Author's note: Hey guys! So this is my first fanfic ever. I hope you like it. I used to be one of those people who thought Korrasami's relationship came out of nowhere, but since I rewatched the series two weeks ago and after reading Turf wars I've been shipping them so badly. I can't wait for Turf wars part three so I decided to write an ending of my own, because I really missed the characters, mostly Korra and Asami. So, enjoy and please tell me what you think. Oh, and minor Turf Wars spoilers ahead so if you haven't read them yet I don't suggest you continue.
Korra ran through the debris, as flames burned here and there. Triple Threat Triad members were lying around, injured, while others were being held down by police officers, to be arrested. Tanks and Mecha Suits lay around broken. After hours of strenuous fighting alongside Republic City's police forces, the United Forces and the airbenders she had, finally, gone into the Avatar state and delivered a massive earth wave, that incapacitated all Tokuga's forces.
If someone had told Korra that she would have had to come face to face again with these suits so quickly after the defeat of Kuvira, she would have laughed, to say the least! Well, she wasn't laughing now. On the contrary, she felt like punching a hole through some wall! Or Tokuga's face, better yet.
How much more? She thought as she kept running. Is it ever going to stop? Will there ever be peace? Is one crisis just going to lead to another? Can't people just live harmoniously for a while?! Anger boiled inside her as she reached Tenzin who stood in the middle of the scene of destruction, looking around grimly. He looked worn, but otherwise uninjured.
They were just outside the boundaries of the mass stretch of vines around the spirit portal now. The fighting had passed throughout most parts of the (already destroyed) city and had, finally, reached, and hopefully ended, here.
As Korra came to a stop next to Tenzin she looked around and took it all in. Airbenders were helping injured officers and each other up, while United Forces soldiers helped take down any remaining resistance. As she turned her gaze to the right she saw Bolin and Mako, along with Lin taking down some more Triads and relief washed over her as her friends looked unharmed. But still, a growing feeling of unease came over her as Asami was nowhere in sight. Before the feeling could turn into panic, far in the distance an air bison landed and she saw airbenders carrying some wounded, as well as Jinora walking towards it, supporting Asami. It was as if an icy fist had wrapped itself around Korra's heart. Please let it be nothing serious. She thought.
The Avatar clenched her fists and started to take off towards her girlfriend but Tenzin's hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"We must reach Tokuga!" he said firmly "He took off towards the portal! We can't let his actions affect the spirit world any longer!"
Korra knew she had to end this now, but her heart had already left her body and was mounting the air bison, as Tenzin was speaking. Her Avatar consciousness would, of course, never allow her to leave now. She looked back at the bison, now taking off, with a worried look, and prayed that it would reach Air Temple Island as quickly as possible. At least Kya was there and she was a top notch healer.
She turned to Tenzin, "I've got him!", and took off to the spirit portal.
Korra swatted like a fly, using airbending, any Triad member that tried to get in her way while she was going uphill. She was really pissed now! Not only had Tokuga made a mess of Republic City( which was already a mess!), he had used the person she cared most for to get to her and was, at this moment keeping her from being with her! Who did he think he was anyway?! Oh, when I get my hands on him he's gonna regret the day he was born! There was no one in sight around the spirit portal, so Korra ran straight to it.
The spirit world looked worse than when she had visited it with the airbenders. Everything looked black and gray and drained from all life. Even the sky was dark with heavy clouds. The spirits really didn't want anyone around, that one was certain.
There was nothing and no one around except for the dark figure in the distance. "Tokuga! You have nowhere to run anymore! Your forces are beaten! You are on your own! Give up!" she shouted as she got closer.
The figure turned towards her and she could now see his distorted features, half human, half serpent. "Give up?!" he shouted back."I might not have claimed Republic City as my own, but at least I'll get the pleasure of beating you, Avatar! You did this to me! It's your fault I'm now this monster!" he said loathingly, pointing at himself.
"Even if you didn't convince that spirit to attack me it was you who opened that portal in the first place!" he continued.
Korra supressed the urge to roll her eyes. Were people ever going to stop blaming her for...everything?!
