Written In Stone

Jason was enjoying himself quite a bit. Of course, Lydia didn't seem to feel the same way.

The two of them were in his office. In front of them was a stack of papers longer than his sword, as usual. The difference was that this time, he wasn't just relying on himself. Lydia didn't seem to be all that keen to do paperwork. Of course, Lorelei didn't like such things either.

The two of them worked in silence for about a half hour. It took a bit of teaching but, as it turned out, Lydia took quite quickly to paperwork. With her help, the two of them made amazing progress, by his standards.

This one pertained to the Temple of Spirits. With their yearly event coming up, the temple was not-so-subtly requesting a donation. They had already done this a number of times, to Jason's irritation. Jason would still provide one, of course, but it would be paid in items, rather than money. Have them cash it out themselves, if they wished.

"This is quite fun," Jason commented.

"How," Lydia started, flapping the paper in her hands. "How is this a fun time to you?"

"It's a nice change," Jason responded. "Plus, I get to take care of some of this work."

"Is that your idea of fun?" Lydia asked. "That's sad, Jason."

Jason quirked a brow. "No offense, though?"

"Anyone who says that always ends up offending the person anyway," Lydia said dismissively. "Plus, if something this boring gets you excited, you need the wake-up call."

"And who is to say that I do not like doing such paperwork?" Jason asked.

"The fact that you're always doing it," Lydia said. "No matter how much you like something, doing it over and over again will always kill the fun eventually. Why do you do it, anyway?"

"It needs to be done," Jason said simply. "If I don't, then who will?"

"So that's it?" Lydia said. "You're just going to work your life away because you feel responsible for it? What about your aide? Have you hired assistants?"

"I can't trust many people with information as sensitive as this," Jason said. "I can't risk any secrets leaking through."

"Then what does your aide do?"

"He manages the staff, for one. He essentially handles the things within the manor," Jason answered.

"How do you not see a problem with this?" Lydia asked. She stood to face him. "You're taking on way too much! It's not fair. It's not right. You need help!"

"Why do you suddenly care about my workload?" As kids, Lorelei had asked about it but, as adults, she had Jason handle the paperwork. He was better at it, after all.

"And these papers you gave me? They look like the most basic things you could have given me, which is still more than you gave your aide. This stuff is normally part of his job," Lydia said. "How do you expect someone to succeed you if you can't trust anyone with your papers?" 

Jason's humor vanished. "Just keep working," he said sharply.

Children had always been a point of contention to him. Though they had never discussed it together, Jason very much wanted children. The problem with marrying your best friend was that it made such things quite awkward to discuss. It didn't help that he knew for a fact that Lorelei did not want kids herself.

Even so, he had always imagined his children being with Lorelei, since that's who he married. Now, he thought about having an heir with Lydia. Did Lydia want kids? What would the child look like? What did Lydia look like?

Shaking off his thoughts, Jason continued reading through the paperwork. This document was requesting monetary support. Yes, support was nice. Lydia was supporting him now, albeit begrudgingly. Lorelei often supported him with event planning and guest entertainment. It was nice to have someone help him with menial tasks like this.

"This document looks important," Lydia said. "It says something about furniture for a ball?"

Jason took the paper from her, reading for a moment. "This paper is confirming the Terrtrove family's support in providing furniture creation and repair for the upcoming ball."

"The ball," Lydia said. A statement, not a question.

"The social event of the year," Jason said. "If I recall, you recently bought your gown for the event."

"Yes, I know that."

Clearly.

Lydia picked up another paper, then scoffed. "A love letter? Really? You can't have your aide handle this, at least?"

"It's a menial task," Jason said. "Further, these people worked hard to craft such notes."

"'You are the core of my soul; the balm to my chaos,'" Lydia read dramatically.

She tossed the note aside. "Honestly, this is crazy. You've been married for how long?"

"It isn't like I respond to such letters," Jason said.

"Then you can let your aide handle it," Lydia said.

"Oh?" Jason smirked. "Is someone jealous?"

"Absolutely not," Lydia said. "I'm worried."

"It hasn't seemed to affect your reputation thus far," Jason pointed out.

"This has nothing to do with my reputation," Lydia shot back. "You spend all your time in this room. All you do is work, work, work! Where's the fun in that?"

"Right here," Jason said, gesturing to her.

"If your only measure of fun is doing your work with someone else, then something needs to change," Lydia said. She paused as if reconsidering her angle. "You had fun when were rode Bentley."

"Yes, and?"

"If you let your aide take some of this work, you can do more things like that," Lydia said.

Jason approached her. "Oh, I see," he said with a smirk. He came within five inches of her, breathing lightly onto her. "You want to spend more time with your husband, is that it?"

"I want my husband to have a life," Lydia said. meeting his eyes.

"I have a life."

"Not here, you don't."

"Says who?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. "We're getting nowhere with this," she said. "And, if you're gonna get this close, at least buy me dinner, first."

"Done."

Lydia's eyes widened as Jason retreated from her. "I'm sorry?"

"What time do you think I should take you?" Jason asked casually.

"Maybe around nine?" Lydia asked.

That was after Lorelei went to sleep. "Then it's a date."