Coming out of fiction writing retirement to work on this! I'm a fan of the odd couple of Korra and Tahno, though I think it needs a bit of an AU to work. This story will mostly be about Korra growing up and becoming more mature, Tahno regaining his bending, their adventures around the world, and the trials and tribulations of two personalities such as theirs coming together to be an awesome powerhouse of sexy. Rated M for future chapters, and there will be some light D/s references, so you have been warned.

Prologue

It was meant to be a recon mission. She would use his offer of 'Private Lessons' to trick him into a duel, learn what they were up against, and take her newfound knowledge to blast his pretty head (and those of his teammates) out of the ring in the final match.

After days of planning she finally approached them as they neared the end of their practice session in the gym. Begrudgingly, she had to admit that they did work quite well together. Each seemed to anticipate the actions of the others, each move blending into part of their elaborate dance. They performed a few combos, one after the other, stopping only when their leader stood up straight and clapped his hands together.

"Good job boys…we'll continue in two days as usual. For now, it would seem that we have a visitor." Silver eyes met blue and Korra blanched as she stood up from her resting place against the door. She felt as if she'd been caught doing something naughty, and the thought made her frown. She huffed and drew herself up, unaware that she was doing a wonderful impression of a puffer fish-shark.

"I'm here to speak to you Tahno!"

The water bender in question flashed a grin as his teammates gathered their things.

"Ooh, how theatrical. I imagine you'll challenge me to a duel next?"

"Not a duel-I'm here to take you up on your offer of private lessons."

His teammates' bags clattered to the floor, an earthen disk slipping out of one and rolling in circles on the ground until it finally came to a stop. The silence was deafening. Korra glanced between the two, crossed her arms and glared. After a few moments they finally picked their jaws and their bags up off of the floor, waved a hasty goodbye to Tahno, and slipped out of the room. She could hear snickering as they slid past her out the door which turned into full blown laughter as they trailed further down the hall. Sticking her tongue out at them she sauntered into the gym and shut the door behind her. Tahno still hadn't moved from his position on the other side of the room. He stood with his arms crossed, his hip cocked to one side and an amused look on his face.

"Well well…private lessons. To what do I owe this sudden change of heart?"

"Nothing! I'm just…I haven't had a chance to train with many…well, any, water benders since I've arrived here. I thought that I might be able to with you…but I'm starting to think I made a mistake."

"Well, why don't we give it a try and see what you think?"

Korra smirked. I've got him! She thought to herself. "You got it pal." Removing her parka, Korra walked to the middle of the room. Raising some water from the shallow pool along the wall, she slid into a fighting stance. Tahno cocked an eyebrow.

"Are we going to be fighting?"

"How else do you propose lessons?"

"I can think of a number of ways, but I can see you had something different in mind…no duel indeed," Sighing he walked to the middle of the room, "It's clear to me that you are not looking for anything truly educational however…at least not beyond gathering information on me."

Korra blanched, "What? I-"

"Don't lie to me Avatar," Tahno's lip curled into a cold smile as he slid into a stance that mirrored Korra's own, "You came here to pick a fight…not to expand your actual bending abilities."

"No! I-"

"Well, you wanted a fight, so let's have at it."

In an instant everything changed. Korra could feel the energy in the room crackle and her hair stood on end as she was immediately placed on the defensive. Tahno attacked with a barrage of techniques, icy one minute, a broiling, swirling torrent the next. They pushed and pulled against one another, dancing around the room as cold mist filled the air. Korra threw a brick of ice, only to have Tahno melt it, twisting the liquid around him like a rotating shield. The stream flew back and forth, until both were encased within the same circling water. They switched to hand to hand combat, trading blows, concentrating on the water surrounding them whilst fending off one another.

It was with dismay that Korra noticed her breathing getting heavier while Tahno's remained unchanged, his face a cool mask while his body continued to flow as effortlessly as the water that he so skillfully controlled. She began to lash out angrily, growling expletives while attacking roughly. He defended against each blow as effortlessly as one might brush off a fly, fueling her anger further. He wasn't supposed to be that good at bending! He must have trained with masters to be this skilled…if she hadn't been determined to loathe him on principle she would've been terribly impressed. She began to lash out verbally, "What's the matter? Can't defeat me without resorting to cheating? Come on you coward!"