They were now just a few feet away. "But I've got the upper hand here! I draw power from the spirit world! You are outmatched, Avatar. And I will end you!" Tokuga lunged towards Korra so abruptly he almost got her, but years of airbending practice came in handy as she dodged his attack. He was holding a hooksword in one remaining human arm, while his other tentacled arm moved swiflty, acting as whip. She knew if he got a grip on her with that thing it was endgame.
"I don't want to fight you but if you won't surrender you leave me no choice!" she shouted.
The only answer she got was another attack, which she dodged but countered with a fireball. Ok, if that's how you want it to be, thought Korra. He continued attacking viciously, hacking and slashing with all his might, but he also dodged her attacks as swiftly as she dodged his. She threw, with all her might, fire and air blasts, chunks of earth, trying to knock him down, but, at the last moment, he would get out of their way and continue his vicious attacks. They kept at it for quite a while.
This can't go on forever, she thought. She had to find a way to take him down. Part of her wished the United Forces would march right through the portal and blast him right on the spot, but she dismissed the thought quickly. The spirits would never forgive such a disrespectful act, even if it was about defeating Tokuga.
The sky had gone so dark now it was becoming difficult to see. Only her fireblasts illuminated her surroundings. Suddenly, she felt a searing pain and with a cry she realized he had struck her on the shoulder with the hookblade. She felt blood trickling down her arm, soaking the fabric of her left glove. Seeing her surprise as a chance, Tokuga used his tentacle arm to trip her. Korra fell to the ground with a loud thud. But before her enemy could do anything else she blasted a huge fireball at him using her feet and she heard a cry of pain, as Tokuga backed away.
She quickly jumped to her feet with the help of her airbending and she saw why her opponent had cried in pain. There was smoke coming from his tentacled arm. She must have burned him real good. Tokuga shifted his gaze back to her and, she was sure that if she could see better, there would be a snarl on his face. He let out a loud cry, but instead of charging towards her he slammed his sword on the ground. For a moment Korra thought he was surrendering but then spirits started emerging from the woods around them. Dark spirits, that was. All were looking aggressively towards her, circling her.
"What are you going to do now, Avatar?" Tokuga said with a manic grin. The luminescent light the spirits emitted allowed her to see his face.
The spirits, alongside Tokuga, where coming closer and closer. She was being pinned. She closed her eyes. Ok, time for the Avatar state, she thought. But before she could do anything else, even behind closed eyelids she felt a blinding light appear. She heard Tokuga cry out in surprise and opened her eyes. The light was, truly, so blinding, she almost closed her eyes again. With narrowed eyes and half covering her face she caught a glimpse of the source. With a start she realized it was the dragon bird spirit, the one she had helped return to its nest, the one Asami and she had rode around the spirit world not many days ago! It came flying above her head and with a giant taloned foot, it snatched Tokuga from the ground. The light it emitted was getting more and more intense, until Korra couldn't take it anymore and, finally, closed her eyes and turned her face away.
She kept her eyes closed as Tokuga's screams became more and more distant. Finally, she cautiously opened them to see the spirit world exactly as it had been a few days ago, when she and Asami had come through the portal together. The sun was shining above, not a single cloud staining the sky. The field around her was filled with color, as all the flowers had magically bloomed again. The dark spirits had disappeared. She was standing there, alone, as if nothing had ever happened. It was the stinging pain on her shoulder that brought her back to reality. When she looked at her arm she did a double take. From her shoulder down it was red, soaked with her blood. It was the only reminder of what had transpired here a few moments ago between her and the Triple Threat Triads' leader.
As she was starting to feel a little lightheaded, probably from the loss of blood, she reached the spirit portal. Before she stepped inside she took one last glance towards the horizon. There was nothing in sight. No dragon bird, no spirit, no Tokuga. She said a silent thank you to the spirit and stepped through the portal.
When Tenzin saw Korra come through the portal he ran towards her.
"Korra! Thank goodness! We feared something bad might have happened!"
"It's alright Tenzin." said Korra "It's over." She said as she leaned on him, dazed, when he reached her.
"Oh no!" Tenzin exclaimed when he saw her blood covered arm, and caught her, steadying her.
"Don't worry. It's not that bad. It's just a scratch, really." Said Korra chuckling. "Just bring me some water, so I can heal it."
She heard Tenzin shout for water as he guided her towards Oogi, his sky bison, who was a few feet away.
