Reconstruction
She was in deep trouble now. She rolled to her side to get more room to tug at her handcuffs. Pure platinum. How could she let this happen?
"I can't burn through it." Mako mumbled annoyed. On the third attempt he burned his own hand instead of the cuffs and softly cursed.
"Just a simple mission. It's not a trap, they're just unprepared. No need to check the perimeters Mako." Mako's voice dripped in sarcasm, while he was struggling with his chains a little longer. Korra wanted to protest, but only muffled angry sounds left her. Why did they always muzzle her? She was the Avatar, not a polar bear dog.
Korra had taken Mako on a simple mission in the south of the United Republic of Nations. He was back from his duties in the Earth Kingdom, now the Earth Republic, and he wanted to get to his old job as fast as possible. So Korra had invited him to help her round up some mountain bandits. Mostly amateurs, but somehow the bandits managed to ambush them and now they were here.
Korra could admit that she was a bit incautious, but her intel was wrong. These bandits were suppose to be harmless. Someone at the station could have told her they had high tech weapons and even mecha suits! Above all that, Korra had the feeling that they had expected them.
"Shhhh! I'm hearing something." Mako exclaimed, his body froze. Korra rolled her eyes, what part of being muzzled didn't he understand? Her angry thoughts stopped when she heard a loud thud outside the small room they were in. A couple of seconds later she heard a man groan. Something was definitely going on. Now there was a scrapping sound at the door. A few gears clicked in the lock and the door was shoved open. Korra wanted to airbend herself up, but only achieved an half roll across the floor.
"Good to know you still need me after all those years." A familiar voice filled the room. Korra's muscled relaxed and relief washed over her.
"Asami! What are you doing here?" Mako asked in disbelieve.
"I didn't hear from you last night, so I got worried. Are you both alright?" She asked while walking towards Korra. Even in her uncomfortable situation, Korra couldn't help but smile at those lovely green eyes moving in closer. Asami was here, everything was going to be fine.
With some fidgeting Asami released the gag around Korra's head, throwing it aside.
"Jeez, you really got yourself into trouble here, didn't you?" Asami mumbled.
"But you love me because of it?" Korra asked back with a grin. Asami lightly nodded her head at Korra's comment.
"You're lucky that you're sweet. Now hold still, I'm going to cut your chains." Asami said, pulling a portable platinum cutter from her pocket. Future Industries' answer to the new rise of platinum weapons used against the police force.
With a clang the handcuffs fell to the floor and Asami moved on to the chains around Korra's legs. In no time the Avatar was standing again.
"You never stop to amaze me." Korra said gently, leaning in for a hug. Asami was all too happy to wrap Korra save into her arms. Even though the mighty Avatar did this line of work for years, she always had a talent to make Asami worry.
"Hmmm, guys. A little help here?" Mako said, exaggerating his struggle with his chains a bit to get his point across..
"Oh, right. Sorry Mako." Asam said, moving away from Korra to help the bound up firebender. Korra pouted at the loss of body contact, but made no remark. It was kind of her fault Mako was in this situation.
"We have to get moving. Lin is clearing out the building, but she didn't get to this side yet and I only could take out a couple of guards on my way here." As on cue, Korra could hear footsteps when Asami stopped talking. Mako jumped up and rubbed his wrists where the handcuffs had been.
"Let's get them this time." He said, following Asami out of the room. Korra was last to step into the hallway and Mako and Asami already started taking down guards who were running towards them. Electric sparks and flashes of fire lit up the hallway. Korra could see how well Mako and Asami worked together. Their movements complemented each other and nobody got past them.
"So the appointment of the president went well?" Asami asked, flinging another man over her shoulder into the wall.
"Yes, but Wu had to make a show of it. I swear, that man would make a show of eating his cereal in the morning." Mako answered back as he knocked two guards down.
"Does the head-to-the-wall-method still work?" Asami asked with a grin, moving forward to begin the assault on a new stream of incoming bandits.
"There are a lot of walls with dents in them at the royal palace." Mako joked, joining Asami further up the hall.
"Well, I'm happy to have you back." Asami took a pause to smile at her friend. Korra listened to the small talk, all the while Mako and Asami took out every opponent. Korra wanted to get into the action as well, but the corridor was quite narrow. Everytime she wanted to blast someone away, Mako or Asami got to them first.
