A/N: Well, Amorra lately has been at the center of my fan fics. I have fallen in love with this pair for some odd reason (I know you are all obsessed too). If you aren't aware I have also written another Amorra based fan fic by the title of My Soul to Take if you are interested or like Amorra. So since my recent infatuation with this pairing I have concocted for you yet another Amorra fan fic. It originally was only supposed to be a quick one shot but the story has extended itself into a multi-chapter story… plus I'm really not that go at planning things out, which could both be my downfall or my greatest strength. Anyway, the start of this story is the first episode of the Lok when Korra arrives at the doorstep of the Republic city; instead of rubbing elbows with some Triple threat triad thugs she meets a guy named Noatak. He too is quite surprised at the revealing of her identity. Soooo much dramatic irony it's killing me. As always enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW thanks!

*A/N: Slowly reworking this story. God, I get a kick out of my younger self and all these old author notes! Sorry about grammar mistakes... that is something that will never change because I am lazy and dyslexic.

Also I never really put a warning on this story (because my younger self didn't know what I was getting into) but it has bad words in it and bad stuff like sex and murder, so if that's not your thing then don't read it. I don't remember but I think someone harassed me for rating this K+ instead of M... well it is M so be prepared ;) You have been thoroughly warned. Enjoy. (1/13/17)

A Terrible Synergy

Chapter 1

"Sorry Naga," the teenage girl informed her polar bear-dog, "It looks like we have to go find food somewhere else. I'm sure we could! This city is huge!" she ended optimistically throwing one of her arms into the air.

He looked up from his book. A girl caught his eye. She stood next to a large animal, which he later realized to be a polar bear-dog. The poor girl had just been told off by a food vender. He should've laughed at the sight, but he didn't. Her body was trim and toned showing off in the summer sun and he couldn't help but stare. The girl was very pretty and he sipped his tea slowly taking pleasure in observing her from a far. Something about the girl moved him and he hadn't noticed when got up to go over and meet her. His old, dog-eared novel and half drank tea were quickly forgotten.

He paced behind her for a moments enjoying both her and the warm summer weather. She had wondered into the public park. His hands slipped in to his pockets as he walked with well-practiced precision despite his unassuming appearance. It was clear to him that she was right off the boat. Everything about her shouted outsider to him from the way she dressed to the near brawl she almost had with the food vender. He could tell that she was nothing at all like the city women he was accustomed to. No female here would address a polar bear dog with such warmth. It was a fascinating and a rather pleasant spectacle to see. She wore no fine silks or designer brands. Her clothing spoke of a humble origin deep and rich in the heritage of the water tribe. An old pelt hung from the swell of her hips while animal hide boots covered her soles. He wondered how old she was. He could tell she was young, probably no older than eighteen. He shrugged and exhaled, an easy target nonetheless.

"Look Naga, a lake. There's probably fish in there to eat!"

He chuckled softly from behind and the girl turned at the sound of his low laughter. "What are you laughing at?" she snapped a bit harshly. A piece of the city attitude must have brushed off on her. After all, the people here weren't always known for their friendliness.

"Oh, my apologizes," he attempted to smile. The edges of his face became softer as he realized how attractive her face was, "I wasn't laughing at you," he lied. She appeared to be an oblivious little girl, prefect, he thought, yet her eyes remained unconvinced.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. With a single sharp movement, her hands grabbed her dog's collar and began to direct her dog toward the lake. She spoke over her shoulder, "Look, buddy, go bother someone else, I really don't need this right now. I've had a long day." The words themselves would have come from a defeated individual, but they didn't sound defeated at all. The words held a bite to them that he did not expect and, instead of driving him off, the feistiness only resulted in peaking his interest further. He stepped closer.

With his hands in his pockets, he watched her take off her boots and roll up her pants. She froze at the sound of his voice, "I wouldn't be eating that fish if I were you. It's against the law to fish her," he stated coolly. She lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. For a moment, she felt caught in the depths of his blue eyes as if she could catch a glimpse of something deep locked within them, but as suddenly as the connection happened she was cast out. The man closed his eyes and shrugged as if he never gave a damn about anything in his life, "And besides why go wading around in mud? There are plenty fish markets around here to buy from." She only huffed again, still irritated, and turned away from him and back toward her dog without a word. He just sounded like some pompous asshole to her.

He could sense this and attempted to vindicate himself. He put his hands up in a peace offering, "I'm really not trying to ruin your day," he felt like a babbling idiot. He didn't give a damn if she broke the law and caught every fish in this lake. He just wanted her to respond to him, "I'm simply trying to help you out."

She stood stock still for a moment then, suddenly, craned her neck around, "Do I look like I need help to you?" He wanted to respond with a 'yes' but the way her eyes shot daggers stopped him from doing so. "Because I am perfectly fine on my own."

"Of course," he offered meekly, "I apologize for offending you."

Her cold stare weakened and her shoulders drooped from there tense position. He could tell that she felt guilty, "Sorry. I'm just tired and hungry. I don't have money to buy fish to eat so I'm settling for this. I do appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself." Her tone was still curt and clipped. She was still trying to get rid of him, but he won't surrender that easily.

She wanted him to give up and walk away. She was fine on her own before and his presence was making her uneasy. For one, with no pun intended, it was a fishy situation. Obviously, this man could tell she was not from around here and thought she was a crazy, dumb foreigner. She had yet to meet a city dweller, of their own volition, that wanted to help her. Maybe that's why she was hesitant to trust this man. On top of that, she had never dealt with so many new and different people before in her life, and many of her interactions today were negative. She felt a little burnt out and, at the moment, the idea of staying by the side of her polar-bear dog was much more appealing than that of stranger's.

"Geez, what do you want?" She clutched the fur of her dog firmly. She could feel her cheeks burning as the man continued to stare at her. She was embarrassed, she knew she was making an ass of herself.

"I would like to buy you lunch," his lips curled upward, "fortunate for you, I got paid yesterday," he shrugged his shoulders indifferently, "And I haven't the faintest idea what to do with the money. I guess I could buy you some refreshment, no? It's quite hot out here and I could use a drink," he half-turned the other way, almost tempting her to take action of some sort.

She didn't know if she should trust him, but as far as she could tell both his words and his demeanor emanated feelings of genuine kindness. He could see her eyebrow arch out of visible skepticism, but the creeping blush did not leave her face, "Are you asking me out on date?" she blurted out. Her blush darkened and reached all the way down her neck.

He laughed deeply and smiled. She was cute, "Sure, if you want to call it that," he walked up beside her. He was so smooth. She didn't get it. Everything rolled off of him like it was water. He looked like a man who could be no older than thirty years of age yet emanated a persona of wise intellectual with immeasurable life experience. He was a mystery to her.

"So your answer?" his eyes were the clearest color of deep blue that she had ever seen in her life. He was certain he had her under his spell, yet her face still expressed the remainder of her previous doubt.

"You would have to feed my friend here," she finally relented, her hands resting on her dog's head, "If that's alright with you."

"Not a problem. I know a nice place not far from here," he responded with a small grin. She sure looked like she would be good in bed. He hadn't tried to charm a woman in a while and how he loved to dominate them. To make them think that they needed him, make them scream with want. It took the edge off from his work. They were moments where he could allow himself to lose control, to dull his senses in a transitory tide of lust. The last time was almost eight months ago, surely this would grant him a much needed boost until the Avatar's arrival.

She walked beside him with her pet following close behind. Periodically, she would glance up at him. She finally decided that he was a handsome man. She enjoyed the way his strong chin curved into his neck and how his nose dipped into his lips. His features seemed familiar: he resembled some of the male villagers in her tribe. It almost gave her comfort. He wore a sleeveless, white shirt with a pair of black trousers held up by worn leather suspenders. It was an austere look that didn't lead much to the imagination, but she wasn't complaining. She was just fine with watching his muscled arms flex and relax with every step he took.

"May I ask you your name?" he inquired formally, looking down at her from the side.

"Korra," she answered realizing how tall he was by the need of tilting her head upwards to meet his eyes, "And yours?"

"You can call me Noatak," his hands remained stationed in his pockets. It was a strange feeling that enveloped him. He hadn't uttered his true name in a years but something compelled himself to use it.

"That name… that name is water tribe isn't it?"

Hmm, clever girl, he mused, "I suppose it is, but I couldn't tell you. I was given the name from the rundown orphanage I grew up in," he spoke wistfully crafting a prefect, little lie, "I'm assuming that you are from one of the of poles, considering that you walk around with a polar bear-dog who doesn't bite your head off and just recently made an eager effort to fish in a public park lake," he chided jokingly, his deep baritone retracted into a soft chuckle.

"Yes, how'd you guess?" she gasped sarcastically, "The South Pole if you really are that curious." She felt a bit of her nervousness wash away.

Korra was exhausted from the day. Traveling to Air Temple Island has turned out to be more difficult than she had originally planned. It has become a whole journey to the end of the earth to make it to the Air Temple. The sad part was, it only had been a few hours since she exited the cargo ship and she was nearing her breaking point. Korra wasn't used to the pace of the city or the sharp personality that came with it. She won't admit it, but she was thankful for this stranger's friendliness and kind concern.

"You grew up in an orphanage?" she questioned as they rounded the closest corner where a radio and telephone store took residence. Resting in the shop's large bay windows were the largest collection of radios and telephones that Korra ever saw in her life. She always believed that people were living lives of extravagance and luxury in the city. At least that's what she was told growing up in the compound. Her white lotus caretakers were always reminding her of city's unprecedented period of wealth and prosperity. The success of the city always seemed to be at the forefront of her teachers' minds when they educated her on world affairs. The store alone was proof enough to her of the bustling economy, but she felt empty looking at merchandise in the windows. Her heart was never for material things.

"Yes, I did," he paused and generated a distant look in his eyes, "At least as long as I can remember," it was partly true, he didn't desire to remember any of his childhood, "I was dropped off on the front step at three or four years old. I never knew my mother, or my father, or even if I had a brother or sister."

"Well, I'm sorry…" the girl trailed off uncertain of what to say. It reminded her of her family when she was taken away, "I always thought people here were living it up."

"No need to apologize," he felt no remorse for lying. He did it every day, her face brightened up the instant he reassured her as if his tiny comfort confirmed every doubt that she had. He could feel his heart wince at the sight of her innocent face, "You have much to learn. The city here is not what you make it out to be," he grew uncomfortable as she looked up at him with gratitude and respect. He turned away as he opened the door, "We're here," he exhaled trying to regain his earlier composure.

They found a small table outside and waited for their meals to arrive. He made sure that they sat. Thankfully, the street was quiet. There weren't many cars or people roaming around in the later, hotter hours of the afternoon.

"So what do you do?" Korra inquired as she combed through her relaxing dog's fur.

"I do many things," he replied a bit elusively fingering the soft fabric of his napkin and the chilled surface of his beer.

"Well, that isn't vague at all," she laughed. He could tell that she was much more relaxed now, which pleased him, "Like what kind of things?"

"I direct things. Coordinate," he did not want to give away any more. At least he was honest during one part of the conversation despite the fact that it wasn't the full truth, yet he felt uncomfortable about it. He gave this girl more of the truth than he had to anyone else before.

"Like concerts?"

He almost spit out his tea from stumbling over and laughing but was successful in restraining himself, "Do I strike you as the musical type?" Unknowingly, the question released an offended spike of tone.

"I don't know," she raised her hands up defensively, which Naga didn't like, "you really haven't been giving me a lot of information, Mr. Elusive," she countered a bit childishly, briefly showing her immature nature. He had almost forgotten how young she was.

"I organize political parties, public events," he added but would not delve any deeper for he was giving away too much already, "I write and read in my free time."

"I could tell you were a thinker, a theorist. It's your voice, the way you talk," she liked the way he talked. In a sense, it calmed her and brought comfort to her once overwhelmed mind. She couldn't explain why though, "I guess you remind me of some of my teachers. You seem very put together and sure of yourself."

He was surprised by her accurate judgement, and she was surprising him a lot lately. Suddenly was inclined to learn more about her instead of just enticing her into his bed. Most of the girls he lured with his charisma were young and easy, however, the girl who was sitting in front of him was different. She was much more complex than he initially believed and held a captivating appeal like no one he had ever met before. It was hard to explain and she was supplying him plenty of difficulty to decipher.

"And how do you spent your time, Korra?" her name rolled off his tongue in one sweet sound. His mind grew less heavy with thought and became more focused on her.

She looked up, "I train mostly, both in bending and school."

He kept his disappointment hidden, "So, that's why you traveled up here? You're coming to study at one of the universities?" He absolutely despised the universities in the city. They were subjective toward the bending elite only allowing a selective few nonbenders to join their ranks. Education was important. Education could change the world. The use of a life lived in ignorance disgusted him, and a nonbender's life lived in ignorance infuriated him. The education gap only contributed more to the impending crisis between the two groups. Hopefully his troops would be ready in time because he could feel it getting closer, the wave of change, like an ache of an old wound before a storm.

"Well, no not exactly," she stopped combing through her dog's coat and gazed at him with a somewhat guilty expression, "I haven't really told you who I am." Neither have I, he thought simultaneously, "I'm the Avatar. I came here to study airbending with Councilman Tenzin."

His eyes went wide for a brief second but not another second longer. Sitting in front of him was the Avatar. He couldn't believe it and made an effort to keep his jaw from dropping to the ground out disbelief. No wonder she kept surprising him. She wasn't normal after all! "Ah, the Avatar," he stated casually as if it meant nothing to him. What were the chances that she would be the one sitting across the table? The very person who destroyed his life even before he was born. She had arrived early, earlier then he had planned for. A sudden wave of distress washed over him, and he desired to excuse himself from the table.

He had resented the Avatar since his childhood. Even the mentioning of the word 'Avatar' left a bitter taste in his mouth. He did not want to know her as a person. She was only to be viewed as a final installment to his plans but now she had manifested herself in flesh and bone and human emotion. He calmed himself. Maybe this was an auspicious omen. Maybe he was meant to gain something from this. He took a deep breath.

"You seemed unimpressed," she stated with a hidden disappointment, she was the Avatar but also a teenage girl. A teenage girl, that's all the she was.

"No, no," he cajoled in a voice that made women's knees go weak, "quite the contrary. A part of me is surprised but it explains everything," he finished ambiguously trying to catch her in his trap.

"Like what?"

"Well, I could tell that you were different the instant I saw you. I don't know, perhaps it was the way you walked or held yourself," he lied once more, no it was your body that caught my eye, he thought. He always appreciated a toned and well-built body underneath his, "You are attractive," he spoke frankly now, "beautiful," he wasn't fabricating hot air but truth. She was a stunning young girl, and that was why he needed to be careful.

"Oh really?" she breathed pulling her hand up to her face as if to protect it from his intense gaze. She had never heard those words spoken about her or in that kind of way that pertained to her physical appearance. Maybe it was uttered once or twice from her father or mother when she visited them but never from an unacquainted boy or man. The compliments about her were generally always associated with her athleticism or intelligence. She found that she liked being called beautiful. It made her feel like something she thought she could never be. He could see the effect of his words on her, how her face contorted into an undefinable emotion of discomfiture and awe. It was as if he had revealed to her a whole another world below their feet and her cheeks flushed red with awkwardness. She was undoubtedly a teenage girl and now he had her eating from his hands, or so he believed.

A long stretch of silence followed while she actively avoided his eye contact. He was willing to talk but Korra stopped any of his attempts to initiate a conversation by her sudden reticence. Fortunately, their meal arrived to break up the awkward moment giving them a distraction. Noatak dined on some dumplings while the Avatar indulged on a bowl of noodles. As he ate, he wondered why he was still there. He should have left the instant she had revealed her identity to him. He did not want to mix his work with his leisure for there was the high possibility of complicated problems he did not want to deal with emerging from the folds. He needed to remain focused in order to see out his premeditated revolution step by grueling step without distraction. Essentially, she would be the only thing standing in his way, and he was still sitting here with her!

