Happy Birthday saigneux! :]
It's early when she wakes up, and for once Kuvira wishes that her body wasn't so accustomed to rising at dawn. Her eyes are tired and she can feel the sleepiness still tugging at her lids, but she sits up in bed regardless because it would be a lost cause to try and fall back asleep again.
Kuvira combs aside her disheveled hair and picks up her discarded robe from the wooden floor, tying it loosely around her waist before glancing over at Baatar. The engineer is out like a log, that much was evident by his all-too peaceful expression.
My husband. She says to herself, a smile reaching her lips. It's a strange feeling, a good feeling. She turns away, standing and walking towards the balcony doors, pushing aside the decorative curtains to reveal the dimly lit island before her, and opens the doors quietly.
It's a small balcony, but that doesn't matter because the warm breeze grazes her skin like the silent summer mornings back in Zaofu, and she leans against the railing, taking in the vast surroundings. Her mind and body are alert now, and her thumb finds the platinum rings on her finger as Kuvira reminisces back to their wedding. She'd never forget all the memories they made, no, because that day outranked many of her other favorite recollections (even the time Baatar had proposed back when things were different).
They were happy now, that's all that mattered.
Kuvira spots an older couple walking down the beach shore, holding hands and laughing over "back then". She hopes that she and Baatar can have that same future when they grow old, although every road has a hole or that one bump you never see coming, but she has faith that their relationship will recover (when has it not?). The bond she spent the past several years recreating with Baatar is the closest thing she holds near to her heart because she doesn't want to risk losing him again.
Kuvira straightens and shakes her head, ridding the unwanted thoughts from her mind before she dwells into them further.
The couple had disappeared from her sight by now and the sun was nearly over the horizon.
She feels his arms slip around her waist and his nose brush along her bare neck, and Kuvira smiles, placing her arms over his. "Good morning."
"Good morning to you, too." He mumbles into her hair, fingers looping around the waistband of her robe. "Best night ever."
She scoffs.
Baatar tugs on one of the strings. "You left me alone back there."
"I didn't want to wake you."
"You should've." His arms curl around her tighter. "I don't want to miss a moment without you."
Kuvira rolls her eyes. "You're so sappy it's making me nauseous."
"Alright, alright, sorry." He laughs, setting his chin on her shoulder. "Are you hungry? I heard this hotel has an amazing breakfast buffet."
"I need a shower first." She says, peeling his arms away from her waist and turning to head towards the bathroom.
Baatar grins and follows after her. "Can I join you?"
She rolls her eyes again because his expression is so dumb. "Baatar—"
"It'll be faster with two people."
"According to your ridiculous needs." She turns around and he freezes into a halt. "Go clean up the mess you made with your suitcase so this room isn't a disaster."
And she closes the door behind her before he has the chance to slip inside.
Kuvira releases the knob and flicks on the light switch nearby. She glances into the mirror and notices the little bruises littered across her collarbone, sighing and running her fingers through her hair again before reaching over to open the shower door and turn on the water. She slides the robe off of her shoulders and hangs it neatly on the rack, turning back towards the mirror again to watch her reflection fade away before stepping into the shower.
She doesn't hear the door open until it's already too late and she curses when the realization settles in that she forgot to lock the door. Baatar pins her to the shower wall, his thumbs digging into her hips as the water drips down his face and soaks his skin. He smirks, thinking he's bettered her, finally, when she flips them around and holds his arms above his head against the tile wall.
"You idiot." She grumbles, her fingers curling around his wrists tighter. Kuvira doesn't miss his eyes drifting elsewhere because he makes it so obvious, and she hates that he chuckles.
"I needed a shower, too."
"You couldn't wait?"
"No."
His eyes meet hers for just a few short seconds, wondering if whether or not she will actually throw him out, but Baatar is relieved when she releases his hands. He pulls her into him and kisses her senseless, trailing his fingers along the small of her back and drowns in her touch.
—
They go hiking later on during the day because Kuvira thought of the idea, and Baatar nearly choked on his tea when she said it would be just as romantic as an elegant dinner on the beach.
