A/N: Hey there everyone, sorry this one's a little late (I can't even stick to my own deadlines) the last thing I want to do is keep you guys waiting. So a few people that reviewed my last chapter brought up that in pro bending, headshots are illegal. In my defense, my research told me that water headshots were in fact legal, but who can trust Wikipedia these days. Anyway, my bad. I would once again like to thank you all for your support, I really appreciate it all. Now I'm sure that the last thing you guys want to do is read my ramblings so without further adieu, on with the show…

Chapter 7

"I told you that fighting those guys was a bad idea!" Asami snapped at Korra as they got off the boat. Korra staggered onto the dock of Air Temple Island with Asami's assistance. Korra's head was bandaged, as was the right side of her chest, and her right arm was in a sling, which both inhibited her movement and gave her a splitting headache. The night was calm in contrast to the storm that was raging in Korra's brain. Asami was trying to be gentle with Korra, despite her being upset with the overconfident avatar.

"I know I know, OW!" Korra groaned in pain as she accidently overextended her arm. She would have collapsed from the shock of it if Asami hadn't caught her. Seeing that Korra was in no condition to walk, Asami pulled Korra's left arm over her shoulder to take some of the weight as they continued walking up the dock. The healers had done an excellent job fixing Korra up, but there was only so much that they could do. She still had a minor concussion, a sprained arm, and three bruised ribs. It was going to take time for Korra to heal, and until then she was fairly limited physically. Such inhibitions made her feel just as worthless as she had when Tarrlok used his blood bending on her. Despite her own self loathing, Korra couldn't help but smirk at her actions this evening, 'The things I'll do to impress someone.' She thought with a snicker. This unusual action did not go unnoticed by Asami.

"What could possibly be funny about this?" She asked with no small amount of irritation.

"Oh nothing," Korra blushed, "I was just thinking about how Tenzin will react."

"And that's funny to you?"

Korra shrugged her shoulders, "Not really, I'm just trying to put a positive spin on all this."

Korra cringed as another bolt of pain shot through her side. Asami couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards Korra, and allowed her features to soften as she gave her more support. The heiress found herself flashing back to Korra's performance during the match. Despite the outcome, she still found herself admiring the avatar for lasting so long against three incredibly skilled benders.

"Well if it makes you feel any better," Asami said, "I thought you were going to win."

Korra's blush grew, "Thanks Asami that means a lot." Like the woman standing next to her, Korra flashed back to her match at the tournament. But unlike Asami, Korra wasn't thinking about her own performance, but rather she thought about the thing that ultimately caused her to lose. She couldn't stop herself from remembering the way that Asami had looked during the match. A clearly devious smirk had been visible to Korra, and those eyes. During the match, Korra had seen clear desire in Asami's eyes as she watched her. Korra determined that the face she had seen had been one of both intrigue and possibly even arousal. Korra's logical mind told her that this look was probably meant for the members of the Lion Turtles, a thought that filled her with a feeling of jealousy that she did not enjoy. Yet despite this more likely possibility, Korra couldn't shake the feeling that maybe Asami had been looking at her that way. 'There's no way,' Korra thought, 'why would she have been looking at me? Unless…' Korra risked a glance at Asami, who was still looking forward as the two of them walked towards the girl's quarters of the temple. 'Is it possible that Asami might like me?' Korra didn't dare hope for something that she believed to be impossible, but she couldn't help but feel a surge of warmth and optimism at the mere prospect that Asami may return her feelings. Korra's mind was racing as the two finally reached the girls living quarters of the temple. She knew that she had to be sure of Asami's feelings before she made a move, the only question was how. 'I'll need to spend time with her, a lot of time.' The concept brought a subtle smile to her face, 'It won't be easy; I'll need to be patient. If it's true she's not just going to admit it. But if there's even the slightest possibility that Asami could like me that way, I have to try.' They walked up to the door of Korra's room and Asami removed Korra's arm from her shoulders.

"Are you going to be okay by yourself?" Asami asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Korra replied as she gently stretched her left arm, "My ribs hurt like hell, and the sprain in my arm isn't helping, but I think I can walk around now."

Asami took another long look at Korra's bandaged head and arm, "I still don't like the looks of those injuries. Is there anything else I can do?"

'Kiss it and make it better?' Korra thought, "Actually there is."

