A/N SPOILERS WATCH EPISODE 6 FIRST BEFORE YOU READ THE NEXT LINES
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, BRYKE? Seriously, you're causing the entire fandom to weep over a television show! (Myself included) Why would you destroy the probending arena? Does Tahno still get the winnings even though he was an insufferable insert-swear-words-here…? I'm so confused! All I know is that Lin is a BAMF, and I loved Korra's actions scenes.
But that doesn't mean you're off the hook, Bryke….
Also, thanks for the reviews :) I woke up to see six when I went to bed with four and I got all giddy and such.
Chapter 11
Howl felt the softness of the pelt under his fingers, smelled the jasmine in her scented brown hair. His nose touched her warm cheek subconsciously, trying not to disturb the sleeping beauty. His arm had somehow managed to find its way to her waist in the middle of the night and pull her warm body closer. Though he knew how awkward it would be if she woke up, he enjoyed this. There weren't any guards here to prod and poke at his business with the Avatar (even though the only distinguished business he had was being her best friend). He heard incessant whining and whimpers that Naga emitted but didn't dare move. He was too comfortable, too infatuated with the sleeping girl beside him.
When he'd first woken, he had almost wanted to peel himself away and crawl in a corner. He'd read about spooning in his romance novels but had never even imagined that it could be like this. This… cozy. Korra's hips and his were aligned, their knees bent like a puzzle piece fitting perfectly. They were both using his arm as a pillow. The other arm was keeping her close to him, making sure that neither of them went anywhere without waking the other. Though he had wanted to move, he wasn't sure he could.
Korra stirred, bringing him from his trance. Well, there went the peace. She shifted brought her hand to rub her eyes. Then she sneezed. Howl frowned, slowly peeling his arm away from her as she sneezed again. "Korra?" He questioned, concerned. Her blue eyes turned to him and looked him over. He propped himself up on his arm and held her gaze for a while before she sneezed a third time. "You okay?"
"Fine." She lied. Her head was throbbing and her nose was running. Her eyes hurt as they tried to adjust to the low level of light. And when she tried to swallow, it hurt like standing in the middle of a snowstorm during the night. "I'm fine."
"You don't sound fine." Howl said, sitting up. Her gaze flickered to his and she bit her lip. So her sore throat had betrayed her by making her voice come out scraggly and a little manly. Thankfully, he didn't laugh at her when she felt so horrible. That would only lead to another achingly painful week without seeing him because she was hurt.
Then Korra noticed how close they were and her memories flooded back to the previous night. She woken sometime around moon-down to find his arm lazily draped over her back and her heart raced with excitement. It hadn't lasted too long-exhaustion had taken over her—but it was still the memory that caused her heart to race. How long had she felt like this about him? How long had it been since her heart had begun to race whenever she saw him?
She sneezed. Three more times, and it slowed her sprinting heart to a stumbling stop. Her arms had mongoose-bumps on them but she felt as if she were on absolute fire. Not even training felt this hot. Naga whimpered and whined, sending her attention to the face of the cave. The white animal was pacing around, barking at clumps of… flying snow?
Oh no. She thought. A blizzard. Well great. They were stuck here, together, until the blizzard stopped. Howl followed her gaze out of the cave and saw exactly what she did. He sighed. "We're stuck, aren't we?"
"Unless you want to freeze to death." She sniffed, shaking her head. "I'm not going out there." Her head thudded, protesting to her speaking. She put her hands to the wood and weakly shot a flame into the midst of the sticks. The sticks wouldn't light, soaked with melted snow. That wasn't what scared her, though. That little flame was it? She couldn't conjure a fireball? What was wrong with her?
Howl noticed the confusion cross her face and she stared at her hands. "Korra?" He asked, trying to think of what to say. Korra's blue eyes met his eyes; fear intertwined in flecks of different shades that reflected through the low light. "You okay?"
"I'm sick, Howl. I'm sick and we're stuck here and I can't make a fire." She was shaking, her lips quivering. Howl reached out and took her hand in his. She was burning up, but she was shaking like a leaf. He sighed inwardly and pulled her over to him without a second thought. He felt her bury her head in his shoulder as he wrapped his cloak around the both of them. Her quivers were rapidly intensifying. "My head…."
"It's okay Korra." Howl whispered, wrapping his arm around her. She shrunk into his side. His heart ached seeing her this way; sick and small, unsure what to do or how to do it. It was like her spiritual side, the one that wouldn't show because she was too stubborn to let herself try it. She was too fast paced, too impatient. She liked control, liked to make the first move. He pulled the cloak farther onto her instead of himself.
She tried to push it away. "Howl, stop. I'm hot."
"You'll freeze to death." He whispered, tucking it around her. She glanced up at him with harsh eyes, calling him out without speaking. "I'll be fine." He promised, pulling her closer. Korra' s frown said everything she couldn't; she didn't believe him for a second. He smiled with ease, shaking his head at her denial. He would be perfectly fine, perfectly warm.
Three hours later, when Korra's fever intensified, they were both shivering from chills. Howl was wrapped around her, trying to keep her warm while the harsh winds slammed him in his exposed back. Snow had started to seep into the cave. Korra's teeth were chattering so hard in her sleep. Howl tightened the cloak around her, ignoring the horrible shivers that surged through him. He closed his eyes and remembered the day the mountain had erupted and heat had exploded into the air. There were a few earthbenders that had tried to help while the others ran as fast as they could to the water.
Howl had nearly lost his life that day. He had been walking home from school with the usual bullying on his mind when the earth had shaken and he had been thrown to the ground, injured badly with a concussion. He remembered not being able to move and watching as soot filled the air and caked the sky, heat exploding everywhere. It continued to get hotter and hotter until he couldn't take it.
