A/N: Well, it's the last chapter ;(( Worry not though I am in the process of writing/planning a oneshot at the moment so it should be out within a few weeks - and I'm hoping I'll be able to finish it before work gets super hectic at the end of month.
As always, feedback of any kind is welcomed and appreciated! Enjoy!
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Warm fuzziness tingled down his body, the afterglow of sex effectively skewed his mind and calmed his nerves, despite his attention lingering on her rather than his own desires.
With Korra's parents gone and Tenzin's rigid restrictions on the young Avatar practically dissipated into thin air over the course of the week - he still knew his colleague held a large distaste for him - she insisted on exploring what devices were available to them. He indulged her. A part of him knew he couldn't refuse her because of what emotions he felt for her, and that in turn, was his downfall.
However, he was happily satisfied with his fate if she wanted to share this with him.
Over the week, him and Korra accompanied her parents to a few nights out into the downtown area of Republic City and some even around the arena. It wasn't anything of significance, though whatever doubts her parents had of him seemed to melt considerably. It was a nice feeling. One that he hadn't truly thought about in regards to Korra, but he couldn't deny he relished it. Especially the burning heat upon Korra's face as her parents told him of a few embarrassing secrets from her childhood.
He chuckled then and pulled her in closer against his side as they strolled down the busy sidewalks, but the pointed glare with an exaggerated pout on her face had him recoiling the slightest bit. As if he knew what stories Korra wanted to learn of when he'd introduce her to his mother down the line.
As things calmed down, they spent this evening out at Little Ba Sing Se and despite knowing full well there wasn't a need to use disguises, he followed in her footsteps in dressing himself in blacks and maroons to keep their identity protected. It wasn't necessarily to hide themselves from the prying eyes, but more to keep the young woman at his side comfortable with being at the center of attention. He was sure she was accustomed to the attention by now, being the Avatar and all, but it was completely different when tabloids loved to grasp onto any detail with a new relationship. Let alone public figures.
Regardless, she picked and chose what caught her attention at the boutique with nothing but a smile curving her lips, and he handed the bills to the cashier.
No more than an hour later, Tarrlok quenched her inquisitiveness. Just as each of their couplings, she was overly enthusiastic. At first, he questioned whether or not this was an act, however, as he concluded this was part of Korra's charm - the brash impatience - he allowed himself to relax and match her ardor until they were both crying out their ecstasy, trembling and panting with each acute peak. It's been like this for the better part of their time together since their first.
However, this night, her eagerness was marked by a devious grin that delightfully morphed into a pleasurable grimace as he teased her wet bundle of nerves and she adamantly guided his hand and anchored him in place. She sought out her pleasure and he was more than willing to be the source of it.
Her legs shook and he was painfully hard, repeatedly so, though even then she refused him until she was satisfied. As much as it pained him to admit, he was enjoying their exploration. If not for his own prolonged and delayed pleasure, then certainly to hear those excitable cries of ecstasy spilling past her kiss-swollen lips.
When they were done, warmth welled up within his heart at the sight of her. The contrast of an enthusiastic lover between silk sheets, yet as docile as a feline in its aftermath, intrigued him. She was always like this, and he couldn't stop himself from indulging in this intimacy and goad her with light, fleeting kisses to her overheated skin and lav over blooming blotches of blood at the side of her neck.
As he moved off of her and settled against the pillows carelessly thrown about, he released a content sigh. Tarrlok smiled as Korra moseyed against his side, her cheek resting atop his racing heart and an arm thrown haphazardly around his middle. Compared to the near shrieks the young woman pressed at his side released just moments ago, the silence was deafening. Almost ringing in his ears in a way.
The only sound that graced them was their labored breaths, panting their pleasure out until their vitals returned to relative normalcy. Tarrlok closed his eyes, relishing the heady scent of sex lingering in the air, however, he felt more than heard Korra tersely cackle at something only known to her. Idly, he grazed the tips of his nails along the bare path of her spine, vaguely noting the smooth ridges and dips and twitches of muscles underneath her hot skin.
