Author's Note: This is my first fanfiction. :3 PLEASE COMMENT. Comments fuel my writing.
Warnings: Violence (it's not too bad), fluff :3, TAHNORRA ROMANCE *fangirling* and that's it, if I recall correctly.
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Legend of Korra or any of its characters. Duh. All rights go to Mike and Bryan, and all hail them for being fantastical.
***Chapter 2 coming soon***
"Yes!" Korra exclaimed. "We made it to the Championship! WOOOOOHOOOO!" Korra whooped and cheered at the top of her lungs, not caring who heard, as usual. She did a little victory dance and jumped up and down a few times before she hugged Bolin and awkwardly shook hands with Mako. Matters had been rough between Mako and Korra ever since Asami and he got back together. Korra still had a hard time looking Mako in the eye. She ran off to tell the person who healed her from all the Mako drama; Tahno. "I'll be back soon!" she called as she hopped onto Naga's shoulders. Korra didn't notice the bystanders gawking at an Avatar traveling by polar bear dog (even though they should have been used to it by now); the only thing on her mind was Tahno.
Adrenaline surged through Korra's body as Naga dashed down the street. The world was a blur, and the only clear area was in front of her. Irritated people in Satomobiles shouted at her to move out of the way, to stop knocking people over, to just get a Satomobile herself if she was going to be like this. She yelled back at them to get a polarbear-dog. Korra grinned mischievously as she urged Naga to go faster.
Tahno was downtown, as he typically was. He was leaning against Narook's when Korra finally located him. "Tahno! Tahno!" she shouted at him over the cars honking and the several people bellowing at her to move over. She had completely forgotten that there was a brick wall behind Tahno as she leaped from Naga, but thankfully, Tahno caught her just in time to prevent Korra from receiving a face-full of brick.
Tahno pulled Korra into an embrace. "What, Uh-vatar Korra?" he whispered, completed with an overly dramatic gasp in the beginning for emphasis.
"We made it to the Championship! I can't believe it!" Korra did a mini-squeal and squeezed Tahno once more. Tahno gave her a stiff hug in exchange. Korra drew away and observed him curiously. "Is there…something wrong?" she muttered. Tahno looked away, refusing to respond. Korra caressed his cheek and Tahno chuckled, turning his head even further from Korra, and lips still zipped. "Come on, please Tahno! I'm dying of suspense over here!"
"In spite of everything, you're still on the fire bender's team?" Tahno inquired ruefully.
"Oh, Tahno," Korra said, planting a serious look on her face. He wasn't still upset about him, was he? "I don't like him anymore. You're in no danger of becoming single." Korra kissed his nose and giggled (Korra rarely giggled).
"Korra, it's not me I'm concerned about; I promise you, I'm not that selfish. Actually, it's you that has me troubled. I don't want you to get hurt. I'm also fearful for Mako; he might end up being the one who gets wounded if he messes with my girl." Korra snorted. "But I also have something to tell you." Tahno's voice became grave. He leaned in close to Korra. "We made it to the Championship, too."
It was the opening evening of the Championship, and the Fire Ferrets had been put in the dark because they hadn't been told who their opponents were. Tahno entered their changing room to say good luck to Korra. "Hey, I'll see you tonight at Narook's, okay?" He reminded her. "Break a leg, Uh-vatar." He said, gently raising Korra's chin up to his face. Korra kissed him fondly.
"Okay, pretty boy. I'll meet you tonight." Korra rested her head against his chest, which reminded her how tall and thin he was. She absent mindedly curled her finger around Tahno's hair. "I love you, Tahno. I'm sorry I don't say that much."
"It's fine, Korra. But I love you, so much, too." Tahno gave Korra that crooked little smile that she adored. "See you tonight."
"Hey, wait," Korra grasped his sleeve, revealing part of his muscular arm. Korra got shivers up her spine and barely held back a simper. "Play fair."
"Announcing the fantastic... the fabulous... You know 'em and you love 'em... FIRRRRRRRRE FERRETS!" The announcer's obnoxious voice filled the arena as the Fire Ferrets advanced into stadium, shoulders back and heads high. They weren't afraid of whoever they were going to face. Korra put on a happy face as she beamed and waved to her fans. There were several Korra's in the crowd; Korra didn't even know where they got the costumes, and honestly, it was super creepy.
The announcer bellowed into the microphone as the gate across from them opened. "And the winged, in a way" Wait, winged? Korra thought. There are only a couple of teams that had mascots with wings. That couldn't be right. "... the wondrous... the new-and-improved..." Tahno just rejoined his team again, but he was on the Wolfbats' team formerly, so that wouldn't be considered new, right? Korra wondered. "WOLFBAAAATS!" Korra's stomach plummeted to the floor. She could see Pema at Air Temple Island, rolling her eyes as she thought of what could happen. Tahno nervously ambled into the light, looking horrified as he dashed to Korra.
