like bluebells in the late december

[outfoxy]

I have an idea.

It had started with that, the last time Naruto and Korra had gone out to the old pumpkin patch to practice. Naruto was getting pretty good at the air scooter. And pretty tired of constant chapped lips and leaking noses.

So he'd said, no, look, seriously, it's a good idea. They go to the local public gym, the one with the biggest pool that's open after hours, and they make sure the place is damn near empty. It's hot and humid in the natatorium, conditions Naruto is far more accustomed to, and it lets him peel himself out of the layers he wears constantly against Darrow's winter air.

They'll practice there. Korra can use her waterbending. Naruto can avoid her attacks. There's no better way, he thinks, to learn one another's reaction style in a fight. It's his goal, after all. He doesn't just like Korra as a friend. She's the closest thing he's got to a comrade, in the sense he best understands, in Darrow.

Although right now, he's feeling a little awkward as he sets his short stack of folded beach towels down on the bench by the pool and moves to stand at the water's edge. There's only one other person in the space other than the lifeguard, so the water is lapping only very gently. He can practically see his own reflection in it.

He hopes his slight butterflies aren't as noticeable to Korra as they are to him. He scrubs at the dark whisker marks on his cheek before turning to stare at the exit for the women's dressing room.

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[unrestraint]

When Naruto suggested going to the public pool to train, Korra had agreed at once. Much as she loved the chilly winter air and the way it reminded her of the bitter winds back home, without heavy rains or snow, she couldn't fully enjoy the season in the way she did at home. Given a choice between the cold and water, she'll always choose the latter for its flexibility, easily manipulated to match her mood at the time.

She stumbles as quickly as she can through the dressing room, the bathing suits she'd purchased all tighter than she expected, which seems to be the style of the time. Opting to mimic Asami's style, Korra dons a spaghetti strapped bikini, exposing a little more midriff to allow for easier movement.

Staring at the mirror doesn't seem to help anything, so Korra only double-checks to make sure all of the fastenings are in place before she runs out of the dressing room, earning herself a shrill whistle from the lifeguard that she resolutely ignores. Feet slapping quickly against the tiled floor, Korra runs towards the pool, leaping up when she's close to the edge.

"Woohoo!" she whoops, somersaulting once in the air before diving immediately down into the deep end of the pool, her momentum taking her all the way to the bottom of the pool as bubbles rise up against her skin, tickling her as she resurfaces.