Under a Pile of Furs
The fire was still burning bright in the small hours of the morning, making the shadows dance across the walls of the tiny hut. The room was pleasant enough, if a little untidy, and the bed of furs lying close by the blazing hearth provided enough warmth to make any night at the South Pole more than a little comfortable.
However, Asami Sato could never decide how she truly felt about the place. By day she could swear that there was nowhere else she'd rather be and mean it, but by night gloomier thoughts would creep in her head. She would often lie awake for hours thinking about her current situation…
In this particular case, she had awakened as so often happens for no obvious reason, and once again, there was no escaping the abrupt invasion of endless worries.
She lay on her chest for some time, resting her head on her arms and gazing at the flickering flames. One of the covers had slid off the bed while she had tossed and turned, exposing her bare back, but she didn't mind. The fire's heat on her naked skin was reassuring where the furs, as soft as they were, had also been a little prickly and irritating. Somehow she could never get used to them, but still, this was a small price to pay for a little privacy with the girl lying next to her. After all she had waited for years to have her…
It had been a difficult time, especially during the three years of Korra's absence. Asami had half-feared, half-hoped that this time of separation would make those unwanted, 'unnatural' feelings go away, but then, Korra's first letter had arrived. Fighting temptation became impossible after that.
Back then, temptation was the only word she could use for these thoughts, as she was convinced her feelings would remain unrequited. She had always been unlucky after all; always ending up alone and unloved. Why would this time be any different? For all she knew Korra was entirely straight and still very much in love with their ex. Of course when Korra returned she was proved wrong, and she had never been happier to be wrong indeed.
An involuntary smile formed on Asami's lips as she was brought back to the present by the sound of a soft snore. Turning her attention towards the sleeping Avatar, she gently slid closer. Pressing her body against her lover's naked form, she buried her face among the locks of chestnut hair that concealed the delicate crook of Korra's neck. The sleeping girl shivered at the contact, but it was not until Asami started kissing her way along a dusky shoulder that she awakened with a content smile.
"Is it morning?" Korra asked in a groggy voice as she turned to face Asami.
"Not for a few more hours," Asami whispered against her lips before closing in. Their kiss was deep and full of affection, not so much the kind of kiss that serves as a prologue for things to come, but rather a kiss to be enjoyed for its own sake. A kiss that gave form to an abyss of feelings.
When they finally parted, Asami's face was adorned by a dreamy gaze, but Korra regarded her through shattered blue eyes.
"Don't leave," she begged in a low voice.
"Love…you know I must," Asami sighed and tried to reach out and cup Korra's face, but Korra would have none of it. She was simply too frustrated to tolerate any comforting.
"This is ridiculous!" she exclaimed while sitting up, oblivious to the fact that the covers had slipped off to expose her bare torso. "The time we spend together is no one's business."
For a minute Asami indulged herself in letting her eyes wander over the exposed curves of her lover. They had had that very same conversation countless of times before. Still, if having it once more would help Korra accept the situation, Asami would oblige her. "Korra, people will suspect," she explained calmly. "I've been here with you for too long."
"It hasn't been that long," objected the Avatar.
"Korra…it's been six months!"
The said girl tried to protest but could not seem to find the right words. Asami smiled at her bafflement. Six months in a row were too long of a time for two mere friends to spend together alone.
"Well it has felt like six days…" finally replied the blushing Water Tribe girl, while shooting her girlfriend a shy glance. Asami also sat up and in doing so brought their hands closer. They were not quite touching at first. It was the kind of contact that you rather feel than see; that warm, confusing tingling of a sensation. Asami stayed perfectly still, as if any movement would break this spell and bring about a new dawn followed by her much dreaded departure, until she felt Korra's fingertips lightly graze her own. Then, she looked up to meet a pair of bright eyes studying her adoringly. "Let's spend another month and make a week of it."
