Chapter 4: Together

Asami smiled, "I like you, too, but can we talk more about this later, because right now I need a shower and to get unpacked and generally I just feel like this is a big conversation and I'd like to actually think a little bit because this is kind of a huge deal and I'd just like to be a little more comfortable before I sit down and have this conversation with you."

I nodded. I was both ecstatic and terrified by her answer. On one hand, she liked me! On the other hand, that didn't necessarily mean that she wanted a relationship with me, as I'd learned in past from Mako. That meant that I could still have my heart broken yet. The silence as we continued back towards the house was a little awkward, so I decided to fill it.

"How was Republic City?"

"It was actually really nice being back there, although I did spend most of my time in meetings." She smiled, apparently she was glad to fill the silence, too, "I did get to have dinner with Mako and Bolin, though. Bolin is going to be leaving soon to help reunite the Earth Kingdom, so it's good I got to see him before he left. How was your time here?"

"It was kind of boring. I miss Republic City and most of my friends. I also feel kind of guilty, here Bolin is fixing up the Earth Kingdom and I'm STILL getting better. That said, it was nice spending some time with my parents. We should eat with them some time... I mean, if that's not going to be a thing that's awkward... but we're having that conversation later so I'll drop that."

You really put your foot in your mouth there, Korra. I snarked internally, We're carefully avoiding a topic? Let's manage to get there again within, like, two sentences!

Asami laughed, "It's fine. I'm not up for the conversation yet, but I'm sure we'll be able to eat dinner with your parents in at least some way at some point. I'm honestly sorry I'm not up for the conversation yet, I'm sure you're in a kind of a nervous place."

"It's fine. I mean, I'm super nervous, but still, I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"That's very thoughtful, thank you."


Asami's POV:


As I stepped out into the bathroom and closed the door behind me, I sighed. I needed some time to think; I really, really liked Korra, but I'd just assumed that she wasn't in a place to date, or that she was scared, because she'd seemed to have these feelings for a while. I'd honestly guessed that she'd never ask, so I'd never thought through if I was willing to date her.

I stripped out of my clothes, and turned on the water. I was really glad that this comfort of home, heated water, was available here, unlike a number of others. Showers were always relaxing, and they gave me time to think.

And think I did. On one hand, if I dated Korra, she wouldn't be the first woman I'd dated. I smiled fondly at the memories of the girl who HAD been my first. My father had walked in on Liling and I, which is actually when our relationship had become semi-serious, until that point we'd mostly been screwing around. My father had been really supportive, he'd merely expressed concerns that we were a little young to be doing what we'd been doing, and asked me to keep it a secret, as it could wreck both my reputation and his. That relationship, like most relationships between girls the ages we'd been, died because neither of us was good communicating what we needed. Still, it'd been fun while it lasted.

I'd been perfectly comfortable dating girls then, but now my reputation was a much more present concern, my father's betrayal of the city still weighed heavily on my company and even my own reputation. I wasn't sure that Future Industries could survive people finding out that I was bisexual; on one hand, it wouldn't do as much damage as my father's betrayal of the city, on the other hand, the brand was already pretty heavily damaged.

Still, I really wanted Korra. I liked her a hell of a lot. I had these feelings for months and I'd been trying to give them up after I'd become reasonably sure she was never going to tell me she felt the same way but they never, ever went away. Still, I wasn't sure how she'd take to us having to be a secret; and we would have to be a secret. There wasn't really any other choice if I was going to live in Republic City. Here in the South Pole, we would be tolerated, we wouldn't be criminals for who we were, but that was only really as a giant 'fuck-you' from the Southern Water Tribe to its Northern Counterpart; even the general public here had no love for people like me or Korra. Still, things in Republic City were worse. Any queer couples in the public eye could rely on being charged under the sodomy statue, even there was no evidence they'd technically been having sex. Republic city was NOT a safe place to be gay.

Of course, I also had no idea of exactly what Korra wanted. Even if I did decide I wanted a relationship, did she? That was, as least, something I could talk to her about. After my shower, I made my decision as to what I was going to do, got out of the shower, dried myself off, got dressed again, steeled ALL of my courage, and then opened the door.


Korra's POV, a few minutes earlier.


I picked at my nails nervously. I just wanted an answer; I had a good idea of what she was probably going to say, but still, I just couldn't settle my mind. Plus, what if she did say something different? What if she didn't want to be more than friends? It seemed like that'd be a perfectly reasonable way to feel, even if she liked me, from what my parents had told me yesterday.

