二十五

[anatural]

[ video ]
[Korra doesn't understand the Network. She doesn't get how she's supposed to use it, why people keep posting on it, why they post such stupid stuff.

So of course her new job at the Welcome Center involves just sitting around and watching the Network in case any newbies show up who need greeting.

She's already done all the chores she can think to do, and she can't run through her bending forms and monitor the network at the same time. She's trapped in front of the little computer, a prisoner of its headache-inducing glowing screen.

It's only because she has literally NOTHING ELSE TO DO that she decides to try her hand at posting something. Maybe if she does, she'll get what all the fuss is about.]

This is seriously the most boring job ever.

[long, awkward silence, then she clicks the feed off.

Nope. Still doesn't get the appeal.]



[ action - Monday night ]
[She's released from the Welcome Center around 11 PM. It's a long walk back to the Beach House, but she doesn't want to make Naga hang around the Welcome Center and be bored and stressed out like she is.

Korra sighs, stretches, and looks up at the moon. On a whim, she decides to head to the park and practice her meditation. It's not like she hasn't been sitting still for FIVE HOURS, but...well, it just feels right. Maybe she'll have an easier time meditating in the quiet of the park while the moon is out.

It's worth a shot, at least.]

Comments

Action! <3

[mortemscintilla]

Because [ he tries to make his words into fodder she'll digest, a bon-bon for a child ] when it's dying it gives off one sad trill. If it's a message it beeps twice. Like it's happy.

[ His shoulder knocks lightly against hers, not a notable thing except for the fact that it happens at all. He has no idea how much closeness is welcome. He's very aware of her scent, of the warmth bleeding through her clothes. But he has no intention of being intrusive. If she wants this, or if she doesn't, he'll read it loud and clear in her posture. ]

I can change the tone to a tune. So you remember to recharge it.

Action! <3

[anatural]

You can do that?

[The shoulder bump gets him a quick assessing (slightly nervous?) look. But she doesn't stiffen or move away. In fact, she shifts a little closer to him (inadvertently, of course) as she reaches into her pocket to pull the device back out and hand it to him.]

Action! <3

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei nods -- then catches that nervous glance that flits his way. That she doesn't shrink back is a relief. (If she did, it'd remind him depressingly of Yin. How she'd flinched when he'd tried to touch her, that week after her death. How the look on her face -- frozen, petrified -- had stung worse than any knifewound. But there -- as here -- the skittishness is justified.) The shift of his palm is slow and easy to see coming, as he takes the device from her. ]

[ He shifts away slightly to reprogram it. But their shoulders are still touching. He can see her expression from the corner of his eye, and fights the urge to smooth that little frown off her forehead with his lips. Finding a memorable -- meaningful -- tune, he hands the device back to her. ]

Action! <3

[anatural]

[She listens to the tune he chooses, and while it's hard for her to actually call it a song (so different from the music she's familiar with), the words make her laugh.]

Appropriate.

Action! <3

[mortemscintilla]

Just don't feed it anything with a pulse. [ He lifts a hand -- again, measured and careful -- to fiddle with the tie on dangling her hair. His eyes are fixed on her, not predatory but almost sleepy-soft, and he doesn't bother to hide that, or the cautious way he gauges her face for reactions. He wants to kiss her. And while kisses never really mean anything to him, in this case it's both a test and an apology. Settled beside Korra, he almost misses the easy intimacy they'd had before. (Which is funny, because it's never been intimate or easy. It's just retrospect playing mindgames). ]

[ He finds himself leaning in before stopping a heartbeat away from her lips, not quite looking her in the eye, breathing slowly. ]

[ It's nervousness. And being nervous always takes him by surprise. ]

Action! <3

[anatural]

[Her heart stops when he leans forward, clenched tightly in fear. But he stops before touching her, and for a long moment Korra just breathes. Taking in his familiar scent, the softness in his face, the quiet of the night. It's very different from the week before. She breathes, and every exhale takes a little piece of fear with it until nothing is left.

She closes her eyes and closes the gap, pressing her lips hesitantly against his.]

