Author's Note: Hello and welcome to Book 4 of 'A Second Glance', a parallel cannon story taking place in Avatar: Legend of Korra. I do not have any affiliations to Nickelodeon, who owns the universe and characters of Avatar and this is strictly a fan-made work.

Six Months after the Battle at Laghima's Peak

There was a howl from the bay, low and sad on the early current. It pierced the frigid night and drifted atop the snow-rimmed rooftops all the way to the third floor window of the Royal Palace, filling Korra's room with its mournful call. She groaned in her sleep, twisting away from the images that flashed in front of her inner eye and then she erupted out of dream into the reality of the ship's peal. Confused and frightened, the Avatar lifted her fists to ward off the danger she knew was lurking just at the edges of her room but there was nothing but the ship's horn and the fluttering of her curtains.

Gasping for breath and damp with sweat, Korra tried to focus on her heart beat and find the solace of her spiritual center. It was always in her weakest moments that her connection to Raava was strongest and yet even as afraid as she was she only met silence within and without. Raava did not answer.

"Damnit," she croaked softly and fell backwards into the pillows of her bed, chest rolling unsteadily.

Six months. It had been six months since her attack by the Red Lotus and still she wasn't back to her normal self. Instead she was a weak, pitiable shade of what she had always thought herself to be and there was no real end in sight. Was this just it then? Her tenure as the Avatar was finished, and she was just going to roam the halls of the Royal Palace until she finally shriveled enough for the next Avatar cycle to take her place?

"Damnit!" She repeated, louder, and clenched her fist into her sheets. It wasn't fair. She'd only barely started her duties as the Avatar after seventeen years closeted away in the snow and ice and already she was finished: trapped where she had begun. It simply wasn't fair.

For a while, the girl stared vengefully at the ceiling and mentally ticked through all the ways that her circumstance was unjustified, forcing herself to think of all the things she would not experience and all of the people whom she would miss.

Tenzin and the airbenders were making their way to the edges of the continent to help the unfortunate. Bolin was going to the Earth Kingdom to help restore peace. Mako was scouring the Republic City streets for villainy. And Asami...

Korra shut her eyes and held her breath.

Asami.

Beneath her mattress were six letters from the heiress, one for each month Korra had been away. In them were words of gentle encouragement, saturated with love along with town gossip and talk about a new building project which the engineer was obviously giddy to be working on. A part of Korra was absolutely thrilled to imagine her girlfriend elbow-deep in graph paper and blueprint designs; using her genius to create, which was her greatest pleasure. Unfortunately, even the fantasy of Asami made Korra hurt.

She sat up again and manually moved her legs to the edge of the bed. She could wiggle her toes and rotate her ankles, some, but the connection from knee to ankle still felt impossible and she was all but forlorn that her hips would ever again tell her knees to bend. She stared down at her useless legs, forced to remember why it was that she'd left Asami in the first place.

She was simply no use any longer, not as an Avatar and not as a girlfriend.

Perhaps it was the surreal quality of the hour, or the mood of grim dreams which still hovered at the edge of her senses, but Korra felt suddenly the need to make a decision.

The girl reached for her wheelchair and, with what had become practiced motions, slipped herself into it to roll across the room to her writing desk. She clicked on the lamp and opened a rarely-used drawer, riffling for parchment which she only assumed would be available. Sure enough, there was a stack of letterhead and a few pens in another drawer, and she set these out under the light.

Her pentip hovered a moment, unsure, before she steadied her resolve.

'Asami',

Korra bit her lip, studying the word. She wanted, very badly, to cross it out and rewrite 'Sweetheart', remembering reading those same lines in Aang's practiced script from a lifetime ago. After a few more moments of consideration however, she moved on.

