Day 1: Arranged Marriage AU
(Post-Book 2; more or less 8 years after Book 1)
Warnings: No real smut but explicit mentions to it.
Rating: M (ish)?
Word Count: 8k words
Prompt: Crib
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He was nowhere to be found and it was getting a little irritating. True, the house was huge, simple but huge, and it could be tricky to find someone in there if one did not know all the little nooks, Korra knew them like the back of her hand but she was in no mood to search the whole house just to find the jerk.
The Avatar found herself strolling the garden with the pretext of finding who she was searching for but she actually just got distracted and needed some time to breathe.
There were no flowers in this garden, not in this chilly time of the year anyway, it was mostly bamboo, herbs, tea plants and fruit trees but of course everything growing here had to have some practical use, it was his garden after all. She spotted something she had never seen there before and wondered where it came from- it was a simple wood swing hanging from a cherry tree, the ropes that held it were sturdy and well tied so she decided to sit and just sway a little as she thought.
Since she wasn't really allowed to leave the house those days the idiot had gone out that morning to run an errand for her and he promised to return quickly but she still hadn't found him and it was irritating her, then again what didn't irritate her lately?
Being stuck inside and unable to enjoy her freedom was one of the most frustrating things she had ever known but Korra had agreed to it so she couldn't really complain, not when it was for her own good. Nonetheless, she wondered when her life had changed so radically…
Eight years ago she had been a young naïve Avatar running away from home and starting a new life in the hustle and bustle of Republic City with only a polar bear dog for company, back then she had been starting to really find herself but she had still been inexperienced and lacking, she had fought the Equalists and won but she hadn't at the time understood how narrow-minded and biased her own views were, she thought that winning against Amon and restoring bending would make everything ok… It didn't but she only discovered that a couple of years later.
The Water Tribe civil war and the battle with her uncle using ancestral Spirits, gods in essence, and the break with her past lives as well as the revelation of the extent of her own spiritual power had changed her more than she cared to show, the many adventures and battles she had after that proved it as did the wisdom she gained but as always her past mistakes eventually came back to bite her in the rear.
Six years before, two years after the war, she was only nineteen and a new sort of fully-fledged Avatar; after fighting revolutions and civil wars, defeating evil Spirits, changing governments, uniting worlds, forging bonds and making a name for herself she had grown up faster that she wished she had and that's when they returned- the equalists.
The group had never really died out, they had gone underground and tried to gather their strength and resources once more but without a good leader to guide them they were lost and disorganized, which is why they only rose to face her once more when he came back. It was a shock, she had expected him to be on the lam forever and even if he did have the nerve to return she thought none of his old followers would accept him after the truth of his tale was revealed- she underestimated his charisma and the non-bender's despair.
Even with a non-bender president leading the country, things were far from fair for the non-benders and it was becoming a problem all over again now that other governments were trying to intrude on the URN, Spirits were conquering territory and the backlash of the anti-bender revolution had died down. People were desperate enough that when their pleas went unheard by the government and the small elite of non-bender citizens on equal footing with their bender counterparts began to shrink, the equalists began to gain support once more and the group was frantic to find a leader that would keep them from breaking apart.
The mask of Amon came back like a mirage in the morning fog, according to him he hadn't returned to take power once more, merely to offer his services to his old comrades when he saw their plight grow too severe to be ignored. They resented him not only for lying but for being a bender, a bloodbender, a hypocrite and for running away but his silver-tongue swayed them and soon they hailed him as the prodigious bender that chose to live at their level and dedicated his life to them when he could have been one of the most powerful benders alive instead.
The police had been going crazy trying to arrest him, not only because of his past crimes but also to interrogate him about Tarrlok's disappearance, and yet they never managed to touch him until he surrendered himself only to prove that they could not keep him imprisoned, not when the majority of the population clamored for him and grew violent in his defense- what point was there to a prison if the people tore it down? What point was there to a law if the majority denied it? It was anarchy, so instead of quietly accepting a sentence or starting a war once more he proposed a truce.