Biting her lower lip, she glanced up at him, mischief glimmering heavenly in cerulean. "You know, I kinda wanna stir the pot." She uttered with a lazy smile, her voice hoarse from the intoxicatingly incessant keening.
"How so?" He asked. With the amount of rekindling interest fleeting past their eyes, Tarrlok ran his fingers through her tangled hair and grasped the ends the slightest bit.
Korra shrugged then, though the devious smile never faded. Instead, it intensified a fraction. "Mn, well, my parents are back in the South and we're already together, so why not take advantage of making Tenzin uncomfortable. I mean, that's what he hoped would happen at that dinner, but it didn't work out." She explained before adding, "...and maybe even the press."
Releasing her strands and repeating his movements in roving his fingers along her spine, Tarrlok slowly nodded. Not only was it due to the fact that his brain was still attempting to catch up on coherent thoughts and musings, but also because the idea sparked something that he couldn't deny he relished.
"So, in essence, you want to mess with them."
Korra shrugged once more. "Why not?"
It wasn't necessarily the press that he wanted to take some form of revenge on, because no matter what, they'd be the center of their interest regardless if it was due to their relationship or not. However, his thoughts blossomed at the mere mention of his bald colleague. Whether it was in regards to Council matters or something as trivial and petty as him and Korra flagrantly flaunting their relationship, he took pleasure in picking some fun on him.
Cracking a smile, Tarrlok stopped his traveling hand at the curve of her ass and pressed indecipherable patterns upon those enticing dips with his thumb. "Outright or subtle?"
"Mn," Korra pursed her lips and glanced around his bedroom in thought. "Outright. The papers did say we can't keep our hands off each other so why not enlighten them."
"Where?"
Korra harrumphed. Cerulean darkened and her pupils dilated as silence lapsed over them once more.
His mind went wild at the possibilities. He wasn't opposed to public affection. In fact, he relished it. Even though he shouldn't have, memories of past lovers flashed in his mind at what they could possibly do first. A local shop's back rooms? No, that was too subtle. Yue Bay? As much as he yearned for doing something so scandalous with her, it was still a little too brisk to indulge in the seaside, despite growing up in the North.
Abruptly, the idea of water sparked an interest at the back of his mind. It'd been years since he entertained the thought, merely because he hadn't been with a fellow waterbender in a long while, though it was just blatant enough for the headlines, yet suggestive enough to protect their modesty… well, with whatever modesty was left, considering they've been nothing more than inebriated with one another's bodies for the better part of the night.
When she still had yet to utter an idea, he pressed a lingering kiss to her lips, lightly catching her lower lip between his teeth as he pulled away. "I was thinking perhaps an onsen. Private, but out in the open enough for everyone to get the idea. I could rent out the area for a night if you're so inclined."
Korra smiled and shook her head. "Nah, I don't really wanna be naked on camera… unless you have some kink for that." She prodded a harsh finger just above his navel that caused him to make a sound at the back of his throat.
Rubbing his wound, he leaned to close a little of the distance between them. "You really want to know?" Truthfully, he didn't mind the idea of lewd photographs, however, he relished the privacy in doing it with one another rather than splayed out for Republic City to see. As much as he loved boasting his relationship in public, he wasn't quite fond of everyone witnessing the blatant vulnerabilities in the act itself. More so alluding to it, is all.
"Shut up." She said with a laugh. "Wait, I have an idea." Korra crawled the slightest bit closer to him and whispered to him, her lips brushing the shell of his ear ever so gently. With each word, Tarrlok couldn't stop himself from smiling at her clever idea. It wasn't necessarily one-to-one with what he had in mind, though he knew it was just flagrant enough for reporters to have a field day and for Tenzin to sizzle in his hatred for him. When she was done, she pressed light kisses to the sensitive patch of skin just behind his ear and down along his jawline as the sensation of her hardened nipples grazed his chest.
