Bathed in moonlight

"This shall truly be one of the most magnificent duels in history." He said with a mock sense of valiance.

"On the count of three. One. Two... Three" He said, before taking a deep breath and dunking his head under.

He let his body float back up to the surface, his back peaking up from the top of the water, but his head totally submerged.

He allowed his lungs to revert back to the feeling of not being able to breath, and he realized to his disadvantage it just made him want breath more. But he wasn't going to give in any time soon.

Alexis took a deep breath and ducked underwater on his count.
Instead of floating on the water like he did she decided to sink to the bottom, sitting on the pool floor with her arms wrapped around her legs.

She closed her eyes and let her mind wander, she didn't think about wanting to breath, instead she drew her attention away from her lungs.

Instead she focused on Tahir, thinking about training with him once her blade has been repaired, it would be fun to spire with someone that could match her.

A few microscopic bubbles traveled from his lips and his nose as Tahir held his breath. He peeked his eyes open under the water and saw her sitting at the bottom of the pool.

He was mesmerized by the way her silver hair flowed about with the flow of the water, floating around her head and body. She looked like a work of art. Like a perfectly sculpted gem. If he could have freezed his mind to capture the moment he would have.

Caught up by her presence, he too temporarily forgot the need to breath.

She could feel eyes on her, her own fluttered open and she looked up at him, the golden colour of her irises clearly visible through the water.

She gazed up at him with her large bright eyes, a smile pulled at the corner of her lips as she did so.

The vampire could no help but admire him, his body was perfectly sculpted, tight and muscled under his tanned skin.

The fact that he was littered with scars only enticed her more, his trials were evident on his form.

Once her golden eyes flickered up at his own silver ones he felt chills rush over his body. Despite the blurred vision being under water caused, her eyes stood out magnificently.

He couldn't smile, no, he was too entranced. If only she could know how beautiful she looked in that moment. She probably wouldn't be keeping the company of a rugged and careless man like him.

His chest tightened from not being able to breath of from his heart skipping a few beats inside of his scared up chest.

Her expression changed to one of intrigue, what was he thinking?
Normally she could read people pretty well, but she struggled with him, little things about him unnerved her.

Small moments where he would look at her, differently to how he normally would. The small smile that would grace his lips at times which seemed to conceal more than he let on.

Despite trying to remain in a calm state to conserve air she could feel her heart starting to beat faster in her chest.

Now this wasn't fair at all. She was making him weak. His heart weak, his body weak, his lungs weak. The need for air suddenly came back and hit him strong. He closed his eyes again, trying to focus. He didn't want to lose.

A few more bubbles came from his lips but he refused to let himself give up just yet. Instead the Persian man let go of his knees and let his body totally relax, floating about much in the same way a dead person would float. His arms were outstretched on either side of him, his face down and his chest not moving.

His thick black hair danced about his face from the anti gravity in the water, stringing out and catching glimmers from the moon light.

She could feel her lungs starting to feel uncomfortable as heat started to warm her chest in an unpleasant manner. She wanted to go up to the surface and breathe.

Bubbles escaped her lips as she began to falter, she closed her eyes and held onto the knees tightly trying to ignore her need for air.

She wanted to keep watching him but the sight of him made her breathless.

Despite the aching need for air Tahir would not let himself come up for it. If anything he'd wait until she starting twitching and looking uncomfortable.

No he had gone years without using his lungs and even if he wasn't cursed at the present moment he could still slip back into that feeling.

He kept his eyes closed and tried to clear his mind, though images of Alexis's golden eyes still flashed in his head.

If she were above the water she would be whining, her lungs were beginning to ache badly.

Her eyes opened as she looked up at him again, he looked completely unaffected by the lack of oxygen.

Perhaps it was his time sealed away, or the fact that his lungs were larger.
She couldn't keep this up much longer, her arms wrapped around her torso as she closed her eyes again, trying to shake off the thought of coming up for air.

The man again peeked his eyes open to see how she was doing. He squinted his eyes and was able to tell she was starting to faulter. But she was stubborn, just like he was.

A slight smirk made it's way to his face from under the water.

Seeing that she was about to give in made him have the strength to hold out longer. The burning and aching in his lungs felt good to him now. He called it his warrior instinct, the rush of adrenaline and confidence he got when seeing the opponent about to give in.

He never thought he'd get it in a friendly game of who could hold their breath longest though, but clearly he had been denied the thrill to long that he'd get it in just about any contest.

In that one little moment it was like he could hold is breath forever and be unaffected by it.

Her lungs burned in protest as she refused to go to the surface, but she was beginning to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen.

She opened her eyes again, still he was unaffected.
Inwardly she cursed, she was unable to win this one, and with that she pushed up from the bottom of the pool, gaping for air as soon as he head broke the surface of the water.

She moved over to the edge of the pool and clung onto it as she panted heavily, her gaze falling on him.

She shook her head and smiled softly as she continued to pant, he'd bested her this time.

As soon as he saw her come up for air he held out for just a moment longer before doing the same himself.

From the angle he'd come up at, his dark ebony hair slicked down to the front of his face, covering his eyes. But he smiled big as he panted heavily for the sweet wonderful air that graced his lungs.

He waded over to the ledge where she was, still breathing heavily.

"You're good." He said, patting her shoulder. That had been closer then she probably knew.

Her eyes lit up as he spoke and placed his hand on her shoulder, relishing his touch.

"Lets not do that again, my lungs feel about ready to explode."
She managed to mutter between pants as she lay her head against the edge of the pool and look up at him, a gentle smile still present on her lips.

She hated losing but being defeated by Tahir didn't feel so bitter, not when he had a smile like that on his lips. Though that didn't mean she would let him get accustomed to it, nice time she would beat him.