Truth be told, Amon might have been fighting harder than ever for his cause but he no longer held any expectations of true victory, he had seen the world change in those two years and he knew that the Avatar was far above him in power so he opted for another tactic- his bending block was a threat but he no longer applied it indiscriminately, only to those he saw as criminal abusers of their power, it was a way to gain moral ground; his equalists were still an army of epic proportions that spread and gained more and more supporters all over the country and beyond with each passing day thanks to his magnetic charisma and propaganda but they were no longer on the offensive and gave the government no reason to shut them down lest they look like villains trying to oppress the majority; he planted mayhem and instability, taking advantage of the frailties of society but he also saved that same society by exposing corruption and crimes of elite benders thus helping the law while seeming above it all at once; he also highlighted the new tactic of trying to form bonds and alliances with even the most parasitic Spirits, something the main bender community had been neglecting at their own peril.
Yes, Amon was powerful once more, he had clawed his way back to the top even if it meant twisting old principles but he truly had changed methods and before the Avatar could turn against him once more and cause things to spiral out of control he dealt the finishing blow and used the one tactic she had never expected, not in a million years.
Amon's proposed truce was meant as a compromise to change society but as peacefully as possible (or at least with as little casualties as possible), both sides would have to give in on some points but both would gain plenty, though admittedly the equalist side gained a bit more in order to level the play field. However, this alliance, this peace, these concessions all hung on a single thing- a political marriage.
The meeting to discuss the proposed truce was held at city hall but the media was fully expected to participate and Amon had made as much of a spectacle of it as he could and once he had worn down the President, the legal Council and the nations' ambassadors enough to make them pliable and more open to the alliance he struck the killing blow by literally kneeling at the Avatar's feet and locking his gaze with hers as he proposed to her, claiming that a marriage between the symbols of the two sides of this dispute would turn into the cradle of a new fairer world order.
He trapped her with that proposal, if she backed down publically she would look like the one unwilling to comprise for a better world and he would look like the spurned savior, she knew that but she still couldn't say yes so instead she said the alliance, and in turn the marriage offer, would be considered if the equalists could abide with their side of the truce until further notice. Korra was forced to choose her words very carefully but she miraculously managed to pull it off without losing her temper and blasting the masked man across the room from her.
At that point Korra was no longer afraid of Amon or his abilities, she trusted her own power and the Avatar State even if a tiny corner of her mind wondered if she could really restore her own bending if it was taken again seeing as she no longer had a connection to her past lives to help; yes, she wasn't scared but she didn't like him either, in fact as noble as she thought his goals had become she still resented him so much that it bordered on hatred.
Amon was sneaky though and he shocked her by showing up at the island, he was barred from entering the temple but to avoid any confusion she met him outside and demanded to know what he wanted; it turned out he just wanted to talk about the proposal and when she told him she'd rather lose a limb than marry him he stared silently at her for so long that she started to feel uncomfortable and then he told her simply that he'd make her change her mind and that she should get ready to get courted.
Korra didn't actually believe he'd do it but he did, he started sending small gifts and pestering her to meet him for outings. She tended to refuse everything but after a couple of months his tenacity wore her down and she accepted with the intent of being as rude as possible to discourage him, however, he took her attitude in stride and didn't seem bothered in the least by her petty displays of childishness.
She still remembered the first 'date'- she assumed he'd take her to some fancy restaurant to impress her so she didn't bother dressing up, hoping that if she was underdressed she'd have an excuse not to dine with him but Amon didn't take her anywhere fancy, he chose places that were cheap and cozy but of decent quality, places where she could relax without all eyes being on her; at first she considered not eating at all but ended up ordering the most expensive things on the menu and eating like an uncivilized barbarian, she just wanted to irritate him and stick him with the bill but her plan backfired because he was actually amused by her obvious effort to annoy him.
The masked man further surprised her that evening by actually removing the mask to eat, they had their own little private space in the restaurant and people already knew what he looked like anyway so he allowed himself that moment of carelessness. Ever since the battle at the arena she hadn't seen his face but she was stunned to see scars on it again though different from the makeup of before, they were just discolored burns on the left side of his face which attracted attention but did not mar the rest of his perfectly sculpted visage; Korra could remember asking him why he still bothered with the makeup and he merely remained silent towards that question so she gave up quickly and rolled her eyes.
Amon discovered that night that there was a very easy way to manipulate her into doing what he wanted, Korra would do anything to contradict him out of sheer spite so it wasn't difficult to make some impromptu remark and watch her try to contradict it exactly as expected. That was precisely how he roped her into many more dates.
He mentioned how he hoped to take her to a dancehall but doubted she could dance at all and, even though Korra never danced, she ended up accepting just to prove she could do it; on that occasion he ended up having to teach her a few moves but even though he was a good teacher she stepped on his feet and kicked his shins on purpose.
