Note: Starts off in the weeks after the events of season 4. After Varrick's wedding but before the spirit world trip.
"A new wound makes all the old ones ache again."
Mignon McLaughlin
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There was no plan, no method, no thought process. There was only the sound of my boots slamming into the ground repeatedly as I ran, groaning with exertion as my sides lanced with infuriating pain. The thought of escape consumed me, filling me with a terrifying feeling in the pit of my stomach topped with the faintest sliver of hope.
"You're too late!"
I cried out my frustration at the uneven, rocky ground beneath my feet. It leered up at me, as if it were laughing at my peril and its own aid in my destruction. Running faster was my only option as the sound of maniacal laughter reverberated all around me.
My feet tripped over themselves like I was a complete novice again, and the ground rose up to greet me with a sinister grin.
WHAM!
I grunted as the wind was violently ripped from my lungs. Overwhelming panic crept through my limbs leaving them numb and cold. Something was clobbering me, but I couldn't seem to do anything about it. I couldn't move, I couldn't see, I couldn't breathe.
A great chill crept up my spine making me shiver, and my eyes were forced open.
Asami's wide green eyes stared back, her head framed by the pale-white ceiling and the long black tresses that draped over me. She was moving her lips but no sound was coming out.
A buzzing, ringing sound filled my ears. I kept panting trying to catch my breath back, and I felt both freezing cold and sweat-inducingly hot. My arms twitched and burned with adrenaline and if it wasn't for the fact that I felt like something terrible was about to happen, I might have almost welcomed the feeling.
She spoke again. I tried to focus.
". . . Korra, are . . . okay . . ..? Please . . . talk to me."
I managed to rasp her name out and she gripped my hand, hard. It was at this point that I dimly realized I was on the floor, which meant I must have fallen off the bed when I was . . . asleep. My face grew heated because of how weak this made me feel. How I felt as useless as a frightened lemur cowering under a bed.
We sat there for a minute or two as my breathing calmed, the familiar scent of cherry blossoms drifting over me keeping me grounded and safe. Asami held on to my hand like her life depended on it, rubbing little circles into my palm with her thumb. She seemed to realize it at some point and let go rather suddenly, looking a little embarrassed.
"Which one was it this time?" she asked cautiously after a moment. The words reverberated through my mind. Which one . . . which one . . . which one?
I shook my head in response, not daring to look her in the eye.
"That one again, huh? I wish . . . I, I just want to help. I know you aren't ready to talk about it yet, but it hurts seeing you go through this still. I, I don't know . . .."
She trailed off into silence with a gentle sigh, looking away. I took this moment to discreetly wipe away the wetness that was still stubbornly clinging to my eyes, wondering if I could bend them away instead. Or maybe just use bending to get rid of tears all-together.
Her hand wrapped around mine again and she gave a gentle tug.
"C'mon, lets get you back in bed. It's still pretty early and I know you hate mornings . . .."
A weak chuckle escaped my lips as she gathered me in her arms. A brief second later the covers were tucked up to my chin and my eyes were fighting to stay open. I felt exhausted, like I had just swam across the entire bay.
"Get some more sleep," she murmured, twisting a lock of brown hair around her finger. A habit she picked up after I got back from my recovery. "I'll be nearby when you wake up."
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My eyes opened the instant I smelled food. The natural alarm clock inside of me grumbled, telling me it was time to finally start the day. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and gave myself a few seconds to sit there, letting the swirling blackness creep over my mind and pass on.
The bed felt cold and desolate beside me. A sense of worry hung over me, filtering eventually into a sense of loneliness. A battle between the desire of hiding away underneath the bedsheets or seeking the company I craved soon resulted, with the latter winning out the second the image of Asami popped across my mind. Soft-spoken words from last night flowed through my ears, and I felt the need to find her.
I'll be nearby when you wake up.
A stinging sensation jolted through my legs the instant I tried to stand, worse than usual. I hissed at the pain, forcing myself all the way up and forward.
Making my way out to the hall, I strode past the spare bedroom and supply closet and entered the kitchen where that delightful smell was coming from. Asami wandered around the room, humming softly as she put supplies back in the right places. She looked carefree, although she still sported the dark circles under her eyes that hadn't yet been covered with makeup. A second later she noticed me.
"Oh! Hey, how're you feeling? I was going to give you a few more minutes . . .."
