Coming Home

"Korra…" It took a while for Asami's brain to adjust to the new situation. Korra walked up to Asami, who was stunned and kept gazing at her.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Korra asked, taking Asami's hands into hers.

"I… I'm fine. How did you…" Asami stumbled over her words while she unconsciously squeezed Korra's hands.

"Spirit vines." Was Korra's simple reply. She pulled Asami forward, towards the light casted by the hole above them. Korra peered into the darkness behind Asami.

"Korra! What on earth are you doing?" A voice yelled down. Asami immediately recognized the voice as Mako and a cold shiver ran down her spine.

"I found an alternative entrance and Asami. Get Lin!" Korra yelled back.

"Okay, be careful down there. This cave is unstable." Mako answered. A couple of peddles fell down while Mako hurried off to get the Chief of Police.

"Mako and Lin are here as well?" Asami asked in a small voice. She didn't count on this. She felt shaky from all the things she found out just moments ago. Her heart was torn between happiness and relieve of seeing Korra and guilt and disgust about the way she herself had acted. Asami really didn't need an audience for the nervous breakdown she felt coming down on her.

"Yes, we're here to save you and arrest Shin. I sensed him with you. Are you sure you're alright, I can heal you." Korra said, grabbing the flask that hung from her belt. Shin. Healing. Asami regained her ability to think and grabbed Korra's wrist.

"Yes. You need to come with me. He needs you." She said with determination and dragged Korra with her into the darkness.

"Wow, wait." Korra exclaimed. She bended a fireball in her free hand to illuminate their way through the cave. After a rushed walk Korra could see someone laying on the ground. It didn't take long for her to identify that someone as Shin. Her body tensed and she prepared for assault. Asami let go of her wrist and knelt down beside the unconscious body. With one hand she lifted his head and with the other she searched for an heartbeat in his chest.

"He broke his leg when we fell down. I set his bone the best I could and he fainted. You need to help him." Korra noticed the concern in Asami's voice. This was not going the way she had expected. She thought she would bring Asami to safety, fight Shin and make him pay for all his crimes and then have a conversation with Asami wherein she explained about Yamamoto, the yumi-berries and the confused state her mind was in. But Asami hovering over Shin's body, pleading her to rescue him was something she had not foreseen.

"I… I can't heal him here. It's too dark." Korra spoke with tension in her words. Asami nodded in understanding. She pulled on Shin's arm and with a few smooth movements she had Shin securely on her back. He moaned in discontent, but didn't open his eyes. Seeing Shin's body so close to Asami's made Korra grit her teeth. She had to use all of her self-control to not pull Shin off.

"Okay, let's go." Asami said, seeing how Korra was fixed to the ground. Her words shook the Avatar from her thoughts and without saying a word they walked back.

It took Korra more than half an hour to get Shin's leg back into reasonable shape. Mako and Lin were standing behind her. Lin was impatiently tapping her foot, she needed to get back to the city and all this was taking up too much time. Korra was usually faster with healing, but her eyes kept shooting towards Asami's hand entangled with Shin's.

When they got out of the cave, Asami had laid Shin down on the grass and pulled his head onto her lap. Korra reluctantly started to heal him. When Shin moaned in pain again, Asami had taken his hand to calm him down. Worry never left her face as she tried to sooth Shin's exclamations of pain. It filled Korra's head with questions, distracting her from her healing. What was going on? Why was Asami acting all worried and affectionate towards the man that tried to kill her? Shin was nothing but bad news, but here Korra was, healing him while Asami stroked his hair, while telling him it's all going to be alright.

Mako could see how agitated Korra was. He also was surprised to see Asami's concern for the criminal they tried to hunt down for weeks now. What worried him more was how the whole situation put Korra on the edge of rage. Still, he couldn't find the words to diffuse the situation and had no choice but to witness the tension grow.

"I think he's good to go." Lin interrupted.

"Is his leg healed?" Asami's voice sounded broken, her eyes pleading with Korra.

"I'm not done yet, but he shouldn't be in much pain now." Korra mumbled back.

"Good! Let's get him into the automobile. We will call some healers when we're at the police station." Lin commanded, already walking back to her vehicle.

"Are you sure he's alright? He's not waking up." Asami asked. Korra bit her lip, not missing the genuine concern in Asami's voice.

"He'll be alright." She confirmed once again under her breath. She had learned to forgive and show compassion to everyone. She had done that with Kuvira in the end. But Shin was pushing her buttons. Her hands itched to break his leg again. She knew it was wrong and she would never do it, but somehow she felt he deserved it. You have no claim on Asami. Let her go. The deep voice in her head said. With frustration Korra bended the water back into its container. She didn't need the stupid brainwash voice on top of everything else!