The leave the hotel later in the morning and take one of the local buses to the mountains. The drive isn't so long, an hour at most, but they spend it admiring the view and pointing out other landmarks they'd want to visit throughout the week.
When they reach their destination, it's relatively quiet, and they pick the trail that everyone else chose to avoid. Baatar doesn't think it's a good idea at first because if anything were to happen, no one would be around to help them, but Kuvira waves the comment off and asks if he's trying to mock her bending.
Naturally, he stumbles over his words and she laughs.
The sun is always hot in the Earth Kingdom, regardless of where anyone goes, and dirt pools around their shoes more and more as they continue up the path. Every now and then they stop to admire the view, and Baatar starts to think that this was a good idea after all because Kuvira seems to be enjoying herself for once. They had this part of the mountain all to themselves and were significantly higher up than the others below, but it was quiet and the breeze was cool.
They spend another hour along the trail, hiking up larger rocks and watching small desert animals scurry across the dirt. Baatar occasionally trips over the stones that sneak barely above the ground, and Kuvira says something about how he's always been clumsy, and they thank the clouds that start rolling in to cover up the sun.
They don't pay much attention to the weather until they notice that the sun has been gone for too long, and look up to see the dark, looming grey clouds overhead.
It's far too late to turn back around.
The rain started falling faster than either of them anticipated, and Kuvira grabs Baatar's arm and pulls him into the nearby cave. Rain storms tend to be unexpected and roll in at full force, much like the element they shower.
Both of them are vaguely wet and lean against the cave wall, breaths slightly labored and hair somewhat darker from the water. Baatar admires Kuvira because he thinks she looks beautiful regardless of the situation, and slips his hand in hers, glancing towards the open land.
"We're going to be stuck here for a while, aren't we?"
Kuvira resists the urge to roll her eyes. She wonders if he's going to rub it in that this was her fault, but a part of her says he's enjoying this. The weather is a welcoming surprise, and neither of them mind the fresh smell of rain that follows.
They stand there together in silence until Kuvira senses something that sets her on edge.
She can feel something earthbending in the cave.
Baatar notices her tension and wonders what's wrong, but nothing stands out, nothing is clear enough for him to feel as concerned as she is. Kuvira's fingers tighten around his and it's then that he feels the rumble beneath his feet and sees the rock wall to their left collapse in a cluster of dust and debris.
Kuvira doesn't panic because if all her years as a guard or military leader taught her anything, it was to remain calm and be prepared for any upcoming danger as it came storming in. What startles Baatar is that she doesn't assume any particular battle stance after pulling him behind her, and she doesn't prepare for a fight when the dust cloud settles and a pair of brown eyes stare back at green.
The badgermole had to be at least seventeen feet taller than her.
His gut jumps to his throat when it leans in to sniff her.
But Kuvira isn't afraid. She reaches out to touch the badgermole's nose and it licks her in return, a gesture that she's familiar with.
It's then that he remembers the story she told him when they were children, sprawled out on the grass after a long game of benders-and-engineers (a silly game they created and spent years playing and changing the rules, but loved nonetheless).
"You never told me why your favorite animal is a badgermole." He says, rolling over onto his stomach to face her. Kuvira meets his eyes halfway, returning his gaze until a smile reaches the corners of her lips and she turns back to the clouds.
"I've never told anyone this before, not even your mom." She reaches back to slip her hands behind her head, lacing her fingers together. "But I'll tell you."
Baatar moves closer to her and Kuvira laughs, saying something about how weird he is before settling back into the grass. She always joked around with him good-naturedly because he was her best friend, that much would never change."When I was all by myself back in Botuo, I chased a quilled chameleon into the mountains because I saw some people selling them for money."
The badgermole nuzzles her and Kuvira scratches the bridge of it's nose, glancing back over at Baatar and encouraging him to do the same.
"He won't hurt you." She says, and he doesn't have the heart to tell her no, so he goes for the next best thing.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"If I didn't think it was a good idea, I wouldn't be doing this right now."
He gives in.
"It ran into this huge cave but I kept following it. It was really dark inside and I could barely see, but this really big badgermole came out of nowhere and I froze because I didn't know what to do."
