"This is so awesome. We have such a great view of the Southern Lights here," Korra was saying, her fingers laced through her lover's as the spirit portal faded behind them. She turned her head to spy Asami giving her an amused look.
"What?"
"I've seen the lights before, Korra."
"What? When? No wait. That doesn't count." She nudged Asami in the arm. "That was during… life and death civil war stuff. That doesn't count. This is the real first time you get to see them. With me. All peaceful and stuff."
"If you insist." She leaned in against Korra, trying to absorb as much warmth as she could from her. She had packed a jacket but it wasn't enough for this and she was looking forward to curling up for the night in an earth tent with Korra's airbending to keep them warm. Her teeth were chattering and she considered the irony at not being cold tolerant, yet being in love with a Water Tribe girl.
"I forgot how far it was to Harbor City from the portal." Korra stopped walking, looking around the desolate tundra. They didn't have Naga to speed their trip and she was suddenly worried about Asami. "You know, there are still wrecks from the civil war out here. If you tell me what to do do you think we could make a snow sled? It'll be just like in the desert!"
"Except for the freezing to death part." Asami laughed. "I can't believe we didn't think this part through. I could have had someone leave supplies near the portal for us."
"We were kind of in a hurry," Korra pointed out. She held up her arms and formed a circle of flame around their bodies. Far enough away to not burn, but close enough to warm them up. "Do you think you can make something?"
Asami pushed some hair out of her face, then kissed Korra on the nose. "With you as a human welding torch, I think we can do it."
Korra led them back in the direction of the portal, until they found some of the destroyed defenses from the war. While much had been salvaged, she thought there might still be enough to be useful. She used her waterbending to create a shelter of snow and ice, and guided Asami inside. "Here… let me get a fire started."
"Thanks." Asami pulled her gloves off and held them over the fire Korra created. "Okay. I'm going to need something to act as a base, and enough spare metal to turn into skis."
"All right. Let me take care of that." Korra turned to go, but Asami grabbed her arm.
"Tomorrow. It's already getting dark."
Letting Asami pull her back down, Korra blew hair out of her eyes and slumped against the engineer. "I'm not tired yet."
Asami's lips turned up into a sly smile. "I know."
"Oh? Oh!" Korra burst into a grin, only to be disappointed when Asami pulled out a pai sho board. "...oh."
She tried to disguise her disappointment but the amused look Asami gave her was a clear indication that her girlfriend knew exactly where her mind had gone. She rested her palms on her knees and stared down at the board until she felt like she'd cleared her mind enough to actually play.
Asami handed her her butt pretty quickly. After her fourth loss, she held up her hands. "Okay, I'm done. But how do you do that? It's like you're twenty moves ahead at all times."
"That's the point." Asami set the board back up, and started to move pieces on both sides. "You could play a game for a thousand years and not even come close to exhausting all the possible moves and outcomes. But most people play a certain way. Part of the game is looking at the board and deciphering what moves can lead to a win. Running scenarios in your head. If you move here." She moved a piece. "I suddenly have several choices on what to do. So I have to figure out which piece to move, and then predict what you'll do, and predict what I'd have to do to counter that, and so on. There's a reason the game is popular with generals, tacticians and strategists."
The implications were obvious to Korra. She didn't always think things through before acting. She was getting better at that, but there was still room for improvment. It wasn't just being able to adapt better, though. She liked doing something that Asami explicitly liked. It seemed liked too often and for too long she'd just followed Korra and did whatever she did. Korra wanted to see the things Asami liked to do.
She realized she was still staring at the board when Asami started to pick everything up. She shifted around, getting their bed rolls rolled out. The shelter was small enough that she didn't even need an excuse to put them next to each other. Not that they'd slept more than a foot away from each other the whole vacation.
"Getting tired?" Asami sank onto her roll next to Korra, looking at her enchantingly.
"A little."
"Not too tired?"
Asami's pouting expression made Korra laugh. She pounced on top of the engineer, pinning her to the ground. Asami chewed on her lip, smiling up at the Avatar. "Hi."
"Hi…" Korra kissed her, giddiness flowing through her body. If kissing Asami was always going to feel like this she was pretty sure she never wanted to stop.
