DISCLAIMER: Korra and the rest of the Avatar franchise are not mine. 'Nuff said.

WARNING: This fic depicts an intimate relationship between two women. If that's something you can't quite handle, then I suggest you find something else to read.

Written for day 3 of Korrasami week. Prompt: Carry (me).

Spoiler Warning: Contains spoilers up through the end of Book 3 and what little we know about Book 4. This fic takes place a few years after the series ends. Since we don't know how it's gonna end, I'm taking complete artistic license and making things up as I go along.

/

Asami woke up with a sniffle. She arrived to work with a sore throat. By the time her morning meeting with the labor union concluded, she had a full-blown fever. She wanted nothing more than to disappear under a heavy pile of blankets and sleep for at least twenty-four hours. Unfortunately, she still had work to do. Asami sank into her chair and skimmed over the stacks of papers and folders on her desk. There was the quarterly financial report to go through, the plans for opening a new factory in Zaofu, and an endless list of project proposals. None of it, she thought grimly, was going to read itself.

She reached over towards the small console at the top corner of her desk and pressed a white button. "Yin?"

Her secretary's voice came through with a slight crackle. "Yes, Miss Sato?"

"Can you bring up some tea?"

"Absolutely, Miss Sato. Anything in particular?"

"Something with mint," she said.

"Right away, ma'am."

Asami sighed and snatched the quarterly financial report from the top of the stack. Time to get started.

/

Her butler was waiting for her when she stepped out of her Satomobile. "Miss Sato," he said as she approached. "There's a message for you from Avatar Korra."

Asami shrugged out of her coat. "She won't be home for dinner?"

"I'm afraid not, ma'am." The butler took her coat and ushered her inside. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" he asked, raising a brow when she coughed.

"No, thank you."

"Very well."

Asami crossed the marble floor in the entry way and eagerly headed for her suite of rooms. Korra's message wasn't uncommon. Both of them had very busy work schedules and they rarely got to spend much time together during the work week. Although Asami accompanied Korra on her trips out of town whenever possible, she still had a company to run. Much of the business could run itself - she made certain of that when she chose to hire only the most capable managers and delegate all but the most important work. Even so, a long day at the office was sometimes unavoidable.

Korra, on the other hand, nearly always had a full plate. Her work didn't always take her away from Republic City. It wasn't always dangerous or physically demanding. It was, however, frequently exhausting. The ongoing conflict between city states the Earth Kingdom had been especially difficult and emotionally draining. There were times when Korra would simply come home, curl up against Asami, and cry as if hoping that all of her frustration would leave her body with her tears.

Asami closed the bedroom door behind her and felt a sense of relief wash over her. Maybe it was a good thing Korra would be coming home late. She felt horrible. Tired, stuffy, and cranky. The last thing she needed was to spend her entire evening helping her girlfriend decompress. Asami instantly felt guilty at the thought and concentrated on untying her boots.

After a hot bath and a light dinner, she gratefully slipped between the sheets of the bed and pulled the covers over her head. She barely had time to think about falling asleep when she awoke to the sound of her name.

"Asami, get up. You're going to be late!"

Asami groaned and tried to swat away the voice.

"Seriously, Asami. Are you okay?"

A cool hand pressed against her forehead and some impressive swearing filled the room. Asami finally opened her eyes and saw Korra standing next to her side of the bed. Her shoulder-length hair was wonderfully disheveled and her loose pajama pants and tank did nothing to hide the swell of the firm muscles and curves underneath. The sight of strong shoulders and a hint of cleavage were too much for Asami. She felt herself grin stupidly.

"You are so sexy," she mumbled into her pillow.

Korra frowned and immediately pulled back the blankets to get a better look. "And you're sick," she said. "Now let me see."

Asami whined groped about for the blankets. Apparently satisfied with what she saw, Korra pulled the blankets up and tucked them tightly around Asami. She disappeared for a moment and returned with a bowl of water.

"Really, Korra. I'm fine. Only a little sick," she said when she saw the humorless look on Korra's face. "I can go to work. I'm just going to sleep in a bit."

"You're not going to work and you're not a little sick. You're a lot sick. You're burning up."

"Are you going to call a healer?" asked Asami.

Korra rolled her eyes. "Now I know you're really sick. I'm a healer, Asami."

"I knew that."

