I'm obsessive about making my fics as close to canon as possible, as if truly + believably happening off screen. But in between the episodes being aired so far, I suppose there's nothing wrong with Korra actually having secret meetings with Tahno that no one knows about!
(Between Episodes 7 and 8)
"HEY YOU! TAHNO!"
The station's walls, reflecting cold hard golden lights, roared with the echoes. Four days of more moping, boredom and dull emotional ache had gone by before he set foot in the station again. Each lamp here was dimming down for the night. In his mind he toughened up, and spun right round. Two burly guys. What threat did they pose?
"This is for my brother. You gave him a broken lip by cheating!" barked the taller one, looming high above the floor much like one of the stone statues lining the hall. Hovering above one of his open palms was a lethal-looking rock. An earthbender, thought Tahno. A stubborn earthbender with pent up rage.
"I know what I did," the former waterbender muttered lowly. Already his legs felt a little like jelly under him. In trying to dodge the oncoming blow he was too sloppy, and the hard rock impacted on his shoulder, ruthless and precise. That instant he was nearing a wall behind him where he'd wind up stuck…
His adversary launched one more rock taken from his pocket; this one was shaped like an arc. It closed in on its target's wrist in a violent motion, like contraptions pioneered decades ago by the Dai Li. Tahno let out a scream as his wrist smashed against that same wall. He was pinned there, helpless.
"Let's go, Tank. Just leave him to wallow in his newfound shame. Let it educate him," the other man called to his infuriated friend. They yearned to burn their opponent even more with penetrating stares but were already on their way.
"Talk about 'equality'. It really evens things out," Tank spat. They trotted nonchalantly to leave, laughing while they were at it. A metalbending officer's footsteps were heard afterward, and he released Tahno from his awkward position.
"What happened?"
"Nothing. Just a petty problem," sighed Tahno.
"Best to hurry home this time of night, Captain Wolfbat," remarked the officer sharply. Then he marched his way out the main entrance into the night, probably to change shifts. The fellow was naturally tactless.
Someone wasn't even in the same room and snoring nearby, yet he spent the wee hours tossing and turning. It was fact that Amon wouldn't possibly do him any worse deed, yet the fear was telling him it wasn't fiction. And Korra…he failed to erase the image of the fiery sparks in her eyes. He was back at the police station, highly insecure and unsure whether or not to call out to the girl standing right by. But his mouth had decided before his mind did. He had been secretly joyous that he'd done so, albeit confused about it even now.
He removed his blanket reluctantly, as if it held a great weight. The sun was coming up anyway. And he proceeded to go to Air Temple Island.
"Naga, fetch!" commanded the Avatar, hurling the whitewood branch as far as she could across the garden and over a few small structures. Her polar bear dog needed time to freshen up especially at seven in the morning, and this exercise allowed for good spurts of energy. Naga reared up on her hind legs before darting off with a jolly bark.
Korra added, "Come find me!" She started toward the rock yard she had made herself around the corner, where she mainly recapped on her earthbending. A few stretches to warm up and she began. Minutes elapsed and the loud panting of her best friend was heard. Naga had slowed to basic trotting, proudly wielding the branch and offering it gingerly to the girl. "Attagirl," Korra rubbed her under the chin.
The Avatar performed best now whenever she had Amon's golden glare searing every other thought, though the heat of it was not nearly as bad as before. Now it drove her to cathartic anger and frustration, and with that she put one foot back, clenched her fists and performed a motion. A humongous chunk of rock rose under her command, darting upward regardless of gravity's pull. It was at least ten feet high before she launched a firebending uppercut, angling it so it sliced through the boulder most efficiently.
From a corner some distance away behind some bushes, he watched. Feeling pathetic seeing her display of power and passion. It was even harder to show himself than a second ago. Inside he cringed, battling some unseen critic. Then he noticed the polar bear dog's ears had perked up, sniffing the air and pointing her muzzle in his direction.
Korra turned around to see Naga spontaneously rocketing off in an unusual direction, simply toward some greenery. "What's wrong Naga? Heyyyy!" she yelled but to no avail. She blew a tuft of hair upward, "Maybe it's just another flying lemur." That was the moment she believed she heard an additional male voice.
Naga was emitting rather high-pitched barks and whines, something only done if she encountered a completely new kind of situation or problem. Korra briskly walked to where she was, finding the animal ramming her muzzle playfully against a familiar face. He was being pushed closer to where the Avatar was training.
"Tahno, hey!" Korra welcomed the surprise guest.
He grinned in return, "Seems that we both can be emotional Waterbenders, but I realize Firebending is real theatrical."
"And I'll admit, I have occasional Earthbender-flavoured stubbornness. Errr…how long have you been watching?" Her eyes narrowed under her knitted brows.
