Hey everyone! I received this prompt from tumblr user frostbite883 and decided to post it here for everyone to read. I started this so that if I get any more prompts in the future, I can post it in one easy to find place. This is my spin on the following prompt request: 'Asami watches as Korra sings to Rohan to sleep late at night'. Hope you enjoy it!
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Muffled darkness was all she could see. But it wasn't because her eyes were closed; in fact, they were wide open. There wasn't an ounce of sleep in her. It wasn't the thoughts of their work on rebuilding Republic City that kept her awake. It wasn't the memories of their not-too-long-ago Spirit World vacation that would occasionally keep her up at night, her heart skipping a beat when she recalled them. It wasn't even the nightmares of Zaheer trying to asphyxiate her that prevented her slumber.
A flash of light crossed the room, followed by a core-rattling pound of thunder.
Korra stiffened in the bed. She wasn't a fan of storms; in fact, she had very little experience with them in her lifetime. It didn't rain and thunder like this in the Southern Water Tribe. While they did have storms and the wind howled against their windows, it was nothing as loud as this.
Another flick of white and a deafening boom made her flinch. She tightened her hold on Asami, who was completely unfazed by the atrocious weather.
How can she sleep through this?
Korra watched her in the very dim light entering the window of the Air Temple room they had borrowed from Tenzin and Pema. They had been visiting them and their family for the evening and – upon sight of the oncoming storm – were persuaded into staying the night in safety instead of risking crossing Yue Bay under the dark clouds.
Asami had been asleep for hours, curled into Korra's side as she had grown accustomed to doing these past few weeks.
Korra, on the other hand, woke the moment the first roll of thunder came in. It made her chest vibrate and the walls shake. She played with a piece of Asami's hair – a habit she noticed she had been doing more and more lately since their Spirit World vacation. She tried to picture those happy times, when they explored fields of butterfly spirit flowers and kissed for the first time in a hot spring in the Spirit Mountains.
A crack of thunder interrupted these memories, tearing right through her safety net and forcing her to fall into the pits of despair below.
Come on, Korra. It's just a little thunder. You're the Avatar, for Spirits' sake. Why are you freaking out over this?
She couldn't think of a good explanation for her rapid heartbeat. She glanced at Asami once more.
Asami had stirred from the most recent round of thunder, but she remained asleep nonetheless.
Korra sighed and stared at the window. She could see the rain pounding into the glass, sliding down just as quick as it had connected. She was tempted to reach out and Water Bend some of it with her fingers, but refrained. With another exhale, she brought her attention back to Asami. She caught a whiff of the flowery scent that was Asami in her mind (when it wasn't mixed with the powerful smell of motor oil). A gentle smile spread across her lips. She inched them closer and kissed her girlfriend on her forehead.
Asami let out an audible breath, as if the motion had transferred into her dream somehow and brought her content. She tightened her hold on Korra in her sleep.
Korra grinned and closed her eyes, finding new hope in reaching slumber once again.
Another flash burst into the room. She braced herself for the thunder. When it didn't come, she lowered her guard. Then, it shook the very mattress she laid on, forcing her to almost jump out of the bed.
Korra sat up, breath short, jaw tight. She put a hand to the side of her head before rubbing her eyes.
"Mm – Korra?" Asami mumbled, somewhat awake from the jerk.
"Shhh, get some rest," Korra whispered, pecking her cheek as gentle as she could. Things hadn't exactly been easy for the engineer in these past few months. While their vacation was wonderful and their new-found relationship was everything that Korra could have ever asked for, it didn't take away the pain Asami felt over watching her father get crushed by Kuvira's mechasuit just weeks beforehand. Top that off with the stress of rebuilding the City, again, and balancing the entirety of Future Industries on her shoulders – despite her small board of directors assisting her when they could – and Asami had the perfect concoction for late nights, early mornings, and broken sleep.
And this was ignoring the nightmares that Asami had had about Korra, but would never admit to her.
But Korra knew. She listened to Asami during those nights as she tossed on occasion and muttered her name in apparent distress. Korra was still trying to repair the damage she had done with being away for three years and nearly getting killed during the battle against the Earth Empire.
And if Korra knew anything about near death experiences and pain, it was that the memories and nightmares wouldn't fade away for a long time, and would never go away completely.
She cringed at the thought of her most common nightmares. Amon taking her Bending. Unalaq taking her Avatar Spirit. Zaheer taking her life.
And she, too, had the occasional dream about Asami as she watched her hummingbird mechasuit fly about, Asami only inches away from being crushed herself.
Some of those dreams ended poorly, and it was too much for Korra to handle.
