The Legend of Korra:
Forever
Chapter One
All Good Things
Freshly fallen snow blanketed the tops of rustic Southern homes and dusted the icy arctic ground, the scent of chimney smoke filling the air as the morning sun staked its claim to the sky. As sunlight glimmered in through her bedroom window, a young woman stirred, her eyes fluttering open to greet the day – her first day back in the Physical World in over two months. Rubbing her eyes, the young Avatar, Korra, sat up in her bed, her eyes beginning to adjust, and she saw that the light coming in from her window was now being obstructed by a rather familiar form, one which only made her smile.
"Good morning, Korra." Korra could practically hear the smile behind those words, regardless of whether or not her eyes had focused enough to see it yet. And, unsurprisingly enough, when they had, a smile was precisely what she was greeted with, her girlfriend cheerfully welcoming her back to the waking world and sitting up in bed right beside her. It looked like she was already dressed, and as she looked around, Korra realized that she was, as well. The blankets also appeared to be largely undisturbed beneath the two of them, indicating that whenever it was they got here, they just kicked off their shoes and plopped right into bed. No wonder she still felt so exhausted, last night must've been a long one.
"Good morning, Asami." She groggily replied, stretching out her arms above her head with a yawn, trying to remember what had happened the night before. This certainly didn't seem like the Spirit World. After all, the two of them were in an actual bed again, something that the Spirit World had a rather severe lack of. Though the more she thought about it, the more she realized this was technically the first time she'd ever actually shared a bed with Asami. If she were a little more awake and gave that line of reasoning a little bit more thought, her face would probably be turning pretty red right about now. But, that was not the case. "We're home?" She asked, looking to confirm her suspicions.
"Yeah, we came back last night through the Southern Spirit Portal. Don't you remember? I'd have thought you'd recognize your own room, you must still be pretty tired." Asami explained. Korra never was the most alert person in the world immediately after waking up. Or at least, she hadn't been while around Asami. Having spent their last two months together in the Spirit World, Korra was allowed to be as relaxed as she wanted to be for once, a fact which she had taken full advantage of. If there was a more alert Waking Korra than this, it was a Waking Korra which Asami had yet to see.
Not that she was complaining of course, that cluelessness was kind of cute. But, it was just nice getting to see her be so carefree around somebody. To be perfectly honest, she'd never seen Korra willingly let her guard down so much around somebody else before. She wasn't just happy, she also felt safe. Safe enough that she was willing to stop worrying, stop trying and let her hair down a little. The trust that Korra had for her was never more plain than it was in the morning, in her eyes.
"Wait... my room?" Rubbing her eyes a second time, as she took a closer look around, Korra found herself back in her old room at the South Pole, just as Asami had described. That's right, how could she have forgotten about that? Was it the typical morning fog, or was she really just that used to waking up in the Spirit World now? Whatever the case, as she finished waking herself up, the events of the night before came flooding back to her.
After finally making the decision to return home from the Spirit World, she and Asami talked it over and had decided to exit through the Southern Spirit Portal and pay Korra's family a visit first, rather than head straight on back to Republic City. They figured that they might as well try and drag out their vacation together a little bit longer in the Physical World, as well, and Korra had been expressing interest in telling her family about her and Asami's new relationship before anybody else. Given everything that'd happened lately, both good and bad, she was feeling kind of homesick, anyway.
It actually went a lot better than either of them had expected, too. Rather than being confused by her decision or finding the whole thing kind of strange, Korra's parents actually seemed pretty accepting of the idea, and actually quite happy for their daughter, welcoming Asami into their home like she was family almost immediately. Part of her wondered if maybe they already knew? Korra had no idea how they could have, but then, a parent's intuition could be a pretty powerful thing, so who knows. Maybe it just really wasn't that big of a deal.
Combined with the fact that they'd pretty much been sleeping together every night in the Spirit World anyway, a lack of extra space prompted the two of them to simply share Korra's bed in her old room for the night, the two of them pretty tired and heading straight to sleep shortly after arriving. It was one of the best nights of sleep Korra had ever had, too. Come to think of it, a lot of her nights had been the best nights of her life, lately. She could get used to this whole 'off the clock and on vacation' thing. Too bad it couldn't last forever.
"Oh yeah... I can't believe I forgot. I guess I'm still pretty used to waking up in the Spirit World, huh?" Korra shrugged. "At least some things haven't changed, though. I've gotten too used to this."
"Too used to what?" Asami asked.
"Just... us." Korra replied simply. "I've gotten too used to waking up and having you there next to me. To talking half-asleep and having you giggle like an idiot while I struggle to make some sense, looking like something the cat-owl dragged in while you look like as on point as ever." And there went that giggle she was talking about. Korra's smile widened. She really was going to miss this. I mean, eventually, they'd both have to head back home, right? To Republic City? Separate lives, separate beds, working together whenever the opportunity arose... the usual. Though, the more Korra thought about it, the more she wondered where home actually was, now. She supposed that she could always go back to Air Temple Island like she always had so that she could stay within the city, but, she wasn't sure. If she was being totally honest, what she actually wanted was...
"...I haven't been this happy in a long time, and I can't even remember the last time I had a vacation. These last two months have been just perfect. Thank you." She finished, abandoning her prior train of thought for now. She could bring that up with Asami later. It was probably a better idea to wait until the two of them were fully awake, anyway.
"Yeah... I should be thanking you, too, though. We both needed some time off. It's just too bad it's almost over." Asami sighed, leaning back on her arms and glancing downward, visibly disappointed by the thought. "Though you know, I was actually thinking–" Before she could finish, however, the girls found their morning talk interrupted by a third voice, one which Korra found warmly familiar.
"Oh, you two are awake already. Good morning!" Korra's mother, Senna, called from the doorway. Right, Korra was home, after all. She supposed she couldn't have as much time to herself and Asami as she did back in the Spirit World. Back to reality, she thought. "I was just about to get you two up for breakfast, come on." Walking away, Senna motioned for the two of them to follow, heading back into the family's small kitchen in order to finish cooking. As the scent of her favorite meal wafted into her room, Korra could feel her mouth begin to water. How long had it been since she'd had some food from home?
"Oh man, Asami, you're going to love this," Korra began excitedly, the mood in the room changing completely as the previous conversation was overtaken by the promise of a home-cooked meal. "I've been dying to get you to try some real Southern Water Tribe cooking for a while now, this is going to be perfect." Well, Asami supposed she could try and broach the subject again later. She WAS feeling pretty hungry right about now, to be perfectly honest. Which, of course, her growling stomach always was.
