Delivery Girl
"Five minutes..." Korra moans, looking at the clock hanging lopsided from the window of a pawn shop. "Or maybe four..."
She is dashing through Republic City, the rebuilt and reconstructed streets a blur to her blue eyes. Airbending helps her dance around the pedestrians, shouting "Sorry," every time she nearly bumps into one. A woman stumbles into her and drops her bags of groceries, which Korra quickly catches with her earthbending, before bowing in hopes it will amend the sour expression on the woman's face, and handing her the brown paper bags.
Why does this cause her more stress than the Equalist Movement and Kuvira combined?
Korra runs up a wall and seizes the roof of the shop with one dark hand. She pulls herself up, exhaling sharply, and starts running above the street. There, that speeds things up significantly. Breathing a sigh of relief, the Avatar jumps from building to building.
It is then that she realizes she is going to be slowed down significantly. She sees a mugging in process. A mugging. Wonderful. Diving down from above into the grungy alleyway, Korra tackles the mugger to the ground as he yelps wordlessly in surprise. She pins him down and tears the knife from his hand, gesturing for the man holding out his wallet and trembling to run. And run he does.
"Asami," Korra says as she examines the ticking clocks of a weird building in the Spirit World they have crept into. "I think you should invent a clock that only goes backwards."
Asami smirks, unsure how to respond to that. "I don't really think that would be a very useful invention," she murmurs before seeing Korra's pleading eyes. "But for you, I'll give it my best effort."
"Good," Korra says with a confident smile. Asami can only sigh at that as she examines the faded clocks of many colors.
"So why do you want a clock that only goes backwards?" Asami inquires, tapping the glass on one of the clocks and recoiling as it disappears into thin air. Her neck bones tense in surprise. This Spirit World is certainly more interesting than Republic City, if terrifying.
"Because my life just keeps going, and going, and going..." Korra complains as she sits down on a chair. Asami half expects it to disintegrate and Korra to fall, but the Avatar does not. "It would be nice just to take a breather."
"So... you want me to invent time travel?" Asami's eyes are sparkling now.
"If it's not too much trouble," Korra replies with a shrug and a grin.
"I think you've deserved your vacation. And a couple years of relaxation. With or without Future Industries inventing time travel," Asami remarks earnestly and Korra frowns for a moment.
"I don't think R&R is on the Avatar's list of duties." She now looks relatively despondent and Asami is not sure what to say. She just touches Korra's shoulder, and hesitantly leans forward to kiss her.
Their first kiss. Time travel, musings on vacation, and a first kiss.
"He just was mugging someone, gotta run!" Korra shouts at Mako's face, tossing a handcuffed, scraggily looking man onto the floor of the first room of the police station.
"Uh, good morning," Mako says but Korra is already out of the door and running again. He scratches his head and exchanges a glance with his friend. Beyond weird.
Korra finally makes it... halfway there. She skitters into the teashop, leaning against the wall to catch her breath. The people inside look startled, either sitting at tables or waiting in line. Korra smiles at them all and waves, realizing they do in fact recognize her as the Avatar, and that she looks incredibly ridiculous.
Waiting in line is anxiety-inducing. Korra shifts her weight from foot to foot, but even though everyone offers for her to skip ahead in line, she politely refuses. Avatar duties come before this sworn responsibility, as much as Korra wants to rush ahead.
Finally, finally, Korra reaches the counter. "Hi, I need one, uh, to-go cup of jasmine tea with, uh, cream and sugar but not too much cream and way too much sugar."
"I know your order, Miss Avatar," the old man says, smiling and nodding at her. Korra slumps on the counter as she pays and waits. "No worries."
No worries. It is a phrase Korra wished would just produce a magic worry eraser that would literally wipe her worries away. Unfortunately, the Universe does not work like that.
Korra grabs the cup of tea and turns to leave, then quickly turns back, says the most coherent, "Thank you!" she can manage, and then bolts out of the door again.
Okay, things are only five minutes behind schedule, Korra notes as she catches sight of another clock. And she is almost there. Just a little cheating with some airbending and...
"Korra," says Asami's secretary with a warm smile. "It's nice to see you."
"Tea getting cold," Korra responds bluntly without thinking. She scampers up the stairs and pushes open the glass and wood door leading to Asami's office.
Okay, look cool, look cool...
Korra breathes in and out, calms her racing heart, wipes the sweat from her skin and walks to Asami's desk with a smooth walk Bolin said he was impressed by.
Asami smiles, looking up from boring paperwork that makes Korra grateful her job mostly consists of bending and badassery and not pens and paper.
"Got you your tea. On time as usual," Korra says confidently, sliding the drink to Asami.
"You really didn't need to," Asami says, although it brings a glow to her cheeks, which have been sallow lately since she has been negotiating deals with a company in the Fire Nation.
"It's no trouble," Korra lies with a shrug.
"Thank you. This is actually the best part of my day," Asami says as if Korra does not know. As if that is not why Korra does it.
Asami pecks the Avatar on the cheek, and Korra plays it cool and exits the office to resume saving the world.
Another day, another success as Delivery Girl Avatar Korra.
end