"Come, let us sit and talk. My servants will soon bring out our breakfast, so we must be comfortable for such a lengthy conversation."
Jason allowed Hesabeth to pull him towards the large blanket that had been laid out on the grass under a massive tree. Once they got close, Jason took his hand back and moved to sit on one side of the blanket. Hesabeth quickly tried to take the seat beside him, but Jason shook his head and pointed to the opposite side authoritatively. Hesabeth’s face immediately puffed into a cute pout, and Jason just raised a brow at her childish action before pointing more forcefully. Hesabeth just clicked her tongue as she went to sit down where Jason had pointed, and then she turned to Jason with a scowl and said:
"You should consider yourself lucky that I am such a magnanimous woman, but even my patience runs thin at times. You will not dictate my actions in this relationship."
"We’re not in a relationship, Hesabeth."
"Not yet! But when we do enter a relationship, you’ll be my lover, not my master!"
"Mhmm, sure, sure. Just tell me what I want to know."
Jason waved Hesabeth’s complaints away nonchalantly, and Hesabeth’s face grew red as she raised her hand to try to hit him angrily! But Hesabeth stopped and let out a sigh as she realised how useless that would be! Hesabeth put a hand over her face and took in a deep breath to calm herself! What was it about Jason that always made her lose her composure so easily!? Honestly, it was as though Hesbeath became a little child whenever she was around Jason! Hesabeth refused to admit that the only reason she was acting this way was because she knew she could let her guard down around Jason! Jason was one of the only people who saw Hesabeth for who she truly was and not the almighty child of the Primordial Expanse who could have anything that she wanted! Hesabeth had developed a prideful and exalted attitude toward others because she knew that she had every right to look down on them, but things were different around Jason. Jason could actually call Hesabeth out for anything that she does, and that made Hesabeth feel like she could be herself!
Hesabeth peeked at Jason through her fingers, and she saw him leaning back on his hands and staring up at the light snaking through the leaves. Jason’s body was covered in various runes that made him look like a warrior from one of Hesabeth’s old storybooks, and his long hair flowed freely in the wind and gave him a calm and peaceful aura that entranced Hesabeth. In truth, Hesabeth knew that a large part of her attraction to Jason came from the fact that he wasn’t influenced by her powers, and he could see her for who she truly was. But even if Jason had been influenced by her abilities, Hesabeth knew that she would’ve still been interested in Jason because of how attractive he was as a man! Just looking at Jason was enough to make Hesabeth’s stomach feel extremely hot, and Hesabeth didn’t even know when she bit her lip while looking over Jason’s body like a hungry lioness.
"Hesabeth."
"!"
Hesabeth suddenly snapped back to reality as she heard her name, and she was shocked when she saw that her servants had already brought the food for them! Jason was staring at Hesabeth with a raised brow, and Hesabeth realised that she had completely zoned out while staring at Jason’s body! Hesbaeth’s cheeks grew extremely red in embarrassment, and she quickly turned towards the three tiny servants that were still standing at her side and waiting for her orders.
"Leave us."
Hesabeth gave a simple order, and the servants all bowed before they quickly ran back inside. Hesabeth then turned to the food and began to pour some tea into a pair of cups while speaking.
"So, you were asking about the outside world. Well, there’s a lot that happened since you were asleep..."
Jason could tell that Hesabeth intended to completely ignore what had just happened, and Jason scoffed in amusement as he collected the cup of tea that Hesabeth handed to him and put it aside. Hesabeth’s cheeks were still slightly red, and Jason noticed that Hesabeth was trying not to look him in the eye as she took up her own cup and drank some of the tea. Hesabeth finally looked up at Jason after a few seconds, and Jason couldn’t help but laugh as Hesabeth’s face grew impossibly red all over again!
"Don’t laugh at me!"
Hesabeth dropped her cup hard on the floor as she glared at Jason, but her cheeks were still extremely red, and instead of looking angry, she only managed to make herself look even cuter! This made Jason laugh even harder, and Hesabeth’s face only grew redder and redder, until she eventually chuckled as well, and the two of them were laughing together at her embarrassment! It took a few more minutes for them to come down from their laughter, and Jason eventually spoke up.
"I had no idea you could actually feel embarrassed about anything."
Hesabeth frowned.
"What are you talking about? Of course, I feel embarrassed about things too."
Jason shrugged, and he waved his hand over Hesabeth as he said:
"I don’t know, you just always seem so in control every time we met, and everything I heard about you made it look like you were some almighty being that never made any mistakes. The perfect woman."
Hesabeth looked down into her cup of tea as her frown deepened even more. Hesabeth could understand why people would see her in that way since she always portrayed herself to be perfect. And in truth, Hesabeth was perfect, so there was no reason for her to think she was anything else. But for some reason, hearing Jason say this made her feel strange inside. There was a weird feeling of discontent in Hesabeth’s heart at this moment, and Hesabeth didn’t understand where that feeling came from. When Hesabeth next spoke, it was in a voice that showed just how vulnerable she truly was.
"Is that what you see me as, Jason? Do you think I’m perfect as well?"
Jason hummed curiously, and Hesabeth couldn’t even look at him as she waited for an answer. Hesabeth didn’t know why she asked that question. But for some reason, she just didn’t like the thought of Jason seeing her in the same way everyone else did. It sounded crazy to her, but Hesabeth didn’t want Jason to think she was perfect! Jason could hear the hidden vulnerability in Hesabeth’s voice, and he knew that this was something important to her. In truth, if Hesabeth had asked Jason this question a few days ago, then his answer would’ve been undoubtedly yes. Hesabeth was a woman loved by the world, and everything she desired was granted to her without fail. It was impossible not to think that someone like that was perfect. But now that Jason had faced Hesabeth in battle, and he had seen her in such a vulnerable state, Jason knew better than to call her perfect.
"No, you’re not perfect. You’re just a regular woman who blushes while staring at a man’s chest, and who just so happens to be protected by the world itself. A perfectly normal woman."
Hesabeth looked up at Jason with hope in her eyes when Jason said that she wasn’t perfect, but when Hesabeth heard the rest of what Jason said, she felt that intense blush returning with a vengeance, and she couldn’t help but chuckle as she took another drink of tea.
"You enjoy embarrassing people, don’t you?"