Asami smiled as she came within sight of the Sato Estate. The stress of a long day at the office, running one of the premiere companies of the world melting away with each rotation of the tires bringing her closer to her home, and her wife.
However the smile quickly turned to a frown of confusion as she noticed the unusual number of police cruisers stationed around her home. Come to think of it, even one police cruiser in front of her home was a bit of an anomaly, unless Mako was visiting…or if Korra had done something stupid to get herself in trouble with the police again. That or there was some sort of crisis involving the world and the Avatar needed to be protected.
Her grip tightened on the wheel, her lips thinning in to a near scowl. Mako wouldn't need to bring what looked like the entire Republic City Police Force if he was just visiting, so that option was ruled out immediately. Korra would have had to do something pretty big to warrant that kind of response from the Chief. Asami blushed slightly. It wasn't entirely impossible. For all of Korra's maturity and self- control, sometimes the Avatar could still surprise her. She hoped it wasn't the case this time. Then again, the third option was that something terrible had happened so maybe Korra doing something stupid wasn't as undesirable as she first thought.
Please, she hoped. Please just let everything be ok. She came to the gate, where the officers let her pass without incident, nodding in respect.
Nervously, she proceeded up the driveway, noticing the White Lotus sentries by the front door, and patrolling the grounds. Something huge must've happened to involve the White Lotus. None of this was helping her nerves in the slightest.
She pulled in to the garage and shut off the car. Taking a calming breath, she got out, heading in to the house to search for Korra.
After a bit of searching, she found her wife in the living room, White Lotus sentries outside the door and lining the walls inside.
Finding Korra in the living room was not, in and of its self, an unusual sight. What shocked her, stopped her heart, made her freeze in the doorway with terror was what was going on.
Korra leant over a pai-sho board, that adorable pout of concentration on her face. Reaching out, she moved a piece, and sat up, crossing her arms and giving her opponent that smug grin of hers. The expression on her face quickly soured however, changing from smugness, to shock, then to irritation.
Her opponent chuckled. "You're improving. You almost had me that time."
"You cheated!" Korra insisted, pointing accusingly at the person across from her.
They laughed again. "On the contrary. I simply used what I know of you to lure you in to that trap. You are improving, but you must learn to see the hidden dangers of the battlefield. This is true in life, as well as pai-sho. I would hope you had learned this, considering our previous encounter." He turned to Asami. "It appears we have company. Good evening Mrs. Sato."
Asami could only stare, horrified and speechless. Sitting across from Korra, bound hand, foot and waist in chains, was the man that had haunted both she and Korra's dreams for over three years. The man that had taken Korra to the lowest point in her life, nearly breaking her entirely, mind, body and spirit; poisoning her and putting her through unbelievable agony which she sometimes doubted she would recover from. Sitting on the other side of the small table…was Zaheer.
He shrugged, turning back to Korra.
"This sucks. I don't think I'll ever beat you. You're too good." She proclaimed, dropping her chin in to her hands and pouting.
"Remember," he said, laughing lightly. "Instinct is a,"
Korra interrupted, "A lie, told by a fearful body, hoping to be wrong. Yeah, yeah I know." She rolled her eyes, dismissively waving her hand.
"Shall we play again?" he asked her.
"Uggh," Korra replied. "Yeah but lets take a break. I'm starving." She hopped to her feet with the aid of some airbending, ironic considering present company. Korra reached Asami and enveloped her in a hug, pulling back and planting a kiss on her lips. It took a while, but eventually Asami responded, kissing back for a short time before pulling away.
Shooting a concerned glance at their "guest," Asami grabbed Korra's arm and pulled her in to the hallway, shutting the door behind her. She faced, Korra, scowling and pointing at the door.
"Korra, what the hell is HE doing here?"
"Playing pai sho," Korra responded with a grin. "I thought that was obvious."
Asami outright glared at her, crossing her arms over her chest.
The Avatar wilted before Asami's, "I'm not kidding face," like a flower in the face of a firestorm. Holding up her hands in defense, she spoke, "Now I know what you're thinking but don't freak out."
