Hello everyone, I've decided to change the rating of this story to "M", which means that it will probably get more "adult" if you know what I mean *insert smirking Mr. Bean meme here*. So...yeah. I hope that this doesn't make anyone stop reading it, but if it does I totally understand. Thanks guys!

Chapter Three

What just happened? Korra balances on Air Temple Island's rock retaining wall, the stone solidly reassuring beneath her hands. There are butterflies—or maybe bumbleflies—performing strange circus acts in her stomach. She cannot imagine what came over her in Tahno's apartment, what unfamiliar force pushed her hips against his and rocked back and forth, what sought more friction, what propelled a low, lusty moan from her mouth.

This isn't the Korra that she knows, the fiery-spirited Avatar—or is it? She isn't sure, not right now, staring across the harbor's glassy water at Republic City's gleaming lights. Somewhere out there is Tahno's apartment and paper lanterns and photographs of past lives in backwater villages and it's all tangled up in the stupid feeling in her chest and stomach.

"Ah, Avatar Korra?"

Korra turns, her breath catching in her throat, and sees an Order of the White Lotus guard standing behind her, tugging at the collar of his headpiece.

"Yes?" She stands.

"Are you, uh, alright?"

She assumes that he's following some kind of weird White Lotus guard instinct, or maybe he's heard about her tendency to ditch the island in favor of Republic City. Either way, Korra flashes him a friendly, if slightly dazed, smile.

"Fine. I'm fine."

She turns and heads for the island's compound of buildings, feeling only a little lightheaded.

Tenzin catches her in the hallway, skirting close to the wall in the cool semi-darkness.

"Korra," He says. She freezes, heart suddenly in her throat.

"Oh, hey, Tenzin! I was just, ah..."

"Were you off the Island, Korra?"

Korra gulps audibly. Attempting to force bravado into her tone, she ends up squeaking,

"No! Why would you think that?"

"You know that it's dangerous out there, Korra! Amon and his chi-blockers are running amok—you can't just wander around, for spirit's sakes!"

"I was with Mako and Bolin!" Korra protests, hears the complain-y quality to her voice and regrets it. "I'm fine, Tenzin. Really. I can take care of myself."

Tenzin looks ready to give her a more severe scolding, but Pema slides from the shadows and places a hand on his shoulder.

"Tenzin," She says softly, and he huffs something under his breath and then Pema steers him away, probably to chastise him about the delicacies of raising teenage girls, and Korra hastens back to her room uninterrupted.

"Hello, uh-vatar."

Korra freezes, her half-folded uniform shirt clenched in her hands.

"Tahno."

The dark-haired waterbender glides from the gloom of the locker room door to loom over her.

"Doing well, I hope?"

"Like you care." Korra sniffs, taking extra measure to fold her shirt's sleeves very neatly. "Your scare tactics won't work on me, pretty-boy."

"Won't they?" Tahno drawls carelessly, leaning against the metal locker. His thin face is illuminated by a dim, distant light that sets his eyes aglow.

"No," Korra snaps. "They won't."

"You're cute when you're angry."

Korra drops the shirt, hands clenched into sudden fists. "I'll show you cute, you smirking little—"

"Mastered airbending yet, Uh-vatar?"

Korra snarls something unprintable under her breath.

"I'll take that as a no."

There is something so utterly infuriating about the smirk on his face—something that makes Korra want to slap him—

And then push him up against the wall and kiss him as hard as she could.

"It's none of your damn business, Tahno." She collects the uniform shirt and crams it into her locker, slams the door harder than she should. The heat gathering in her stomach isn't normal, and neither is this weird urge to step closer to the smirking Wolfbat, to slide her hands around his waist...

"I have to go." Korra snaps.

"Off to practice your airbending? Or play with your little firebending boy-toy?"

"Excuse me?" The words come out high and squeaky.

"Mako? Your fearless leader?"

"We don't—I don't—we haven't—"

"Oh, my mistake," Tahno says easily, his smirk widening. "I was under the impression that you two had been engaging in some...extra practice..."

"Well, that's complete bullshit!" Korra cries—how vulgar she must sound, how shocked Tenzin or Katara would be to hear her! "Mako and I are teammates. Nothing more."

"I'm sure you are, Uh-vatar."

Tahno steps close to her, dipping his face towards her until they are nearly touching. Suddenly, Korra can't seem to breathe properly.

"If you ever need some...professional assistance...with your waterbending, you know where to find me."

This close, it's easy to imagine placing her hands on his shoulders, leaning forwards until their lips touch. She wonders what he feels like, his skin beneath his uniform.

Then Tahno turns and he's out the door, down the dim hallway, and Korra is alone in the locker room with an unfolded uniform and a racing heart.

"We really need to up our game if we want to beat the Lion Vultures," Mako says gravely, extending his closed fist and shooting a puff of flame into the air. "They may seem like a backwater team, but in the arena they're real killers."

"They've got nothing on us!" Bolin protests, allowing Pabu to clamber across his shoulders. "We've got the Avatar!"