He said there was an interesting play in the theater but that there was no point taking her because she could not appreciate something so refined and she accepted just to show that she wasn't the savage he implied she was; afterwards she actually ended up chatting animatedly about how much she liked the play and about how one of the actors reminded her of an old friend until she noticed who she was talking to and shut up with a frown.
He called her one day with an invitation to the opening of a restaurant owned by one of his former comrades and when she said no he nonchalantly stated that perhaps it was for the best because she might just make a fool of herself in front of the other guests; needless to say she showed up, in a dress no less, just to prove him wrong.
He invited to championship boxing match, a popular non-bender sport that she had been dying to experiment, she had trouble refusing that one time but then he made some sort of comment about how she probably wouldn't be able to understand anything that didn't have bending in it; she immediately rushed out to meet him with an angry scowl hiding her excitement.
One day he even mentioned stopping at speakeasy after dinner but said she probably couldn't handle liquor anyway and minutes later the Avatar was downing alcohol glass after glass just to prove she could. By this point, after six months of what she thought of as 'the stupid dating game' Korra had already begun to suspect that all his taunting was just a way to get her to join him yet she had started actually enjoying his company and grasped at their little defiant arguments as a way to retain her dignity and hide how much she liked the outings.
That night she had gotten so drunk she couldn't see straight, she didn't quite remember what happened but she did remember that she had been expecting him to do something, either to take advantage of the situation or to take her bending perhaps but instead he had picked her up and taken her home, going as far as getting Tenzin's permission to enter the temple and put her in her own bed. She also remembered kissing him on impulse before he left but that part could very well have been a dream because it was much too blurry and she didn't think she could endure the humiliation if it were true.
After the drunken episode Korra started to catch herself arguing with her own head for reasons to keep disliking Amon, she had to keep reminding herself of the past because suddenly it was getting harder and harder to not feel at least a little intrigued by the marriage proposal and the fact that she was starting to feel morbidly interested in the enemy was disturbing her.
Korra began acting even more defensive around him after that and more reluctant than ever to accept his offer and the reason was simple, she was starting to get too comfortable around him and she didn't trust herself not to start liking the man under the mask more than she should.
It didn't help that everybody was getting on her nerves about the proposal- the President kept sending her daily memos pleading her to accept so the equalist matter could be solved once and for all; the press and the public hounded her for an answer about the proposal; Tenzin didn't like the idea on a personal level as her master but on an ethical and political level as the Air Nomad ambassador he had to support the marriage as the most direct path to peace; Mako and Bolin had both started throwing jealousy fits disguised as outrage and disgust over the idea, ironically Bolin started the worst arguments over the whole thing every time she went out with Amon because while Korra had dated Mako, he was now happy with Asami but Korra had also dated Bolin later on and while the end of the relationship was a mutual thing the earthbender hadn't quite moved on that well; Asami kept telling Korra she should chose her own fate but the heiress held such a grudge against Amon that it was clear what her real opinion was and her attempts to act indifferent only irritated the Avatar further; Tonraq was ready to wage war for her if she asked because he didn't want his daughter with Amon either but she knew that getting the Chief involved would just make matters much worse and added to her anxiety.
All things considered it was too much pressure and one night she just snapped and met Amon at Air Temple Island's beach only to tell him to stop trying to court her, she was determined not to cave in and it spiraled into a wild verbal fight. Korra said things she never really meant, cruel things that she had never wanted to say, not even to someone like Amon; he retaliated by jabbing at all her flaws and suddenly she was ripping the mask off of his head to jab as his as well, calling him phony and hypocrite and slapping him in the face… Only then, after so many months, did she realize that the new scars weren't makeup but very real, she felt them clearly under slap and it made her stumble back in shock.
In a minute he had pinned her to cliff wall in the heat of the moment, both of them still shouting while she demanding answers and that was how she discovered that the scars had been Tarrlok's parting gift before he died and that information silenced her. She was too angry to feel sorry for him but she felt something, the atmosphere had morphed into a very different sort of tension and she had to push him away before the proximity led her to do something insane.