"Don't freak out? Don't freak out!? Korra, that's ZAHEER in there! The man who poisoned you; put you through hell and almost took you away from me just so he could fulfill some crazed VISION of the world he cooked up while locked away for thirteen years! He's troubled, dangerous and totally WACKO! And you say don't freak out! How could I not! What if he hurts you again? What if this time he wins? What if…what if I lose you because of him? Korra, he almost KILLED you!" Asami was crying now, freely, tears running down her face unabated. "I," she whispered, ineffectively wiping at her tears. "I can't go through that again, and I don't want you to either."
Tenderly, Korra reached out to cup Asami's face, wiping the tears from her wife's cheeks with her thumbs. "Hey," she spoke softly. "Asami do you trust me?" She looked earnestly in to the engineer's eyes.
Asami gave her a teary nod. "Of course I do you dork." A small smile appeared on her face, and she sniffed loudly. "I married you didn't I?"
Korra gave her a dorky grin, one hand reaching behind her head, the other fingering the betrothal necklace around her neck. "Heh," she laughed. "You sure did. Still trying to figure that one out honestly."
Asami smiled tenderly at her for a moment before Korra got serious again.
She crossed her arms, frowning intensely and looking at the ground. Korra kicked her toe on the ground as she spoke. "Look 'Sami, I know this is probably weird for you. And it probably makes you nervous. Believe me, it's kinda weird for me too, but I need to do this." She looked back up at Asami. "I need to give Zaheer a chance, like I did with Kuvira. Remember?" Korra smiled at her. "You didn't trust her at first either, but you gave her a chance and she really proved herself. Now she's a part of Team Avatar, and I would even go so far as to say she's a friend."
The CEO pinched the bridge of her nose, and let out a shaky breath. "Korra, that's different. Yes Kuvira did a lot of terrible things. She hurt a lot of people, and she tried to take over the United Republic. She tried to kill all of us, including her fiancé." She looked away for a moment, crossing her arms over her chest. "And she killed my father…but she never hurt you like Zaheer did. Watching you be in that much pain without being able to really help was awful for me, and I don't want that to happen again." She gazed through watery eyes, at a sympathetic Korra. "Korra, I trust you, and if you think this is the right decision, then I support you. But please, be careful. I want you to think this through and be absolutely sure you're making the right choice."
A pair of tanned hands reached out and lovingly took their pale counterparts, a thumb stroking Asami's knuckles, soothing her. "I am sure. And I've put a lot of thought in to this. I need to show him that there's a better way, and I think it's also for me. When I came to him for help entering the Spirit World, I thought I got closure, and I did, but I don't think that was the end of it. I don't think helping him will stop the nightmares that still occasionally come, and I'm not going to forgive him for what he did…but I still need to do this. If being poisoned taught me anything, it's that we can still learn things, even from our enemies, and sometimes, there are things that we can only take from those we consider our foes. Sometimes, they're the ones that know us better than we know ourselves."
Asami smiled at her for a long moment before pulling the dark skinned girl in for a hug. She sniffled again before speaking. "When did you become such a wise Avatar?"
Korra laughed lightly. "When I married you babe." She gave Asami a cheeky grin as they separated, the engineer blushing.
Asami shoved her shoulder. "Dork."
The Avatar winked. "You know it. Anyway, I'm gonna go make some dinner." She walked a few steps before turning. "Asami," she said softly. "I think you should go talk to him. You need your own closure with him, even if you can't admit it to yourself." She blew a kiss at the flustered CEO and turned, whistling merrily on her way to the kitchen.
Watching the sway of Korra's hips, Asami gulped. Damn that sexy Avatar, she thought. She knows me too well. She smiled, turned to the door and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Shaking her head and setting her face in determination, she re-entered the room, and approached the seated Zaheer. As a precaution, she had donned her electrified glove, or at least one of them. She had several scattered throughout the mansion. So, feeling more confident, she stood in front of the seated man, glaring down at him.
He looked up at her, taking a sip from his cup of tea. She made a mental note to destroy that cup later. The renegade airbender set the cup down and folded his shackled hands in his lap, the clink of metal echoing quietly throughout the room.
"Mrs. Sato," he spoke quietly.
Asami said nothing, continuing to glare down at the man who had caused such pain to the love of her life.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Would you care to sit?" He gestured to the pai sho board in between them. "Korra tells me you are a master at pai sho."
Still, the raven haired woman refused to answer, her glare only intensifying as she willed the man in front of her to burst in to flames. Luckily for Zaheer, and unluckily for her, Asami Sato was not a firebender. Zaheer did not burst in to flames, merely sat there with that annoying expression on his face, inviting her to sit as if this was his home and she the guest.