Another useless puff of wind moved through the air, almost hitting Asami's back as she slammed the man Korra was aiming for, against the wall.
Come on! You're the Avatar! Korra boosted herself up. A giant of a man rushed towards Asami and Korra saw her window. With a gentle tug she directed Asami out of the way while releasing a strong burst of wind towards the man. In response the man raised his arms and the blast of wind circled upwards. Spirits! He's a airbender! Korra thought. The wind hit the ceiling above them. Plaster fell down and part of the ceiling hit Korra right on the head.
"Korra!" Asami yelled, while Mako took out the man with a blast of fire. Asami rushed to the floored Avatar. She brushed some debris off of her.
"It's really not my day." Korra coughed, dust filling her lungs. She felt Asami's hand press on her forehead.
"Don't move…" Asami commanded. Her eyes looked worried and stern. It was then that Korra felt a warm trickle going down her face and a stinging pain in her head.
"Ouch…" Korra murmured.
"Everything okay!?" Mako yelled back. His breath was laboured since he had to take everyone out by himself now.
"Clear the way, Lin should be her any second!" Asami yelled back, while pulling off her electrified glove. "Just hold it for a second." She said in a calm and reassuring voice. She moved Korra's hand towards her forehand, replacing her own hand.
"I'm sorry…" Korra felt stupid.
"Don't worry about it." Asami answered, no judgement in her voice. She shrugged her jacket off and took the underside of her shirt between her teeth, ripping it.
"I'm glad I'm wearing an old shirt." Asami chuckled. Korra could see part of Asami's bare stomach and looked away, faintly blushing. Not a good time to let your thoughts wander… Korra thought while she felt her hand move from her forehead. A piece of cloth replaced it, absorbing most of the blood that was falling down. Out of instinct Korra took over the cloth, pressing it against her head.
"Can you walk?" Asami asked, while putting her jacket back on. By now the corridor was quiet, besides the occasional grunt from a fallen opponent and the faint sounds of the fight continuing in the distance.
"Yes, I think so…" Korra mumbled, trying to get up. Asami took her arm and helped her. Korra shifted her weigh between her legs to check if everything besides her head was fine. "No further injuries." She declared.
"Good, let's get out of here." Asami stated. She took Korra's hand and led her down the hall.
"Found it." Asami said. Korra was sitting on the edge of the trunk of Asami's Satomobile. She still held the cloth from Asami's shirt to her forehead. Asami sat next to her and opened the first aid kit.
"Why won't you let me heal myself?" Korra grunted, her headache making her cranky.
"Because you won't be able to see what you're doing. You need another healer. In the meantime I can patch you up."Asami patiently explained. She removed Korra's hand from her forehead and started to disinfect the wound.
"Ouch…" Korra whined. She felt embarrassed. Police officers who were walking by looked at her. She even saw one shake his head. They must think I'm a lousy Avatar. But my intel was lousy! Korra huffed to herself.
"Don't mind them. They would be nowhere without Lin's orders. " Asami reassured Korra. Sometimes Korra could swear Asami had developed the ability to read her mind.
The wound on Korra's forehead was smaller than Asami had expected, so taking care of it didn't take her long.
"There, all better." She said, kissing the brand new plaster on Korra's head.
"Thanks…" Korra smiled. Somehow Asami made everything better. Asami smiled, sighed and sat down next to Korra. She rolled her shoulders, feeling a faint ache from exhaustion.
"You know that Lin could have saved us as well?" Korra said, knowing that Asami was tired.
"Yes, but I needed some fresh air. Besides, it was a nice way to catch up with Mako."
"Normal people go to lunch or something to catch up with friends. They don't infiltrate a bandit's lair." Korra chuckled.
"I thought I mix it up a little." Asami grabbed Korra's hand and rested her head on her shoulder. She couldn't remember the last time she had a full night of sleep. After all the excitement she was sure she could just fall asleep anywhere.
"Shall I drive us home?" Korra asked, squeezing Asami's hand for attention.
"With an head wound like that? No. I trust you and you're getting better at driving, but I rather die in a normal way." Asami joked, sitting up. Korra pouted at her harsh judgement of her driving skills.