Korra was bending water to heal her injured shoulder, as Tenzin was guiding the giant beast that carried them, towards Air Temple Island. Everything was starting to come back into focus, as the water eased the pain and stopped the bleeding. She had briefly told Tenzin what had happened between her and Tokuga in the spirit world and how the dragon bird spirit had helped her. He was gazing, sceptically, into the distance, taking, what she had told him, in.
"How's the arm?" was the first thing he said after a while.
"I'll live." said Korra, as she cleaned the blood off her hand. Her glove, though, was soaked with it.
"What that spirit did, Korra. It's not something you see very often. Actually, I've never heard of a spirit that directly interfered with human affairs and helped solve them! You saw the other spirits. They prefer to just move to another part of their world and be done with humans altogether. You must have a very strong bond with this one."
"Well, I did help it once but I didn't expect anything like this. Maybe it was just fed up with all of this and wanted to protect its world! It saw how Tokuga tainted the spirits and decided to teach him a lesson...Tenzin...what did the spirit, exactly, do to Tokuga?"
There was silence and Korra looked over at Tenzin who seemed even more sceptical now.
"Even with all my years of studying the spirits, Korra, I couldn't answer that question. The spirit realm is a vast and mysterious place. And that spirit that came to your aid, it must be no simple spirit. Who knows the powers it posesses. The only place that comes to my mind is the fog of lost souls. Maybe that's where it took him. Maybe something completely different happened to him. We cannot be sure and we will, probably, never find out. What matters is that Tokuga is gone and he will not terrorize Republic City any more!" Tenzin concluded as they landed on Air Temple Island.
But Korra's mind had already wandered from their conversation, as they had been nearing the island, to Asami, who was somewhere on that island. She had last seen her girlfriend being taken away by the airbenders and she had been injured.
Before she could jump off the bison Tenzin turned around and placed one hand on her uninjured shoulder. "Are you sure you are ok? Why don't you have Kya take a look at that wound too?" The fatherly interest on his face was enough to make her look at him and give him a small, reassuring, smile.
"I'm ok Tenzin. Don't worry. I'll go see Kya if that makes you feel better, but she should take care of the more heavily wounded first." And with that she was off the bison and jogging towards the main building.
Korra was relieved to see that there weren't many injured, after all. As she walked the corridors of the building she passed airbenders who looked shaken or worn or a little scratched up, but nothing too serious. Passing the kitchen she saw Pema serving tea, as her children and other aibenders stood around chatting and laughing. It was a nice picture, the calm and relief after the end of a battle. And, boy, had Republic City seen a lot of these the past few years.
She continued towards the sleeping quarters. She has to be around here somewhere, she thought and before she could start looking into each room separately, she heard voices from a room to her left and through a half closed door she saw Asami seated on a bed, Kya above her, applying healing water somewhere on the left side of her belly. She looked unharmed, except for whatever Kya was healing, and Korra felt relief wash over her as she quitely slid the door open and entered the room.
"Korra!" exclaimed Asami when she saw her and immidiately started towards her. But as soon as she tried to move she held her side and with an ouch and a small nudge from Kya sat back down.
"Take it easy there, sweetheart." said Kya softly. " That blade got you good. It will take some time to heal."
Korra rushed to her side and took hold of her girlfriend's hand. "You're ok.." said Asami softly, as she brought her free hand up, to stroke Korra's cheek. "I was so worried!"
"You were worried?!" exclaimed Korra. "I had to stand by and watch that lunatic's thugs threaten and take you away from me, while I could do nothing and you were the one worried?" she said a little too loudly and both turned their gaze to Kya, who bended the water away from Asami's side and said "I should probably leave you two alone." And with that she exited the room and closed the door behind her.
Korra stood up and walked towards the window scowling, as Asami pulled her shirt down and put her jacket back on.
She heard her girlfriend sigh. " Why do we have to dwell on that now? We're both safe now, aren't we? Tokuga is defeated, the city is safe! I mean...Tokuga is defeated right?"
"He's gone." Korra answered quitely, her back still turned to Asami, her arms crossed.
She heard the other girl stand up and walk towards her. "Then why- What happened to you?!" she exclaimed suddenly with alarm. She turned Korra around, so that she was facing her, her eyes darting between her arm and Korra's eyes.