I was even a little scared. I'd had the public turned against me before, and that had been really unpleasant. I'd ultimately been pushed out of Republic City. Still, I wanted to pursue this; even though I was scared, she seemed worth it. It felt like forever until the door finally opened, and my nervousness exploded again. Now was the moment of truth.

"I'm ready to talk." She sounded as nervous as I felt.

"Alright, so. I like you. You like me. What are we going to do about this?" I asked.

"I guess that rests on your answer to some questions. First, are you OK with us being a secret? I just can't afford to be open about this with the reputation of my company already in ruins and the laws in Republic City being so repressive. Second, what are you looking for with me? Are you in a place where a relationship would work out? You've been going through a lot lately, and if you want me to wait on you recovering a little bit more, I can do that." She offered.

I hadn't really thought about keeping things a secret. That was really disappointing, but it was kind of obvious now that I thought about it. I wanted to tell the whole world. Still, it wasn't a total deal-breaker; for now, at least, it was honestly easier than the alternative. Maybe some day the world would be a better place for people like us, as well. Plus, I reasoned, there were some people who it would be safe to tell.

"I guess we can keep it a secret. There are some people who I know it would be safe to talk to, in particular my parents, so I'd really like to tell them eventually, and honestly I'd kind of like to tell them sooner rather than later, but aside from that this can absolutely be a secret if you want it to be, that makes perfect sense." I said, biting my lip slightly, "and... yeah, I would very much like to be in a relationship with you now. I think I can make it work, and I won't want to have to wait on getting better."

"If you're sure they're safe to talk to, I'm happy to tell your parents about us." Asami smiled.

"So, then, 'us' is a thing?" I awkwardly made sure I understood.

Asami snorted, but she sounded deeply relieved, as well, and teased, "Yes, as you so eloquently put it, 'us' is a thing, Korra."

"No, you know what, I'll leave eloquence to you. You're very good at it. Seriously, I could hear you talk for ever and never get bored of just listening to the way you make sentences sound." I turned the teasing around.

Asami blushed fairly strongly. I smiled; I'd definitely won at teasing this time around.

I laughed, I was so relieved and excited. I was grinning. We were together. She liked me back. I was thrilled.

She looked pretty happy herself, as she sat down next to me on the bed. She asked almost nervously, "Is it OK if I hug you?"

I was tempted to laugh, because she'd hugged me so many times before. But still, it meant something different, now, somehow, and I actually appreciated her asking.

"I'd really like that."

She put her arms around me. Where she touched felt electric and alive. I leaned in to rest my head on her; this was real. It was so weird, this being real and not a dream. It was so weird to be actually cuddling her, and not in an awkward semi-platonic way.

"So, you like to hear me talk?" She said, "Would you like to hear me talk about something?"

She sounded vaguely like she was teasing, but I was really tired from the week. I hadn't slept that well all week. I couldn't really tell if she was teasing, anyway, so I decided to assume that she wasn't. It would be nice to listen to her, any way, because it would mean I wouldn't have to think as much.

"I dunno. Tell me about one of your car designs." I suggest.

She laughed, and I realized she had been teasing, but her eyes lit up at the suggestion, and she did.

I really didn't understand most of what she was saying (I didn't really know the first thing about cars, after all), but she ran a hand through my hair as she talked, and I did absolutely love the way she talked. Eventually, I was struggling to stay awake; her playing with my hair was absolutely wonderful, and I was so tired.

I tried to stay awake. I wanted to enjoy spending time with my new girlfriend ,and right now, the real world seemed a lot less scary than my dreams. Eventually, though, I lost the battle of will, and my eyes shut.


Asami's POV


Eventually, Korra went from sleepily vaguely responding to what I was saying (an "Uh-huh" and a "keep going." from time to time) to not responding at all. Additionally, her breathing had changed patterns slightly. She was asleep. I thought a bit about the day so far; it had hardly gone as I'd expected it to. I'd really not expected Korra to tell me about her feelings, or to be here, cuddling her in a way that was about romance and not about comfort. Not that I was complaining or anything; this made me super happy, and I'd wished I could have this for quite some time.

