Author's note: I wrote this a while back and just came across it. Hope you like it, review even if you hate it, please!
Alas, I don't own Korra or Tahno or Avatar for that matter…such is my life.
She isn't really sure what she's been doing, she hasn't been sure for the past month, but it's become a routine, an unspoken agreement that neither have dared to bring up because of what it implies. She was surprised to say the least when she found him working on the docks no less, but it made sense, him being as close to his element as possible, even if he couldn't bend…for now.
She's running, trying to get to him as soon as possible and she silently wonders when this became more than just a concerned Avatar checking on a victim…she wonders when it became a crush.
A slow smile spreads across her face when she spots him tall, hair sleek and styled and wearing his trademark smirk. She takes her time approaching his post; he is busy unloading boxes of sea prunes and for a second she is homesick.
"Oy, pretty boy, look who's here!" Korra jumps slightly as a hand grabs her shoulder, she glances up to see a man with thick sideburns and kind green eyes staring down at her.
"And not a second late." A man, with thick brown hair and grey eyes says as Korra hears the clock from Aang's Island ring, signaling noon, and Tahno's lunch break. He winks at her and Tahno lowers the box onto a smaller boat, which seems just about loaded.
"Akino, the boat." Tahno says bluntly and the grey eyed man sighs.
"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but some of us have to work, see you soon Miss…"
"Korra, my name is Korra." Korra says, giving him a smile
"Korra and the pretty boy…has a nice ring doesn't it Katsu?" the man behind Korra chuckles in reply.
"Better than the Uhvatar" she hears Tahno groan next to her and then a warm hand is wrapping itself around her wrist and for a second Korra marvels at how long his fingers are until he is pulling her and she is walking away from Katsu and Akino who are laughing loudly.
"Let's get out of here before they start up again." Tahno mumbles and Korra nods, turning to look back at the two men.
"What's with the pretty boy comments?" Korra asks, falling in step beside him and noting how he still hadn't let her wrist go, not entirely anyway. Tahno flushes slightly and Korra bites back a giggle when he looks at her.
"What do you think?"
"I'm sorry! It's a habit and hey you still call me Uhvatar, think of it as my nickname."
"That's a horrible nickname." Tahno replies, before his hand is slipping, slipping, gone, from her wrist and Korra hates to admit it but she misses the warmth it provides. She shakes her head, feeling foolish and bit embarrassed as she focuses on what Tahno is saying, something about lunch.
"How about Narook's? We've never gone there." Korra offers, one brow lifting in challenge.
"You sure, I don't want to have a run in with your friends." Tahno says with a frown, and then Korra is looking at him with confusion.
"What's wrong with my friends?" she asks though her voice sounds thick and she can imagine Bolin and Mako's disapproval and then Azami's pretty face looking at her with confusion.
"Nothing…it's more of a question of what's wrong with me." He shrugs and Korra nods slowly, not really liking where the conversation is headed.
"There's nothing wrong with you, besides I don't care what they think." He glances at her from the corner of his eyes and she holds herself a little taller, as if daring him to challenge her, but he doesn't instead he gives another shrug and a small grin spreads across his face.
"Well then, by all means, lead the way."
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"I uh…I saw you today." Korra cracks and eye open to see Mako starring down at her, a look of bewilderment and confrontation on his face.
"Huh?" Korra asks now sitting up and glaring down at the cards she had been assigned to make float.
"With Tahno…at Narook's." Mako clarifies and Korra suddenly feels like the room has become small, much too small.
"Oh…" she replies lamely as she collects the cards and tries to make a quick exit from the room, but Mako's too fast, his hand wrapping around Korra's wrist, tugging her back to face him and Korra can only marvel at the difference between Mako's and Tahno's hands even as she feels Mako's eyes staring down at her, willing her to look at him.
"What are you doing Korra?" he breathes close to her ear and Korra sighs more in relief than frustration, because Mako's proximity isn't affecting her as it should…it hasn't for a while.
"Nothing, I'm just talking to him." She glares at him, yanking her hand away from his grip, "There's nothing wrong with that!"
"Not yet, but you don't know him Korra! Just don't go getting attached, that's the last thing we nee—
"—I'm sorry, what? How dare you give me advice on who I should and should not be getting attached to?" she scoffs and without a second thought she is running out of the room leaving Mako to call after her.
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"Mako found out." Korra watches as Tahno slowly takes a bite of his doughnut his grey eyes fixed on the window where people are passing by every few seconds before he turns his gaze to her.
"I'm guessing he wasn't too happy about that." He says after a moment, in which the only sound is the elderly couple a few tables away laughing loudly and the muffled voice of the radio presenter.
"No, he wasn't." she glances down at her hot chocolate a small smile spreading across her features when she looks back up at him, "But I don't care." She tries to copy his casual shrug; Tahno only fixes her with those grey eyes.
"Hm." He replies with a slow nod taking a long sip from his coffee and Korra feels an odd thrill when his tongue darts out to lick away the powdered sugar that had been left there by his doughnut.
"I don't think Tenzin would approve of this breakfast." Korra says suddenly, desperate for conversation, aware that her face is reddening.
"Well it's a good thing he isn't here then." Tahno replies fixing her with that smirk that always leaves her grinning like an idiot.
"So then, what's our schedule for today?" she asks still feeling the corners of her mouth slightly quirked up and Tahno leans in closer his eyes briefly flashing towards the elderly couple, who have been shamelessly shooting looks their way since Tahno and Korra sat down.
