Korra was refilling one of the lemur feeders when Jinora began asking her about how things were Mako were going since they had been able to spend so much time together. Korra let out a sigh, and rubbed the back of her neck.
She hadn't expressed to the girls about how her interests had been swaying from the firebender to a certain waterbender. She hadn't planned on it and she decided that she was going to keep it from them, knowing that they were probably well aware of their father's dislike to the councilman.
She smiled, figuring she could still easily speak about Tarrlok to them without having them actually know just who she was speaking about. Mako hadn't been showing any interest in her and neither had Tarrlok, so the problem was pretty much the same.
"He doesn't seem to be very interested in me," She began slowly, trying to choose her words carefully, which isn't something she did very often and she hoped the girls wouldn't notice. "He's more interested in that beautiful, elegant, rich girl..." Yes, she thought to herself, bring up Asami and the girls were sure to still believe she was speaking about Mako. "So, uh, any tips or advice on how I could get him to notice me in a, uh, romantic sort of way?"
Korra stood and listened to Jinora to go on a rant about some romantic saga she had just finished reading where the girl ended up burning down a whole country and then jumped into a volcano. Korra was pretty sure that destroying a whole nation and then committing suicide wasn't going to get her the kind of attention she wanted.
Ikki then jumped into the conversation and insisted that she make a love potion made of rainbows and sunsets, she continued to go on about a whole bunch of over things that didn't seem to make much sense at all.
"I think the volcano idea is making more sense to me now..." Korra admitted, though neither idea actually gave her any help at all. She cringed and twirled around after hearing a laugh come from behind her. Pema stood on the trail not far from where Korra and girls had been conversing.
"Pema!" Korra yelped. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough," She laughed, but when on to assure that she knew what Korra was going through, having gone through it herself, with Tenzin. She went on to tell them about how at first she did nothing, but then seeing him with the wrong women had hurt too much, so she decided to go all out and confess her love to him, leaving the rest as history.
Korra hummed and placed her hand on her chin in thought. That was something she could do, but it was a bold move. A very bold move, too bold, she figured. But, that didn't mean she could do something along the same lines and hope for the best. In fact, she'd do something that she had done before.
It had been two times now that Korra had insisted that her and Tarrlok went someplace together after dealing with some Equalist, but he had taken it as if she had meant the whole task force, so they had all gone out once to dinner and then once to a play. This time, though, she would make sure that he caught the hint.
When they had all gone to dinner together she had managed to snag a seat next to him and she had even gotten to dance with him when everyone had finished with their dinner and went on to the dance floor of the restaurant. But, she had never danced before and even though she was light on her feet and a fast learner, she had constantly tried to lead, which isn't exactly something you do when you don't know the moves, so their dance ended up coming to a stop sooner than she had wanted it to. The conversation she had with him at the table had been all small talk and hadn't amounted to much, so that hadn't worked out very well at all.
Things at the theatre hadn't gone too well either. She had fallen too far behind and had to take a seat nearly the furthest away from him and it was made very clear that talking wasn't something you were supposed to do while other's were trying to watch a play. During any breaks and afterwards she had managed to make small talk with him again, but that was it. She had pretty much failed on both attempts to get his attention in the way she wanted, so she was going to make sure that the third time would be the charm and work in her favor.
!
The next day the Fire Ferrets managed to win every match they needed to in order to get into the championship tournament, but three days before then, an Equalist hideout had been located and Korra was needed on the Task Force.
The young Avatar took her seat at the curved table they had in the meeting room and listened as Tarrlok briefed everyone on the mission ahead of them. The location of interested was a small apartment complex in the shadier side of town. The Task Force was going to split into two teams, one would go into the apartment room and see if any of the members of the Equalist were there, and if they were, they would taken into custody while their apartment was searched. The other team would stay behind to search the apartment building for any other suspects.
She watched him as he spoke. He stood with great posture and undeniable confidence, even though the lead they had may be fake, a trap, or go terribly wrong somehow. He was ready for anything and let nothing faze him. He spoke with his hands, motioning and gesturing to the map they had on the wall or to other members of the task force.