"It's nothing." The Avatar dismissed her.
"Being covered in blood is not nothing" Asami said firmly, but Korra wasn't going to waste any time disscussing her unimportant injury.
She couldn't even feel the pain anymore. It had been replaced by another searing pain in her stomach, as if she had been impaled with a hot rod. She felt guilt rising all the way up to her throat. Now that she knew Asami was (mostly) intact, all the worry and fear for her girlfriend's life came crushing down as an enormous wave of guilt!
It was Korra's fault that Asami was kidnapped in the first place. Tokuga took her to get to her. It was her fault that she had to go through all this! It was her fault she was injured!
"It's nothing, Asami." Korra said, more forcefully this time, and pulled away from the other girl's grasp. She must have said it a little too harshly because when Asami spoke again she sounded somewhat between hurt and angry.
"I'm just worried about you! What is up with you anyway?!"
"Well you should worry about yourself! I wasn't the one who had it all under control and didn't need any help with people blackmailing me!" exclaimed Korra angrily.
"What does that even have to do with anything?! It was Jargala I was taking precaution against! And I did have it under control! I didn't want to get you involved in every little matter that concerned me!" Asami shouted back.
"And look where that got us!"
"So what would you have done?! Stood outside my door all day and all night so that no one could get to me?! Shall I remind you that you're the Avatar and have more important business to attend to, like, I don't know, saving the world?!"
You are more important and yes, I would have stood outside your door day and night so I could strangle anyone that dared come near you, Korra wanted to shout at her. She kept silent.
As Korra was about to open her mouth to speak again, the door slid open and two airbenders stood there supporting the weight of another, who was limping.
One of them looked at her and said "We're sorry Avatar! We didn't kn-
"It's ok" said Korra before he could finish. "We were just leaving anyway" she managed a sympathetic smile towards the injured bender, despite her scowl.
She grabbed Asami by the hand and pulled her out of the room, not too harshly though, not wanting to hurt her. She lead them to the end of the long corridor, where her room was.
When they entered the room she let go of Asami's hand, even though she immidiately missed the contact. She walked to the wardrobe, threw it open and picked up a clean change of clothes for her to wear, a tank top and sweatpants for Asami. She looked out the window as the last rays of the setting sun were barely visible from behind the mountains that surrounded Republic City.
She turned around and threw the set of clothes she had taken out for Asami, on the bed. "You can stay here for the night" she said plainly, without looking at the other girl. The way she said it didn't leave much room for argument, although Asami made no move to argue.
Korra walked to the door but before she could open it a hand was on hers. "Korra, look at me.." a small voice sounded beside her. The Avatar kept looking at their hands. "Please..." She looked the other way.
She felt the other girl's hand withdraw from her own, a sigh and then " You know, this is what we all signed up for. This is all part of the job. We are Team Avatar. Near death experiences are our routine. Bolin and Mako were out there risking their lives too, but I don't see you telling them off!" she said resignedly.
Bolin and Mako are not you.
"And, frankly, the fact that you think that everyone will come after me to get to you, because I know for a fact that that's what you're thinking, is mildly insulting. As head of Future Industries I have enemies of my own, you know!"
Great! That makes me feel much better.
There was silence in the room. None of them moved or said anything for a while. Korra was still standing in front of the door when she, finally, took a deep breath and said in a low voice "It was me Tokuga was after, though. And he used you to get to me just fine." With that she slid the door open and left the room.
Korra cleaned herself up in the bathroom and changed into the set of clothes she had gotten earlier from her wardrobe. When she opened the door Kya was standing on the other side of the corridor leaning with her back on the wall.
"Hey! Tenzin said I should take a look at that" she said, gesturing at her wound. " Said there wasn't a chance you would look after it yourself."
"Yeah...not really my first priority right now" answered Korra, but followed Kya as she walked down the corridor, nonetheless. They walked outside and Korra sat down on a stone bench while Kya started working on her shoulder. It was dark now, a cool night. It was so peaceful you wouldn't have guessed of the fight that had took place in downtown Republic City a few hours ago. Korra appreciated the breeze. It helped her clear her mind.