"'Real Southern Water Tribe cooking', huh? I'm looking forward to it." She smiled, pecking Korra on the cheek and following her out and into the dining area. Taking in the steamy aroma of a freshly cooked stew, Asami's mouth also began to water. It'd been a while since she and Korra had had a really decent meal. There was plenty of fruit and vegetables and the like in the Spirit World, which comprised most of what they ate while they were away, but she'd been craving something a little more meaty and expertly prepared for a while now. And what was more expertly prepared than a mother's food?
What appeared to be awaiting the two of them at the family's table was a stew, primarily comprised of what looked to be octopus with bits of other assorted local meats added into the mix which she couldn't immediately identify, likely including either whale or seal, with some seasonings and vegetables such as carrots added into the mix. Some of these things didn't look like typical Southern Water Tribe ingredients as far as Asami knew, which was probably part of the reason why Korra liked it so much, as that would indicate it wouldn't be something that was made very often for her. Though, with Korra's father's position as chief, she supposed that those things might be a little bit easier to come by, these days.
Nevertheless, the look in Korra's eye was like an armadillo lion upon seeing an injured fox antelope lying helpless in the field and separated from its herd, ready to pounce. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had this. "Good morning, mom." Hugging her mother hello as she finished stirring the stew, Korra then turned to her father, Tonraq, who was already sitting down at the table, and hugged him from behind. Taking a seat at the side of the table to his right, she motioned for Asami to take a seat directly next to her, staring longingly at the bowl in front of her. It had been too long.
"Oh, I hope you don't mind my octopus stew, Asami, it's Korra's favorite." Senna began as she made her way to the table with her own bowl, taking the seat directly next to her husband. "She hasn't been home in a while, so we wanted to treat her. I wasn't entirely sure if you'd like it or not, though..." She admitted, hoping that she wasn't coming off as too presumptuous. If she and Korra had arrived a bit earlier and weren't so exhausted when they did, she maybe could've had the chance to plan something out for the both of them, but instead, she was forced to take something of a gamble.
"It's fine, I've had Southern Octopus before, though never in a stew like this. I am a little curious to get a taste of what Korra grew up with, though." By this point, the aforementioned Avatar already had the bowl of stew practically in her face. Too. Long.
"Heaven, I grew up with heaven." Korra praised while Asami shook her head. Well, after two months of spirit fruit, she couldn't blame her. Before reaching for her bowl, however, Asami just wanted to make sure that she thanked Korra's parents for their hospitality. Things could've just as easily gone an entirely different way.
"Thank you for the meal, and for letting me stay the night like that." Korra's mother simply smiled.
"Of course. Any friend of Korra's is welcome to stay as long as they'd like, girlfriends especially." That still sounded so surreal to Asami. 'Girlfriend'. She kept feeling like it was some sort of a dream. But it was real, and she couldn't be happier for it.
"So, when did you two get together, if you don't mind my asking?" Tonraq spoke up, finishing his breakfast first.
"Right after Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding, when we headed into the Spirit World for that vacation." Korra explained between slurps of tentacles. She wasn't really one for manners, was she? "We've always been great friends, but pretty much the whole time that I was back in the city after I left The Swamp was like a tipping point for us, I guess. That day especially. I think I first realized I loved her though when I was writing her a year or so back? So once I got back to Republic City it was basically just a matter of time before something happened, for better or worse." An enthused slam punctuated Korra's explanation as she swiftly lowered the bowl from her face back to the table, letting loose a contented sigh. Tasted like victory. "Thankfully, it was for the better." She smiled.
"I see. So you two spent all that time alone together, huh?" Korra's father asked, his glance shifting briefly over to Asami, who momentarily froze and shifted her eyes back and forth as if to ask, 'Who, me?'. She wasn't entirely sure she liked that suspicious tone in Tonraq's voice. Either he was just messing with her, or things were about to get a lot more awkward. Please just let him be messing with her. "Well, I'm glad you made it back alright, both of you. It's nice to see you so happy again, Korra." Oh thank God.
"Thanks. I was kind of afraid you guys would flip out, I had no idea how you were going to react when I told you. I mean, it's not exactly... common... I guess?" Korra awkwardly replied, a stark contrast to the victorious exuberance over her bowl not even thirty seconds ago.
"What's not common about love? All that matters to us is that you're happy. Nothing else." Senna replied. It was almost as if a weight was lifted off of Korra's shoulders with those words. She really was worrying about nothing. Turning his gaze back to Asami now, who had since returned to eating her breakfast after her mini heart attack earlier, the Southern Chief then addressed her specifically, delivering his daughter's new lover a stern warning.
"Asami, I'm just going to tell you the same thing I told that Mako kid a few years back: make sure that you take care of my little girl. If you hurt her, I'll know."
"Dad!" Korra yelped. Yeah, because that wasn't embarrassing.
"Hey, don't look at me, I'm just doing my job." The chief shrugged, prompting Senna and Asami both to laugh while Korra simply huffed. Finishing the meal, Asami placed her bowl gently back onto the table, notably more mannerly than Korra. After all, she was a guest in somebody else's house. While Korra talked through her meal, Asami had remained completely silent, taking her time and soaking in the atmosphere of Korra's family home. Sitting there for a moment, watching the dynamic between Korra and her parents, she felt like she was a little kid again, sitting at her own family's table for breakfast. She'd never really realized how much she actually missed this until now, a tear involuntarily running down her face – something which immediately captured Korra's attention.
"...? Asami, is everything alright?" She asked, noting her girlfriend's relative silence since breakfast had started.
"Of course. It's more than alright, actually." She smiled genuinely, rubbing her eyes dry. "All of this just reminds me of how things used to be with my family when I was a kid, before my mom died. I never really thought I'd get the chance to be a part of something like this again." And she loved every second of it. Korra couldn't help but give her girlfriend a hug. She hadn't even thought about that before...
"Well, you'll always be welcome as a part of this family, I can promise you that." Tonraq confirmed. He glanced over at Korra briefly, as if intentionally trying to draw her attention. Was he hinting at something? ...Nah.
"Thank you." Asami wasn't really sure she could put just how thankful she was for that in words. Family, huh?
Rising from her seat to grab seconds, Korra changed gears yet again, shifting the topic of conversation from family matters to world matters. After all, she had to get back into the loop eventually, she couldn't just goof off forever. She'd probably been gone too long as it was, she was actually somewhat scared to ask. "So, dad, did I miss anything important while I was away? I didn't really mean to be gone as long as I was, but I, uh... kind of got carried away for a while there, sorry about that." She laughed nervously, sitting back down with her second serving of stew.