After a moment, he seemed to realize that, and withdrew his hand. "Apologies. This is your home of course. Please forgive my impertinence."
Once more, Asami did not respond, but she did sit, lowering herself to sit cross-legged on the pillow slowly and stiffly. Not once did she break eye contact with the radical in front of her.
Zaheer regarded her for a moment, before breaking eye contact. He looked at the board instead, reaching out and beginning to reset his own pieces. Respectfully, he refrained from touching any of Asami's, a quiet invitation of engagement. Finished with the game pieces, he sat back, folding his hands again, and watching Asami, his face neutral.
Again, not breaking eye contact, Asami's hands moved, setting up the pieces on her own side, accepting the madman's invitation. She breathed out subtly, keeping her calm. She had won the first little skirmish in this game between the two when Zaheer had broken eye contact. She figured he knew it too, and had purposefully conceded the victory to put her at ease, perhaps lull her in to a false sense of security. Whatever the reason, she would not be lowering her guard. Not with an opponent like this.
"My presence here disturbs you."
A quiet statement. Accurate and piercing, and somewhat of an understatement. Asami's only response was a slightly raised eyebrow, as if to say, "Obviously." Zaheer got the message, going quiet again.
Subtly, he glanced at the board, another silent invitation. His gaze said, "Shall we begin?"
Asami accepted the challenge, making the first move. Deliberately, she chose the white lotus tile, setting it in the exact center of the board. Her eyes rose to meet Zaheer's, a barely noticeable smirk forming at the corners of her mouth.
This move was another silent challenge, daring Zaheer to continue. Judging by the identically subtle movements of her enemy's mouth, the man understood the significance of her move as well as she did. That was to be expected. For all his lunacy, Zaheer was an intelligent man. A waste, in Asami's opinion. If he had applied his intellect to something more wholesome, he could have made a positive impact on the world.
Zaheer made the appropriate counter to her move, and for a moment, all that could be heard was the clack of pai sho tiles on the wooden board.
"Look," Asami spoke, finally breaking the silent façade she had maintained since entering the room. "I don't know what your game is, but I promise you, if you make one wrong move, one slip up, give me one reason to think you might hurt Korra…" She left the threat hanging in the air, like the scent of rotten eggs.
Placing another piece down on the board, Zaheer glanced up at the industrialist. "I assure you," he spoke in the same measured tone. "I have no intention of harming the Avatar. That part of my life is behind me."
Skeptically, Asami retorted, "Really. I'm supposed to believe that?"
"I can understand your hesitation. Our limited relationship has not exactly been magnanimous to say the least."
"Oh, you mean while you tried your hardest to kill Korra and send the world spiraling in to chaos?"
"Indeed. I believed in my path so fiercely, I would have done anything to achieve it, including sacrificing my own life. I believed that the universe gifted me with airbending so that I could accomplish this task." He smirked slightly. "Clearly the universe had other plans." He set another piece on the board. "The Avatar defeated myself and the rest of my comrades, as you know, and here I am, imprisoned once again."
"It's where you belong," Asami asserted, setting down her own tile. "And it's where you'll stay this time."
"Are you sure?" He glanced at her questioningly. "The universe provided for my freedom once. There's nothing that says it can not, or will not, occur again."
"I say it won't," she practically growled at him. "I BUILT that prison you're in, and this time you're staying there. Korra and I will make sure of it."
"Interesting," he smirked at her. "Because Avatar Korra is the one who requested I be brought here, so in a sense, I've escaped already."
"You haven't escaped," she frowned back at him. "You're going right back in when whatever little charade you have going on here is over with."
"A temporary arrangement. Avatar Korra and I have taken up the habit of seeking counsel in each other. We enjoy each other's company."
"Pffft," Asami scoffed. "I highly doubt that. Whatever Korra's reasons for seeking you out, I can assure you that it isn't for your company." Asami of course, knew the real reason for Zaheer's presence here and that gave her the advantage as far as she was concerned.
"Tell yourself whatever you like. It doesn't change the fact that I have become a central figure in the Avatar's life. I suggest you get used to me Mrs. Sato, I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of each other in the near future."
She wanted to reach out and shock that grin right off his stupid smug face. "You hurt Korra a great deal. You basically ruined her for three years. You have NO right to act so smugly. You should be grateful that Korra didn't kill you when she had the chance."
