Disclaimer: Own Nothing
Warning: This contains EXTREME Age difference, however both are of age, and fully able to consent and understand their age, love is love regardless.
Other then that this is one of my all time favourite plot bunnies so far. So please enjoy!
Its also only a 3-shot yay!
What an incident it had been. A mistake, yet it had triggered such a spark, and while I cannot know exactly what the other felt at the time. It felt as if I had clover wrapped around my heart. He smiled and the spell had been cast. It had truly been such a slow progression there had been times he had thought it to be merely a play of his imaginings. Such thought never prolonged for he always saw when there was a dip to my energy, and answered in turn by becoming more affectionate.
Cautious, he was always stepping around the water instead of walking through, and I know he can't have always been this way which is why it was so difficult to witness. Nevertheless how could I argue with him when he had such a fractured expression. So when he hesitated in touching me, whether it be my shoulder or a slight peck upon my cheek I never complained, how could I? He wasn't a fragile man so much as one who had experienced to much, and for the most part I knew that he was wary that I would leave him because of his age and appearance, regardless of how painful that is to can recognize. I see nothing wrong with our relationship.
He would sit at the small table of the inn, and I would stand at the counter attempting a new and inventive recipe I had found. Breakfast had been such a silent affair, he would be in closed within his thoughts, and I would think upon a list of things that needed to be done, chores around the house or a date I had thought of while in the market it mattered not what, he followed along regardless.
Due to is advanced age I did everything around the house, it never bugged me, I was rather used to it after all -though I had never been so scrupulous with cleaning as I began to be whence I started living with him- he always seemed on edge whenever I was cleaning or cooking, weeding the garden and taking odd jobs from the small shipping village. No, I know for a fact he hated it, he had been such an active man in his youth that such inactivity and inability irritated him. His hands would twitch and his eyes would harden into sharp points upon my hands, at which point I would stop what I was doing, and drag him outside for the date I had planned.
He always has his scythe with him, a deadly weapon though it is, he uses it as a cane of sorts and I'll admit it did attract me to him originally. It had been such a symbolic thing at that point at time to me, even in my nativity I had known that it had been something very representative of the man holding it, because that was it, he had been merely holding it as one would a cane, and not welding it was the weapon it was.
Of course now I am aware of the fact that he was far to paranoid to part with it, always shifting and monitoring his surroundings in preparation for an oncoming threat. At first I hadn't understood, so I had regarded our surroundings as he did, when I did however, his eyes would cast down and he would relent in his search. Once it occurred to me that he once more felt useless in comparison to my youth I myself stopped, and allowed him to do as he bid without preamble trusting his judgement, and understanding that although he was older and his chakra was weak, he could probably still kick some ass with Taijutsu alone.
As I mentioned, we had met entirely by accident, I had been wondering around a small village near the border of the fire country I had been seeking ero-sannin actually with no luck to speak of, the man was hard to find without a crisis on ones shoulder. It had been when I had been eyeing the onsen the village had become rather known for did he meet Madara. Of course at this point it had been under the pretext of another name all together.
I had breaked just across from the hot-waters at a small sweat shop for some sweat tea and a some dango to calm my nerves from their frayed and slightly angered state. However, the poor serving woman had been having issues with my and some others orders, so I did my best to assist her, she was close to falling over with the tray and her pregnant belly. However, once I turned to sit down at my table once more there was a rowdy gang of men sitting there. Not in the mood for such disruptions, I admit, I might have been a bit brash in my confrontation as I would have been were I still a small runt with a lot of energy and extensive anger at the world.
Naturally, I had told them that I had been at the table first, when they had asked why that mattered, I did get a little angry, and began yelling, childish as it had been. Which is where they then began sneering at me and not in a disgusted manner as one would expect. Instead they looked at me like something to be lowered down and eaten.
This is where an old man had stepped in, having seen their gazes become preyful he came to my rescue -though he was probably aware of the fact that as a shinobi I didn't really need it, I suspect it was out of some sense of morale or chivalry- He hadn't done much, simple actions ya' know? But he had stood beside me and spoken in this deep but harsh -from age- baritone in a calm manner his eyes however stared the all the man down with one clean swoop.
Even now, I know not what he said, I had been paying attention only to his eyes, black like coal with a thin red outline around the pupil. -I would later find out it had been due to his enteral mankoyo sharingan- but his eyes had allured me, they looked familiar. Regardless of their colour, not of Sasuke or even Sai, of no one actually. They only looked so familiar because of the lost gleam that they held. The eyes of a man who had lost everything but who was still trudging along because he had to.
The man who had little good thought, had scurried away in fearful state, and in thanks I offered to pay for the mans food and drink. He had accepted with a 'hn' which I had laughed at.
There marked the beginning of our budding relationship -now commitment- in a small sweet tea shop. I began going there regularly, intrigued by the scythe and red-rimmed eyes of the man who had aided me.
I would pay for his sweets, and in turn he would sit in silence glaring at me as I ate my fill. When he finally did speak it was out of irritation, which I had honestly expected. He asked why I was being so kind to him, when he had done little to nothing. Of course to me, someone simply helping me was a large gesture, being that no one had really done it before. That was not how I responded of course, for many didn't understand such reasoning.
Instead I had answered that I had been hoping he would impart upon me a story, why he carried a scythe by his side, or what he had done in his youth. He had grouchily replayed that his weapon had been hand crafted just for him by his father for long battles when he had been just a young boy. I hadn't asked anymore that day.
Over the course of around a month I had asked for more and more stories, and eventually the stubborn man had relented, telling tales of long waged wars, even some of what it had been like living in Konoha during the era of the First Hokage with a face of melancholy. I found all of his tales enrapturing, paying more attention to the stories an old man had to tell then I ever had in the academy.
Eventually we began meeting in venues other then our little shop, my interest turned into infatuation before I could even turn a dime. Although I had known it would be difficult for any sort of relationship to progress, and for a few days I had toiled over the whole thing, I had never been one to skimp out on something that I knew could make me happy. If he declined, then that was that.
It had taken my longer then I had originally desired to, my nerves jittered and shaking whenever I came close to speaking. So instead I had ended up asking about his personal life more then I meant to. At least I learned that he wasn't married, hadn't ever been on fact. I learned also that he was in fact in his 140, but at this point I was resigned, and age wasn't something that would stop me. So, I asked if he would be willing to turn one of our outings into a date.
I had gotten a very confused, and very stricken face that day.
Still, I don't think he regrets saying a cautious yes now.