"You know" started Kya " Being the Avatar isn't easy, I'm sure you've noticed by now." Korra chuckled, while the other woman continued. "Trust me. Being the Avatar's daughter I have some experience. But, you know, you can't do it alone. You need the people that love and support you around. After all, you are just a person yourself. You can't push them away, just to protect them. My father wouldn't have accomplished half of the things he accomplished without the help of his friends...and my mother." Korra looked up at the older woman.
"And, well, there were a lot of near death experiences" Kya continued "but you can't start something, thinking what might happen, if and who might get hurt. Those people who are around you, they chose to be around you."
Kya brought her hands down and placed the water back in her flask. She placed a hand on her, now almost completely healed, shoulder. "Just because she is a non bender doesn't mean she is an easy target. The girl is resourceful and a competent fighter. Don't push her away just because someone might use her to get to you. It never works anyway. It will only cause you both pain." Korra stayed silent. With a small squeeze on her shoulder Kya withdrew her hand and walked back inside. Korra stood up. She looked up, at the ascending moon once and then walked to her room.
Korra's footsteps broke the silence, while she walked the corridors of the dormitories. She stopped in front of her door. With a resigned sigh, she slid the door open and entered the room. She braced herself to face Asami, but when she looked around the room she found her girlfriend asleep on the bed. At least she thought she was asleep, as her back was turned to her.
Moonlight illuminated the room, through the open window. Korra walked to the armchair next to it and sat down, facing the bed. She wanted so badly to walk over there, lie down next to Asami, hug her with all her strength and tell her she would never leave her. She didn't. She just stared at her girlfriend's back for a while longer and then turned towards the window, placed her head on her hand and gazed outside. Everything, the Air Temple Island Plaza, the surface of the water and, far in the distance, Republic City, was bathed in silver light.
Korra didn't know how long she had been staring outside- it could have been hours really- when Asami started tossing and turning in her sleep. She sat up straight on the armchair, not sure what to do. Asami turned her head towards her and she could see the pained expression on her face, her eyes moving behind closed eyelids. Her hands were clenched at her sides holding the cover. When she didn't seem to calm down, Korra couldn't take it anymore and walked over to her. She crouched beside the bed and gently caught hold of the other girl's shoulders.
"Asami." She whispered. She could see small drops of sweat forming on her forhead and her hair was plastered on the sides of her beautiful face. Whatever she was dreaming about, it was causing her extreme anguish. Korra gently shaked her. "Hey...wake up." The other girl woke with a start and clutched her side. All that tossing and turning must have hurt her injury.
"Hey, take it easy." Said Korra softly.
"Korra...?" was Asami's somewhat confused answer, as she looked up at her.
"It's me. It's alright. It was just a bad dream." continued Korra softly. "Let me take a look at that" she said, gesturing at her side. Asami compied silently, still confused from waking up so roughly, and sat up straight on the bed, placing her feet on the floor.
Korra lifted her shirt to see the wound on her side bright red, but, thankfully, not bleeding. "Wait here" she said. "I'll go get some water." Asami didn't answer and Korra was out of the room before she could say anything.
When she returned with the water the other girl was looking out the window, seemingly calmer than before, fully woken up. Both girls were silent as Korra worked on Asami's injury. After she was finished, Korra bended the water inside the tub she had brought it in and felt a tinge of proudness for her work, as the wound looked much better.
Before she could move, she felt a hand gently come to rest on her own. She was standing in front of Asami now and she looked up to see the other girl looking back at her. Moonlight was falling on the side of her face and made her pale skin look even more perfect. There was a sadness in her stunning jade eyes, that made the Avatar want to hug her and kiss her and apologize for the way she had behaved earlier and tell her that everything was going to be alright. But Korra stayed still.
Asami shifted her gaze from her eyes to her hand and she started moving her own hand upwards, slowly trailing the plains of her arm, above her glove. When she reached her shoulder, she stood up-their bodies almost touching- and, ever so tenderly, touched the cut on her shoulder. Her hand on her skin was already raising goosebumbs, but when she bent and placed a light kiss on her shoulder, she felt as if her whole body had caught on fire.
Asami continued, moving her hand from Korra's shoulder to her shoulder blades, tracing her athletic back. They were so close she might as well have been hugging her. It took all Korra's might to stay completely still, as Asami's hand traced every curve on her back. It was as if she was being shocked with small pulses of electricity, anywhere her fingers lingered.