'I know I said I'd write more, sorry about that. It's not really my thing after all, I guess. I really like your letters though. That's great news about the contract bid. I know you'll get it. And I hope one day I can see the rail line you're going to build. But, I think I need to tell you that it won't be any time soon. In fact, I don't know when or if I'll ever come back to Republic City. I know that isn't what you wanted to hear, but after all this time nothings changing,'

She paused again, looking at the false finality in her word choice. Some things had changed, after all. She could move her feet, somewhat, and six months ago that had been but a dream. Master Katara put hours of effort into her healing and Korra was grateful, but the fact that it simply wasn't good enough was the sting which she felt so strongly in her breast that night.

'At least, not the way I want it to. Katara is trying and I'm lucky to have her, but so many things are just different now.'

Too many things were different, in fact, and coming to terms with that wasn't something Korra was handling very well. That, in essence, was how her guilt had begun to grow. The Avatar sighed aloud and put her pen back to the paper.

'That's why I want you to stop waiting for me. I can't be with you the way that you deserve and it will be easier on us both if we-'

She felt her mouth go dry. A year ago she'd stood in the snow, broken and frightened, and told Asami that she wasn't able to handle their relationship. She had thought that she'd overcome those fears and grown enough to be able to take on the mantle of someone's love but maybe she was wrong again after all. Here she was again, broken and afraid, and she wanted to end her relationship with Asami Sato but at least this time her reasons made a little more sense. Didn't they?

Asami had already waited half a year for her, and it wasn't fair to keep her in some love-lorn stasis as she had. The engineer was young, and beautiful, and in the middle of a fabulous social circle with all manner of people desperately vying for a chance to get to know the young owner of Future Industries. It seemed cruel to ask her to wait for a half-paralyzed girlfriend an ocean away, who could barely drag herself into her bed at night let alone into someone else's. And the more time which passed between them, the guiltier Korra felt at leaving Asami alone in Republic City. At least if she ended their tie, then Asami would have the chance to find someone who could give her what Korra couldn't and Korra herself could be free to let go of one more guilt.

The Avatar swallowed, forcefully, and continued.

'if we ended what we had. I want you to find someone-' no she didn't. 'who can really be there for you, because I don't think that's me anymore.

I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you.'

Though, that was what she was going to do anyway, wasn't it? Asami was going to be crushed, and she could even imagine the way which her brows would worry together when she read the letter; possibly standing in front of her desk, upright with excitement over finally having a correspondence from her long-absent girlfriend. Then she'd look up, eyes glazed, and place the letter onto her folio without a word. She'd cry, perhaps in private, but it would be short and then she'd want to fix the problem at hand. She'd write a letter back, attempting to convince Korra that she was wrong and that she didn't mind the waiting but the thought made Korra frown darker.

'I know that this is for the best now, even if it's the hard thing to do. Just know that I'll always care about you, and I'll always be your friend.'

-Korra

She finished the signature and, without re-reading her words, she quickly folded the letter and tucked it into an envelope. She scribbled a memorized address, which had been scoured into her memory from re-reading Asami's letters over and over, and then she placed the missive on her desk table. She'd hand it over to the palace valet for the post first thing in the morning, and then it would be done.

Korra sighed again, softer, and looked at the letter which glowed under the light of the desk lamp.

Or, she could just toss into the rubbish, and she wouldn't have to loose Asami after all.

Where, however, was the logic in that? This was for Asami's own good, and her's as well. Clinging to their bond like some hopeful life-line was the selfish decision in all of this and she'd never be able to forgive herself for keeping Asami bound to a vain dream. She wasn't coming back; not like this. They both needed to let go.

Korra clicked the light back off and rolled her way back to the bed, climbing carefully into her warm winter blankets to snuggle herself deep into the dark comfort. Strangely, despite feeling more alone than ever, it was also morbidly gratifying to sever this last link to her former life. Now, there was one less person to disappoint.

Asami sat in the stateroom aboard her steam yacht, nervously reading through a docket of quarterly reports which failed to fully register in the engineer's troubled mind. She found herself scanning along the same graph nearly four times before giving up and closing the folio, sighing tersely. The ship, a smaller version of her mercantile vessel, rocked on its mooring in the Harbor City bay and she risked a glance at the porthole to see the late afternoon outside; she was disappointed to realize that the clouds had hardly moved since the last time she'd checked.

