The Solution to All Our Problems - Part IV
by SharkAria
"Tahno seems like a high maintenance guy, but I bet he knows how to show a girl a good time." That's what Asami had told Korra while yanking a brush through Korra's thick hair to prepare her for the big fake date. Korra had turned scarlet; Asami had clarified that she didn't mean that kind of a good time (not specifically that kind, anyway), and had continued, "You know, maybe it's weird to say about this whole thing, but I hope you have fun tonight." Korra had never felt more uncomfortable or less likely to have fun in her entire life.
The conversation had only occurred a few hours earlier, but it felt like since then she had inadvertently stumbled into the portal of some weird new world that neither the spirits nor humans had yet discovered. Korra couldn't think of any other way to explain how she was currently clutching a tiny, delicate purse in her battleworn hands, riding in the back of Asami's Satomobile limo to spend time with a man who tested her ability to remain civil in public. Asami had requested to 'help' Korra get ready, which to Korra felt as though Asami had declared her incapable of making herself presentable for such a paparazzi-filled occasion. Asami had insisted that Korra wear her hair down, and in spite of Korra's protests and she had applied a quick swish of lipstick. Oh well, at least the makeup was less than what Tahno would be wearing, she thought grimly. Her brassiere dug into her ribcage and made her itch; the garment served as an ever-present reminder of why she preferred to wear traditional formal attire that didn't require such underclothing instead of the fashionable metropolitan styles that did. Somehow Asami had managed to zip Korra into the blue, bead-infested dress that she was now sweating through, but Korra was pretty sure that the feat was accomplished more as a result of the horrific girdle, slip, and stocking combination that Asami had also forced her to wear. The only reason Korra hadn't outright refused those particular underthings was out of modesty; the dress had the shortest skirt she'd ever worn in public - it went all the way up to her knees, for goodness sake! She couldn't even imagine what her parents would say if they saw how much leg she was revealing. At least the neckline was high enough for Korra to keep herself from feeling totally indecent. All of these things she might have been able to withstand but for the evil heels ('Oh please, you call those heels? I've seen old grandmas wear higher ones than those,' Asami had scoffed) that now squeezed her feet mercilessly. If Korra hadn't already had a major incentive to end the evening early, the outfit certainly provided one.
But the evening was only just beginning, of course. With every block the that her car passed, Korra's nervous energy intensified. Any moment now, they'd pull up to Chang's and the driver would open the door for her. Then she would have to step out into the open, where reporters and photographers would rush her. She'd probably have to jostle her way through just to get to the front door, where Tahno said he'd meet up with her. Some gentleman, she thought in annoyance, couldn't even pick up a girl for a date. Of course, Asami had pointed out that picking up Korra at her place required a boat or an air bison. Then Mako had laughed and Asami had smacked him playfully, and that was when Korra's stomach had started churning. It hadn't stopped, and now she was mere minutes away from her destination.
Too soon, her car pulled up to the restaurant. The driver hopped out at the same moment that the paparazzi surrounded the vehicle. She heard muffled flashbulbs and unintelligible chatter from the reporters for a few seconds. She took a deep breath, trying to extend the last few sane seconds she would have for the next several hours. Then the driver opened her door and several flashes blinded her. She tried to step out, but the high heel she was unaccustomed to wearing caught on the car's running rail and she felt herself falling over. Just as she was about to airbend a cushion to keep her from faceplanting on the sidewalk, a pair of arms caught her and dozens more flashes went off. Dimly Korra perceived several high pitched screams as she righted herself.
When Korra shook off the afterimages from the camera flashes a few moments later, she looked up to see which reporter had come to her rescue. To her unending shame, she saw Tahno's self-satisfied face gazing down at her, his arms still encircling her. She gasped and jumped back as he released her. He gave her a slight bow, then grinned at the crowd gathered around them.
It was then that Korra realized that there were more than just reporters here - there were dozens, maybe hundreds of fans, mostly girls, gathered on the sidewalk to cheer them on. They were held back by a velvet rope and several of Chang's meanest looking bouncers standing guard.
