Chapter One
"Rebuild"
The small lake sparkles in the sunlight. Everything in the Spirit World feels richer and brighter. "Ah!" Asami yelps. A spirit splashes water at her and Asami begins to fire back. It's a water fight, and it seems the spirit is winning. Asami's red bikini decorated with white polka dots stands out, even with the bright colors of the Spirit World around her. She has nothing but a smile on her face. She seems truly happy.
Korra watches Asami splash around with the small spirit. She lounges on a branch of a short stubby tree. The height from the branch to the ground is only 4 feet. The avatar's feet dangle. Watching Asami has been something she began doing ever since they entered the spirit world. She noticed that Asami's presence is breathtaking, and for the past couple months, Asami had begun to change in Korra's eyes. The moment she held her hand before entering the spirit world, she felt an electric current pulse through her veins. It was unlike anything she's ever felt.
Korra giggles at the sight of the spirit pushing Asami into the water. Asami surfaces and scrunches her face unpleasantly. Korra continues to giggle. Asami comes out of the water and approaches Korra. My God she's beautiful, Korra thought to herself.
Asami grabs a towel and dries herself off. "That was not funny," she claims as she rubs the towel onto her legs. Korra tries desperately to focus on something else: the trees, the sky, anything but her legs.
Asami hangs the towel on the thick branch. She comes up to the avatar and leans into her. Oh my God, what is she doing? Korra asks herself. She could breath in Asami's blossom scent from how close Asami had gotten to her.
"Sorry, I just need to get my clothes," Asami apologizes. She grabs her backpack rested behind Korra. Korra lets out a mute sigh. Her cheeks had turned bright pink, and Asami noticed.
"I didn't know the Avatar blushes," Asami teases. Her smirk is playful and luring.
Korra panics. She's been trying to read Asami this whole time, but it sounds like she doesn't feel the same way as she does for her. Korra has been in love with Asami, but Asami isn't in love with Korra. That thought haunts her mind repeatedly.
"Can I ask you something?" Korra blurts out. She's known to sporadically word vomit intense thoughts or feelings. In case those forgot, she blurted out her feelings for Mako the second she thought of it.
Asami puts her shirt on and begins sliding into her pants. "Yeah, of course," she replies.
Korra pauses for a moment. How should I word this? …Word this? Come on, just shut up and ask her!
"Have you ever felt a certain way, but you knew you shouldn't?" she asks. Ok, maybe I shouldn't have asked at all. It felt like she suddenly swallowed a nest of butterflies. If she had, she hoped Asami didn't notice.
Asami taps her chin in an effort to REALLY think about it. She seems so casual, as if Korra didn't have a hidden question underneath the question.
"Yeah, I have," she finally speaks. Korra thought Asami had taken five years to think about it. She continues her thought, "when I kissed Mako while you two were dating, I acted on that feeling. I shouldn't have, but I'm kind of glad I did."
Korra's face goes completely blank. Okay, you're glad you kissed Mako. I didn't need to know that.
Asami notices Korra's uncomfortable body language. The last thing she wants is for Korra to get the wrong idea. She breaks the silence, "I'm glad because it allowed us to become so close. I love you, Korra. I'd choose you over Mako any day." She laughs.
Korra's heart tries pounding out of her chest. This is it. The words she's wanted to hear for months.
"You'd choose me over Mako?" the avatar asks slowly as she tries to take in what Asami just confessed.
Asami realizes how her words could be misinterpreted. She doesn't want Korra to feel uncomfortable, and the last thing she wants is for her to lose their friendship. She quickly corrects herself, "I mean, you're such a great friend and losing you would be so devastating to me."
Those aren't the words Korra wanted to hear. A sudden wave of anger washes over her. Here she was emotionally unstable because of her, and Asami is standing there completely normal. Rejection has never been easy for Korra.
Korra jumps off of the branch. She brushes off her pants.
"I think it's time to go back," Korra mumbles. She begins to head towards the Spirit Portal.
Asami stares at the back of Korra's head. "What just happened?" she asks herself.
A construction worker keeps a heavy concrete slab elevated in the air. He's getting tired from holding it up for so long. His supervisor holds his hands out in the shape of a football field goal to get a better perspective.
He shouts out, "to the left!"
The worker obeys. The slab slowly moves, then suddenly-
-Bolin jumps from a rooftop and uses the slab to push off onto another rooftop. Veins pop out of the worker's neck from his struggle of carrying Bolin's weight. He drops the concrete slab. It breaks. Bolin looks behind him.
"Sorry!" Bolin calls out. He continues sprinting through the rooftops.
Republic City has been under construction since Kuvira's attack on the city six months ago. Buildings are in need of complete remodeling, and the people of Republic City are all hands in. It's a team effort to get the city back up and running.
