"Get on your knees."

At the sudden demand, Tahno could only stare, jaw becoming slack. That was not the first thing he had expected upon being called out by the Avatar. Honestly, with after hearing news of Amon's defeat, he thought the Avatar only wanted to personally tell him that she didn't go back on her promise. In the little time that he had known her, he realized that the Avatar was just as adamant about revealing her exploits as she was actually doing them. But here she was, ordering him to get on his knees. His brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed as if waiting for the punch line. It would never come. Those sea-foam blue eyes, although fiercely determined, were still naïve. The former bender mentally shook his head. "I assure you, Uh-vatar, this is no place for such an activity," his sardonic voice drawled as his hand motioned to their surroundings. The two were currently standing in a public park near a fountain. Sure, it was night and no one seemed to be around, but there was always a chance that someone could pop up. "Besides, I'm a classy type of guy who wants dinner first."

Judging from the crease her forehead gained, she did not get his implication. However, her look of confusion was soon replaced with a light scowl. Most likely, she didn't like the 'dinner' part of his words. "Just do what I say, pretty boy," she ordered, placing her fisted left hand on her hip. When he made no move to oblige, the Avatar took it upon herself to force him down. Begrudgingly, Tahno allowed this. "Close your eyes." She was quite the demanding girl. Suppressing a frown, the former bender did as he was told. He felt her hand on his shoulder, and then her thumb pressing against his forehead. Her touch was surprisingly cold, much like when she had doused his head with water during their Pro-bending match.

Tahno clenched his teeth inside his mouth just thinking back to his… victory. That feeling of dread—he had never felt that before in his life. He still had nightmares from that experience. After that night, after he had been questioned, Tahno had shut himself in his home. Having had lost everything, he hadn't felt a need to connect with the public. They certainly hadn't felt the need to connect either. His fans and fame had left him. Without his bending, they thought he was nothing. The sad thing was that he agreed with them. He was now only a shell of his former self thanks to Amon. Empty and abandoned. That is what he felt like. To be cut off from his element was the worst feeling. To know he would never bend again… it hurt. Even the sight of flowing water hurt. It wasn't fair.

Finally, the touch of the Avatar left him and in its place, there was warmth. Flowing through his body, flowing through his veins, something was running wild through his system. From his head to his fingertips, and all the way down to his toes, Tahno felt a familiar—albeit distant—rush. It was the feeling of seeing a best friend after years of separation. "What did you do?" he questioned as he opened his eyes. To his utter shock, the Avatar lifted her arms. The water in the fountain behind her shot up like a geyser. With the grace of a master waterbender, she commanded the mass of water to rush at him. It had been instinct. Due to years of learning to control his element, his body had hastily moved. Arms moving fluidly around him, Tahno spun his body, turning the water attack back on the Avatar.

It was only after the attack had been sent back and he had frozen the water before it reached him that he had realized what he was doing. Bending. He had the ability to bend again. The water lost its hardened state and splashed to the ground. Tahno watched as the dirt absorb the water for a moment before settling his shocked gaze on the Avatar. She was beaming, eyes squeezed shut because of the grin. Again, she lifted her arms, along with the water. She moved perfectly in her waterbending forms, causing the water to dance around her. Her arm extended in his direction, causing the water to spiral around before moving toward him. Tahno copied her forms and also danced with his element. It felt so good to bend again. It felt so right. The Avatar didn't stand by and just watch him bend. Her primary element compelled her. She, of course, joined in.

Tahno wasn't sure how much time had passed, but by the time they had stopped moving, they both were panting heavily and sweating profusely. Still, on top of their pillar of ice, under the light of the half moon, they grinned at one another. Honestly, he hadn't felt this way since he had been just a boy. With synchronized movements, the waterbenders slowly melted the ice beneath their feet. Once the water returned to its liquid form, she deposited it back into the fountain. Then she walked his way. "I restored your bending," she announced the obvious quite smugly. "You can thank me anytime."

"Thank you, Korra." It came out less condescending—more kindhearted—than he had wanted it to. The Avatar's grin faltered slightly at his tone, he could tell. It had made her a bit uncomfortable not hearing him speak expected words. Instead of amending what he said with a less than grateful remark—it's what his former self would have done and the Avatar was used to his former self—his body betrayed him. Two steps is all it took. With two steps, rational thought disappeared. With two steps, the space between them ceased to exist. With two steps, his arms were around her. With two steps, his pale lips were on her dark ones.

The muffled squeak wasn't lost to his ears. He ignored it, though, tightening his grip on her. Tahno tilted his head a bit, lips moving rhythmically against hers, trying to coax her into returning the kiss. She didn't. The Avatar only stood there, completely frozen. Slowly, the renewed bender pulled away, but only a few centimeters. He stared into her wide eyes, noting the apprehension within them. He frowned, and then kissed her again. Stupid. It was completely stupid of him. He could have passed the first one off, saying that he was just overwhelmed, but not now. Really, he couldn't help it. This was the woman who had restored his bending—restored his life. His hands slipped from her shoulder blades to her lower back as he pried her mouth open. There was no resistance to him sliding his tongue in, tasting her. Tasting the sweet, along with remnants of a spice he had never tasted before, made him continue, though he knew it was wrong. A cross between a moan and a growl erupted from her throat and tickled their connected tongues. At last, he pulled away again. The Avatar appeared to be quite dazed. "Ta… Tahno…" she murmured. Then her expression of confusion turned angry. "Tahno!" With a harsh shove, the Avatar sent him to the ground. How did a girl get so strong? Grimacing, the former Wolfbat touched his chest. More than likely, a bruise would form. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

He felt himself smirk as he stood. "Relax, little girl," he advised. Paying no heed, she furiously wiped at her mouth. Though, try as she might, she couldn't wipe the blush from her cheeks. "I was only showing my thanks." She glared his way, looking as though she might attack him. Tahno warily stepped away.

"That's not how you thank people!" she screeched. "I have a boyfriend!"

"Yeah…? What's his name?" Tahno asked, genuinely curious. However, her response was mere hesitant jumbled nonsense. "You don't have to lie. I know you liked it."

"I did not! His name is Mako!" Like a small child, she stomped her foot against the ground. The ground rumbled underneath his feet before he was launched upward due to her bending the earth. He crashed hard, knowing he was going to feel even more damage in the morning. For now, he was momentarily disoriented by having the wind knocked out of him. "You're such a… a douchebender!" He heard her hasty departing footsteps. After a moment—or two—Tahno sat up. He sighed, trying to nurse his aching back. Though it had been painful, he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. His gaze shifted up to the moon.

"Thanks, Avatar Korra," he whispered. "I owe you one."

0-0

This is the result of looking at too many videos of Tahno and Korra before bed. I had a lingering dream, and so I just had to write it out... Oh hell, who am I kidding? I think I've become obsessed with this pairing. Perhaps it's to spite the canon ship of Makorra? Anyway, I hope Bryke decides to bring Tahno back for the next books. That'd be awesome. I might even forgive them for that whole Kataang thing.