It would be a lie if Asami claimed she wasn't tempted when Korra flashed her one of her trademark, bright smiles. Indeed, Korra was once again making things unbearably difficult by being irresistibly charming in her own special, natural way. Asami knew her final answer would still have to be negative, but for the moment she just couldn't help herself. "Korra you are wonderful," she breathlessly whispered more to herself than to her lover.
The younger woman instantly beamed with hope. "Then stay!" she exclaimed in an almost childlike excitement. "I don't want to be parted from you…"
"And neither do I, but we have to bear with this for a while."
"No we don't," Korra snapped. "We've been through enough. We don't have to bear with anything else Asami. We deserve a little peace."
"Korra…" Asami paused at first, as if Korra's words had succeeded in touching something broken inside of her. She licked her lips and tried again: "Korra your parents are going to find out."
"So?" replied a very impatient Avatar. "Let them. They already suspect."
"Suspicion and certainty are two very different things and you know it."
They remained silent for some time, the stillness interrupted by nothing more than the steady sound of their breathing and the occasional crackling of the fire. Korra did know it. "We'll still have to tell them eventually," she pointed out solemnly. "Nobody knows so far…maybe that's where we should start."
Asami did not reply at first. This was not the way she had intended for Korra to find out, but there was no helping it. She took a deep breath. "I am afraid that's not true Korra…" she begun, "Mako knows."
For a long moment Korra remained frozen, as if she had not heard, but Asami guessed that she was probably only struggling to process the information. Asami was right.
Without warning, the mighty Avatar gave a strangled cry and comically fell off the bed. Asami had to stifle a laugh. Watching the freaked out Water Tribe girl struggle to climb back up ,and even fail a couple of times, was just too amusing and adorable. However, this was not the time for teasing. Korra would need some answers.
At last, Korra was able to compose herself a little. "How long has he known?" she asked coolly.
"…a couple of weeks…" Asami paused thoughtfully and for a second Korra appeared to relax. Then, Asami completed her sentence, "Since a couple of weeks after our vacation in the Spirit World."
Korra almost fell off again.
"So he's known the whole time?"
"Pretty much…"
"And I've been talking to him, and hanging out with him…and all this time he's known?"
"Does it really make a difference?"
"Perhaps it would have…why didn't you tell me?"
Asami brushed a strand of chestnut hair out of Korra's eyes. "Because, apparently that would have made a difference. I mean…look at you now."
"That's not the same thing!" pouted Korra. "You just caught me off guard. In any case, how did he…"
"I told him," interrupted Asami, "although I am pretty sure he would have figured it out soon."
"But why?" Korra's frown had given way to a very confused and almost pained stare.
"I wanted to see how one of our friends would react at…well, at us. I wanted to test the waters…see if we could go out in the open. Mako seemed like the most trustworthy one…he has kept our secret after all…" Asami trailed off as if lost in some memory.
"I take it he didn't react that well," said Korra while keeping her features neutral. Of course Asami could still tell she was tense, and she couldn't blame her for being so either.
"Definitely not as well as I had hoped," she sighed, "but in the end he came around."
"Then why didn't you tell me? Why didn't we tell the others?"
"Mako had a lot of questions Korra," explained the other woman softly. "It took a lot of explaining to make him accept us…and he was already our friend. I can't imagine how difficult it would be for us to fully come out in the open. I can't imagine what it would take for the Avatar to come out in the open."
"Exactly," protested Korra, "I am the Avatar! People listen to me."
"Yes they do sweetheart," Asami smiled at Korra lovingly, "and in the past few years you have brought a lot of change in this world…and that is amazing…you are amazing! But most people are not like you. They are still struggling to accept the spirits and the new airbenders. They can't handle any more new things from you. At least not yet."
Asami's attempt to affectionately cup Korra's cheek was cut short when Korra grabbed her hand in midair, and held on to it tenderly, but firmly. "I love you Asami," she cried while glaring at the other woman. "I love you, and I want to be with you, and I don't care about what others can or cannot handle. Hiding is not in my nature. It is not my way of doing things…it is not who I am. I won't accept that I can only be entirely yours under the protection of the Spirit World. It is as if our love cannot be in this world. No! There has to be a place for us in this world, and if there isn't I'll make one. We'll make one…together," Korra finished, and taking in her lover's glistening eyes, instantly softened and lifted their joined hands to her lips.
