You can't believe it's finally happening. Ever since you've met, you've known this is what she wants to do. That this is the dream. Now she's finally going to live it, because tomorrow she's flying into space.
"Korra, have you seen my – ah, never mind, found it!" Asami shouts from the bedroom. She's been "packing" her things for at least an hour now and you sigh softly, because you know she's had her suitcase ready for days.
You walk over to her, wrapping your arms around her waist, pressing yourself against her back as your lips find her neck. Asami stills and puts her hands on yours, sinking deeper into the embrace. "You're ready, honey," you mumble against her skin and she releases a shaky breath.
"Yeah, you're right. I'm just so excited and I can't believe this is actually happening," she replies and turns around in your arms, her lips finding yours, and you can't help but smile against them. Her kisses leave you breathless. They always do. "You'll watch, right?" she asks after pulling slightly away, resting her forehead against yours.
"Of course, I will, silly. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm going to film it until you disappear up there in the sky." You peck her nose playfully. "Then I'm going to wait." You kiss her eyelids softly. "Have a bottle of red wine ready, so we can celebrate when you get your sexy ass back to Earth." You nip at her jaw, feeling her shiver. "Then, when I have you back in my arms …" She pushes herself closer, even though you're already as close as physically possible. "We'll drink that wine and I'll want you to tell me everything. I want to know if it's worth taking you on a date into space. How does that sound?"
"Hm, a date? That sounds perfect," she replies and then kisses you fiercely and your heart starts beating faster as she pushes you against the bed you've been sharing for more than a year now.
From the corner of your eye you catch a glimpse of the digital alarm clock. 9:22pm, January 27, 1986.
"Uh, babe, you should rest. Tomorrow is a big day," you mumble breathlessly as she straddles you, her hands travelling down your body and stopping at the waistband of your pants.
She pulls back only a bit and you're once again consumed by the fire dancing in those emerald pools. "I will rest after we make love. Now kiss me."
You don't protest.
"Remember when we first met?" she asks you after kissing the knuckles of your right hand.
"Oh, god, do you really have to remind me?" you reply and feel a slight blush colouring your cheeks, keeping your other hand on the wheel while you drive to the space center.
She laughs, the sound filling your heart with joy. You love her so much. "You know I'll never let this slip away. So, do you?" You don't look at her, because you're stubborn, but you know her eyes are on you, you can feel them. She's a part of you, so of course you know. Asami pokes your cheek when you keep pouting and it's hard for you to stay serious. "Do you?" She pokes you again and you give in.
"Of course I remember," you groan and attempt to give her an angry look, but fail miserably because now she's looking at you with that mischievous smile and you know what she's going to say before the words leave her lips.
"Don't–"
"Well, I don't, so please do refresh my memory."
"–say it. Ugh. You're the worst, Sami."
"And you love it," she says happily, kissing the back of your hand again.
"And I love it, yes. So, basically what happened was, I brought those damn flowers to the wrong customer, which was you, instead of your friend."
"Aaand?"
"And I hit on you even though I knew the flowers were sent as a token of affection from someone."
"Hm, yeah, I think it's coming back, but still, I don't remember everything. What did you say again?"
You roll your eyes at her, but you know she won't let you off the hook that easily. "I said: 'Dear Opal, these flowers in my hand are all so pretty, but the prettiest one is standing in front of me.'"
"Aww, and then I said: 'Do you always hit on taken women, because it's not your lucky day then. Opal is over there.' And then you blushed, just like you're blushing now," she says and pokes those red cheeks of yours again, "then you apologized and asked me out."
"And you said yes. Admit it, you were flattered," you tease and tickle her.
"Yes, love, I was," she replies happily. "You were too cute to resist. Oh, here we are, drive over there," she points to the entrance of the facility. This is your first time at the Kennedy Space Center.
The guard stops your car and you roll down the window. "One astronaut on the way," you tell him.
"Oh, is that so?" he asks and leans lower to see the passenger's side. "Oh, hello, Miss Sato, glad to have you back."
"Morning, Ralph," Asami waves and hands him her ID.
He glances at it quickly and gives it back to her. "Safe trip, Miss Sato. Say hello to the aliens for me, will ya?"
"You know I will," she replies and a moment later he lets you in. Asami tells you where to park and you pull your car into the parking space, killing the engine. You sit there for a minute, just looking at each other in silence.
"I love you," you tell her and cup her cheek. "I'm so proud of you."
Tears start welling up in her eyes and she pulls you into a hug. "Thank you. I wouldn't have made it without you. I love you so much, Korra. So, so, much."
You keep hugging for another minute and then you pull back. "You ready?"
She nods. "Yes, I'm ready."
"Let's go then."
When you enter the atrium, a bunch of men joins you and Asami, giving her schedules, instructions, advices, and it's a little overwhelming, well, for you at least, but she seems as calm as ever, listening intently, nodding at their words. Some of them sound familiar, because they've been a part of Asami's training and you have spent many evenings listening to her going through technical terms over and over. She is so good at what she does.
"Miss Sato, if you're ready, we're going to run the final tests before the launch, so please follow me," says a grumpy old man and points his hand at one of the doors. "I'm afraid your friend isn't allowed to join us," he continues after seeing you're not willing to let go of her hand."
"It's okay, Korra. They're just going to poke me with a needle or two, and check my blood pressure. It'll be over in no time," she reassures you and you reluctantly release her hand. You were expecting this, but it's still hard to let go. "You can get yourself some coffee meanwhile."
"Okay," you agree and watch as they enter the room and close the door.