They broke camp early the next morning. Asami hadn't slept well. Darkness only lasted a few hours at the south pole this time of year. And she'd gotten so cold that Korra hadn't slept well either from keeping her warm. But they found the energy to put together a functional sled, and Korra used a combination of her water and airbending to propel them across the tundra. It wobbled and groaned, but Asami assured Korra several times that the Avatar's welding would hold up. Asami trusted her, and like always that made Korra's heart thunder in her chest, as though that trust was a precious thing to be protected.
Gradually, Harbor City came into view. They were forced to take a winding path to the city, and the sled started to rattle harder. She glanced at Asami, who gave her a weary smile and a thumbs up.
A mile from home and they approached an emabankment. Asami stole a glance at Korra before steering them up it. Korra whooped, and pushed them harder as they hit the edge and sailed into the open air. Before it hit the apex of their jump, the sled gave out a metallic screech, and then completely shook apart. Korra caught herself on an ice-slide, skidding around it and catching Asami before the other woman even got close to the ground. She spun the slide around in an upside down loop-de-loop, letting her momentum take them through it. Asami clung to her, and Korra laughed, a mad grin on her face as they slid to a stop.
"I guess my welding wasn't that good after all!"
Asami smacked her in the arm, but wasn't inclined to be let down yet. "We almost made it."
"That was amazing! Right up until, you know. It fell apart." Korra looked at the wreckage. All their stuff was in their backpacks but the rest of it was pretty much unsalvagable. "That was better than penguin sledding."
"It could be a sport," Asami suggested, tucking her head under Korra's chin.
"You drove us off a cliff for a sport?"
"Yes."
"I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you."
Asami laughed as Korra reluctantly put her down. She was smiling so widely that it hurt. "It feels so surreal. Like I'm falling and I can't stop it but I don't ever want to stop. You tell me you love me and I can't quite believe it but then I look into your eyes and it just…hits me." She threaded her arms over Korra's shoulder. "I'm not alone."
The Avatar stared up into Asami's eyes. They were a shade of green she never could find the right word to describe, and one of the most beautiful sights she knew of. "You're not alone. I'm not going to go anywhere again."
"What about Avatar duties?" Asami's voice had a hint of uncertainty in it.
Korra picked up on that. She lifted her hand to Asami's face. "Well I figured you'd come along for a lot of that. I mean when I have to leave Republic City. You've got people you trust to keep the company afloat, right?"
"I can't always abandon my responsibilities to go flying all over the Earth Kingdom," Asami pointed out. "But I'd really like that. You may be the Avatar, but you still need someone to watch your back."
"Well," Korra said, tilting her head and giving Asami a teasing smile. "You'll come with me, and those times you can't, then I'll always come home."
"Is that a promise?" Asami's voice actually shook. For Korra, and only for Korra she let her fears come to the surface.
"Always."
Asami reached down, cupping Korra's face between her hands and kissing her. Korra was the Avatar and that promise was one that could only be kept until the day Korra was forced to break it. The engineer understood that it wouldn't be Korra's fault. It only strengthened her resolve to spend every day she could with this woman, for as long as fate would allow her. She didn't say it out loud, but she forgave Korra the inevitable.
Korra came out of the kiss dazed, and smiling messily. "Wow…"
"Ready to see Katara and your parents?" Asami wiped some of the lipstick from Korra's face, then brushed back her hair. Her fingertips brushed at Korra's ears.
"Yeah. You?"
"Not at all."
She rolled her eyes, then took Asami's hand as they searched for their packs. "You really need to relax, Asami. They already love you. This'll just make them love you more. I just know it." Korra glanced at the raven-haired engineer. She could see the uncertainty and worry there. And a dim flicker of hope. Asami was desperate to be accepted - truly accepted into Korra's family. It was different then Tenzin's family. Parents were inherently a touchy subject with her. Korra squeezed her hand. "It'll be okay."
"I know." Asami's voice was quiet. "They're great people. But this is still something really unknown. It's one thing to introduce me as your friend. It's a lot different to say we're a couple."
"I told them about the vacation, remember?" Korra picked up their packs and handed Asami her's. "Mom seemed to get it, and she looked okay. Dad was a little denser but we've been gone two weeks, so he's probably had time. We just need to make it…. official."
"Make it official?" Asami laughed, her mood lightening.
"Yeah! You're officially dating the Avatar!"
(This one ended up a little shorter than the others, but it was such a natural end-point that I went with it. That, and they spent so much time playing in the snow that it pushed the rest of my plans right into an extra chapter, possibly two!)
