[He wonders how honest he should be. In the end, John really is a wretched liar and being direct will probably get this sorted more quickly than playing coy.]
Because the woman I meet and marry in my universe at some point in my future is here and from her perspective, I'm her husband.
[A little less human problems, a little more timeline weirdness problems.]
I don't pity her. [The words are snapped and his hat twitches again. He does. A bit.] I just don't want to make this any harder on her than it needs to be. She already had to deal with... a version she knew of me in the other place she was being with someone else. [John is going to very deliberately not name names on who that other person was in the Box.] I don't want to put her through that again, especially not with a woman who already has a husband-mate-whatever you call Navarro.
I asked her out for coffee when I'm back to normal. We'll see how things go. She seems nice.
[She seems terrifyingly devoted to him when he barely knows her. And he's still waiting for the other shoe to drop and for her to show off the side of her that apparently put a bullet through his best friend.]
[But then this whole situation is totally ridiculous, so maybe nice is all she needs to be.]
Well, it's entirely your decision if you're going to date someone out of pity. [She shrugs.] That's what it is, if you're planning on arguing. You feel bad for her because of what some other version of you did, so you're trying to make up for it, even though it wasn't you who actually did anything to her.
I'm not asking her out because of what someone else did. She is nice. I do ask women out. And this is about not repeating a mistake someone else made and hurting her. If it doesn't work out between us, then it doesn't work out.
[And he'll just be celibate and alone and snuggling with Phil's wolf form for comfort forever.]
It might be better if it doesn't work. I wasn't planning on staying here, anyway. I need to get back to Norfinbury.
[There isn't any argument from her this time, though her skeptical expression is more than enough on that end. There's no way he can't feel at least a little obligated towards her, but he's a stubborn adult who can make his own decisions and is going to do what he wants.]
I am fairly sure that if you go into it with that attitude it won't.
[It's not evident behind his sunglasses, but John narrows his eyes at her. The leg of his trousers twitches once more.]
Why d'you care? I just wanted to tell you I won't be fooling about again. If you want to come to the clinic to be the mascot, that's all it's going to be. I'm not looking to flirt or... whatever again.
[It's hard not to have an opinion about such a bizarre situation, especially when after bonfire night she has a slightly more pleasant view of him. But she holds her tongue and just smiles.]
It's none of my business. You let me know when the clinic is open again and when you want me to come by.
[She won't, there's more she could say but he seems very done with this conversation at the moment. That's fine, he clearly has a lot on his plate right now.
She'll give him a little wave before turning to head back inside.]
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[Complicated Human Reasons, she assumes, because humans are terrible at accepting a good thing as it is without making it into a huge deal.]
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Because the woman I meet and marry in my universe at some point in my future is here and from her perspective, I'm her husband.
[A little less human problems, a little more timeline weirdness problems.]
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[She's saying that with a very casual 'huh' kind of tone, she isn't expecting an answer to that question.]
And from your perspective you aren't, is that right? So you just pity her enough to make yourself unhappy.
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[She stands, stretching her arms over her head. She's disappointed, sure, but it isn't the end of the world or anything.]
Are you going to date her, then?
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I asked her out for coffee when I'm back to normal. We'll see how things go. She seems nice.
[She seems terrifyingly devoted to him when he barely knows her. And he's still waiting for the other shoe to drop and for her to show off the side of her that apparently put a bullet through his best friend.]
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[But then this whole situation is totally ridiculous, so maybe nice is all she needs to be.]
Well, it's entirely your decision if you're going to date someone out of pity. [She shrugs.] That's what it is, if you're planning on arguing. You feel bad for her because of what some other version of you did, so you're trying to make up for it, even though it wasn't you who actually did anything to her.
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I'm not asking her out because of what someone else did. She is nice. I do ask women out. And this is about not repeating a mistake someone else made and hurting her. If it doesn't work out between us, then it doesn't work out.
[And he'll just be celibate and alone and snuggling with Phil's wolf form for comfort forever.]
It might be better if it doesn't work. I wasn't planning on staying here, anyway. I need to get back to Norfinbury.
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I am fairly sure that if you go into it with that attitude it won't.
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Why d'you care? I just wanted to tell you I won't be fooling about again. If you want to come to the clinic to be the mascot, that's all it's going to be. I'm not looking to flirt or... whatever again.
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It's none of my business. You let me know when the clinic is open again and when you want me to come by.
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Right. Fine. I'll let you know. Good afternoon.
[Unless she stops him, he'll stalk off, back to his house, feeling embarrassed and uncertain about many things.]
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She'll give him a little wave before turning to head back inside.]