She put a protective hand in Asami's soft, raven locks and kissed her forehead. "Go back to sleep, Asami," she muttered, already feeling the woman drifting back to dreamland under her fingertips. "You need it," Korra added once she was sure Asami was in the throes of slumber again.
Korra straightened and looked over her shoulder to the window. The rain continued to pound. She glanced back at Asami before moving out of the bed as slow and as gentle as possible. She tucked the blanket around Asami's shoulders and tiptoed out of the room.
She entered the hallway, rubbing the side of her head as she did so. She didn't really know what to do. She could find a quiet spot to meditate the nerves away, but realized there would be no quiet place as long as the storm was raging. She could go to Tenzin for comfort, but it was much too late in the night and she didn't want to wake him.
Besides, she thought to herself, he would probably think I was foolish for being afraid of a thunderstorm.
Korra pouted her lip and made her way down the corridor in an aimless fashion. She scoffed.
Me, the Avatar, afraid of a little storm? Yeah righ –
A loud crack of thunder made her jump and spin around on her feet. Her eyes darted around. The hallway was just as empty as she had found it several seconds beforehand.
You were saying?
She crossed her arms and furrowed her brow.
I'm not afraid of some storm, she muttered in her head, turning to a window at the end of the corridor while she did so. I could take this storm on no problem! Some Water Bending for the rain, Air Bending for the wind. It wouldn't be able to stop me!
Her thoughts were interrupted when she reached the pane and heard a muffled sob through the nearby door. She raised an eyebrow and approached the room. She recognized it in an instant as Rohan's.
Korra slid the door open softly and peeked inside.
"K – Korra," Rohan whispered. "Is that you?"
She nodded and crept into the almost-four-year-old's room. "Hey little guy," she greeted while she walked to his bed, "are you okay?"
He sat up and shook his head with a sniffle, the blankets bundled around him. A sky bison plush was in the crook of his arm as he wiped his eyes. "I can't sleep," he mumbled between a heave.
Korra frowned in sympathy. "Are you afraid of the storm?"
He bobbed his head and pulled his sky bison closer. "I don't like the thunder."
"That makes two of us," Korra replied, glancing up at the window as a gust slammed against the side of the building.
"You're afraid of the storm, too?"
She nodded.
His face scrunched in confused thought. It was interrupted by a flash and an immediate crack of lightning.
They both jumped to this, though Korra's was more protective than before – not of herself, but for Rohan.
Before she knew it, she was slamming the shutters closed and lighting a small candle nearby with her Fire Bending. "Maybe this will be better," she added while she lit another candle.
Rohan sniffled and watched her with intent. The sounds of the storm were somewhat muffled with the panels shut, but they drifted in the foreground regardless. "Korra?"
She stopped and turned to him.
"Will you stay with me? Until I can fall asleep?"
Her expression softened. "Sure," she answered while approaching the bed. She sat beside him.
He crawled into her lap in an instant, blankets and sky bison in his grip. He curled up and held his plush against his chest, resting his head on Korra's.
Korra put a protective and comforting arm around him, her other hand rubbing his back on instinct.
"Korra," Rohan called to her again, a mild sleepiness in his voice.
"Hmm?"
"Can you sing me a song?"
She raised a brow. "A song?"
He nodded. "When I can't sleep, my mom sings me a song. It helps me feel better."
Korra frowned and wrinkled her face in thought. "I'm not sure I know any songs, little guy."
Rohan pouted his lip. "Pleeeeeeease?"
She chuckled, his response reminiscent of herself as a child. "Okay, okay. Let me think of one." She closed her eyes as she tried to remember. A faint memory came into view. She was young – around Rohan's age. There was a snowstorm raging outside, and the squall had kept her up. This was long before she knew she was the Avatar, long before she knew she was all powerful and almighty.
And even with that knowledge, she was still afraid of this storm.
"My mom sung me a song before," she mumbled, still deep in trying to recall the event and the words, "when I was afraid of a storm at your age."
This peaked Rohan's interest. He sat up a bit and looked up at Korra. "Really?"
She nodded, eyes opening once the lyrics came back to her. "It's in the native tongue," she replied, piecing the words together. "I can sing it for you, if you want."
Rohan bobbed his head and pulled his sky bison closer. He curled back into Korra as she began to sing:
"Kisuk kanittuk,
Aatchuiruk apun.
Sila alappuu.
Irrinugaa."
She took a breath, the hum of her mother's voice filling her chest with warmth.
"Anugi imnalutuk,
Ilalulasraak.
Agniksuk, agniksuk," she emphasized, mimicking the way Senna had.
"Pakittuk kasimmavik,
Tupik."
Her voice was gentle. She didn't even notice when she had started rocking Rohan.
