Bubblebending - Tahorra

Bubblebending

~P~

Korra laughed at her little daughter splashing around in the water. "You're so silly, Katara," the Avatar giggled, mussing up the little girl's mess of waves.

"Mama, don't do that! You'll mess it up!" Katara's hand flew to her hair, and she pulled her wet fingers through it and then patted it down. Korra laughed once again at her daughter's actions. Taking after her father, I see...

Bending the water from the bathtub, Korra gently swished it at Katara, who slapped at it playfully. The Avatar almost wished her daughter would raise her arms and bend it back, but alas, this did not happen. Instead, Katara slapped her hands in the water loudly, humming nonsense to her three-year-old self. To amuse the child further, Korra pulled some bubbles from the water and floated them around Katara's face, landing on her nose and rosy cheeks and causing her to giggle cutely. Korra's heart melted and face softened at the sound of her little girl's laugh – it was pure and chime-like, like her daughter's namesake. The thought of her late Waterbending Master made Korra's lips downturn in a small frown, but she quickly brushed it aside when Katara asked for more bubbles. She studied her mother's hands this time, watching the movements closely. When the second round of bubbles hit her face and hair, she fell backwards in the water and laughed again, which in turn made her mother chuckle.

A few minutes later, her father came in, and smiled down at his laughing wife and daughter. Crossing his arms and leaning on the doorway lazily, he asked, "How are my two little ladies?"

Korra shook her head at him while Katara jumped and stood up before the Avatar could prevent her. "Mama messed up my hair, daddy," the little girl complained before plopping back down in the sloshing water.

Tahno made a tsking noise before coming over to his wife and sitting beside her on the side of the tub. Turning to Katara, he raised a finger at her and said, "Your mother always used to screw my hair up, too. She can be a naughty Mama, sometimes." He gave her a suggestive side glance then, which had Korra rolling her eyes. "It's okay, though – I'll see to it that she's properly punished later." He winked at her, and while Katara watched the entire interaction, she was thankfully too young to pick up on his blatant innuendos.

When the little girl went back to playing with her toys in the tub, Korra turned to Tahno. "She's just as bad about her hair as you are," she told him, frowning. "It has to be perfect all the time."

"It's not bad to take pride in your appearance," he told her matter-of-factly. "If she's got my attitude about looks, then she's definitely got your personality. She's as rambunctious as... well, you."

Korra was about to protest against this claim, but just as she opened her mouth, Katara shouted at one of her toys and splashed violently, pretending like she was attacking it. The Avatar blinked at her child, before sighing in defeat, which Tahno smirked at. "I... guess," she shrugged.

"But if she's anything like her lovely mother," the ex-Waterbender spoke up. "Then she'll be incredibly selfless and kind when she's older – I have no doubt about it. A powerful Waterbender, too."

Korra blushed at his words – despite the fact that they had been married for four years, dating for two prior, she was still not used to his random compliments to her. However, she did appreciate them, no matter how offhanded they were. "Well, in that case, if she's anything like you," she pointed at Tahno. "Then she'll be an overtly sweet, thoughtful little thing. A ruthless Pro-bender. She'll probably rake in the boys, too." Korra laughed at her comment, but her husband froze, dreading the idea of his little daughter growing up and bringing a boy home.

"Boys? No one's getting near her – you can count on that one. I have to approve, and even then--!" Tahno was interrupted by Korra kissing him quickly. He blinked at her, before smirking slyly and leaning and kissing her again, this time longer and deeper.

It didn't take long for Katara to notice she was being ignored for a moment too long and in one quick movement, collected a small amount of bathwater from the tub to float in her hands and tossed it at her parents. "Ew! Don't do that here!" she shouted as she threw it, making a face of disgust.

Tahno and Korra jumped apart as the water hit them, blinking in bewilderment. Eyes wide, they looked at each other and then at little Katara. Korra was the first to speak. "Katara," she began slowly. "Did you just--?" The Avatar didn't have to finish her sentence, because she watched as her daughter clumsily bent another handful of water in her hand, the clear substance hovering over her palm.

"Where – when – did you learn to do that, sweetie?" Tahno asked quickly, momentarily stunned.

"I watched Mama," she answered innocently, silver eyes large and expressive, relishing in the attention she was receiving. "She also taught me how to do this!" Turning away from her parents, she concentrated on the blob of water in her hands, tongue stuck out of her mouth as she moved them around it. A few seconds later, a small burst of bubbles popped from the water, and floated around Katara's head, and she giggled and dropped the rest of the water she was holding. "See? Bubbles! I'm a Bubblebender!"