"Nonsense, if anybody deserves an extended vacation every now and then, it's the Avatar. You more than earned it." Tonraq affirmed. There was no need for Korra to beat herself up. After everything she'd been through and what she ultimately found at the end of it, she deserved all that time to herself. And besides... "That being said, things have actually been pretty calm since you and Asami left. Prince Wu's plan to dissolve the monarchy and the return of the Earth Kingdom to its people as a collection of independent states has gone off without a hitch so far, and Kuvira's trial has been progressing pretty smoothly since she was taken into custody. There've been some isolated pockets of resistance from some remaining supporters of hers here and there, but things have remained relatively under control so far as I know. They should actually be getting to sentencing pretty soon."
Kuvira... Korra had left almost immediately after the fight with her had been settled. She'd definitely done some terrible things, but Korra couldn't help but feel some level of sympathy toward her. As she'd explained to the Metalbender herself, the two of them weren't entirely unalike.
"I see... honestly, I hope they don't go too hard on her." Korra stated, prompting a raised eyebrow from the Southern Chief. "I mean, don't get me wrong. What she did was wrong, and she should definitely be punished for it, but I think she should be allowed to learn from her mistakes, too. I know that there's probably a lot of people calling for her head right now, but I don't think she's entirely beyond redemption."
"Huh. That's a very mature way to look at it." Tonraq replied. His daughter had really grown up a lot these past 4 years, but it was at times like these that it occurred to him that he was in the unique position of being able to speak to his child as both a father and as a fellow world leader. Though he supposed that as the Avatar, Korra's role went beyond even that. Tonraq's duty was to his people, but Korra's was to the whole world. Two worlds, even. Watching her grow more and more comfortably into that sort of a position made him more proud than he could ever put into words. "Given that the Water Tribes were never really all that affected by the whole Kuvira fiasco, I don't really have much to say on the matter. But if that's how you feel, then I think you should see if you can't take part in Kuvira's trial. I'm sure that the Avatar's opinion will be taken into account."
"Yeah. I think I might." Korra nodded. Well, she had to get back into the swing of things somehow. Why not pick up where she left off? This was something she felt like she had to do.
"If that's the case, then we should probably get going within the next day or two." Asami said. It'd still take some time for them to get back to Republic City, a good day or two at least. If Korra wanted to take part in Kuvira's trial, then it'd probably be a good idea if they left sometime later that night or tomorrow, whichever Korra was more comfortable with. "I should probably go check up on my company, anyway."
"That's right... doesn't Future Industries hold contracts with the United Republic for Republic City's infrastructure? I never even thought about that before, I wonder if anything's even been rebuilt since we left..." This was why Korra wasn't the one who ran one of the largest corporations in the world. Thankfully, Asami had already prepared for this in advance and had left somebody else in charge temporarily, so she wasn't really worried about that.
"Don't worry, I'm sure things are going just fine. I put one of my best men, Ravi, in charge before I left with you. It's one of the reasons why I was a little late that day, I had to make sure that he knew what was going on and that he was was up to the task of running the company while I was gone. If any requests were put in to begin rebuilding or planning the city's expansion while I was away, then he'd definitely have started working on them by now." She explained.
"Oh, alright, phew. Well, that's why you're the CEO and I'm the Avatar, I guess. I kind of just left a note for Tenzin, told my parents, and left." Korra shrugged. Asami laughed. When she put it like that, Korra almost made it sound like she didn't have anything to worry about. Asami knew better, of course, but still, she couldn't help but find her demeanor a little funny. "Anyway, I'd kind of like to head out tomorrow and spend the rest of the day here, if you're alright with that? It feels like it's been forever since I've been home, and I'd love to give you a proper tour if you're up for it."
"Sounds good to me." Asami replied. "Thank you again for the meal, it was delicious." She directed to her girlfriend's parents, receiving a smile in response. With that, she and Korra rose back to their feet, the Water Tribe girl stretching out her back and arms and giving her parents one more hug before she headed out while Asami took hers and Korra's bowls to the sink. No use in leaving a mess behind.
"Of course, dear. You two have fun." Senna replied, waving goodbye as the girls headed out the door.
As soon as Korra had stepped outside, however, she was greeted by the familiar crunch of paws in the snow as her pet polar bear dog, Naga, came barreling toward her, full steam ahead. "Naga!" Korra cried out with glee, arms wide open to embrace her pet and best friend as she excitedly knocked her master to the ground, licking her face as Korra happily scratched under her chin and rubbed her head. "Aw, I missed you too, girl." She laughed, rising back onto her feet. Before she left, she'd told her parents to take Naga back home with them, which was admittedly another reason why she wanted to head back through the Southern Portal. She missed her.
Hopping onto Naga's back and scratching her behind the ears, she motioned with her head for Asami to follow. It seemed they were going to be taking the polar bear dog express today, not that she – or Naga – really minded. Climbing up with a helping hand from Korra, Asami wrapped her arms around the blue-eyed girl's waist and kissed her on the cheek, resting her head on her shoulder and smiling as the two of them headed out into the village on Naga's back. Today was going to be a good day.
A young, dark-haired man walked through the bustling streets of Republic City, as alive as they ever were even despite their somewhat cluttered state of disrepair and reconstruction. It had been two months since Kuvira's imperial ambitions were put to an end and his friends left for a much needed vacation in the Spirit World, and two days since his little "vacation" had – thankfully – come to an end, and he couldn't be happier for it. As of today, Republic City's Ace Detective, Mako, was officially back on the beat!
With Prince Wu technically no longer a Prince, the Earth Kingdom being steadily broken up into independent states much like Zaofu and the United Republic itself and the steady rise in crime since Kuvira's Colossus leveled more than half the city, he was finally recalled from his position as Royal Bodyguard and set to resume his former occupation of police detective as of today. He couldn't wait. Now that the political games were finally done and over with, he could finally get back to what he loved doing: patrolling the streets, solving crimes and keeping the peace. He'd been waiting for this day for a long, long time.
With the city still recovering from the events that'd transpired two months prior, there had been an increase in crimes of all kinds, which ultimately meant more work for the struggling police force. In order to try and keep up with this recent rise in crime, a lot of former detectives and members of the force had elected to temporarily come out of retirement and lend a hand, and many more were being hired from the populace and being taught the ins-and-outs of the force as quickly as possible, with many veterans – like Mako – being saddled with partners who functioned more like apprentices who would be learning on the job alongside their more experienced counterparts.
