When John stopped in front of Hestia, of course she could no longer avoid his eye contact. She wasn't exactly sure what warranted this change in his actions, but hoped that whatever he had to say wasn't going to put her on the spot. Maybe she'd not done her hand at disciplining the former couple at the pitch, and he wanted to address the problem? Whatever it was, she couldn't help but fear she'd overstepped some unspoken boundary between them.
And then it came; he spoke. She didn't know how to take the fact that Dawlish had now began to indulge her in his past. Certainly she couldn't have offended him, right? He started out addressing their differences, and him being so strong and proud of who he was, he must've meant that she wasn't the correct shade of 'tough' in comparison to him. Hes couldn't debate that; he was probably right. Her own self-confidence and lack of ability to speak boldly toward others had certainly been an obstacle when she first embarked on her auror training, and it was something to this day she was still overcoming. But what warranted him to bring that up? He continued talking, thus Hestia refused to allow herself to brood over her own questions, at least not here and now. He clearly had some things to get off his chest, and she'd be a proper mate and listen attentively. It was, perhaps, one of the things she did best; very few could argue that Hestia Jones was anything but.
She had so much she wanted to ask; questions that were aside from her own selfish curiosities. What exactly had John Dawlish gone up against? What horrors had he seen? Perhaps the most vivid of questions that presented itself: what was he talking about in relation to his past with his family, particularly his father? It wasn't like her to interrupt, and far from her to intrude on another's privacy. All that being said, Hes ran her cold fingertips through her hair while forcing her eyes away from John momentarily. She had absolutely no clue what to make of all this. Did he want her input? Was she meant to be a silent ear and a shoulder to cry on? It was hard to consider John needing her for anything, least of all that. She took in a rather large breath of cool air and turned her glazed eyes back to his, fighting within herself over his aim.
His next string of words hit her like a ton of bricks. Clearly John had seen right through her; of course, it probably wasn't that difficult of a task, though Hestia had told herself quite convincingly for sometime now that she had mastered the art of remaining another face in the crowd. She'd assumed, no matter how incorrectly, that no one considered her smitten with anything apart from her job as an auror. Yet, as sharp as Dawlish was, he'd noticed. She must've gotten too close to him, and now he was letting her know it had gone too far. It took all the courage she could muster up, which was slim to none, in order for her to keep her composure. Could she be bold enough to hope for a voice? Only one way to find out.
"I understand," she agreed after a minute or so of silence. Brilliant; her voice hadn't failed her. At least not yet. Her facial features, however, were another battle entirely. Hestia turned such a deep shade of red that she could shame a rose, her eyes betraying her conflicting emotions so much so that she had to turn her gaze back to her feet. "I'm so sorry, John. I didn't realise..." She'd overstepped their boundaries, just as she feared. A few seconds of self-pity ensued, but when Hestia recognized it and could call it for what it was, she mentally chastised herself and continued to put her coworker's feelings before hers. In all her years, at least she could say that she was effective at shoving out anything that threatened her ability to be a loyal, selfless mate. Of course, others would add it came at the expense of her own heart. Hestia disagreed. Ensuring the happiness of her mates, helping others... that's what she lived for. Personal life came second to that.
"You're right. A-and I don't want you to worry... you won't have to mention it again. I understand," she assured him with a phony smile, attempting to be stronger than she was.