After solidifying our relationship with a kiss, the two of us ended up sitting on her bed. Korra was left feeling awkward; unlike me, this was her first relationship. "So, n-now that, you know, in a relationship, what happens now? Do I call you hubby now or something?" Confused, Korra glanced at me, her cheeks faintly tinted red, causing me to chuckle softly as I shook my head.
"No. Such intimate names are usually reserved for when our relationship has evolved to the next level… But, if you want to, I won't stop her." With a faint, teasing smirk, one that caused Korra's blush to deepen slightly, she lowered her head. "I-I think I'll save that for later." Softly smiling, I couldn't resist the urge to pinch her cheek, finding her utterly adorable when she was embarrassed, which caused her to huff indignantly as she swatted my hand away.
"Nothing much actually changes right this instance; it'll change over time." "Like how?" Seeing the earnest curiosity within her gaze, I didn't verbally respond but instead reached under her, firm, muscular thighs, and held her back as I lifted her onto my lap. Her eyes widened slightly while her blush deepened to a bright red; as for me, having accepted my feelings and no longer suppressing them, I didn't feel any embarrassment.
"Eventually, we'll grow comfortable enough with each other that this is a regular occurrence. Then, beyond that…" Brushing aside Korra's hair, my hand, that was resting against her back, began to slowly trail down, reaching her lower back, and just when I was about to touch her butt, I stopped, though by then, Korra's face looked as if she was on fire.
"... Well, I'm sure you get the idea." Seeing how Korra looked like she was about to faint from embarrassment, I removed my hand and placed her back down. However, Korra still didn't react even after I was no longer touching her, and I wasn't about to allow a perfect opportunity to tease her to go to waste; it was also a good chance to get revenge for all the times she's mocked me.
"Ho, is the Legendary Korra frightened by mere touching? To think, despite your womanly appearance, you had such an innocent heart." Smirking, I placed a hand on her thigh and leaned closer, my cheek practically brushing against her own, hoping to spark a reaction from her, but she remained silent, as if frozen in time, causing me to furrow my brows.
"Are you okay, Korra? I apologize if I went too far." Distancing myself from Korra, I gently rubbed her back, concerned and apologetic that I might've suddenly pushed her too far. Despite her personality, Korra is still barely a woman with no experience with men. 'Now I feel bad.'
Thankfully, the guilt in my heart began to slowly fade when Korra finally started to move, breaking free from her frozen stupor, though her blush remained just as intense. As a matter of fact, when she looked at me, it might've gotten deeper. "We'll take things slow, Korra. We can go at your pace."
Korra didn't respond; instead, she pointed a shaky finger at me. Furrowing my brows, I followed where it was pointing and looked down, only for a potent wave of heat to hit my face as I looked at the rather obvious tent in my pants.
Quickly standing up, I turned my back to Korra and hid it before awkwardly sitting back down; my manhood, it was still very much alive, I had just hidden it. "Korra. When you were on my lap, was it, poking you?" I was barely able to squeak out my question while glancing at Korra, whose blush now reached her ears, an utterly adorable sight, though it was hard to enjoy it when I was also embarrassed.
She didn't respond and faintly nodded, causing me to awkwardly cough as we descended into a weird silence. However, eventually, as the older one, I took it upon myself to break this atmosphere as I stood up. "I-I'm going to bathe. A-As for that, d-don't worry about it… G-Good night Korra." Giving Korra one final look, who was unable to even raise her head, I exited her room, closing the door behind me as I heaved a deep sigh.
"Well, that is embarrassing." Muttering under my breath, I took a moment to regain my composure before leaving the trunk and walking across the branch, heading to the leaf to bathe.
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After performing my morning routine, I headed to the peak of Jathr, within the portal room, and I was the first one to arrive as I awaited everyone's arrival. Second to arrive was Roku, ten minutes after me, with Kyoshi and Fan only a few minutes behind him, though it took nearly fifteen minutes for Korra to come, and given how her hair looked messy, her clothes were ruffled, and there was dried drool on the side of her face, she clearly slept in late.
Though, as I looked at her undignified appearance, I still found her beautiful; I might have even found her natural look even more charming than usual. "Hehe, you look terrible, Korra." "Urgh, shut it, flame brain, I just slept in a little bit." Korra shot Roku a glare as she controlled a blob of water, washing her face and straightening her hair while he chuckled.
"Is everyone ready?" Standing before the portal he had made last, Fan's gaze swept between us, prompting everyone to nod while I quickly stopped him from activating it. "No." Standing up, I positioned myself before everyone, who gazed at me in curiosity and confusion, while I clasped my hands and deeply bowed.
"I would like to apologize for my performance last week. I was not in my right mind, yet I kept quiet about it, placing you all in danger and causing unnecessary harm… I apologize." I continued to bow even after I finished speaking, only finally reacting when I was hit on the head. It wasn't hard, but it wasn't soft either.
"I am a bit disappointed, Aang, but I do accept your apology." Rubbing my head, I looked up at Kyoshi, whose gaze was one of maternal disappointment, like a mother reprimanding her child, and it felt worse than normal disappointment. "I accept your apology as well, Aang. But are you truly fine? You're not going to put our lives at risk again, right?"
Placing a hand on my shoulder, Roku sternly eyed me while I firmly nodded. "I am one-hundred percent fine." "Ah, with such an intense gaze, you couldn't possibly be focused on something." Patting my shoulder, Roku stepped back, allowing Korra to approach me, only for her fist to suddenly dig into my stomach, causing me to keel over while dropping to one knee. 'D-Damn, why is she so strong!?'
"I-I thought you accepted my apology, already?" Raising my head, I glanced at Korra, who awkwardly coughed while averting her gaze. "I-I do accept your apology. I was just preoccupied with more urgent thoughts back then, so I never gave you a proper response." I could feel my expression twitch aggressively at her words, though in the end, I just sighed; I honestly deserved more than this, given my performance last week.
"L-Learn to control your strength better. Another punch like that and I'm coughing lunch up." My words prompted everyone to distance themselves from me, causing me to roll my eyes while Fan grabbed our attention. "I also accept your apology, Aang… Is everyone ready?" As Fan looked at us, we all stood beside each other and nodded, prompting him to activate the portal.
Following Kyoshi into the portal, which appeared within a cavern, she lifted us out of the depths of the earth and onto ground level, where she then lowered the portal. Like usual, there happened to be a few corrupted spirits nearby, prompting us, Roku and Korra, to engage them in combat while I stood by Fan and Kyoshi, one of whom was practically defenseless while the other was focused on another task.
Using this chance, I observed Korra, finding her every action pleasing to the eye, and while absorbed in beauty, I waved my hand behind me, launching a sharp gust of wind that sliced through the arm of an invisible corrupted spirit. Grabbing my bo-staff, I swung it behind me, increasing the power of my next strike as the sharp gust of wind sliced through the rest of the corrupted spirit, causing it to disperse.
"I thought I was going to have to act again." Kyoshi, having finished lowering the portal, glanced at me, causing me to briefly flash her a smirk before shifting my focus back to Korra as I holstered my bo-staff. "As I said before, I am entirely focused."
"Your lack of focus last week, was it because of Korra?" Although Kyoshi hit the nail on the head, I remained calm, my heart rate kept steady despite her startling question. "What makes you say that?" "You were staring at her a lot last week… You're also staring at her right now." "No comment."