The Avatar fully expected Amon to give up on his ambitions to wed her after that night but he hadn't, he came to her a week later apologizing though not for the fight, what he was sorry for was that he couldn't give up his pursuit even though she obviously despised him, he told her he would keep insisting until she accepted his proposal because it was the only way he had to make sure she wouldn't go back on her word and ignore his cause later, he promised that if she did accept he'd try to make her happy, he wouldn't let her life be miserable just because their marriage was loveless. He also admitted, somewhat mysteriously and with a shadow of a smirk that he had a personal stake in the matter but it was one that hopefully she'd never have to worry about.
Korra's patience was wearing thin but she still stood her ground for months out of sheer pigheadedness, only after a year of courtship did she finally accept his darn betrothal necklace, it was a pretty and surprisingly practical black leather choker with a carved opal gem sporting a simple crescent moon yet she didn't care for the design, all she cared about was how heavy it felt around her throat and how distressed she felt by the fact that she was not at all upset to have accepted it.
Despite having agreed to the engagement, much to the joy of the population since things with the non-benders had been turning more and more unstable throughout the year, Korra still took a full six months to so much as consider a date for the wedding and the ceremony itself took another six months after that to happen because she kept finding missions outside the nation to delay the whole ordeal and by then the alliance had been fully forged and the law was reforming so she almost tried to bail out although nobody would have allowed it seeing how peace was so dependent on this union.
She was scared and fully expected to have to wear some long uncomfortable poufy dress and for the ceremony to be huge and heavily publicized but Amon managed to surprise her again- it was a small affair, she was allowed to wear just a simple traditional Water Tribe dress of her own choosing, some members of the press were there as well as neutral witnesses but other than that only the closest acquaintances were invited and Tenzin himself performed the rituals.
Mako and Bolin had considered not showing up for the wedding at all but they didn't want to hurt her feelings, she wouldn't have felt hurt though seeing she wished she could bow out of the whole thing herself; her father also stated that he didn't want to make an appearance out of principle but he did because Senna insisted and he would support anything Korra did, plus it would be a terrible faux pas for the Chief to not show up to the Avatar's wedding.
So at the age of twenty-one, Avatar Korra married the man that had been her first great enemy, the person that had taught her what fear and humility were, the person that had haunted her dreams and nearly destroyed her but none of that mattered, the only thing that sickened her was that she was struggling to find excuses to not like him.
Their wedding night was the most awkward thing Korra had ever experienced, he sat her down and started by telling her that she could now call him by his real name, that she was the only one allowed to do so. He then explained that he didn't want to pressure her but the marriage had to be consummated though if she didn't want a physical relationship after that one night he'd respect that.
The Avatar hadn't been expecting that of him, she really had thought that he'd demand sex as some sort of marital right so it was a relief to know that she only had to do it once. She wasn't a virgin and she didn't act like one either but he treated her as if she was, with tenderness and respect and careful exploration that she didn't think a man like him was capable of, he was also pretty skilled and more than proud to show off those skills until she was exhausted and physically blissed out in ways she hadn't even dreamed off and she discovered that falling asleep next to him was nearly as nerve-wracking or uncomfortable as she expected. Neither was waking up next to him for that matter.
However, after that one night he really did refrain from touching her against her will and that included things as simple as their hands brushing together or his foot touching hers as they shared a bed at night, it was reassuring but strangely frustrating too and Korra had no idea why.
After the wedding she had moved in to Amon's house by Republic City's waterfront and all the legalities between the equalists and the legal government were finally settled, the press had begun to dub Korra and Amon's marriage as the 'cradle of a new era'. She hated the term with a passion and she despised having to hear people talk about their relationship as some political maneuver but the Avatar no longer hated the marriage itself, a month living in close proximity with Amon (Noatak, she kept having to remember to call him Noatak) showed her that he wasn't so daunting after all, in fact, as a person he was so alike her in so many aspects that it often scared her how he had become the ruthless Amon because it made her wonder if such a thing could happen to her someday too.
Seeing Noatak as human and as her husband was a bit jarring but to Korra it became a game, she kept waiting to catch him slipping back to his villainous habits while at the same time learning all the little things that made her like him because if she was going to be stuck to him for life then she wanted to at least try to make the best of it and Korra actually found the man under the mask quite fascinating.