What had she gotten herself into?
"Avatar, I was hoping you'd let me embrace you, but I didn't expect to have the opportunity to do so this early in the evening," Tahno jested. Out of the corner of her eye, Korra noticed several reporters jotting down the quote in their notebooks. As utterly irritating as it was, Korra had to give him credit for having the press hanging on his every word. And dressed in his jet-black finery, he was definitely going to make all the "Best Dressed" lists this week too.
Tahno offered his arm in exaggerated gallantry. She stared at the limb for a moment as if he were trying to hand her a rotten fish, but managed to wiped the expression from her face when she supposed she didn't really have a choice but to take it. The gesture elicited more shrieks of approval behind her. At this point she didn't care. She would have proposed marriage to him if it had meant that they could get inside faster to escape the sheer insanity of the reporters and the fans.
Tahno led her quickly up the steps to the entrance, waving off the press. Two strong-looking men dressed in tuxes opened the heavy red doors for them. She and Tahno stepped across the threshold. She glanced behind her to see the mob rushing forward. Then the doors slammed shut on the scene and on the noise. Now all she could hear was soft jazz music and the clink of silverware on fine china. The ritzy room and patrons alike dripped with gilded excess.
She glowered at Tahno and released his arm. "That was quite the performance out there. I could have taken care of myself, you know."
"I am happy to pummel you in the arena, but I don't make it a habit to let my dates fall on the ground. Even if they are tomboyish klutzes who can't get out of a Satomobile properly."
"Nice to see you too. Alright, let's get this over with."
Tahno furrowed his eyebrows in exasperation, and perhaps confusion at her comment. "Perhaps your memory is faulty. You are the one who agreed to this date when you would have been within the parameters of our wager to have refused."
"Yeah, yeah, don't remind me," Korra muttered. She wondered how soon she could get her hands on a big drink.
They were seated in a luxurious booth that had a view of the rest of the dining room. The downside to this arrangement was that all the restaurant customers had a nice clear view of their table, dashing Korra's hopes for some privacy. The good news was that they were too far away from the other tables to have their conversation overheard. The waiter had already taken their orders; unfortunately, Korra hadn't heard of many of the dishes on the menu, so she had just pointed at one of the items and hoped she wouldn't be disappointed. The other patrons were working hard to appear as though they hadn't the slightest interest in Tahno and Korra, but Korra kept noticing people glance away just as she looked at them. She wondered how many of them had called in favors to get reservations for tonight.
Tahno had said something to her, but Korra had missed it while she was trying to catch somebody else staring at her. "What did you say?"
"I said, that dress is very stylish. My compliments to Miss Sato." Tahno raised his crystal wine glass in salute.
Korra gritted her teeth. "Is it that obvious that she helped me pick this outfit?"
Tahno smirked. "Yes."
Great, Korra thought. Even her media-chasing fake date thought Asami made a better girlfriend than her. She wondered if Mako had been as clueless as she was about how to dress and what to order when Asami had taken him here. She was pretty sure that Asami was classy enough not to comment on it, however.
Resigned to a lousy evening, Korra fiddled with her chopsticks, rolling them back and forth over the starchy tablecloth. She was glad that she had thwarted whatever plan Tahno must have had in store for her after she won the match, but she hadn't thought about how to act on the actual date. She had no idea what to do or say. She hoped that she could just fake her way through it and then Tahno would have all the press he wanted and he would leave her alone for good. She stole a sideways glance at Tahno, who looked as natural as could be in this hoity toity setting, and in no hurry to jumpstart the conversation.
His silence got to her eventually. She had to say something instead of just sitting here feeling uncomfortable. "So, we're on this date." Real smooth, Korra, she thought.
"Yes, we are." Tahno idly twirled the stem of his wine glass between his thumb and forefinger, the burgundy liquid whirlpooling in the goblet. He did not offer any further commentary, not even a thinly veiled insult.
