[ As the cold water hits Korra, her reaction is predictable. Unflinching, Hei grabs her and holds her in place under the icy spray with him. ]
Relax. [ A beat, then, a little disdainfully, ] I thought you were from the South Pole.
[ He won't admit it, but he did this on purpose. Right after the orgasm, there's always that undifferentiated emptiness, that hollow, sordid sensation. He'd felt it encroaching even as he'd pounded her. He could succumb to it now; sink into himself and then leave her alone to feel bad. Like all the other times. But he doesn't want to -- which, in its own way, is even scarier. At least the cold splatter takes his mind off it. Centers him in the now. ]
[ Holding Korra against him, he waits until both their bodies adjust to the temperature, lungs no longer cramping. Then he reaches for the shower-ledge and squeezes a glob of shampoo into his hand. Lathering her hair up, fingers digging with vigorous force into her scalp, he looks down at his and Korra's feet, the tiles, the foamy water spiraling down, reluctant to meet his eyes. Only once he's rinsed her clean, and done the same with himself, does he shut the water off. ]
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Relax. [ A beat, then, a little disdainfully, ] I thought you were from the South Pole.
[ He won't admit it, but he did this on purpose. Right after the orgasm, there's always that undifferentiated emptiness, that hollow, sordid sensation. He'd felt it encroaching even as he'd pounded her. He could succumb to it now; sink into himself and then leave her alone to feel bad. Like all the other times. But he doesn't want to -- which, in its own way, is even scarier. At least the cold splatter takes his mind off it. Centers him in the now. ]
[ Holding Korra against him, he waits until both their bodies adjust to the temperature, lungs no longer cramping. Then he reaches for the shower-ledge and squeezes a glob of shampoo into his hand. Lathering her hair up, fingers digging with vigorous force into her scalp, he looks down at his and Korra's feet, the tiles, the foamy water spiraling down, reluctant to meet his eyes. Only once he's rinsed her clean, and done the same with himself, does he shut the water off. ]