Maintaining the Balance: Ch. 32 (Patreon)

After calming down and subsequently psyching herself up for the rest of her date with Kahn, Korra emerged from the bathroom with an awkward yet excited smile on her face. At least, that's the expression she had until she noticed the woman standing next to the booth she had been sharing with Kahn.

Adopting a fierce expression, Korra practically stomped her way across the restaurant until her face was less than a few centimeters away from Suya, asking, "Is there something you needed from my 'boyfriend'?"

Placing extra emphasis on the word boyfriend, Korra was fully prepared to throw down until Suya calmly asked, "You're the Avatar?"

"Yeah? And? You got a problem with that?"

Furrowing her brows, Suya briefly considered arresting Korra for walking up to and threatening an officer. Instead, she asked, "Can you prove it?"

Just as Korra was about to 'prove' her status by sending Suya flying, Kahn interrupted the catty standoff, saying, "She is Toph's granddaughter, and I'm assuming Lin Beifong's daughter. Just demonstrate for her your ability to bend fire and water so she'll leave us alone."

Blinking in surprise, Korra gave Suya a quick once-over, asking, "You're Granny Toph's grandkid? Why do you look like you have a stick up your butt?"

Squinting her eyes, Suya resisted the urge to sweep Korra's feet and force her face to the ground as she said, "Just get on with it. If you can't prove you're the Avatar, I'm going to arrest both of you for disrupting the public order."

Ignoring the fact she was the one that approached Kahn and caused a scene, Suya waited 'patiently' until Korra eventually waved her hand to pull water from a cup while simultaneously creating a tuft of flame using her left index finger.

Realizing she had just accosted the Avatar and her boyfriend, Suya's body tensed as she turned back to Kahn and muttered, "It would appear I owe you an apology..."

Waving his hand in a shooing gesture, Kahn rebutted, "I just want to eat a meal and spend time with my girlfriend. Rather than hearing your apology, I would be happier if you returned to your table or left."

"Yeah, you heard the man. Make like a piece of tempered steel and beat it."

Inhaling a deep breath, Suya looked like she was milliseconds away from bursting. Despite this, she managed to calm herself enough to say, "Sorry for inconveniencing the two of you..." through gritted teeth. Then, without another word, she stormed out of the restaurant, her feet leaving faint but visible imprints in the stone floor.

Tapping her foot against the ground, Korra thoughtfully returned the floor to its original state before sitting across from Kahn and asking, "What was that about?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Kahn speculated, "I think she's just an awkward girl. I get the impression she's eager to prove herself, so her mother must have been too strict with her. Either way, it has nothing to do with us. That is...unless you intend to get involved...?"

Noticing the faint guilt in Korra's expression, Kahn's brows furrowed as he said, "You don't have to help everyone, Korra. Especially when it concerns family and private matters..."

Adopting a wry smile, Korra replied, "I just figured that the children of the previous Avatar's friends should be our allies, you know? We also need an Earthbender to join our team, so..."

"Then we'll find one who doesn't have a prior commitment like working for the Metalbending Police Force. Besides, weren't you the one who said you didn't want another girl on the team? You're free to change your mind; just make sure you have a good reason."

Keying in on the most arbitrary part of what Kahn had said, Korra adopted an ostensibly teasing smile as she rebutted, "What? It's not like you would ever cheat on me...right?"

Rolling his eyes, Kahn wasn't doing himself any favors by remarking, "Who knows? It depends..."

Unamused by Kahn's answer, Korra squinted her eyes, asking, "Depends? On what...?"

Adopting a faint smile, Kahn leaned forward as he answered, "On whether or not you let yourself go after we get married and have kids..."

Expecting Korra to react bashfully, Kahn's body tensed when she adopted an angry expression and asked, "Oh? So you're just going to leave me and our children if I get fat? Is that what you're saying...?"

Though he opened his mouth, Kahn couldn't find the words to respond to Korra's accusation. Fortunately, she was just messing with him, her angry expression turning into an amused smile as she leaned forward and said, "You aren't the only one capable of teasing..."

Before Kahn could respond, Korra planted an uncharacteristically chaste kiss on his lips. She was normally a lot more aggressive, but, despite her relatively sheltered upbringing, she had enough sense not to make out in public. Instead, she sat back in her seat, fixing her posture as she asked, "So you're already thinking about children...?" in a genuinely curious tone.

Regaining his wits, Kahn took a moment to comb through his hair before answering, "Kind of? Though I would prefer to wait a couple of years, I'm the type that likes to think far ahead. I mean, we're already engaged, so it's only natural we'll eventually have kids..."

Understanding that Kahn was being serious, Korra's face gained a ruddy hue as she visibly shrank in her seat. She hadn't even thought about the possibility of children, but, considering how 'eager' she was to experience new things, there was a distinct possibility of her getting pregnant.

"I think I understand why you wanted to take things slow...I'm totally not ready to be a mother...at least not any time soon..."

