I posted the prompt at the end of this ch so there wouldn't be spoilers. Hope you guys enjoy this one!

The sun shone through the halfway open curtains, the dust particles floating in the light. Birds chirped, and a light breeze floated in through the window. Asami felt the warmth of the sunrays on her skin as she lay in bed. It was a Monday morning and she was due at work hours ago, but the lack of energy and motivation overpowered everything else. She still had tears to shed after nearly six months of loneliness. It hasn't been that long at all, but these past few months felt like an eternity. She didn't sleep this night, or the one before, and although she was exhausted physically, mentally, and very much so emotionally, she couldn't keep her bloodshot, splotchy eyes closed.

Her cellphone lit up again and a shuttering noise of phone on wood filled the room. She would get it, but that meant reaching over to the nightstand and her head didn't hurt enough to warrant getting the phone and stopping the incessant vibrating. Besides, she was sure that it was her assistant calling, probably about her absence. The phone rang several more times, each one more annoying than the last and after the seventh call in the span of five minutes and the sun's rays finally reaching her face, her usually impeccable patience ran out and she sat up abruptly, scooting off of her side of the bed.

She aggressively grabbed the phone and screamed into the receiver, "what?!"

"Hey Asami," she recognized Mako's voice and instantly regretted yelling, "your secretary called me just now and he's a bit worried since you weren't picking up. Are you okay?"

"Peachy," she mumbled, defeat clear in her tone. All the anger seeped out of her as the pain and numbness took over her once again.

"Do you want me to come over?" he asked gently.

"No. No, I'm okay." She leaned her elbows on her knees and cradled her head. "…It'll be six months next week."

"I know… How about Bo, Opal, and I take you out today? We can go anywhere you want," he offered.

Asami was silent for several seconds before speaking again, "what am I going to do? She's gone and I can't- I don't know- "

"You'll get through this 'Sams."

"…I don't want to. There's only so many times you can get over losing everything. I lost my family three times. Korra was the last straw. It's killing me Mako," she whispered as her voice broke.

"I'm on my way, okay? We'll go out on the town and get your mind off things. You'll be back to normal in no time." She didn't want to go back to normal but what else was there. Mako stayed silent for a moment and then began to speak hesitantly, "…do you ever think she's out there somewhere?"

"I used to."

"And what happened?"

"I woke up to a man in uniform at my doorstep, handing me a letter."

"But they're still not sure. She could be-"

"Stop it! They said there's no chance she's alive. The MIA is just a formality because there was no damn way to know if it was her body. I got her half-melted dog tags in the mail Mako… I'm not talking about this anymore."

"But she could still be al-"

"Just pick me up and take me to a bar. I'll see you later," she said tiredly and hung up. Her head throbbed and pounded, and her chest ached. She harshly pulled the curtains closed and laid back down, bringing Korra's pillow to her chest and curling around it, and resumed staring at the wall, pretending that Korra's scent was still in the pillows case and begging for her hope to go away, to let her shattered heart rest.

Their night out ended early when Bolin and Opal cut Asami off at the bar. She was teetering on the edge of being plastered and Bolin ended up half carrying her to their car. It was not a good look for her, and she could tell, even through her state of haze, that her friends were disappointed. They held quiet conversation as they drove to her place to drop her off, while she leaned against Bolin's shoulder as the two of them sat in the back seat. Although she was mostly out of it she could still make out some of what was said, and it made her feel much worse than she already felt. They talked about Korra, how Mako refused to give up hope and still thought she was alive, how much they were missing her, and especially how Bolin was afraid that Asami would slip back into her catatonic state that plagued her for nearly a month after a soldier came to speak with her about her loss. She felt heavy tears slide down her cheeks, and buried her face in Bolin's neck as she silently cried.

When they got to her apartment Opal volunteered to stay and look after her for the night while Mako and Bolin ended up crashing on the couches in the living room. It didn't matter much to the engineer what they did though, or who stayed with her this time, and as always her thoughts drifted to the blue eyes that she longed to see just one more time. As Opal helped her get to her bed and took her shoes off, Asami crawled over to Korra's side and clutched the pillow to her face, longing to feel strong dark arms hold her. Instead thin ones wrapped around her as Opal tried to comfort Asami. She let Opal hug her, thinking that she might as well let one of them feel better about themselves. As she lay in Korra's spot she felt her eyes droop and her thoughts grew hazy as sleep enveloped her and the nightmares took over.