This wasn't working. She tried again. "What do people like you do on dates anyway?"
Tahno set his glass back on the table and met her eyes. "This may surprise you, but I may be the wrong person to ask. Dating isn't exactly something I do on a regular basis."
"What are you talking about? You date pretty women all the time."
Tahno raised an eyebrow. "'Dating' is a strong word to use for those, ah, trysts."
"Oh." Korra hesitated, willing herself not to appear scandalized by what Tahno implied. She decided to keep trying honesty. "Well, I've only had two boyfriends, so you still probably know more about the subject than I do."
He tilted his head, as if considering her statement. "You slept with both of your teammates? They're brothers, aren't they?"
Korra gaped. "No! Gross! I mean, not that Bolin is gross, but I didn't - " She did not like the direction this was going. She felt her face getting hot as she rushed to explain, "I mean, Bolin and I went on one date, but we didn't 'date' date; uh, there was a guy down at the South Pole - and for your information, 'dating' doesn't always mean 'sleeping' -"
Tahno laughed, and to her surprise, Korra couldn't detect even a hint of malice. "Sweetheart, you don't have to tell me any more. This is clearly awkward for you to discuss."
Humiliated, Korra sunk back into the cushions of the booth. She sighed in relief that she had managed to shut off the flow of personal information she hadn't meant to share. She took a sip of her wine to help her push past her discomfort.
Somehow the discussion seemed to shake Tahno out of his aloofness. He seemed to be warming up a bit and threw her a bone. "Well, you could ask me a question. You know, 'get to know each other,' that sort of thing."
Having finally recovered from her earlier embarrassment, her mind was blank. She didn't know what to say to him. "Um. You go first."
He gave a mildly patronizing look, but humored her. "I'm used to planning for all contingencies. I thought that you would try to get out of going on a date if you had lost, but I didn't expect you to ask for it after you won. So why are we here tonight?"
Tahno admitting to having miscalculated something? Korra started to get the feeling that she was in some strange alternate universe again. "Well, the whole reason I agreed to the match in the first place - besides having the pleasure of beating you - was to help my friends and the Republic City citizens. Asami's company is back on top. The pro-bending fans don't have to worry about every game being rigged. And the arena finally had a safe and fun event where nothing blew up."
"Interesting," Tahno said after a moment of contemplation. "That answer reflects a greater level of tactical thinking than I would have thought you capable of."
Korra pursed her lips at the slight, but she continued. "Beyond that, I just figured that you had totally invested yourself in this crazy scheme. I do believe that you thought you were going to win, but anybody as crafty as you must have come up with another plan in case you didn't, or in case I didn't accept your offer. I thought it would be worth it to throw a wrench in that plan, get everything that my friends and I needed, and see you writhe for a while now that you have to play this role a little longer." She crossed her arms in satisfaction.
Tahno chuckled, low and thoughtful. "I'm both insulted and impressed, Avatar."
A snooty-looking waiter brought their entrees to the table. "For the lady," he announced as he placed the plate in front of Korra. The chef had apparently decided that leaving the eyes on whatever seafaring animal had been sacrificed for this meal would improve the presentation of the dish. Korra wrinkled her nose in disgust.
Tahno seemed to be more pleased with his choice. He took a careful bite of his fish, savoring the flavors. "I believe it is your turn to ask me a question now."
Anything to avoid eating this weird stuff, Korra thought. She grabbed her wine glass and took a generous gulp. "So, uh...why do you always wear eyeliner and do your hair all crazy like that?"
Tahno closed his eyes a moment. "I thought you might ask something like that."
"Really? Why?"
"You are clearly fascinated with my appearance. You've commented on it - usually in a negative way - nearly every time we've spoken."
Korra nearly choked on her wine. She stammered out, "Fascinated? I don't think -"
"It's fine, you don't need to be self-conscious. I'm certainly not." He took another bite of his dinner. "Maybe 'fascinated' is the wrong word. Confused. Intrigued. That better?"