"What? Just name it."

"Well, once my concussion heals and my ribs start feeling better, I'll need to work out the rest of my body to get back into shape."

"What do you mean 'work out'?" Asami asked with a small blush. She couldn't help but let her imagination wander with the possible meanings behind Korra's words.

"Training," Korra stated simply, "The sooner I start using my right arm again, the sooner I'll be back to normal."

"And how do you expect me to help with that?" Asami asked, not sure where Korra was going with this.

'Here we go,' Korra thought as she took a deep breath, "I need a coach. You know, someone to help me train the arm back into shape; someone I can spar with and who can make sure I don't lose my edge. I'd like for that to be you."

"Me?" Asami found herself feeling a wave of anxiety wash over her, something she was starting to get used too. 'Spar with Korra? As in get physical?' Asami thought, "What about Tenzin? Or even Bolin?"

"Tenzin's not the fighting type, and Bolin would be too afraid of hurting me."

"Well what about… Mako?" Asami had tried to avoid that question all night. She knew that Mako would have confessed his feelings to Korra by now, and it broke her heart to know that Korra most likely returned Mako's love. She had been dreading this moment; this was the moment when she would be told that Korra and Mako were now dating. This was the moment when Korra would become truly unattainable. She braced herself for what she was sure to be one of the worst feelings of her life.

"Yeah," Korra said with no small amount of tension, "That's probably not the best idea right now."

It was like a bomb had gone off inside Asami's brain; it was an explosion of questions that filled her to the brim. This was not the response she had been expecting, and it left a lot to answer for.

"Why would that be a bad idea?" Asami asked, her uncertainty of the situation making her anxious.

"He and I aren't really speaking right now. In fact, he kind of left the island just to get away from me."

"What happened!?" Asami questioned frantically. Her eyes were wide with shock, and her mind was racing. 'What had happened between the two of them? Why was it so bad that Mako had to leave? Did this mean there was hope?' That last thought filled her heart with anxiety as she, like Korra, did not dare to hope for something that she believed to be impossible.

"Actually," Korra began, "If you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it right now." Korra knew that if she did, she would have to explain to Asami why she had rejected Mako. She knew she wouldn't be able to lie, and if she was wrong about how Asami felt, then saying something now would ruin things between them. However, there was one thing about the situation that Korra did feel she had to say, "Except, He did tell me that the two of you broke up."

"Oh," Asami said softly. She wasn't exactly sure how to react to this. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously and wondered why Korra would mention that.

"Asami, I'm so sorry." Korra said with sincere guilt. She looked down at the ground, unable to meet Asami's eyes. She feared that if she did, she would be met with anger and hatred from the girl she cared for. "I feel like you two breaking up is my fault. If I did anything to cause this, anything at all, then I am so, so sorry. I hope you can forgive me." The emotional battle waging within Korra as she made this confession got the better of her. Asami saw tears hit the ground in front of Korra's feet, and she knew that her avatar was crying.

"Korra, it's okay." Asami said as she placed a reassuring had on Korra's shoulder. Korra slowly raised her head to meet her friend's gaze. Rather than anger, Korra saw compassion in those emerald eyes, and a wave of relief washed over her as Asami continued, "It wasn't your fault, not really. The writing had been on the wall for a while now for Mako and me. You don't need to feel guilty Korra; you're my friend, and I could never blame you for this."

A small smile formed on Korra's face, "Thank you Asami. I'm happy to hear that." Her nerves subsiding, Korra straitened her posture and began to wipe the tears from her face, "So now that that little rollercoaster is over, what do you say? Are you my new coach?"

This time it was Asami who found herself in the crossfire of an emotional war. She had a feeling that being Korra's coach wasn't such a good idea. 'I'd be getting too close.' She thought, 'It's like I told Bolin, Korra and I have a good friendship going here; I can't risk ruining that by telling her how I feel. Even if things aren't okay between her and Mako, that doesn't mean that she'll want me… she'll never want me. Tonight was a big enough risk as it is; I'm getting too close.' Asami didn't realize how long she had been silent. Korra looked at her with confusion and worry, wondering what was going on inside Asami's head. She hoped that she hadn't been too direct; the last thing she wanted was scare Asami off now, but she had already asked the question. She needed an answer.

"Asami?" Korra said, snapping the other girl out of her trance, "So, do you want to do it?"