"What do we do?" He whispered, clasping Korra's hands. He was fidgety and seemed genuinely frightened. Korra stroked his cheek gently. She hated when he was like this.
Korra stood on tiptoes and kissed him on the forehead. "I don't know, but I bet I could whip your sorry butt, Tahno."
"Oh, you're on, little girl." Tahno snickered back and started to turn.
"Wait, Tahno." Korra called, and grabbed his arm frantically. Tahno spun around and stood right in front of Korra. She had to turn her head all the way up to look him in the eye. She sternly instructed, "No cheating, pretty boy. I love you, but Mako and Bolin will get angry and yell at you. So don't play dirty."
"Fine." Tahno sighed, as if it pained him to not cheat, but he crossed his heart anyways. "Come on, Korra, they're staring." He was right; the arena had become very quiet, and the people were starting to get impatient. Tahno and Korra took their positions. Tahno winked at her, and she put up her fists playfully. Even though no one saw, Mako seemed to be red in the face on the other side of the ring. The bell clanged.
Korra and Tahno both tried to blast each other with water at the same time, which ended in the pair of them falling onto their butts. Korra sniggered and got back up promptly. Korra let Tahno up and continued fighting. All of a sudden a burst of fire exploded in Tahno's face, pushing him backward a zone. Tahno's eyes were wide with shock. "Mako!" Korra bellowed. He didn't even glance at her. Tahno got up and blasted him in turn, forcing him back a zone, too. They went on fighting, splashing, and blasting. Korra leaned in by Bolin. "We can't just watch them fight." Korra said, desperate. She didn't want them to get hurt, and she wanted her team to accept her boyfriend.
"If I can calm Mako down, can you handle Tahno?" Bolin asked, hopeful.
"Yup."
"Then it's a plan." Bolin socked Mako in the arm and gave him the cut-it-out look. Mako growled, Tahno still fighting him, and shot fire out of his hands once more at him. Bo scooted over to Korra. "Um, I think we're too late to calm Mako down. He seems really angry. What happened?"
"I… I don't know. He just, lashed out on Tahno." All of a sudden, a roar erupted from Mako, and he jumped onto the other side of the ring. He fired several illegal head-shots at Tahno, scorching Tahno's clothes and burning his arms and back. "Tahno!" Korra screamed as he fell to the ground. "Stop!" Korra shrieked to the referee. "Stop the match! HE'S BEEN HURT, YOU IDIOT!" The ref blew the whistle, calling Mako out of the match. Tahno was being carried out on a stretcher when Korra sprinted over to him.
"Hey, get out of here; you're on the other team." Commanded one of Tahno's teammates.
"I don't care, you numbskull!" Korra hollered back. "Tahno… Tahno, please, wake up," Korra felt tears spring into her eyes. This couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening. This was just all some terrible nightmare, and she would wake up any moment now. Yeah, that was it. Tahno was fine, and she had nothing to worry about. Everything was going to be alright.
They sent Tahno into an ambulance, because he had several bad burns on his arm. She sat next to him and combed her fingers through his hair, which was slightly scorched, also. He looked striking when he was sleeping, or, as he was right now, knocked out. His signature hair style had become a mess of knots and soaking hair, and he had various scrathches and bruises along hsi face and arms. Korra tried to recall what had happened; all she remembered was Mako rushing towards Tahno, eyes glinting with rage. And there was Tahno, looking stubborn as he was still trying to blast Mako back. In a matter of seconds, Tahno was sprawled on the ground with a sickening thump. Korra winced as the scene replayed in her mind. She wasn't going to let this happen again.
When they got to the hospital, various nurses boosted him out of the ambulance on the stretcher while some metal benders raised them up the elevator. Setting him down on the hospital bed carefully, they hooked him up to some complicated equipment. There were wires and cords all over Tahno, and it was a miracle that they weren't all tangled together. The doctor told Korra that the healers would be in soon to examine him and see how many healers they needed at the moment and how often the healing sessions would have to be. Even though Korra was a good healer, she didn't have healing powers advanced enough to heal these types of burns yet. If Mako had gotten any madder, he probably would've used lightning. And Tahno would be… dead. Korra hated to think about it.
"Is he going to be alright?" Korra timidly asked the nurse, who was taking his blood pressure. Several healers were at Tahno's bedside, already. Tahno looked slightly like Aang, with the glowing water surrounding his arms. It gave the impression that Mako had even burned part of Tahno's chest, too. Korra was going to kill him.
