Burns
Summary: Why Asami is always covered from head to toe. Set after final battle with Zaheer and before Korra leaves/disappears for three years.
Asami knocked lightly on Korra's door. She pressed her ear to the wood and waited patiently. Snores from Naga and a few chirps from ring-tailed lemurs were the only sounds that filled her ear. She frowned and was about to reach forward and knock again when she heard a soft "come in, Asami".
"Hey Korra, are you ready for breakfast?" she asked after sliding the door open. She stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. "Pema has made some cuttlefish noodles. Your favorite."
Asami walked over to where the wheelchair was sitting in front of the window. She grabbed the handles before rolling it over to Korra's bedside. Korra looked up at her with tired eyes. Dark bags lined the bottom of her eyelids and her once bright blue eyes looked a dull grey.
"Sounds good," she rasped. Asami leaned forward and helped move Korra up into a sitting position before transitioning her from the bed to the wheelchair with ease. "You must be getting stronger. Not many people can lift me that easily," she admitted.
"Must be from all of your amazing muscles," Asami commented. Korra smiled for a second before it disappeared.
"Will you grab me a blanket?" she asked quietly. "I'm cold this morning. Normally I can bend the air warm around me."
Asami nodded. She noticed Korra reaching for a small notepad and pen when she turned to grab her blanket. Korra only wrote as a means of communication when it started hurting to talk. After having the poison siphoned out through her mouth, Katara had explained that her vocal chords were damaged. "Here you go." Asami wrapped the blanket around Korra from her feet all the way up to her neck.
Korra pushed the blanket off of her chest and into her lap. She then started to write on the pad before holding it up so Asami could read it aloud: "Not too much. I don't like to be wrapped up a lot
"Sorry about that." Asami folded the blanket in half and tucked the sides under Korra's thighs in the chair. "More layers would keep you warmer."
Korra bent her head down as she started to write again. Asami couldn't help but find it humorous when she saw Korra's tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth in concentration. "More layers would make me overheat. I'm surprised you've never overheated in that."
"I do, all the time," Asami explained. "Why do you think I go swimming a lot?"
"Come to think of it, you are always covered up." Korra looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
Asami sighed deeply. "And you'd like to know why."
"I am curious."
"Have I ever told you that my mother was killed?" Asami asked.
"No, but I do know. Lin told me when we suspected…that your dad…"
"Yeah," Asami said quietly. She took a seat on the bed and shrugged. Korra rolled her chair around so that she was in front of Asami, knee to knee. "It happened that night…"
Six year old Asami sniffed before rolling over to her side. Her small chest moved up and down as she breathed deeply. Her mouth hung open a bit, allowing a little dribble of drool to seep out onto her bed pillow and smaller pillow shaped like a car wheel. It was clutched tightly in her hands and in between her legs. Her body curled around the pillow.
She sniffed, a bit harder this time, before flipping to the other side. A soft grunting sound followed. A few moments later perspiration began to drip down her back. Asami whined before moving onto her back. She squirmed in her sleep, trying to get the feeling off.
With a gasp, Asami's eyes snapped open. She mumbled before burying her face into her wheel pillow. "Too hot," she whined.
Her bedroom door was flung open a moment later before the light flicked on.
"No school," Asami cried. She turned over and curled herself into as small of a ball as possible as she felt her father's arms wrap around her body.
"Come on, honey, we have to get out," he insisted. Asami didn't recognize the tone of his voice. She quickly opened her eyes. Hiroshi leaned her against his chest before turning to rush out the door, a small briefcase in his hand. Asami's eyes widened when she saw her wheel pillow still laying on the bed.
"My pillow," she cried and stretched her arms out as if the pillow would magically appear in her hands. She then beat her small fists onto her father's shoulder. "My pillow."
"Asami, we have to go. Now!" he barked.
Asami turned and looked up at him. It was then she started to cough and rub her eyes as smoke filled the air. Hiroshi ran down the stairs as fast as he could. When reaching the bottom landing, he tripped over his feet and crashed to the floor. Asami flew out of his arms and rolled across the floor a few feet before stopping.
The smoke was thicker and caused her to cough harder. She was immediately drenched in sweat as the heat was much more intense on the bottom floor.
"Asami," Hiroshi coughed.
Asami rubbed her head and got onto her hands and knees. She remembered learning in school that she was supposed to stay down, close to the ground so that there would be cooler air. She still breathed in a bit of smoke but it was cooler nonetheless.
"Daddy?" she called out. She started to crawl towards the direction she thought was the front door. She felt a small breeze coming from that direction. On the way, she paused when she felt a weird texture under her hand.
She softly patted her hand, following the texture up until she reached something hard. She then patted her hand a bit more until she felt a pair of cold lips underneath her palm. "Mommy?" she whispered as she pulled her hand back. Her palm had red lipstick stained on it.
"Ow!" Asami wailed as she felt immense heat on her legs and back. She turned and saw flames flickering closer to her feet. She then saw burn holes in the back of her nightgown and near the bottom close to her legs. She quickly patted them out before scooting closer towards her mother. "Mommy," she shouted.
Hiroshi wrapped his arms around Asami before picking her up and rushing out of the house. Asam sighed in relief as she felt the cool night air. Her eyes widened in shock when she noticed the flames licking at the front door they just passed. She started to furiously kick her legs, a tactic that used to single that she wanted down out of her parents arms.
"Don't look, honey," Hiroshi said softly. He shifted her in his arm and started to wipe away her tears. Asami ignore him as she struggled to get out of his grasp. A few waterbenders walked up and started to move the cool water over the burns on Asami's back and legs where her night gown had melted. She whimpers gradually faded as she relaxed in the soothing healing.
"Get away," Hiroshi ordered
"But, sir, your daughter will scar-" Asami flinched as the cool water disappeared from her body and her father's clothes rubbed up against her burns.
"Leave us alone, your kind did this!"
Asami hadn't realized she was crying until she felt Korra wiped away a stray tear with her finger. She watched as the Avatar quickly scribbled on a piece of paper. "But, I've seen you swimming before. Come to think of it, I've even seen you climbing out of your pool."
"True," Asami answered with a nod. "but when I climb out, I turn to sit at the top of the ladder or the side of the pool so that I scoot backwards so no one can see. Otherwise my bathing suit hides it."
Korra bit her bottom lip. She again focused her attention on the notepad in her lap. After writing out a new massage she held it up in front of Asami's face. "I'm sorry." Next to the writing was a small doodle of a sad looking Korra as well as a howling Naga.
Asami smiled softly at the picture. "It's okay. You've shared enough with me these past few days. I figured it was time I told you something about my past," she admitted quietly. "Plus, it helps bring closure with…everything."
"Korra, Asami, breakfast," Jinorah said from the other side of the door. A few seconds later it slid open. Meelo quickly ran inside. Jinorah was holding baby Rohan in her arms, patting his back. "Mom is keeping it warm for you, so take your time."
"I want to ride with Korra," Meelo said quietly while climbing into her lap. He looked up at her and smiled. Korra affectionately rubbed the top of his bald head.
"Let's go," Asami said before getting up and pushing Korra's chair towards the door.
AN: This is a story based off of a headcannon of mine. I always wondered why, aside from swimming, Asami was always covered up. She looked to be wearing more layers than anyone else excluding the airbenders, air nomads, and air acolytes, as well as the members of the South Pole because they have to be covered to stay warm.