The Persian man let out a breathy laugh and he nodded his head at her words in agreement. He let his hand linger on her shoulder just a little longer, caressing her soft skin with his thumb before finally pulling his hand away to help bush some of the hair out of his face.

“You know, you could pull off being bald. Not that I’m saying you should, I like the long hair a lot. But if something ever happened, and you were bald, you’re one of the few women who would look just as good as before.” He said, somewhat mindlessly. It was a random thought that just popped into his head and came out of his mouth before any filter could come in place.

Inwardly she was disappointed that he moved his hand away, she was enjoying his touch and didn't want it to end so briefly.

That thought was interrupted as the man spoke again, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him.

"That is a very odd thought to have, but thank you, I think?"

She replied, tilting her head at him in confusion, it sounded like a compliment but being bald wasn't something she really wanted to consider.

"I like your hair."
She replied, reaching up to play with a lock of it briefly.
"Don't cut it off."

He looked over at her with a crooked grin on his face.

"That was a bit odd wasn't it?" He agreed. He hadn't met to say something so random, the thought process just didn't get filtered out from his mouth that time.

"I meant it as a compliment. You're feminine enough to not need your hair, and... you know I think I'll just stop now." He said, realizing he wasn't making this any better.

Some time over the past 700 or more years he seemed to have lost his smooth skills in talking to women. To be fair no Persian girl had ever made him as nervous and excited as Alexis did. She was something entirely different then he was used to.

He let out a soft subconscious purr when she played with a lock of his hair.

"Don't worry, I'm not planning on it." He said, closing his eyes contently. "And don't cut yours either because I really like your long hair."

A smile spread across her pale pink lips as he purred, it was a lovely sound and it warmed her to hear it coming from him.

“I’m glad to hear it, and there is no need to worry, I never cut my hair, unless I begin tripping over it again and even then I only cut it back to just above my ankle.”

She hated cutting her hair, it was part of who she was and she took special care of it.

The vampire gazed up at him, every time she did her heart started to beat just that little bit faster and her breath caught in her throat each time he smiled at her.

She wanted to know if she had the same effect on him, if he had feelings for her despite the short amount of time they had known each other.

“Tahir I…uh.”

She stopped herself, if he didn’t chances were things would get uncomfortable between them.
She dropped her eyes to the water, was the risk worth it?

"Mmm, good. I think long hair looks the best." He said with a soft smile, his eyes still closed.

Once he heard her say his name though he did open up his silver eyes, looking into her golden hues.

He tilted his head to the side in curiosity. What was she going to say, why did she look slightly nervous. Had he done something wrong that put her off?

"Yes?" He asked, hoping that if he did do or say something wrong she would correct him so he didn't make the same mistake again.

She shouldn’t of said anything, but there was no turning back now, she needed to find out sooner or later and it was eating at her.

“I…”

Words were failing her, this had never happened before; she was always so confident and unaffected by such things.

She cursed inwardly; she was just standing there dumbstruck.

The vampire swallowed her worry and moved towards him, leaning up and pressing her lips against his.

If he didn’t like her in that way then he could push her away but then at least she would know.
Not knowing was the worst part.

The Persian man's eyes widened when she moved in and pressed her soft lips against his own. He felt like a bolt of electricity had surged through his body, leaving him stunned.

Here was this beautiful woman that he admired so much and she was kissing him. No matter what time period he was in a kiss was a kiss, was it not?

He slowly reached his hands over and placed them on her hips, closing his eyes as he kissed her back tenderly. He'd kissed many women before but while kissing Alexis he felt different. He didn't feel driven by lust. No it was something else that drew him to be fond of her. Something much deeper then any carnal desire.

This felt right, when she had moved closer her gut twisted nervously but as soon as her lips touched his it all melted away in an instant.

She moved closer to him when his hands grasped her hips, his touch was so warm and inviting and she could not help but want to be close to him.

Her arms tentatively wrapped around his waist as she continued to kiss him, smiling gently as he kissed her back.

Alexis pulled away reluctently and gazed up at him, her eyes shining brightly. She felt that she should say something, apologize for being so forward but words had left her.
For the first time in her long life, the vampire was speechless.

In that solitary moment Tahir forgot everything. Nothing mattered at all to him except for the woman he was with and what they were doing.

When she pulled back he opened his eyes and looked at her with a soft expression, holding just a hint of surprise. He definitely had not been expecting that.

An excited glimmer was in his eyes and he got a slight crooked smile to his lips, his thumbs subconsciously caressing her sides where his hands placed on her hips.

"...wow." Was all he could say, feeling rather speechless himself.

He'd not wanted to make any bold moves on Alexis, he'd cared for her more then to do something that could potentially ruin their friendship. But when she acted first he would not be able to resist her.

She smiled up at him in return, relieved that he had not rejected her advances.

"That was a little bold of me..."
Alexis was about to apologize but stopped herself, hollow words, since she wasn't at all sorry for doing it. She would do it again, and she fully intended to.

"I like you, Tahir."
She admitted, that's why she had kissed him, why she felt her stomach flutter every time he smiled down at her with that crooked grin and why she could not help but melt under his silver gaze.

"Yeah it was, but I like it.... I like you too... a lot." He said, his voice lighthearted but sincere all at once.

He could hardly believe his luck.

After hundreds of years being locked away he was finally free, and before him was a beautiful and powerful woman who had taken favor to him.

And here he had been worrying he had been worrying if he was saying or doing the wrong things around her. Guess not.

He wanted to kiss her again, to pull her even closer and maybe carry her out of the pool and somewhere a little more private. But he held back.

If he wanted to keep his friendship with her they'd have to talk first before he did anything he might regret.