"That could work." He agreed, before Korra captured his lips in a lazy kiss. Warmth tingled down his nerves and gratification rushed through his veins. As they pulled away, he leaned forward to prop himself up by a forearm, while his other hand ran through her soft tresses. The moonlight sparkling in cerulean had him captivated and the pure, unadulterated content crossing her beautiful features had him willing his mouth to say what he'd been wanting to since that night on the Air Temple.
He'd been delaying it, merely to gauge the situation and circumstances of what was around them, as well as reading her as to how she'd react. As much as he wanted to say it during that night on the steps of that meditation pavilion, he couldn't bring himself to get the words to loosen at the tip of his tongue.
But now, gazing into her eyes and watching that raw warmth bloom in cerulean, Tarrlok cracked a smile. "I love you, Korra."
Astonishment was evident, given the way her mouth parted a fraction, however, she melted and wilted. "I love you, too." She pressed a kiss to his lips, though she immediately pulled away and added, "But don't think I'm warming up to you." She uttered and smacked him against his bicep.
Oh the horror of presuming so, he wanted to sardonically reply, but he had half a mind to refrain.
Their lips met once more. Gentle yet heady, enough so that he had no qualms in rekindling that heat and interest that was there moments ago. Well, as if he had any qualms in the first place. Despite everything, she easily deepened the kiss by tilting her head to the side and applied much more pressure to set the pace. Soft moans were muffled and vibrated into his mouth. Their tongues tangled with one another between the intermittent harsh bites she relished in placing upon his lower lip, though she pulled away just as he was chasing the intoxicating heat of her mouth.
Tarrlok cracked open his hazy eyes and gazed upon a starkly nude Korra shrugging the silk sheet off of her body and crawling over him. She straddled his hips and firmly pinned him to the mattress with her palms pressed flat against his pectorals, before coyly cocking her head to the side as she studied him and chewed at her lower lip.
"Did you ever find out who discovered us in the showers?" She asked.
What caused her curiosity after a few weeks of disinterest, Tarrlok didn't know. Regardless, he indulged her and merely shook his head. "Surprisingly, no. No one has come forward, although I did find that-" he nodded towards the stuffed tiger-seal perched delicately atop his chest of drawers, "outside my front door a few days ago with a note attached to it. I'm assuming it's from the same person, but I can't be too sure." Korra gazed curiously, albeit bemusedly, at the stuffed animal clearly made for a child.
At the time, he was yet again, at a loss as to how to handle the situation, although, now he merely disregarded it entirely.
Just the few days prior, he had gotten himself ready for work and swung the front door open with his belongings in tow. However, that stopped him in his tracks as it was placed intentionally on his mat just outside his home. He was bewildered as to what it was. He knew it was blatantly a gift from some stranger, and of course, he knew it was a stuffed toy of one of the animals he loved as a child - still did. Yet, he had to pause and warily grasp at the gift.
Was there a bomb attached or hidden somewhere on it? Was this some prank? His eyes widened a fraction at a sudden movement, his muscles tensing until ultimately loosening once more when he recognized it was nothing more than a note that drifted down onto his mat.
It was the same cheap quality of the note that this unknown person placed in his office, but was it connected in any way? Was this the same person, or was it simply some stranger?
He got his answer as he read the note.
There is a myriad of problems that come with this relationship, but I'm not one to dictate who you love. You and I know that well given the past. - N
Again, it was the same anonymous 'N', yet for reasons beyond his comprehension, Tarrlok felt a chill course down his spine at the inkling he had. Was this truly Noatak? Given what the note said, as well as the stuffed tiger-seal, he assumed so, but that was completely ridiculous.
Why and how would his dead brother bring this to him? Was it the spirits? Regardless of the answer, he placed it on his chest of drawers and abandoning the thought entirely as he made his way to work.
"Why, do you know?" He gently roved his hands up and down her thighs that framed his sides enticingly.
