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Chapter 19

First day back on the job was his birthday.

It had already been a so-so week. His groin still burned, he had bruises up and down his chest, and he hadn't been allowed to see Korra until he was fully healed. Thankfully, Sitch was a good nurse and his eye had lost its blackness and swelling. He still had a split lip (much to his displeasure, kissing Korra wasn't going to be as easy) and a cut beside his eye, but he was better. But on the brighter side, he had won the championship and in front of Korra as well.

Then his birthday had rolled around and he woke up aching like a son, his muscles stiff and his fingers curled into a fist. His nightmares had, for the first time in a long time, been of his parents. His mother's heart shaped face, his father's square eyes. He saw the scar above his childhood that he'd earned when training for the White Lotus. He saw he mother's nimble fingers as she sewed his torn clothes. And worst of all, he saw them the day they left to go to the market in their brand new Satomobile, the pride on their faces.

Howl stayed with his head on his pillow, thinking about them all day. He tried to do something productive but in the end his body was too sore to do anything. Sitch and the other guards had returned to their duties the day after the rally, but since he was the victor, he got a few days off to writhe in his own agony. He would have been perfectly fine if it was Korra patching him up and comforting his pain instead of Sitch. He would have been healed by now.

He watched as the sun reflected in to the evening window and sighed. All day of doing nothing but dream about his parent's long gone faces had drained him as he struggled to get his clothes on. His back throbbed as he bent down to pull on his shirt on, wincing as his neck cracked. The next few steps were difficult as he struggled to pull on pants and accidently grazed his aching manhood. The pain had left him breathless but he bit his tongue to push it away. Blood swelled from his bite mark as he pulled on his sweatpants, hissing in frustration.

Finally, he stood from his bed and quickly slid on his boots. His fingers were throbbing by the time he was fully dressed and he wandered very slowly to the door, opening it and sliding out into a fury of snow.

Korra grabbed a weight ball and set it back onto the hangar. Everything was planned for the night ahead except two things: 1.) Convince Sitch to take Howl's position for night guard and 2.) Seduce Howl. After all the pain he'd been in the last few days—pain so severe, apparently, that she wasn't allowed to visit—she figured that latter would be the most difficult. She placed the weights on the rack after a day of waterbending sparring and tried to ignore the tightness in her shoulders. Her mind was going a thousand miles a minute, going over possible things to say to Howl.

Her hand lashed out with water as she cleaned the scorch marks on the floor. That was her own personal venting instead of the sparring match she and Katara had been in. She had been running over the situations in her head, thinking of what could go wrong. Another water ball flew from her hands as she rinsed the blackened training floor, annoyed that she couldn't think of a way to be both romantic and seductive at the same time.

When the training room was sparkling clean, Korra exhaled. Time to find Sitch and tell him her master plan. She pulled on her parka and walked out into the snowy wonderland. Every breath was heavy and foggy in front of her as she scurried to the barracks. Her gloved hands found the doorknob and she turned it, slowly pushing into the barracks. Her eyes flitted to Howl's bed in hopes that she could knock two birds down with one stone, but his bed was neatly made as usual. Her heart thudded as she made her way through the undressing men and found Sitch climbing onto the bunk above Howl's. "Sitch." She hissed.

Sitch jumped and smacked his head on the roof. He let out a string of curses before his gaze fell on her. Luckily, he was still dressed. He had one of Howl's romance novels in his hands but his eyes were dark. "Avatar, what the hell are you—"

"It's Howl's birthday." She whispered, glancing around the room and breathing of relief that none of the men noticed her. When she turned back to Howl's friend, she saw his brows creased with the new knowledge. "Is there any way that you can…um…."This shouldn't be that hard! She kicked herself for not being able to say what exactly she wanted to without pleasant shivers trailing down her spine, or her mouth locking up and causing her brain to die.

Sitch crossed his arms. "You're gonna fuck, aren't you?" He questioned. Korra flinched at how harsh he made it sound; that's not what she really had in mind. "Oh, sorry. Howl calls it love-making. Is that want you wanna do?"

Her face flooded with heat and she shifted her feet. "Is there any way you can take Howl's position tonight? I mean, it's his birthday and… well…." Her hands were shaking, she realized, as she shifted her gaze nervously around her. The other men were struggling to get good seats around a Pai Sho table with a radio on it.

