A/N: Happy Pride! Here's the first chapter of a fun little project I've been writing for a few weeks now. Haven't posted anything for this fandom here yet but why not give it a shot?
- D.
For just a moment, no one moved a muscle. Bolin's joke still hung in the air as all eyes returned to their Avatar's broken form in their midst. Tonraq's body was still wrapped around her torso, clearly oblivious to Zaheer's muffled protests or anything else that was going on around him. Korra was slightly shaken by her father's silent sobs every now and then, but otherwise remained motionless.
Their audience's collective daze was finally broken when Lin's portable radio buzzed to life and a woman's distorted voice cut through the silence like a sharp blade. Several people flinched at the noise and Bolin actually jumped back into a fighting stance until Opal placed a gentle hand on his arm. His eyes found first his girlfriend's and then spotted Lin waving Su over to talk to the other person on the line. Nevertheless, he still seemed somewhat on edge when he dropped into a slightly more relaxed pose.
Despite the situation, despite the tension and anxiety that had been almost unbearable, people gradually started to unfreeze. Several air nomads wandered off a bit in little groups, seemingly to give the Avatar some space. Quiet conversations were picked up all around them. Meanwhile, Kya exchanged a meaningful look with her younger brother and then limped over to the small group in the middle of the crater that Korra had created when she'd taken out Zaheer. Mako and Asami were still rooted to the sport next to Tonraq and the airbender kids had all gathered around Korra as well, asking her father if she was okay. The poor guy looked up at three little faces filled with worry and had to swallow hard as he searched for words.
"Hey, guys," Kya piped up from behind them, hiding a wince as she put weight on her right leg. She forced a smile for them. "Would you mind checking on your uncle Bumi? He looks like he could use some help over there."
She pointed over to Tenzin who was evidently struggling to support his brother's weight. Pema was right next to them, smiling at her children as she held their infant brother in her arms. Jinora exchanged a glance with Asami and Mako next to her and, after a brief nod from both of them, grabbed her little brother's hand.
"Come on, Meelo," she urged him gently. "Let's give Korra some space."
Kya watched Ikki reluctantly follow her siblings, clearly overwhelmed by the whole situation. A lot of people these kids loved had gotten hurt that day. After another moment, the waterbender seemed to remember the task at hand and, not without some difficulty, knelt in front of Tonraq.
"Korra?" she asked softly, her voice a lot raspier than usual. "Honey, can you hear me?"
Tonraq carefully shifted her in his embrace and revealed Korra's bruised face again. To everyone's surprise, her eyes instantly fluttered open before they focused on her dad once again. Only Kya's hand brushing a strand of hair out of her sweaty face made Korra's eyes settle on her instead.
"Hey," is all she managed but it brought a warm smile on the older woman's battered face.
As Kya turned her attention to the avatar, Mako rested a comforting hand on Asami's shoulder. Startled, her head whipped around to him, taking her eyes off the scene in front of her for the first time. A strange wave of comfort hit her as she saw her own worry reflected in his eyes. Without another word, he took a small step closer and wrapped the engineer in a tight embrace. It was hard to tell whether he sought the connection for her sake or his own at this point. But Korra was alive and safe. That's all that mattered.
"Asami?"
The two friends broke apart again and met Kya's questioning gaze. She was kneeling at the Avatar's legs now, fingers running over the shackles that were still wrapped tightly around the girl's ankles. "Could you please remove these for me?"
Feeling grateful to make herself useful, Asami nodded and started rummaging around in her pockets to grab the hair clip she had used earlier to free the airbenders. As she knelt next to Kya and got to work, she tried hard not to look at the plethora of bruises on her friend's limbs. Picking the lock of the first shackle, she revealed a nasty bruise already forming on the skin beneath it. The other ankle had actually been cut pretty badly during the fight. Biting her lip, the young engineer swiftly moved around Kya – who went to work right away, the water beneath her hands already glowing brightly against her patient's legs – and gently lifted Korra's left arm to remove the remaining two shackles. Korra winced as soon as she did so, which caused Asami to instantly drop her wrist again.
"I'm so sorry," she quickly apologized, lifting her hands in defense. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
She glanced up at Korra's face, worried she'd done something to cause the avatar even more pain. Tonraq was shifting uneasily next to them, eyes never leaving his daughter's face. But Korra just weakly shook her head at both of them.
"No, 's okay," she mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper. "Arm's just a bit sore."
Asami hesitated. She briefly exchanged a look with Mako, who had moved a little closer as well, still silently observing with that same worried expression he'd worn this entire time. But her focus shifted back to the younger girl in an instant. Meeting exhausted blue eyes with her own, Asami picked up the hair clip she'd accidentally dropped.
"Do you want me to remove these?" she asked her friend, already touching her wrist again because she could see the shackles had already done more than enough damage.