After thirty minutes, Asami leaves the room with a smile on her face. "How did it go?" you ask while giving her a big warm hug.
"I'm good to go," she replies into your neck. "It's time to change."
"Am I allowed to go with you?" you ask after pulling back and you quickly find her hand, taking it into your own.
"Yes, you are. Why are you smiling?" she asks with amusement in her voice.
"Nothing, I'm just thinking how our hands fit so perfectly together," you reply matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, they do, don't they?" she replies with a smile of her own.
You enter another room, which is occupied with Asami's fellow astronauts and their escorts. You all greet each other and the room comes to life with excitement now that the whole crew is together. You follow Asami to a private part of the room, so she can change without everyone looking. Your heart skips a beat when she unfolds her under suit and pure happiness colours her features, and you have to sit down, because the feeling is so strong and growing stronger with each passing day.
You're so proud of her. She's come such a long way. Asami was still in training when you met. Determined, hardworking and smart. You knew she would make it. Nothing could stop her. She passed all the tests and you will never forget the tears of happiness that ran down her cheeks after receiving that phone call. You celebrated all night long. If anyone, it was Asami Sato that deserved this chance.
"How do I look?" she asks and you look at her. She's standing there proudly, in a sky blue suit that fits her perfectly.
"You look like you're going into space," you reply and she swats your shoulder. "You're perfect," you add quickly.
"Good." She takes your hand and you join the others. Soon, more people come in blue scrubs and surgical masks on their faces, telling you all that it's time to put on the space suits. You're not allowed to go in there, but you will be able to watch the whole scene through the window.
The suits are huge and the moment they put one on Asami, you feel like her body is lost somewhere in there. She looks at you and sticks her tongue out and you return the gesture and one of the wives next to you laughs at the exchange.
"It's so exciting isn't it?" she asks.
You nod and chuckle. "It's her first time."
"Ellison is going out there for the second time."
"Oh, that's nice! I'd ask you how he felt about it, but that would kind of spoil the whole thing, right?"
"Yeah, you'll want to hear it from her," she replies.
You find the suits funny and clumsy but with Asami, even a garbage bag would look like a decent piece of clothing.
Dressing them up takes some time. They have to check everything, from the first little button, to the last stitch, making sure everything is where it's supposed to be. When that is done, they're taken to a silly looking chair, which looks like a baby space cradle. You're not entirely sure what its purpose is.
Right when they are about to plug her to a small metal box, a voice coming out of the speakers fills the room, letting you all know the take-off is being delayed due to some technical problems. You look at Asami, silently asking, what is going on, and she just shakes her head. Nothing to worry about.
You groan internally because this is the sixth time the take-off has been delayed. The shuttle was supposed to go on the mission six days ago, but there was always something that prevented the launch.
An hour later you walk with her towards the launch pad. She's shining and you almost trip twice because you can't take your eyes off of her. You wonder how come her jaw doesn't hurt from all that smiling that makes her face lit up.
They stop you. You can go no further. "So, this is it," you say when she turns around.
"This is it," Asami replies. "You have your camera?"
"Yep." You pat the small bag on your hip, where a brand new camera is safely stored.
"Now, don't forget to eat, take Naga for a walk and change the sheets. And say hi to your parents from me, okay?"
You chuckle and poke her nose. "Of course, Asami … I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too. Good thing I'm coming back soon," she says and pulls you into a hug, even though the men in uniforms that are escorting her protest.
"Don't fall off the sky," you tease her and pull back from the embrace.
"I promise. Good bye, Korra."
"Bye, Sami. Have fun in space."
Then she's escorted towards the shuttle and they tell you to return to the main building, where you'll be able to watch the launch. You and the other astronaut's partners are taken to a NASA vehicle that takes you back. One of the staff members leads your group to the top of the building, where the view of the launch pad is the best.
You step to the railing and lean on it, looking at the shuttle and you remember to take out your camera. Waiting for the launch, you look back at the wall where you notice a huge display with time and date on it. 11:34am, January 28, 1986. The sky is clear, not a single cloud floating around on this beautiful winter day.
A roar of engines catches your attention and you quickly turn around, not wanting to miss a second of the launch. You turn on the camera and start recording.
A few moments later, Challenger lifts off. It's spectacular. A storm of vapour and fumes come to life under the shuttle, a fiery hurricane pushing tons and tons of metal and fuel towards the sky.
Time slows down as you stare in awe, trying to hold that camera as still as possible, but it's hard. You're scared and excited at the same time and your heart beats so fast it's making your hands all shaky. A single tear runs down your cheek. You watch the shuttle rising higher and higher, taking the love of your life closer to the stars. You can barely hear the shouts and whistles and cheering because the only thing you can think about is that she made it. A smile threatens to split your face in two. You brush that tear away. "See you soon," you whisper.
You don't hear it.
You can't hear it.
It happens too far away.
Camera slips from your fingers, hitting the ground with a soundless crash, bits and parts of plastic shattering across the hard surface.
Your knees follow, because they can't hold your weight anymore and you ignore the pain the fall causes, because that pain fades away when compared to the pain that fills your heart, your chest, your lungs.
Your eyes are glued to the cloud where the explosion happened. Where it all stopped. The only two things that keep flying are white rocket boosters, both going into their own direction, making it look like the shuttle just split into two.
But you know that's not how it goes. You know because there's pain, piercing every part of your body, and you open your mouth in a scream. But you don't make a sound. You can't make a sound, because that scream is pain and pain is soundless, trapped inside of you.
It took only a moment. One moment and the explosion took her away from you.
I'm sorry!
A huge thanks to my beta!