He made a point to look at them all individuality, making sure they understood what was going to happen and answering any questions anyone had, no matter how vague, or if it had a seemingly obvious answer, even if it was hard to give the question an answer. When his eyes scanned over her, even though it was for a split second, it sent shivers throughout her entire body.
Those ice blue eyes of his that were so common among the people of the Water Tribes, staring intensely at the map on the wall, then softening once he turned back towards the members of the Task Force. That dark tan skin of his that nearly matched her own, a strong jaw below his lips- she stopped gawking when he suddenly spun around, stopping to face and look at her.
"I'll lead the first group into the apartment while Korra leads the second team through the rest of the building." Tarrlok informed, motioning over to her as he spoke.
She took a sharp intake of breath. That meant they'd be in two totally different places and she'd be lucky if they saw each other after the bust. She had to think of something quick.
"No!" She blurted out, a little too harshly. She glanced around, noting the odd looks everyone was giving her. "No, I don't want to just be extra muscle, or just snooping around. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it head-on." She said sternly, slamming a fist into her palm, letting everyone know she meant business.
"Oh, alright then, would anyone like to volunteer to lead the second team?" Tarrlok asked, turned to scan the people for any takers. A young man, Toshiro, assured that he would be able to handle it and insisted that he take the job.
!
After checking in with the receptionist at the front desk and learning weather or not the resident in question was home or not, which they weren't, the group made their way up the stairs to the room and stood in front of door, trying to decide if they should bust down the door or not. The landlord had given them permission to do whatever it was they needed to do, whether it be just use the given key or break down the door, as long as they covered any damage done.
They decided, since no one was home, they would use the key and do as little damage as possible. The mission was now to get in, get what they needed, and get out as fast as possible and leave as little trace of them as possible. Tarrlok unlocked and opened the door in a swift movement, the rest of the group swooping in after him.
The sudden rush of adrenalin caused Korra to move a little more quicker and harder than usual and she rammed her toes into a short bookshelf on her right. She jutted her hand out to stop herself from smashing into it, but her hand caught on the corner, cutting her palm and causing both her and the bookshelf to tumble over.
"Korra!" Tarrlok scolded her for being so incredibly clumsy as he stepped over to her side. As she tried to wiggle and push herself out from under the shelves he grabbed it and began pulling it up off her. "My goodness, could you be anymore- perfect!" He shoved the shelves back up against the wall and gathered up a bundle of papers that covered the pile of books Korra was under.
She huffed and shoved the books out of her lap as a couple of the Task Force members began replacing the books and one helped her up as she tried to gain her footing. She took some water from her side pouch and healed her hand as she glared up at Tarrlok, annoyed and insulted that he had been far more interested in whatever was on those papers he held in his hand instead of concerned for her well being.
"There had better be some great information on those papers!" She growled, holding her wounded hand out so one of the medics that had came with them could cover up her slashed palm with sterile wrappings.
"Schematics," He mumbled, handing one of the sheets to her as he turned, still keeping his focus on the papers in his hand. He sat down in one of the recliners in the room and tried to take in as much information as he could.
"This guy must be some kind of mechanic," One of the Task Force members suggested as he pointed to one of the back rooms he had just exited. "There's all kind of tools and stuff back there."
"Look at this, what is this?" Tarrlok huffed as he handed out a couple of papers for a few other members to look at for themselves.
After taking a good look at it, one of the members pointed out that it was something called an 'biplane'. "They have a hatch for bombs to come out of! He's planning to eventually bomb the city! We have to find out where they're building and keeping these things!"
They spent a few more minutes studying the papers before they figured that they shouldn't linger in some random persons apartment and they should start heading out. Before leaving they made sure to ask the receptionist as much as they could about the suspect, learning when his usual times of leave and arrival where and which days, if they knew where he usually went off to.
They got a good bit of information on the man. Apparently, him and his girlfriend shared the apartment and were both nonbenders from poor families. They often left and returned to the house around the same times but every now and again they would stay out extra late.
The receptionist figured that these were just innocent dates, but the majority of the Task Force thought otherwise. Those late nights out where probably Equalist gatherings or rallies. The Task Force agree'd that they would be returning to this location on a later date to see if they could get the suspect into custody for further questioning.