"Was it scary?" He asks, eyes wide with curiosity.
"Yeah, at first it was." Kuvira glances over at him. "But then it sniffed me, and I wasn't as scared anymore," she giggled. "I touched it's nose and then it licked me."
Baatar cringes. "Ewwww, that's gross, Kuvira."
She laughs again."You're gross, Baatar."
He was always awkward when it came to first encounters, and this one was no different. He wasn't really sure what to do when the badgermole sniffed his shirt and nudged his chest, but Kuvira reassured him that it was merely a sign of affection and there was nothing to be afraid of. He envies this part of her because she's always known how to turn fear into courage.
"They love singing." She says, and Baatar looks over at her with eyebrows raised and a playful chirp to his voice.
"Are you going to serenade right now then?"
He doesn't miss the light flush to her cheeks. "No, I'm an awful singer and you know that."
"But I love your voice."
"You've never heard me sing."
"So what happened after you were covered in animal spit?" Baatar laughs, placing his chin in his hands again.
Kuvira ignores him, her smile growing. "I followed them around the cave and watched them earthbend. It was so cool. And when I got hungry, it took me outside to a big berry bush."
"How long did you stay with it?" Baatar pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It sounds like you were there a while."
"For a few days." Her smile falls and suddenly the sun seems to be a little less bright. "The city guards on patrol found me outside the cave once looking for more berries. They wanted to take me to the city, but I got away and tried to run back. That's when they blocked the cave, so I kept running. I don't know where I went, but I ended up near that big river with the red koi fish."
Baatar's jaw drops."And that's when my mom found you."
"I have. Once."
Kuvira narrows her eyes. "When?"
"Remember the celebration party we had with the troops after taking over Zaofu?"
She waves it off. "I was intoxicated. That doesn't count."
A loud clap of thunder echoes from the outside, and they turn to see the rain falling faster than before.
The badgermole loops it's head out from Kuvira's arms and nudges her side before turning around and heading deeper into the cave.
"Should we follow it?" Baatar asks, glancing towards the animal as it disappears into the darkness.
For a moment, Kuvira seems to consider the idea because despite the fact that it's completely dark further down the cave, she could find her way around using her seismic sense. "If we had light, I'd say yes for your sake. But I don't want to be the only one who can enjoy what's down there."
—
"It's a shame we didn't find any berry bushes along the way." Baatar says, running the towel through his wet hair as he closes the bathroom door behind him.
Kuvira glances over at him from her spot on the balcony, a cup of tea in hand, and chuckles through her nose. His skin is pink and she can tell he's taken a hot shower despite the humid heat, but his eyes are bright and looking at her as if she was the best thing that's ever happened to him.
They made it back to the hotel in time for dinner and there isn't a thing left on the plates when the staff returns to takes their dishes. She eats most of the fruit that night, and when they walk down the dimly lit hallway towards their room, he smiles softly at her.
Kuvira makes sure she locks the bathroom door this time and Baatar decides to brew two cups of tea and fish out his night clothes from the mess he's made in his suitcase. The water runs cold at first when it's his turn, and the room smells a little like lilies.
She sips her tea and Baatar joins her on the balcony, gazing down at the lantern-lit ocean and listening to the sound of it's rumbling waves.
"I loved today." He says, glancing over at her with that smile she always thought made him look like a dork more than anything else.
"It was interesting."
Baatar nudges her shoulders and tells her to lighten up because he knows she enjoyed it, too. And Kuvira smiles, turning back towards the ocean.
Around them, the island blooms in all sorts of different ways. The grass tall and the flowers taller, the palm trees grazing the ocean shore, the ferns with sand slipping through their leaves all under the night sky. They watch the stars that seem so much brighter here than in the city, and Baatar thinks Kuvira is more beautiful than all of them when he kisses her.
In the back of his mind, he can hear her laughter when he knows he's done something right, can see the way her eyes look back at him when they're alone, and can feel the softness of her skin whenever he presses his lips along the curve of her neck. A part of him forgets to breathe when she combs her fingers through his hair, but one way or another, he doesn't feel the need to.