"Ignik kanittuk.
Akuvituk.
Atuktuk, atuktuk.
Nigiuktuk," she whispered the last line and paused, tightening her hold on Rohan.
"Apun kaaniksuk."
She smiled.
"Anuniaktuk igit."
Korra opened her watery eyes, not remembering closing them, only remembering the tender moment with her mother when she was a child. Luckily, the song had the same effect on Rohan as it had on her; he was fast asleep in her arms.
She couldn't help but grin. "Sleep well," she mumbled, placing him on the bed as softly as she could. She tucked the sheets around him and ran her fingers through his short hair, a newfound comfort emerging inside of her.
Thunder cackled, but it was far away from her. She didn't feel afraid anymore, didn't feel startled by the roaring boom.
What had made her jump, though, was the voice at the doorway.
"I didn't know you were such a good singer, Korra."
A mild amount of shy panic swarmed over her. She spun around, a sheepish hand on the back of her head. "Oh, hi – hey, Asami. I – uh – was just –"
Asami chuckled and crossed the room. "Relax," she muttered, a mild bit of sleepiness in her own voice. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about," she continued as she rested her forearms on Korra's shoulders. "I thought it was beautiful."
Korra blushed and looked away. "T – Thanks."
She smiled. "I didn't realize the people of the Southern Water Tribe had their own language," she started, sliding her hands down Korra's arms and taking one of her palms in her own. "What does the song mean?"
"The song," Korra asked, a bit flustered when Asami squeezed her hand. "Oh! Right, the song. Um, well, I'm not the best at translating, but I can try," she replied, leading Asami out of the room to prevent waking Rohan with their conversation.
They walked down the corridor hand-in-hand, quiet footsteps muffled by the distant rain.
"Well, okay, the first line talks about a dark cloud being nearby. The cloud is over open water – like the river in the Southern Water Tribe. It's a snow cloud. Then, it talks about how cold the air is and how it's really windy. A blizzard starts." Korra explained, oblivious to where she was going as she was losing herself in the memory from her childhood. She repeated the description her mother gave her.
"We find a gathering place. A house. There's a fire nearby and we sit around it. We sing and we hope. Soon, the snowstorm passes and we can hunt again."
"That's beautiful," Asami exhaled, sitting beside Korra on the edge of the bed. Their fingers were still locked. "Do you know any other songs," she asked, thumb tracing patterns on the back of Korra's hand.
"Um," Korra scratched her head, deep in thought. "Not really. Maybe bits and pieces here and there. But for some reason, that's the one that sticks out the most in my head."
Asami smiled and kissed Korra's cheek. "Can you sing it again?"
She blushed. "You – you want me to sing again?"
She nodded.
"I – um, well – you don't really want to hear me sing it again, do you?"
Asami buried a hand in Korra's hair. "I do."
Korra cleared her throat in a nervous state. "I – um, okay." She took a breath and closed her eyes, much more anxious about singing this time now that Asami was watching. The words were clumsy at first, but as she got deeper into the song and the memory, her voice grew strong and graceful and beautiful.
Asami watched and listened with intent, doing her best to memorize each and every syllable and inflection. "One more time," she muttered, taking more joy in listening to Korra sing than she ever thought she would; who would have thought that the almighty Avatar was such an exquisite vocalist?
Korra grinned, easing up as she repeated the song, rocking back and forth with her eyes closed.
Asami likes my singing, she thought in the back of her head, the very notion causing her cheeks to blush and her tongue to stumble for a moment. I didn't even know I could sing.
When Korra finished, a wave of relief washed over her. She separated her lids and met the peridots beside her.
Asami smiled and placed a gentle kiss on Korra's lips. When they departed, she asked, "Do you feel better now?"
She paused in disbelief and nodded.
Of course Asami knew I was afraid. She knows everything.
"Good," she whispered and stroked Korra's hair in the process. "Let's get some rest, okay?"
Korra nodded.
Their hands broke apart and reformed once they were settled under the covers. This time, Korra snuggled up into Asami's side, her chest warm and her eyes somewhat heavy.
It wasn't until Asami started humming the tune of Korra's song and stroking her hair that she fell asleep, storm be damned.
Asami repeated it over and over, the melody in her voice and the words in her head. When the next storm hit Republic City, she would be ready to help the love of her life drift into slumber once more. To this, she smiled – a gentle curving of the lips. With a sigh and a soft kiss on Korra's forehead, she returned to dreamland, the images no longer consisting of plans and schematics and paperwork, but of the tundra, the calming Song of the Snowstorm bringing her peace in the stress that tried to swallow her, of Korra's voice echoing and bringing her warmth in her drift.
