantly dressed woman appeared in the archway. A momentary look of surprise flashed across her face, followed by a beaming smile. "Anwar!"

"Hello, mother," he replied, returning her smile. This was unexpected, he couldn't imagine what his mother would be doing in the storerooms, instead of one of the house servants, but he was grateful. It was one less round of explanations he would have to make, and he was going to have enough trouble trying to explain what he had been doing for the last few months. As well as why he was breaking into his own home in the company of a foreign woman. "So nice to see you again."

"Helene? Are you in there?" His father's voice was followed shortly afterwards by his father. He stopped in the middle of the room, surprise at seeing his son flickering across his face.

"Anwar, we're so pleased you're back." His father pulled him into a bear hug, his mother fluttered around them both, a huge smile on her face. "We prayed and prayed for this moment."

Anwar pushed down the wave of guilt that flooded through him at the obvious joy that his parents displayed at his return. Maybe he should leave the Providence and come back home. It wasn't as terrible a thought as it used to be. You'd miss her, though. A treacherous part of his mind flashed that thought to him, and he glanced involuntarily at a frowning Rina.

His father saw the look, and asked, "So, are you going to introduce us to your new friend?" The way he stressed the word friend took Anwar aback slightly, there was something slightly unpleasant about it.

"Oh, yes." He crossed over to Rina's side, and took her hand again to lead her over to his parents. She came reluctantly with him, bowing low as he said, "Mama, Papa, this is Rina." He could feel her unease at the situation radiating up her tense arm, she had offered to come with him but she had not expected to meet his parents. He so wanted her to like them, and for them to like her in return.

The doubtful looks both his parents gave her did not bode well for future happy families. Eternal optimist that he was, Anwar gave them all a hopeful smile. Rina squeezed his hand in response, her fingers lacing through his.