Korra grumbled and kicked at the dirt that covered the road as she rubbed her aching wrist. Her wounded hand had already begun to swell and the pain had spread a little ways. She could feel where a couple of splinters had been lodged into her skin in and around the cut. She'd have to be sure to tend to it further once she made it back to Air Temple Island. Stupid guy, buying such a cheap, wooden bookshelf. Stupid Tarrlok, not even asking or caring if she was alright.
She growled and glared over to him as she stopped in her tracks. He was standing by one of the trucks they used to transport the whole Task Force, conversing with one of the members. She waited until the guy he was speaking to turned and walked away, then she decided she would go gripe at him for not even thinking to help her up out of the avalanche of books that had fallen onto her.
"Hey, Tarrlok," She barked, stomping as she made her way over to him. "Thanks for making sure your second in command was alright after she sliced her hand open and was pummeled by a bunch of books!" She narrowed her eyes and pouted at him as she crossed her arms over her chest, careful to not hurt her hand anymore. She had tried to sound as though she was seriously angry with him, but her voice filled with sarcasm.
"Oh please," He rolled his eyes at her. "It couldn't possibly be that bad."
"Look it!" She demanded, shoving her hand out, holding it just in front of his
face, presenting him with the bloody bandage around her palm.
He flinched back and cringed at the sight of it. "Yes, well," He gently took her by the forearm and lowered her wounded hand away from his face. "Aside from that, I'd say things went great." He smirked and handed her one of the copies of the schematics they had taken from the apartment.
"Yeah," She huffed and pretended to actually be interested in the sketches that had been scratched onto the paper he had handed her as she brought the paper up and held it in front her face. "Yeah, things have been going pretty well," She peeked up at him over the top of the paper as she mustered up the gut for what she was about ask. "We should, uh, go out someplace together... celebrate!"
Tarrlok shifted his weight onto one leg and placed a hand onto his chin in thought. "Some of us have been talking about going to Kuang's one night-"
"No." Korra said flatly as she lowered the paper away from her face and crossed her arms over her chest again, seeing this coming. Yet again, he was figuring that she meant them and the rest of the Task Force. "I mean- just you and me- we could go to Kong's."
"Kuang's."
"Whatever." Korra began to shrink back as an awkward silence panned out between the two while he stood, glancing around, obviously thinking about it. Her breath caught in her throat when he finally shifted back towards her and faced her.
"You have been neglecting the Task Force lately, and we've got things to discuss. I suppose we could."
Korra's mouth dropped for second after hearing him say this. "Well, excuse me for trying to have some fun!" She laughed in attempt to lighten the mood. "You should try sometime!" She beamed and smiled up at him after he gave a light laugh and shook his head at her. They decided on meeting up at Kuang's the next night, seeing as that it was already getting late into the one they were currently in.
!
Korra yawned and stretched as the day's first rays of sunlight began to fall onto her face from a nearby window. She had trouble getting and staying asleep during the night, she had a lot of anxiety thinking about her date- outing with Tarrlok that had been planned.
She was excited to finally get to spend some time with him, just him. Even though he was probably taking it as just business, she was sure that she could work her charm on him and sway his interest in her to a romantic kind. But, she was also pretty nervous about it.
She was aware that he was much older than her and he seemed to be strictly business. What he would be appalled at the thought of even considering being a romantic relationship with her? Sure, in the Water Tribes an age difference like their's wouldn't be paid much mind, but he had probably been in Republic City for a while, their ideals may have rubbed off onto him and changed his mindset about things of that sort. What if it just ended up being some, weird, awkward mess that she tangles herself up into?
The young Avatar sighed and shifted in attempt to get into a more comfortable position on her bed. She tried push her worries out of her mind, but of course, just like they always did no matter how hard she tried, the thoughts of Tarrlok continued to slip their way into her mind, stealing her attention from other things.
It was just going to be a nice, hopefully fun outing to Kuang's Cuisine, she assured herself repeatedly. Wait, she thought, remembering details about the restaurant. Asami had treated Mako to a dinner there and apparently it was a very upscale, fancy place. She had only brought one formal outfit with her from home, figuring that she was just coming here to learn Airbending, instead of having a terribly large, seemingly hopeless crush on some guy, and she had already worn that dress.