Then a young man had found him and yanked him up, racing towards the ocean as the heat faded away. He'd been sick for months afterwards—lungs full of soot were apparently bad for you—while his parents tried to find a non-volcanic island home. Both being firebenders, the volcano had enhanced the heat in their blood… but for his sake, the left to a smaller island where he was shamed for joining the school late. Not one of the students seemed to care about him.
Howl tried to remember the heat from that day but found that he was too cold to hardly feel his fingers. His teeth chattering had numbed his lips. His entire body was quaking like the earth had done that day. His main focus was keeping Korra completely warm, but her head was completely exposed. Without a second thought, he removed his helmet and put it on her gently, taking out her ponytails and letting her hair fall on her neck. His neck was completely exposed now. But he would not let the cold win, he wouldn't let it take him or Korra without a fight.
Another hour and he was wondering how long it could possibly take for the Avatar to wake. He tried his best to keep her warm but he was starting to give in to the cold. His back was freezing. His shoulders were stiff. He couldn't take it much longer. As soon as she woke, he would personally carry her back to the compound if he had to. Korra stirred only moments later, much to his relief. His fingers were starting to freeze even through the gloves. "H-h-hey K-k-k-orra?" He said, trying his hardest to keep his voice as low as possible. He couldn't waste any heat by speaking.
Korra's temperature was trying its hardest to balance out. It was somewhere between warmth and shivers, but she figured she was only shivering because Howl was. When he had tried to speak, she glanced up at him with concerned eyes. His cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel-lemur's would when they were full. His lips were shaking so badly that his words weren't comprehendible. She turned and touched them with her gloved fingers, trying to stop them from shaking. She felt his helmet twist on her head and smiled weakly. He'd given into the cold to protect her from doing so.
She was unsure of what to do though. She could hardly lift her hands to bend anything. There was only one true way to escape from the cold and that was to head back to the compound. Though she hated it there, it was safer. She just had to call Naga through the whistling wind. "We need to go back." She whispered, pressing their noses together. His was frozen. Hers was warm, and relief.
An idea popped into her head. She had to try and warm them both up. Her arms were tucked into Howl's cloak, but she wouldn't need to use them for what she wanted to do. It was her turn to prove how much she cared about him. Their foreheads pressing together, their noses; it was a complete copy of the previous night's close encounter. Only this time, she was positive of what she wanted, of what she knew she would enjoy.
Howl didn't know what Korra was doing, or what he was either. But his heartbeat was quickening with her lips lingering only centimeters in front of his face. Her soft, plain mouth that his own begged to be placed together on, like the souls in his romance novels. He felt horrible for comparing his own life with them, but it was all he had to go by. Her sweetly scented minty breath sent a new wave of chills down his spine. They were so close, so close that their breathing mingled in between the gap their lips should have broken.
He was scared. The first time he'd done it was just to shut her up, but now there was an opportunity to show that he really had meant it. He wanted this, wanted her. He wanted to have someone love him again. He didn't want to feel lonely ever again. And yet, he hesitated. What if that wasn't on Korra's mind? What if she just wanted to be close to him, but not that close? What if he messed up and screwed them both out of a friendship?
The same things were going through Korra's mind. She wanted to close her eyes and make sure that she knew she wanted this, but there was a heavy fear that stopped her from moving any farther. Finally, Howl pushed away. Though her heart stopped when she realized what he'd done, she knew it was better for the moment. She needed time to explore her feelings for him, explore why he had kissed her in the first place. She needed to know that he felt the exact same way that she did whenever she thought about him.
Howl helped her stand on shaky legs. She was still so weak that he knew the winds would barrel her over if she went into the storm by herself. So he swept her off of her feet, his shivering body warming when he felt the heat of her fever as he cradled her to his chest. "Naga!" He shouted into the storm, afraid to leave the cave just yet. Thankfully, he saw the white dog race from the hill with her pink tongue lolling from her mouth. Polar bear-dog's had it lucky.
Korra smiled at her pet before Howl set her onto the saddled creature and climbed on behind her. He grabbed Naga's reins all while holding her tightly to his chest. "Come on girl," He said, his teeth chattering against the wind. He was trying so hard to keep it hidden from her, she could tell. "Come on."
She pressed her face to Howl's chest and tried not to let the wind catch her cheeks as the massive dog raced towards the camp. Howl's ceaseless shivers were the only reason she was so focused on getting back to the compound. Her headache and sore throat were nothing compared to him being cold.
She heard him sigh in relief and tore her gaze away from his shirt to see that the compound was in fact in sight. Her own stomach flopped and she lay perfectly still as the guards opened the gate, Naga racing to get out of the snow just as badly as they were. Howl steered the animal towards her stable and left her there without unsaddling her. He carried Korra to her quarters and was rewarded with intense heat. The fireplace was lit, the bed made, a plate of steaming dumplings on her night table. Katara walked from the bathroom and caught them, her knowing gaze haunting. Howl gently set Korra onto her bed. "Ma-a-ster Kat-t-ara." He shivered, struggling to keep his breath level.
Katara smiled at him and beckoned to the plate beside Korra. "Have one before you go." She said, the smile eerie. Howl glanced between the plate and Korra before shaking his head. He had to get out of there before any more suspicions were raised. He grabbed his helmet from her head as gently as he could but left her wrapped in his cloak, afraid of unwrapping her.
"Thank you." She whispered as he took his helmet from her. "For everything, Howl." He gave her a pointed stare but said nothing as he exited the room.
It wasn't ten minutes that he'd been back in his quarters that he started sneezing.