"Are you finished?" the girl spoke shyly contrasting her earlier callous demeanor the first time they met. Korra was pointing out how he was rolling a lone dumpling around the edge of his plate with his chopsticks.

"I believe I am," he dropped his chopsticks and looked to the sky. The sun was much lower on the horizon now. He determined he had an hour until he needed to return to his apartment.

"I have to thank you for the compliment you gave me before," she paused looking as if she wanted to continue but couldn't. Her eyes were held down toward the table. Ever since that compliment she has acted timid, which was nothing like the girl he had met before. He couldn't rub off his desire to make her more comfortable. With great care, he reached out toward her hand. He placed it over hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze, "You are quite welcome," he spoke with gentle ease. He didn't know why he was doing this. Even for the terrible person he was, he just couldn't take a girl down like this. He knew he shouldn't make her human, but she was infectious. A smile finally graced her face again. It was an imperfect smile, small and crooked, but he would've done anything to see it for a moment longer. They held each other's gaze for a while, and he really looked at her eyes for the first time. They were a crystal blue, a color more beautiful than the tropical waters that surrounded Whale Tail Island.

"I'm sorry about how I've been acting. It's just that no one has ever said anything like that to me before." The girl looked so vulnerable in that moment. If he had known that calling her beautiful was all that was needed to make her crumble he would have said it much earlier, yet couldn't find it in himself to believe that. It was strange, she put him in a place of power when she bore her soul like this yet he was the one left reeling.

"That's surprising," he answered quickly and honestly, "People are blind these days," he scoffed lightly but still meaning it, "You're not only the Avatar, you know." The words left his mouth before he could stop himself. He was digging himself into a deep hole. Where the hell were these thoughts coming from? He needed to leave.

"Can I ask you something?"

He was taken from his thoughts, "Sure," he wasn't exactly going to answer it.

"How old are you?"

The question struck him as odd, no one had really requested his age before and it always seemed a useless number anyway. Then he realized the possible implications of the question. He could see a suppressed longing in the recesses of her crystal eyes, "I believe I turned thirty last year," he did not want to discourage her from his actual age of forty but mentally berated himself by leading her on. He knew he didn't look like a day over thirty anyway and she damn well wanted to jump his bones, didn't she? Maybe he was just getting too far ahead of himself. Maybe all he had really been wanting was to fuck her this entire time. That's why he was so antsy, that's why he wanted to comfort her so bad. It was all just one big bad idea. "I'm guessing you're eighteen since that was how long ago Avatar Aang passed."

She nodded confirming his deduction, "Hmm… It's a little of morbid to have your birthday on day that your processor died."

"Indeed, but you must remember that you can't have life without death." His father came to mind.

-0-

Noatak paid the bill and exited the small café to meet Korra outside once more, "This is where we leave each other," he bowed respectfully, "It was a pleasure, Avatar Korra."

"Thank you for the food, but when will we see each other again? I mean it would be a shame to let a friendship like this go to waste. After all, you are the first friend that I have made in this city."

Friendship. He didn't do friendship and couldn't think of a real one he had since the kids he used to play with in the North Pole. He shifted his weight form one foot to the other, "I don't know when you will see me next. I am afraid that I am a very busy man. You will probably spot me in park reading. Don't hesitate to wave me down to say 'hello'," he spoke the last sentence with reluctance, "The Air temple is just beyond those two buildings," he pointed finishing by tucking his hands back into the comfort of his pockets. He dipped his head in a false respect, "Goodbye," Noatak turned and paced down the street making out the girl's loud adieu.

He didn't know how to feel at the moment and couldn't discern the sensation that bloomed in his chest, whether it was a feeling of warmth or an oncoming discomfort. To his displeasure, Noatak couldn't keep his mind off of her. He attempted to think about other, more important things but they always returned to the thought of her. Making his way to the alley where he kept an extra pair of Amon's clothing, he dressed himself and left to go finish his work. Korra was much the same in the sense that she couldn't rid herself of his image or the unwavering feeling his deep voice imprinted upon her mind.

Updated: 1/13/2017