At first, Korra cringed a little bit at the thought of Asami. If she said that she didn't still have some sort of feelings towards Mako, she'd be lying, but he and Asami seemed to be working well and happy together. There was nothing actually bad about Asami, nothing that Korra could point out or knew about. In fact, she hardly knew her, but she figured that could easily change.
Instead of seeing Asami as a competitor for Mako's attention, she could view her as an ally, someone who could possibly help her gain Tarrlok's. On the down low, at first of course, until she gained her trust and she felt like she could trust her with the fact that she had her eye set on the councilman. Asami seemed to be a prissy, girly-girl. The perfect person who could help her get all dolled up and looking nice for her date- outing! with Tarrlok.
Korra dressed and went to breakfast with the airbenders, having to repeatedly assure Tenzin that her hand was fine. She had gotten all of the splinters out, cleaned, healed, and re-bandaged it the night before and she was sure it would be completely healed over within the next few days.
As she was preparing to take the ferry over to the city, shifting in Naga's saddle to get comfortable, the girls came up behind her, asking if she had made any progress with Mako. She admitted to them that she wasn't sure, speaking about Tarrlok, but that she was on her way to go see him, speaking about Mako. They wished her luck and waved to her as the ferry began to pull away from the dock.
Her first stop was at the arena, to the loft where Mako and Bolin lived. The boys were both there, as well as Asami.
"Hey, Korra!" Bolin greeted her first, smiling and waving at her. She smiled and waved back. "Whoa, what happened to your hand?" He asked, noticing the wrapping around her palm.
"Oh, it's just a scratch, nothing too bad." She waved him off and turned towards Asami, who had been cuddling Mako on one of the couches they had. "Asami, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something?"
"Yeah, sure," Asami stood and made her way over to Korra. "What's up?"
"I'm, uh, going to Kuang's tonight with someone, and I know you've been there before, so I was wondering if you could help me out with how I should dress?"
"Wait-" Korra shifted and looked over Asami's shoulder to Mako as he stood and made his way over. "You've got a date with someone?"
"I never said that."
"Who are you going to Kuang's with?" Mako narrowed his eyes at her as he shifted his weight onto one leg and crossed his arms over his chest.
Korra mocked his posture and did the same as she scrunched her face at him. "It's not a date, and why does it matter to you who I'm going with?"
Mako huffed and rolled his eyes at her. "Uh, because you're my friend. The city is filled with scumbags, Korra. Maybe Asami and I should tag along, a double date, to make sure this guy is alright."
"It's not a date!" Korra threw her hands up into the air and shook her head at him as she rolled her eyes. She wanted to chew him out and ask him how it was to get that through his thick skull, but Asami laughed, lightening the mood before she had a chance to dampen it.
"Don't worry about it, Mako. Korra can handle herself." She turned towards the firebender and rested a hand on his shoulder as she smiled up at him, silently assuring him that it was fine before she turned back towards Korra. "Come on, I know a great little boutique that's filled with dresses I'm sure you'll love."
!
Korra gave herself an awkward smile as she examined herself in the mirror. She had managed to get herself into a blue and white Ao Dai that Asami had picked out for her. It looked good on her, really. It showed her curves and the blue matched her eyes and popped when placed against her dark skin.
Asami gasped and smiled at the sight of Korra. "You look gorgeous!"
Korra groaned and turned to look at how the dress fit her sides. "Thanks," She said weakly, unsure of herself. "Do you think this is a little too... form fitting? I mean, it really isn't a date... even if I would like it to be." She mumbled the last part, hoping Asami wouldn't hear.
She did catch it though, and her smile fell and her expression turned to a look of concern. Asami took a couple steps forward and turned to where she faced Korra, instead of standing at her side and looking at her through the mirror as she had been doing.
"Who is this guy you're meeting up with, Korra?" She asked, tilting her head to the side a bit. Korra huffed and fiddled with her fingers as she looked down to the floor, avoiding Asami's gaze. "Don't worry, I won't tell the boys if you don't want me to."
Korra bit her lip and shifted away from her a bit, feeling uneasy and unsure. She had planned before hand to not tell anyone about how she had been feeling towards Tarrlok, but Asami had been so nice and honestly did seem like someone she could trust. Plus, Korra had never had a girl friend that was close to her age. Jinora and Ikki were good friends of hers and she considered them family, but she felt like she needed a good friend like Asami in her life and she decided that she could confide in her with this sort of thing.
