14: A Simple Thing

"Ms. Reniere, you have to see the dresses! They're coming out perfectly!"

Sine smiled at the exuberance of her shop girl –Abigail- as she examined the just delivered mass-produced dresses she was planning to sell as part of her new line. The line was aimed at women who wished to look fashionable without shelling out all the money one of her 'usual' dresses tended to cost.

She let Abigail continue to babble on for a few minutes longer before dismissing the girl, needing to return to her paperwork. She still had quite the stack to fill out before leaving for Tokyo. When she heard the shop bell ringing, announcing a client, she didn't bother getting up to go out onto the floor. That's why she paid her assistants, to handle the actual customer interaction for her.

She had never said she was a people person.

Paul leaned in the doorway to Sine's office, feeling a bit like a stalker but... he had seen the name on the shop and couldn't resist. Sine hadn't even noticed him yet, she was too engrossed in writing on what looked like a form. He took the opportunity to study her. She looked as... gorgeous as ever, her short hair styled about her head in what he was assuming was a current fashion and that seemed to be as fashionable as she was today because she wore no make-up and a rather plain red sweater. Beautiful.

"Hello." He greeted, smiling when her head shot up, watching as her grey eyes widened and then narrowed quizzically.

"Hi." She returned, a genuine smile slowly spreading across her face when she realized she was actually pleased to see him. "Not to sound rude, but what are you doing here?"

"I saw the sign and was curious."

"I see."

"I was getting ready to go to the coffee shop down the street..." He began slowly, knowing this was pushing his luck. She was married, to the damn Undertaker, he was literally tempting death. "Would you, ah... care to join me?"

Sine chewed the bottom of her lip for a moment before finally nodding. "Let me get my coat."

Sine learned a lot about Paul on their walk. For example, he openly admitted to collecting magazines. He wouldn't tell her what kind of magazines (other than not that kind), giving her the impression it was something very nerdy. Or something he felt she would consider stupid. She was guessing muscle car magazines or workout magazines. When she offered up those guesses, he simply grinned down at her.

Paul then got to learn that she collected thimbles, which wasn't all that surprising given what she did for a living. What was surprising was the fact that he began asking her questions about thimbles. What they were made from, where she had gotten them, if they were for decoration only. She could not, for the life of her, remember a man actually taking interest in something as... girly... as that.

"Do you like living in New York?" She asked after a long, but not uncomfortable, stretch of silence.

"Sure, I love it. You can hit a coffee shop up at three in the morning and they'll have some weird shit waiting for you." He joked, hardly believing she had actually laughed at that. He was pretty sure it was a genuine laugh but the joke was pretty lame. Sine was... either not right in the head or just weird. "Actually, I haven't lived here for too long, just a few years, I feel like I'm still getting to know the city."

When she stopped to admire a display in one of the many windows, he halted as well, doing his own admiring. Sine was... beautiful, and deadly in the sense of who her husband was. But he couldn't resist watching the way the sunlight reflected off her chocolate brown hair.

"This is nice." Sine said as she stepped away from the window, falling into an easy step once more with him. "It's normal." Something that had been lacking in her life ever since whacking Mark with that sewing machine.

"Normal is definitely nice." Paul agreed, smiling down at her. He was a wrestler who was somewhat famous, and she was a dressmaker who was known worldwide, what a very odd pair. Of course, he had been in the wrestling spotlight consistently; he knew she had been in a forced semi-retirement due to her marriage and children. "So… what are your twin's names?"

"Gavin and Kalea." Sine replied immediately, smiling at the mention of her beautiful twins. "Stephanie didn't tell you?"

He arched an eyebrow and shrugged. "I wasn't aware you two were on speaking terms to be honest, she doesn't really talk to me unless it's about work."

"Oh. Well, we do keep in touch, sort of. She came to my baby shower, poor girl. She was so terrified, not that I blame her. I must have been out of my mind asking to come with- well, you know…" She trailed off awkwardly.

"She doesn't talk about it, at least not to me." He said after another round of –this time uncomfortable- silence, remembering how he had tried to help Sine after 'Taker had decided to abandon Stephanie in favor of more interesting game. The memory of her being abducted while on the phone with him still brought shame to him.

"At least she got away." Sine said consolingly, and then realized how bad that sounded, considering she was married to the guy. Speaking of, if Mark knew she was talking to Paul, he would kill someone. "Since we're relatively close to my neighborhood, I think I'll just head home."

"Oh…" Paul supposed he should have been expecting that, especially after the rather depressing turn their conversation had taken. "Well, I can walk you, if you want?"

She shook her head.

He had definitely been expecting that, the woman was jumpy. He knew it was because of who her husband was. The Undertaker. What the hell was he thinking? This was the Undertaker's wife and he was flirting with her! Had he lost his mind?

The answer was a definite yes because the next thing he knew, he was pulling Sine into his arms and kissing her.

There was no pressure, no demanding. It was just a simple, gentle kiss, mouths parted slightly, tentative almost. Sine pulled her head back after a moment, staring up at him. "He will kill you." She said quietly, not even needing to say who 'he' was. "He has me watched sometimes, Paul." She probably shouldn't be telling him this but at the same time… he needed to know there could and would be consequences to their actions. Even something as simple as a kiss. "I have to go."

"But you don't want too." He contradicted, not giving a damn who was watching them at the moment and brought her back into his arms. "I could protect you, Sine." He had said that before, but he hadn't been given a proper chance. They had been miles apart, that didn't have to be the case this time around. "You married him because he forced you too, Sine, you have to stop letting him control you."

She just lowered her head.

"No, don't… don't do that." Paul pleaded, gently lifting her chin with his hand, trying to get her to meet his eyes. "Please Sine…"

"You don't understand, Paul…" She whispered, shaking her head though she allowed him to pull her between the stores, into a narrow passageway.

"Then explain it to me."

"I can't…" She tilted her face up when he cupped her cheek, eyes closing for a brief second. "I have to go, I have too."

His hand dropped as she backed away, trying to understand why his heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest.