CHAPTER WARNINGS: sparring sex, nudity, groping, dominance/submission, rough fingering, light bondage, tickling, foot worship, biting, cunnilingus.

~ o ~

Korra woke the next morning with Asami in her arms, face buried in her dark hair. During the night, Asami had rolled over, and in her sleep Korra had pressed tight against her back to hold her close with both an arm and a leg draped over her. She sighed happily and held Asami just a bit closer, pushing her hair out of the way so she could place a small kiss on her cheek.

This kiss was what roused Asami in the end. Only slightly, and only enough to snuggle closer. But she was aware of Korra's presence, and that made the morning the most perfect one there had ever been.

"Mmmhhh..."

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Korra whispered in Asami's ear, kissing her cheek again and snuggling a little deeper into her beautiful hair. "Mmmm... you smell like roses."

That prompted a quiet chuckling, followed by hands clutching at Korra's shoulders as she rolled over to smash her face against Korra's chest. "Mmm, yeah? You smell like... mmm, like breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Korra replied, sniffing the air. "I... think you're smelling the kitchen staff making food. I mean, I figure you have kitchen staff?"

"No, you're breakfast." Then a tiny pink tongue was flicking across Korra's collarbone. "But yeah... we have kitchen staff."

"Ohhhhh," Korra breathed softly, just getting Asami's joke as her tongue darted across her shoulder and throat. "Mmm. Okay. I can be breakfast." She lifted Asami's chin and kissed her firmly on the lips. "Hungry, huh?"

Kissing back with sleepy interest, Asami grinned bashfully. "Pretty hungry." Then she sat up on her elbow very slightly, just enough so that there was no strain being put on her neck for their lips to reach each other. "How about you?"

"I'm always starving," she replied with a wolfish grin, pulling Asami flush against her and moving in for a more passionate kiss.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Beg pardon, Miss Sato. Breakfast is ready to be served at your leisure." The Butler's voice cut through their perfect moment like a knife, and Korra gave a huff of frustration.

"Th-thank you, Anfeng!" Asami managed to call out, pressing her eyes hard against Korra's shoulder. "We will be down momentarily!"

"Very good, madam." Then there was only his receding footsteps.

"Phew." Pulling back, Asami cupped Korra's face. "Sorry, it... looks like, um, this type of breakfast is going to have to wait. But you're probably hungry anyway, right?"

Korra sighed reluctantly. "Yeah, I guess I am hungry. In the actual sense of the word."

Then she winked at Asami and kissed her cheek once more before climbing out of bed and getting ready for the day. She never took very long to get ready in the morning, and since they planned on sparring after breakfast, she dressed herself in just her usual tank and pants. Then she combed her fingers through her hair to settle it and said, "Ready when you are."

"Hey!" Asami laughed as she opened the wardrobe, this time actually removing silk pyjamas and a robe from its confines. "I like to put in a little more effort than that before I present myself to the public, alright?" As she slid the pants on, she dipped her head slightly. "Though to be fair, you could be wearing a Nuktuk costume and look good."

Korra chuckled. "Hey, I'd look great in that silly costume," she teased right back. "Short shorts, no front or sleeves... you'd like that, huh?" Turning around to look at Asami, she asked, "Are you gonna wear pajamas and a robe to spar with me?"

Blinking, Asami glanced down at herself, then back up at Korra. "Well, I... assumed I would be changing in our training room... am I supposed to be dressed for it now?"

"Oh," replied Korra. "No, that's fine! I'm just... not used to changing clothes a lot, I guess. Do you... want me to wear something else to breakfast?"

"No, of course not! You look perfect!" Then she cleared her throat and finished shrugging her robe on. "I mean, fine. You look fine. I like how you look, anyway!"

Korra felt a little out of place now, but she shrugged it off. She wasn't too eager to wear one of Asami's fancy robes if she didn't have to. "Okay. Well then, what's for breakfast?"

"I think you'll like this. I think you'll like it a lot."

A few minutes later, they were walking into the opulent dining hal. Two places were set at one end of the long table, replete with covered dishes and steaming cups of tea. A pitcher of fresh-squeezed juice was placed within easy reach of both settings. She couldn't see what was under the silver dishes, but it smelled delicious, and she was happy anytime there was fresh juice. She took the seat to the side, letting Asami have the head of the table.

"Am I allowed to open it?" she whispered to Asami as she eyed the kitchen worker standing beside the table.

"Yes!" Asami laughed, privately thinking this was the most excited Korra ever got. "Go on, go on!"

Korra didn't wait another second before lifting the silver lid and placing it to the side of her tray. Instantly, her face lit up. The plate was piled high with fluffy eggs and fat links of sausage. For once in her life, she felt as though she wasn't going to have to ask for seconds. Grinning like a fool at Asami and the anonymous kitchen worker, she pointed elatedly at the plate before diving right in.

Asami was kind enough to hide her mouth behind her hand as she laughed silently, not wanting to distract her love from her "feast". After a moment, she too lifted her own tray, which displayed a more modest portion of each, along with a small bowl of jasmine rice. Silently, she dug into hers, punctuating every two or three bites with a sip of her tea.

"Best breakfast ever," Korra declared through a mouthful of food, pouring herself a glass of juice before drinking her tea. "Ever." It didn't take her long to finish all the food on her plate; she finished it in about the same time Asami put away hers.

"I'm tempted to compare you to a barnyard animal again," Asami tittered as she daintily wiped the corners of her mouth. Korra stuck her tongue out a little at that particular prod. "But I'll be kind. How was everything, besides edible?"

"Delicious!" She finished off her glass of juice and stood up from her chair. "Now I'm ready to spar!" She stretched showily and flexed her arms, ignoring the blatant eye roll from Asami's servant. "That is, if you're still feeling up for it."

Asami's eyebrows lifted as she scooted her chair back. "Right now? You don't want to, you know... digest? Anything?" But she knew Korra wouldn't, so she merely shrugged and turned toward the door. "This way, please."

Korra followed Asami upstairs to her workout room, which could probably be more accurately described as a gymnasium. The place was larger than the pro-bending practice gym, and outfitted with all the latest equipment.

"Wow," she mused, running her fingers over an expensive-looking practice dummy. "This is super fancy."

"Definitely," Asami laughed as she crossed to the folding privacy screen in the corner, which stood in front of a locker with spare clothing. She began to take out some items as she went on, "My father would only have the best. I plan to be a bit more practical with my spending, but as long as this room is already here and outfitted..."

"It's the coolest gym I've ever seen," Korra said with a grin. "I'm actually really excited to train here..." When she turned around, Asami was hidden behind a folding screen. Well, not exactly hidden; Korra could see a perfect silhouette moving behind it as Asami figured out what to wear. She stood back and crossed her arms with a smirk. "Not as excited as I am to go hand to hand with you though," she added.

"You think that now! Wait until after I feed you a lovely dessert of floor mat!"

"Heh. Oh yeah? We'll see about that." Korra bound her wrists and hands while she watched Asami's shadow going through the motions of changing. In truth, she expected Asami to beat her in hand-to-hand, but she also intended to give her lover a good fight.

When Asami walked out from behind the screen, she was wearing a loose white cotton shirt over a dark red tank top, as well as red shorts that matched. On each elbow and knee were pads, and a padded headband encircled her head, all the same shade of deep crimson. Korra couldn't help but chuckle a little at Asami's safety measures. She looked cute, but Korra preferred to take and feel the hits when she sparred or fought.

"Okay," she said with a grin, taking a few steps back. "Any boundaries? Rules?"

"Right, yeah." Kicking the toes of her lightweight leather shoes against the floor, Asami loosened her arm muscles as she considered. "No aiming for the face, no spitting, and tapping the mat three times means 'I give'. Oh, and one more rule..." Her smirk was coy, but she waited for Korra to confirm that she understood the first rules before she continued.

"Yeah, uh-huh. So... what else?" She smirked right back at Asami's coy smile. "What are you thinking of?"

Dropping back into a defensive crouch, Asami took a few practice jabs at the air. "Any time one of us goes down completely or gives up... they have to remove one article of clothing. If they don't start taking something off within three seconds, the other person gets to choose... and take it off themselves."

Korra's jaw dropped for a split-second before spreading into a grin. "That's... the best idea ever!" she exclaimed. "Strip-sparring; brilliant!"

"Well, you did say that sometimes sparring leads to more, so I figured this will give us a headstart."

"Nice." She also took a few steps back, before taking an offensive stance and motioning for Asami to come and get her. "Ready when you are..."

"Very well. Three, two... ONE!"

Without any more warning than that, Asami took off running toward Korra, sweeping her leg up toward her neck. This was obviously a bold opening move, but she felt the need to prove herself as a worthy sparring partner. A worthy partner in general.

Korra laughed outwardly at Asami's sheer guts as well as skill, as she ducked under her leg to dodge the kick. Moving like Tenzin had taught her, she circled around behind Asami and placed a firm palmstrike between her shoulder blades.

"Is that all you've got?" she teased as she bounced away.

Staggering slightly, Asami flipped around soon enough, dancing back and forth a few times. "Hardly!" One fist whipped forward, aiming for Korra's shoulder.

Asami's quick strike came in contact with Korra's shoulder. The Avatar gave a soft 'oof' but she took the opportunity to grab Asami. Taking her by the wrist, she quickly spun her around and used the momentum of the spin to tackle her right onto the mat. Korra was unabashedly using her superior body weight to her advantage.

"You gotta do better than that," she teased.

Gritting her teeth, Asami pushed her up and off of herself, then vaulted to a standing position. She had just fallen into a defensive stance when she stopped herself. "Oh. Wait, I... have to, don't I?"

"Three seconds is over!" Korra exclaimed triumphantly. "Shirt!"

"Damn!" This soon into the rules she had just laid out and already she had forgotten them. Sighing and rolling her eyes, she whipped off the light shirt — which she had only worn to give herself a slight advantage in this department — and tossed it neatly over the privacy screen. The tank top still kept her well-covered, of course.

"Satisfied?" Asami asked as she resumed her stance, dancing back and forth faster now that she had warmed up.

"Not yet," Korra replied with a wolfish grin. She was determined to get Asami naked in this gym. She jumped forward and aimed a punch at her shoulder, pulling back her left arm for a follow-up blow.

Slightly resentful of giving up a victory this early on, Asami wasted no time dropping to the mat and sweeping one leg out, snatching both of Korra's out from under her body. "Whoa!" Korra cried as she was swept off her feet. She'd expected Asami to counter her punch. She threw out her arms as she landed and used her legs to vault herself back up. Though slightly off-balance, she spun and aimed a kick at her opponent.

Throwing out both arms at the last moment, Asami stepped with the blow and encircled Korra's leg, using the momentum to toss her toward the weight machine in the corner. Whether or not Korra could stay on her feet was up to her now.

By the time Korra realized she was going down, it was too late. She could have used her Bending to speed away from the weight machine, but that would be cheating. So she turned in her fall and allowed Asami to tackle her to the ground. Anything was better than hitting that big machine.

All Asami did after pinning Korra was leave an extremely cheeky kiss on the end of her nose. "Gotcha." Then she hopped to her feet and danced backward. "Come on!"

Before Asami could tell her what to do, Korra shucked off her tank, happy to fight in just her bindings. Maybe she could use her abs and shoulders as a diversion, she thought wryly, flexing slightly as she tossed the shirt aside.

"Okay, no more nice Avatar!" she shouted with a grin, moving in and released a flurry of punches and kicks. Most of them didn't hit — it was more her intention to overwhelm than to hurt — but the ones that did surely smarted.

Indeed, they left an impression. Asami was able to block the lion's share of the blows, but one or two slipped past her guard and she was forced to bear the brunt to either her shoulders or ribs. One finally landed in the center of her chest when she couldn't bring her arm up in time, but she impressed herself by strafing around the following jab that was intended for her exposed stomach. Hoping to make something out of the brief advantage, she aimed a quick kick for Korra's nearest knee.

But Korra saw the kick towards her knee, and she grabbed Asami's leg, kicking her other leg right out from under her. As she went down Korra pinned her to the floor. "Gotcha!" she whispered in Asami's ear.

Grumbling and trying not to feel too upset about a simple sparring match, Asami stood up rather quickly and stepped on the backs of her shoes in turn, kicking them off after her shirt. It was tempting to only take one off, since technically they were separate garments, but that was petty — and besides, being half-shod would probably throw her off balance.

