"Are you sure this is what you need right now?"
Asami asks this, even as her eyes drink in the sight of Korra's heavy breasts as they drop free from her top. This is the last of their clothes to be scattered to the floor, as Asami has already been helped out of hers.
Straddling Asami on their bed, Korra is desperate to feel all of her – desperate to feel present and anchored in this moment by the touch of another. She wants to taste her, to hear her, and let nothing else worry her for the rest of the night.
There's too much on her mind, with too many awful emotions felt in one day. Why did Korra ever want to come here? To rub her own nose in her greatest failure? She needs to forget about the Avatars for just this moment, at least. She can grieve again tomorrow when everything feels less raw. It feels like wounds torn anew and the only person to blame for that is herself.
Asami isn't as eager to dive directly into having sex. She is receptive to it still, her hands squeezing encouragingly on Korra's backside as one of her nipples is drawn forth into Korra's mouth. Even so, her movements feel measured and cautious. "Today's been hard," Asami reminds. "You've been upset all evening. I would hate to do too much when you're not in the right headspace for this."
"I want this," Korra affirms. She sucks and licks until that nipple is reddened and stiff, then switches sides, gently encouraging Asami to follow her lead. She enjoys when Asami's back arches and her breath stutters a little.
Knowing Asami still needs clarification, though, Korra explains further, trying to mitigate any anxiety. "I don't want to think about anything else. I want to forget who I am, where I'm at, what my mission is. I've always been the Avatar, but I just want to feel human right now. With you."
Both of Asami's hands slide up the length of Korra's bare back, stopping at her shoulders and drawing her closer. Asami kisses her softly. It's a gentle reminder that she's loved, in a language they've grown fluent in.
"You are human," Asami tells her. "You're always pushing yourself to be more than that. I understand you feel that the entire world is your burden to carry, but you're trying to change too much all at once. I think that may be reckless. It's okay to slow down and live in the moment."
"That's what I'm trying to do," Korra insists. "I can meditate tomorrow, or next week, or never. I want to clear my mind in a different way tonight."
Korra withdraws slightly, unsure if Asami is in the mood for this. This feels different from pillow talk. It's not meant to be a lecture, but Asami really does want to help her feel better, and needs reassurance that her actions will not make Korra feel any worse.
They both seem uncertain, trying to get a pulse on each other's moods.
"I understand." Asami's eyes lower to admire the fullness of Korra's breasts again, with dark nipples well within her reach, still begging for contact. Asami's fingers swirl against Korra's lower back, even so, loving her in this way and not that. "Tell me what you want."
"Everything," Korra emphasizes. She imagines Asami's mouth on her, or her fingers inside, pressing, sliding, curling. She remembers what it was like to gush for her, that deep ache of pleasure releasing when her body was handled in just the right way. The harness contraption had been such a good idea, with its trial run executed so well, Korra wants it again. "You didn't pack that harness, did you?"
"No." Asami moves to suckle at the skin of her neck, but Korra can feel her smile grow. "You want to come like that again? With a cock inside you?"
It isn't a fair question. Korra isn't sure if Asami just wants to talk dirty tonight, but if they didn't pack the thing, there's no use in wishing it was here.
"It doesn't matter," Korra says. Her hips grind down against Asami's, seeking friction where there is little to gain. "I just want to be distracted, in any way you'd like."
Asami takes her time considering. They part again, Korra watching Asami's gaze as it drifts over her, studying her and weighing her options. Maybe inspecting her like a satomobile that needs so many repairs it's a wonder where to start.
"Mako's here," is what Asami says, and it's the last thing Korra expects to hear in this intimate moment.
Korra laughs despite herself. "We've got to stop inviting Mako into our bed," she jokes, remembering the last several times Mako's name has been dropped in the security of their bedchambers. Asami's mind drifts to him a lot when they're doing this. It makes sense, as he's likely the only other person she's sought comfort from in the past several years, but it's so mind-bogglingly distracting to mention him at a time like this.
Asami's eyebrows pull together. "I mean, Mako's here," she stresses. "If you want to forget yourself for a while. He's an option, too."