"Wait till the next time we go out on the tracks. I will tear you record apart." Asami laughed and stood up.
"It's good to know the Avatar still has dreams too." She teased while walking around the Satomobile to get behind the wheel. Korra followed her to the other side.
"Dreams have a tendency to get real." Korra mumbled, taking her place next to Asami.
"Don't I know it." Asami sighed, looking lovingly at Korra.
"We've been working for almost a year now on reconstruction of the city centre. All the plans are made, so why aren't we moving forward? If we want to keep the balance between spirits and humans, we have to clean up the mess around the spirit portal." Korra complained.
"Yes, the plans are there, but Raiko and the city planners haven't made a decision yet. A couple of plans are still in the running." Raiko's assistant explained. This was the fourth meeting Korra had with the committee for the rebuilding of the area around the new spirit portal. Months had passed and nothing has happened yet. Giving Korra an immense headache.
It was, to say the least, a mess around the portal. Debris from her battle with Kuvira was lying everywhere. Old buildings and scraps of metal from the mechasuits were decorating the ground. Korra wanted it cleaned before the spirits would get upset, but the bureaucratic system paralysed the whole operation.
"There has to be a plan that's workable and better than the rest." Korra responded a little agitated. The fact that Raiko had sent his assistant instead coming himself was putting Korra on edge. As if this wasn't an important issue.
Mako flashed Korra a supportive glance, not wanting that she would be caught up in her emotions. He was here on behalf of the police force. They had to make sure the spirits wouldn't harm the citizens of the city and the other way around. If the building activities would upset spirits, disaster would follow, so he had to make sure the area was secure.
Besides that, he was here for moral support. He knew how Korra hated these meetings and his presence might pull her through them.
"Well, the plans that Future Industries have delivered are by far the best…" The assistant mumbled. Of course they are. Korra thought. Asami had made them personally. Making all-nighters to perfect her plans. She had asked advice from Korra and Jinora to make sure her plans were benefiting the spirits as well as the people of Republic City.
"Let's run with those then." Korra remarked.
"It's not that easy. Future Industries is already under contract to build the new city centre. There are doubts whether one company can realise two important and large projects at the same time." The assistant continued.
"That's ridiculous!" Korra spoke, slamming her fist on the table. Mako coughed in his hand, obscuring Korra's inappropriate intense reaction.
"We can't look in the future, so every company could fail at realising plans. As long as Future Industries has a realistic work plan, there shouldn't be any concern." Mako rephrased Korra's exclamation in a more acceptable manner.
"Whether or not Future Industries can realise its plans, we like to look at other candidates as well. I mean, Ms. Sato hasn't been seen in public for over an half year, people start to think she lost her... mind. Her connection with the people is withering, so contracting her company might give a bad impression. It's politics, so image plays a big part in this decision." Juan, representing the city planners in this meeting, spoke freely.
Oh no…Mako thought in panic. Juan was from the Fire Nation and Raiko hired him to oversee this project. He was known for his architectural knowledge. He worked on a lot of temples throughout the world, making him a spiritual specialist as well. Being foreign, he didn't know a lot about Republic City or its people. He wasn't interested in gossip and news, so he didn't know that Avatar Korra and the CEO of Future Industries were in a relationship. His harsh words about Asami might be the last spark to lit Korra's short fuse.
Mako was bracing himself for a raging Korra, but Korra slightly slumped in her chair.
"This shouldn't be about image. If you want a good image, get the place cleaned up and rebuild with the best plan. I'm sure Ms. Sato would agree to a meeting with the committee to take away any doubts about herself." Korra spoke calmly.
"We might invite her." Juan agreed, not knowing the level of awkwardness he had just created.
"Alright, let's adjourn this meeting and see each other next week. By then the committee must have voted for a plan." The assistant said and Juan nodded. Korra let out a sigh of relieve that the meeting from hell was over, but she still felt frustrated. Another two hours without a clear decision. It really did her head in.
"Did he really call Asami an insane hermit!?" Bolin asked, holding in his laughter.
"Not with those exact words, but it was what he meant." Korra said. After the dreadful meeting Mako and Korra had joined Bolin and Opal for a couple of drinks.
"It really caught me off guard. If someone knows how to present herself in public, it's Asami." Mako chimed in, sharing his surprise at Juan's comment.