"I know exactly how you feel Korra, and I love you too," she said in a low voice while using her free hand to wipe her eye, "which is why I don't want you to get into trouble again."
"That can't be helped," interjected the Water Tribe girl smugly, "it is the Avatar's job to get into trouble."
"I know, and I accepted that fact the moment I let myself fall for you, but you have already been through so much. You need as much peaceful time as you can get before the world needs you again. I am not going to be the cause of more trouble for you, especially unnecessary trouble," declared Asami, dressing her voice in as much resolution as she could muster.
"Unnecessary…" echoed Korra in disbelief, "Asami, what is it going to take for you to realise you are worth more than all the trouble in the world to me. I don't need peace. I need you."
Asami could almost feel the blush that was spreading across her face. She could also feel, that despite her efforts to protect Korra, the latter's big words and romantic promises had won this battle…at least for the time. "Fine," she sighed, "we can start telling people. But we have to wait a few days to figure out how we are going to go about it," she added hurriedly, seeing as the younger girl was excited enough to run out naked and start screaming their love to the world that very instant.
"It is a deal!" proclaimed Korra, and with a huge grin on her lips lay down on her side. When Asami did the same, Korra quickly cuddled up to her and nestled her head above her lover's breasts.
Korra's body was warm and the rhythm of her breathing soothing. In next to no time, Asami found herself getting drowsy, her mind pleasantly drifting away in a place where no cares could follow. Korra's voice pulled her back abruptly:
"What was Mako's objection?"
Asami struggled to re-establish her connection to this world. "Mako's objection…" she pondered out loud.
"His objection to us…as a couple," offered Korra impatiently.
"Oh that objection," she stated as she lifted her head to meet Korra's eyes. "Apparently he thought our relationship felt rushed."
The Avatar blinked a couple of times in astonishment.
"Rushed…" she repeated in confusion. The other woman nodded in confirmation. "Us…" Korra questioned again, "Rushed…We had been 'courting' for almost four years before getting together!" she finally exclaimed.
"I know," said Asami quietly.
"This is a lot more than the time he spent flirting with either one of us."
"I know," repeated Asami in an equally calm manner. "Our flirting was a little subtle; I'll give him that…"
"But it had to be," interrupted Korra. "Ours is the kind of love that has to be covered up…at least at first," she paused to offer her lover a bittersweet smile. All of these years, no matter how badly I wanted to express even the slightest sample of my developing feelings, I just wasn't allowed. I would always be confined to fleeting, discreet gestures. A meaningful glance here, a prolonged touch there… Maybe these were hard for others to notice, but they were there and they meant everything to me…you mean everything to me."
Asami hugged Korra. There was nothing left for her to say. Any attempt to put her own feelings into words would pale after this, or even worse, it would spoil the moment. So Asami held on to her Water Tribe girl tightly, spending as much time as she could emerged into everything that is Korra.
She had just slid her hand to caress Korra's lower back when she felt her shudder. "Asami…" she whined, "you are breathing on my neck…and you are pressed against my body…naked."
Asami smirked. "The Avatar," she mused, "the master of all four elements unable to master her own body."
"Asami," she warned again breathlessly, "if you want to get some sleep, you should pull away now."
Maybe in the distant future a day would break when Asami would be able to deny Korra, but that day had not arrived yet. "I never said I wanted to sleep," she noted suggestively.
For a brief time they exchanged lingering, knowing looks. Then, in a relieved, almost ecstatic burst of laughter, Korra had her on her back, covering her body with her own and pulling the thick covers over their heads.
It would be a long journey, the one they had just embarked on, and it would take a lot of strength and courage, but for now they were in each other's arms, and that was all that mattered. Besides, whoever cared about what happened under a pile of furs?