"Uh huh…"

The water rose out of the bowl and surrounded Korra's hands. It soon took on a blue glow and Korra began to move her right hand up and down Asami's body while the left hand remained above her forehead. The soothing sensation coaxed a soft moan from Asami and she felt less foggy-headed almost instantly. After a few minutes, Korra returned the water to the bowl and set it aside. Asami grew aware that Korra was staring at her with a mixture of concern and anger. The younger woman shook her head and stepped back from the bed before Asami had a chance to ask her why she was upset.

"I'll be right back," said Korra.

Asami watched her disappear and assessed her situation. She felt fine. Wonderful, in fact. She was still a little tired and definitely hungry, but she felt much better than she had all week. The bedside clock ticked away gleefully and Asami noted that she could still make her morning appointment and lunch meeting if she left the house within the next half hour. When Korra came in, Asami was already half dressed and trying desperately to pull back her hair into a bun that looked at least somewhat professional.

Korra set the tray she was carrying on a bedside table and crossed her arms. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What does it look like?"

"It looks like you need to take off that skirt and get back into bed."

Asami bit back a suggestive retort when she glanced over and found an angry Avatar staring at her. "What gives, Korra? I have meetings to prepare for. I'm already late enough as it is."

Korra strode over to her and stood with a hand on her hip. "And you're going to be more late. Now please get back into bed."

"Early spring is our busiest time of the year, Korra." Asami turned to look at her reflection in a mirror, trying to decide whether or not to give up on the bun. "You know that. After all, I - woop!"

Asami grabbed onto strong biceps and held on as she was scooped up and carried over to the bed. Korra gently lowered her and then perched on the edge of the bed. Her glower faded slightly. "Asami, why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

Asami looked at her hands. "I don't know. I didn't think much of it, I guess."

"You could've called or left a message. I was with the council all day."

"You don't need me bothering you when you're doing Avatar-y things."

Korra's eyes filled with concern and sadness. "Some Avatar-y things aren't nearly as important as this," she said. She brushed a piece of hair away from Asami's face. "You should let me take care of you more. I don't ever want to be surprised by something like this." Korra reached over to the tray she'd set down and picked up a small bowl of fruit.

"Breakfast in bed?" asked Asami.

Korra smiled and nodded. "Breakfast in bed. And after this, you're going to take a hot bath and I'm giving you a nice, long massage."

Asami sighed. "What about my meetings?"

"I… sorta took the liberty of calling your secretary and telling her to cancel all of your plans for today." Korra smiled sheepishly and offered Asami the bowl. "Eat up."

"And what are you going to do today?" asked Asami. She took the bowl and cradled it in her hands.

Korra climbed into bed and settled back against the pillows, scooting a little so that her leg touched Asami's. "I'm going to stay here, of course."

Asami popped a grape into her mouth. "But what about the council?"

"They'll get over it."

"Today's hearing with the representatives from Kyoshi Island was planned weeks ago. They'll be insulted if you say you're not going," Asami said with a frown. "You can't just back out of stuff like that."

"Actually, I can. And I did."

"Korra…"

"Asami, listen." Korra sat up and turned to face Asami. She took the other woman's pale hands in hers and looked her in the eye. "You take care of me all the time. You've always been there for me and you've sacrificed so much just to be with me." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "This shouldn't be so one-sided. I should take care of you more."

Asami shook her head. "My problems are minuscule compared to what you have to deal with. You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders."

"And you carry me!"

Silence hung between them for a moment and Asami saw the sincerity in the bright blue eyes looking back at her. She closed the gap between them and met Korra's lips with her own, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. A familiar feeling stirred in her and she hummed happily as Korra's hands cupped her face and held her close. Asami slowly broke the kiss and put the bowl back on its tray.

"Not hungry?" Korra pointed to the other small dishes on the tray. "I brought toast and yogurt, too. Just in case."

Asami smiled and leaned forward. "Oh, I'm hungry. But there's something else I want, first." She pushed the blushing Avatar back against the pillows. Breakfast was going to have to wait.

A/N #1: So there ya have it. Day three of Korrasami week. Same story as before - please let me know if you see any major typos or mistakes.

A/N #2: As a side note, I wanted to say thanks to those of you who have left reviews and are now following the story. It's definitely encouraging to be the subject of so much positive feedback. So again, thank you.