He couldn't say that he was exactly delighted to hear the news, but he understood the decision and was just glad to be back, regardless. And besides, how bad could it be? Maybe having a partner would be fun. It all depended on who he ultimately got saddled with and how much training they actually needed, and how well they gelled with Mako and his particular style. He'd never really considered himself much of a teacher, so he just hoped that whoever it was, they weren't too wet behind the ears.
Rounding the last corner and stopping in front of the Republic City Police Station, Mako took a moment to just take it all in. Along with Future Industries Tower and the new City Hall, the station was one of the first buildings in the city to be relocated, rebuilt and then expanded on, with more and larger rooms being added on in anticipation of a larger city, larger police force and larger amount of crime than ever before, with well over a dozen new holding cells being built on the lower levels. The new building really was a sight to behold. It was actually even bigger than he thought it'd be, he kinda hoped he wouldn't get lost.
Walking up the steps and through the doorway, he was immediately greeted by yet another bustling crowd, this one comprised of Metalbending Officers and various other law enforcement officials. Phones were ringing off the hook and papers were shuffling from desk to desk, officers constantly entering and leaving the building, some with apprehended criminals in tow. He'd heard that a lot of Metalbenders from Zaofu had elected to join the force temporarily to fill in ranks for the elite Metalbending Division, in order to help keep the peace while the city was being rebuilt, but he had no idea there were actually this many. Along with all of the new patrol officers and veterans from before his time at the force, he could hardly see any familiar faces out there. Talk about chaos.
"Home sweet home?" He asked nobody in particular, looking around for his desk, which he assumed would be unmanned – an assumption which didn't fit any of the almost 50 in this room alone. Maybe he was stationed somewhere else?
"Mako! There you are! Took you long enough to get here." Finally, a familiar voice. Immediately snapping back to attention, he turned to face the Chief of Police, Lin Beifong, a ready smile on his face.
"Ah, chief, I was just looking for you. I knew we'd gotten some new recruits, but I didn't expect things to be so... lively." That was putting it lightly.
"Welcome to your new norm, detective. Your desk is on the second floor with all the others." 'All the others'? Apparently there were more detectives now than he thought. It seemed that detectives and higher ranking officers were now stationed on the second floor while everybody else was relegated to the first. He imagined Lin's own office was somewhere around there too, just like it was in the old station. "Your new partner is already up there waiting for you, just finished basic training and got accepted into the force the other day. Your first case is already on your desk, as well. I'm just gonna warn you now though, it's a weird one. But the fact of the matter is that we're still understaffed for everything that's going on right now and you're one of the best men I've got. It may not be what you're used to, but I trust you to get it done quick and get it done right." She explained.
"Of course, ma'am. I'll see to it that it's resolved as soon as possible." Mako replied in a dutiful tone, receiving a simple nod from Beifong in response, which he took as his cue to get going. Making his way to the elevator, as soon as the doors closed, he let out an exhausted sigh. Just standing in that room took a lot out of him, this was going to take some getting used to. And what was that about his partner just finishing basic training the other day? Wonderful. He just really hoped the second floor wasn't as crowded as the first. If it was, then he really had no idea how he was going to get any work done. Thankfully, however, as the elevator reached its destination and the doors slid open, he found that not to be the case.
Stepping out into a long hallway that stretched to the left and right of the elevator, he could already tell that things up here were much less hectic, even though he could hear sounds of construction coming from the outside and in each direction down the hall. Two months was still a pretty short amount of time to erect a new police station, after all, even for benders – there was still some work to be done. But, the important thing was that it was usable and that the two main offices were open to the public and the police, those being the main office just past the lobby – which Mako had seen below – and the room on the other side of the hall and directly across from the elevator, built so that it was past a wide open gap in the wall rather than hidden behind a closed door.
While a few phones were still ringing here as he stepped inside, in comparison to the floor below, things up here were much quieter and much less busy. Furthermore, while there were almost 50 desks down on the 1st floor from what he'd counted, up here, he could only see about half that, with maybe 12 on each side, and most of them were unoccupied, at least for now. As he'd suspected, Chief Beifong's office was in the back of this room, away from the hustle and bustle of the downstairs and behind a textured frosted glass door in the back. Now this, he could work with. And speaking of working with...
Spotting his nameplate on one of the desks closest to Lin's office and on the right side of the room from the perspective of the Chief, he saw a rather familiar face standing next to it, fiddling around with the drawers and occasionally looking up to scan the room, as if he were looking for somebody. Mako knew exactly who that was. The question became, why the hell was he here?
"...Wait a second, Bolin? Seriously? YOU'RE my new partner?" He blurted in shock from across the room, Bolin's ears perking up at the sound of Mako's voice and his question eliciting an excited wave from the younger brother, who had almost immediately stood up in order to more properly greet his new superior. Mako had to admit, Bolin didn't look half bad in a uniform, but he was confused – this was the last place he'd expected his little brother to look for a job, let alone actually get one. Was the station really that understaffed, or was he underestimating his little bro's abilities? Somehow, he got the feeling the answer was probably somewhere in the middle.
"I know, isn't it great!? Now, I know what you're thinking: since when has Bolin been all about police work? Well let me tell you, Mako, my time in the army has changed me. I'm a new man! A better man! When I was working for Kuvira, I thought I was doing the right thing and that I was actually helping people. It turned out that I wasn't, but here, I can actually do some good for sure and help Republic City get back on track in the process – and with my brother no less! It's gonna be GREAT!" Bolin shouted with excitement. Well, so much for that calmer atmosphere Mako was looking forward to.
"Well, this is certainly... unexpected." Mako said, scratching the back of his head. What else could he even say? Bolin had kept him entirely in the dark on this one. Mako guessed he probably meant to surprise him when he walked in for his first day back at the precinct, and he had to admit, he was certainly... surprised. But seriously? Bolin? A cop? This was either going to turn out extremely well or end in unprecedented disaster, there was no in-between. He just wasn't sure which one it was going to be yet.
"The best things in life often are the most unexpected." Bolin recited, nodding sagely. Mako simply rolled his eyes and sighed, walking towards his desk. "Anyway, Lin told me to just stay here and read over the report while I waited for you. Apparently, a strange body was found outside of a home in the Dragon Flats borough. The Chief wants you to go look into it." Bolin explained briefly, handing the file over to his brother. Mako's eyes narrowed. Seriously? This was NOT what he was expecting on his first day back at work.
