*Fluff, fluff, fluff.* "Mmmmn," Korra mumbled, nestling back into Asami.
"Hey sleepy head."
"Mmmm hair petting…" Korra replied.
Asami hummed and nuzzled her. "We should go back to our real bed."
"Carry meeeee…"
"Hmhm! *smek!*" She kissed the back of her head. "That's my line." Asami leaned in and whispered "You are still wearing my collar after all."
"Mmmhmhm!" Korra rolled over and looked into her eyes. "I had a question about that, actually."
"Hm?"
"Don't get me wrong, I'm really excited about all of this. But, can we maybe not play every night?"
Asami blinked. "Of course. Did you think…?"
"I wasn't sure."
Asami bit her lip and curled a finger into the ring on her collar. "Some nights I want to tie you up and have you all to myself." She gave Korra a kiss and moved her hand to her cheek. "Some nights I want to kiss until we're naked and get lost with each other." She pulled her into a loving embrace. "And some nights I just want to hold you."
Korra had to fight back tears. "I love you so much." The avatar smiled to herself and suddenly lifted Asami into her arms.
"Wuuoh! Hahaha!"
"You're right. Bed time." She carried Asami the short distance around the corner to their bedroom. Not once did they stop looking at each other with warm eyes and smiles of purest love. Korra set her down on the bed and turned around so she could remove her collar.
"Just curious, how did you come up with 'badger mole?'"
"Well, I thought 'what's the least sexy thing in the world?' aaand what came to mind first was Prince Wu."
"Hahahaha! And from there it was a short jump to badger mole?"
"Mhm!" The avatar set aside the collar and turned around again to a familiar and always wonderful sight. Her love lying on her side, sexy and beautiful at the same time. They settled back under more familiar covers and Korra tucked her head under Asami's chin.
"You are the absolute sweetest dork in the world," Asami teased.
Korra giggled and nestled close. "Love my 'sami."
Asami gave her a gentle squeeze and one last kiss on her head. "Love my Korra."
A tiny specter of movement around her chest brought Korra back to consciousness the next morning. She blinked open her eyes, the sun was shining through the window and warming the lower half of the bed. "Mmmn," came a mumble from below. Korra looked down, there she was. Smiling in her sleep, long beautiful black hair somehow not all that bothered by a night of cuddling. Korra's heart swelled and she smiled almost too widely for her face. Careful not to wake her, she curled her fingers into Asami's hair and held her a little tighter. She was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She was the love of her life. She was her girlfriend…and suddenly that word was far too little.
The avatar caught her breath as she realized what exactly she was thinking. She thought she'd never want to. But her best friend, the beautiful woman she exchanged the words "I love you" with more times in a day than she could count had brought the idea into her mind for the first real time. Her eyes went back and forth from the ceiling to Asami. The longer she rested there, feeling her slowly breathe in and out, basking in warmth and comfort, the stronger it grew. Soon Korra's uncertain frown had grown into a tender smile. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right. Plans started to form as she dozed, gently running a hand up and down Asami's back. She'd need to enlist a little help if she wanted to keep the whole thing secret.
Asami's hold loosened and she stretched. "Hey, sorry, I didn't meant to wake you up," Korra said softly.
"Mmm, you didn't." She traced her hands back up Korra's arms as she settled back in.
"Inspecting the merchandise?" the avatar teased.
"Hmhm! Love my rough buff avatar. You save the world, beat the bad guys, lift me over your head…" Asami suddenly gave her neck a soft bite, making Korra shiver and relax in her arms. "And at the end of the day you can still come home and be my lovely little plaything."
Korra laughed and rested her chin on her love's head. "Hnhn, yes mistress. What are we going to try next?"
"I'm thinking we add one or two new things each time to see what you like. Soooo, next time I'll tie you up standing, and add a blindfold to the mix."
"A blindfold?"
"If you can't see, you don't know what's coming next, and your senses of sound and touch get stronger."
"Mmmm…" Korra mumbled. She rolled to the side and Asami embraced her from behind.