Korra simply nodded in response and then turned to hide her face in her dad's arm. Asami glance up at Tonraq and he just gestured for her to go on. So she did. In no time, the young engineer was able to toss the remaining shackles and chains aside. She was about to carefully drop Korra's arm again when a tanned hand reached up to clumsily hold onto her pale one. Without hesitation, Asami wrapped her other hand around Korra's and received a weak, but meaningful squeeze in return. The Avatar was still hiding her face but the gesture conveyed more than she was able to express in words. Korra's other hand searched for and then found her father's as well, seeking comfort. Just a few seconds later, Asami placed the now limb hand back on the ground.
She got up from her position to give Kya more space to work and found herself standing next to Su. The matriarch had abandoned her discussion with her sister and was studying the scene, worry etched on her features. She noticed Korra's still form. "Passed out again, huh?"
Asami nodded. "Maybe it's best that way."
Su seemed to ponder that statement for a moment and then apparently reached the same conclusion as she watched Kya work. Shaking her head, she then crossed her arms in front of her chest and cleared her voice. Both Kya and Tonraq glanced up at her.
"Kuvira should arrive soon with reinforcements from Zaofu," she let them all know, eyes wandering to Korra's legs. They'd all seen her hit the ground with full-force on more than one instance during the fight. No one dared to say anything about it but the deep lines of worry on Kya's face didn't exactly lift anyone's spirits. It had looked pretty bad, after all, and the Avatar State unfortunately did not grant Korra immunity to serious, long-term injuries.
After what seemed like forever, Kya finally rose from her kneeling position on the ground and stored the water she'd used back into a pouch on her belt. She looked troubled and it made them all uneasy.
"Kya?" Tenzin asked hesitantly as he limped over with the rest of his family. The man looked like he was about ready to pass out himself, but Pema tried her best to somewhat steady him without dropping little Rohan. They'd left Bumi resting against a boulder that Bolin had created for them, just a few feet away. Several air acolytes were tending to him to the best of their abilities. It really had been a long day for everyone involved.
"I'm sorry, I can't do much for her right now," Kya sighed, wrapping a hand around her midsection. "Healing requires a lot of energy."
Tenzin's features softened a little as he was reminded of the numerous fights his entire family had survived today. He reached out to put a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder. She smiled sadly.
"But…is Korra gonna be okay?" Meelo poked his head out from behind his mother's robes, looking from Kya to Korra and back. Pema instantly rested a reassuring hand on his head and pressed him closer into her side.
"I hope so, sweetie," Kya replied and it clearly wasn't the answer the young boy had been hoping for. The waterbender seemed hesitant to further crush his hopes as she turned to Tenzin again. "Her legs, her back, the poison...it's hard to tell what her recovery is going to look like. Her energy feels so different right now."
"Well, let's not draw any premature conclusions," Tenzin offered in a very Tenzin-way. He briefly glanced at each of them with the best reassuring smile he could apparently muster and then settled back on his sister again. "Your powers are not as strong as they can be right now, Kya. I'm sure the healers in Republic City will be able to help."
A collective silence engulfed them again, several pairs of eyes resting on Korra. But just at that moment, Mako suddenly nudged Asami's shoulder and pointed up towards the sky. "Looks like our back-up is here."
Indeed, an ever-growing black dot on the horizon was quickly starting to resemble an airship, on course to their location in the mountains.
Looking back at that fateful day, Asami couldn't help but worry about what the future had in store for Team Avatar. Over the course of the past week, she'd often found herself remembering that day at the Northern Air Temple. Not exactly pleasant memories. Her eyes refocused on the cup of tea between her hands and then wandered over to her friends. Mako and Bolin were sitting next to each other at the large table, engaged in a heated argument over Bolin's career plans.
"But why can't I join the police force?" Bolin whined, looking at Opal across from him for support. But she just held up her hands in defense as if to say, "This is between you two."
Even Pabu decided to flee the scene and bounced from Bolin's shoulder to the floor and out of sight.
"You're just not cut out for that sort of job, bro," Mako retorted, leaning back in his chair. "You're too...impulsive."
Bolin gasped dramatically and then shook his head, pouting. "I will pretend you didn't just say that."
Opal's melodic laugh rang through the room. It really was great to have her here in Republic City. Asami couldn't help but smile at her friends' antics as they continued to argue until her emerald eyes inevitably settled on the on the person sitting across from her at the very end of the table. Korra didn't seem to be paying attention to the conversations happening around her. She just sat there in silence, head resting on one hand as she stared down at the table surface. Asami sighed and rose from her seat.
"Who's winning?" she asked as she pulled out a chair next to the avatar, careful not to disturb the sleeping Naga. The polar bear dog refused to leave Korra's side ever since she'd returned to Air Temple Island, always keeping a watchful eye on her master.
Korra glanced up at Asami and raised an eyebrow at the question. The engineer gestured to the table between them and smiled warmly. "Who's winning the staring contest? You or the table?"
The admittedly lame joke earned her a scoff, but the small smile that appeared on Korra's face didn't go unnoticed. "Funny."
Pursing her lips, Asami watched as the Avatar leaned back in her wheelchair and hugged her arms close to her chest. She'd been extremely quiet all night. "What's wrong, Korra?"