"Really? This is the 'weird case' she was talking about? A body in the slums? That part of town isn't exactly the most stable right now, this isn't exactly out of the ordinary out there. What's she want me investigating this for?" Well, somebody sure seemed a little aggravated. Bolin shrugged.
"Heck if I know, she just told me to tell you to read the report and then head down to the morgue. Oh, and to take me with you. Something about on-the-job training? I dunno, sounds like fun to me!" The young Earthbender exclaimed excitedly. 'Fun'? He certainly wasn't taking this very seriously, was he? Did he even understand what their first case was? But, Beifong was right – this wasn't exactly the type of case Mako was used to, but orders were orders, and detectives, while more numerous, were still in short supply. Seeing that look in Bolin's eyes, though, Mako was beginning to see how this new partnership was probably going to end up going.
"Yeah, 'fun'... whatever. Just give me the report." Mako sighed, taking the file from his brother's hands and giving it a quick once over. From what he could tell, it seemed like some pretty standard stuff. Sounds of a struggle the night before, illegal bending, body found outside the next... wait. What? Mako's eyes widened as he reread the remainder of the account twice more. Well. What do you know. That was odd. "...Bolin, are you sure this is right...?" Bolin shrugged again.
"That's the file Lin gave to me, so I guess so? I dunno, I wasn't the one who wrote it. Why, what's wrong?" He asked. Mako's eyes narrowed. Maybe this was a weird one after all, he was going to have to see this for himself.
"...Come on, we're heading downstairs. Seems you and I are gonna be working homicide today." Closing the file, Mako immediately took off for the elevator while Bolin just stood there for a moment, registering the situation. Wait, homicide? As in murder? Somehow, even after reading over that report and relaying its contents in basic to Mako, it hadn't exactly clicked in his brain that that was what he was going to be investigating until just now. What a way to start his career as an officer of the law, huh? Realizing by now that his brother had gone on without him, he shook his head, snapping back to reality and stumbling over himself as he ran out the office in pursuit.
"Mako, hey, wait for me!" He called.
"Now that is how you end a vacation." Korra sighed, falling back into the snow, exhausted. She'd heard the expression 'Time flies when you're having fun' before, but it'd never applied to her quite like this before, today just flew right by. Maybe it was because she was heading back to Republic City tomorrow or because she'd spent the whole thing hanging out around town with Asami, but as the sun began to set over the water, she had to say, she was pretty sad to see it go. She didn't want this to end. "You're better at snowball fights than I thought." She mentioned with a laugh, glancing over at the dark-haired girl to her left who looked to be about as exhausted as Korra herself was, the both of them lying there disheveled but smiling.
Not even 60 seconds earlier, the two of them were engaged in the snowball fight to end all snowball fights, a teasing toss by Korra 15 minutes earlier inadvertently starting a war of wintry attrition she was amazed that she'd actually lost. How does a Waterbender lose a snowball fight? Not that she was complaining, that was the most fun she'd had in ages, but still! It just didn't seem right.
"I know right? Who'd have thought I'd be able to beat the Avatar? What a pushover." Asami teased.
"Yeah, yeah, enjoy it while it lasts. Next time, you're going to be the one crying uncle." Korra warned playfully in response. Asami knew what she meant, but for a second there, she thought she meant something else entirely. Either way though, her response was the same:
"Oh, is that so? Well, we'll just have to see about that." Pure confidence.
As the two of them laughed, Naga raised her head from behind a snow mound a couple dozen feet behind them, checking to see if the coast was finally clear. Seeing the two girls lying calmly in the snow together, she got up and walked to be closer to the both of them, sitting down a couple of feet from Korra's right and staring out over the sea. Man, if polar bear dogs could sigh with relief. "Aw, I'm sorry Naga, did we hit you in the crossfire?" Korra asked, sensing her pet's mild frustration. "Ah, the cost of war is just too high, even a snowball war." She joked, causing Asami to simply shake her head. This girl...
As they laid there, panting and exhausted, whatever small bits of snow that were still on them melted, cooling them down as it mixed with their sweat and their breathing returned to normal. Reaching out her gloved left hand, Asami reciprocated the young Avatar's request, grabbing hold with her right and looking up at the sky as the sunlight gradually faded away and the recently returned Southern Lights took its place, dancing their way across the evening sky as orange gave way to a mixture of dark blue and green.
For a few minutes, the two of them just laid there, taking in the sights and each other's company, neither daring to say what was on their mind. Neither of them wanted any of this to stop, but both of them had duties to others beyond themselves and each other that they had to fulfill. Even still, the thought of not being able to spend so much time together, their nights together, was tearing both of them apart inside. They both thought they had the solution, though – it's just neither knew that the other was thinking the exact same thing. Eventually, one of them had to be the brave one and pop the question, and as it happened, today, that brave one was Korra.
"I don't want this to end." She finally spoke up, immediately catching Asami's attention. Where was she going with this? The engineer had a few ideas, but she had to be sure.
"What do you mean? You make it sound like we're never going to see each other again or we're breaking up or something." She replied. How would Korra react? Would she keep pushing forward, or retreat? If she kept going forward, how far would Korra be willing to go? Was she going to ask what she was thinking she was going to ask? A million possibilities flitting through her brain, Asami impatiently waited for Korra's response.
"No, no, of course not – trust me, I love you way too much to break up with you, that's not it at all." Korra affirmed, deciding to address that bit first and foremost. "And yeah, we are going to see each other, it's just... I'm greedy. I want to see you more. These past couple of months have been the best of my life. I know they don't really make up for 3 years of lost time, but I don't want any of this to end, at all. I don't want to stop falling asleep with you and waking up with you and spending as much of my time as possible with you." She explained, keeping her eyes affixed to the sky as she spoke while Asami turned her head to look at her.
"So what are you saying?" Was it what Asami hoped she was saying?
"I guess... what I'm saying is..." Korra paused, taking a deep breath before turning her head so that she was looking at Asami, too. Part of her wondered if maybe this was a bit too soon, if maybe she was rushing things. But it felt right. As of this moment, she was sure. "...I want to live with you. And spend the rest of my life with you. As girlfriends... or fiancees... ...wives..." Korra bit her lip. Wow, this was awkward. Asami's focus grew more intense. Korra was so close. Then, sitting up to search her pockets for something, Asami raised an eyebrow, following suit in curiosity. What was she looking for? Whatever it was, she appeared to be so flustered, she couldn't remember which pocket she'd put it in. It had to be around here somewhere... aha! There it was, she'd found it. Taking a deep breath, Korra continued.