He snorted. "As I once told the Avatar, blaming me is a crutch to make you feel better. Your problem, like hers, is within yourself. Accept the fact that it happened. Nothing we do can change this."
Asami tightened her fist, nearly shaking with rage. "You," she began angrily. "You asshole. You can't even accept the fact that you hurt her, that it's your fault can you? I bet you'd do it all again if you had the chance wouldn't you?"
He shrugged. "Perhaps. But then, we'll never know will we? As I said, that part of me is in the past. I have no intention of bringing further harm to the Avatar. My comrades gave their lives nobly for our cause, but ultimately, the universe had other plans. We would have succeeded, if not for that Beifong woman and you meddling kids."
"But you didn't," Asami reminded him smugly. "You lost."
"Indeed," he agreed. "We have established that fact."
There was silence for a long time until finally, the last piece was placed on the board, the tiles forming the shape of the white lotus, said tile placed firmly in the center.
Bowing from the waist, Zaheer smiled at her. "Thank you for the game Mrs. Sato. I see you favor the white lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways."
"Those who do, can always find a friend," she replied.
"Or expose an enemy," he added, tone ambiguous.
"And which one are you?" she wondered aloud. As if she didn't already know.
"That," he told her succinctly. "Seems to be up to you Mrs. Sato."
Another long silence where the two simply observed the other, until finally Asami broke it. "So," she began somewhat hesitantly. "What happens now?"
"Guru Laghima once said, 'The past is set in stone, the future, shrouded in mist, all one can do is move blindly forward to meet their fate.'"
A raised brow from Asami. "And what does that mean?"
"It means," he told her, like he was instructing a child. "That the past has already happened, and cannot be changed. The future is unknown to any of us, invisible. All we can do is keep going, hoping to find something better as we move along the path of life."
"Hmmm," Asami hummed uncertainly. "I'm going to go see how Korra's doing with dinner." She pointed a poignant finger at him. "Don't try anything."
He smiled at her. "Of course," he bowed from the waist again. "Thank you Mrs. Sato, you are a most intriguing woman. I hope we have the opportunity to speak again." The teacup returned to his hand, and he sipped from it, his gaze fixed in front of him, on a point past Asami.
Uncertainly, Asami left the room, closing the door behind her and leaning against it. She let out a long breath she didn't know she'd been holding, and deposited the glove on a side table; glad she hadn't had to use it. She wasn't sure who won their little game. She'd call it a draw this time, but would be damn sure to win the next one, should there be a next one.
On slightly shaky legs, she made her way to the kitchen, and wrapped her arms around Korra from behind, seeking comfort from her wife. She buried her head in Korra's neck and inhaled her pleasant odor.
Korra reached a hand up and clasped her wife's, the other stirring the pan with the spatula. "How'd it go," she asked quietly. "You ok?"
Asami nodded in to her neck. "Mmhmm," she confirmed. "It was…weird. Honestly, I'm not really sure what to think."
Korra laughed. "Yeah, that's what I felt the first time I visited him again, after Kuvira. He kind of leaves you wondering."
"He sure does," Asami confirmed. She inhaled, smiling. "Smells good."
"The food or me?" Korra asked. Asami could feel her grinning.
"Yes," she responded, feeling Korra hum in pleasure at her response.
A comfortable silence followed, both women content in the other's presence, until Asami decided to break it.
"Korra," she questioned quietly.
"Hmm?"
"Whatever happens, promise me you'll be careful."
Korra took Asami's hand in hers again and kissed it sweetly. "Promise," she confirmed. "He doesn't have his Red Lotus buddies or his poison this time. If he tries anything I'll kick his ass and take his bending. How does that sound?"
Asami grinned in to the soft flesh in front of her. "Sounds perfect."
"Whatever happens," Korra said. "We'll take care of it together."
Asami leaned in and kissed Korra on the cheek, making the blue-eyed woman laugh. She wasn't sure what Zaheer had planned or what the future held, but it didn't matter. As long as they had each other, they could accomplish anything.
A/N: Whoo, what a doozy. I did not expect it to get this long. (lol that's what she said :P) Anyway, something on a more serious note this time and my first time writing Zaheer, but I think it turned out really well and I really enjoyed writing Zaheer. Let me know what you guys think! Also sappy ending is sappy. :)