[A/N]
Waterbender task: The two characters go swimming.
(dialogue) "We're not that different, you and I"
(genre) Suspense
(emotion) dread
Word count: 1761
You shove the dark-haired brothers into the back of the car, claiming your preferred spot in the passenger seat. Your best friend drives, as always, her eyes sparkling and her long dark hair blowing seductively in the wind.
Asami. Your north star.
Your kryptonite.
"One of these days I'm going to teach you how to do this," she tells you, even as the guffaws erupt from the back seat.
"You'd let Korra drive your Satomobile?" Mako asks incredulously. "You might as well just let her take a hammer to it."
Bolin nudges him playfully. "Oh, I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad. She'd probably just set it on fire."
"Shut up, assholes," you mutter, your face hot with embarrassment. You feel her warm hand on your thigh, a reassuring squeeze. You look up to see her giving you a sidelong glance, her other hand steering the Satomobile down narrow roads with expert ease. You manage to nod and cover her hand with your own, feeling the narrow fingers under your palm, calloused from years of hard work in her father's factory. You wish you could lace your fingers with hers, tell her how your heart beats painfully every time you touch, how you think there's nothing more beautiful than the green glow of her eyes.
Then Bolin teases Mako about the big date he's taking Asami on and you cross your arms across your chest and watch the buildings blur through your tears.
—
It is clear that Hiroshi Sato no longer feels anything but hatred. You hear it in his voice, mechanically amplified through the speaker on his mecha suit. Blood drips from a myriad of cuts on your body, and you're pretty sure your ribs are cracked in addition to the leg that's definitely broken, but the only pain you care about is caused by the sound of Asami's heartbroken sobs.
Hiroshi's roar fills the warehouse. "YOU SHAME YOUR MOTHER'S MEMORY!"
"She wouldn't have wanted this," Asami pleads, and to your horror you see her place herself between her father and where you're crumpled on the floor. "She would be horrified to know what you've done in her name!"
"STAND ASIDE YOU UNGRATEFUL WHORE! YOU ARE TAINTED BY THE AVATAR'S FILTH AND I WILL RID THE WORLD OF BOTH OF YOU!"
She's screaming at him to stop, and to your horror she takes another step towards him, her hands held out beseechingly.
"Father, no!"
The suit's mechanical arm shoots out towards her, and she's not fast enough; her body flies through the air and hits the wall with a sickening thud.
You're on your feet, all injuries forgotten. You're screaming at the sight of her crumpled form, and as the mecha suit takes a step towards her, your world flashes white and the earth erupts around the suit, crushing it to the ground. A broken pipe spews forth water and you redirect the flow into a cutting stream that rips the arms off the torso and blows open the canopy. Steam billows and sparks fly as it shudders into stillness. You can see the slumped and bleeding form of Hiroshi still strapped into the operator's seat and you pin him to the seat with a slab of concrete, not caring if you might have just killed him. You have to reach Asami.
Mako and Bolin and Lin find you kneeling over her, delirious from fatigue and loss of blood, your hands holding the healing waters in place with a gentle glow. You think they're speaking to you but you can't hear them. You're too focused on the slow rise and fall of her chest. Through your tears you watch her breathe. As long as she breathes your heart won't stop beating.
—
You can't breathe. The rubble presses down on you and your ears are ringing from the explosion after Kuvira's cannon hit the factory. You're frantic to see what happened to the others.
To Asami.
You struggle towards the air before flash into the Avatar state in desperation, powering through the layers of dirt and concrete. As you wipe the dirt from your eyes, you see Bolin bending slabs out the huge hole in the wall, searching frantically for signs of life. You join him, ignoring your own pain, offering a prayer to any gods listening that you find her alive.
You pull Suyin from the wreckage, her robes ripped and her face tight with worry. She joins you and Bolin, bending the rubble away, searching for survivors. Bataar emerges next, his face covered with blood from a gash on his forehead, but still alive. Suyin gasps in relief and bears him outside to where others are arriving to help. Beside you Bolin is sobbing with worry, knowing so many more are still buried and running out of time.
You swallow your own fear and keep digging.