Korra withdraws in earnest now, sliding off to sit beside Asami. She can't help but stare, wondering how in the world Asami got that idea in her head, and why she's actually entertaining it.
Korra isn't… opposed to it.
She remembers precisely how Mako felt inside her, years ago. His stamina. His girth. His enthusiasm. Maybe it's nostalgia rearing its ugly head again when it makes her belly twist with arousal at the thought.
Now Korra's the one that needs clarification. "Are you offering to invite him?"
Asami shrugs, as if trying to be nonchalant. But this isn't an offer you can give nonchalantly.
"I'm not against him joining," Asami says. One hand slides to Korra's inner leg, close to feeling her desire there. "I want you to feel good. I know he can do that for you."
"You're more than enough." Korra needs to make sure she knows that. She could tell Asami about every unrealistic fantasy and desire she's had, but she doesn't want Asami to feel like she lacks anything. Asami has the benefit of understanding what feels best firsthand. "I don't need a dick to feel good, especially not one still attached to an ex-boyfriend."
"I know. But it would be a greater distraction than anything, wouldn't it?"
"Mm. Point made."
When Asami kisses her again, it's more emboldened, as if this train of thought is exciting her just as much.
"I'm not offering this out of insecurity," Asami insists. Her fingers sweep down Korra's thigh, hooking behind a knee to pull her closer. "Quite the opposite."
Korra can sense how invigorated she's becoming at the thought. She wants to talk – she's always been a bedroom talker – but her hands are growing more impassioned as they grip and pull her in.
"You want him, too," Korra teases. She allows Asami to pull her back onto her lap, but Korra's knee falls in the space between Asami's legs this time. She can feel that she's wet, wanting this. Offering this not just for Korra but for the both of them.
Korra reaches down to touch her there, feeling how slick and ready she is. When a finger slides into her with ease, Asami hums in approval.
"I want to see him with you," Korra says, imagining him on top of her and inside her like this. It's suddenly so clear that this is what they both desire. As much as Korra misses how it felt to have him inside her, she can't even begin to imagine what it looks like to see Asami trembling from the same experience. "Go get him."
Asami rolls her hips, wanting more, but Korra removes her finger instead.
"There's no reversing this," Asami warns. A flush has crept into her cheeks, eyes wide as she understands what it is they're agreeing to. "I don't know how he'll feel about this offer, and I don't know what the aftermath will be. Are you still on board?"
Korra puts that finger into her mouth, letting herself taste. She's so mild and sweet, maybe Korra will have a better opportunity to taste her tonight. Maybe not.
"Yes," Korra says firmly. "I'm on board."
They both put their robes on, covering themselves. As huge of a leap as this is, they still want to ease him into it. At least for a few precious seconds.
Asami holds the doorknob as she gathers her courage, then she leaves to go fetch Mako.
With a moment alone, Korra can finally think without the cloud of lust fully fogging her brain. She knows that casual sex was not an uncommon occurrence for these two. Korra isn't personally experienced with that sort of dynamic, but she has no ill judgment toward it. It's more a question of how Mako would feel about sex with two women, two exes, especially given their complicated history and unresolved feelings.
It's… beyond complicated. She'll meditate tomorrow, pondering again about what she should do with this man. Korra has thought about this often over the past couple days, and hasn't come to any conclusion. But opening the door for intimacy will change their relationship drastically.
When the bedroom door opens again, Korra isn't surprised that he's accepted their offer.
She is surprised to see his face is flushed red. His mouth has fallen open a little at the sight of Korra there on the bed, as if he's stunned to see that she's really there, really waiting for the both of them, sitting with legs curled beneath her and framed by the pillows behind her.
Asami lets him take his time stepping into the room. When the door clicks shut behind them, Mako seems to finally snap to awareness.
"Just confirming you want this," Mako says. His voice is more gravelly than usual. "That you want me to join the both of you."
Korra rubs her thighs together, feeling her own wetness. There's no question. "I do."
Asami steps ahead of him, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. There's an implication that he should join them there.
