A/N: What... what a long update. This is the first major break from canon, and things will go a lot differently from here. For now, I project that this story might be around 10 chapters long. If you want to see more, and I haven't posted a week from now, pressure me as much as you want.
"Korra? What are you doing up?" said Asami.
Korra sat on Asami's bed, and Asami sat next to her.
"Can't sleep," said Korra.
"Neither can I," said Asami. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I felt something coming from your room, like a spiritual energy, or something. It probably sounds crazy but I felt like I had to go to you," said Korra.
Korra had sensed the dimension portal that opened in Asami's bedroom, despite not having great spiritual abilities. Impressive.
"Thank you. To be honest, I know you have your own things to worry about, but if you don't mind hearing about my own…" said Asami.
"I'd love to," said Korra, flashing a reassuring smile.
Asami considered telling Korra her worries about her possibly dating Mako then and there, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.
"I'm… still processing what happened yesterday," said Asami. "Fighting my father was a nightmare. He supported me all my life, told me he loved me, and I loved him too. We spent time together. He taught me so many things, and seemed so genuine. The fact that he could turn to the equalists and harbor such hate in his heart, I, I just don't understand."
"Mmm, I'm sorry about that," said Korra, absentmindedly.
"How could he betray me like that?" said Asami.
"Mmm," said Korra.
It was clear that Korra was preoccupied by the way her shoulders slumped and how she stared at the ground, not uttering more than a few words in response.
"Korra, I'm sure you'll be able to get your bending abilities back. Don't worry about it," said Asami.
"What kind of avatar loses them in the first place? If I don't regain them, I'm not fit to be the avatar. I'm a failure," said Korra.
"Don't say that. You defeated Amon and defended Republic City bravely. That's something to be proud of," said Asami.
"Thanks, but an avatar has to be able to bend all 4 elements, and I lost 3 of them. I'm not even the avatar anymore," said Korra.
"Korra," said Asami.
"Good night, Asami. I'll see you in the morning," said Korra.
Korra left, and Asami was filled with worry over her situation. If she brought up Mako, that'd be insensitive to Korra. Romance was on the bottom on the list of priorities. But then she remembered the hours she spent in the Justice Star, and what Hellen told her. Breaking them up before they could get together was a priority. In the early morning, Asami targeted Mako.
"Good morning," said Asami.
Mako was already pacing around the dining room with bags under his eyes. When he saw Asami sit down at the table, he averted his gaze.
"Good morning," said Mako.
Awkard tension filled the air. Asami wasn't mad at Mako for his indecisive way of ending their relationship, but she didn't really want to see him, either. But she had to have this conversation to save Korra from him, and save herself the pain of watching them date.
"We need to talk," said Asami.
Mako looked like he'd like nothing better than to disappear, but complied and sat across from her.
"Okay," said Mako. "Okay, I'm sorry about the way things ended."
"I'm not mad. I know you fell for Korra, and you can't help who you like," said Asami.
"It wasn't because of you. I don't know how it happened," said Mako.
"I am a little disappointed, though. It felt like you cast me to the wayside," said Asami.
Mako winced. "I wasn't trying to do that."
"What's even worse is dating someone else right after a breakup and right in front of me," said Asami. "How do you think that makes me feel?"
"I'm not dating Korra," said Mako.
"Don't act like you're not going to," said Asami.
"I don't know what you want from me," said Mako.
"Then I'll make myself clear. Don't go after Korra," said Asami.
Mako shifted about. "I'm sorry, but I like her."
"As usual, you only think of yourself. About how sad you'd be if you didn't get to date. Did you ever once think about me? Did you ever consider that you might've hurt me? If you had been clear with me about everything with Korra and about where you wanted us to go, I would've accepted it," said Asami.
"I'm sorry. I didn't apologize properly," said Mako.
"And how do I know you won't treat Korra the same way as you treated me? Will you toss her aside the second you find someone with a prettier face, or more muscles, or a more charming personality? I can't let you do that to her," said Asami.
"I love Korra. I would never do that," said Mako.
"That's a bold assertation. Everyone thinks they'll always love someone, but then they get their heats broken and find that they move on extremely easily," said Asami.
"Yes, I acted very badly, but can we drop the subject for now? There are more important things to worry about at the moment, like Korra's bending," said Mako.
"If you promise me one thing, I'll forgive you and we can forget about all of this," said Asami.
"What?" said Mako.
"Don't make a move on Korra or accept her advances for a month. If you still want to date then, I won't stop you," said Asami.
Mako wanted to protest, but in a rare moment of self-reflection, he took a deep breath and looked Asami in the eye.
