Title : Second Chances

Chapter 1 : Frozen

Series : Legend of Korra

Characters : Korra, Tarrlok

Paring : Korrlok

P.O.V : Korra

Rating : T

Description : Korra finds Tarrlok nearly frozen to death at the south pole and nurses him back to health.

Inhaling deeply, Korra pressed her knuckles together and let the air ease back out of her lungs. Meditating wasn't getting any easier for her, but it wasn't as difficult when she was surrounded by the ice cold wind and the clean fresh scent of the snowy wonderland around her. It'd been a few days since her bending had been restored and with the urging of Tenzin, she'd left her parents house to do some soul searching. After the initial connection with Aang, Korra was embarrassed to admit she hadn't been able to do it again. But it was a start. Tenzin had insured her that it would get easier.

"Cheah, this is loads easier..." She grumbled, brows drawn tightly. She tried to clear her mind again, taking another slow breath and relaxing her muscles. Nothing.

Korra hunched in disappointment, motivation waning. She'd never understand why this was so difficult for her. There was just always so much on her mind. So much she could be doing rather than sitting here freezing her ass off-

A sudden chill sliced through her clothes, making her shiver despite being used to it. With it, came a flash of white behind her closed eyes. No, not white. Snow. Was she having a vision? The white shifted and fell fiercely, just like the windy snowfall around her now. But it was different somehow. There was water nearby. The ocean? Korra frowned, tightening her closed eyes, heart going a mile a minute. What were the spirits trying to show her?

The water shifted against the snowbank, breaking parts of it up and dragging chunks of snow back into the water. Korra's heart jumped. That wasn't a snow bank. It was dark. And hairy.

"A body?!" Korra squeaked, eyes popping open. Was there a body on the shore? She'd already jumped up, darting off in the direction of the nearby ocean. It was so fast. How would she be able to find anything? When Korra neared the ocean she scanned the length of the shore frantically, fearing the worst. What if it wasn't a vision of right now? What if it was just another memory? She had started to lose hope until, in the distance, she saw a small black dot amongst all the white and blue around her. She gasped, immediately running for it. The closer she got, the larger the dot got. Until it was clear to her that it was a body. The same one from her vision. Dread gripped her chest as she fell to her knees beside the body, gently easing it over. It's clothes were burnt, revealing dark flesh in some places, and the hair on it's head was wild, covering it's face. The body was clearly male. A missing water tribesman? Wanting to check if the body was still alive, Korra ever-so-gently brushed the hair out of its face, snatching her hands back with a gasp.

Tarrlok!

Korra slapped a hand over her mouth, stifling her urge to scream. It was Tarrlok's body! He was burnt and ice cold. Dead? Korra's hands trembled as she reached down to check, tears springing up in her eyes. The tears fell freely when she felt a faint, so faint, heartbeat. Alive! How was this even possible? He was almost frozen solid! How long had he been in the water? And what happened to make him all burnt up like that?

Saving her questions for later, Korra hurried to pull the larger man into her arms, feeling his head slump over her shoulder, and carried him back to the hut she'd been borrowing on her meditation trip. Spirits help her, she had to get him warm or he'd die. Tarrlok...

An hour later, Korra had Tarrlok laid out in bed, undressed and covered in her blankets. Multiple fires were lit around her and it was making the inside of the mini-igloo she was borrowing warm and muggy. Anything to raise his temperature. She'd done her best to heal his burns, which had stretched down his right side and reached as high as his right cheek. There might not be any lasting marks, but she wasn't as good a healer as Katara. What had happened to him, she wondered, resting her hand against his unmarked cheek. He was still so cold. She didn't hate the former Council member, even if he did try to hold her hostage and bloodbend her. Perhaps seeing him in Amon's cage, de-bended and helpless, had changed something in her. She wanted to help. To make sure he was okay.

Was he okay?

"Damnit Tarrlok, if you don't wake up, I'll...I'll leave you here. I'll really do it!" She threatened, voice raising in frustration. When she got no response from the sleeping man, her shoulders slumped. He could still be too cold, she guessed, hand still against his cheek. Despite the fires she made around them, his flesh was still deathly cold. She frowned, not liking it. Korra could recall Master Katara's lessons on treating someone who had been out in the cold for too long. A hot room didn't always help. But the body heat of another person... Korra's face warmed, staring down at Tarrlok's unmoving form. If it had been anyone else, she wouldn't hesitate. But this man... When he hadn't been fighting her, he was always so smug. Lavished her in attention and gifts. She'd never met someone like that before. And though he had just been trying to sweeten her into joining his Task Force, she didn't exactly hate all of that attention. Even if it did come from an old bastard like him.

At some point during her inner conversation, Korra had joined Tarrlok under his blanket, her shirt and trousers discarded at in the chair she'd been sitting in a second earlier. At first she was surprised, not quite sure when she'd started moving, but then a frail smile crossed her lips. Even if her mind was unsure, her body had made up it's mind and sought to help the poor man. Oh well. It wasn't as if he was awake to know what she was doing. How closely their half-naked bodies were. Korra had never been on top of a man before, especially not one this older than her, this close to death, and this cold beneath her. But she allowed herself a moment to experiment with how she felt about this. Tarrlok was a man, that much was clear. But he didn't smell like a lady, as Ikki had asked the first time she met him. He smelled...male. A deep masculine scent that almost reminded her of her father. Maybe it was a water tribe thing. And she was surprised to note how muscular he was. Korra wasn't sure of his exact age, but whatever it was, his body was impressive for it. Her chest was flat against his, muscles a solid mass against the more softer parts of her own chest. A warm flush came to her cheeks when she thought of him waking to find himself in this position, but she quickly shook her head. She'd stay until he warmed up, then hop off before he woke. Perfect plan, she mused, dropping her head onto his ice-cold chest and listening to that painfully weak heartbeat.