"...I made this about a week ago in the Spirit World, I just wasn't sure when I was going to give it to you until today. I was thinking of maybe holding off a little longer, like maybe this is too soon, but knowing that everything's going to be going back to normal and getting really hectic again, I thought maybe now would be the best time to get it out there after all."
"Korra, you're rambling." Asami teased again, the anticipation killing her. Was this really, really what she thought it was?
"Right, sorry." She quickly apologized. She had to get back on track. "Anyway, I guess the easiest way to say this is just to explain it. In my tribe, it's a custom that when two people wish to become betrothed to one another that one carves a betrothal necklace that they can then give their partner, which acts as both an expression of their love and as a sign to others both in the tribe and around the world that they're promised to somebody. Normally, it's the guy who makes one and gives it to his bride-to-be, but we're both girls, so I figured since I'm the one with the Water Tribe background..." Korra looked away as she spoke, blushing harder than ever before and removing her hand from her pocket to hold out a carved, stone necklace which she had attached to a simple dark red band. When did she even make this...?
Looking it over carefully, the stone itself looked to have been carved into the shape of a gear, with a design etched into it that Korra had based loosely off of Raava. In her mind, it was a simple little mixture of symbols meant to represent the both of them together: Asami, the head of Future Industries and a technological genius, paving the way for a better future, and Korra, the Avatar and host to Raava, the spirit of peace and light, fighting to keep peace and balance for all mankind. Put the two of them together and what you end up with is a symbol of progress toward a better, brighter future, which was exactly how Korra felt about Asami. She was that better, brighter future she was striving towards, and she wanted her all for herself, forever.
Asami was silent, simply taking the necklace into her hands and just holding it for a moment. This was really happening, wasn't it? This is exactly what she was hoping for, but now that it was actually happening, she had no idea what to say. So instead, she just sat there for a moment, trying to wrap her head around everything. A betrothal necklace. Korra was giving her a betrothal necklace. This was huge. Beyond huge. This whole damn thing was a dream come true. She felt like her hands were shaking, but she was actually remarkably composed. Composed enough that it was actually setting Korra a little on edge. She didn't just make a mistake, did she? Was it too soon after all? Did she not like the necklace?
"...I know it probably doesn't look that great, I'm not really one for carving or design or anything like that, but..." Korra rubbed the back of her neck, nervous. Well. She'd come this far. She might as well just say it at this point. "...I guess what I'm asking you is... Asami, will you be m–" But once again, hearkening back to when they first kissed, before she could finish and say what it was she had to say, Korra found herself in the middle of a deep, passionate kiss unlike any she'd shared previously, Asami tenderly pressing her lips to Korra's as if to preemptively answer her question. She had a tendency to do that, Korra had noticed – she did this a lot when they first got together, too. It was just one more little thing she'd fallen in love with.
"You talk too much." Asami teased once she'd finally broken away, tenderly holding Korra's chin in her gloved hand. "But the answer is yes, Korra. I will be your fiancee. I will marry you." She smiled. "It doesn't have to be right now. In fact, given everything we've both got to deal with pretty soon, it'd probably be a good idea if we held off jumping head-first into it, at least for a little while. But that's what the necklace is about, right? It's a promise. So when the right time comes..." It was like any time Asami spoke to her, a weight was lifted off of Korra's shoulders. She always seemed to know exactly what she was thinking and exactly how to react to it. Korra almost felt like crying, but stubbornly kept her composure, refusing to let her happiness overwhelm her. Not this time, tear ducts.
"I was thinking the same thing. Things are going to be pretty crazy the next couple of months... couple of years, even. Republic City is expanding, your company is growing, and who knows what's going to happen with that Earth Kingdom business... but whatever happens, I want it to happen with you and me, and I want to promise myself to you, and you to promise yourself to me, and when it's over and things are stable again, if we still love each other, then I want to make you mine, forever." Korra stumbled to explain, trying to convey what it was she was thinking, though she didn't feel like she was doing a very good job at it. Still, Asami seemed to understand exactly what she meant.
"Well, you know what they say. "All good things come to those that wait", right?" Asami responded, prompting Korra to blush even harder. If that girl got any redder, she'd make an apple jealous. "But yeah, I get what you're saying, I feel the same way. I love you, Korra."
"I love you too, Asami." Kissing each other once more, while shorter in duration, the feeling behind it was no less than it was before. This. This was heaven. "...So what do you think?" Korra asked after the two of them had parted, realizing Asami had never actually told her whether or not she liked the necklace, or just the idea of what it represented.
"I think it looks incredible, I love it. Thank you." She finally replied, reaching up behind her neck to put it on. Korra breathed an audible sigh of relief. Thank goodness. Finishing putting it on, Asami looked back to Korra, curious to get her opinion now that she was wearing it. "So, how do I look?" She asked. Korra thought about it for a moment, smiling. For once, she felt like she knew exactly what to say.
"Snazzy."
Meanwhile, back in Republic City, Mako and Bolin had made their way down to the basement level of the new police building, following the precinct medical examiner down the hall and into the room where the body they would be investigating was located. This wasn't typically Mako's area of expertise – he was usually better with handling routine incident reports, solving B&E and terrorist attacks, or gang-related incidents, or occasionally re-investigating cases at the request of the Chief to see if he could pick up anything that others had missed. But, given the unusual state of the body laid out in the report and the strange circumstances surrounding it, combined with the general lack of answers, this one seemed to be right up his alley, after all.
As the three of them walked the halls, Mako continued to read over the report that Lin had left for him while Bolin looked around the underground morgue, half-mystified, half-creeped out, the medical examiner himself continuing to talk all the while. A bit of a wordy fellow, this one – wordy enough that Bolin had almost completely tuned out of what was going on.
"...but sadly, I never did see Gou again, after that. Oh, the things I would have done differently. ...Ah, here we are! Exam room number 5! It would seem we have arrived at last, my good fellows!" The doctor finally announced, drawing Mako's attention back into the real world while Bolin walked around the room, looking at all the tools on the table across from the examination one the body bag was on.
"Sorry for making you track me down like that, things have been quite hectic lately, but I did enjoy our little chat on the way back down here! It's not often a man like me gets to reminisce these days, you know? Anyway, I must say, detectives, in all my 15 years here with the precinct, I have never seen a corpse quite like this one. Let me just warn you now: you may find its appearance to be quite... disturbing." He warned. Closing the file again and holding it to his side, Mako returned to full attention, curious to see if everything the report had described was actually true or not.