"One more thing you'll give to your mistress, putting you just a little bit more at my mercy." Korra whined softly with pleasure and snuggled back into her arms. Just when Asami thought she couldn't love her any more, Korra turned out to be the most delightfully sub-y sub she'd ever seen. "You're unbearably cute when you do that," Asami cooed, stroking her with her thumb.
"Snooze a little longer?" Korra asked.
"Mmm."
The avatar let her eyes droop shut and drifted into vague peaceful thoughts. One thing was certain, if she was going to do this right and still have it be a surprise, she was going to need help.
The noise Bolin made when Korra told him was something between a sharp intake of breath and a shriek of joy. "Bolin! Bolin hey take it easy," Korra said, stifling a laugh.
"Take it easy!? Korra you're gonna…!"
"Hahaha not so loud!"
Bolin dropped his voice to a whisper. "You're gonna ask Asami to marry you?" Korra nodded. He did a little happy jig on the spot and then snapped into what Korra liked to call "serious Bolin mode." "Okay okay okay, whadya need from me?"
"I couldn't decide on necklace or ring, so I figured why not both?"
"Excellent, very romantic," Bolin said. The same tone as back during practice.
"But betrothal necklaces are supposed to be carved by the proposer. It won't exactly be a surprise if Asami sees me working on one. So I thought, why don't I bend one instead?"
"And you can't use just any old earth for this project."
"Exactly. You're going to meet Opal on Kyoshi island tomorrow, right?" Bolin nodded. "See if you guys can find some blue garmentene, there's a bunch of it right by the river side. I'll need your lava bending and some extra air from her too once you're back."
Bolin snapped a salute. "I'm all over it! Uh, how do you know how to do all this?"
"Avatar Eia used blue garmentene to forge a gemstone for firelord Zhen a long time ago. I still can't really communicate with my past lives so I've been doing some reading," Korra replied, rubbing her neck.
"Huh. Awesome." He snapped back to his salute. "You can count on me! Oh, what are you gonna do about the ring?" Korra reached into her pocket and pulled out a small metal cog. "Huh, that's uh, that's…"
"I'm not gonna give it to her as is rock brain," Korra teased, lightly poking him in the chest. "I'm gonna inlay some of the garmentene and bend it into a ring."
"Where'd it come from?"
"The Satomobile she first took me driving in. It broke down a while ago, but I got this before it was scrapped as a souvenir."
Bolin blinked twice and pulled Korra into a hug, doing his best not to cry. "You're so fricken cute it *sniff* it almost hurts!" Korra hugged him back, still laughing. Back to serious Bolin just as quick. He took her shoulders and whispered, "I will get you that love rock if it kills me."
"No dying, you're the best." They hugged one more time before Bolin dashed off to pack for the trip.
One was alone in an ocean of blackness when wearing a blindfold. Korra stood naked, cheeks flushed and ears perked. Her only anchors to the physical world were the band of cloth that secured her wrists above her head and the floor beneath her feet. But suddenly there was another, the familiar warm contours of her love embracing her from behind. The avatar let out a soft whimper of pleasure, and Asami replied with a sensual hum.
"Hmmm, see what I mean?" She let her hands explore all over Korra's body, taking her time and enjoying the definition of her muscles. So strong, and so completely hers. Asami's hands were wandering globes of warmth to Korra, lavishing her with hungry sensuous skill.
"Mmmmyes mistress," the avatar groaned, pulling lightly at her bonds. She was helpless, and at the mercy of the woman she loved most in the world.
"So much more fun when you don't know what'll happen next. Feeling a little…" A stocking-clad leg gently traced Korra's thigh, making her simper and lean back further into Asami's embrace. "…vulnerable? Hmhm!" She kissed her cheek and whispered "You don't have to worry, I take good care of my playthings." She nuzzled her love and toyed with the ring on her collar. "Of course…" Asami nipped her neck, drawing a soft squeak from Korra. "That doesn't mean I won't still have fun with you." Korra let out an aroused ragged sigh. "Hmhm, such a good girl." She bit her lip and slipped a finger into Korra's mouth. The avatar smiled and closed her lips around her digit, playfully lapping at it with her tongue.
Asami's demeanor changed back for just a moment so she could whisper "I love you so much Korra."