Perfect plan, until she eventually fell asleep against him.

Korra felt warm. Almost too warm. As if she was swimming in a pool of molten gold, brushing against her skin like hot velvet, seeping underneath her flesh until she was toasty warm inside and out. It was a wonderful sensation. She couldn't help the slight wiggle she gave, attempting to snuggle deeper into that feeling. When the wide-palmed hand that had been stroking along her lower back stilled, she then realized she wasn't swimming in gold. She was being touched. Touched?

"Tarrlok!" Korra gasped, jerking upright to see the man awake and staring up at her. "You're awake! Spirits are you okay!? What happened? Why were you out in the ocean? You almost died, Tarrlok!" She rambled on, elation lifting through her and making her head dizzy.

"Calm down, Avatar. For both out sakes..." He winced, hands dropping to the girl's hips to still her excited wiggles. Her face flushed deeply, nodding. He wasn't dead. How awesome was that?

"That's better... Now, before I answer your multitude of questions, perhaps you can answer one of mine," he glanced around, but didn't lift his head. "Where am I?"

"Oh! We're at the South Pole. But don't worry, it's just the two of us! The village is a few miles north from here. This is my dad's hunting igloo. They're letting me borrow it for meditations. For training, y'know..." She shrugged, feeling shy all of a sudden. Yesterday she was meditating, and now she was sitting half-naked on top of a man that tried to kidnap her. Cripes.

Tarrlok took in the information quietly, nodding his head faintly when she mentioned no one else being around. Oh, right. He was probably wanted by, well, everyone by now. She frowned at the thought. And for good reason too. He was probably the second most wanted criminal in Republic City right now, underneath Amon. Noatak. His own brother. Korra suddenly tensed, which Tarrlok took notice of.

"...Where's Amon?" She questioned softly. She watched Tarrlok's expression shift in quick succession. From surprise, to sorrow and anger, to depression.

"I wish I knew," he admitted quietly, staring up at the ceiling, "He could be dead, for all I know." Korra gasped silently. Dead?

"Because of what happened to you? The burns..." She glanced down at his chest, healing nicely. Tarrlok looked down as well, then caught Korra's eyes again. They stared in silence for a while, with Korra dreading what he was about to say. Was Tarrlok a murderer? Did he kill his own brother, Equalist Leader and public enemy number one? Who was responsible for most of his and her troubles, and at fault for taking Tarrlok's own bending?

"Yes," was all he'd say, looking away again. Korra exhaled slowly, not sure how she felt about this. Feeling scared, surprised, upset, and more startling, relieved. Was it right to be glad that someone might be dead? No matter how bad a person he was? She didn't like thinking about it...

Tarrlok seemed to notice her shift in moods, but wouldn't be able to tell by her closed-off posture if it was a good thing or bad. When he experimentally rubbed his thumbs against her hip bones, hands still cupping her waist, Korra's thoughts scattered like bunnies. Seemingly startled out of her deep thoughts. He smiled weakly.

"Thank you, Avatar. For saving my life. Despite what happened." His smile went sad. She nodded.

"You may be a royal pain, but I couldn't just leave you there... Everyone deserves a second chance," she added softly, staring blankly at his chest as her thoughts once again cluttered her brain. An evil man, part of an evil family that all hated the Avatar. But he was also a broken councilmember, de-bended and alone. Yes, he deserved a chance, she decided, looking up into his eyes again. He had been staring at her in surprise, unsure how to take her words. He then frowned, looking disappointed.

"Avatar Korra. I'm a blood-bender. My father was a blood-bending criminal. He hates the avatar. My own brother is the leader of the Equalists and also seems to hate you. Hell, I tried to kidnap you. I'm the last person you should be forgiving..." He chastised, making Korra flinch under his stern gaze. Half dead and he was still bossy.

"Not everyone holds grudges like you and your family." She fought back, not sure why she was fighting for his sake. Even less sure of why he didn't seem happy that she was forgiving him. "The Avatar's job is to inspire peace... Not crack down on every criminal that comes from a bad family... Especially when that criminal is helpless, de-bended and half-naked." She pouted, looking down at him again. This time it was Tarrlok's turn to go red. It was faint, but it was enough for Korra to feel in charge. She smiled, sitting up straighter.

"I'm going to nurse you back to health whether you like it or not, Tarrlok. So shut up and enjoy it." She huffed stubbornly, scowling down at him. Tarrlok blinked in surprise, his hands stilling at her waist. Korra stifled the wave of triumph that lifted through her chest, not wanting to be too smug. But she did allow herself a slight smirk. That was, until she felt something underneath her, lifting insistently against her scantily clad bottom.

They both realized what it was at the same time, a slight twitch of Tarrlok's growing erection spurring Korra into leaping off of him in embarrassment. The former councilmember immediately tugged the blanket back up to his waist and rolled onto his side, away from her. Korra tumbled to the floor, quickly reaching for her clothes to tug them back on. Cripes, she didn't mean enjoy it that much, her flustered brain grumbled in it's sulky corner.

"I'll ah, let you get some rest..." She mumbled softly, getting no response. Proably for the best, she mused, flicking off a few of the torches as she knelt in front of the pack she'd brought with her for something to cook. He didn't need the fire anymore. He had been plenty...warm.

Korra slapped a hand over her eyes, wanting to groan at the quick shift in her thoughts. An odd quiver was in her stomach, and she was not enjoying it one bit. What a perfectly messed up way to start her week nursing Tarrlok back to health. Well, at least one part of him was working properly already.

Damnit Korra, stop it... She winced, glancing over her shoulder at the sleeping man. This was going to be one hell of a week.