Even so, he wants verbal direction. "Tell me what to do."
Korra licks her lips, wondering if he's giving them full power over him this evening. As nice as that is, she wants him to be more than passive. She needs his best effort. He was always so good at that.
Asami doesn't mind his need for direction as she commands, "Strip."
Any hesitation on his face dissipates in that moment. He looks between the two of them, and being satisfied by the desire he sees, he begins removing his jacket. It slips from his shoulders, exposing his white undershirt. When he goes to lift it over his head Korra can see the trail of hair leading from his bellybutton down into his pants. She can also see the length of him pressing there, aroused already.
His torso is still so trim. Maybe he works out, or maybe it's from his profession, but she can see the muscles in his arms and abdomen flex as he begins to unbuckle his belt.
Asami encourages him by loosening the sash of her robe, then letting the fabric slip from her shoulders too.
He shifts his weight, roused by the delicious sight of her pale breasts being bared to him. It's all the encouragement he needs to let his pants drop with finality. He kicks out of them, in just his boxers now, his arousal straining against them as he finally steps forward and approaches the bed.
Korra's so absurdly entertained, she only realizes she's not participating when Asami reaches over and tugs at the sash of Korra's robe next.
Willing herself to be bolder, to embody the fire she craves, Korra undoes her robe, opening it fully so Mako can see all of her.
It's been years. The hunger in his eyes feels the same, ravenous as it scales from her nipples to stomach to the crux of her legs and back up.
"Who do you want first?" Asami asks, reaching out to him next. She seems more than comfortable taking the lead. Her fingers find the top edge of his boxers, and his hands meet hers there, helping to remove the last piece of fabric hiding him.
When the rest is revealed, Korra realizes her memory didn't do him justice. She remembered he was sizable, but now as his fingers wrap around the thickness of his cock, she thinks maybe he'll be too much. For all their time apart, she hasn't had anything near his size inside her.
She squeezes her legs together at the thought that maybe she'll be tight for him, so tight he'll lose it before he means to. She remembers just that, him panting and apologizing because he couldn't control himself. Somehow that was always so flattering. Even if sex ended too early, it was because the pleasure of her touch made it so.
"I'm not making that choice," Mako says flatly. He tugs at himself with long, confident strokes, almost teasing them, baiting either woman to touch him.
"I'll choose, then." Asami reaches out, but only to make him get on the bed. She presses him down flat, letting the lower half of his legs hang off the mattress as she moves to straddle him. Asami throws her robe aside, then rests her palms on Mako's abdomen for balance as she begins rubbing herself against his length.
Korra doesn't like her own inaction, but they're such a sight together she can't help but sit and watch. This feels comfortable for them. This is nothing new. His fingers reach up to pinch at a nipple and Asami chuckles, tossing her hair back, rolling her hips again and again before finally guiding him inside with her fingers. She sinks down onto him, moderate and assured.
He curses and groans. Shifting to get a good grip on her hips, he helps guide her up and down until she finds a comfortable rhythm.
Asami's eyes meet Korra's. She smiles, rolling her hips smoothly, letting herself enjoy the ride while her girlfriend admires the view.
Korra wants to return the favor. She removes her robe completely and lies back, spreading her legs so Asami can see all of her. She touches herself then, letting her fingers caress the entirety of herself there before focusing on her clit. Two fingertips rub her most sensitive spot, with no hesitation in pursuing what feels best.
It takes a moment before Mako's gaze follows Asami's heated one. He has to look behind, but he's greeted with the sight of Korra pleasuring herself. His growl is pleased even as his assistance guiding Asami slows to a stop.
He wants a better view, Korra guesses, as he tells Asami to lie on the bed instead. She wants to be beside Korra, but Mako playfully drags her back to the edge of the bed, making her laugh and making her moan when his dick presses back inside her. He has better leverage here, and is able to pound into her now. Her moans rise in pitch, delighted by each thrust that's hitting her deeper and harder. All of the sounds of their sex are louder now.
