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"Oh really?" Aleksi quirked a brow, an amused grin crossing his lips as he continued massaging Shierra's shoulders. "I've seen your sister, she looks quite capable of handling herself." He teased lightly, thinking of the glass artist who had gotten Shierra to come overseas in the first place. If the sisters were any sort of hint then Aleksi had the feeling that the whole family would be quite a handful for anyone daring to take them on. Still, the extra reasoning only brought a soft sigh from him. "Well you never know what the future holds, right? Isn't that the saying? Moving things is quite simple really, if you truly desired something." He added after another moment, Shierra's approval enticing him to continue on with his movements as his hands gently traced along her back. He had to move his gaze away after a time, the moment making his own cheeks flush as he thought about everything those soft words stirred within his own chest. So much for a simple distraction, Aleksi was realizing that he was in a bit more trouble than expected with this one. Somehow it had gotten a lot closer to something real despite his playful attitude, the hybrid finding it harder and harder to look away from that crimson gaze each time.

"Though I suppose it does rely upon that desire. Is there truly nothing you want other than to go back to Matori?" He couldn't help the question that escaped his lips, his voice low as he continued making circles along the muscles of her back to try to hide his own hesitation and the way his heart clenched while waiting on a response.

[Aleksi 24]

"Is that so?" Aleksi replied, still working at her tense muscles as he spoke. "Perhaps I'm spoiled and greedy, but I really don't like giving up so easily on things I want." The hybrid's lips curled upwards, the realization that this was truly something he wanted instead of a simple game growing on him. "Maybe I'll just have to see this Matori for myself and decide how glorious it is to keep pulling you away. Or I can stay away, if you really don't want me around." The mage teased, his fingers tracing along Shierra's skin and lingering there before he pulled away. He only moved a few steps back, his hands reaching for the box of herbs to scatter the remnants around the steaming water to finish off everything they were given before keeping to himself, the hybrid leaving Shierra some space as if demonstrating what it would be like to be separated after spending so much time together as of late. How would she react if he showed up in Matori and then it was his turn to leave back for his home country? Would she also feel conflicted or be able to accept it better since she was home at least? Maybe Matori would remind her of things that she preferred, make her not want him around as much. The very thought nearly brought a frown to Aleksi's lips as he finished scattering the herbs.

"Once the scent dissipates then it should be time for us to leave the water, else we'll just melt into puddles ourselves." He acknowledged, sinking deeper into the water as he kept space from Shierra as if waiting to see if she would approach this time.

[Aleksi 25]

"Hey, it just means my desire is greater than my urge to give up." Aleksi grinned boldly, not even bothered by how others might perceive his reactions. Was it too desperate or greedy? Who knew? But he wasn't about to just let something slip through his fingers, not quite so easily at least if he could help it. And unless he was mistaken there was some sort of attraction back in his favor, even if they kept dancing around the actual topic. The sigh made his heart twist slightly, the mage nearly reaching forward before behaving himself as he focused on the water for a moment instead. At least the steam covered his expression in the moment, the gleam in his gaze doing nothing to hide the growing desire the more they continued this back and forth.

Dammit! For a moment he had frozen there, Aleksi holding his breath as Shierra moved closer. Now that was a bold move! She fell back into the water before he could reach out to grab her, his hands skirting through the water instead as he let out a strangled laugh. "Really? So what if I was more hospitable here? Would I get that much more back in return for visiting Matori?" He teased, moving forward to get closer towards Shierra. "Because right now you're making it awfully hard to not want to show you how much more welcoming I can be." This time he was pushing in closer, Aleksi following her towards the corner of the springs as his voice grew softer and his gaze warmer the lessening steam showing the heated expression. One arm moved out, his hands touching the stones that lined the outer edge of the pool as he kept another arm at the ready to see if Shierra would move away now that he was a breath away again. He really wanted to behave, but that move from Shierra was making it really hard to keep to reason where he was supposedly playing around and not diving into something more serious.

[Aleksi 26]

"Is that so?" Aleksi breathed, a small grin crossing his lips as he leaned in closer at Shierra's words. "I shouldn't lose momentum now, should I? Not if I want to be treated well when I do visit Matori." At this point the playful banner felt less like pretend and more like a promise, an actual oath that Aleksi would be crossing that damn ocean to find Shierra again after all of this. It was hard not to imagine it, not when he was so close to her in the moment and could see the flush decorating her cheeks. Would she be terribly upset if he did show up one day or would she actually be delighted instead? The desire to find out was steadily becoming stronger by the moment.

"I was always bad at following the rules. Just because others haven't done something yet, doesn't mean it can't be done." What was wrong with a long distance relationship? It was just an ocean, right? Aleksi's gaze gleamed with determination as he raised a hand to Shierra's cheek, his fingers gently running along the skin there. "As for what I can possibly do? I can think of a few things, if you're willing." His expression softened a bit more, his other hand keeping steady against the edge of the pool as he leaned in closer. "I'll only kiss you if you allow it." Aleksi wasn't going to snag anything without permission, somehow despite all of his playful manners and trickster attitude the mage behaved. Even though it was growing harder to not just move forward to steal a kiss now that they were so close to one another, Aleksi continued keeping still as he waited for a response.

[Aleksi 27]

Aleksi rose a brow at the question, another hint of a grin tugging at his lips despite the intensity of the moment. Despite everything he was still a bit of chaos, after all. So how could he not take a quick second to relish in the fact that Shierra was actually leaning into this? "If you truly don't think I want to kiss you then I could pull away now." He teased lightly as his fingers slowly moved from her skin to trace an outline in the air instead. "Maybe I just wanted to test the waters to see how much you really didn't care." He continued the gleam in his gaze dancing somewhere between mischief and desire. Perhaps he could just turn away now and see if the crushing disappointment from losing the chance would reveal if Shierra would also be disappointed or consider it a relief, a chance to be saved before they made any more mistakes today.

But he was also tired of this dance that they had been doing for weeks now. So close and yet so far every time. If she was truly leaving soon then he wanted to take a chance, just to see if it would sate that burning desire and curiousity about what could be. "But I really do want to kiss you and you did give me permission..." Aleksi started, suddenly moving back after acting as if he were going to turn away. His hand that was in the air went for Shierra's waist, tugging her against his body as he moved and caught her lips with his own.

[Aleksi 28]

It was a moment that he wished could last forever. Shierra's response only encouraged Aleksi to continue forward, his kiss deepening more as he enjoyed the sensation. The world could have stopped for all that he knew as they simply explored the feeling, Aleksi's hands tracing fire along Shierra's skin with each kiss. Truly he didn't want to break away, the feeling igniting an ember hidden in his very soul, so his arms stayed around her body even when the mage finally pulled back for a second. Not far, just enough to rest his forehead against her own, and to question his companion. "Do you truly not care?" He asked quietly, his breathing a bit more ragged than usual as his typical cool composure was shaken. "Or should we continue this elsewhere?"

[Aleksi 29]

That hmm nearly gave him pause, Aleksi's whole body tensing for a brief second until the rest of the words registered and a grin crossed his lips instead. It was awfully hard to remove his fingers from her waist, Aleksi rubbing gentle circles there before letting go, but somehow he managed to take a step back. "I suppose it would help if we didn't destroy the springs into steam." He joked lightly though his gaze was still bright with emotion. "We can continue this elsewhere, back home even if we can make it to the cabin." He held out a hand, offering it to Shierra so that he could guide the way back if she so desired. And if anything, Aleksi was determined to show her how little he cared about the threat of an ocean standing between them. They would figure it out, one day at a time.

[Aleksi 30]