Love and the Time Travel Paradox

12:30PM

They'd left her apartment with her arm still looped in his. She'd walked tall and proud, looking straight ahead and ignoring the wide-eyed gape of some of her neighbors and the handful of people milling about the streets.

After a minute, she'd finally relaxed. And so did he. She didn't even realize how tense he'd been until he sighed, so focused she'd been on ignoring the whispers and the stares. There was no going back.

Everyone in the gossip vine would know of them by tonight. Everybody else in the village would follow suit, and would be well informed by tomorrow morning.

When she thought about it, really thought about it, she was scared. One year ago, she'd done everything she could just to keep attention away from herself after the divorce. In those first dark months, she had been paranoid of strangers. She was sure they were whispering about her.

...He was a diplomat of a foreign village. He had said that he'd wanted to quit, but she could sense how much his accomplishments meant to him.

She wasn't like him; she didn't sit through meetings that had the potential to alter the lives of millions of people.

She had been a more hands-on person, as a doctor. She didn't decide anything for her patients other than what treatments or medicine they would get. If anything, she was an enabler who gave people the chance to choose their own fates.

Their occupations were as different as night and day.

12:40PM

As their footsteps slowed and stopped, he turned his head to the side and studied her closely.

"Something's wrong."

She looked back at him, not accepting or denying his observation.

It wasn't about feeling embarrassed to be seen in public with him. She wanted this.

But she didn't want to drag him down with her, any more than necessary. So she slowly, reluctantly began to pull her arm out from the crook of his elbow.

A large hand grasped her much smaller one before it slipped away completely and held it in place, halting her retreat.

"Please, don't."

His plea was a soft brush against her hair.

The firm grip of his hand, the concern in his voice, the sudden closeness of his body all invaded her senses so fast she had no chance to erect her emotional defenses. Her knees went weak, and she leaned into him.

Gods above, but he felt so good. She closed her eyes, absorbed the heat and strength of him and struggled to regain her sanity.

He murmured her name, the warmth of his voice was nothing less than a caress.

Summoning her strength, she shifted her weight off of him.

When she opened her eyes, her gaze was caught up in his. The hurt was never so clearly visible in those jade eyes than before now.

Somehow, she felt almost caged in by his presence alone... no wait, actually, that was the feel of his palm at the small of her back. He was still holding her hand, but he'd freed his arm to pull her close without her realizing it.

With as much tact as she could muster, she tried to explain herself. He'd already indirectly told her that he knew about what had happened to her, so she didn't beat around the bush.

"It isn't you, it's me. Today has been such a beautiful day, and I... I don't want to ruin it. It's still not too late; if I let go now, your reputation-"

Her next words died in her throat at the sight of his dark smile. It was just a slight upward quirk of his lips, not a true smile. But it, and the gleam in his eyes, left her feeling very unsettled and alarmed.

And then it disappeared in the next second, just as quickly as it appeared.

Looking at his calm, stoic expression, she almost believed she had imagined it. But then again, she wouldn't be a very good jounin or a doctor if she couldn't catch details like these.

The hand that held hers gave a reassuring squeeze.

"No one will speak badly of you."

She bristled.

"I said, I'm not worried about that! It's you I'm worried about!"

His teal eyes were studying her again, as if he wasn't quite sure what to make of her vehement defense of his public status.

"...Thank you, for worrying about me. But I am no stranger to the cruelty of other people. People hear what they want to hear, and believe what they wish to believe."

The hand at her back was rubbing small circles into her skin. She had to fight to stay focused on what he was telling her.

"It's very indulgent of me, but I often dreamed of simple pleasures like this. Spending time with you, in a peaceful era. I am happy that you aren't ashamed to be seen with me. And I am not ashamed to be seen with you, either."

She grit her teeth and prepared another argument. Of the two of them, she was the adult who had experienced married life, and experienced balancing it with other aspects of her life. She had to be the responsible one, the mature one between them.

"I don't want either of us to suffer needlessly from gossip just because we walked through a crowded shopping district together."

"I never cared about other people. As long as I have... as long as I have the people I care about, I can survive anything."

"Stop saying that other people don't matter because they can and they will make living very hard for you no matter what! Besides, I know you want to quit eventually but you're still a Suna ambassador! Don't you care about how your people, your family, will be reflected in other villages' eyes when you walk in full view of the public eye with someone like me, hanging off your arm?"

He finally released her from his hold and bowed his head, his red hair hiding his eyes.

"Family... I do not have one."

"W-what?"

"As for the citizens of Suna, I have never cared for any of them."

"What? How can you say that?!"