"Well it's true that she hasn't attended any public events lately. Where is she now?" Opal asked, recalling she hasn't seen the young CEO in a while.
"She's actually working with your parents right now, working on the plans of the new city centre." Korra said. "She's not an hermit, she's just busy. Trying to make this a beautiful city again and people are just whining about public affairs. You should read the magazines and papers, all questioning her whereabouts. Some even said that Asami felt disdain towards the 'normal' people. As if! She can't rebuild the city and go to all those pretentious cocktail parties at the same time." Korra vented her frustration. She couldn't say any of this during the meetings. Her relationship with Asami should stay out of their work lives, but it felt good to defend her girlfriend in front of her friends.
"People appreciate her work, they just need something to read."Mako said.
"That's right! They'll take back the statements once everything looks pretty again." Bolin cheered, raising his glass.
"I don't know…" Opal murmured, shrugging her shoulders.
"What don't you know?" Korra asked, surprised by Opal's reaction.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but my mom worries about Asami. They've been working on the city plans for months now and she thinks Asami looks tired." Opal tried to voice her concerns in a nice and calm manner.
"Tired? Of course she's tired, we all are. There's a lot of work to be done everywhere." Korra said, not really getting where all the concern about Asami came from.
"I know but she's not just tired. She looks thinner and paler than normal." Opal decided not to beat around the bush. She saw Asami at Air Temple island last week. She was picking up Korra and Opal had talked the her a little. Asami looked absent-minded and a bit chaotic, which was weird. Opal knew Asami for four to five years now and she always came across as someone who has everything under control. But last week she looked frail.
"Asami is fine. I mean yesterday she even saved Mako and me from those bandits! What more proof do you need?" Korra stated once again, more for herself than for her friends. Her girlfriend was okay, right? Of course Korra had noticed how Asami would stay late at her office more often. And how she sometimes drifted off into her thoughts or how she had trouble falling asleep.
"If you say so, I mean you're the girlfriend." Opal gave in, not wanting to upset Korra further.
"Maybe she just misses her dad. I mean losing both parents is hard." Mako guessed.
"She has been sad, but she can cope." Korra mumbled, getting less sure of her case. "Can we talk about something else?" She asked, feeling like she was the worst girlfriend ever.
"Varrick made me head of his new project. Although I don't really know what his new project is." Bolin answered Korra's request.
"As long as it doesn't involve wild animals. The Air Nation has more to do than catch wild life in the streets." Opal said with a pained expression.
"The walk-in zoo was a great idea! It just needed some tweaking." Bolin defended his questionable boss.
"Right…" Opal sighed.
"This is very impressive!" Su said in awe. She walked around the model of the new city centre. The little buildings, road, parks and even little trees and people were carved out of wood. It must have taken weeks to create something so delicate and precise.
"I had some time on my hands." Asami smiled, feeling genuinely proud. She never had tried to make a model on scale before. Usually Future Industries would hire some people to do it, but since sleep didn't come easy to her these days she tried it herself.
"Some time?" Su asked, raising a eyebrow at the CEO.
"See it as an hobby. With waiting on approval for my plans for the spirit portal it kept my mind off things."
"Waiting? Your company has a billion projects going on. I'm sure you don't have to get bored." Asami laughed, guessing that Su was right. Su however looked at her with a serious espression. Asami looked neat, like always. Not a hair out of place and her clothes wrinkleless. Still, her complexion was way paler, her eyes a bit glazed over and Su could swear that she had gotten thinner.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm fine." Asami waved Su's stare away. It wasn't the first time that the earthbender had voiced her concerns about her health. Yes, things were hectic, but she was doing alright. She was happy. No war, a great girlfriend, she should be happy.
Asami sat down behind her desk and started to stir in her cold cup of tea.
"Alright, this looks great. Bataar has completed his sketches for the new museum you want to build. He will bring them around tomorrow." Su went over in her professional voice.
"Good, I must say, working with Zaofu is a great pleasure. I might get dependent on you." Asami joked. Su wanted to help rebuild Republic City since her son was partially responsible for the destruction. What started as a project out of guilt, soon transformed into a inspirational journey. She knew Asami was good at her job, but working with her really taught Su a lot. And Asami in return was always eager to hear Su's wisdom.