Ugh. Mako. What was with him lately? He never talked to almost anyone anymore, and he snapped at Bolin every practice. It made Korra wonder, was he going crazy?
"Yes, he's going to be fine, but he's going to need a few days in the hospital, first. He isn't going to be able to compete for a few weeks, though. That's for sure." The nurse replied casually, as if she saw this every day. She was a short, stocky woman, probably in her mid-forties.
"Is he… is he allowed to have someone stay with him?" Korra questioned hopefully.
The nurse looked at her like the way Pema would when Korra talked about Tahno. "You're his girlfriend, I'm guessing." Korra nodded, embarrassed. "Yes, he is, but you might want to call your parents if you do. I'm not sure if they would approve of that…" The nurse said jokingly.
"Oh… Of course." Korra said sheepishly. "May I use the telephone?"
"There's one right there on his bed stand. I'll leave you two alone for a bit, but he's going to need another healing session in a couple of hours. Call if you need anything." The nurse drawled, leaving slowly. Korra took a deep breath and dialed Tenzin's number hands shaking.
"Hello, Councilman Tenzin here. Who is this?" Tenzin's stern voice verbalized on the other end of the line. Korra was surprised that Meelo didn't get the phone before him.
"Hey, Tenzin. It's Korra. I'm calling from the hospital. Sorry it's so late." Korra could tell that Tenzin was not in a good mood. Tenzin had had a bad week; finding a replacement for Tarrlok was hard after he had disappeared. And Meelo had wet the bed four times this month so far. This was going to be tricky.
"Korra? Korra, are you hurt? Tell me exactly what happened immediately."
So Korra launched into the story of how they had a match that night, and how Tahno was burned by Mako, ending up presenting the question to Tenzin if she could remain here for a couple of nights. She chose her words carefully "So, could I maybe… Stay with Tahno, at the hospital? I promise, I won't do anything stupid. I just…" Korra sighed. "I just want to make sure that he's okay, and spend every minute that I can with him when he's not." There was a long pause.
"Yes, Korra, you can stay. I trust you to make the right decisions, Korra. Goodnight."
"Night, Tenzin! Thanks! Bye!" Korra almost yelled into the phone as she slammed it down. It was very late, and there was a couch in Tahno's hospital room. Korra might as well sleep there if she was staying tonight.
Korra was in the middle of getting the couch ready when Tahno came to.
"Where the heck am I?" Korra heard a voice behind her. She turned around eagerly.
"Tahno!" Korra sighed, eyes burning once again. She kissed him excitedly. "I thought you were going to die, Tahno. You scared me so much!" Korra stated. Feeling grateful and shocked at the same time was a lot to handle. "I love you so much, Tahno."
"Korra, I love you, too, but can you tell me what happened?" Tahno requested. He looked sort of worried, observing the hospital room carefully.
"You seriously don't remember anything?" Korra guffawed. "You must have hit your head on the arena floor hard. I might as well explain, even though it would only get more hilarious if I didn't. First off, you are in a hospital room. And you're burned, so you might not want to move your arm that much."
"Oh. Right." Tahno lay back down, and Korra climbed beside him. Korra laid her head on his chest as she had earlier that night. "And, why am I in the hospital, again?"
Korra felt tears leaking out of her eyes again. "Mako. He burned you in the arena. He was out of control, Tahno. I'm sorry, I couldn't stop him. This is entirely my fault." She buried her head in Tahno's shirt, which was still scorched. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Korra's words began to fade out as she cried harder.
"Shhh, Korra. This is not your fault. If anything, it's Mako's. He should have just dropped it with me earlier. And I should've just ignored him at the arena." Tahno fawned, running his fingers through her hair as she cried.
Korra gazed up, eyes red. "Dropped what?"
"Mako…" Tahno looked away, as if it was hurting for him to tell Korra this. "Mako threatened me. He wanted me to stay away from you. He said he would beat up on one of my team mates if I didn't. So at the match I told them to tell the police if they heard any strange noises at night and not to go into dark allies without several people with them at the time. Mako must have heard, somehow. Tahno wiped his eyes nonchalantly. Korra got under the covers.
"I'm sorry, Tahno. I'm glad you told me, though." She breathed deeply, hoping Tahno didn't hear her sigh. She loved the smell of Tahno; he smelled like a cheap hotel room and a sort of musky scent that she couldn't describe.
Tahno splashed Korra in the face, both of them laughing. "Hey, stop it!" Korra said teasingly. He always knew how to make Korra cheerful again. Tahno kissed Korra on the forehead as she fell asleep in his arms.
So, how did the readers of this story like it? I reply to any and all comments, which I appreciate immensely.
So basically, PLEASE COMMENT.