She was almost rendered speechless by his cold words and bland delivery. How could he say those things, as a diplomat who supposedly represented their interests? Studying trends, keeping abreast with world events, and acquiring intimate knowledge of the culture could only carry you so far. At least, that's what she believed. Because you couldn't represent a place if you didn't care about it, right?

But apparently you could, if the redhead standing before her was being honest.

Maybe it was a reality of life. Maybe she was overreacting.

It wasn't sitting right with her at all.

And just like that, the atmosphere between them was tense and awkward once again.

12:55AM

Suddenly, he sighed and glanced up.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sour the mood. And I understand if you don't feel like spending any more time today, together..."

He was not apologizing for his beliefs, because that was what they were. Beliefs.

Having a discussion about their respective beliefs could be delayed until they were in a more secure location, not in the middle of a small street.

She could come to a compromise with him at least. For now.

"...I'm sorry too, for forcing you to bring up a topic you weren't comfortable with. And I still want to spend the day with you."

Making a compromise was obviously on his mind as well.

"Going back to our original discussion. I don't completely understand your apprehension, but you've made it clear that you wish to walk with me in public, just as much as I do. Why don't we choose a single store, and then leave immediately after finishing our business?"

He was considering her feelings.

Despite his admission to not fully understanding her emotions, she felt her heart melt and her walls crumble because he was making real effort to try. So she could respond to his sincerity by meeting him halfway.

She stepped up to him and wrapped her arm around his again.

"I'll keep hanging on to you just like this, as long as we stick to the private roads."

He reached over and grasped her hand again.

"I would like that, very much."

01:10PM

It was almost like coming around to a full circle.

She'd given up on her binge drinking and snacking a mere four days after her chance meeting with the brusque, yet kind man from her childhood. Not long after, she'd rescued him from endless days of convenience store food and cleaned up her own pathetic behavior in one fell swoop.

There was still the occasional twinge of longing, but there were no regrets when she swore off alcohol.

And to this day, she'd made good on her self-imposed cleansing period while keeping a careful track of her redheaded friend's diet.

"This is the usual place I bought my drinks from. The chocolate, too."

"Ah."

So why were they standing in front of this convenience store now? Granted, there weren't many shops on this private road they could duck into.

She was still frowning, uncertain, when he led her inside.

01:16PM

Inside the convenience store, she became acquainted with another side to him.

Jade eyes glared at the items in his hands, as if willing them to reveal all of their secrets by intimidating them.

She scratched her head.

"Uhm? They're the same. You don't need to study them so hard, you know?"

He grunted.

"They have similar appearances, and are the same brand. But it's best to make sure you get your money's worth. This one for example has more beef than the other one, but has less greens..."

Somehow, she couldn't stop staring at him while he seriously compared two packages of frozen spring rolls and gave her tips.

The world's leading expert on convenience store food?

01:20PM

The cashier with the very weird stare was back with a vengeance.

At this point, she was ready to confront him. She didn't have to deal with such blatant rudeness, and she didn't want to. Not anymore.

Crimson suddenly blocked her vision.

The redhead's voice was frighteningly steady.

"Excuse me. I would appreciate it if you rung up our purchases so we could be on our way."

The cashier startled so badly, he almost caused the cash register to topple to the floor.

01:25PM

After that very eventful time at the register, they'd promptly left the store and took cover behind a different shop.

"What is this called?"

She poked at the white little rectangle package. He'd chosen it with a glowing and heartfelt recommendation. But she couldn't figure out what it was because of the wrapping paper. Other than the name and the price, it didn't indicate what it was supposed to be.

He calmly took one bite of his hard-won, tuna-and-egg sandwich.

"That is a bomb."

"What?!"

Her ingrained self-defense instincts took over.

His hand caught the packaged food before it dropped to the ground. He cleared his throat and held it out for her to take.

"...This is a bomb. It consists of pork loin, sugar, and a spicy sauce wrapped in a steamed bun. And its nutritional content value is-"

"Things like this exist?"

With trepidation, she picked it back up and attempted to rip open the paper.

"Oh. You need to open it like this so you don't accidentally break it..."

She watched, flabbergasted, as he expertly tore one corner and pried it open, the bun inside completely untouched and unharmed.

"You're really... you're really good at this stuff."

His smile was boyishly proud.

"I've had years of practice and experience."

She blinked suspiciously at the unknown, weirdly-shaped 'food' she now held in her two hands before biting into it. As he promised, it was delicious. She never would have gotten this on her own without his recommendation.

Not the expert. The master of convenience store food.

TBC...