Asami withdrew her finger and Korra replied. "I love you too…" Before the same finger lovingly slipped between her folds and their game resumed.
Korra ran to meet Bolin and Opal before their bison had even landed. "Have you got it!?"
Opal swooshed down from the saddle and held up a small sack. "We got it! A whole bag's worth!"
"That's great, but I didn't really need that much."
Bolin clambered down, somewhat less gracefully. "Don't take this the wrong way but uh, we wanted you to have extra in case of mistakes."
"You are trying to bend something pretty small and intricate."
Korra opened her mouth, ready to say she wasn't going to make any mistakes, but they were right. This was something she really didn't want to get wrong. She closed her mouth, smiled bashfully and nodded. "Thanks guys." She took the bag and shouldered it. "Have you got time to help me with it now?"
A few hours later their private little patch of land outside Republic City was littered with discarded lumps of smoldering garmentene. Opal and Bolin were panting and Korra was fighting to keep her temper under control.
"Hey Korra? Did avatar Eia say how long it took her to do this?" Bolin asked.
"No, but I get the feeling she wasn't working on something this precise," Korra replied, shaking her head as she looked at her latest failed attempt.
"We're almost out of garmente," Opal lamented, holding up one last stone the size of a fist.
"And the sun's going down," the avatar added. She gritted her teeth then took a deep steadying breath. "Maybe I should just use something easier to bend."
"That's the first decent idea that's come out of your head since your last life twinkle toes!" said a voice from the trees. Everyone jumped, in Bolin's case into Opal's arms. Out of the brush strode none other than Toph Beifong, characteristically mocking smile in place. "You're trying to bend jewelry out of garmentene? Why dontcha stir tea with a paper spoon while you're at it?"
"Toph!? What are you doing here!?" Korra said.
"Is that any way to greet me?" Opal trotted forward and hugged her. "See? Opal gets it!" She hugged her back and then looked back at the avatar. "And I'm here because a little bird told me you're trying to make a betrothal necklace out of garmentene."
"A little bird huh?" Korra looked back at Bolin, more teasing than actually mad.
"Put your eyes back in your head kid. Heat up some more rocks and show me what you want it to look like, we're gonna do this right."
"You'll help? Really?" Korra said, eyes shining.
"I helped carve the last one for you twinkle toes. That darn rock was just about as stubborn but take a look at it the next time you see Katara. I guarantee it's just as fine as the day we made it." Toph cracked her neck and raised her hands. "Follow my lead and focus Korra, we've only got one more shot at this." Korra took a steadying breath, mirrored Toph's stance and nodded. Bolin summoned a fresh bed of molten earth and Toph levitated the garmentene over it.
It was a nerve wracking fifteen minutes of bending. Tiny twitches of fingers to move a line here or there, tiny gusts of air from Opal or increases in lava flow to get the temperature just right. But in the end the four had two pieces to show for their efforts. One deep blue charm emblazoned with a gear and flowing waves and a matching ring sat cooling in the setting sun. Korra put her arms around her friends and beamed as they all looked down at their work. Toph crossed her arms and grew a rare smile. "Not bad. Not bad at all." She turned to Korra and gave her the more common stony stare she was used to. "As a rule, never ask someone what you're going to ask unless you're certain of how they'll answer. Are you?"
Ordinarily Korra would have been filled with self-doubt, suddenly unable to sort out the truth from her fears. But this she'd had plenty of time to think over. What uncertainty she had dissipated when she thought of the way Asami smiled at her, the way she kissed her awake in the morning, the way she'd looked at her when she turned back and said "I love you too." She looked Toph hard in the face and nodded. Not that where she looked mattered, but it did feel better.
The old earthbender's smile returned. "You may be the most stubborn, bull headed avatar the world's ever seen, but it doesn't take eyes to tell that Asami loves you. Good luck kid, and don't take it personally if I don't come to the wedding. I hate weddings."
Korra put her fist against her palm and bowed her head. "Thank you so much."
Toph started back into the woods and waved over her shoulder. "Probably won't be around when some uppity earth kingdom avatar comes looking for help with his engagement ring, I'm getting too old for this."