Constellations

by The Dark Strategist

The two had too much trust between them. There was no point in trying to hide anything. When it came to each other, they could read the other like an open book.

Note: Story roughly takes place after Team Avatar leaves Ba Sing Se but before they arrive at Zao Fu.

"I see now there is no chance to save you!"

"Noooo-hmmph!"

Asami shot up out of bed, both hands flying to her mouth to muffle her cry, so she wouldn't disturb Korra, who was soundly asleep.

Asami slowly took her hands away from her mouth. The young engineer took a deep, steadying breath, and wrapped her arms around herself. Her skin was slick with sweat and her face was wet from tears she was sure she had unknowingly let out while she had been fitfully sleeping. She threw off the covers that had pooled around her waist in an effort to get cool.

It had been over six months since the day her father had made an attempt on her life. She could remember vividly every detail. The sound of shattered glass and metal against metal, the smell of burning oil, the look on her father's face as he gave up on her and brought the mech's fist towards her...

Asami shuddered, bringing her arms tighter around herself. She had tried to come to terms with what had happened, so she could finally get past it and, to some degree, she had. But despite having somewhat come to terms with it, the memory still liked to haunt her in her dreams. At least it was happening less now. The first week after the event she'd had that nightmare every night.

She sighed. It seemed that no matter where she went, her father was haunting her.

Asami shifted so that she was sitting on the edge of the bed, her feet touching the cold metal floor of the airship. Her skin was hot to the touch, almost unbearably so. She glanced out the window of the room, watching the dark, star-covered sky.

She needed some cool, fresh air. Maybe if she was careful about it, she could sneak out without rousing Korra...

" 'Sami?" A sleepy voice called.

Asami flinched, startled. She squinted at the bed across from her and saw the blankets moving as if they possessed a life of their own. They fell to reveal Korra, who was staring at her worriedly through sleep-muddled eyes.

"You okay?" Korra asked, her brow knit in concern. "You look...shaken."

Asami opened her mouth to reply, expecting her voice to sound steady and calm like she wanted. Instead, it was a quiet, almost broken sounding whisper. "I'm a-alright, Korra...just a...bad dream."

Korra sat up, the sleep in her eyes suddenly gone. "You don't sound or look like it. What's wrong? What was the dream about?"

Asami was tempted to lie about what she had seen, in an attempt to put Korra's mind at rest, but couldn't. It just wasn't in her nature.

"My father. It was about my father."

Korra nodded, not needing any further explanation. She had heard from Bolin what had happened at the airfield that day and Asami had briefly talked to her about it once, though the conversation hadn't lasted long. It had been too soon, too painful.

Korra inched forward, setting a hand on one of Asami's knees. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Asami put her hand on top of Korra's and shook her head. "No, no, I don't...I need some fresh air."

Korra moved her free hand in a circular motion, kicking up a small breeze that brushed across Asami's face and mussed up her already messy hair.

"Got all the fresh air in the world right here."

Asami chuckled, appreciating what Korra was trying to do. "Not exactly what I had in mind." Asami stood and walked over to the small closet in the corner of their room, digging through it until she found her Future Industries jacket. She pulled it on over her pajama top and slipped her feet into her boots. She made her way to the door and was stopped by Korra, who had fisted a hand in her jacket.

"Where are you going?"

Asami pointed vaguely up, not really answering Korra's question. "Going to clear my head."

Korra let go of her friend's jacket, jumping out of bed. She grabbed her boots, roughly pulling them on.

"What are you doing?" Asami asked curiously.

"I'm coming with you," Korra said. The Avatar then scratched the back of her head nervously. "I mean, unless you don't want me to..."

Asami gave her a small grin. "I want you to." Asami gave her a friend a once over, a little longer than was probably strictly necessary, taking note of Korra's thin tank top and pajama pants. "You might want to change clothes though. Or throw on a jacket. It's cold where we're headed."

Korra smirked, flexing her well-defined biceps. "C'mon, Asami. I'm from the South Pole. A little chill isn't gonna do me in. Besides-" Korra paused for a moment, rubbing her hands together until a small fire appeared in her palms. "-All I've gotta do is this. I'm like my own personal heater."

Asami giggled. "Whatever you say." She pushed open the door, gesturing for Korra to follow her. "Come on, let's go."

The two woman tip-toed down the hall, trying to be as silent as possible so they didn't disturb the others. Asami turned right, going down another corridor and up a flight of stairs. They went through another series of halls and went up another flight of stairs.

Korra had to marvel at just how big the airship was. Korra had explored the countless rooms on board, each holding a different purpose, and yet, she knew she hadn't seen everything. It was like the airship was never ending.

Korra had gotten lost an almost innumerable amount of times while exploring the ship but Asami seemed to know the place like the back of her hand. Not once while they were walking did Asami run into a dead end or have to backtrack.

That's why Korra hadn't felt the need to ask where they were going. Wherever they were headed, Asami knew how to get there.

They suddenly stopped at the top of what had to be the tenth staircase they'd ascended. In front of them was a thick, metal hatch. Asami pushed it open with some help from Korra and the two clambered through.