Finally, Asami's hand came to rest on Korra's side, while she brought her other hand to rest on her other side, with the lightest of touches. Korra looked up at her, their noses almost touching, their mouths milimiters away. She could have sworn she counted the seconds their eyes were interlocked.
And then they were kissing. She didn't even know who was it that closed the distance first. It didn't matter. Her mind had lost all ability to function correctly.
It was a desperate kiss, as if it would be their last. Korra had wrapped her arms around Asami's neck,firmly, while her girlfriend had tightened her grip on her sides. Korra put all the fears and worries that ate her into the kiss and pressed their bodies even closer, if that was possible. It was as if every unspoken word between the two of them, for the past three years, was being spoken now, as if it was their first kiss.
At some point Korra pushed them onto the bed, using her airbending to cushion their fall, so as not to hurt Asami, while she placed her hands on each side of the other girl's face, to hold her weight. The kiss became hotter and more forceful, by every passing moment, their lips moving in complete sync. She felt Asami's hand come up to meet her own and she laced their fingers together, next to her face. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might jump out of her chest.
And then, abruptly, she was airbending herself off Asami, so that she was lying, on the small space on the bed, next to her. Korra was looking up at the ceiling. Neither of them said anything. They lay there, their heavy breaths the only sound in the room. And then she was on her feet, leaving the room.
She sat on a large rock, overlooking the sea, and let the cold breeze clear her thoughts and calm her nerves. She heard footsteps behind her, as Asami came to sit beside her. She kept her gaze towards the horizon. The other girl kept silent. Finally, Korra looked at her and spoke.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered. Asami turned to look at her quizzically. The same wave of guilt, as before, rushed over her and she started speaking fast.
"I'm sorry that Tokuga kidnapped you to get to me, I'm sorry that I wasn't there fast enough to stop him, I'm sorry that you got injured, I'm sorry I shouted at you, I'm sorry-" Asami interrupted her by gently taking hold of her face.
"Stop." she said firmly. "All these things you are apologizing for are not your fault, Korra! When will you understand that you can't control everything that happens in this world?!"
"I do understand that!"
"Then why? Why are you apologizing to me?!" she exclaimed.
"Because..." Korra pulled away from Asami's grasp and stood up.
"Because what..?" the other girl searched her face, while sitting on her knees, looking up at her.
"Because...I love you!" Korra said resignedly and met Asami's gaze with her own. She looked a little taken aback but stayed silent, as Korra came to sit in front of her and continued "And because I love you I want to be able to control all of these things. I want to be able to preventthem! I want to be able to stop anyone that tries to hurt you! Because I'm scared!" she exclaimed. "I'm scared of how I feel about you and of anything that might happen to you!" she finished and looked down.
No one spoke for a while but then she felt Asami's hand on her chin, as she raised her head to look at her. "I can't promise you that nothing will happen to me" she said in a steady voice. "The same way youcan't promise me nothing will happen to you!" At that Korra tried to turn her gaze away but Asami continued. "Hey...We can't make each other such promises, but we can promise to look after one another. It won't always work. Who knows when the next fight'll break out? I bet there's someone waiting for us in the next corner, right now. But I do know that I have your back and that you have mine. And that's all that matters to me." Korra turned to look at her again and she looked back with the same steady, determined look. Spirits, I love you.
They headed back inside after a while, holding hands. Once they were in Korra's room, Asami pulled her on the bed with her. She lied down beside her and hugged her from behind. They fell into a comfortable silence as Asami played with her fingers. "I love you too" she said suddenly. Korra's heart skipped a bit and she tightened her grip around her girlfriend. Asami turned to face her and they looked into each others eyes, before Korra touched her forehead to hers. She closed her eyes.
"Don't be scared.." Asami whispered and Korra's heart skipped another beat. The other girl pressed a soft kiss on her lips and repeated even more softly "Don't be scared..."
That night Korra slept better than she had in long time.
The End
Sooo, I liked the idea of angsty Korra when she seemed so scared of anything happening to Asami in part two of Turf wars and that's how I came up with all of this concept. Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors, as english is not my native language and again I hoped you liked it!