Still, I was a little worried about the future. I wasn't sure if it was even possible to keep this big a secret. It was practically bordering on the kind of thing you'd only hear about in conspiracy theories. We were two of the most powerful women in the world, and we were now secretly dating. On one hand, we had enormous resources at our disposal to keep this a secret. On the other hand, next time we were in Republic City, a misplaced hickey could be enough to bring the paparazzi down on whoever was wearing it for months afterward. In some sense, here in the South Pole was basically the only safe place for us. If we were found out here, it wouldn't be quite as bad as in Republic City, and we had some degree of privacy here, the press here had nothing on the press in Republic City.

I also wasn't sure what toll the secrecy would take on our new relationship. I'd had relationships in secret before (and even they had suffered slightly from the secrecy), but it wasn't as hard a secret to keep. I hadn't been a public figure then; while I'd still been a mild celebrity just because I was my father's child, I'd never really been notable in my own right until now. I'd also never dated anyone who was anywhere near as much of a media spectacle as Korra. Plus, while I didn't exactly know how serious this relationship was going to be, I was still fairly certain that it was going to be a lot more serious than any of the playful relationships I'd had as a teenager.

Still, it was nice to have Korra here with me. I could be worried about the future as much as I liked, but I really wanted to stop and appreciate what I had right now.

And what was going on was definitely worth appreciating. I had the strongest, most powerful, most important woman in the world clinging to me, sleeping. She was fucking ADORABLE, in a way that I'd never really recognized before. She wasn't hurt or scared, like I'd seen her so much lately, nor even fiery and powerful, like I was used to seeing her.

She just seemed peaceful.

And she liked me. I felt so special, thinking that. I could feel my heart beat just a little faster, remembering what she'd said. She 'really, really liked' me, or so she'd said. I couldn't help but smile at her awkwardness; the way she talked about me was so sincere and so cute. The future seemed a little less scary, remembering that I'd be facing it with the girl on my shoulder.

"I really, really, really like you, too." I whispered to my girlfriend. Girlfriend? Was that word right? I'd have to make sure she was comfortable with me calling her that, some of my first few partners had been uncomfortable with that until things got a little more serious, and I had no idea how Korra would feel.

It was a conversation to have for a later time, though. Right now, I was exhausted, and I was cuddling someone who was very warm. I'd been working basically all day for the last week, and I desperately needed a nap, because I'd been up since extremely early. I laid Korra down carefully so she wouldn't be woken by me slumping over when I fell asleep, and then, warm, content, and extremely tired, I fell asleep next to Korra.


Raiko's POV:


"Sir, you're really suffering in the polls. The city isn't being rebuilt fast enough, you're developing a reputation for being 'soft on crime', and you're generally seen as ineffective leader. We're only a year out from the first midterms, and this could seriously hurt your part at the polls." My aide said.

"That's... very unfortunate." That was a significant dilemma, midterm elections were coming up too fast, and I did want my party to remain in as much control of the legislature as possible. I'd already known the polling situation was tough, but as my aide read out some numbers and demographic information, I realized just how bad off I'd be if elections came today.

I had to do something. I needed something that would capture public opinion, and I had a bunch of ideas of how to do it. If soft on crime was a problem, though, there was always the Vice division idea. It wouldn't really be good for solving crime, if anything, I was of the opinion that it would make things a little bit worse, but if the public wanted tough on crime, I could give them tough on crime.

"Let Chief Beifong know that I'm taking some of her police force to set up a Vice Division. We're going to be going after the kinds of criminals that make the city a less moral place; prostitues, sodomites, pornographers, you know, the like. Let Beifong know that I'm happy to be in charge of that division and to have it be a separate force from her police force, and that I'm even willing to recruit people on my own, if she'd like. I'm sure she will, she probably won't like the idea, and having more direct control is better for me, anyway.

Also, let her know that if she thinks it's a waste of perfectly good time and that we shouldn't do it, she's welcome to run against me for President next cycle and see if SHE can handle the public pressure."

My aide nodded, "I think that might just work, sir!"


A/N: Yeah, I know, I'm assuming RC has branches of government, which is not-necessarily-canon, although not quite not-necessarily-canon as the social situation throughout the world is like. I apologize if any of you don't like Raiko as a villain, but seriously, he's always struck me as a politician's politician, and I don't have a lot of respect for that.

Also, I'm really proud of some of the Korrasami in this edit. There's a good deal of cute in this chapter, and that was what I was aiming for!

A/N 2: as some might notice, I made a minor change to this chapter. I'd realized in my pre-posting revision that Vice Divisions were a thing that was used to harass gays in the relevant timeframe, but I forgot to update the divisions responsibilities to actually cover the groups such a division would have targeted.