Korra winked at Asami, going right back at her as soon as her shoes were off. She went all in, jumping forward to try and tackle her immediately. This time, Asami was determined not to give up a point. She rolled forward and under Korra's outstretched arms, spinning once she was upright again and springing backward, hands up and at the ready. There would be no more easy pins.

The Avatar spun on her heel, jumped off the ground, and flew at Asami again. "You're pretty good," she admitted as her lover dodged once again.

"Thank you," Asami huffed, only marginally winded. "You're... the Avatar, so that goes without saying!" Then she finally tired of feinting left and right and aimed a knee for Korra's ribcage.

Foolishly, Korra had gotten distracted by Asami's body as she moved swiftly around her, and to pay for it she got kneed firmly in the ribs. "Ooof!" she huffed, grabbing onto her lover's leg instead of scrambling back. This time she knocked her off her feet by pulling hard on her leg, throwing herself down on top of her. "Nice try!" Korra laughed as she straddled Asami and pinned her arms. "One... two... three! SHIRT!"

"Doesn't work that way!" Asami grunted once Korra finally released her. "I said if I didn't take something off myself, you could call it — and how was I supposed to do that with you still on top of my arms, hmm?" Pushing herself up again, she immediately hooked her thumbs under the waistband of her shorts. Now she was down to the tank top and her jet black underwear. Two more pins and she would be completely nude. That couldn't happen; she had to get her head in the game!

"You never mentioned circumstances under which three seconds might pass," Korra grumbled. But she wasn't going to complain about Asami fighting in her underwear, either. "Anyway, you'd better get serious! Or pretty soon, I won't be able to take you seriously!" Circling around behind Asami, she moved quickly to try to keep that position as her opponent turned and moved. "Great view from back here!" she teased.

Pursing her lips at Korra's lewd-as-usual behavior, she dropped down and back, driving her elbow up and at Korra's solar plexus with as much speed and force as she could muster. This wasn't over!

Korra barely dodged Asami's elbow; it grazed her chest as she sprang out of the way. "Good view from here too," she teased as she moved around front. She made as though she was going in for a palm strike, but instead she squeezed Asami's breast through her shirt for a split-second before rolling out of range of another strike.

"Gotcha!" she giggled.

Cheeks flaming red, Asami snapped, "KORRA!" as she sprinted across the room. Just as Korra aimed a kick up at her chest, however, she dropped from sight, sliding across the floor and taking Korra's remaining leg out from under her with both arms, turning her body to make sure she went down backward.

Korra shouted indignantly as Asami slid towards her and knocked her off her feet, flat on her back. She was down, fair and square. Immediately she sat up and began unwinding her breast bindings, grinning at Asami all the while. "You didn't say anything about groping in the rules! Just no face hits, and no spitting."

"No, I didn't," Asami admitted primly as she waited for Korra to unwind them. "But it's a pretty cheap shot, I think — and you know mine are sensitive!" However, her eyes were drawn to the slowly-shrinking covering on her partner's chest. "Fine. Can I grab yours then? It's only fair."

"You can try," Korra replied, winding the last of her binding around her fingers and tossing it aside. It would be a little harder to fight with her breasts moving around freely, but she hoped their... motion would distract Asami enough to give her some advantage.

Standing up and taking a defensive stance, Korra gave Asami a "bring it on" wave and grinned like a mad fox. "Come and get me, then. Grab one."

"Is that a challenge?" Asami giggled as she resumed her ready stance, hands up to guard her face. Of course, as Korra started to move herself... and things began bouncing...

'NO!' she ordered herself, even as her body began to heat up very slightly. 'You and her are going to take care of that later, of course, but for now you are working... on... defeating her!'

"Of course it's a challenge!" Korra replied, moving a little closer to Asami and bouncing on her heels. She saw her lover watching her breasts bounce with reddening cheeks, and she knew her plan was at least somewhat working. She moved suddenly out of her defensive stance into a surprise kick, catching Asami just below the neck.

And Asami went stumbling, one of her arms waving out to the side and pain blossoming along her spine. Of course, Korra could have kicked her much harder than that, but it still stung. Somehow she managed to stay upright long enough to shake off the daze and reoriented herself, circling slowly as she looked for an