"Nothing," Korra mumbled, not even meeting her eyes. Next to her, Naga raised her enormous head and without looking at her, Korra's hand instantly found the soft fur. Asami glanced up from the interaction and studied her friend's face, noted the bags under her eyes and the way she was staring at her lap.
It had been a little over a week since they had defeated the Red Lotus. And it was only the second night where Korra was feeling well enough to join the group of friends for an evening get-together on Air Temple Island. It was a huge victory as everything else in Korra's recovery seemed to be going at an excruciatingly slow pace. That being said, there had been some improvements, of course. Korra's upper body was healing, meditation and various other techniques seemed to help with some of her pain, and her mobility had greatly increased since they'd gotten a wheelchair for her - curtesy of the chief healer at Republic City Medical Center.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Asami decided to give it another shot. They'd played this game a few times this past week but she'd never gotten anywhere with it. Neither had any of the others, as far as she knew. The Avatar was doing everything she was told by healers and caretakers but as soon as her friends and family started asking deeper questions, she hid behind a wall of stubborn silence.
Thus, Korra scoffed again with no hint of gentleness in it this time. "There's nothing to talk about."
A sudden noise at the other end of the table had both girls jump out of their skin. Their heads whipped around to see Bolin scrambling to pick up the pieces of a broken lantern from the floor. Opal was giggling into her hands and even Mako seemed to be too tickled to suppress his laughter. The exact cause of their amusement completely lost on Korra and Asami, they just observed the scene with slight confusion.
"Everything all right in here?" Tenzin appeared in the doorway, hugging a sleeping Rohan against his broad chest. A deep frown replaced the smile on his face at the mess in front of him.
"I'm so sorry," Bolin instantly said, still on the floor. "It was an accident."
The airbending master sighed as he scratched his beard but nevertheless forced a smile. "Don't worry about it."
Mako and Opal still laughing lightly, Tenzin's eyes scanned the room and his eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw Korra was still with them. He walked past an embarrassed Bolin over to them. "It's good to see you spending some time with your friends, Korra. How are you feeling?"
Asami observed as Korra sat up a little straighter in her wheelchair, managing a smile. "I'm fine," she mumbled, her voice soft. "Just getting a bit tired."
"It's been a long day," Tenzin nodded, turned to face the brothers and Opal. "Perhaps it is best if we all got some rest."
Bolin was just gathering the last pieces of broken glass and wood from the floor, his girlfriend helping him out. Mako rose from his seat as well, reaching down to grab Pabu as he passed him mid-run. The poor little guy squirmed in his grip.
"It's getting late anyway," Mako agreed, glancing at the girls. "Goodnight, Korra. Asami."
They all said their goodnights and shuffled off to head to the docks and back to their apartments in the city, leaving just Tenzin and little Rohan. The boy was creating a rather impressive drool stain on his father's robes at this point. Asami finally stood, already moving behind Korra to grab onto the handles of the wheelchair. Naga tilted her head to the side, observing the commotion.
"I can take it from here, Tenzin," Asami said, unlocking the small mechanism on one of the wheels with her foot. She had installed it last night because the uneven terrain of Air Temple Island had posed a bit of a risk without a brake to secure it. Lucky for Korra, Meelo and Ikki were the ones who had discovered the dangers this wheelchair could pose instead of her.
At Asami's offer, Tenzin nodded in appreciation and wished them a good night as well. He disappeared through the same door as their friends, presumably off to put his children to bed. Asami had stayed over a few of times to help out during this challenging time for everyone, so she knew the drill when it came to Korra's care by now. Without another word between the two friends, she wheeled the Avatar out of the room and expertly navigated the hallways in the dim light, Naga following them. It was indeed getting late and most inhabitants of the island had turned in for the night already. The young engineer eventually stopped in front of Korra's room and barely fifteen minutes later, Korra was already sitting on her bed in just a white tank top and loose pants. Even her hair was already down, ready for bed. Asami parked the wheelchair in the corner of the room and wordlessly went to pick up a few of Korra's clothes and belongings that were left on the floor.
"Don't." Korra's voice cut through the silence and Asami looked over her shoulder to find she was being closely watched by tired eyes. "You don't need to clean my room for me."
"Oh, I don't mind," Asami waved her off, continuing her task. She could still feel Korra's eyes on her as she moved around the small room and maneuvered around Naga. It was a habit the Avatar had picked up over the past few days. If Asami had to take a guess, she'd say that it was an unconscious choice born out of boredom and jealousy most of the time. They were all aware that Korra missed her ability to run and bend more than anything in the world and seeing them do even the smallest things she couldn't must be difficult.
Once she was satisfied with her work, Asami turned around to find her friend still in the same position on the edge of her bed, still watching her every move. She raised a fine eyebrow, resting a hand on her hip. "I thought you were tired?"
At that, Korra finally averted her eyes and opted to stare at her hands in her lap instead. "Can I ask you something?"