Eyes narrowing, Tahno sneered, "Enough."

Suddenly Korra felt her feet go out from under her and found herself staring at the ceiling. Before she could kick herself up, more water whips lashed out to join the one around her ankles, pinning her to the ground. She struggled, pushed herself to her knees and looked up to find herself staring at the end of a very sharp piece of ice aimed straight between her eyes. She froze.

"Yield."

"No!"She growled, shaking her head.

"Yield." He said again, his voice lower and more emphatic.

"Never." She snarled and looked up at him. She had expected to see him grinning, or at the very least smirking in his usual haughty manner. What she hadn't expected to see was disappointment.

All of the water abruptly splashed to the floor, slithering back to the pool from whence it had come. Tahno straightened up, turning away from her. It seemed an eternity before he spoke.

"Go home Avatar…you're too rough and too hard-headed to learn anything from me."

Korra stared at him, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"What?"

"You heard me. Go home. You're not the sort of sparring partner that I'm looking for."

"Just because I won't give up?"

He turned back around, the ghost of a smile on his face. She couldn't help but notice the water that clung to him like a second skin, dripping slowly to the floor.

"Not quite. I'm not looking for someone who will simply give up either."

"Well what do you want then?" She growled in frustration, "You seem awfully-"

"Do you think that your Polar Bear-Dog feels that it has given up?"

She stopped, stunned. What was he on about? What did Naga have to do with any of this? She stared at him incredulously, "Naga? She's…are you saying you're looking for a pet to ride?" Her brows furrowed in confusion. She wasn't sure where he was going with this, but it was creeping her out.

He sighed, shaking his head, "That's not quite what I meant. I meant that I'm not looking for someone to break. You can find a wild ostrich-horse and break it, but where's the fun in that? It's much more fun to travel with a companion who is there with you willingly, like your polar bear-dog is for you."

"So…you want a pet?"

"No!" He sneered angrily, "Do I have to spell things out for you? I'm saying I want a companion who willingly submits themselves to me. Someone strong, who also understands when to relinquish control," Walking back towards her he extended his hand. She glared at him, taking it hesitantly after she decided that he meant her no ill will. He helped her to her feet. She couldn't help but notice that he did not release it immediately, nor could she help but notice just how surprisingly warm he was. She stared at their linked hands as he stared into the distance and continued talking,"Together she and I could travel the world, see sights unseen," His voice lowered and she shivered as his thumb ghosted over the back of her hand, but she stood, trancelike as he continued,"We could discover the secret benders of the world and learn from them…together, we could do anything."

For a moment she thought he might be talking about the two of them, but he abruptly dropped her hand and backed away. His gaze slid back to her and she wasn't sure why, but the disappointment she saw there made her feel hollow inside.

"But you…you, Avatar, are too reckless and naïve at the moment. You still have a lot to learn."And with that he turned his back to her. She stood for a moment in shock before anger bubbled to the surface. Gritting her teeth she pointed at him,"Oh yeah pretty boy? And what right do you have to treat me like a child, you-"

"I didn't call you a child; I called you reckless and naïve. Adults can be immature, just as children can be sadly far older than their years."

Korra stopped for a moment as she thought of some of the street children who weren't as clever as Skootchy …their eyes flat as they sat, begging for money. Some of them carried younger siblings who couldn't have been much younger than themselves.

"Come find me when you are a bit more grown up, Korra, and we'll see about those private lessons."

Hearing her name shocked her out of her reverie and she looked up to find that familiar smirk on his face as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

"For now I'll see you at the big match. You'd best start practicing if you don't want your team to end up like you did today."

"Don't you worry pretty boy…you'll be going down."She managed to sneer. More private lessons…who did he think he was? What was he thinking?

Five years later as she stood outside of his door, hand poised to knock, she asked herself the same question.