"Detective," Mako corrected. "And don't worry, Dr. Lou. I think I can stomach it." He concluded, nudging Bolin back to attention with his elbow. Seemed he'd more-or-less tuned out of the conversation while the doctor was rambling on about his life's story. Mako couldn't say he could blame his little brother, but he could at least pretend to be a bit more professional. How in the hell did Kuvira of all people put up with him?
"Oh, right, sorry. Uh, yeah, what Mako said." Bolin nodded. Mako sighed. Why was Bolin here, again? Well, whatever, there was no use arguing over it now. Besides, it was still Bolin's first day. I mean, he had to shape up eventually, right? Lin wouldn't have let him on the force and partnered the two of them if she didn't think he was capable, regardless of how much they needed more people, right? ...Right?
"Very well then, as you wish..." The aforementioned Dr. Lou replied. Unzipping the body bag, what greeted the brothers looked less like a fresh corpse and more like an ancient mummy, its flesh dry and shriveled and its eyes completely missing from its sockets, looking as though all of its blood and bodily fluids had been drained away – which as it happened, was exactly what was described in the report. It was almost as though the body had been meticulously mummified and prepared, but according to the incident report included in the file, a suspect wearing clothes matching the description of the victim's was seen lurking around that area shortly before the report of illegal bending that was filed by the owner of the house outside of whom the body was found.
Furthermore, after the supposed bending had stopped, nobody else was seen to have entered or exited the area by local witnesses between the time of the incident and the discovery of the body at about sunrise, which indicated that it had been there all night and belonged to either the person involved in the bending report or whoever it was that the bending was being directed at. If that was the case, what the hell kind of bending could have done this? It was unlike anything Mako had ever seen before, let alone heard of. Could a bender really be responsible for something like this?
Of course, it was also always possible that the body was prepared elsewhere and then simply placed there later on by somebody else without anybody noticing. All of this did take place rather late at night, after all. But then that raised the question of why? Why would somebody do this to a body and then just leave it out in the middle of the street? Had it been dug up from somewhere and left there for some unknown reason? What did any of that have to do with the report of bending and sounds of a struggle? Was it some sort of new scare tactic by the Triads, maybe? Who would they be scaring, and why?
No matter how Mako looked at it, nothing about the body made much sense. He was beginning to see more and more why Chief Beifong wanted this taken care of quickly. Once word got out, people would get curious and start looking for answers. If the police couldn't give them, then that would work against them in the future, the last thing they needed was bad publicity right now. And if another body showed up... well, the last thing anybody needed was a spree of mummified corpses popping up in Republic City. Panic was to be avoided at all costs.
"...Oh. Oh spirits. That is... wow, that is just horrible. It looks like a raisin, only... people shaped... oh..." Bolin sputtered out, clearly taken aback by the body in the bag, looking away. "Wow, that is just... wow." What more was there to be said? That just about covered everything.
"Well he told us it was going to be disturbing, Bolin. Besides, the file clearly stated that it was mummy-like in appearance, you should've been prepared for this. Did you even read the report?" Mako asked, reading the look on his brother's face, mixed in appearance with equal parts shock and horror. That was not the face of somebody who read the report, that was the face of somebody expecting a regular, everyday body as carved up by the Triads only to find themselves walking into an ancient Earth Kingdom tomb instead.
"...I skimmed it." Bolin replied. Mako facepalmed.
"Whatever, I don't have time for this right now. Next time, have a better idea of what you're getting yourself into." He scolded, turning his attention back to the medical examiner. "Do you have any idea how old the body is? It may have shown up today, but it hardly looks new."
"Yes, it's actually quite fresh, despite all appearances to the contrary. I thought maybe it had been dug up or something, but it shows no advanced signs of decay, even despite its rather... degraded appearance. It was a perfect mummification, and it appears recent, the flesh still hasn't completely dried up yet. It was as though something came up and just drained the life right out of him, the poor soul." Dr. Lou explained, shaking his head.
"I see... do you have any idea what could have caused this, then?" Again, the examiner just shook his head.
"I'm afraid not. Maybe a Waterbender would be capable of something like this, if they were feeling especially vicious, but this seems more in line with what a Bloodbender might be capable of to me, and we're at least a week away from our next full moon. But even then, I would expect some sort of a trace to be left behind, but here, there's nothing. It's really quite perplexing, I've never seen anything quite like it before in my life." Mako sighed. Well, it certainly was 'weird'. Though looking at it now first-hand, 'horrifying' seemed the more apt description. Giving the doctor the go ahead to zip it back up and place the body back in storage, Bolin quickly interrupted, thinking he'd noticed something on the body neither of them had mentioned.
"Wait!" He cried out, grabbing the doctor's arm to stop him.
"What is it now, Bolin?" Mako asked, clearly annoyed.
"What is that? On its face." The Earthbender asked, pointing. Mako and Dr. Lou were confused. On its face...? The young detective tilted his head, leaning in to take a closer look, but he couldn't see anything. He let out an annoyed sigh.
"...What are you talking about? There's nothing there." The Firebender retorted. The doctor, however, was intrigued by the new officer's assertion, deciding to take a closer look, himself. While Mako may not have seen it, however, the professional most certainly did. It was slight... he was shocked Bolin had noticed it when he'd completely missed it before, himself. But it was indeed there.
"...How did I miss this before? You have good eyes, my boy. There appears to be some minor discoloration around the facial area, though I can't quite make out what it is or what could have caused it, the skin is far too shriveled up. It's very, very faint, but it is there." The M.E. rubbed his chin, thinking to himself for a moment. Evidence of a bender, perhaps? He could always try and rehydrate the area, see if he couldn't get a better look. Perhaps the killer wasn't as traceless as the doctor had first believed. "I believe I may be able to get a better look if I can somehow rehydrate the skin... I'll see what I can do and perform a second examination, and I'll be sure to look for more signs of discoloration. I'll phone you with my findings later on this evening, Detective." Lou finished.
Wait, what? Mako leaned in for an even closer look, trying to see if he could see any discoloration, now that he knew what he was looking for. But no, everything looked... ...oh. Well, what do you know.
"...Huh. Wow. Good job, Bolin, I never even noticed that." Mako congratulated, genuinely surprised that he'd missed something. Bolin, meanwhile, just grinned. He couldn't believe he'd spotted something Mako hadn't, especially considering he was the one most visibly icked out by the whole thing. Maybe Mako was just too stoic for his own good and somewhere beneath that icy cold Firebender veneer of his, there was a terrified, screaming child wanting nothing more than to look away. Or, maybe he just genuinely missed something. Either way.