"Same here. So are you going to the party Raiko is throwing? His counsellor for the spirit portal Juan will be there too."
"Ugh, you mean the party to celebrate Raiko's re-election? I think I will pass." Asami mumbled. She used to be interested in politics, but since Kuvira's attack she had lost her appetite for it. Somehow she hadn't had any patience left for those empty words and promises of politics.
"It might be a good idea to come. Your friends haven't seen you in a while and won't Korra go?" Su asked, taking a seat on the other side of the desk.
"I see my friends plenty. And my ideal night out with Korra doesn't involve the president." Asami joked.
"I know, but we both also know that plans don't get realised with only good ideas and funding. They get made on silly parties." Asami sighed, knowing that Su won't let this go. Honestly, it made her almost physically sick to think about dressing up and shake hands with people she didn't care about. She couldn't remember how she did it before. But she was also a business woman and landing the deal to rebuild the area around the spirit portal was important. Not only to her, but to Future Industries as well. So Su might have a point.
"Fine, I can always hop by." Asami almost grunted.
"Great, I will see you there!" Su clapped in her hands and stood up. "Time for me to go. Now take good care of yourself and I see you at the party."
"I'm looking forward to it." The sarcasm was hard to miss, but Su smiled anyway. When Asami heard the door close behind Su she closed her eyes. Mentally she tried to schedule the party into her agenda. The workload almost made her want to cry, but she also knew it was her own fault.
"It's better than doing nothing." She mumbled into her empty office.
Her green eyes flickered over the board. The handcuffs tinkled whenever she raised her hand to move a piece on the board. Kuvira tore her eyes from the board to look at her opponent. Asami was staring at nothing in particular, obviously deep in thought.
Asami's visits usually were shrouded in silence. The first time the heiress came around Kuvira didn't know what to think. Did she want an apology? Did she wanted to yell, Kuvira knew that Su did. But Asami just sat across from her, stared at her a bit and planted the Pai Sho board in-between them. This became a weekly ritual.
"Your starting to slack." The ex-general spoke. Her voice bounced off the walls from the little cell.
"You're playing too defensive." Asami simply remarked, moving another one of her pieces in a risky position. When Kuvira first played with Asami she didn't know the game that well. She had watched some games her soldiers played, but never found the time to learn it herself. Prison gave her that time though and playing against Asami proofed to be the fastest way to become an expert.
Without saying a word, Kuvira shoved one of her pieces forwards, winning the game.
"So what's the matter with you?" Asami looked up. She wasn't used to Kuvira asking her questions.
"What's it to you?" She spat back, leaning back in her chair.
"I don't know you, but I know that you don't just lose." Kuvira had a point.
"They're moving you."
"I'm going back to the Earth Kingdom or Republic as they call it nowadays. Has the Avatar not mentioned it to you?" Kuvira saw the muscles in Asami's right eyebrow contract, making it shudder.
"She has." Asami started to put away the Pai Sho board. "She doesn't like to talk about you with me. She thinks it upsets me."
"Really? I upset you?"
"No." Kuvira wanted to groan, this conversation was going nowhere. She wasn't that interested in the life of Aasmi Sato, but since these visits were the only mystery in her life now, she was a bit curious. Her departure from Republic City might finally shed some light on the heiress's motives.
"I personally think they should keep you here. Our facilities are modern and your biggest crime was against Republic City." Asami said as if she was pitching an idea.
"It's all the same to me. Cell interiors don't change as much as you would like." There was a small hint of a grin on Asami's lips, but it was to faint to be sure.
When Asami had gathered all her things she stood up to leave. Like always, she didn't say a word as she knocked on the thick door to be let out. Never a goodbye, a snarky remark or painful comment. Silence. That was her goodbye. When the thick door closed again Kuvira sank a little deeper into her chair. As always, their weekly game left her in puzzlement, something Kuvira hated.
"Hey you." Korra softly cooed as she walked up to Asami's desk. Asami looked up, the candle light nipping at her face. Her eyes look shallow. Korra shrugged off the thought as soon as it hit her. She shouldn't let her friend's worries get to her. If there was something going on with Asami, Asami would tell her.