Noatak liked the same foods as her, well, not entirely, he had a sweet tooth that could put her gluttony to shame but she found it funny; he liked sparing with her more than he liked any sappy date, she preferred that too but they both still liked going out because neither of them could stand being cooped idly indoors for too long; he wasn't fond of animals as she was but that was because they were usually terrified of him for some instinctual reason so he never had pets and therefore Korra found all his klutzy interactions with Naga to be hilarious; he liked listening to sports broadcasts and music in the evening and his tastes in music expanded her horizons considerably; he was obsessive and meticulous about the little things but often lost track of the bigger picture and this applied to everything, from work and ethics to life at home, she often found all his books scattered in a mess on the floor but piled haphazardly by color and dialect, he heaped the dirty dishes neatly in the sink but often forgot to wash them, he never made the bed but couldn't stand the pillows sticking out of the mattress or the sheets on the floor, Korra found all the quirks annoying but endearing too.
There were deeper things too- he disliked having her bend unnecessarily around the house but he didn't restrict her because he said that after witnessing her work since the Equalist War he was impressed and giving her a vote of confidence concerning her powers. He had nightmares, he didn't talk about them but it was hard for her to sleep on the same bed and not notice, it made her wonder exactly what haunted him so much. Noatak also knew what it was like to be used and betrayed by a close relative, what Unalaq had done to her Yakone had done to him infinitely worse and the lies her parents had told to protect her paralleled the lies he and Tarrlok told to protect his mother so he shared her own trust issues and understood her reservations about family. He knew what it was like to have thousands of people looking up to him for guidance, he knew that pressure as well as what it did to a person's ego much like she did as Avatar, the only difference was that he chose that for himself and she never had a choice but the correlation made them reach a higher level of understanding towards each other on a professional level.
All in all Korra found herself mirrored in the man she had once hated and after a while she no longer knew what she felt for him, it certainly wasn't hatred or disdain or even fear but it wasn't love either, she no longer felt the need to fight him tooth and nail, she began to like him and started to empathize but she wasn't in love so she decided that their marriage would be based on more than just politics, it would be about friendship and understanding.
Two months after the wedding they finally caught a break and Asami, of all people, suggested they go on a honeymoon. The heiress still couldn't look Amon in the eye, she still blamed him for enabling her father's hatred and descent to madness but she was making a bigger effort to involved in her friend's life than anyone else, even Bolin and Mako chose to ignore Amon completely and only met up with Korra when she was the one coming to them. The couple accepted the suggestion and when the Avatar asked where they could go he shrugged and told her to choose because he had already seen all he wanted to see in the world.
Another suggestion popped up a couple of days later while she was still trying to decide- General Iroh suggested that they try a particularly pretty island in the Fire Nation, it was just south of Ember Island and a lot less crowded but also just a ferry ride away from the mainland. Korra accepted and a week later she was swimming in the clear blue-green waters of the sandy beach in front of the cabin they rented in the little tropical patch of land.
Korra almost regretted choosing the island because the humid weather was too hot for someone who grew up in permanent snow and she felt like she was constantly on the verge of melting like a popsicle but the place was gorgeous and peaceful, the fine sand beach and cool waters were something she had never really experienced and the rowdy night parties on the other side of the island always had something entertaining to do, plus she got to sate her curiosity and see Noatak walking around only in shorts because although he was used to heat by now, this was a place where nobody knew who they were and it was refreshing for him to shed his usual uniform as completely as possible and just blend in.
She had seen him naked before but only during those first few days at the beach did she notice every small detail of his physique, she was almost ashamed of how much she liked the view of those well-defined muscles and strong build but she was also intrigued by just how much scarring he really had, it mostly covered his back and shoulders but there were other marks in different stages of healing peppered here and there. Korra was a bit embarrassed about it but she started to fantasize about kissing each of those scars, dragging her tongue in the dimples of those muscles and scratching down that marked back in the throes of passion, she thought there was nothing romantic about the fantasies, it was purely physical but she didn't know what to do about them either way.
The second time they had sex she initiated it on her own free will, they had been honeymooning for almost a week and she was getting intensely frustrated so she left the beach with a plan in mind- she walked into the cabin dripping salt water all over the floor and stripped off her bathing suit and then waltzed into the room complaining about the stupid heat and threw herself on the bed where he had been leaning back reading some work telegrams.
Noatak had stared at her naked form for a full minute before he finally had the good sense to look away and pretend like nothing unusual was happening though his ears had reddened, Korra just chuckled and rolled onto her side to look at him and ask why he wasn't taking advantage of the view. He replied that it wouldn't be respectful but that made her laugh and she crawled over his lap, forcing him to look at her and when he asked she was trying to do the Avatar merely replied that she'd be damned if she didn't sleep with her own husband on their honeymoon, not surprisingly at all that had been enough to make him kiss her and touch her in all the ways he had been restraining for those first two months.