"Here, I'll carry him to the car." Mako offered, not knowing if Korra could take another second seeing Asami so close to their enemy. Asmai nodded and let Mako pick Shin up. Then she stood up herself and dusted off her pants.

"Thanks Korra, I'm happy you found us in time." She said with a small smile. Korra just gave her a nod, averting her eyes. Anger was almost surfacing and she didn't want to yell at Asami, so she kept her lips tightly shut.

"Let's round this up!" Lin yelled from a distance.

"We should go." Korra said without looking at Asami.

"My jeep is a couple of feet away. I will be behind you." Asami answered, hearing the cold tone Korra was using. When Korra was healing Shin Asami's mind wondered about the fact that Korra had gone through all this trouble to find her. It warmed her somewhat and gave her hope that she still meant a lot to Korra. But now Korra was being distant and strange again. She wanted to grab Korra's hand and ask her what was wrong. Why she would shut her out all this time. Why she would look for her and then push her away again. But this was not the time for such a conversation, still Asami couldn't help the lump in her throat and the small tears brimming the corners of her eyes. On top of all her family drama, Korra's averted eyes hurt her the most.

"I'll go with you. Just let me talk to Lin and Mako." Korra stated and walked up to the others. She couldn't let Asami drive back alone. Even if Asami was frustrating and confusing her.

Driving took Asami's mind off things, which made it easier to deal with everything. She tried to focus on the automobile of Lin in front of her and stop her thoughts from going anywhere else. An half hour later and Asami failed completely at this task. Her mind started to bounce between her family, the feeling she had when she pushed a fatal electrical charge to someone's throat and Korra, who was staring out of the window without saying a word. To make matters worse, Asami noticed that Korra was wearing her jacket. This would usually make her smile and feel all giddy inside, but now it just added up to her confusion. Why would Korra wear her jacket when Asami was quite sure Korra didn't want to see her anymore. At least for the past few weeks.

Of course Asami could comment on the jacket or ask Korra flat out what was going on with her, but somehow the words never reached her mouth. She had a feeling that saying one word would lead to another and before she knew it she would be caught in a verbal waterfall with all the unpleasant emotions and consequences. So she kept quiet, focussing on the road, trying to not get caught up into her thoughts too much.

Korra sighed as she watched the forest flash by. She could see how focussed Asami was on the road, her knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel. Her green eyes never left the vehicle in front of her.

Is she thinking about Shin? That thought made Korra grit her teeth again. She turned back to the window. How could Asami and Shin end up in a cave together? Was it coincidence or was it an arranged meeting? What could have happened in the past weeks that made Asami agree to meet someone like Shin? Maybe she already knew him before Korra's kidnapping.

No, Asami would never hurt me like that. An old nightmare popped into Korra's mind. The one where she was electrocuted by Asami in the spirit world. Questioning what Korra actually knew about Asami. Goosebumps formed on Korra's arms as she shook her head. Things were bad between them now, but Asami was not the villain. She had to get out of this downward spiral of negative thoughts.

"Your aunt was looking for you." Korra said out of the blue, just to break the silence that lured her into a living nightmare. Her voice almost made Asami steer the jeep into the bushes.

"What?" Asami asked in suprise, stealing a glance at Korra before returning her gaze to the road in order to keep them on it.

"Your aunt. She was looking for you. I thought you should know she's in town." Korra elaborated a bit.

"Is she still in the city?" Asami asked with a little more energy in her voice.

"Yes, she might be. She helped us look for you yesterday and disappeared around the evening. I don't know where she is at the moment, but Grandma Yin invited her to stay at your mansion, so she could be there." Korra answered, raising her eyebrows. She didn't expected such an enthusiastic reaction from Asami. It actually dragged her out of her fixation on Lin's vehicle.

Without saying another word Asmai sped up drastically, causing Korra to grip the side of the door. If Asami could get to Akena she could at least solve one of her problems. In no time Asami drove parallel to the other automobile and gestured for Lin to roll down her window. Lin reluctantly complied, wondering what kind of fresh trouble she was in now.

"I'm going ahead to my house. See you in Republic City." Asami yelled, leaning a bit over Korra who sat between Asami and Lin. "These roads are dangerous, you shouldn't exceed the speed limit." Lin warned, knowing it was to deaf man's ears.

"Don't worry! I got it!" Asami answered, pushing her jeep further. The jeep wasn't as fast as her Satomobile, but she had upgraded the engine in case of an emergency and this seemed to be just that. So it was easy for Asami to drive past Lin and keep an high speed while she steered through the corners. Korra knew Asami was an impressive driver and she never felt unsafe when Asami was behind the wheel. But now she was slightly worried, clinging to the side of the jeep.