Korra continues touching herself, feeling herself dripping as she watches them watch her. Mako fucks Asami with increased fervor, as he can't seem to decide between admiring Korra spread before him versus the person he's actively pumping himself inside.
He encourages Asami when she starts rubbing herself, though, praising her and telling her to come for him. He can read her bodily cues just as well; he picks up the pace as she starts to fall into a pattern of holding her breath, then slows his thrusts as she finally reaches her climax. Korra can tell her muscles are squeezing around him, trying to make him finish with her.
His movements start to get more jerky. Breathily, Asami tells him, "Not inside."
His groan seems almost pained as he slips out of her intentionally. His hand jerks himself the last few times, and his hips flex forward as he finally ejaculates, thick white lines painting her breasts and belly and cunt. Korra can see the pulsing of his cock as the last of his cum dribbles over his fingers messily.
Mako gives Asami an incredulous look. "You have to give me earlier warning than that. Did something change?"
Asami laughs again. Her fingers reach up to touch the cum that shot the furthest, up across her breasts. "Either way would be fine," she assures, "No worries. I just wanted to see how hard you'd finish this time. If it'd be more than usual."
When Asami licks the semen off her fingers, and then his fingers, Korra's head is so obnoxiously thick with lust. She could finish just by watching them.
And she nearly does. Her eyes linger on the heaviness of his cock, the moisture that smears against Asami's thigh. Asami's lips are plush and pliable as Mako's fingers slip down from them, and his expression is an open book as he considers the appeal of her mouth. There's a shameless and untempered confidence Asami has in bed, and it seems especially apparent when she's trying to put on a show like this.
Korra's close to finishing. Mako and Asami both watch her for a moment, her body clenching wantonly before their eyes, so empty and so needy.
Asami playfully pinches Mako and gestures for him to go to her. "Can you go again, big boy? It's Korra's turn."
Mako huffs, returning to stroking himself, still hard as ever and shiny-slick. "Of course."
He approaches Korra, and only stops when his face comes close to her center. Instead of crawling over top like she expects, he curls an arm under one of Korra's legs. His other hand replaces hers, his thumb and forefinger finding her clit, then he trails down to spread the wetness that's leaking out from her.
He looks like he wants to comment something, but when his amber eyes look up to meet Korra's, words fail him. Instead, he just moves to kiss her there. His lips find her clit instead, those two fingers pulling her a bit more open so he can maximize contact with her here.
The tip of his tongue moves rapidly, assuredly, and it's enough to immediately draw moans from her. She doesn't remember him like this. He tried his best before, he always has, but this is different. Masterful, almost.
Peripherally, Korra sees Asami wiping his cum from her belly with a cloth.
Korra realizes this is Mako after years of having someone give him precise directions for how to do this. He's listened to Asami, and learned. He's always been quick to learn, but this is certainly something she hadn't considered.
Thinking about Mako putting his mouth on Asami like this is enough to make her orgasm at last. The arm around her leg tightens, its hand holding her belly down against the bed as she wants to squirm and thrust up against him. He doesn't stop flicking his tongue against her until she closes her legs around his head, a signal that she wants something more.
"I want you in me," Korra pants, pulling him up onto her. He follows willingly, getting into position and bumping against where she needs him. His hand wraps around himself again, and as he taps against her with the head of his cock, she tells him, "I want you to cum inside me."
He closes his eyes, neck clenching as he swallows hard. His hand remains around himself, squeezing it like a vice. "Saying it like that will only backfire," he chastises, with little strength behind his words. "Wait until I'm in you."
He finds her then, pressing in slowly, finally. Korra wraps her legs around his hips and her arms reach up to pull him down onto her. As he sinks in, Korra rolls her head back, feeling the tight stretch and burn of him filling her so entirely. His hands move to caress her arms and shoulders as he mindfully withdraws, then plunges back in. It's smoother this time as her wetness coats him, her body accepting him with such enthusiasm.
She feels sorry for doubting how much her body could accept. It wants it all.