After the honeymoon they developed a new sort of relationship, the sex was delicious but mostly just for the fun of it and generally defined by harsh and passionate power struggles that easily got a little out of hand, it wasn't rare for furniture or dishes to end up broken or for bruises, bites and scratches to show up in odd places or for clothes to end up ripped during those occasions but that just made it all the more exciting.
Gradually they began to trust each other and whenever they weren't distracted by work or sex they ended up talking both of trivial things and about themselves, opening up in hopes of finding that one elusive thing that still seemed to be missing between them and felt just out of reach of the tips of their fingers.
One day, a mere year after the wedding, Korra was sitting on the living room rug in nothing but her underwear in front of a cozy fire and leaning against Noatak, both of them listening to the evening broadcast on the radio, sipping on rice wine and eating the chocolates he bought for her when it hit her that they were actually celebrating one year of marriage and rather than feel sick of him she was snuggling to his side and hoping to repeat that celebration for many more years to come. For the first time since the proposal came up she wondered whether or not she was actually falling in love for her husband and the thought wasn't scary in the least, in fact it made her stomach flutter in a good way and felt comforting.
Korra wasn't really sure if he felt the same way or not, she was pretty sure he didn't but by why else would he buy chocolates and wine on their anniversary? Why else would he often see something on a shop window that reminded him of her and ended up buying it as a gift for no reason other than wanting to see her smile? Why else would he try so hard to compromise with her wishes all the time? Why else did he make such an effort to get along with her friends so she felt comfortable bringing them home? Why else would he hold her at night after a nightmare because it was the only thing that calmed him back to sleep? No, there had to be something else going on, she wouldn't ask how he felt but she would cling to that certainty and enjoy what they had because all things considered they were lucky to have this, with their shared past they should hate each other after all.
By their third anniversary though, they were visiting Ba Sing Se for one of Korra's Avatar assignments so they had to celebrate the date there and he managed to get tickets to an Earth Rumble wrestling final, he didn't appreciate the bending-based sport that much but Korra was ecstatic and still talked about it hours later when they were back at the inn and having a lavish room-service dinner in bed, the only thing that bummed her was that her simple gift (a rare book he had been looking for) hadn't even compared to his but she was terrible at picking gifts and everyone knew that so he didn't seem to mind.
She had just been repeating her favorite parts of the Earth Rumble for the eight time that evening when she noticed how distracted he was so she waved a hand in front of his face and asked him what he was thinking about, his reply was nothing short of extraordinary- Noatak asked her if she loved him.
Korra gaped at him and stuttered, stumbling on her words but not replying anything concrete until at last she just asked why the hell he wanted to know that so suddenly; he replied by saying that he loved her and he wanted something that he could only ask for if she felt the same way. Noatak was dead serious and without a single hint of shame but Korra blushed out of control and didn't know what to say to that, they had been married for three years but even after all that she didn't expect to ever hear those words so she had no reply ready.
The words 'I love you too' spilled out in a mess of broken syllables before she could think of any other way to say them, she was scared of what he'd do, scared that admitting to having fallen for him when their marriage was supposed to be purely political would show weakness and open her up to hurt. Not only that but she wasn't actually supposed to love him, was she? They had hated each so much for a time and the only reason they married was to bring peace and to further their own political agendas so was it even sane to admit she had grown to love him?
All those fears were soon squashed when he dropped the next bomb on her.
"I want a baby." Korra could still hear his deep rusty voice loud and clear saying those words in her head.
She had been frozen on the spot staring bewildered at him for long enough that he started to worry about her sanity and then Korra began to protest- she was the Avatar, she was too busy to raise kids and her life was too dangerous for it, she was too young and still had years to consider that, she wasn't ready to suddenly be a mom on top of being a wife.
He countered her by stating that she wouldn't he alone so busy or not she should still be able to have a family, there was also the tiny little fact that she might be young with decades ahead of her to consider children but he wasn't getting any younger himself and he'd seriously like have a son or daughter while he still had enough youth to be able to keep up with them. The sarcasm was abundant in his arguing points and she actually felt a little bad for him because it was true, ultimately the biggest problem between them wasn't even the past, it was the future due to the incompatibility of their ages.