Action! <3

[mortemscintilla]

[ There's a low catch of breath as their lips meet, and it's not surprise but relief. His palm cradles the side of her face, fingers against the cut of her jaw, and he leans into her mouth, chasing out that thread of warmth, sealing it between teeth and tongue. Hei's never been a romantic, but the softness of the kiss makes him feel young for a moment -- not innocent because he stopped being that years ago, but like a beginner at something, tentative and learning, filled with a sense of discovery. ]

[ The exhilaration crawls up his spine, makes him bolder as he hums into the kiss, relearning the fit of their mouths. Yet none of it presages anything. No biting, no pressure, no progression to the next step. Instead he keeps the kiss going for a long moment, renewing and teasing, before he draws back. ]

I think -- [ I think I should go. ]

Action! <3

[anatural]

[It doesn't take long for hesitation to turn into greed. Not lust -- reassurance. Every soft touch is a reminder that this can be nice, can be good. It's not just a way for him to try and control her. She chases his lips a little as he breaks away, reluctant to give up their dizzy warmth.

She doesn't know where his own thoughts are going, but the kiss broken, she realizes how late it is.]

I should go home. [Jinora and Chief Bei Fong will be worried. But that doesn't stop her from kissing him again. One for the road....maybe two or three. It's nicer than going home and being lectured.]

Action! <3

[mortemscintilla]

[ Any other time it might be -- strange? embarrassing? -- the way they're acting like a pair of chaste teenagers. But it says something too, that she's allowing this, that Hei is capable of offering it. There are lines being redrawn in the sand. And here they are, retracing a course both familiar yet not. When she kisses him again, Hei feels himself almost smiling against her lips. Both his hands skate down the sides of her face, his kisses hungry but soft in the same breath. (It makes him wonder, if his life hasn't completely extinguished that spark in him that's capable of kindness.) ]

[ He draws back slowly, her lower-lip caught between gentle teeth; he sucks it almost playfully before he lets go. ]

You should. [ Quiet, but with a kind of finality to it. While it'd be disingenuous to say he'd wouldn't like to coax her back to his flat, it's too soon, and he doubts she'd be comfortable with the idea. Except he doesn't want to fuck her. Therein lies the shock. He's exhausted enough that the idea of just clasping the girl, spoon-fashion, and drifting to sleep, is appealing instead of pathetic. ]

Action! <3

[anatural]

[She doesn't try to kiss him again, but she doesn't get up or pull back, either. Her wide eyes study his face, looking for anything suspicious or alarming, taking in every detail.

He looks so tired.]

Tell Imugi I said hi. [Go home and sleep. She doesn't like the idea of leaving him to sleep on park benches.]

Action! <3

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei makes a brief noise in the back of his throat -- it might be a noncommittal Hm or just a swallowed yawn. One of his hands drops from her face and goes to his eyes instead, rubbing them with a thumb and forefinger. ]

You can tell him that yourself. He and I don't speak. [ It either an offer, or a dry joke -- his head is muzzy enough that even he's unsure. Shit -- how long has it been since the last time he had a full night's sleep? It would be eerie to voice the number of months. (Or is it years?) ]

Action! <3

[anatural]

Maybe next time. [She doesn't want to go anywhere near his apartment; just the thought is enough to make her chest tighten painfully.

She reaches out, hesitantly, to brush her fingers through his hair.]

You need to stop sleeping on benches.

Action! <3

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei doesn't bother to tell her that he's slept on worse surfaces. Or that there's a tinge of cool freshness to the air that's a welcome relief from the choking atmosphere of his flat. His eyes drift half-shut at the touch of her fingers. He lifts his hand to cover hers, squeezing a moment before he gently pushes it away. He's not her goddamn cat, after all. ]

[ Rising from the bench, he picks up the discarded book. Rotates his neck with a crick, then glances at her. ] Get going. [ A quiet reminder. He doubts he'll sleep anywhere near his bed; but there's always the rooftop, and the promise of stars above, to satisfy this strange new antipathy of his for sealed spaces and four walls. ]

[ He leans in, just a fleeting brush of lips on her cheekbone -- Goodnight? Thank you? -- before he drifts away. ]

Action! <3

[anatural]

[He leaves a curious mixture of disappointment and relief behind him. Every pleasant moment carries with it the threat of darkness.

She takes a deep breath and stares up at the moon. She watches it for awhile, just soaking in its peaceful stillness, before she gets up and resumes her way home.]