"See? I can notice things too, sometimes. I may not be as stonefaced as you, but I know what I'm doing." Kind of. But Bolin was right – he wasn't completely hopeless, despite what Mako had seemed to believe about him. Maybe he was being a bit too harsh on his brother. Clearly, Bolin hadn't really anticipated the full extent of what a cop's job would entail, but Lin must've seen something in him, otherwise she never would've let him on the force. Bolin was the kind of guy to act first and think later, usually for the sake of others. That could be a blessing or a curse for a cop. Perhaps it was a good balance to Mako's ever-thinking nature, after all. Time would have to tell.
"Maybe. Well, I don't think we're going to find anything else out here right now. Thank you for your time, Dr. Lou. Let's go, Bolin." Mako said, loosely motioning for Bolin to follow as he jotted down another note into the file and turned to leave the room. The doctor simply nodded in response, turning back to the body to look at the discoloration once more. How DID he miss that...?
"Mako, wait up! Now where are we going?" Bolin asked, yet again having to pursue his brother down a hallway, albeit not as far this time. That guy really had to stop walking off so far ahead of people.
"Back to the crime scene to investigate. Seems you and I have got a bona fide mystery on our hands." Mako replied, stopping in front of the elevator, finishing this round of notes and closing the file in his hands again, placing his pen back into his shirt pocket.
"Yeah... mystery... great..." Bolin trailed. What had he gotten himself into?
"...? Is something wrong?" Mako asked.
"I dunno, I just didn't think this is how my first day of being a cop would go. I thought I was going to be out on the streets, chasing down criminals, stopping heists and protecting the peace! You know, like a real-life mover! Not holed up in a basement staring at creepy mummies." Bolin complained, his older brother simply shaking his head. As he'd thought, Bolin hadn't really thought this whole thing through.
"That's part of being a cop, too, Bolin. Sometimes, bad guys kill people, and we have to figure out who did it and why. And sometimes, they do it in some really nasty ways. I'm not really used to this kind of case, myself, I've never really worked a homicide before, but these things do happen and sometimes you get wrapped up in them whether you want to be or not. Besides, nothing about this seems right to me. We may be dealing with more than just a simple murder, here. Consider this a chance to keep the peace by tracking down whoever did this before they do it again, killers like this usually strike more than once." You know, Mako could be kind of reassuring when he wanted to be. His brother was right – Bolin just had to suck it up. He signed up for this. There was no backing out of it now.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Just gonna have to suck it up and deal with it." He replied.
"Exactly. Lin put us both on this case for a reason, I'm sure she has faith in both of our abilities." ...That look on Bolin's face said otherwise.
"...Yeah, right, about that..." The younger brother nervously trailed, rubbing the back of his head. "Actually, Lin was initially against me joining the police force. She didn't think I had what it took and basically laughed me out of her office when I first applied. Raiko was the one who put in a good word for me and got her to give me a chance. I guess that, combined with that time I helped her and Opal free Su and everyone from Kuvira..." Oh god damn it.
"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait – Raiko? What does he have to do with any of this?" Raiko was also the reason Mako got stuck with Prince Wu for almost 3 years. That guy was really starting to piss him off.
"Remember that time Varrick tried to kidnap him and you tried to warn everyone but you were in jail because Varrick had set you up and nobody believed you? Apparently, he remembered that and told Lin to give me a chance." So THAT was it. That actually made some sense, Mako knew Lin wouldn't have given Bolin a chance without some sort of contributing outside factor. He thought maybe she'd seen something in him. But maybe she did? The answer was likely somewhere closer to the middle. "But I passed basic training, so hey! Like you said, this is my chance, and I'm gonna take it! No more Bolin: The Goofball – from now on, there is only Bolin: The Cop!" Well, Mako had to admit, his heart was in the right place at least.
"Yeah, a really goofy cop." The older brother teased with a smirk, finally pressing the 'up' button on the elevator, the doors opening to let them in.
The next morning, back in the South Pole, Korra and Asami were dressed and ready to go. The Future Industries CEO had radioed for one of her ships to come pick her up last night and the two of them had broken the news of their betrothal to Korra's parents as soon as they returned home. That necklace made it kind of clear, anyway. Her father's knowing smile from earlier that day made more sense to her now, though she was still somewhat curious as to how he knew what her intentions were. Fatherly intuition wasn't THAT powerful, was it? But, that was ultimately unimportant – what WAS important was that the two of them had received their blessing. It was a little bit non-traditional, but hey, she was the Avatar. If anybody could take a couple of liberties with tradition, it was her. The world was changing, slowly but surely.
Packing the last of her bags and hugging her parents goodbye, Korra saddled up on Naga, pulling Asami up after her, and waved goodbye, making her way down to the harbor. Republic City... it'd only been two months, but it felt like a lifetime. She wondered how much had changed since she and Asami had left. She was both excited and a little scared to see what the city had in store for her now, but more excited than anything else. Things were going back to normal, and at the same time, they were different than they'd ever been before. But like a lot of things in her life lately, it felt right.
"As soon as we get back to the city, I'm going to go to Air Temple Island and collect my things from my old room," Korra began. After solidifying their betrothal, the two of them quickly decided that Korra would be moving in to the Sato Estate, with Asami. It was a big place, and it got kind of lonely sometimes, even with all her servants. This would certainly help. "While I do that, you can go back to your company and we can meet up again later to go see Mako and Bolin."
"Sounds like a plan," Asami agreed. Seemed Korra had thought this through. "I'll meet you on the island, so don't feel like you have to come looking for me. I'm sure you and Tenzin will have a lot to talk about anyway. You're probably the first Avatar in a long time to spend so much time at once in the Spirit World." That was a good point. All of the Airbender kids would probably be itching to know how Korra's vacation was, too. All things considered, she might actually end up spending more time there than Asami at Future Industries.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Korra agreed right back. "I can't wait. It feels like it's been forever, doesn't it? Republic City." She thought aloud.
"Yeah... it's gonna be great to be back home, I just know it." Asami replied.
As they reached the harbor, Asami again rested her head on Korra's shoulder, coming up to the business woman's ship and receiving the go-ahead to come aboard from the crew. Taking one more look back at her hometown as the ship disembarked, she couldn't help but feel like she was 18 again, heading out on her own to Republic City for the very first time as a stowaway. Come to think of it, she was on one of Asami's ships then, too – or at least, one of her company's ships.
She could feel it, deep down in her soul.
This was going to be one hell of an adventure.