"Fine," I yawned on my way to the counter, carefully stepping over a bunch of boxes that littered the ground.
"Sorry about that mess," she called out over her shoulder. "Tenzin sent it over yesterday. I still had some stuff there that he wanted to get rid of apparently."
The image of a red-faced Tenzin disgruntled about a bunch of boxes taking up space left me smirking. For someone who preached patience at all times, he could sure lose his own in a hurry.
"That's fine," I wheezed out, content enough by the proximity to turn and look out the giant window nearby.
Staring out this window was my favorite. It faced west, overlooking the entire financial district which now lay mostly in ruins. The park was just ahead and off to the right, and the portal spiraled upward a little farther off in the distance. Off to the side you could even see parts of the wealthy residential area far across the bay's inlet. I had never learned the names of all the districts, although Mako had tried to teach me once.
I preferred this apartment over the old mansion, especially since Wu was still residing there for the time being. That place, while remarkable, was way too big for my tastes. But this was nice and cozy even if it was still quite luxurious. It has this huge fireplace that I'm dying to test out when the temperature goes down.
A plate hit the countertop next to me.
"One Future Industries breakfast, served just to the Avatar's liking."
"Thanks, Asami. It looks great." Asami was an excellent cook. You might think she'd follow that engineer stereotype where despite being geniuses they can't cook to save their lives, but Asami seemed to defy all stereotypes.
"Eggs and Komodo sausages for protein, you need to keep up your strength. I do have to say that this is way better than the vegetarian food on Air-Temple Island, no offense to Pema's cooking of course. But the lack of meat just wasn't cutting it for me." She had a sour grimace on her face similar to the time she had tried a sea prune.
"You're t-telling me," I talked around the bite of food in my mouth. "I grew up in the south, where we had meat four meals a day."
"Four?" Asami asked, like she had never heard of such a thing. Was that really not a thing here?
"Of course," I responded. "It was important a long time ago because of the harsher conditions. You needed to eat hearty meals as often as possible, and . . . I guess it just, stuck around . . .."
It was pretty strange now that I thought of it. It's not like it was that necessary with running water, heat, electricity, and sturdy buildings. But the south was full of little traditions like that. Things that weren't really necessary anymore or had any significant meaning, but were done anyways just because it was familiar or enjoyable.
"Huh, that's interesting," a thoughtful expression covered her face.
"So," I started. "Anything on the radar for today?"
"Well . . . it's the weekend now so I have a little free time, but I have some important things with the rebuild I'll have to take care of later. We can do anything we want, really. Go out for lunch . . . go see a pro-bending match; I'll have to talk to Bolin and see when they're starting that up again. I know they want to, but Mako has to fit it around his work schedule."
"Good for them, I hope they can win the championship this time. I'd join them again, but . . . well, you know."
She patted my shoulder timidly. If it was anyone else I'd probably be grumpy by now. In fact I know I would be grumpy.
Her face brightened up with an idea. "Oh, I know! We could take a stroll around Avatar Korra park. It's lovely being so close to it now."
"I, I don't know," I let out a sigh. "My legs are acting up again today, probably from this morning . . .."
The thought of having to face the outside world seemed unbearably much right now. It was so much easier to hide away from it all, where we could just relax and not have to deal with all the pressure and the headaches. It was perhaps somewhat selfish that I felt the desire to keep Asami to myself right now, since she spent so much of the rest of her time with the rest of the world.
"Oh, well in that case we can always have a nice, relaxing day in. I know I would certainly enjoy that. I can order takeout for lunch and have it delivered . . . that sound good to you?"
"Yeah, that sounds good." I let us trail into silence, diddling my thumbs as I thought about nothing in particular. The sausage was really juicy, my legs were still stinging, and from what I could see the vines covered a solid half of the park now.
The image of that statue came into mind suddenly, and I let out a huge laugh that almost sounded like a bark. "I still can't believe you built that for me . . . I don't feel like I've done anything that deserves a big statue with my face on it, but thanks I guess."
I smiled at her, which slid off my face when she started looking at me strangely.
"What?" I prompted. "I do think it's really great though, and what they did with the flowers is really cool and stuff."
"No, it's just, you . . . nevermind. It's nothing. I'm glad you like it though."
"Maybe we can go see it again tomorrow." I tried making it sound like a question. She started smiling again which put me at ease.
"Sure, that'd be great."
Maybe I wasn't hopeless at this whole friend thing after all.