"Bolin!" you scream. He hurries over as you point at a familiar red sleeve barely visible under a huge slab of concrete. Together you lift it off and fling it away with a resounding crash. You can no longer hold back the sobs as you run your hands over her body, feeling for damage, finding the bruises and cracked bones. You cradle her tenderly in your arms before laying her on a table that miraculously survived the blast, ripping open her coat so you can start to heal her, thankful your water pouch was still tucked safely in your belt.
She coughs and opens her eyes.
"You found me," she whispers.
You press your lips gently against her forehead, nearly fainting in relief. "I will always find you."
—
You're on Ember Island. Asami has insisted on bringing you here to recover. You eventually give in, not sure why you bothered arguing with her. It's not like you ever win. You want to take her to the Spirit World, but she wants you completely healthy before you go. So now you're here, watching the handsome beach attendant flirt with Asami as you grind your teeth in irritation. She catches you seething and rolls her eyes playfully as she shakes her head. He's typical Fire Nation - arrogant in his dashing good looks and confident that he's Asami's type. You suspect he supplements his income by wooing rich vacationing women and getting expensive 'tips'.
You clear your throat loudly as you come to stand at Asami's elbow.
He looks over at you and dismisses you almost immediately and gives Asami what you're sure he thinks is a smoldering look. "I'm sure your friend won't mind if you and I go grab a drink, hey, beautiful? Little Water Tribe runt, she probably just wants to go swimming anyway. Surprised she hasn't fainted from heat stroke."
Asami's eyes flash in anger and her prospective suitor finds himself face down in the sand, her knee pressed firmly into his back. She whispers something harshly into his ear before she steps back, her arms crossed and her face stern. He scrambles to his feet and stumbles away. You raise an eyebrow but she merely shrugs.
"Come on," she tells you. "He's not wrong about one thing - it's way too hot. Going swimming sounds great right about now."
She's laced her fingers in yours, pulling you to the water and laughing as your drop everything you were holding unceremoniously to the sand. You feel like your heart is going to pound out of your chest as you follow her into the waves.
She splashes water in your face and you growl, intent on reminding her that picking a fight with a waterbender while in the ocean is not a good idea. She merely smirks at your expression and dives, her slender yet powerful body taking her down to the reefs below. You grin and follow and when you reach her you bend an air bubble around the two of you so that you can stay down at the bottom, just you and her. Your best friend. The person you love most in this world.
"What did you say to him?" you ask, your voice echoing slightly in the bubble.
She's looking around, feeling the edge of the bubble with careful fingers and peering down at where her feet are stirring up the sandy bottom. You enlarge the bubble slightly so she can see better.
"I said that you were the Avatar and my best friend and if I asked you would bend his dick up his ass."
You blink then guffaw loudly, causing the bubble to shake. "Mako and Bolin would never believe me if I told them you said that. That's definitely more like something I would say, not a high class lady like you."
"Everyone forgets I grew up in a factory. I can probably swear better than any of you." She gives me a sly look. "We're not that different, you and I."
You shake your head in disbelief.
"Everyone always seems surprised that you're my friend," you say, looking away. "I'm pretty sure our friends wonder why you put up with me."
You feel fingers on your chin, pulling your head back around to face her. Her face is so close you can feel her warm breath on your face. Her eyes search yours and you find you can't look away.
"I don't care what anybody thinks," she whispers. "I only care what you think."
You stare at her, your eyes wide. She waits, her lip held adorably between her teeth. "I-," you hesitate, then blurt. "I don't know why you put up with me either." Her face gets closer, her lips curling upward in a slow smile. Your hand comes up to cup her jaw and your thumb brushes a drop of water off her cheek. "But I pray every day that you never stop. I pray every day that I won't lose you." Your voice falters and thickens with emotion. "I've almost lost you so many times-"
Her lips are against yours, soft and warm. After a long moment of bliss, your brain blanks out and the air bubble collapses around you. You pull her to you as you bend back to the surface. As your heads break the surface both of you are coughing and spitting seawater. You start to apologize profusely but she cuts you off with another searing kiss.
"You dork," she growls in mock outrage, splashing water in your face again. Then she grabs you in a fierce hug. "My dork," she whispers, pressing her lips against your neck.
"Your dork," you agree as you wrap your arms around her waist. "Always."