Bolin jumps from one building to the next. His speed picks up rapidly. He makes eye contact with city hall. He laughs victoriously. He gets to the last rooftop. He launches off the last rooftop and Earthbends several pillars towards the ground. He bounces off each pillar and lands in front of city hall.
"Wahoo! In your face!" he chants. He brushes off non-existent dirt off his shoulders.
"That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Bolin's still got it," he brags.
"Oh, he's still got it alright," a mysterious voice, teases.
Bolin turns to find Opal casually leaning against a branch. Her crossed arms and casually posture hint that she's been there for quite some time. Bolin's smile quickly forms into a frown.
"Aw man…" Bolin complains.
Opal approaches him and kisses him on the cheek.
"At least you still have your good looks," she winks.
Bolin cracks a wide cheesy smile. He's proud of his looks. He's a good looking guy and knowing his girl thinks so too gives him such a confident boost. Bolin notices Opal staring at the Republic City spirit portal. The two have been doing well, and Bolin had been falling deep for her the more they spent time together.
"When do you think Korra will come back?" she asks in amazement of such a power force in the city. The portal has allowed ordinary citizens to enter the spirit world freely without having to travel to the Northern or Southern water tribes. The beam of light has continued to shine and pierce the sky since Korra had opened it.
Bolin shrugs, "Avatars need vacations too. She better bring me back a souvenir. Like, one of those bobble-heads or a t-shirt!"
Opal grabs onto Bolin's collar playfully. "How about we get you some dim sum?" she pulls him away.
"The key to my heart," Bolin grins.
King Wu lounges at the long stone conference table. Ba Sing Se continues to stand as the Earth Kingdom's capital; however, a new form of government has taken place. It's now a representative democracy, where officials from each state are elected to represent their region. King Wu recently stepped down as an absolute monarch to establish this new form of government with the help of the United Republic Council. Tenzin observes among the new representatives facilitating the newborn government.
King Wu states, "I want people to have a good taste in their mouth when they say 'Ba Sing Se'!"
The representatives stare. They don't respect King Wu, but they allow him to continue his unproductive rant.
"That's why…" he pauses and clears his throat. Mako brings over a poster display with a poster-sized board covered in a black cloth.
Mako has been assigned to stay with King Wu, until the Earth Kingdom's full transition into its new government. He had to abruptly leave after Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding. He didn't get a chance to say bye to Asami and Korra, though it was due to them disappearing during the festivities. He misses home, but keeps in mind that he's almost done with his duty here, then he can return to Republic City and work under Lin Beifong.
"My fellow officials, I give you… King Wu's Dim Sum Emporium!" King Wu announces. Mako, annoyed, simultaneously lifts the black curtain off the poster.
King Wu's head overtakes majority of the poster as he holds a large dim sum with chopsticks towards his mouth. He looks like he's about to demolish the poor food.
Tenzin forces himself to show support of King Wu's proposal.
"What an insightful presentation, King Wu. Your business proposal can open up a lot of job opportunities for the people," he focuses on the bright side. He continues, "the council has called you here, because they'd like for you to maintain your position as King, but an inactive King."
King Wu frowns, "an inactive King?"
Tenzin nods, "Yes, think of it as being the people's king. Their role model, or mascot of the Earth Kingdom."
King Wu grins. He loves the sound of that. He'll be able to live the life of luxury without gaining a worry line on his forehead.
"I'd love to be the kingdom's mascot," King Wu replies.
The representatives smile at their accomplishment. They finally can win over the people of the Earth Kingdom with King Wu's charisma. The council dismisses King Wu.
King Wu bursts out of the double doors filled with much pride. Mako follows behind him dragging the presentation along.
"This'll be great! We get to live in the palace for free! I don't even have to make any drastic decisions!" King Wu belts out with enthusiasm.
Mako heard the word "we" come out of the King's mouth and a sudden nervousness settled over him. He had to tell the King he wouldn't be sticking around. He began enjoying the King's company, but he didn't belong in Ba Sing Se.
"About staying in the palace…" Mako begins.
King Wu raises his eyebrows, but suddenly understands where Mako is going with this.
"I get it. Listen, Mako. I know you're not used to luxury, but you don't have to feel bad for using me! I can take it," he says as he wraps his arm around Mako.
Mako gives a slight smile. "It's not that. I have to get back to Republic City, now that everything here is situated, and you're situated," Mako replies.
King Wu lowers his head. He loves Mako at this point. He finally has a person he can call his best friend, and now he's leaving to a city far away. Yes, he can visit him anytime, but if he did, he knew Mako would be too busy to see him. He was losing the only friend he had, and the feeling was heartbreaking.