"I promise," said Mako.
Guilt chewed at Asami for pushing Mako into a corner, though she was relieved from his guarantee. Even so, she didn't entirely trust his promise. If Korra wanted him, Asami didn't see how he could resist her.
Tenzin, Pema, their children, and Korra's friends waited to hear the news, whether Katara could bring her abilites back. It was suffocating in the room, and no one said a word. While Korra could heal it in other people, there was no way to know if she could for herself or how it would work, but Katara was a respected healer, so all their hopes remained on her shoulders within the next minutes.
Katara finally emerged, unable to do anything for Korra. Korra ran off into the snow scape, not wanting to be comforted and just be by herself. Mako even tried to tell her he loved her, but when Asami glared at him, he shut his mouth.
"I have to be there for her," said Mako.
"I'll go," said Asami.
"But she needs me," said Mako.
"Maybe she doesn't," said Asami. "Remember what we talked about? She'll just get hurt down the road if you begin a relationship this way."
Mako's head bowed. "Fine."
Asami wasn't that close with Korra, which made her nervous if she wanted to assist her properly. Even so, she walked out in pursuit of her. The winds were strong, and snow got in Asami's face, which she blocked with her hand. She followed her footsteps for a minute, freezing to the bone. There she was, sitting at the edge of the cliff. Asami approached slowly and sat beside her.
"Not now, Asami," said Korra, voice cracking. Tears were streaming from her eyes.
Asami said nothing and put an arm around Korra, pulling her into a hug. Korra resisted at first, but melted into her embrace, sobbing for a good while.
"What do I do?" said Korra when calmed down a bit.
"You still have us. We all care about you, no matter how much bending you have," said Asami.
"If I don't have bending, I've lost my purpose. I trained all my life for them, and now they're just, gone," said Korra.
"You're the strongest person I know. You'll be able to make it through this," said Asami.
"You think so?" said Korra.
"Of course. If defeating Amon was the only thing you were able to do as the avatar, that's more than enough, but I don't think your ability to be a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds ends here. You don't have to be the most powerful bender to make a difference," said Asami.
"Then what were all those years spent for? I want to beat up bad guys and fulfill the one thing I was born to do," said Korra.
"Your purpose extends beyond that. This is only an obstacle, and I think you're wonderful and capable of overcoming this," said Asami.
"Thanks," said Korra, breaking free from Asami. "You've been nothing but nice to me despite how horrible I've been to you."
Asami smiled. "I understand what it's like having something important taken from you, Korra, I really do."
"I don't how to move forward from this, though. I don't have the same confidence in myself that you do," said Korra.
"We'll figure this out, together. Everyone will always be there for you, and I can promise that I want to support you even though we're not close yet," said Asami.
For the first time that day, Asami witnessed Korra smile, and what a beautiful smile it was. Asami felt her heart skip a beat.
"I feel closer to you after this talk," said Korra.
"Uh, sure, um," said Asami, willing herself to calm down. "And there's one more thing I wanted to discuss. It's about Mako."
"What about him?" said Korra.
"You know how my breakup with him went. It wasn't pretty, and all I wanted to say was that it's not a good idea to date him right now," said Asami. "I don't think it'll end well."
"Okay, I trust you," said Korra. "If you think it's better to hold off on him right now, that's what I'll do."
When Korra and Asami got back to where the rest were waiting, Korra announced that she would try to stay strong, but she needed some time to recover, which gave everyone notable relief. While Korra went to her room, Bolin tugged on Asami's sleeve, leading her outside along with Mako.
"Guess what, guys? I'm planning something a few days from now," said Bolin.
"Really, what?" said Mako, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.
"Something to help Korra feel better. I say we put on a show. My ferret will dance and perform tricks, Mako can sing –"
Mako cringed.
"–Asami can take her racing, and then we'll all go out and eat noodles. It's perfect," said Bolin.
"I'm not going to sing," said Mako.
"I hear you humming when you're doing chores," said Bolin, to which Mako sputtered.
"I agree, I think we should take things slow," said Asami. "How about we just eat noodles?"
Bolin looked downcast. "Maybe you're right. It's a bad idea."
"The sentiment is great, and I do think it'll be good for Korra. Maybe we can perform some other time," said Asami.
Bolin seemed to cheer up at that. So that became the plan in 3 days. In the meantime, they let Korra rest. Bolin was beyond excited for the day and was hardly able to keep it a secret from Korra, but Asami was apprehensive since they were going with Mako. She didn't want it to turn into a double date with Korra and Mako splitting off to have a romantic night, and Asami was determined to make sure that didn't happen.
