"Taking this long just to look a little better is stupid." Korra cursed as she finally left the last leg of the marathon beauty session she was put through. It was all at Tahno's expense, but that did not make it any less of a waste of time in her eyes. She took her first few steps towards the changing room exit awkwardly. She knew Tahno was on the other side of the flimsy door and she was embarrassed to be seen by him. She suspected he was just going to take the opportunity to trash her again. She did not even know if the day had been for any benefit, as Korra had not concept of how good she did or did not look by Republic City standards.
"Do they make these things hard to walk in on purpose?" Korra asked, referring to the heels she was put in.
"Sort of? You suffer for the look and you're supposed to just... Deal with it." He responded coldly. If he was being fair to her, the heels she was put in were far past advanced and far outside the realm of reasonable apparel. They were the cutting edge in making women uncomfortable for a man's approval. The best that Republic City had come up with so far.
"Besides. You're a strong, coordinated girl. I'm sure you'll figure it out." He added positively.
"Damn right..." As she was opening the door she had already gotten the hang of them and found a way to walk. As the door swung open she saw Tahno's eyes widen. Korra huffed.
"Well go on, give it to me, then." She then added under her breath.
"Asshole..."
"Okay." He stepped forward and kissed her abruptly, then stepped back to admire the work.
Korra's lips parted, still in shock. "What was that?" She fully expected him to just laugh at her. She had humored him with that in mind. The knowledge that he'd lured her through the whole ordeal just to mess with her would have given her enough moral outrage to hit him and cut things off for good. His actual reaction made things more complicated.
She had gone through a triathlon of treatments that day. Nails, makeup and of course clothing. For normal women who were accustomed to the Republic City culture it of course never took a whole day but Tahno was made aware of the fact very quickly that Korra had never taken care of herself in that way. Ever. So it was a 'training' day of sorts. The results almost spoke for themselves. If he could get her to look the way she looked now all the time, he could feel pretty good about being seen with her in any social circle.
"You look amazing." He complimented. The bindings were removed from her hair and it was instead left to fall around her shoulders. It was of course trimmed and treated and carried a very attractive shine and volume that she was lacking before. If he had wanted to make fun of her he could have had her done up with a clown's chest of dark tones for her makeup. Instead he went with the sensible option and simply had them do the normal treatment. All the attractive features of her face were highlighted beautifully and she was set up with whatever she would need to do it herself later. Her eyes were shaded and her lips were painted a subtle peach that made them 'pop' while complimenting her skin tone. She had the appearance of an extremely high class beauty because ultimately Tahno did not want someone to humiliate, he wanted someone he could use. The humiliation was inherent in the role and certainly did not need to be broadcast. He enjoyed the simple fact that the Avatar being with him was probably an affront on at least some level.
"You're... Messing with me, right? Where's the insults? Thought you'd bring your crew around to laugh and gawk at me once I was done." She said defensively, still looking around to see if it was the case and she just had not noticed. It was not. The shop was more or less empty. The only other people present on the last leg of her beauty tour were other women shopping for clothes and they certainly did not care enough to notice what looked like a couple getting changed in the corner.
Tahno laughed, but it was not derisive. The laugh did not put her on edge. He stepped forward and took the rest of her in. The colors she was given were still blue, because it complimented her eyes. He did like that shade a lot and it fit her. Her new clothing had the immediate, desired effect of tempting him to just tear it all off of her. A short, simple dress made from fine fabric. He could tell she was uncomfortable due to the top of the dress being more or less open on the sides, the front and the back. Her cleavage was shown on either side of the thin fabric, though mercifully her nipples did not peak through. The dress was short enough to stop around her thighs, showing off her attractive legs. He rested a hand on her hip and stared down at her.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were asking to be called a mutt. Do you secretly enjoy it?" Tahno prodded, slowly backing her through the change-room door.
Korra stepped back as she snapped back at him. "No... Obviously not." She gulped, noticing what Tahno's eyes were actually pointing down into. She adjusted her chest.
"Do women actually wear this shi-" He leaned down and kissed her abruptly.
"Swearing, honey." He corrected after releasing her lips.
She felt annoyed by his tone and the way he referred to her so familiarly, but relented with a minor huff and finished by saying. "Stuff. Do women here actually wear this stuff?" She sort of new the answer. She had seen girls dressed the way she was around town but she had not thought it was normal.
"No." He said flatly. Korra felt an up-welling of anger at the realization. Then he added.
"Only the ones that want to look good. Better than all the other girls, anyway." Tahno leaned down so that his face was close to hers. She was desensitized to that type of closeness, as well as the hand resting on her side.
"Do you... Want to be better than the other girls?" He grinned, because Korra did not even had to think about it before she nodded. They were way more alike than either of them would like to admit. He could prey on her so easily for that reason. She wanted all of the good things. She wanted to be better. She wanted to be seen as better, as being above. Even if she did not consider it as such. With all that in mind he knew how to go in for the kill.
"Well you are." He stated very confidently. It was a confidence that would typically only be used for her benefit, but he very briefly and satisfyingly extended it to encompass her as well. That sentence flattened her against the inside of the change-room. She blushed deeply, redness breaking through the carefully applied makeup on her cheeks.
"You're better than all of them. We both are." He closed the door behind him and cornered her in the room. He was not lying and he was not wrong, though he thought it for different reasons. She could take it however she liked, but Tahno viewed women as status. Trophies. Objects. He collected many because having many made him look good, but he no longer needed to if he could get Korra. In terms of trophy status, a girl that looked as beautiful as her when done up, that was also the Avatar, was better than sleeping with any number of other attractive women. Even at one, two or five a night, every night for the rest of his life. It was with that decision in mind that he made his promise.
"I only want you, Korra. No one else. I'll give up on chasing women if you give me a chance."
Korra's jaw dropped it was deceptively humble. The sentiment was betrayed by the reasoning behind it, but she had no way of knowing that. She had never been in a relationship properly. Never been with a man properly. Never been truly manipulated by one, until now. She was entranced by the offer, because it felt like he was giving up something for her. Giving part of himself to be with her.
"J-just a chance is fine, I guess." Even as taken in as she was, she underplayed her hand without thinking too much about it. With that answer he embraced her tightly, smirking while her head was buried in his neck.
"You've made me very happy." He said truthfully. Tahno steeled his expression as Korra looked up during the embrace.
"Can you stop calling me a mutt and other shit, then?" She asked sternly.
Tahno retorted gently as he caressed the back of her head. "Can you stop swearing and acting crude?"