No Avatar ever completely masters all the elements of life.

"I'm hungry," said Korra as she rolled off of him.

"Then go fix yourself something, Avatar," he replied lazily, not wanting to move his tired body.

"Such a gentleman," she sniped as she headed towards the kitchen.

"Need I remind you that I let you ride me three times in quick succession?" he challenged, admiring Korra's butt cheeks as she walked away. "To say nothing of the fact that this last round I made you come four times before I allowed myself to finish? I think that qualifies me as a gentleman of the highest order."

"You had help for those middle orgasms," she rebutted. "And just so you know…" She turned her head to face him. "…a gentleman wouldn't stare at my naked ass."

"This gentleman has been deprived of its sight for the last two hours. Forgive me for wanting to refresh my memory."

Korra grinned. "Well, when you put it that way…" She made sure to take her time bending over to rummage through the icebox.

He closed his eyes, all voyeuristic urges now satisfied, and tried to collect his thoughts with the sounds of Korra's food search in his ears. She would eat, dress, and leave, and he could just keep pretending that he didn't want her to spend the night (which was an incredibly stupid idea). Admit it old man. You like her. And you want to keep getting closer to her.

He heard the icebox door slide shut and then…nothing. No opening of drawers, no scraping of knives – just silence.

Interesting, he thought.

"Um…Amon?" came her voice.

He opened his eyes and sat up to see Korra clutching a jar of pickled cabbage, two lemons and the chicken cuts he'd purchased several days ago.

"This was all the edible-looking shit I could find in your icebox," she said, shrugging.

"Well make something of it then," he replied offhandedly, closing his eyes and laying back down again. "I think I've earned myself a little bit of rest."

"Um…err…"

He instantly recognized the hesitation in her voice. Before the Lieutenant had entered his life, he'd had a similar reaction to raw foodstuffs.

His eyes sprung open and he slid his legs over the side of the bed. "You don't know how to cook, do you Avatar?"

Korra flushed. "I know how to cook!" she said in an offended tone. "It's just that…well…knowing how to cook and actually cooking are two different things and...well…I never really mastered the 'actually' part."

"That bad?"

"Back at the South Pole, the White Lotus cooks banned me from the kitchen. The rare occasions my mother tried to teach me always ended in tears."

"Yours?"

"Hers."

"Wow…that's…" he stammered.

"Don't start," she warned him.

"No, it's just…" He chuckled. "I was the same, once."

"And what changed?"

He got up and joined her at the counter, not worrying about his nakedness (after all, she hadn't been concerned about hers). "I met an excellent teacher," he said softly. "And now I get by," he added.

"Great story," began Korra, "but it really doesn't help put all this in my stomach." She patted her naked belly for emphasis.

"Of course not," he snorted, "which is why I'm going to teach you how to cook it."

He switched on the gas and Korra's arms immediately went for the burners. "What are you doing?" he asked as she lowered her hands over the stove.

"Lighting it."

"Not with bending." He opened a drawer and retrieved a match box. "Here."

She gave him a hard look. "Really?"

"I believe we have a 'no bending' policy in this room."

"Funny. You never seem to object whenever I bend your seed out of my-"

"That doesn't count and you know it."

"Doesn't it?" The infamous side-eye emerged. "You do realize that without my waterbending there'd be a much higher chance that I'd get pregnant or every month you'd have to go a full week without sex, right?"

"I wouldn't mind a break now and then. You are a very…demanding partner."

"But really? You don't want to."

"…no."

"And you don't want kids."

"...no."

"Ah," she said with satisfaction. "So you do acknowledge that bending has a place in the world." She smacked his ass and he squawked. "Gotcha, Amon."

"Now you have to wash your hands again, Avatar," he chided, shaking his head. A frowning Korra rinsed her hands in the sink, and he decided it was best that they pressed forward. "Countless generations of non-benders and non-firebenders have cooked their meals without the ability to produce flames from their body. I'm sure you can go forego your advantage for a single meal."

She sighed and threw up her hands. "Fine. Whatever. Doesn't mean I like it, though."

He watched her fumble with the matches until she finally managed to light one and used it to ignite the front two burners on the gas stove. "Well done, Avatar," he said proudly.

"Don't patronize me," she snapped.

"I was just giving you encouragement, nothing more."

"Well…try and make it sound less suspect next time."

"I'll do my best," he quipped, leaning down to raid his cupboards for a small pot, a large pan and a cutting board. "Now, Avatar," he said, handing her the pot, "fill this halfway with water and place it on one of the burners." As she filled the pot, he went over to another cabinet and retrieved spices and cooking oil. He poured some oil into the pan and let it heat up.

