It was a quiet evening in the secret passageway underneath the church with Hestia half curled up over top Bell, hands soft and gentle wherever they brushed.
Her eyes were fluttering closed, and her heart beat was slowing to a gentle purr.
Bell's fingers curled through her dark hair, treading among the strands as if they truly belonged there, and with the familiarity of one who did so so often.
Hestia hummed, a deep sound caught somewhere in her chest, and further relaxed against her boyfriend.
Things had certainly smoothed out since the only member of her Familia and her had started dating; they'd had awkward stumbles, near misses, and fumbling words even though they trusted each other so, so much.
Hestia remembers how, while she was used to this, Bell would sometimes stammer at things that weren't particularly new; the way she tended to sleep on top of him, the way she looked when her hair fell flat down her back, and the loving look that sometimes graced her face.
She had no excuse or rather couldn't simply write it off, because she'd done almost the same thing, checking his status felt alarmingly different when her fingers touched his bare back now; her mind danced through thoughts so rapidly then, could she or could she not?
Hestia had once saw a look in Bell's face directed at her that had only lit up his face before when he talked about Aiz that left her stumbling; she'd froze, and her face had lit up like a Christmas tree.
The things that boy did to her.
She'd definitely fallen into the swing of things with Bell lately like he had with her; they often ended their nights if Bell didn't have to stay in the dungeon overnight with cuddles on the couch, relaxing, and sometimes even talking about their day.
Their evenings came with chatter before hand, while they ate whether at their place or The Hostess Of Fertility that they frequented since they made more money now; they'd laugh and ramble on.
It wasn't much different than before, but it certainly felt different.
Hestia often stumbled over how intimate everything felt now like they'd just become so much closer since they'd decided to date officially as their first date did not count in the least; she wasn't used to having someone that she cared for like this, wasn't used to the way he invaded her thoughts. Perhaps she should have gotten used to it.
The goddess smiled to herself as they settled in a new position, nice and warm and plenty comfortable, though her mind tended to wander to what all of this meant.
There weren't many gods or goddesses that she felt remotely close to, in fact sometimes it felt like she wasn't close to the vast majority of them; she'd never experienced kinship quite this way before.
She'd wanted to call Bell her boy at first, her son, but it hadn't taken long for him to settle down in her heart and never leave; she'd been used to the life of a goddess, not of love like this.
Hestia cared for Bell far more than she'd ever have realized on her own if she hadn't grown so close to him, she'd doubt her own feelings.
She'd often been an outward sign of what she's feeling within, jealousy spiked like a stake through her chest, laughing or crying or just anything else really stuck out.
Part of it was just who she was; she believed that it was best to wear your emotions on your sleeves, but yet another part of it was due to how new this was.
She'd formed bonds with other gods and goddesses, knew friendship, but with Bell, it was always so different.
Hestia snuggled closer, fingers twirling through the parts of Bell's hair that hung a little low, and smiled.
She loved spending her time intertwined with him, and while it was innocent, regardless of what some of the goddesses implied, she was happy like this.
Hestia did sometimes wonder though when her mind wandered too far, how they were supposed to make this work over the long run; Bell was an adventurer, she was a goddess, it wouldn't necessarily be possible to just buy a marriage certificate.
She cuddled closer before closing her eyes and letting impulse take her away; it was her favorite way to live life instead of planning things out after all.