"I'm kind of... interested in Tarrlok." She admitted, lifting her gaze up from the floor to Asami. "But I don't think he's interested in me at all, not the way I am towards him, at least."
Korra stood and watched as Asami hummed and placed a hand on her chin. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember just who the Avatar had been speaking about. "He works with Tenzin on the Council, he's the one who started the Task Force thing I'm on."
"Oh! The guy who hosted that gala?"
Korra nodded and smiled shyly and was honestly surprised to see that Asami didn't seem to be shocked or disgusted. "So, you don't think that's weird?"
"No. You like who you like, you can't help it." Asami shrugged with one shoulder.
Korra's smile grew and she looked back at herself in the mirror, this time with a lot more confidence. "How do you think I should do my hair?" She asked, looking back over to Asami.
She hummed and tapped her lip with a finger before stating that she thought she had an idea. They pulled up a chair and Korra took a seat as Asami carefully pulled her hair out of the usual ties she wore and into a new style.
When Asami moved out from in front of the mirror, Korra immediately busted out into a fit of laughter. She had fashioned her hair in the style she usually wore herself, a barrette and everything.
"Okay, okay," Asami laughed as she began to gently pull the blue barrette from Korra's hair. "Seriously this time." But she continued to joke a couple more times, pulling Korra's hair back into a couple more ridiculous styles, all of them causing them both to get a good laugh before she seriously styled her hair.
She had pulled back the hair that covered the crown of her head and used a hair pin with white jewels on it to keep it pulled back behind her head. The rest of her hair was kept down and her bangs became more prominent, being too short to have been pulled back with the rest of the hair.
Korra titled her head to different angles, determining whether or not she liked the style on her or not. Her face was still framed since Asami hadn't pulled the whole top half of her hair back, but it would still be kept out of her face.
"I like this!" She stood and placed her hands on her hips, smiling her classic smile as she felt her confidence shoot up.
Wearing attire like this and wearing her current hair style wasn't her usual self, but she felt good in it. She felt not only beautiful, but comfortable in it as well, like it showed a different side of her that people didn't usually get to see, not even herself.
!
Asami drove Korra to Kuang's Cuisine and assured her that she and the boys would keep Naga entertained until she got back from her meeting with the Councilman. The young Avatar let out a huff before she pressed the door to Asami's car open and stepped out, stunned to halt at seeing Tarrlok make hi way from around the side of the building.
Korra then rolled her eyes at herself. She was nearly acting as if she had spotted Amon strolling about the streets. Tarrlok was no Amon and he was certainly no one to fear, so the breath in her throat must have caught thanks to her being excited about finally getting to spend some one-on-one time with him and anxious about him possibly catching the hint that she didn't want it to be strictly business between them. She straightened her dress and brushes her bangs out of her face before she finally began to make her way over to him.
"Whoa, fancy meeting you here," She joked as she accidentally on purpose bumped into him.
"Yeah, it's weird," Korra smiled wide, more than happy to have him going along with the joke. Things seemed to be going pretty well already and she hoped they would continue. "I had been waiting for someone, but it seems as though she may have stood me up." Tarrlok gives her a pout as he crosses his arms over his chest, looking away as if he were feeling some kind of honest disappointment.
"Oh, well, you think going in with me would make up for it?"
"I suppose." He shrugged before smiling at her and gently placing a hand on her shoulder blade as he guides her into the restaurant.
Korra keeps the wide smile on her face as they take their seat and exchange compliments, as you do when someone dresses up nicely for you, but it quickly fades when he doesn't beat around any bushes and get's straight to speaking business with her.
He goes on about how he feels the Task Force has been doing a lot of good around the city, how she should make more time for it. There, he makes sure to assure her that she plays a big a role and is very important on the team, and that she's proving to be a pretty great Avatar. She wants to take this as honest flattery, maybe even as far as flirting, with the way he sticks on praising her for a while, but she knows that this is him just trying to make sure that she stays on the Task Force.
The conversation takes an even worse turn when he asks her about what happened on Air Temple Island that night when she had challenged Amon. Korra sinks down into her chair and hugs herself as she avoids making eye contact with him. She knows by her body language she's making it clear that the subject makes her uneasy, but she doesn't want him seeing the fear that shows in her eyes.