"There's a film that came out recently actually…horror filled, I've been planning to go see it since Katsu told me about it…do you want to go with me?" he says the last few words uncertainly and Korra bites her lower lip, unsure if she should confess to him that she's only ever seen two films, both with Asami, and none of them were ever close to being horror, in fact Korra isn't sure what a horror film contains…but it can't be pleasant, and yet Tahno is looking at her eagerly and really how can she say no to him? So with a shaky breath she nods slowly and gives a weak laugh at the smile Tahno gives her.
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"Are you sure you're okay?" Tahno asks halfway through the movie. Korra is starring in horror at the screen, she isn't the only one though; girls and women and even men all around her were screeching and yelping. Korra is about to nod her reassurance when suddenly the eerie silence that had fallen on screen is replaced with the even eerier music and Korra finds herself clutching Tahno's hand.
"Next time we come to the theater, I'm choosing." She hisses at him once they're back outside, the still present sun doing nothing to warm them and yet Korra couldn't be happier to see it, somewhere in the back of her mind she realizes that she is still clutching Tahno's hand, but if he is bothered by this at all, he doesn't say, instead he nods in agreement and continues to walk, as though if nothing had changed.
And maybe nothing has she thinks sadly but shakes her head, bothered by her own thoughts and glances up at Tahno whose cheeks are flushed, grey eyes fixed forward, then again…
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Bolin is too on edge to realize that his voice is caring easily through the thin walls and Korra has been listening for the past fifteen minutes, trying to lie still enough to catch as much as she can. All she knows for certain is that Tahno and his group were attacked a couple of hours ago by Amon's Equalists, and from the sound of it they didn't fare very well. Her heart quickens as Mako enters the room carrying with him a glass of water that he sets on her bedside table before he takes the seat next to her bed.
She's still slightly light-headed and she's sure her body isn't functioning as quick as it usually does, but she doesn't care. The first instant that Mako abandons her she slips out of the bed, momentarily catching sight of Asami standing in front of Mako with a questioning expression before she crawls towards the front door and runs until she reaches the cliff. Not sparing another backward glance she dives into the icy waters.
It's a welcoming feeling, the cold: it provides her with a mind that is too numb to think, she doesn't want to think about what she's doing, about what she is risking, all she needs to know is that he's safe, forget about Mako and Bolin and even Tenzin, she can't be bothered by that. Not yet.
She reaches the port without much trouble and easily bends herself dry, noticing happily that her sluggish movements seem to be wearing off, and then she doesn't care at all, because he's standing in front of her, not twenty feet away, a nasty purple bruise near his jaw and a look of both horror and relief on his face.
"What the hell are you – oh" she hears him breathe when she collides in his chest, her arms wrapping tightly around his middle as she places her head just below his, trying to suppress the tears that are threatening to come out, because how embarrassing would that be, crying in front of Tahno? And it's in these few seconds of awkward thoughts that Korra feels Tahno's rigid frame become more relaxed before he wraps his arms tightly around her own.
"Are—are you okay?" he whispers gently into her ear and she glances up at his grey eyes, there's dark circles under them, almost as dark as his bruise, and up closer Korra can see he has a slit lip that still looks to be bleeding, and she isn't quite certain, but he might have winced just now that she shifted her arms.
"Are you?" she whispers back, eyes going back to his as one of her hands find its way towards his face giving his split lip a gentle sweep.
"I've had worse; you should see the other guys." Tahno says with the familiar lazy smirk his own hand gently tucking loose hair behind her ear and Korra frowns up at him, disliking how he can so easily dismiss his own wellbeing.
"I think we should get you home." He continues giving her a quick once over before he lets his hand drop back at his side, motioning towards the boat he had been preparing seconds before.
"No," Korra replies reaching for his hand and grasping onto it tightly before she looks back up at him, "not until you tell me what happened."
"Listen they can hurt me all they want, they can't take anything more from me, I'm a nobody now; you're the Avatar you matter to everyone—"
"You matter to me!" Korra screams angrily as she stares into his grey eyes, trying to make him see, trying to make him understand but he looks away, starring at the ground instead and Korra lets out an angry hiss.
"You can't…I can't Korra, I have nothing to give…I can't protect you even if I wanted—" and then Korra is tugging him down and she is pressing quick kisses on his mouth before she moves on to his jaw, mindful of the purple bruise there.
"I…like…you…a lot…" she mumbles in between pecks and his Adam's apple bobs as he swallows and turns to stare down at her.
"Why?" his brows furrow and Korra rolls her eyes at him as he stares expectantly down at her.
"I don't know…beats me, you've been nothing but a jerk." She mimics his casual shrug a grin breaking through her composure at his confusion even as she reaches up to brush that fleck of hair out of his eyes and leaves her hand resting there; her fingers tangling in the strands and she is entirely aware of the way his eyes are darting from her lips to her eyes and back again.
"Well…I think I might feel the same way. Maybe I might even—" but he doesn't finish what he says because once more Korra is pulling him down and this time, this time she doesn't give him pecks but a real kiss instead, and in return he's opening his mouth and pulling her closer, wrapping his arms tightly around her as she tangles her fingers in his hair and he tangles his tongue with hers.
"I might even too." She gasps when they pull away and Tahno only gives her that smirk in reply.
"That's good to know." He replies with his breath heavy near her ear, nose just skimming her jaw making her shiver before leaning down to pull her into another deep kiss.