Asami has finished cleaning herself and comes to rest alongside Korra. Her fingers curl under the curve of one of Korra's breasts, squeezing it, letting her thumb caress the width of her nipple. Two fingers pinch and tease her there, making it pucker, and Mako and Korra both moan at the sight.
When Asami's hand slides down to feel precisely where Mako disappears inside, that's more than enough to send Korra over the edge.
Mako doesn't last long, this second time, feeling Korra squeezing around him, hearing her cries of ecstasy. He grunts, stilling, and Korra thinks she can feel him jerking and pulsing inside her.
She turns her head to meet his, their lips close. He dodges her, instead sucking and biting at her neck in a similar fashion to how Asami had loved her there. He stays inside her for a bit, letting himself soften, his arms wrapped under Korra's shoulders. Korra struggles to catch her breath beneath him and realizes her skin feels chilled with their sweat.
Asami sits up as Mako finally pulls out, looking to see if she can witness Mako's seed dripping out of her. Doubtful, with how much he spilled over Asami first.
Mako exhales a laugh. "Holy shit. I didn't expect all of that."
"Mmf." Korra wants to lay here like a sack of potatoes, but finds the will to sit upright with them. She doesn't know what to say, if she could put words together at all, but the soreness in her body is so lovely. This went way better than she had expected, and she'd had high hopes to begin with.
Mako turns away, sliding to the edge of the bed to stand, but stops to give himself a minute before he does so. Maybe he's lightheaded.
"Thank you," Asami says, giving Korra a kiss and a fresh cloth to clean off with. When Mako peeks over his shoulder, Asami tells him the same.
"No problem," he says, letting his eyes do one last pass over their nude bodies before he stands.
Korra wonders about what he'll do, and what he'll think, as he goes to put his clothes back on. Him leaving to sleep all alone feels so wrong after this. She doesn't want him to leave just yet.
"Can he stay with us?" Korra asks her girlfriend. "For tonight?"
Asami looks at Mako, seeking his opinion with raised eyebrows. There's something communicated in the look they share that Korra doesn't quite understand.
"For tonight," she agrees.
It's nearly pitch black when Korra awakens, with minimal moonlight streaming through the bedroom window.
Mako and Asami lie to either side of her. Both of them seem to be embracing her, but their arms are met in the middle, holding onto each other over top of her.
As much as she wants to stay in this place, in both of their arms, there's a stirring in her chest that feels familiar. She felt this before in the spirit world: something insisting she go in a specific direction for a reason that was unclear to her both then and now.
It's Raava, Korra thinks, doing little flips inside her chest. Waking her now and telling her to move.
Korra doesn't know how to slip out of both of her lovers' grasps without being noticed. When she attempts to sit up, both of them stir. In the darkness she can feel Mako wake up enough to register she's leaving them.
She cuts off any inquiry with a hand to his cheek, and a kiss to his lips. "I'll be back," she tells him as quietly as she can.
His hand lingers near her and then falls when he decides to not outwardly question her.
She carefully crawls out of bed, kicking her foot across the floor until she locates her robe in the dark. She ties it around herself before stepping out of the room. Asami may or may not have woken up, but if she's still out Korra trusts Mako not to wake her intentionally.
Using firebending to light her way, she know where Raava wants her to return to. This feeling guides her forth, a gentle and invisible tug, drawing her barefoot out of this building and into the cold night's air. She sees Oogi sitting on the far end of the courtyard, sleepily scratching at an ear with one foot, and doesn't bother him.
The statue room is even more haunting at night. The Avatars watch her solemnly, shadows dancing in the firelight as she walks between them, searching for the staircase.
Up and up. It's six floors and just as many staircases to reach the top. She tries to recall the names of each Avatar she directly passes on the way. Korra only stops to pay mind to Dawa, and imagines she has a stronger connection to this one, maybe, even if just sentimentally. Even if they were born of air and Korra took the longest to grasp that element. This person's love life was messy, the people were never on their side, they bucked against all precedent, and they fulfilled their duty to the world, even so. Others may not understand, but Korra does.