Korra and Tahno blinked at each other, still amazed by their daughter's sudden display of Waterbending. Up until that moment, she had never displayed the ability in the slightest, just an extreme affinity for the element itself. Korra didn't like to worry, and she really didn't often –  her daughter was still young, and it didn't really matter if she was a bender or not – but she still sometimes got concerned about it, and urged Katara's curiosity with water on whenever given the chance, always providing examples and encouraging. And so there she sat before them, avidly splashing water back and forth in her palms and creating shiny bubbles galore, fascinated by her newfound talents.

Tahno was the first to regain his composure again, smiling brightly at Korra and then Katara. "That was amazing, Katara," he leaned closer to her, and despite the fact she was soaking wet, gave her a hug. And to the ex-Waterbender, it was – it nearly brought tears to his eyes, that his little girl was just like her mother and, once, him.

"Do you really think I'm going to be as powerful as Mama?" the little Waterbender asked, looking in between the two of them for confirmation.

Before Tahno could answer, a grin grew over Korra's features, and she nodded. "Of course, you will," she told her. "You'll be the best Waterbender in the world."

"Yay!" Katara shouted, sending small spirals of water in every direction in her excitement. "I'm going to the bestest! I'll kick all the Pro-benders out of the ring in one shot! I'm going to be a great as both of you, I promise!" She pumped her little fists confidently, her eyes shining at the prospect of being the city's – no, the world's – number one Waterbender.

Korra and Tahno laughed. "She's definitely got your cockiness," Katara whispered to him.

"And your enthusiasm," he nudged her. He watched as his wife's blue eyes turned to look at their daughter, who was deeply in immersed in her Waterbending now, no longer craving constant attention. "And you thought she would never bend," he chuckled, and Korra huffed a bit at him.

"Not true," she countered, crossing her arms.

"Very true," he responded.

Looking away, Korra grumbled, "Shut up." She stood up then and reached for a towel. Bending down and taking her daughter from the water, she smiled at the protesting three-year-old. "Why don't we go practice some real Waterbending forms, Katara?" The little Waterbender's crinkled face relaxed, and she beamed.

"'Kay, Mama! I wanna go pick out my clothes first, though!"

Korra nodded, deciding against arguing that her clothes didn't matter and would probably just get wet anyway and instead dried her off and led Katara out of the bathroom. Tahno stood up and followed them, frowning. When Katara ran off into her room in search of her bluest clothes, Korra turned and noticed her husband's downfallen look. "What's wrong?" she asked gently, closing Katara's door so that it was just cracked a bit.

"I... can't even help teach our little girl Waterbending," he admitted. "It's a bit depressing, you know? I kind of figured, if I ever had kids – which I didn't think was going to happen, quite frankly – I'd be along their side, teaching them. But that's not going to happen."

Korra frowned at him, before placing a hand on his shoulder. They'd been through this seemingly a million times, and while he always agreed at first, he more often than not fell back into the same dejected attitude. "Tahno," she began. "I know you don't believe me, but you're still a Waterbender – you still know all the techniques and fighting stances and movements. You're still able to teach Katara, despite what you think. Besides, she wants you to be there to help her, too."

Tahno peered up at his wife, silver eyes unblinking. He didn't want to be uninvolved in his daughter's bending training – he wanted to be with Korra and Katara, each step of the way. And like always, Korra was right – it had been a while, but he still remembered all of his Waterbending methods. He could pass these on to Katara and she would be able to demonstrate them later on in her life. At the thought of his daughter using his moves, dangerous and powerful and fast, gentle and methodical and controlled, he felt his lips quirk upwards. He would pass on his knowledge to Katara – he and his wife would do it together.

"Why are you always right?" he inquired before stealing a quick kiss from her again. Lingering in her face closely, he waggled his eyebrows. "I still have to punish you later – I nearly forgot. I'll have to remember..."

"I think Katara will keep you updated," Korra smiled before pressing her lips to his. Just as she pulled away, Katara came running out of her room, her hair all done up with a blue barrette holding it back, wearing some of her nicest clothing, fine blue silk that had been given to her by her Grandma Senna.

"Bubblebending!" she cried, running for the door that led to their patio where they could train openly. "Let's go Bubblebend, Mama, Daddy!"

"Katara, you silly little girl – you can't wear those clothes!" Korra was about to scold her daughter some more for getting all done up, when Tahno grabbed her hand and shook his head, smiling.

"Let her get dressed up – it's a special occasion, after all," he told her.

Korra relented, and squeezing his hand, allowed him to lead her outside to meet their ecstatic little daughter. "Let's go 'Bubblebend'," she laughed.