Upon stepping out of the hatch, Korra was surprised to feel a barrage of wind battering her. It washed over her skin and made her hair whip around in countless directions. She scanned their surroundings, noticing a large, circular rail around them. She stepped towards the rail and leaned over slightly. Below them were the bright, colorful lights of a city that appeared to be adorned in all sorts of festive decorations. Korra narrowed her eyes, just barely able to see what she could only assume were people.

"We're on top of the airship," muttered Korra, amazed.

Asami leaned against the railing, an amused grin on her face. "Nice skills of deduction you have there, Avatar."

Korra rolled her eyes, punching Asami playfully on the shoulder. "Shut up," she chuckled. "I didn't know you could come up here. You can't exactly see the top of the airship when you're on the ground."

"True, true."

Korra turned around and leaned on the railing with Asami, watching the beautiful night sky zip past them. After a minute or so, Korra could feel herself getting colder and colder and, unbidden, her body started to shiver. Asami glanced at her out of the corner of her eye with a knowing look and slipped an arm out of her jacket. She held her jacket open, waiting.

Korra knew what she was doing. The Avatar, stubborn as always, shook her head, unwilling to let her friend be right. She rubbed her hands together like she had before, summoning a small fire.

Korra smiled smugly at Asami. "Told ya, I'm like my own personal heat-"

Korra's words died in her throat when she saw that the fire in her hands, unable to combat the strength of the wild winds around them, had been blown out like a candle. She tried again and again, only to receive the same results each time.

She looked at Asami, who was still patiently holding her jacket open. Korra sighed, slipping into the jacket with her friend, a tinge of red coloring her face. She stuck her left arm in the free arm hole and sidled closer to Asami.

"Don't. Say. It."

Asami let out a small laugh. "Wouldn't dream of it."

They stood there silently, comfortable in each other's company. It was funny. With Mako, this kind of silence would have been unbearable, suffocating even, especially given recent events. But with Asami, this kind of quiet was nice, comfortable. She didn't feel an active need to speak. What was there to say?

Eventually, Asami broke the silence. "Y'know, my dad use to take me out in one of our airship sometimes. Usually to teach me how to work it. If it was dark, we'd come here to watch the stars. He taught me the names of the constellations and made up all sorts of silly stories about them." She pointed up at cluster of stars that roughly resembled a bear with a long tail. "That's the Platypus Bear...and that's the Fire Lord's Unmentionables..."

Korra bust out into a fits of giggles, laughing until her eyes watered. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand then looked at her friend incredulously. "Is that what it's really called?"

Asami grinned and shrugged. "That's what he told me. I guess he could have been pulling my leg but..." She chuckled. "He sounded pretty serious when said it."

"The Fire Lord's Unmentionables..." Korra mumbled. "Geez, and I thought the South Water Tribe's names for constellations were weird..."

Asami raised an eyebrow. "Huh? They have different names there?"

"Yeah. I guess it's because of our culture...and the Southern Water Tribe is still pretty isolated from the rest of the world..."

"When you put it that way, it's not all that surprising," Asami admitted. "You mind telling me a few names?"

"Not at all. Okay, so that one you called the Platypus Bear? Down South, it's the Polar Bear Dog."

"The Naga," Asami joked.

"Heh, when I was little I used to call it that." Korra gestured to the left of that constellation. "That curved looking constellation? That's Mal's Busted Boomerang...and that's Narook's Noodle Stand..."

Asami rolled her eyes and elbowed Korra in the side. "No, it isn't."

"It could be! How do you know?" Korra ruffled her hair. "You suddenly an expert on the Southern Water Tribe now, Sato?"

"Maybe."

They both became quiet. Korra watched Asami out of the corner of her eye, trying to read her mood. She didn't look as tense and perturbed as before. Her shoulders were hunched in a relaxed manner and her face was a mask of calm. Still, she knew that Asami could just be putting on an act so Korra wouldn't worry. She was good at controlling her body language. She had to be. She wasn't just an engineer; she was a business woman.

But, somehow, Korra knew that she wasn't. The two had too much trust between them. There was no point in trying to hide anything. When it came to each other, they could read the other like an open book.

Korra gave Asami's arm a tight squeeze. "Better?"

Asami nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for coming up here with me. I needed this."

"Hey, don't mention it. You would have done the same for me. Hell, you have done the same for me," Korra said sincerely, thinking back to the disaster press conference, the driving lesson, the sparring match they'd had to let Korra let off some steam. "If anything, I should be thanking you."

"You don't have to-"

"-Neither do you."

They fell silent once again, both looking at their feet. After a while, they both brought their gazes back to each other.

"Ready to go back down?"

"Yeah."

They started toward the hatch, both still huddled together in Asami's jacket. Without thinking, Korra threw her free arm around Asami's shoulder.

Asami looked at the arm and then at Korra, who was attempting to keep a nonchalant look on her face with limited success. Asami said nothing, only smiled, and then put her arm around Korra's shoulder.

The Avatar's lips curved up in approval and the two of them walked like that all the way back to their room.