Surprise Korrasami oneshot! Go!
On her first night back in the real world, Asami Sato realized that love didn't make any sense.
She liked it when things made sense. She was a business woman and a mechanic and both of those things were all about things making sense. There were plans and diagrams and math, sweet beautiful math, and every part had a place and a use. It was orderly. It made sense.
Love did not.
Love was sloppy and stupid, and it filled up all the spaces inside her that she had convinced herself were supposed to be there. Necessary gaps in the machine, space for pistons to move and heat to escape. But it turned out those spaces couldn't have been that necessary, because she could still function when they were full of love.
She just functioned differently now.
And it was stupid, she decided, as she lied in her bed in her room on Air Temple Island, feeling the minutes slip into hours as she tossed and turned and sleep still wouldn't find her. It was stupid, because until now she had been able to sleep in this bed just fine. Until now, she had been able to sleep by herself for her whole life without feeling like she was drowning in space. Until now, she functioned differently.
Because her brain was telling her she should be asleep in this bed in this room like she had so many times before.
But her bones and her muscles and her skin were all waiting for Korra. Her stupid heart was waiting for Korra.
They hadn't been in the Spirit World all that long, but every night they curled up and fell asleep together. And now her body expected it. Her ears were waiting for Korra's slow, steady breaths, and her fingers were waiting for Korra's hot skin, and her nose was waiting for Korra's pine needle scent, and her heart was waiting for Korra to just be there, with her.
It was a physical part of her that was waiting for Korra. The same part that had waited for her mother to come and tuck her in at night long after she was gone. The same part that expected her father's hand on her shoulder when she fell asleep at her desk. The same part that ached for Korra's smile and Korra's laugh and Korra's presence for the three years she was gone.
And it was stupid, because she didn't have to wait for Korra. She could just get up and walk down the hall. But Asami's brain had decided that would be giving up. That would be quitting. That would be letting love, sloppy, stupid love, dictate her actions. And love didn't make sense.
Asami Sato liked it when things made sense.
And yet…
That physical, stupid part of her was still thrilled when she heard a knock on her door. It slid open a few inches.
"Asami?"
Her heart sped up and she grinned at Korra's whisper. The door slid open another inch.
"You awake?"
Asami let out a quiet laugh.
"Yes, I'm awake," she whispered back. "Now get in here."
She barely had the words out before Korra was across the room and in bed beside her, making herself right at home beneath Asami's blankets. She shuffled in close, throwing an arm across Asami's stomach and burying her face in the crook of Asami's neck and taking a long, deep breath of her without preamble.
Asami's stupid heart thudded loud in her chest. Korra hummed contentedly.
"Hi," Korra whispered into Asami's neck.
Asami laughed, a light, bubbly sound that came from somewhere in her stupid heart.
"Hi," Asami whispered back, turning and placing a kiss on Korra's forehead. Korra wiggled a bit, unable to contain herself.
"I couldn't sleep," Korra continued on a sigh. Her warm breath tickled Asami's skin. "I've gotten spoiled, sleeping next to you every night."
"You've ruined me for sleeping alone," Asami sighed dramatically, and it was Korra's turn to laugh.
They settled into silence, warm and heavy like a blanket, as Asami ran her fingertips slowly up and down Korra's arm.
"It's kind of scary," Korra murmured at length. Asami tensed a bit, concerned by the low tone of her voice. "How fast it happened, you know? How quickly I just… got used to being with you like this."
"Yeah," Asami sighed, relaxing into the hush. "I know what you mean."
There was a thoughtful pause then as Asami collected herself, fingers pressing into Korra's arm.
She felt like she could breathe again, now that Korra was beside her. Like she could really inhale deeply and come away feeling refreshed. Like her skin and her bones were settled, where they were supposed to be. She felt comfortable. Safe. Like every part of her was in its place, and every part of her had a use.
And just like that, her stupid heart and her sensible brain reconciled.
Love didn't make sense. It was inherently wild and unpredictable and sloppy and stupid.
But Korra loved her back just as much as Asami loved her, and something about that just made such perfect sense.
"If you think about it, it wasn't really that fast," Asami finally whispered. She could feel Korra smiling against her shoulder. "It was sort of a long time coming."
They fit together, like two different blueprints that finished each other when overlaid. Because Korra filled up all the blank spaces inside of Asami's heart. And she functioned just fine with those blank spaces before, but now that they were full, she didn't think she could go back.
"Yeah," Korra laughed lightly. "I guess you're right."
Asami turned her head, completely unsurprised to see Korra's astonishingly blue eyes waiting for her. They grinned at each other for a moment and Asami just felt warm. Korra didn't waste any time, leaning up and pressing a soft kiss to Asami's lips.
"Goodnight," she whispered, eyes fluttering closed as she drew away. Asami kissed her forehead again.
"Goodnight."
No more words were exchanged that night. After all the hours they both spent tossing and turning alone, together they both fell right to sleep.
And that just made sense.