Korra's mind is elsewhere. The trio of benders have occupied a training room within the stadium's vast complex, but so far they've accomplished very little. Golden late-afternoon sunlight slants through the windows. Her thoughts wander, invariably, back to Tahno.

This needs to stop. I need to stop it.

Korra stands. "I have to go."

"What?" Bolin shoots to his feet. "What do you mean? Like, out?"

"Yeah. There's something that I have to do."

"But we're training! We've got a match in two days!" Mako sends a blast of flame into the air. "We've barely gotten anything done!"

"This is important," Korra says. Something in her chest is coiled and ready to spring.

"Yeah, let's take a break!" Bolin is always eager to agree with Korra, something that she's grateful for at times like these. Never mind that she's probably leading him on and definitely taking advantage of him, but the earthbender gathers Pabu up in his arms and Korra takes that as her cue to leave.

It's a short walk to Tahno's apartment. How does she remember where it is? The wide street is crowded with people and carts and venders and automobiles, the clatter and smell of it rising as she climbs the back stairs.

Korra's stomach is full of butterflies—isn't that a stupid phrase? Too silly and romantic for the likes of her, she thinks—and try as she might, she can't ignore them. She knocks on the door and feels the first pangs of hesitation.

What if he's here with another girl? Wait, why would there be another girl here? Maybe one of his damn fangirls—shit, I shouldn't have come. Maybe he's not home. Maybe he's training, maybe he's—

The door swings open.

"Hey, Tahno." Korra doesn't know how to be anything but herself, and the Korra that she knows is not going to back down because of a couple of butterflies in her stomach. She's also not about to act scared, or wimpy, in front of a man. No, sir. No way.

"Korra?" His thin face registers surprise. "I...didn't except to see you here."

"Yeah, well, we need to talk." She pushes past him, into the apartment.

"About what?" Tahno watches her with guarded concern.

Korra turns to face him. The apartment seems smaller now, brighter, with the sun filtering through torn rice-paper blinds, illuminating dust motes in the air between their faces.

"Last night." Korra takes in a deep breath. The air is thick in here, hard to breathe right when they're standing so close together. "What we did."

"What did we do?"

She stares. Blinks. "You kissed me, idiot."

"Right." Tahno looks almost pained, as if he had been hoping that she'd forgotten. "You have my apologies, uh-vatar."

Apologies. "What do you mean? Apologies?"

"Wasn't trying to make a move on you, uh-vatar." And just like that, the smirking fox is back.

"What if I—" Don't say it, Korra. Don't say it, don't say it, don'tsayitdon'tsayitdon't— "What if I wanted you to?"

Tahno scoffs. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Korra bristles at his dismissive tone. In one swift movement, she reaches out, grabs Tahno's forearm and twists it. Another single motion and he has her pushed against the wall, pressed hard against her with his lips tilted towards her.

"You don't want, me, uh-vatar. Nobody wants me anymore. I'm—" And he leans forward until he's whispering against her lips, "Damaged goods."

And then he's kissing her again, hard and fast like before, and Korra tries to say "No" because she shouldn't be doing this, not here, not now, not with Tahno, for spirit's sakes, but it comes out a whimpered "yes", and then his hands are skating across her body, pushing at the hem of her tunic, and then he's assaulting her neck with his mouth, sucking hard, and Korra lets out a sharp cry. He's hard between her legs, and when she brushes her fingers across his waistband Tahno moans. Korra reflects, briefly, that she's never done this, never gone this far, and there is heat spreading across her lower stomach. An interval of fervent kissing and grinding and moaning follows, and Korra breaks away first.

"I can't." She says. "I can't."

"Why not?" Tahno bends to suck at her jawline.

And suddenly, Korra doesn't know why she can't stay. One moment she is kissing Tahno fervently, and the next she is sliding her hand down the front of his pants and stroking him. And Tahno hisses her name—not uh-vatar, but Korra, and he kisses her hard and moans against her ear. This is followed by a brief period of breathy moaning and lustful sounds, and Korra somehow ends up straddling Tahno on the couch, and then he comes into her hand, eyes wide, lips parted.

Korra falls forward, against his chest, and for a moment there is only silence and golden sunlight, and she realizes that she hasn't really embraced someone like this in a long while, and that it's really quite nice.

Another moment, and the regret starts to settle in. Korra's never done this, never been this far—and certainly not with Tahno, not with someone with whom she shares a rocky and tentative past.

"I..." She sits up. "I should go."

"Stay, Korra." Tahno grabs her shoulders and pulls her close, kisses her hotly.

"Tenzin will worry." Korra complains, but then Tahno pushes his hand up the front of her tunic, and he slides another hand into her pants—lower and lower and ohgodwhat'shedoing and then he crooks his fingers and Korra gasps, writhes hard against him.

Tenzin can wait.

Hey everyone! This is my first attempt at writing something so *graphic*, and I hope that it didn't read like a bad chapter of 50 Shades of Grey or anything. Please review and let me know what you thought! :)