"...Yeah. I've never met a man who does that kind of stuff to change his appearance, especially somebody who doesn't need to." Korra blushed when she realized that she accidentally said aloud that Tahno was attractive. Of course, just when the date was finally not sucking as much, she would have to ruin it by putting him on some massive ego trip.
The corner of Tahno's mouth twitched, but he didn't comment on Korra's slip. "When I started participating in regional pro-bending matches, I noticed that all the players tried to look tough and scary. But all those guys were offering the same garbage.
"I found that by altering my look in the other direction - stylish, glamorous, some might even say feminine - I inspired a different kind of fear. And since I was better than everyone I competed against -" Korra coughed at this, and Tahno smiled, correcting, "that is, nearly everyone - I got a reputation for looking effortless while destroying the other teams. A unique strategy that has largely paid off."
He ran his hand through his hair, flipping his bang back and giving Korra a smoldering look. ''And it doesn't hurt that the girls go for it, too."
Korra couldn't help but roll her eyes and laugh at this, even though she knew he wasn't joking. "Well, I just figured it was because you're vain."
Tahno grinned slyly. "Vanity and strategy are not mutually exclusive."
Korra snickered. She mused that Tahno could actually be pretty funny when his jests weren't directed at her. Maybe Asami was right that she would have a good time with Tahno after all.
Then she looked down at her plate glumly. Perhaps she was declaring victory on the date a little early. Korra pushed some of the food around with a chopstick, hoping that it didn't look too obvious that she hadn't actually tasted any of it. She messed up the complicated design that the chef had drawn with the various sauces and checked to see if Tahno was having a similar problem. To her chagrin, Tahno obviously didn't feel the same way - he had nearly finished his meal.
After another few moments of silence, Tahno asked, "You see those two at the booth behind me?" He jerked his head in the direction of a couple the next table over. Korra nodded. She could only see the back of the man's head, but she could the woman's face was visible. The woman glanced away when she noticed Korra paying attention to her.
"RC Weekly reporters, both of them. Stop, don't stare at them," Tahno directed. Korra looked at Tahno with wide eyes. "They probably thought we wouldn't recognize them because they usually cover mover actors. They must have paid the maitre'd a hefty sum to get a table this close to us."
Korra hated being spied on; her first urge was to get up and confront them. But that probably would only cause them to write something even more outrageous about her. She hunched toward Tahno, speaking in a hushed voice, "What do we do?"
Again, eerily, the corner of Tahno's mouth twitched up. "Give them something to write about, obviously," he replied, and before Korra had the chance to process the words, he reached out and brushed her bangs out of her face. Tahno leaned in to her, very close, and put his arm around her, squeezing her bare shoulder. Korra could have sworn that she heard the sounds of hurried scribbling from the table with the reporters.
Korra was frozen in place. Tahno whispered huskily in her ear, "That ought to generate at least three days of speculative articles. You know, if you let me kiss you on the cheek right now, it would give us a week on the front pages. What do you say?"
Korra felt his breath on her ear and his warm arm around her shoulders. He drew a lazy circle on her shoulder. She smelled the wine he'd been drinking and his cologne, the same scent he'd worn the day of their match. She shook her head the slightest bit, still too shocked to reply.
Tahno smiled and moved his arm away, picking up his glass and taking another sip of wine. He leaned back and she shivered from the cool air that he left behind. "Avatar, you continue to surprise me. I was nearly certain that you would slap me and storm out at that suggestion. Thank you for not doing that, by the way."
Korra smiled wanly, her heart still thumping. What would she have done if he had taken the liberty of kissing her?
"Although given how many times I've misread you, perhaps I should have expected you to grab my face and plant a wet smooch right on my mouth."
"I - I think you're still misreading me if you think that's going to happen." She tried to reply jokingly, confidently, but the words came out a little too faint. She sighed, leaning back into the rich velvet cushions of her seat, feeling a little lightheaded. Dating was hard enough; fake dating seemed to be even tougher. Korra supposed the only thing to do was redirect Tahno. "These tabloid reporters are really something, aren't they?"