A knock on her cabin door whipped her quickly away from her work however and she called out in a hasty voice, "Yes?"

"Miss Sato? Someone's here from the palace, ma'am."

Asami was on her feet and rushing for the door before the deckhand had finished his sentence. She'd been docked in the harbor for an hour, almost, and it had taken all of the engineer's self control to wait quietly onboard her ship rather than march up to the Royal Palace uninvited and unannounced. Instead, she'd sent a telegram to the royal office to let Korra know that she'd arrived and wanted to arrange for a neutral place to meet. Of course, she hadn't worded the missive in those terms but it was what an invitation to dinner had essentially translated to.

Two weeks ago she'd received a letter from Korra, saturated with so much self-loathing it was a torment to read through. Asami had waited for six months, giving Korra all the space a person could possibly need, but the letter she'd received was proof that she had let too much go unsaid. Korra was in obvious pain and her isolation was only driving her further away from her and that was something Asami refused to allow. She had taken a few days to make arrangements for her office and then scheduled a southern tour, intent on seeing her girlfriend and making herself clear in no uncertain terms that their relationship was far from over. It was only when she actually pulled into the harbor though that she began to second guess the wisdom in her aggressive reappearance in Korra's life and so she'd allowed manners to take hold of her better judgement. The result was a precisely written and no-doubt surprising telegram, delivered to Korra herself.

But, she had not received a telegram in response. Instead, Korra had actually come on her own and Asami was practically giddy with nerves as she hurried through the corridor towards the topdeck, opening the hatch with shaking hands and casting her jade-hued gaze about for the Water Tribe gi-

Asami stopped, hand still holding the cabin latch as Tonraq, hair lifted in the seabreeze, turned to calmly regard her.

"Asami," he greeted warmly and took a step forward.

As veteran of countless galas, balls, and socialite soirees Asami was primed for quick adaptation and she allowed her disappointment to melt off her shoulders as she moved to take Tonraq's hand in a shake.

"Chief Tonraq," she squeezed his hand and tried to not peer around his shoulder in case Korra was nearby. "It's so nice to see you. How are you?"

"I'm very well," he responded in that same steady tone, locking eyes with her. "But I'm not the one you were expecting, am I?"

She felt her cheeks blush and dropped her hand, forcing herself to not comb back her hair as a way to deflect.

"No, sir."

He nodded. "May I suggest we have a cup of tea? I think we should talk."

"Oh," she blinked, feeling suddenly embarrassed and rude. "Of course. We can go below deck," she turned to escort him, and heard the Southern Water Tribe chief's heavy footsteps follow her into the main galley where she quickly requested the ship's cook to bring them both a cup of white ginseng. While the water was put on to boil she took a seat across from Tonraq, who was examining the stately galley with interest.

"These modern ships always manage to take me by surprise. I guess I'm more old fashioned than I like to admit," he remarked before smiling back at her. "I like my ships simple, narrow, and fast."

Asami smirked. "I don't think that traditional ships are going to disappear any time soon. They just aren't as ready for competitive mercantile shipping."

"And being wary of that is what makes me old fashioned," he chuckled. He leveled his soft gaze on her again and cleared his throat. "What are you doing here, Asami?"

The engineer swallowed, eyes dropping a moment. She had expected the question but the response, which hinged upon Tonraq's knowledge of her and Korra's relationship, was still delicate.

"I have a vendor here in Harbor City who I needed to hash some new contracts out with, and I figured I could see Korra while I was this far south."

It was a half truth, but easily believable, she thought. Asami was usually a pretty skilled liar, when it suited her, but Tonraq's slight frown implied that he was not entirely convinced.

The galley door swung open and a tray of steaming tea and small porcelain cups was laid down in front of them. Asami thanked the cook and put her attention on pouring both her and her guest a cup, hoping that Tonraq's speculative frown would vanish.

The chief took the cup that was handed to him, then a heavy sigh deflated from his massive chest.

"I don't think that you should see Korra," he said slowly and Asami felt her stomach clench with a chill hand. "It's not the right time."

