it's my duty to help people

It starts off as just a thought. Not really something that's been on her mind regularly, and definitely not something she's ever pictured as being in her immediate future. Just an errant consideration after a long evening of feeling sick, and feeling cranky, and wandering through the still halls of the convenience store down the block. She picks up a few things — grapefruit soda, mint chewing gum, a small bag of rice and chicken stock for stew. Things that will cleanse her palate and keep her nausea under control.

A brisk walk down the drug aisle has her picking up anti-emetic medicine, and in the process of trying to make out what the many colored and shaped boxes are supposed to be for, she happens across it. A long, thin box, not at all intimidating or standing out from the others. An errant puzzle piece that possibly, just possibly fits in place with the pattern.

The cashier hesitates for only half a second when scanning the item, and for some reason, doesn't seem to meet Korra's gaze. Which is fine.

It's just a thought, anyway.

She almost forgets about it once she's back at the house. Time is one of those funny things that slips easily through her fingers if she isn't careful, and there's always something that needs to be taken care of now that they've moved into a bigger space. Naga needs a bath, and the kitchen needs to be tidied, and the trash needs to be taken out — which is no longer a trip down the hall, but instead a matter of dragging the cans out by the curb, where the collection truck will see as it drives down the road. By the time she finds the three minutes she needs in the bathroom, it's practically when Naruto is due home, and Korra's biggest concern is whether or not he had the forethought to bring something home for dinner, or if she has to start thinking about what she can do with what's in the fridge.

Until she glances at the test she's carelessly left on the counter, finding two pink lines down the tiny window in the center.

Frowning, Korra reaches for the box, her skin buzzing uncertainly as she rereads the instructions on the back and finds herself a seat on the couch. It doesn't sink in. Can't, really, without someone else there to ground the moment.

Naga huffs slightly as she pads into the room, laying herself parallel to the couch and staring up at Korra. Korra stares back, pulling one knee up to her chest.

"Don't tell me that you knew all along and just couldn't find a way to tell me."

In retrospect, it's probably because she decided to dress up for their date.

Not that it's really an excuse. When Korra chooses her clothing, rarely is it done for the sake of pleasing another person — and when she makes those exceptions, it always ends up uncomfortable, an uneven shuffling inside of a long dress, or stumbling around trying to make sense of heels. Just because she decided to keep her outfit a little lighter and tighter for the sake of cozying up to Naruto in the theater doesn't mean that she was also inviting the attention of strangers.

And she thought that she had made that pretty clear, too, by holding Naruto back for the sake of delivering her own punch to the thug's eye. He didn't seem like the type who would let himself cry over being hit by a girl, anyway.

But the short interaction still managed to put Naruto into a sour mood, his shoulders stiff and jaw set all the way back to Korra's apartment, the fun and enchantment of the film suddenly evaporated. Tempted though Korra might be to just smack him and tell him to shake out of it, it feels... weirdly important, to first let him know that she wasn't flattered. Wasn't interested in anyone else. Not for the sake of Naruto's ego so much as for the sake of communicating.

"Hey," she says, closing the door quietly behind her and watching Naruto sulk inside, fingers sliding against her neck to loosen the scarf wrapped warmly against her skin. "You doing okay? I can make some tea, if you want. We can finish up what we started, pop in a movie on the television, cuddle on the couch."

"Are you kidding me? With everything else that you've done already, the one thing that you won't do is drink a glass of wine with me?"

With the temperature of her apartment turned up higher than usual, and her dress being far from appropriate for the weather, Korra rises from the dining table and rushes into the kitchen before Naruto can stop her, searching through the cabinets for a small bottle of champagne that she's saved for the occasion. It's not the hard liquor that she's accustomed to from home, but apparently a far more commonly enjoyed drink in Darrow on the eve of the new year. For the first time, she's excited about being in this city as the year turns.

Excited to stay and see what happens in the coming months.

With a couple of flutes hanging lightly from her fingers, she walks back to the dining table with a satisfied smirk. "I'm not refined enough to know whether or not this suits the ramen we've had, but... come on. One glass? Just one?"

She plops down on the seat next to Naruto, sliding over until she's able to lean forward, resting her chin on Naruto's shoulder with a pleading look.

"I'm not going to drink if it's on my own."

It's not a nightmare, but it still wakes Korra up right away.

She's been tossing and turning all evening. The past few days have been quiet, snow melting away to the soft pitter-patter of rain, and then frost stretching across the roads. Too cold for crowds to mill around outside, and in that sleepy space where the holidays are not yet close enough to celebrate. Having grown accustomed to noise in the space around her, the silence is unnerving, and when Korra sleeps, she dreams of Air Temple Island and of Republic City, with motorcars honking through the streets and crowds roaring from the pro-bending arena.

Not for the first time, she laments the fact that her apartment is too small for Naga to sleep in, staring out of her window and wondering if she can even find the polar bear dog so late at night.

She sits on her bed, hugging knees to her chest for only a few minutes before she takes off for the elevator, quickly heading up the seven stories separating her apartment from Naruto's. It's convenient that they live in the same building — if he happens not to be home, she can always return to her place, nothing more than a couple of minutes lost.

Biting down on her lower lip, she knocks, wrapping her robe more tightly around her waist as she waits.

When Korra arrives on the fringes of the farmlands owned by the sweet elderly couple Naga helped acquaint her with, it's a good several minutes before the agreed upon time between herself and Naruto. The passing of Halloween and Thanksgiving have left the pumpkin patches almost completely bare, a large expanse of land free for them to roam and play with, with all the rolling fields around them still clinging to the color of autumn even as chilly winter winds whistle across the land.

"Oof, it's nice and cold today," Korra beams, nuzzling the back of Naga's back as she brings the polar bear dog to a stop, sliding off of the saddle and stretching, taking a deep breath of fresh air. She remembers what Naruto said about the atmosphere not being as pure and clean in the city, and in moments like this, she can notice it too. There's something nice about being away from all those buildings and vehicles now and again.

Waving her arms about, Korra builds an air scooter, hopping to sit on top of the sphere of quickly spinning wind. Immediately, Naga drops her stance, barking amiably and bounding to Korra's side.

"You want a chase, Naga?" Korra asks, snickering before taking off, zooming across the field with bright laughter. "Try and catch me!"

She can smell the snow in the air, and although she can tell that it won't arrive for a couple of days yet, it's close enough that Korra can't contain her excitement at the thought. While she's enjoyed the turning of the seasons in both Republic City and Darrow, snow is what Korra grew up with, clean and pristine as it blankets the village. Having seen Darrow covered in it once, Korra can hardly wait for it this year, and when she leaves the apartment building, Naga's waiting right at the entrance with her tail thumping loudly against the sidewalk.

"You feel it too, don't you, Naga?" Korra asks, eyes bright with a smile as she climbs onto Naga's saddle and gives her side a pat, encouraging the polar bear dog to dart down the street.

It's early enough in the morning that the roads are mostly empty, and with a holiday apparently being celebrated later in the week, Korra's been noticing people slowing down a bit in their daily work. She appreciates the extra time it gives her to think about her life, and sometimes when it's slow, she even tries meditating in the office.

(Though her boss has told her off for that a couple of times. Meditating, Korra finds, looks a lot like sleeping.)

She whoops none too quietly when Naga's paws slide over a smoother patch of asphalt, frozen overnight, and hangs on tightly to Naga's reins before following her gaze up to the sky. A bright burst of orange in the distance calls her attention, and it only takes a few seconds before Korra's realizing who it is.

"Hey," she calls out, cupping a hand around her mouth. "Are you hiding away from the rest of us?"