Noatak told her to think about it but he didn't pressure her again, from time to time in the next few months he'd sometimes drop hints about children in an attempt to gauge at her reaction but she never knew what to tell him. It's not that she didn't want a kid, the idea was actually really appealing to her but it's just that she wasn't sure she could handle one so soon and was secretly terrified that her hot-head and his own parental issues would end up screwing up any child they had, plus there was that tiny little issue of the unique bloodbending abilities of his bloodline, she knew he wouldn't want to teach and pass on the skill but that didn't stop her from fearing it.
To add to her distress, a few months later the press started butting in again- apparently someone had overheard a conversation, she wasn't sure if it was the one she had with Asami at the tea shop where they often met for snacks or a talk between Amon and someone else but suddenly the media was writing about how the 'cradle of a new era' was likely to be a childless one and rumor had it that the Avatar didn't even sleep with her husband which was a laughable lie but Korra understood why people would think that considering the circumstances of their marriage.
Korra ignored the news as much as she could, she stopped reading the tabloids altogether and focused on work to distract her from the choice she couldn't make.
"Hmph. I guess fate made that choice for me." The twenty-five year old Avatar huffed a little cynically, still sitting on the swing where she had been reminiscing about the past few years.
"Talking to yourself? Never a good sign, my love." Noatak's voice to her right suddenly startled her from her reverie. Spirits, she hated how he crept up behind her so silently, he had a talent to scare her out of skin that way without even trying.
"You're late, jerk." She shot at him sulkily, calling him by little insulting adjectives had since become her endearing way to express annoyance or to simply tease him, Noatak didn't really mind nowadays but it had been a bit irritating early in their relationship.
"No, I'm not. You just disappeared to this little spot and I've been looking all for you for the past hour." He retorted in a better mood than she was used to seeing him that early in the day, he was a night owl by nature and usually grouchy in the morning.
"Well, I got distracted here because I was looking for you in the first place, idiot! I got impatient." Korra scowled, still swaying on the swing.
"Ah, did you miss me that much, darling?" Noatak chuckled and teased, he came up behind her and his arms wrapped around her waist while he nuzzled the crook of her neck.
"You wish." She replied dryly. "What I missed where my glazed leechi-nuts so where are they?"
"In the kitchen. Do you know how hard it is to find leechi-nuts this late in the season?" The equalist gave an overly dramatic sigh but did not let go of her and his hand traced amorously up the curve of her abdomen. "You and your cravings will be the death of me."
"Hey, you wanted this kid so you better cater to it!" The Avatar pouted, trying hard not to give in to his good mood- she was supposed to be angry, darn it!
"If I remember correctly you were quite enthusiastic when you found out about it too." Noatak snickered right next to her ear, slipping a hand under her tunic to caress the bump.
He was right though, Korra hadn't been able to decide whether to have a child or not but fate had a way of taking matters into its own hands- just before their fourth wedding anniversary she had had a particularly dangerous and grueling assignment in the southern Earth Kingdom concerning a rather vengeful ancient Spirit, she had seriously believed she might die and kept thinking about how badly she wanted to see him in those terrifying moments; after she returned, although banged up she was so glad to be alive back home and still so hyped on adrenaline that she had had a few lapses in judgment concerning their usual precautions and ended up unintentionally becoming pregnant.
She considered it a sign of fate and when she found out she thought she should have been terrified and concerned, maybe even reluctant and angry but when the confirmation came all she had felt had been exhilaration and happiness, she could feel nothing short of excitement and had gone has far as doing victory cries all over the house and pining Noatak to the kitchen counter for a spontaneous celebratory make-out session.
Of course, that had been months ago, at the moment she wasn't so lively anymore.
"After seven months of nausea, pain, sluggishness, insomnia, loss of balance, swollen feet, cravings, leaky boobs, kicks in the ribs and everyone telling me just how much it's gonna hurt to pop this kid out ANYONE would reconsider that enthusiasm, dumbass." Korra snapped back irritably, she was pretty sure soon she'd be feeling happy and probably aroused or maybe sad and nervous, it depended on the way her mood swings went but right then she was just frustrated and angry.
"My, my, our esteemed Avatar truly is in a tempestuous mood today, isn't she, little one?" Noatak had gone around her and chose to crouch down and speak to her belly rather than to her. "What shall we do to change this?"