Asami tried to maintain her resolve, 'Say no say no say no.' Despite this repeating mantra, Asami smiled warmly and replied, "Yeah sure, I'd love to." She immediately scolded herself 'Damn it!'

Korra smiled widely, "Great, thank you. I really appreciate it." Her reaction was merely a fraction of her internal excitement, 'YES! '

Asami turned and walked towards her room a few doors down from Korra's. Before she opened the door to go inside though, Korra grabbed her attention one last time.

"Hey Asami?" Korra beckoned.

"Yeah?"

"All things considered," Korra began with a warm smile, "I had a really great time tonight. We should do this more often. You know, hang out."

Asami smiled warmly back at her, "Korra, I know how you train. If I'm really gonna be your coach, I think we'll be spending plenty of time together."

"I'm glad." Korra said as her smile grew wider.

Asami felt a surge of warmth within her and replied, "I am too. Goodnight Korra."

"Goodnight Asami."

Asami opened the door and entered her room. Once she closed the door, she took a good long mental look at herself. In that single moment, knowing that Korra really enjoyed spending time with her and wanted to do it more, Asami couldn't stop herself from feeling more love and affection for the beautiful water tribe girl than she ever had before. She realized then that keeping her feelings under control was something easier said than done. If something so small could make her feel as if she was on cloud nine, then how could she possibly contain her affections while seeing Korra on a regular basis when they started training together?

Asami gently banged her head against the door and groaned, "So much for not getting too close."

Meanwhile on the outside, Korra was about to enter her own room when a thought occurred to her, 'I wonder if I have enough strength to make it to the boy's quarters.'

….

Bolin lay in his bed with his hands clasped behind his head and his legs crossed in front of him. His room was well lit by the lamp near his bead. His eyes were closed but he was not asleep; he lay there with a large smile on his face as he softly hummed to himself. The young earth bender had been like this for the past couple of hours. He had tried to go to sleep, but he found that couldn't; he was just too excited. He knew that tonight his plan had been laid into action. He had given Korra and Asami no choice but to spend quality time with one another, and at a pro bending tournament no less. He didn't know whether or not this would ignite the spark that he knew for a fact was between them, 'At the very least,' he thought, 'this is a first step.' Bolin wasn't usually the type to be self indulgent, but he couldn't help but give himself a nice pat on the back for pulling off what he thought to be a most cunning endeavor. A sharp knock at the door roused Bolin from his self assuring relaxation. He walked over to the door and opened it to find Korra, and his jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw the condition she was in.

"Korra," Bolin exclaimed, "What the hell happened to you?" He scanned her body, taking great notice of her bandaged head, ribs, and casted right arm. He also deeply analyzed the various cuts on her face and forearms. Bolin let his greatly injured friend inside and closed the door, all the while waiting for an explanation. Rather than provide one however, Korra used her left arm to deliver a powerful punch to Bolin's shoulder. He winced and began frantically rubbing his wound.

"OW! Geez Korra, what was that for?"

"That was for breaking your promise!" Korra replied with a scowl.

Bolin felt a wave of guilt wash over him, believing his plan had somehow failed, "Oh man, Korra I'm…"

Before he could finish his unnecessary apology, Korra lunged at Bolin, embracing him in a tight hug. The fact that she could only use one arm did nothing to hinder the power of her hold. Bolin's eyes were wide with shock and confusion. Not even a second ago Korra looked ready to take his head off, now she was hugging him like she hadn't seen him in years.

"Okay," Bolin began with confusion, "What's this for?"

Korra squeezed him tighter and smiled, "Same thing."

Bolin felt relief as he realized what Korra meant. He hugged Korra back, happily embracing the moment they were sharing. He still had a lot of questions. Based on the hug, Bolin assumed that his plan had somehow worked, and he wanted to know how. There was also the matter of why Korra was so banged up. So many questions raced through Bolin's mind, but he remained silent. It was nothing that couldn't wait.

A/N: Hope you guys think this was worth the wait. I'll try to get the next one up a little sooner, but with the way life is going right now, no promises. As I always say, I really appreciate all the support and constructive criticism you guys give. It not only motivates me, but it helps me make this a better story for you guys. With that said, REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! I don't want to risk spoiling anything that's going to happen with these two, but there is a lot to come so stay tuned.