There he was, half drunk and letting all hell break loose on the dance floor. Colored lights swung crazily all over the dark room as the mass of people danced to the pulsing rhythms of the background music. Tahno was no exception, if not the most enthusiastic one out of the lot. His probending moves came alive in a new way out there on the floor, and they weren't ignored by the numerous amounts of Wolfbat fans that were located practically everywhere.
Perhaps he had had a little too much to drink. Red lights blurred into green, which blurred into blue in a too bright way that hurt his eyes, but what else could Tahno do? It would've looked absolutely lame to just walk out of the club now. And when hundreds of your admirers are the ones paying for your drinks, wouldn't it be considered outrageously rude to rebuff them?
So drink he did, the mechanisms of his human mind steadily trickling away with each downing of alcohol, his judgment growing gradually more and more nebulous.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he slurred a couple of hours later, when a choicey and rather scandalous song started playing, "and now, some good news for you all."
The thunderous volume subdued as the throng of Tahno's admirers toned it down to listen.
"One of you—sorry, just one," he slurred on, interrupted by a chorus of 'awwww's from his fans, "will be lucky enough to..." He paused for a dramatic effect and took another swig of whatever the hell he had in his hand, his drunken mind relishing in the anticipation. "One of you will be lucky enough to win an hour in Republic City's hottest club's bathroom with Republic City's hottest bender—moi."
He smirked as a squabble broke out, arguing over who was to be the lucky person who got to enjoy this luxury. How he loved it when all the attention was on him.
"I'll give you all twenty minutes to decide. Don't worry-I'm not picky about whether it's a girl...or a guy." He dropped a wink, and started to make his way to a table on the side, smiling deviously to himself.
"The matter has already been resolved, pretty boy."
Tahno swirled around on his heels, and saw the goddamn Avatar herself, looking like she had had her fair share of drinks too, a Cheshire grin as devious as his had been seconds ago positively radiating from her face.
"Has it really now?" he asked coldly. For some reason, the sight of Korra plus alcohol ticked him off very much.
Korra let loose a wild swirl of water, air, and fire into the atmosphere while creating a perfectly circular dent in the floor surrounding her in a three-foot radius.
"Does anyone wanna go toe-to-toe against the Avatar for one night with this guy here?" she boldly challenged, the mischievous grin growing stronger and brighter as she caught the dejected looks of the crowd.
"Told you the matter was resolved," she said matter-of-factly, and before he could protest, Korra seized him eagerly by the wrist and marched off together with him to the bathroom stall.
"That was hardly fair, Uh-vatar," he seethed. For some reason, every step closer to the bathroom only fueled his anger towards Korra and made him feel soberer, which was defeating his purpose of doing this in the first place-to get drunk and have a wild night, ridding himself of all worries and concerns. Why the hell was Korra such a show-off all the time?
"It's not like you always play by the rules either," she shot back. "Don't be a hypocrite. Besides, it's not like this is the first night you've spent with me."
Hypocrite. The words stung him, but they rang with a certain truth. Of course Korra was the only one who was ever this brutally honest. Honest to everyone but herself, that was.
"Here we are," Korra continued. "Let's start now." She roughly grabbed the front of Tahno's shirt and pulled him into a messy kiss involving lots of tongue and teeth.
By now, Tahno was feeling stone cold sober, his senses going into hyper-drive. But he felt...troubled, somehow.
"Uh-vatar," he gasped in between Korra's fierce attacks. "Uh-vatar. Korra. Stop."
Korra paused abruptly. It was highly uncommon for Tahno to call her anything other than 'Uh-vatar.'
"Chickening out of your promise, already, Tahno?" she teased, "or did you stop me for more?" She backed him up against the ceramic tiled walls and nibbled his ear none too gently.
Tahno wrenched out of her hold furiously. "Stop."
She growled impatiently, shooting Tahno a glare sharp as daggers. "This had better be good, pretty boy."
Cold creeped up along Tahno's heart as he realized he didn't quite know why he stopped or what he wanted to say. "Korra," he began breathlessly, "I'm not too sure how to say this, but-"
"If you don't know what the hell you're saying, you're drunk, and it doesn't matter. Now, shut up and let's-"
"STOP." She really was infuriating; why did he even bother with her? Wouldn't she ever grow up? And what was an unprecedented topic he could he bring out that would unsettle her?
"Mako," he said, the answer coming to him in a snap. "Where the hell's your fiancée?"
He was right; Korra froze, her hand still painfully clutching the front of Tahno's shirt's fabric.
"Tahno, I'm in a club's bathroom stall, half drunk with a man that I've slept with a couple of times too much for my own good, and now you're asking me about Mako?" She laughed hysterically.
"Tahno, Tahno. Why the hell do you think I'm here?" she said, picking up where she left off. "Mako's great, but he's not...Ugh, I came here for some excitement, and now you're depriving me of it."
"Then leave Mako," Tahno blurted out, the alcohol buzzing in veins and giving him the courage to blurt out his long buried feelings.
There was a pause, and then another laugh on Korra's part.
"You really are drunk, aren't you, Tahno? Well, more fun for me, I guess-"
"I was serious," Tahno continued quietly, his heartbeat rapidly quickening its pace with every syllable that left his mouth. "You don't love him, Uh-vatar. You never did. It was always me. Always me you've come to for romantic nights together, always me... C'mon, Uh-vatar. Be honest with yourself for once."
He saw the agony and torment shining behind the drunken haze in Korra's eyes, and for a moment his heart fluttered in his chest hopefully.
Then Korra released her hold on him and shoved him hard against the wall with a strong puff of air.
"You're no fun anymore, pretty boy. I'm finding someone else to have fun with tonight." She marched out of the stall, her footsteps ending in hollow echoes that resounded against the walls.
At the doorway, she twirled around and faced him once more. "Don't get as drunk next time, and perhaps we can still have a good time." Without another word, she left the bathroom, Tahno still slumped against the wall from where she had thrown him, waiting for the pain to subside into something bearable so that he'd be able to walk again.
The rest of the night passed in a blur of more drinks and dancing. Tahno wasn't sure if there had been another girl or not. Perhaps it had been a guy. Either way, he had eventually gotten what he bargained for in the first place-a tumultuous, chaotic, drunken night.
He had just never imagined that he wouldn't have enjoyed it at all after the damage the only person he truly loved had done to him.