"I'll be at his post by ten. Try and be gone by the time I get there. I really don't wanna see the two of you getting it on."

Her heart exploded with happiness. "Thank you so, so, so much, Sitch! You don't realize how important this is to me—"

"Go, kid." Sitch ordered, his face already buried in a book. Korra didn't hesitate a second, racing out of the barracks. Her boots collided with the ice outside of the door but she held her own and raced back to her room. Though everything was ready, she still had preparations to do on herself. She turned the water on in the shower and boiled it with her firebending before she undressed quickly and slid into the steaming water, her hair instantly growing soaked. She grabbed the jasmine shampoo and lathered her dark brown hair with it. Her stomach flip flopped in anticipation. It had done that the first time he kissed her, the first time they had told each other they loved each other.

Now it was happening all over again as she imagined the perfection of the night. The jasmine scent swirled around her as all of her feelings—happiness, fear, anticipation—surged through her. It was a new sort of high that not even she had experienced. The last time she remembered this sort of a lull was when she had learned she was the Avatar. There had been so much pride and glee in her parents' eyes. She'd fallen asleep with a smile on her face.

Korra wanted so badly to do the same again tonight. Her hands found an unused razor and she exhaled, connecting the sharp edges to her legs and shaving the small hairs that had grown over the course of sixteen years. When she'd reached her knees, she accidently felt the razor prickle and cut the rounded bone. A hiss of annoyance escaped her throat when a tiny pinprick of blood seeped out. Without thinking, she bended the water around her and healed the exposed skin, watching the blood fade with the water and the cut heal into skin.

After both of her legs were done and under her arms, she found herself debating internally. Her feminine parts were just as hairy as her legs. She touched the razor to her abdomen and sighed, the thoughts of perfection invaded her mind. Without a second thought, Korra gulped and shaved the small, dark brown hairs out of her sight.

Now feeling clean, she turned off the water and stepped out. Small water droplets faded from her body as she bended the excess out of her sight. A small bottle of calming lotion was on the sink and she grabbed it, lathering the softness over her body. It helped to calm her frying nerves a bit as she brushed out her hair. Her legs had never felt smoother, her body never felt cleaner. Korra walked to her closet, still naked, and pulled out a pair of snug fitting pants and a blue tunic, pulling her parka on afterwards. She pulled out a few of her calming candles that the Order had given her for meditation, lighting each of them with a small flame emitted from her finger.

When she was finished, she lit the fireplace and exhaled, smelling the sweet scent that Howl usually gave off. Tightening the parka around her, she stepped out into the snowy wonderland, her fingers shaking from nervousness. The sky was dark and the wind was harsh. Soon, though, she knew she would be warm. If Howl was around, she would be comforted and warm.

Howl wondered why Korra hadn't come to visit her, but in truth, he knew. Maybe she had disliked the fact that he'd been defeated mentally in the first place, or maybe Sitch had told her to give up, to stay far away. He had left his book back with Sitch in an effort to actually focus on his job for once. It seemed to be working; the pain everywhere was fading very slowly, but it was fading.

He heard footsteps and his fingers met his long sword. His body was on high alert tonight for no real reason. He almost lunged when the snow revealed Korra, her head lowered. Howl stood and was surprised to find that not even his body hurt. "Korra," He breathed, relieved that she had actually come to see him. Her head shot up and a wide spread smile came across her face. She raced forward and threw herself into his arms. His chest stung briefly from impact but just the scent of her left him feeling better. She squeezed her arms around his throat, nearly choking him, before she cradled his face in her hands. Their lips connected in a passionate embrace.

Howl's breathing picked up as the kiss broke. Her hands were roaming. Her hands were searching. Her hands were getting incredibly close to his manhood. "Korra—"He breathed as her lips departed once more. "What are you doing?" He questioned, gasping as her fingers, so light and sensitive, met his thigh.

Korra's grin was nothing in comparison; almost evil but totally angelic. He gulped, breathing heavily as her lips met his jawbone. Immediately he felt his blood began to cook under her touch as she grazed his member with the tips of her fingers. "Sitch is coming here. And you are coming with me."

Howl blinked, confused, but decided to push it away. He was too turned on, too aroused. "Yes ma'am." He whispered, trying not to let his voice betray him as she took his hand and led him towards her room.

A/N

I regret nothing!