"Hey yourself." Asami said, genuine love creeping in her eyes. See! She loves me! We're fine. Korra convinced herself as she wrapped her arms around the other woman from behind. She inhaled deeply, shamelessly smelling Asami's hair. A mix of flowers and something that was unique to the engineer filled the Avatar's nose.
"Is it bedtime?" Asami asked, knowing that Korra always came around when she thought that Asami had worked long enough.
"It was bedtime two hours ago." Korra hummed, sending vibrations into Asami's neck. Asami shivered, indulging in the soft kisses Korra was planting on her neck. It took her some will power to break the caresses and turn to look Korra in the eyes.
"You're in some sort of mood." Asami said, a knowing grin on her face.
"Can you blame me?" Korra whispered, trying to look innocent. That coaxed a chuckle from Asami.
"You're unbelievable."
"Unbelievable irresistible you mean?"
"Really?" Asami cocked up an eyebrow while a bemused smile never left her mouth. "I wish I could give in, but I have to finish this." She tried to break the news to Korra.
"Awh! Come on! Don't be all work and no play." Korra whined.
"I'm sorry. I will make it up next time?" Asami's voice went up a couple of pitches, now being the one who tried to sound innocent.
"Pfff, fine." Korra pretended she had any say in it. "Just… Don't overdo it."
"What do you mean?" Asami asked as she shifted back around to return to her papers.
"Well… If there is something going on, you will tell me right?" Korra asked, no longer able to hold off the question. Asami turned back around with a worried expression.
"What should be going on?"
"I don't know. Like ulterior motives for burying yourself in work." Korra knelt in front of Asami and grabbed her hands, running her thumb over the pale knuckles. "If this is about your dad or…"
"I stopped mourning weeks ago."
"That's not the point. I still think about my uncle or Zaheer every day. Grieve can hit you out of nowhere." A slender finger under Korra's chin made the Avatar look up, where she was met by serious green eyes.
"This is about Republic City not my father." Asami swore.
"Good." Korra whispered and planted a kiss on Asami's hand before standing up. She had to believe that Asami was telling the truth, but it was hard to shake the feeling that something was off. Asami did look tired, more than usual.
"Don't worry too much. I will get this deal done and after that it's just waiting for the constructions to finish. Then my schedule will clear up." Asami tried one more reassurance.
"Alright. Just don't let me sleep alone too long. You know Naga will take your place." Korra said as she walked towards the door. Asami snickered.
"I will do my best."
It was late, so late that it was almost early. Soft snores, more resembling sighs, were filling the bedroom. Asami loved that sound, it sounded like an ocean. With a smile she watched the sleeping figure in her king-sized bed. It was maybe a bit creepy to watch your sleeping girlfriend from afar, but it was an activity that calmed Asami's worrying heart. Korra was sound asleep, strongly breathing, everything was good in the world.
Forced by exhaustion, Asami walked further into the room. Without disturbing the Avatar, she fished her nightgown from under the pillow. She continued to walk towards the wardrobe and quickly started to change for bed, neatly folding her clothes to place them on the shelves for tomorrow.
Quietly Asami walked to the bed and stepped in. When she realised the soft snores had stopped, she had messed up somewhere.
"Hmmm... how angry am I supposed to be at you right now?" Korra mumbled in a sleepy state.
"The sun isn't up yet, so it could be worse." Asami whispered back.
"Ugh. Asami." Korra groaned as she turned towards the other woman. Asami smiled, softly kissing Korra's forehead.
"Just go back to sleep."
"Hmphm. Turn. I want to hold you." Korra demanded. Asami rolled her eyes, but did as Korra requested. When her back was turned to the Avatar she felt a hand slide over her waist and a warm body covering her back. "Can't stay angry at you." Korra murmured into Asami's neck.
"Never go to bed angry." Asami said back, but her smart little comment was lost when snores filled the room again. Asami stared at her bedside clock, where arms ticked away what was left of the night. She willed her eyes close and focused on the protective grip Korra had her on. She felt her heart calm down, pounding in time with Korra's. For a second there was an harmony in the room and a second was all Asami needed to drift off into a dreamless sleep.
I don't own the legend of Korra or its characters.
So a new story :) I had this laying around for a while now. Hope you see potential in it and liked reading it !