"Long enough for it to be entertainment," came his seemingly forced smirk. She noticed he was clutching his wrist. He added, "Anyway, long story short, I came because a couple of guys took advantage of me at the station last night. It's too much effort going to a healer again so -"
"You want me to heal you for free?" she got cheeky, purposely pausing for quite the while. Immediately he avoided eye contact, his silver orbs looking to an unknown object.
She deliberately waited an awkward length before muttering, "I haven't said no. But I think we should move someplace quieter." She led him all the way out to the stone platform where she practised airbending. The sky bisons Tenzin's family owned were off on their morning flights, only returning in the next hour. The two took a seat on some small rocks.
"Here. My left wrist," Tahno said, "and the shoulder too." With that he removed his jacket, leaving only his sleeveless blouse. Korra cautioned him as he supported his sore wrist, then clapped lightly on the joint with both palms to get a feel of the injury. Skilled enough to form the water required from the morning dew, she got to work. Tahno didn't know his eyes widened at the spectacular glow the cool droplets gave off before settling on his skin.
"I'm sorry about what those goons did," said Korra. "And if watching me do this gets too hard to bear, you can always leave."
"Don't worry about it. You apologise too freely. I need to get out there and see crowds bending, or else I'll never get past denying all this…"
It was easily half an hour before she got rid of most of the soreness. "Let's test how much pain you feel. Naga's gonna fetch a little something for you to throw," the Avatar said. The polar bear dog was resting nearby and Korra gave her an instruction, "Naga, get the BALL!" The animal was sensitive to the sounds of certain vowels, and the word "ball" meant great fun. Not two minutes passed as she disappeared and brought back one of her preferred playthings.
The Avatar plucked the spherical toy from her jaw, offering it to Tahno. He received the hint from Korra to toss it far into the ocean ahead. "Go get it!" he tensed up a bit, but managed well.
A loud bark and Naga leapt off the stony surface. They saw her paddling mightily and slicing the ocean as she swam, to finally grab the ball and double back. There was a way back up as builders had carved the rock in a way that it formed a half spiral pathway, connecting it to the blue waves. She cantered back up to meet them and shook herself free of the water's weight, splashing the two. And much to his surprise the animal released the ball back into Tahno's hand. Her tail wagged calmly.
"It'll be a while before I have someone do something for me willingly again," he smiled. What followed right after caught the Avatar off guard. "I'm sorry, Korra," he started to stall in speech, "I just am. Cheating appears so so stupid now, from the outside. It's weakness," she noticed pearl-like tears forming at the side of his eyes, "it's scarring just thinking about it. You're only one of so many who need to hear that."
Korra wrapped him in an embrace with no second thoughts, upon listening to his chugging noises. Her voice was mellow with warmth, "That's an awesome thing to do. Hey, you didn't take my advice about your hair."
"Sorry. Again," he endeavoured to lighten things up with a laugh. Her hug officially woke him up, and he'd probably get better sleep this day forward. It was no longer a doubt; he had her to trust with any secrets he would probably bring into the light. Her healing prowess was working wonders, freeing up space in his mind to actually think. He was growing impatient to tell her the rest of those persistent thoughts…
"Tenzin told me that admitting your fears is the first and most difficult step in overcoming them. And I'm honestly glad you decided to bring yours to me."
"Nice wisecrack. Thanks." Clearing his throat, he continued, "You're a really good person. Gotta give it to you for that tiebreaker."
"You're not as bad an athlete yourself."
"Nowhere near what I meant, Uh-vatar," came the quick shaking of his head, "You know when I first saw you at Narook's? No other girl ever stands up to me and looks at me like you did." He was facing her fully at last.
"Your icy stare was so irritating I had to melt it," she put it frankly. Next was the bit she had remembered to save for last. She was inching closer to him, their thighs almost touching. "Tahno, did you know Amon almost had me too? About a couple of weeks before our finals match I was ambushed on the Memorial Island. My plan to duel him at midnight…it was stupid."
"Maybe. But I'm not sure even I would've done something that bold," came his positive remark. So this was how far her audacity could stretch. He loved that about her - not giving a care about whatever or whoever posed a threat, but instead just charging forward into the fight.
"Uhm," interjected Korra. "Would you..like to do dinner sometime?" Now she pulled away a little, leaving a longer distance between them but maintaining the wattage of her smile. "Your turn to name the time and place." He saw how her irises were striking against the purplish orange sky.
He was far from hesitating; after all, the healing session didn't hurt his pocket. Catching the ferry to the island was no big deal either. Best of all, spending time with her meant he'd more speedily forget about the emotional and physical hurt from last night's brawl.