Alethea was surprised with herself, finding it odd that she was more concerned with how an injury, or her own death would affect Thal-ion than she was for her own safety. But then, she supposed it wasn't really that strange, if she thought about it. Jedi were trained to face injury and death without fear or worry. It made sense that she would not fear these things for her own sake. Yet for his sake, she did not wish to experience such things.<br/><br/>She could feel his presence, the warmth he shared with her, as if trying to reassure her. Likewise, she felt, or perhaps she merely saw it in his thoughts, that love and fear could not coexist. And she knew that it was true. She thought that it was, perhaps, this fear of hurting him that prevented her from loving him as he did her. It was because she cared for him that she worried for him, but that was, perhaps, not really love. For love, she thought, was to give oneself to another, and to place their own needs above your own.<br/><br/>While she might have thought this was what she was doing, it was not. Not really. She thought that by keeping herself from fully allowing herself to care for him she was protecting him, but was she really? No. Love was not without pain, and to fear the pain that love may bring was to fear love itself, and in that fear, love could not exist.<br/><br/>She contemplated this as his voice spoke up, telling her that they would do their duty, telling her not to be afraid, because come what may, they would not falter. His voice was sincere, warm, and reassuring, and his smile, which never wavered, was real and comforting. She found herself nodding, smiling in return. "Yeah. You're right," she replied gently, knowing that she must not fear what was to come, for his sake or for her own.<br/><br/>She then began eat once more, finishing off her food just as he spoke again. He wanted to know about her? She guessed that wasn't terribly surprising. He cared for her, as she cared for him, and such a desire was to be expected. She, too, wished to know about him, as a person, not just as a Jedi. Now seemed as good a time as any, as they had some time to kill, and it was best that they didn't waste energy training or sparring when they would no doubt face another Sith before their time here was over.<br/><br/>She smiled when he asked her favorite color, blushing once again as he did. She chuckled a little at how easily embarrassed he could be. He confessed that his favorite color was emerald, which she thought suited him. "Aqua has always been my favorite, "she replied, pausing for a moment and then smiling, "But Emerald has been growing on me lately," she added, referring to the color of his eyes, and wondering if he would catch the reference. A light, playful smile lingered on her lips as she watched him for a moment, trying to gauge his reaction.<br/><br/>After a few moments, she stood, taking her empty metal box and holding out a hand for him to pass his to her, then taking them to the disposal bin and tossing them. She then returned, but rather than passing him by and taking her seat, she moved behind him, leaning over and peering into his face upside, looking as though she were contemplating something for a moment before nodding, as if she had gotten her answer.<br/><br/>Yet she didn't immediately move to leave, instead she lingered, as if she suddenly hadn't the desire to move. An affectionate smile played across her lips as she noted that he was still blushing, perhaps even more so now. She wasn't quite sure why, but she found it quite adorable, and without thinking about it, she had leaned in and placed another gentle kiss on his lips.<br/><br/>After a very terribly short moments, she pulled back, staring at him, eyes slightly wide as if she had only just realized what she had done. She tried to play it cool, but a blush quickly appeared on her cheeks. "I keep doing that..." she half mumbled, and it was unclear whether she was speaking to him or to herself. She then stood up and moved to return to her place in front of him, plopping down into a criss-cross sitting position, her cheeks still pink and her eyes staring down at the floor as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "Sorry," she muttered, although she wasn't really sure for what she was apologizing.