Korra slid her palms a fraction higher up his chest, and inadvertently the movement caused her to grind the vaguest bit against his loins, as she shook her head. "No, but let's just forget about it. I mean, the catgator is already out of the bag, it's no use to dwell on them when we're a known fact now." She ended with a light peck to his lips.
"Very true." He whispered with a smile. A few more gentle kisses were exchanged between them, however, she pointedly avoided him when he leaned forward to deepen the kiss. Instead, she rocked against him, the mischief mixed with sin glimmering delightfully in her orbs. Deliberately, she gyrated harder against his hardening cock, his hands gliding up her smooth skin and settling at the swell of her hips to egg her on, but she stopped, even for just a moment.
"So… are you okay if we try the strap-on?" She whispered into his ear.
With the sun just beginning to peek over the mountains, Korra stretched her limbs and cracked a beaming smile. She knew what lied ahead of her, practically waiting on the kitchen counter or dining room table, because after their night out in the town and the plan they conjured in the midst of sex just a few days prior, she and Tarrlok were acutely aware of the people furtively glancing at them either in intrigue or bewilderment. Let alone the reporters that managed to follow them into the establishment and repeatedly snuck some photos.
It was obvious by the flashes of white that this would be on the next paper. And she was waiting for it eagerly.
Tossing the sheets off her body with a flick of her wrist, Korra stood from her spot and ran her fingers through mussed tangles. She shrugged noncommittally when she caught sight of her reflection. She'd get to bathing and making herself look presentable in a minute, but she almost desperately wanted to see Tenzin's reaction to what happened in the previous night.
Korra slipped out of her room and made her way into the kitchen. It was almost deceptively quiet, considering no airbending kid or White Lotus guard - hell, even Tenzin - was up from what she could see. That was strange.
Regardless, someone must've been up, because the newspaper was placed oh-so delicately atop one of the many kitchen counters. Korra bit her lower lip to stifle the blatant smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.
Did she dare?
Of course. She clasped her hands behind her back and warily meandered her way to read the article that no doubt had her and Tarrlok plastered on the front page.
With one glance, she was right.
The image was of her and Tarrlok at the Blue Bearcat and blatantly canoodling at one of the scalloped booths. He had an arm draped languorously around the back of the booth, she had a hand woven within the tendrils at his nape as she pulled him in for more kisses. However, from what she could remember of the night - let alone the image that heavily suggested it - she recalled unabashedly making out with the man and allowing his lips and tongue to drag heavenly down her jawline and the side of her neck. She recalled indulging in the sounds of upbeat jazz thrumming in her veins and the alcohol swimming lazily in her stomach.
In all honesty, heat stirred low in her abdomen at the image because of what happened no more than an hour after that picture was taken. The buzzed and vaguely skewed thoughts, and the familiar hammering of narrow hips colliding against her own. It was fortunate that no one followed them to his house, because she was sure they'd get an eyeful. Or maybe they wouldn't care and plaster their romp for everyone to see.
But no.
Korra couldn't even bring herself to care what the reporter wrote, knowing full well it's just entertaining speculation and rumors brewing throughout the city. Instead, she smoothed a palm down the front page in pride at her handiwork and rifled through the cupboards in search of some tea leaves.
Black tea? Oolong? Maybe green tea?
With pursed lips, she grasped onto the tin of black tea leaves.
It was only when she cradled a mug and focused on heating the water with her firebending that she heard soft footfalls against wooden floors. Braving a furtive glance over her shoulder, it was Tenzin groggily making his way into the room.
Korra bit the inside of her cheek to stifle a cackle from escaping her, however, she couldn't stop the smile curling her lips. Not even a second later, she heard a soft sound leave Tenzin, and abruptly a loud thump. What? Korra turned around and discovered a fainted bald man on the floor, completely and utterly passed out.
Releasing a chuckle, Korra tended to an unconscious Tenzin with some mercy. At least, she got some revenge out of this.
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A/N: Thank you again to everyone who read and kudoed and commented/reviewed this fic! I really appreciate it! 333