Tahno looked at her a moment too long, almost as if he were sorry to give up the previous line of questioning. He flicked his hair out of his eyes. "I used to love them buzzing around. Made me feel important." She thought she heard his voice strain a bit at the admission.
"Don't you still love it? Isn't that why you came up with this gigantic lie?"
Tahno paused, considering her question. "Well, it was worth it to play in the arena again with the trust of my fans. And I've made more money in the past month than the previous six. But all this breathless coverage about my love life is starting to fray my nerves."
"Heh, tell me about it." Korra had been dealing with that problem even longer than Tahno had. In fact, one of the only good things that had come out of Tahno's "confession of love" was that the gossipmongers had stopped hounding Korra about her break up with Mako.
Suddenly, an amusing thought occurred to Korra. "I bet you can't hook up with any of your female fans anymore because they are all rooting for the two of us to get together."
Tahno's mouth flattened into a thin line. "That hasn't helped matters." Korra stifled a giggle. "But soon enough, you'll tell the world that you aren't interested, and the ladies will be lining up to help mend my broken heart." He drummed his fingers on the table, gazing down as though he were thinking about something else.
Another awkward silence descended over them. Korra couldn't quite get the hang of conversing with Tahno. When she and Mako had been dating, things seemed more straightforward. They had a lot to talk about - and a lot to disagree on. Maybe that was why they got into arguments all the time. Korra reminded herself that since this was a pretend date with Tahno, the whole situation wasn't really comparable.
"Are you not enjoying your food?" Tahno inquired, snapping Korra from her thoughts.
Korra looked morosely at the now cold fish before her. She twirled her chopstick on the edge of the plate. "It's really fancy," she said glumly. "I prefer simpler stuff."
Tahno's expression was unreadable. Then he signaled to the waiter and pulled a wad of Aangbucks from inside his jacket. "Look, I dragged you into this mess, and you didn't have to go out with me but you did anyway. I owe you one. Let me make it up to you."
The statement piqued Korra's curiosity. "How would you do that?"
"Let's shake these tabloid creeps and go get a meal that's actually worth eating. What do you say?"
Korra wondered what he had in mind, but she doubted it could be any worse than this. And she knew for sure that she was done with the flashbulbs and the reporters asking her personal questions. "If we can stop by the car so I can ditch these ridiculous shoes and grab my boots, you've got a deal."
Tahno had been on many dates during his years in Republic City, but after a while they had all begun to blend together. When he'd been the pro-bending champion title holder, there had been a parade of pretty faces, glittery dresses, jazz clubs, fancy food, and fancier booze. Of course he had also spent plenty of casual nights drinking at Narook's, but the girls he took there often complained that the place made their hair smelled like frying oil. The 'date' he was on with the Avatar seemed so different from those nights; for one thing, he wasn't actually trying to get into her pants. For another, she wasn't trying to suck up to him like the many girls whose names and faces he'd largely forgotten. So maybe he shouldn't have been so surprised that the Avatar agreed so enthusiastically to go back to the place they had first met for some cheap noodles.
The driver pulled up to the curb and the Avatar launched out of the car in excitement, not even waiting for the driver to step out and open the door for her. Tahno followed bemusedly.
"Oh no, the sign's off!" she groaned. "Don't tell me they're closed!"
"Don't worry, I've got an in with the owner," Tahno said, trying the handle on the front door. He pushed with his shoulder and held the door open for the Avatar, who bounded through happily. He made a mental note to remind Narook about locking up better for the evening. It wasn't as if they were in the ritziest part of town, and Tahno had heard rumors that the triads had been scrambling for new sources of income since they couldn't fix the pro-bending matches or run their gambling rings in the old locations anymore.
They found Narook hunched over the bar, tallying up the evening's totals. "We're closed!" he shouted without looking up.
"Even for a special guest?" Tahno asked.