Tarrlok of course picks on up this and can tell she's frightened by Amon, even though she's trying to hide this from him. After hearing that the masked man had brought nearly a dozen of Equalist members with him, he goes on to sternly tell her that Amon is nothing to be afraid of. "He's a coward. You're obviously a lot stronger and braver than he is, Korra. Don't let that night get the best of you."
Korra finally managed to look up at him after a couple minuets of staring at the back of someone's chair after hearing his words. "Really? You think that?"
"Absolutely! You kept your word, you went in there alone and attempted to face him head-on. I'm more that sure that you would have, had he not been so gutless."
Korra smiles and thanks him before she gives her best shot at continuing their talk of the Task Force, trying to seem most interested in bringing a halt to this whole 'revolution' thing. She is, of course, just not at the moment. Right now, she's more interested in getting on a friendlier level with Tarrlok and if rambling on about ideas on how to stop them were going to keep his attention on her, then that was just what she was going to have to do.
Finally, after a good while of racking her brain and trying her best to come up with great ambush idea's, a silence comes up between them and she takes it as the opportunity to change the subject.
She uses her chop sticks to maneuver the rice on her place into a ball, then mash it down and spread the rice down to an even level, only to end up repeating the process over and over again as she breaks the silence. "You're from the Northern Water Tribe, right?"
Korra looks up at Tarrlok from her rice long enough to see him nod before leaning back and tilting his head up to be able to get the last drops of his drink into his mouth
"My uncle is the Chief there." She stops playing her food and continues looking up at him, expecting him to say something, but he only stares back at her and lifts a brow, silently urging her to go on. "I wonder how many times you and I have been in the same place at the same time and not even known it."
Tarrlok let out a laugh and motioned for a waiter to come and refill his cup. "I left there as soon as I could. I had literally just turned eighteen when I left."
"Oh." Korra sighed and slouched down as she returned her focus to her rice. She groaned and rolled her eyes at him on the inside. She wouldn't have even of been born then and realizing this makes him feeling incredibly older than her and her terribly younger than him, and that makes her feel uneasy. But then, Asami's words come to mind. You like who you like. You can't help it.
This helps her and she notices something else. He had come to the city at a young age just like she had. "So," She asked, as she straightened back up and made sure to make eye contact with him before she continued any further. "Was the city anything like you had imagined it to be?"
Tarrlok scrunches his face up a bit in thought as he looks away, as though he's looking through some kind of window to the past, jogging his memory of what it had been like. "It was very, very busy. The City was still being built up to what it is today. A new store would open up here and then there, people from all around coming in. It was crazy."
"Did you ever get to meet Councilman Sokka?"
"Briefly, and he had already retired." With the way Tarrlok makes a face and looks away, Korra can tell there's more to the story and asks him what happened.
He turned back towards her and laughed lightly before going on and telling her the story. "The earliest versions of the Satomobile had just been released to the public and I had never seen one before. I got distracted and as I stepped off the boat, I slipped on some ice on the dock and nearly fell right into the water, had he not been there to catch me."
Korra smiles and leans towards him, obviously interested in hearing more, if there was any. Tarrlok smiles back and clears his throat, "Fire Lord Zuko was there, too. He laughed." Korra notices the light blush of embarrassment that had managed to creep up onto his cheeks.
"Hey, it's better than getting arrested on your first day."
They both laugh, and with that, the conversation takes a light-hearted, friendly turn and in Korra's opinion, goes very well. They finish their dinner and Tarrlok drives her back to the arena, where Asami is eagerly waiting for her return, so they can chat about how her meeting with Councilman went.
A/N: : So, in all honesty, I think this going to be kind of like a tester chapter, to see how others feel about this and everything, if that makes any sense. I'm still pretty torn between writing this or the sequel to Realize. Also, these characters are still very new to me and I can't say I'm completely comfortable with the Krew, not in the way I am with the Gaang. So, I apologize for any serious OOC. If you spot any here, please just tell me and help me out, tell me what you think the character would say/do and if I do continue, I'll go back and revise this chapter. But anyways, please tell me what you think?