"What now?" asked Korra after placing the pot on the stove.

"You're going to prep the chicken." He unwrapped the brown paper protecting the meat and dumped the chicken onto the wooden board. He then handed her a knife. "Slice up the chicken into small pieces no larger than your thumb. We don't want to add too much – most of the flavor will come from the cabbage."

She opened the jar and sniffed. "Ugh!" she gasped, immediately shutting the lid again. "That smells…"

"Believe me, it tastes much better than it smells," he assured her as he halved the lemons.

"I guess I'll have to trust you on that one," she replied, giving the jar one last fearful look before taking the knife to the chicken.

"No no no – don't chop it," he said, stopping to correct her. He slid up behind Korra and felt her shiver as his skin touched hers. "Nice, even strokes." He slid his arm over hers and gently grasped her knife hand. "Push down firmly, then gently pull across – just like that," he finished, and a perfect cut of chicken fell away from the rest of the produce.

His free hand reflexively slid up and down her rib cage.

"You know, that's kind of distracting," she murmured.

"Oh?" I didn't even realize… "Sor-"

"I didn't say stop now did I?" she added with a smile.

He stopped guiding her after the first few cuts, but was content to stay behind her and let both his hands spider their way across her ribs. Once the chicken was done, he had her season it with salt and pepper; then he had her bring the board over to the stove and dump the meat into the pan.

"Since we cut them small, they'll cook faster." The pan spit and sizzled, and Korra yelped as hot oil landed on her skin. "Perhaps cooking in the nude wasn't such a brilliant idea," he confessed.

"Next time we'll have to avoid frying things. Umm, I mean…" She blushed. "For our next cooking lesson, obviously. Not for cooking in the nude again. You know, because it's dangerous and…stuff."

We are definitely cooking in the nude again, he thought.

He grabbed the chopped lemons and squeezed them over the chicken, then threw the rinds into the pot of boiling water. "The chicken should only take five to seven minutes – just be sure to toss it every now and then. I'll take care of the cabbage."

He cracked open the cabbage jar and dumped a sizable portion into the boiling water, which he then seasoned with salt and pepper and a little dried ginger. He stirred the mixture vigorously for five minutes, watching as the water turned bright red from the spices and flavorings of the pickled vegetables.

"I think the chicken's done," said Korra, next to him.

"Throw the contents of the pan in – drippings too; we don't want to miss those."

He let the whole thing stir for another three minutes before he grabbed a spoon and had both of them taste. It was not his best pickling job, so the flavor was slightly lacking, but the chicken hid the deficiencies and Korra wouldn't have known the difference anyways (she was surprised by how much she liked the taste). He found two clean bowls and a second spoon, then doled out two portions of their soup – stew – whatever it was – before they retreated to the comfort of the bed.

"What is this dish called?" asked Korra as she raised her spoon to her lips.

"The pickled cabbage is called kimchi, although I don't remember the exact name for this specific dish."

"Still tastes delicious," she replied happily, then murmured her appreciation again, this time through a mouthful of cabbage.

He was about halfway through his meal when he noticed that Korra was staring oddly at him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she responded thoughtfully. "It's just…I can see why they follow you. The Equalists, I mean. You have a…way...about you. I could feel it back in the kitchen while you were teaching me…it's…entrancing...even when you're on your 'down with bending' rants." Her face fell. "I wish I had that. Not the whole 'inciting violence against thousands' thing," she clarified hastily. "Just…the people thing. I always seem to rub people the wrong way. And the ones I do get along with I always seem to hurt in some way. I don't know…" She glanced down at her stomach.

And in yet another move that surprised him, he tilted her head up and turned it till they were face to face. "You're young. You still have a great deal to learn. Yes, some have a natural talent for communication and relationships. Some don't. But you can learn. You can improve. And in time, you'll understand how to sway people to the causes you care about." He paused. "But for the record, Avatar, despite our disagreements…"

He leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips.

"…you've made an unforgettable impression on me."

She looked stunned, but managed to fold it into a smile of thanks.

"Now finish your kimchi. I know you don't eat enough vegetables."

She rolled her eyes but snuggled closer him.

The bowl was emptied in short order.

Author's note: If there are any Koreans or kimchi fans who think I've misrepresented the dish I'M SORRY I'VE NEVER HAD IT BEFORE I'M JUST GOING BY WHAT THE INTERNETS TOLD ME AND MY OWN INFERENCES SORRY.

Again, reviews and other feedback are always welcome!