Resisting the temptation to nod his head in affirmation, Kahn adopted a gentle smile as he reached across the table and waited for Korra to grab his hand. When she did, he said, "You'll make an amazing mother...someday..."

Though she rolled her eyes, Korra couldn't keep the smile from her face as she said, "You're such a dork..."

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After a relatively uneventful meal, Kahn and Korra continued along their journey to explore the entirety of Little Ba Sing Se. Kahn had to fork over 200,000 Yuan just to pay for their entry, but he had plenty to spare since Tenzin had been paying him a premium rather than the median wage Kahn had originally petitioned.

On average, an in-home tutor could earn around 500,000 Yuan if they had received a teaching certification from a prestigious institution. Tenzin, or, more accurately, the White Lotus had been paying him nearly three times that amount due to Kahn's advanced knowledge of ancient, and, in many cases, completely lost cultures. Thus, rather than the 3,000,000 Yuan he normally would have earned, he had accrued just under 12,000,000 Yuan while teaching Jinora and Ikki.

While 12,000,000 Yuan wasn't considered a fortune, it was more than enough for Kahn to comfortably peruse the Upper Ring and purchase just about anything Korra set her sights on. The only times he outright refused was when she suggested purchasing things like a Satomobile. He wasn't particularly fond of gas or petroleum-based vehicles, so he had absolutely no intention of investing in one.

Fortunately, while Kahn was the one purchasing everything, the journey wasn't without benefits. He could practically see Korra naked whenever he wanted, but seeing her change into various outfits and accompanying her while she purchased lingerie was an enjoyable experience. Some of the female staff and customers gave him curious and even provocative looks, but Kahn just ignored them as he focused most of his attention on Korra.

"What do you think? The colors are a little on the nose, but I kind of like it. Blue really draws out the color of my eyes, you know?"

Though she was a little nervous to be seen by the staff and customers, Korra did her best to model a predominately blue bikini and white bikini for Kahn. It was the same pale blue as her shirt and the majority of her undergarments, but, as she pointed out, it suited her quite a bit.

"At this point, you would need to dress up in a Sky Bison costume for me not to find you attractive..."

Rewarding Kahn's comment with a weak punch to the arm, Korra said, "Be serious. Even if you're one of the only people that gets to see it, I want to pick something suitable. Something you like..."

Massaging his perpetually bruised shoulder, Kahn's expression remained unchanged as he said, "I am being serious. You would literally have to go out of your way to make yourself look unappealing for me not to find you attractive. You've put a substantial amount of effort into your physique so it shows no matter what you wear. There is a reason even the girls back at your school was infatuated with you..."

Unable to find a response to Kahn's words, Korra just adopted a gratified smile before making her way back into the changing room. She honestly would have preferred it if Kahn asked more of her, but she wasn't exactly going to complain. If he couldn't tell her what he wanted, she would just have to try on a bunch of different outfits until something stuck...

Seeing a poster of a fashionable young woman with peculiar white hair posted just outside the changing room, Korra paused to take a look at the woman's outfit. It was a navy blue one piece that highlighted her long and slender legs but also had a diamond-shaped cutout that drew attention to her modest yet well-shaped breasts. Over that, she wore a high-collared vest in the same color as Korra's current outfit, a pale shade of blue that was most commonly seen in clothes worn by the Nothern and Southern Water Tribes.

"Hmmm...she's pretty hot..."

Since the outfit the woman wore was on display next to the poster, Korra decided she would go ahead and give it a try. It was clearly intended to be worn by members of the Water Tribes, so, even though she felt like her swimsuit should be a little more revealing, Korra couldn't help wanting to compare how she looked to the pale-skinned, nearly silver-haired woman. After all, as far as she could tell, they were around the same age...

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Feeling a shudder pass through his body, Kahn looked around the store for any sings of danger but the only person that made him feel even a hint of vulnerability was a middle-aged woman eyeing him like a predator. She didn't radiate any bloodlust, however, so Kahn summarily disregarded her as his thoughts wandered to the events that had occured throughout the day. 

Though Korra's powerful fate virtually guaranteed that trouble would find them, Kahn couldn't help feeling its presence as they progressed further into their impromptu date. Just encountering Suya, among all people, was tantamount to winning the lottery. After all, there were 6.8 million people living in and around Republic City yet they just so happened to meet one of the only people in the entire city that had even a superficial connection with someone they both knew.

With the way things were proceeding, Kahn fully expected something to happen towards the very end of his date with Korra. Thing couldn't just end peacefully on his and Korra's first outing, so, while the latter was in the changing room, Kahn paid close attention to their surroundings. As a result, he wasn't even remotely surprised when a group of four consisting of two young men and women entered into the store.

As if she could sense Kahn's gaze, one of the young woman, a petite girl with silvery-white hair immediately looked over. When their gazes met, a feeling of moderate agitation assailed both of them as the woman softly growled, "It's you..." in a subtly threatening tone.

Before Kahn could offer a response, Korra promptly emerged from the changing room in her new swimsuit, a massive grin on her face as she asked, "How do I look? Much better than that twiggy girl on the poster, right?"

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