"Right time?" She repeated, staring back at him, her tea poised between her fingers. "It's been over six months."

He nodded. "I know, and so does Korra. She knows better than anyone, and she knows that it's not the right time."

"Did she send you?"

"No. To the best of my knowledge, she doesn't know you're here. She was with Master Katara today, and I managed to catch your telegram before it got to her and decided that I should come down here and speak to you myself. Face to face."

The coolness in Asami's stomach only seemed to worsen. "Why would you do that?"

"Because, Asami, I needed to know if you've really thought about what you're doing."

"I'm visiting Korra. I haven't seen her in months, I have no idea how her healing is going, she's only written me one letter-"

"What did it say?" His rumbling voice broke easily through her bluster. "The letter she wrote?"

"...It said that she didn't want to see me."

He nodded, lips pressed grimly. "I thought that it might have. Korra hasn't sent any letters to anyone, and I only knew that she sent one to you because Senna told me. I was actually hoping that she was writing for you to come visit, but when Senna asked her about it she said that she didn't want any visitors. So, I have to ask you, what are you doing?"

Asami felt her shoulders start to shake, and she put down her tea. "I don't know," she gasped from between her teeth and closed her eyes. "I just miss her so much, and I know she's in pain and alone. I know she doesn't want to really break up, she's just saying that because she feels responsible."

Tonraq put down his tea as well and leaned his elbow on the table, reaching to wrap her slender hand in his rough, massive palm.

"You're probably right. In fact, I know you're right, but that's not what matters here. You think you're going to help her, just like the rest of us, and just like the rest of us you have to accept that only she can help herself now. Korra's as stubborn and independent as she always was, getting hurt didn't change that. What do you think she'll say when she sees one more person she respects show up to help her?"

Asami shook her head, swallowing back the quiver in her voice. "She always needs someone's help. You even said that."

"No, I said that she'll have my help when she asks for it. Korra knows that she can reach out to you, she's choosing not to."

She took in a difficult, soggy breath. "So, what now? I'm just supposed to go home and forget about her?"

Tonraq leaned back into his chair again. "You may not believe me, but its much harder when you're young. You think that everything is permanent, like traditional fishing sails, but then you get a little older and start to realize that nothing lasts forever: everything changes. Including ships. Including hearts."

Asami shook her head, almost vehemently. "That's not true."

"You've been a good..." he hesitated for a half moment. "Companion, to my daughter. A lot better than that Mako kid. I know how much you care about her, and I see that you have a lot of that care in you. But now it may be best if you care about yourself for a little while. I know that Korra will heal, she's too hard-headed not to, and when she does she'll know that there's really nothing in the world she can't do. Maybe then, she'll reach out again. You need to give her that chance. For both of your sakes."

Asami sat very still, not trusting herself to speak again and while she was forced by emotional constraints to keep silent she was also forced to hear what Tonraq had said. Finally, after she'd patted away the wet at the corners of her eyes and sipped her tea to clear her throat, she raised her gaze back to Tonraq's.

"Am I just being silly?"

"You're not being silly," he shook his head. "You're just in love."

"...Did Korra tell you, about us?"

He shook his head again. "No, I just put two and two together. Can't say I expected it, but can't say that I expected for my daughter to be the Avatar either. Once you realize that you have no control over who your child really is, you get a little less surprised by these things."

She gave a damp chuckle and cleared her throat again. "Thank you, for being so..." she stalled, unsure of how she wanted to define this painful and bizarre conversation. "Kind."

He smiled again. "You're welcome. And, for what it's worth," he started to shuffle to his feet. "I do hope Korra reaches out to you again some day. That'd be a real load off my mind."

She smiled a little and tried to rise as well but he waved a hand to pause her. "I can see my way out, sit and enjoy your tea. Take care of yourself, Asami. I'll see you again."

She nodded again and offered him a small wave, and then Tonraq turned for the stairs topdeck and left her in the galley alone with the wafting vapor of her teapot and the dark cloud of her thoughts.