Narook looked up with an expression that made it clear that he didn't think Tahno was very special. Then Narook noticed the Avatar and perked up considerably. "Avatar Korra! Or should I say, 'Reigning Champion' Avatar Korra? It's an honor to have you here again! I'm a big fan, you know." He gestured proudly to the promotional poster for the Ferrets vs. Wolfbats exhibition match behind the bar. Pinned beside it was a clipping from the Times from the day after the game, with a shot of the announcer holding up the Avatar's hand to proclaim victory. Tahno pursed his lips in annoyance. So much for friendship, he thought grumpily.
The Avatar didn't seem to notice Tahno's mood shift. "Well I'm a big fan of yours too! You make the best noodles I've had since I left home!"
Narook beamed at the compliment. "Did you hear that, Tahno? The Avatar knows what she's talking about."
"Some people have lower standards than I do," Tahno muttered under his breath. He pulled out a beat-up bar stool for the Avatar to sit on, and he plopped onto the stool beside her.
The Avatar grinned. "Please call me Korra. And that goes for you, too, pretty boy, I'm tired of all this 'Uh-vatar' stuff, got it?" she added for Tahno's benefit, poking fun at his accent.
"Korra it is," he responded, a bit peevishly.
Narook closed his accounting ledger and wiped his hands on a towel on his dingy apron. He shuffled around the big ice box behind the bar, clinking bottles around inside. "Pardon my mentioning this, Ava- I mean, Korra, but you seem a bit dressed up to be in my humble establishment - and I thought that your big date involved a little more, uh, glamour."
Korra was still in her formal dress, but she'd pulled her hair back and had traded the heels for her regular boots. When Tahno had led her into Chang's, he'd been surprised by how well she had cleaned up. In fact, the word "knockout" had come to his mind in spite of his previous distaste for the girl. Now that she'd changed into her old beat-up boots, the effect wasn't quite the same, but he had still snuck an appraising look at her curvy backside while she was scrambling out of the car a few moments earlier. In any case, he was pleased that she was finally acting more at ease.
Narook slid three frosty glasses over and poured a frothy amber liquid out for them. He grabbed the pint nearest to him and made a toast. "To the lucky bastards who brewed this heavenly beer." Tahno and Korra dutifully raised their glasses and sipped.
"Wow, this stuff is great!" Korra exclaimed. "Where did it come from?"
Narook wiped the foam off his lip with the back of his hand. "The monks who live at the Western Air Temple these days -
"You mean the Air Acolytes."
"Yeah, them - well, this beer is based on one that the Air Temple nomads kept closely guarded for thousands of years. Rumor has it that it helped bring them closer to the spirit world. The original recipe is lost, of course, but this one is pretty damn good too. I don't carry fancy booze here, but I've been saving this bottle for a special occasion."
Tahno took another sip, rolling the liquid across his tongue. He wondered how much of Narook's story about the beer was bullshit as he watched Korra eagerly take another gulp. It didn't really matter. The beer tasted so good that he didn't care if Narook's busboy was brewing it in his parents' storage closet.
Narook leaned an elbow on the counter. "So Korra, how is it that you ended up here?"
She grinned and rolled her eyes at Tahno. "You wouldn't believe the place Tahno took me. All the waiters had tiny little mustaches and snotty expressions, and all the food was super weird. There were photographers and reporters everywhere that were almost impossible to shake. And worst of all, I had to wear this ridiculous get-up." She swept her hand down her sparkly dress.
Narook let out a strong belly laugh and reached over the bar, slapping Tahno on the shoulder and causing him to slosh his drink. "That sounds like my boy, always putting on airs. But I see he finally came to his senses and brought you here."
Tahno merely raised an eyebrow at this as he dabbed at the beer on his collar with his handkerchief. He glanced back at Korra, who seemed to be smiling almost fondly at him. "Narook, you're absolutely right. So, do you think I could have some of your famous noodles? I'm starving!"
