KORRA'S CONFESSION

Korra walked nervously to her friend's room, and even though the door was open, she felt the need to knock. "Hey, Asami, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Asami smiled warmly as she looked up from her magazine. "Sure, Korra. Hey, you want to see one of our new ads?" She turned the open page around. In the background was a beautifully rendered crimson gear - the Future Industries primary logo - and in simple, bold, white lettering, it said, "SATO: A NAME YOU CAN TRUST."

Korra grinned down deep in her soul. "That's actually what I came to talk to you about." She sat down on the edge of the bed across from Asami's chair.

Asami waited for Korra to say something, and when nothing came out, she raised her eyebrows in question.

"Sorry, I just don't know where to begin," Korra fretted. "I mean, first, I got attacked by a dark spirit and lost my memory, and then when I got it back, I didn't get it all back, and so I forgot that Mako and I were broken up, but then when Tenzin took me into the Tree of Time, my whole life literally was right there in front of my eyes. Everything. All at once. I saw so much. I saw a lot of things that I needed to see that are kind of irrelevant at the moment, but I also saw that Mako and I were never going to work as a couple. Not ever."

"Korra, I don't want to be with Mako again, if that's what you're saying."

"What? No! That's NOT what I'm talking about." Korra made a gesture as if to urgently wipe the notion clear of the air. "Pfft! No."

"OK!" Asami conceded. "Sorry. Please, continue."

Korra shook her head a little to try and clear it. Her heart thudded, and her hands wanted to shake, but she wouldn't let them. "OK. Well, that's good to know, actually." She nodded her head and then shook it again. "I'm sorry for stalling. I'm not here to talk about Mako. I'm here to talk about us. About what I saw at the Tree of Time."

"Should I be worried right now?" Asami asked, not really seeming worried at all.

"No," Korra answered confidently. "No, actually, Asami, what I saw of you in there was how amazing and supportive you've been. I mean, you put up with the whole Mako debacle, you fought your dad for me, you saved my dad, you're always up for playing with me and the Airbender kids, you never back down from a fight, and you've been my main confidant for a while now."

Korra had never seen Asami look so vulnerable. Not as though she would cry, but as though the broken little girl inside her was peeking through, full of the hope of being loved. She smiled warmly. "You're my best ally, Asami. I couldn't ask for a better teammate or a better friend."

Asami made a little, "Aww," sound, but didn't interrupt.

"When I first liked Mako, it was because he challenged me. Then later, I realized he challenged me in all the wrong ways. I thought that fire between us meant that we were meant to be together, but it was that same fire that broke us apart. I never felt emotionally safe with him. It's like the complete opposite with you. You challenge me in all the right ways and I know I'm safe with you when I need to be. Our time together has proven to me that you are absolutely, one-hundred percent the best person I could ever choose to be in a relationship with."

Asami's eyes widened and her jaw slacked.

"I mean, if you ever wanted," Korra added self-consciously. "I mean, not yet! I don't want to just rush into things like I did last time, and I need some time to let my heart heal a little, but I saw what I have in you, Asami, and I had to speak up. I couldn't just let the moment pass. I'll understand if you don't feel the same way-"

"Let me stop you right there," Asami raised her hand and let out a little incredulous puff of air. "I do feel the same way. I do. I didn't really know it until you started saying all those things about me, but I can assure you, I love the idea of being with you, Korra."

Korra grinned and clasped her hands in front of her heart. "You do?"

"Yes," Asami chuckled at Korra's happy little kid face. "And I like the idea of taking things slowly, too. We both still have a lot to do to help repair the city . . . and ourselves."

"Yes!" Korra jumped up and pulled Asami into a bear hug.

Asami laughed happily.

Korra loosened her grip a little. "I'm not going to kiss you yet, but I am going to hug you for an inappropriately long time."

"You got it," Asami encouraged, making her embrace as warm as possible.

Korra almost purred. "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout," she mimicked Bolin. "This is definitely the safest place in the world."

"I feel exactly the same way," Asami answered.

"How are we going to break this to people?" Korra asked, grudgingly pulling away and plopping back onto the bed.

"Slowly and carefully," Asami answered, sitting next to Korra on the bed instead of back in her chair. "I mean, if we're taking things slowly, we don't have to tell anybody anything for a while."

"Good point. So . . . would it be OK if we just pretend nothing's going on at first? I really don't want to have to open that can of worms yet."

"Yes. I'm with you. I don't want to deal with it yet, either."

Korra laid back on the bed with a relieved sigh. "I feel like a really huge weight has been lifted off my chest, and now I can just relax-"

The sound of Ikki's running footsteps echoed through the halls.

". . . Or not." Korra sat back up.

"You guys! You gotta come help us! This poor little turtleduck got hit by a boat, and he washed up on the island, and now we're gonna help him get better! Korra, you can use your waterbending to heal him, right? Come on, let's go!"

The teens grinned knowingly at each other as the little airbender tugged on each of their hands, and without question, they ran off to tend to the injured turtleduck.