"Give me my damn leechi-nuts!" The Avatar kicked around like a child throwing a tantrum and finally got up, ready to walk back to the house and get the treats herself but he walked with her, his hand around her waist for support again and she decided to demand some pampering. "And a foot rub. And sugarless lemonade. And more pillows in bed."
"As you wish." He nodded at each demand, not bothering to hide his smile. That dreamy and slightly adoring smile had been an expression that she had only gotten to know recently, she had never seen him smile like that until the day she told him she was expecting, it was strangely refreshing to know that even Amon could make a face like that but it also made her feel somewhat smug that she was the only who ever got to see that expression.
As promised, a large pastry box filled to the brim with sugar glazed leechi-nuts was waiting on the kitchen counter and Korra practically ripped the lid off in her haste, shoving two of the treats into her mouth at once and practically moaning in delight as they crunched between her teeth and flooded her mouth with their earthy sweet flavor.
"Oh sweet Yue, thank you." The Avatar mumbled in total bliss, popping another treat in mouth and chewing gratefully with exaggerated pleasure, it was funny- she never really liked leechi-nuts before. "So good."
"Feeling better?" The equalist enquired, he was watching her with plenty of amusement.
Korra merely nodded mutely in return, stuffing her mouth with more glazed treats and leaning on the counter; satisfying the nagging craving actually helped lift her mood in an instant.
"What's that?" She asked abruptly with her mouth full, having noticed a huge stack of thick wood planks piled by the back door.
"Wood." Noatak replied casually.
"I know it's wood." She rolled her eyes. "I meant, what's it doing in our kitchen?"
"Don't worry, I'll be taking out to the storage room soon." He pointed out the back door towards the small stowage house that often doubled as a workshop.
"What's it for, Noatak?" Korra insisted impatiently.
"To build something, obviously." The equalist replied cryptically just to rile her up.
"What?" She demanded, tapping her foot.
"Aren't you the curious one?" He stalled further with a snicker.
"Just tell me already before I sit on you with my huge pregnant butt." Ever since the healers had forbid Korra for doing any strenuous exercise, including sparring and complex bending forms, her usual threats of physical harm had lost their bite so this had become her signature menace though one that lacked in the intimidation department.
"How frightening." Noatak joshed but sated her curiosity at last. "It's for a crib, Korra."
"A crib?" She cocked a brow at him.
"Yes. We might be the 'cradle' but I think this little one would prefer a literal crib, wouldn't you say so?" He pointed out while tracing the curve of her belly with the tips of his fingers.
"And you're building it yourself?" Korra was skeptical, it's not that he had no skill with handicrafts but…
"Why not?" The equalist tilted his head with curiosity in his tone.
"You'll get so focused wasting time on making sure of little things like the sanding being totally even or checking the design fifty-thousand times that you'll end up forgetting something as common as tightening the screws or measuring the pieces. By the time you're, shabbily, done this kid will be out already." The Avatar practically scolded, she knew him well enough by now.
"You don't give me enough credit, my love." Noatak chuckled, he pulled her gently into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
"I let you knock me up, I'd say I give you way too much credit to begin with." She rolled her eyes again but melted easily into the embrace though still munching on leechi-nuts.
"Don't worry, Korra. You should know by now that I'm always prepared for any eventuality." He stated with that usual charismatic confidence that made everyone believe him.
Korra wanted to keep arguing out of stubbornness but saw no point in it, he was the kind that had to try and fail in order to learn from the mistakes. Actually, that was another trait the two of them had in common.
"…Fine, build your stupid crib but if you use pink again I'll smack your ass halfway to the South Pole." She warned with a glare, still sulking over the fact that he had painted the nursery jade and pale pink, the latter being a hue she particularly despised.
"We have a deal." Noatak agreed, still holding her and occasionally stealing one of her sweets.
"Now where's that foot rub?" Korra demanded suddenly and pouting to change the topic and as he picked her up and carried her to the living room he just had to laugh, yet another expression of emotion that only she ever got to see. Apparently even a marriage of convenience could be filled with joy.
~~~~~~.:oOo:.~~~~~~
(Author's Note: Yes, I know this idea was far from creative and already done a hundred times before in the Amorra fandom but I realized that even though I've read many 'political marriage AU' stories for this ship I had never written my own interpretation of it so I decided to give it a shot and I'm not too disappointed about it. I was also going to make this more dramatic and possibly angst-filled but after writing the Mythology AU (out of order, I know) I needed fluff to heal my shipper heart.)