"Anything for the woman who spent a whole evening in Tahno's insufferable presence and still has a smile on her face." Korra seemed to think this was absolutely hilarious, as she slapped her hand on her knee and doubled over laughing. Tahno supposed he was having a good time, but all these jokes at his expense were getting a little old.
Korra must have read his thoughts on his face, because she said as if to appease him, "Oh, he hasn't been so bad. At least not once he told me he'd take me here." Tahno found himself sitting up a little straighter at her comment in spite of himself.
Narook tipped his head toward Tahno. "And you, friend? Need some real food?"
Tahno shook his head. "Just kelp tea. I was a bit more appreciative of the first restaurant's fine dining experience than Korra was."
Narook winked conspiratorially at Korra. "Don't mind him. He thinks he's fancy because he's a celebrity now, but he was raised in a swamp." Narook ducked into the kitchen to cook the order.
Korra eyed Tahno curiously. "Foggy Swamp?" she asked. Tahno nodded. "Did you wear a banana-mangrove leaf on your head?"
He responded a little crossly, "People there don't dress like that anymore." The stereotype was still annoyingly prevalent, here and around the globe, even though nowadays a guy could get almost everything in Foggy Swamp that he could get Republic City. Except newly-released movers and good Fire Nation food, anyway. He took a long sip of beer in an effort to cut off further discussion of the subject.
Korra chuckled. "Sorry, you probably get asked that all the time." Tahno grunted. "Still, if anybody could have pulled off that kind of outfit, it would have been you." Korra smiled, then looked away shyly.
Tahno was surprised she said something like that, but he kept his face deliberately neutral. Had she just - flirted with him? Well, one good turn deserved another, he supposed. "That's an odd compliment but I'll take it. And even if you don't especially care for your attire, I will say that dress is very becoming on you."
Korra blushed, clearly at a loss for what to say. Tahno enjoyed it. He wondered how far she would let him push it.
He didn't get to find out, because Narook ruined the moment by slapping two massive bowls of steaming noodles in front of them.
Narook handed Korra a set of banged up chopsticks. "I cooked an extra batch for Mister Skin-and-Bones over there. Whether or not he'll appreciate it is a different story."
Korra smirked and looked back and forth between Narook and Tahno. Then without further discussion, she picked up her bowl and started shoveling noodles into her mouth.
Narook looked significantly at Tahno and tilted his head toward Korra, as if to say with his eyes, 'I like this one. Don't screw it up.'
Tahno returned the look with a glare that communicated, 'Mind your own business, old man,' and tucked into his own meal. Narook grunted and slumped over to the other end of the bar to polish more glasses.
For several minutes, only the sounds of satisfied slurping of noodles passed between the two of them. Finally, Tahno looked up to see how Korra was doing. He almost slapped his forehead.
"Are you done eating?" He asked ironically, considering that she had picked up the bowl and looked as though she were getting ready to lick the sauce out.
She smiled sheepishly and placed the bowl back on the table, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand and stifling a burp. "I s'pose I am finished. So, what's next?"
Tahno was confused by the question. Post-paparazzi noodles was as far as he'd planned. He glanced back at Narook, who had been lingering at the other end of the bar, pointedly not looking in their direction. Tahno caught his eye. Narook looked up at the ceiling, then started whistling and slunk through the low doorway into the kitchen to leave the two benders alone. Subtle, Tahno thought sarcastically.
Suddenly he remembered something that might be interesting to her. "Come on, let me show you something cool."
A/N: Didn't expect to have to break this into two chapters but it got a little longer than I expected. Next chapter: More date, plus post-date. I had lots of fun writing this chapter. One thing I had a hard time with was Tahno mentally referring to Korra as "the Avatar." I got tired of it, and I thought that they were getting to know one another, so it seemd natural that he'd start calling her "Korra" in his head once she gave him permission to do so out loud. Also, as much as I love the way Tahno says "Uh-vatar," I don't like writing it that way. So please just imagine him pronouncing it that way in his head. Kthx.
