"I'm sorry"
"Forgive me for my sins"
"I will do anything to redeem myself"
"Please don't"
"I can't stand the cold look in those eyes of yours"
"I'm sorry"
.
.
.
"If only I could go back and make it up to you"
"I would have never stopped you from…"
.
.
.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry but you are going to have to leave," came a polite voice, "visitation hours are over for the day."
"I can't leave her!" a desperate woman replied, "I can't! What if she needs me? I need to stay here by her side!"
The year was 1988, it was the first day of the New Year and it was a Friday. The world had celebrated the ending of another year and warmly welcomed the coming of the New Year. The streets of many big cities around the world were buzzing with excitement. Cars lined the streets. Families were joined together in large social gatherings. And people were happily drinking and eating themselves into a stupor.
But life is unpredictable.
Not everyone was enjoying this day.
Korra was always one to enjoy a great party, especially if there was one being held in her honor. She was the life of the party and thrived on the attention she received from them. But today, on a day of celebration, she was far from happy. She had received a phone call from the hospital only a few days ago. The most important person in her life, her mentor, her teacher, the person who she lived to make happy, was slowly slipping away from this world.
Sleeping peacefully in a never-ending nightmare. But there was a slim chance she would actually wake from this illness.
Katara had been the only person Korra had ever come to depend on and love. She had taken her in when her parents had died. Katara had taught her everything, helped her pick up the pieces of her heart, and molded her into the person she was today. But Katara had never said that she was this sick and that soon her body would give out on her. Leaving Korra all alone, again.
"Please, just let me stay," Korra begged the nurse, "You never had a problem with it the past few days."
"I'm sorry ma'am but you have been here for several days," the nurse apologized, "we contacted another close friend to come pick you up." Korra just shot the nurse a pitiful and pained look. She had no desire to leave. She couldn't.
"Who is it?" she asked. Maybe if it was someone that would be sympathetic to her situation she could ask them to allow her to stay. She was kidding herself at this point. If the hospital wanted to they could just kick her out. There was a soft knock at the door to the room.
"Oh, that must be him," the nurse said a little to cheerfully. 'Him? The person the hospital had called was,' Korra thought to herself and then she put two and two together.
Katara, or Master Katara as her students called her was a well renowned Tai Chi teacher. Students from around the world had travelled to her school just to possibly have a chance to learn under her. She had taught many of them but there was only a handful that were able to become some of her elite students. Korra had entered the school rather late, by her standards but quickly had become her prized pupil, her successor.
But, this didn't sit to well with another student. For most of his young life Master Katara had groomed him and treated him as if he was going to take over. But that all changed when Korra wormed her way into his Master's heart. He was bitter and cold at first to her. Eventually, even Korra found a way into his heart, not that he would let her catch on just how far she was in his heart.
Playful teasing when they were training.
A slight of hand here or there when he wanted to ruffle her feathers.
Colorful acting when he felt like ticking her off.
None of it was real, to Korra, but to him it was very real.
"Tahno," Korra spat at him, "Why would they call you?" The first thing Tahno noticed about Korra was how disorderly she looked. Bags under her eyes, her hair was loose and tangled. Her eyes were blood shot and he was just that she had been wearing the same clothes for the past few days. She looked pitiful.
"You break my heart Korra," he playfully shot back at her, "I thought by beautiful face could brighten your day." The nurse slowly crept around the two of them.
"As if," she scoffed, "Now leave me alone. I am fine."
"Not from where I am standing," he closed the distance between them and proceeded to point out her tired appearance, "For starters when was the last time you took a good look in the mirror? You look like you could fall over any second."
"I can take care of myself," she reinforced her statement, "I am fine." As Korra turned away from Tahno to take a seat next to the hospital bed she nearly fell. It was all the proof that Tahno needed to drag her out of the room and to his car in the parking lot.
"This doesn't feel right Tahno," she sounded unsure of herself, "I should be with her. She was always by my side when I needed her. Leaving her like this," she paused.
"Korra, nothing is going to happen to her," Tahno jumped in to reassure her, "If something does the hospital will call us. But for now, you need to worry about yourself and get some rest." Korra pouted in the seat and crossed her arms.
"Since when did you care?" she asked and then after a long pause she sighed, "Fine, take me home pretty boy."
"At least put your seat belt on sweetie."
The car ride to Tahno's apartment had been uncomfortably quiet and slightly awkward. Only once did Korra actually try to talk to him but the conversation died and they were left again in the dark. When the car rolled to a stop Korra had looked around confused.
"I said to take me home, you know to my home," she and emphasized the my and continued, "Where are we?"
"Like I know where your house it," he retorted in truth he did but what fun was that, "besides I'm sure my house is closer to the hospital and I told them to contact us here." Korra mouthed a small, "oh," before she got out of the car.
It didn't take Korra long to fix her appearance, he had ended up wearing some of his clothes but he didn't mind at all but she still was high strung and edgy. She was pacing around the house, clicking her tongue, tapping her toes on the floor, staring at the phone on the wall, and it was beginning to get on Tahno's nerves.
"Jeeze Korra," he eventually couldn't take it anymore, "Calm down and just try to relax."
"And how do you suggest I do that?" she sneered sarcastically and glared at him.
"You could, take a nap, read a book, watch TV, the list is endless, there is one that I hope you could join me," he replied simply and with a sly cocky grin.
She scrunched up her face in disgust, "Get your head out of the clouds pretty boy," and she practically raced from the room. She had taken up a surfing through the channels but she never stayed on one for more than a few minutes. He was sick of this. She really needed to relax. He walked up behind the chair she was sitting in. He slipped the remote from her hand and turned the TV off.
"Hey, I was watching that!" she yelled at him.
"Sure you were," he commented, "Do you even know what they were talking about?"
He took her silence as a no, "You need to relax, Korra," he placed his hand on her shoulders and began to slowly rub circles into her, "just breath."
He felt her shoulders slack under his touch, "There just like that." He wasn't sure how it happened. One minute he was innocently touching her and the next thing he knew he was placing soft kisses against her neck. And she wasn't fighting him.
"Please," she sounded weak and it had been barely above a whisper. That had opened the floodgates. Korra had gently wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer. She kissed him with passion and fire and Tahno returned the kiss with an urgency of his own. Their bodies pressed together intimately.
Tahno broke the kiss first, "Are you sure about this?" he whispered to her.
"Yes," she paused, "please Tahno," there was that weak begging again. She had never sounded like this to him. She sounded like she was in pain, lost, and helpless. He led her away from the living room to the bedroom.
Her body was warm and soft to the touch, he could feel her heartbeat race, and her hip buckle into his. His hands found the hem of her shirt, he peeled it up her torso, and off her shoulders. She captured his lips with passion and grinded her hips against him. Tahno moaned.
Their clothes lay around the room, forgotten, "Spread your legs." She obeyed. Her body was withering under his. The moment was ruined by a noise from downstairs. The phone was ringing.
"The phone," she stated.
"Ignore it," he replied. Again she obeyed with no hesitation.
Their bodies clung to one another and they settled into a rhythm. Her hips rocked with his in perfect time. They both moaned in unison.
"Tahno, I," she paused.
There it was again. The phone was ringing again. But Korra couldn't ignore it this time. She had left his bed without a single word. He followed her downstairs a few minutes later. The phone was still in her hand and she was in shock.
No.
It couldn't have been.
"Who was it?" he asked shakily.
He wasn't sure that she had heard him because she didn't reply for a while, "It was the hospital. They need us to come back.