She didn't know how long she was asleep for when she woke up with a scream, and felt someone jolt next to her. The drowsiness from the alcohol, and disorientation from the nightmare left her confused and for a split second she thought it was Korra by her side. Her heart broke all over again as Opal's words of encouragement flowed over her and she let herself collapse back into the sheets.

The six month mark came and went, and although it was one of the longest and hardest nights of her life, soon enough Asami was able to feel more like herself once again. She went to work every day and stayed there till darkness settled in the streets, she called Korra's parents several times a week, like she had done for the past six months, to talk and make sure they were okay, she distracted herself in her garage. The most important thing was that she didn't have free time to dwell on anything for too long.

Her days began to take shape of the routine she created after the initial wave of loss and grief passed her, and although she was dead inside, she went on, working hard and doing her best to smile for her friends. She knew that she could do it, she could live without Korra, hell, she was living without her. But it hurt her so much. She just hoped that it would get better eventually.

It was three weeks after the six months mark that a man in an army uniform walked into her office and with a sense of urgency dropped an envelope on her desk. He told her that he was asked to deliver it to her right away and with a quick goodbye he left without giving her a chance to question him. This felt too much like the day when she received news that Korra's camp was bombed, and that the woman she loved was gone.

She cautiously took the letter, choking down the sheer terror she felt in this moment, and turned it around. On it were two words 'Open me'. The handwriting was blocky and small, and it was familiar, oh so familiar. She ripped into the paper carelessly, nearly shredding it as she yanked the postcard out from it. Her hands trembled as she looked at it. On the front was a picture of Harmony Tower, and on the back were scribbled a few simple lines.

'Hi,

Remember the turtle duck date we had?

It was my favorite.

We should go again sometime, don't you think?'

She was out of her seat and running to the elevator, just barely managing to grab her keys as she passed them on her desk. As the elevator finally made it to the parking garage she sprinted to her car, and within moments she was off.

The drive wasn't long and after a mere fifteen minutes she stood in front of a lake just below the tower, leaving her car recklessly parked half way onto the lawn. She frantically looked around the people walking through the park, petrified at the feeling of hope rising in her chest. Her breathing was heavy and adrenaline rushed through her veins as she kept searching. Her eyes caught a glimpse of tan skin, and her ability to breathe left her.

There she was. Korra, rolling towards her in a wheelchair, a smile on her face and flowers in her lap. Asami's knees gave out and she collapsed to the ground sobbing, her hands at her face, and rocked in her spot as her gaze never left those blues she's been wishing for. Pedestrians around her stopped as they looked on confused as to what was happening, but all Asami could see was her Korra making her way toward her. She tried to move to her, but her legs wouldn't listen so she just cried as Korra approached.

"Hi," Korra said simply when she was barely a foot away. Her face had bruises, one eye slightly swollen, and her legs was gauzed up, with small splotches of blood showing up here and there. Traces of malnourishment showed on her face, and exhaustion was clear in her eyes. She looked beaten and broken, but the tears in her eyes, and the smile she wore showed happiness.

Asami lunged at her, and when those strong, warm arms wrapped around her she cried harder. Her whole body shook, and her hands gripped the back Korra's shirt tightly, and she cried.

"You're here," she choked out.

"I'm here." Asami buried her face deeper into Korra's neck and held her closer.

"Spirits, you're back. You're back, Korra." Asami felt Korra chuckle and warmth filled the empty pit that haunted her for so long.

"I missed you," Korra said simply. It was so mundane, so simple, what Korra said, so Asami laughed through her tears. She laughed and her hands shook as she grabbed hold of Korra's face, avoiding the bruises and just stared into her eyes. "Sorry I've been gone so long. I didn't mean to."

Despair laced her words and Asami tugged her into another embrace. They stayed this way for a long while, trying to come to terms that they were together again.

