Just watched book 4: episode 2, and the 'letter scene' made me squee like a 5 year-old girl getting an ice cream.

I swear to Vaatu, if they make Korrasami canon in this season, I'll buy every single Avatar comic that comes out after this. ALL OF THEM!

(They're really hard to find and very expensive in Thailand; that's how appreciative I'll be.)

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Chapter 10: Give Up

Korra only managed to wash her face and dry half of it before her arms gave up from exhaustion, and she had to hand the towel to Asami. The heiress helped the Avatar to finish and rolled her out of the bathroom.

"So..." Korra said hesitantly while Asami combed her hair after helping her to get dressed, "...does this mean we're...girlfriends?"

"Normally that's how things go," the heiress replied, tucking Korra's hair, "although...I don't think we could call our case 'normal'"

Asami meant it as just a small joke, but the words sparked some concerns in Korra's mind. She noticed Korra's changed expression in the mirror, but said nothing. She waited to see whether the Avatar wanted to tell her, or not.

"How do you think... the others would react if we told them about...us?" Korra finally asked, turning to look at Asami over her shoulder.

The heiress looked down, thinking for moment before answering, "I don't think any of them would...object to us. I mean someone conservative like Tenzin may question us a bit. Mako will probably lose a little bit of self-esteem if he finds out that both his ex-girlfriends have fallen in love with each other, but other than that I think we'll be fine, as long as..."

Asami suddenly stopped like she was retracting something before she could say it, but this didn't go unnoticed by Korra.

"As long as what, Asami?" she asked, but the heiress avoided her eyes.

"N...Nothing. I'm just being paranoid..."

"Asami," Korra called to her, squeezing Asami's hand softly on her shoulder. The heiress sighed, Korra had been willing to share her worries before, and it was only fair for her to be completely honest with the Avatar too.

"As long as things don't go public..." Asami breathed, realizing just how badly and easily that could be misinterpretated afterwards. "I...I mean! Unlike our close friends, other people wouldn't understand or accept this...this relationship easily."

Korra couldn't hold a grudge against what Asami said, since she knew that there was no point. As she thought about it, she sadly had to admit that Asami did have a point.

As a same-sex couples, and being the Avatar and the CEO of Future Industry she might add, this could be the headline of a decade. While the result is unpredictable, Korra knew from her own experiences that the public is unkind to their subject of interest. The people were not above abandoning their savoir as soon as the reputation began to sour.

"Asami, I'm fine with it, if you don't want to tell anyone about us..." Korra said, trying not to sound depressed, but failing.

Asami was both grateful and hurt at the same time; grateful that Korra understood the reason behind her hesitation in announcing their relationship to the public, but also hurt that this was the best they could come up with. The two of them were on the same pacing and completely understood each other; agreeing that they should keep their true feelings a secret to the world.

However, that journalist's face still clung to Asami's mind. That obnoxious creature who would make people, Korra especially in this case, bleed to the headline just to sell news. To let her relationship with Korra reach the public might also mean that Asami would have to hire some Agni Kai members to burn a few publisher buildings down as a warning. Yes, the heiress could actually see herself doing just that if the situation called for it.

Asami broke the uncomfortable silence by crouching behind Korra and wrapping her arm around the Avatar, her chin resting on Korra's shoulder.

"There is nothing wrong with us, Korra. People are just too blind to see past their prejudice."

"I know," Korra slowly turn her face to the side and kissed Asami softly on the lips. It was the third time and their kiss still felt so fresh and exciting. The Avatar smiled, whispering after they parted away, "it feels so right to me."

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Gason sat down at the table and stared at the cup of rice and soup that Bilan prepared for her; the Dark Acolyte looked at the Equalist with very suspicious eyes.

"Should I assume that you might try to...poison me?"

"I would never do that to you, Gason," Bilan's voice is surprisingly sincere, and he confirms her doubts, "if I wanted to kill you, I'd just suffocate you with a pillow in your sleep."

After adding that reasoning to the fact that she'll not be able to fully sleep at night, Gason sighed exhaustingly and slowly ate her breakfast. Bilan almost felt sorry for her, maybe he was taking their rivalry a little bit too seriously.

"So now it's finally your turn, Ton-gla; what's your plan," the Equalist asked as Ton-gla finished bowing his head to an empty cup, thankful for his meal.

As he was about to answer, Gason interrupt coldly, "I'm quitting. Whatever plan you have, I don't want to know."

Both men looked at her with surprise; the girl had only eaten half her breakfast before getting up and walked back to her room. She picked up her luggage, and they assumed she must have packed it already during the previous night.

"Good bye, thanks for the meal..."

"Why do you leave?" Ton-gla asked calmly as Gason walked past him. She didn't stop so the Red Lotus grabbed onto her wrist.

The Dark Acolyte let out a long sigh and answered, "We failed before, we are failing right now, and we will fail again. The Avatar is clearly untouchable. I'm leaving before I get anymore bad luck from involving myself in this mess."

"Last night you told me that you almost kill her," Ton-gla stated willfully.

"'Almost', meaning the universe is messing with you by letting you get your hopes up before plunging it down into the mud," Gason pulled her hand out of Ton-gla's grip.

The Red Lotus stood up and walked in front of her, "I sympathize in your failure, both of you."

Bilan mumble the word 'Really?' without making a sound when he heard Ton-gla say that.

"But you are truly lost only when you give up. Should you keep fighting, then even an honorable death could be considered as a success" Ton-gla continued.

"Are you sure you try to cheer us up?" Bilan asked loudly while Gason rolled her eyes. She tried to go around him and walk to the door.

Ton-gla quickly side-stepped to block her path, "You are not in this alone, my friend. Together we still have a chance to finish what our associates had started. The death of the Avatar is within our reach, we cannot give up right now."

"You will be lucky if you come out of this alive, Ton-gla, let alone putting a scratch on that girl," Gason pushed Ton-gla aside and moved ahead towards the door, "I'm not going down with a sinking ship."

At this point Bilan had stood up and was about to charge Gason to prevent her from leaving. He wasn't really buying the poorly attempted bedside manner of Ton-gla, but the three of them still had an agreement to keep. Should the Red Lotus member fail, then they could consider disbanding later.

Before the Equalist take a step, Gason suddenly stopped as she was about to reach the door knob. She traced her hand to her throat, her eyes widening as she noticed that she couldn't...

She couldn't breathe.

"For someone who claim herself to be a clergy person..." Ton-gla lifted his hands to chest level.

Gason turned back to look at him, she tried to take a breath but it felt like there is a block of air stuck in her throat. The girl dropped her luggage, kneeling down while choking. Bilan was both confused and terrified of what was happening.

Ton-gla held out his hand and spoke calmly to Gason.

"...I find your lack of faith disturbing."

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