Alethea smiled back with the same playful twinkle in her eyes as he continued to watch her with a warm smile on his face. Her smile grew when he blushed even more deeply as he continued to eat his food. She found it both cute and amusing, this reaction of his. That is, until he gave her a taste of her own medicine.<br/><br/>Her cheeks flushed a deep crimson, feeling suddenly both embarrassed and bashful when he informed her that the only thing on her face was radiant beauty. "You..." she began but then stopped, biting her lip and staring down and rubbing the back of her neck nervously. "Honestly... How can you say such embarrassing things with a straight face?" she wondered, muttered the whispered words, before stuffing some more food into her mouth lest she say something else.<br/><br/>She continued staring down at her food with still-red cheeks until he spoke again, his voice a husky whisper, making her swallow hard. She felt suddenly somewhat nervous, although not uneasy, when he drew attention to the fact that they were eating alone together in a private setting. Was that what courtship was like? She wondered, but had no real answer, as she'd never found the need to pay much attention to it. The Jedi, the Force, training, learning, that was all she'd ever known, all she'd ever focused on. Never had the idea of courting a man crossed her mind.<br/><br/>Yet she couldn't help but chuckle at his comment towards the setting, which helped to ease her sudden and rather unexpected nerves. "Yes, I suppose it isn't the most romantic of settings," she commented, although she suddenly wondered why that mattered. This wasn't meant to be romantic. They were on a mission, not a date. Yet still, the thought had crossed her mind, for reasons unbeknownst to her.<br/><br/>He explained that he had eaten dinner with his Master before, but it was nothing like this, and then went on to explain her presence. Really? Was that how he saw her? She supposed that she did feel warm, and perhaps her presence echoed that, but she thought it was because of his own warm presence. And she supposed that she was generally seen as calm and relaxed, so maybe that made her presence soothing? Or was it soothing to him for another reason? She couldn't quite piece that one together.<br/><br/>But the latter one. Inviting. That one she believed. She didn't mean it to be such, but perhaps after this morning it was. She had felt something she'd never felt before. She'd wanted something. She'd wanted him. In a way she couldn't explain. And even though she had decided it not a good idea at the time, it didn't erased the desire, nor the part of her that wanted him near. Was that what he had meant, she wondered? Or was it more than that? Something else she couldn't even see in herself?<br/><br/>"You really know how to flatter a girl, don't you?" she teased, a light smile on her face. "But... I'm glad you think so. And I'm glad to share it with you, even if it is aboard a starship in the middle of a desert, half a century in the past," she chuckled, smiling back at him. "It's a nice break from the reality of everything else.<br/><br/>She then resumed eating her food, wanting to finish it before it got cold. But she was aware all the time that much was on his mind as he gazed back at her. His affection was obvious, and warm, and tender, and somehow comforting, even though she might have thought it would have scared her to know that someone cared so much for her. In a way it did, but only because she was afraid of how much it might hurt him if something happened to her. But she was quite determined not to allow anything to happen to her, so that he wouldn't be hurt.<br/><br/>Like him, much was on her mind, yet she couldn't now find words to speak. For the moment, she was content to sit here and enjoy the food he had prepared her, and to be in his presence, in this moment of peace, for as long as it might last.