"These are for you by the way," Korra mumbled and moved away slightly, bringing up the bouquet in between them. She had a small smile on her face and the intensity with which she looked at her nearly made Asami cry from happiness again. "I know they're your favorite so I figured since I was waiting here anyway, you know, might as well get it. Did you get my postcard?" Asami nodded as she marveled at the tan face she's missed so much. "Of course you did. You're here right? Did you like it?"

"Yeah," Asami said, her voice full of happiness even though it was weak, "…When did you get back?"

"Honestly? Last night. I wanted to come to you right away but they had to do a checkup. I'm not exactly in the best shape right now," Korra said with a chuckle.

Asami put the flowers back into Korra's lap and took her face in her hands looking deeply into her eyes. She gently caressed tan skin still trying to take in that Korra was alive and well and safely home. "Where have you been?" Asami asked, as gently as she could even as her voice trembled.

Korra silently looked at Asami, and the engineer could see the fear in her eyes. She tried to speak but resigned to looking in her lap. "The anarchists we were fighting took me," she whispered, "I was there for six months a- and… they wanted information from me. I didn't tell them anything."

"Why not," Asami's voice broke, maybe if she did she would have been home with her instead of out there being broken.

"Come on 'Sami. You'd do the same." Korra's demeanor changed to a teasing, happier one, making Asami reel from the fast change. "Let's not talk about it for now. I just want to enjoy this moment. I missed you so, so much."

Asami wiped the tear streaks on her face, and sniffled. "I thought you died. You were dead and there was nothing I could do and it killed me Korra."

"I'm okay 'Sami." Korra tugged on Asami's collar, bringing her in close, and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. " And I'm never leaving you again, that is if you'll have me." Korra reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a little black box. "I bought this before I left, but I figured it would be easier on you if we were just a couple while I was on tour. I guess I made the right choice huh?" Korra opened it up, and a beautiful gem peeked out at Asami. Her gasp was drowned out by Korra, though, as she began to speak faster, as she usually did when she was nervous. It was just so 'Korra' that Asami couldn't hold back the happy tears that brimmed at her eyes.

"I know I've been gone, and a lot has probably changed, but the way I feel about you, it didn't. It anything it grew stronger, it saved me 'Sami. You saved me because all I could think about was how I had to survive because you were waiting for me…" She took a deep breath as she continued, "I actually got this ring during our vacation in Zaofu. They had a lot of green gems, naturally, and this one stood out the most because it's the closest color to your eyes that I have ever seen, and you know how much I love your eyes. The clerk called it sage green or something, but it's still not the exact color because your color is impossible to copy, you know?" Asami smiled as Korra ranted on while her eyes darted around Asami's face, and her hands clutched the open box.

"I figured doing this here was perfect because this was our first date, but I can't exactly go into the turtle duck boats right now, so I did it here. I was just gonna go to your office at first, but I figured this would be a little more special and you deserve everything to be special. And I know I messed up and made you worry but I'm here now, and I won't leave anymore." Korra took a deep breath and finally asked the question Asami had been waiting for, "So I wanted to ask you this for nearly a year now, and I think this is the perfect time. Will you marry me Asami?"

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes," Asami grinned and kissed Korra over and over again.

"I would get down on one knee but," Korra said with a laugh, and Asami joined in. Korra took the ring out and gently slid it onto the thin finger. I felt great, amazing, perfect. Her warrior came home alive, and they still loved each other so much, and this was the happiest day of her life.

"You giant dork. Can we- can we go home?" Asami still held Korra close, and she dared not let go.

"I would love that. I'll need to call my mom and dad as soon as possible though. I really want to talk to them."

"My phone is in the car," Asami said vaguely gesturing towards it.

"Did you forget how to drive while I was gone," Korra asked with an amused smile as she eyed the car.

"Perfect parking wasn't really on my mind at the time."

"So you parked on the grass?"

"It was the closest spot available," Asami replied with a whine.

"You do realize I need to wheel myself to the car, right?"

"I'll uh, I'll help you get there."

"Through the grass?" Korra asked incredulously as she laughed again.

"I don't think I can let go of you right now." Korra noticed that Asami was still holding her close and hadn't released her the entire encounter.

"I think I can live with that."

Prompt:

Waterbender: Someone returning to their family after they were thought dead

(object) postcard 1

(color) sage green 1

(AU) No bending 3

Word count ~2800