When she lays eyes on Wan's statue, the very first in the line of so many, her heart feels like it's flipping over in her chest again. She remembers the first element Wan kept was fire as she brings a palmful of flame near his face made of stone. It flickers over his features, illuminating his smile and mischievous eyes. So few Avatars here are displayed with a smile, but Wan's is crooked and cheeky, just as he was.
"Raava," Korra calls, wondering if she's willing to talk. Korra takes a seat at Wan's feet, only belatedly noticing the blue-white flower of remembrance that Mako had left there. It's nearly the same color as the light spirit inside her.
When Raava doesn't speak, Korra lets her fire collapse into nothing and rests back against the stone.
Korra doesn't know what to say. She feels for the fire in herself, pressing her hand to her stomach to feel the energy flowing there. That chakra has opened a bit more. Gradually, letting Mako into her heart, into her thoughts, into her arms… It's doing precisely what she thought it'd do for her fire chakra. She needed to stop pushing him away; she needed to stop doubting the truth of her feelings, doubting Mako's character, doubting Asami's steadfast faith in their love. She still has work to do, but she has a notion of how to proceed now.
She meditates on that, wondering if she's making the right choices. She doesn't know if loving two people at once is a thing that happens, at least in this way. Not bouncing between lovers, so unhealthily as Mako had done in the past, but to decide between neither and accept both into one's heart simultaneously.
"Is love always this hard?" Korra asks nobody, or asks Raava. It makes no difference. Raava hasn't been talking with her much.
The stirring feeling returns to her chest. Inside, silent to all but Korra, Raava replies at last.
"True love endures, with its power to withstand all challenges."
Of course Raava would think that. Her bond with this man lasted 10,000 years and ignored death 149 times.
Korra wonders what kind of love they had. If a spirit and man could be so enraptured with each other, their connection unable to be defined by concepts such as language or time.
"I hope I'm on the right path," Korra says, drawing her knees up to her chest. "I want to understand my heart in this way."
Raava's voice returns, calm and collected, feeling more like the caress of a mother's hand on her child's head. "Its journey may be fraught with difficulty, but love is an eternal flame that burns bright within. It transcends all tribulations of this world, binding souls together across lifetimes. You will know love's strength if only you reach out to embrace it, in all of its complexities."
Korra tries not to cry anymore. Her eyes sting anyway when she realizes that this was indeed love for them. Raava is speaking from her own experience. They had so much more than trust or companionship. They were partners meant to share an eternity, physically and spiritually entwined like no other.
She lets her hand rest against Wan's foot, trying to feel his presence, even as he's made of stone and fully gone from the world now.
"You loved him for this many lifetimes."
"For every moment of every lifetime. Including you."
Korra peers out into the darkness of this space and feels the presence of so many that came before. Each one is a testament to the power of man and spirit, bound reciprocally, in perpetuity.
Even if they're no longer with her, the memories of each person resides in Raava.
Maybe they are lost forever.
There's also a chance they are not.
"You loved so many of us," Korra says. Her smile is wry as she presses her cheek to Wan's shin. "I am struggling to understand how to love just two."
"Love knows no bounds or limits," says Raava. "It is expansive and inclusive, capable of embracing more than one person. Champion this truth, for it is okay to love deeply and wholly, one or many. I have loved this many versions of you, dearest one."
No, she can't stop herself from crying. Fat droplets fall onto her lap when she squeezes her eyes shut.
"I'm sorry, Raava," Korra says, apologizing again for the things she could not prevent.
Raava doesn't say anything more, but rests inside her, ever present.
When Korra returns to bed, Mako and Asami are both deeply asleep. With fire in her fingertips she observes how they're wrapped around each other, her body tucked comfortably into his embrace. But Korra wants her spot back. She sheds her robe, wanting no separation between any of them. For tonight, Asami said, but Korra doesn't fully believe this will remain a single occurrence.
Korra wakes them now as she squeezes in between them. They're both amused as Korra slips into their arms again, pulling both of them close to her, needing them to touch her again. Even just like this.
"I missed you," Mako says. His fingers press into her hip, pulling her close. It's probably not just Raava doing flips in her chest when he kisses her again.