"Shouldn't you slow down just a little?" Korra pleaded. She didn't mind the speed, if something would go wrong, Korra was able to safe herself. But she didn't want Asami to hurt herself or cause any accidents. Seeing Asami end up in one deadly car crash, was something Korra didn't want to experience again. Besides that, she hadn't got a clue why Asami couldn't wait to see her aunt. Everything Asami did seemed to make no sense at all to Korra and it made Korra uneasy.

"I'll be careful." Asami simply replied.

When they reached the Sato estate, Asami parked her jeep with screeching tires. She jumped out without saying anything to Korra. Her mind was racing. She could make things right. She can bring Akena to her lost son. Shin will remember who he is and change his ways. And if they forgave Asami, she could have a family again.

With her heart full of hope she ran inside the mansion.

"Akena? Aunt Akena!?" Asami yelled through the hall, but there was no answer. She threw some random doors open to yell her aunt's name again, but the rooms stayed silent.

Upstairs. She could be upstairs. Asami thought, sprinting to the second floor. She threw open doors, while repeatedly yelling Akena's name. Asami's frantic pace brought her to her own bedroom in no time. Once in there she stopped her search and stayed quiet. Her heart was ponding fiercely and her panting filled the room.

She's not here… Realization dawned on her. If Akena was here she would have reacted to Asami's screams by now. No aunt, no reunion, no redemption.

With a desperate sigh she let herself fall down on the bed. It's not a big deal, Akena will come back. Her hands trembled while she pushed her palms against her eyes. She needed this. She needed to handle one issue so she could get some space to breathe, but lately things weren't going her way. Problems just continued to pile up and it had been ages since Asami felt she had any control over her life. This constant drifting without knowing where she will end up was wearing her down.

Korra saw Asami run inside her mansion. She heard the door slam open and Asami yelling her aunt's name. Korra slowly stepped out of the jeep, figuring it was better to let Asami do her search. When she calmed down, Korra could ask her about Shin. Maybe her aunt could clear things up, if she was at Asami's mansion.

With a calm pace Korra entered the house. She saw open doors and heard a door slam shut upstairs. She walked up the stairs and looked inside a couple of rooms. After a while she found Asami laying on her bed, hands over her face.

"Asami?" Korra asked worriedly. Asami looked defeated, as if her life depended on finding Akena. To Korra's horror small shocks of sobs moved through Asami's body. With careful steps Korra approached the bed, forgetting the questions she needed to ask.

"Asami, are you alright?" It was a stupid question, but Korra couldn't think of anything else to say. All the doubts she had about Asami on their way back disappeared. Asami was suffering and Korra was to focussed on Shin to even see it.

Slowly Asami turned to her side, hiding away from Korra's voice which sent a sharp pain through Korra's heart. She doesn't need you. Your presence only makes things worse. You have different duties to fulfil. Korra shook her head. Struggling against the voice in her head, Korra managed to sit down next to Asami. She tried to lay her hand on Asami's shoulder, but Asami shot up at the touch and moved away. She kept her distance four feet away from the bed.

"Asami, what's wrong. Let me help you." Korra attempted to calm Asami down, but all she got were two green eyes piercing through her head.

"What are you doing?" Asami asked, small tears rolling down her cheeks. With an angry hand she wiped them away. She hated to come undone like this.

"I care for you…" Korra answered insecurely, not knowing where Asami's strong reaction came from.

"Don't lie to me Korra! Why are you here if you can't stand to look at me. Every time we spoke you looked away. Every time I tried to touch you, you flinched. Every time I saw you, you grew more distant from me. I thought you didn't want to see me anymore and I respected that on some level, but I can't do this. I can't have you pull me in to push me away again! So if you want to help me, then leave." Frustration made Asami's body tremble. This was the first time she confronted Korra with these feelings. Asami assumed they were over, which was a bitter pill to swallow. A situation she hadn't fully processed yet, but Korra's behaviour was, to say the least, ambiguous. She rather have it all end now and fall into a pit of sorrow than to hang in limbo for a second longer. She wouldn't even ask for the reason, if Korra was just clear in what she wanted from her.

Korra felt the blood retreat from her face.

"T-that's not… No… I." Korra mumbled under the fixed gaze of Asami.

"That's not what?" Asami's voice increasing in anger. She had a feeling Korra was playing with her feelings. Something she thought Korra would never do, but here they were.

"I love you. I never stopped loving you." Korra confessed. She couldn't stand the thought of Asami seeing their relationship as over. It was true that Korra cut their connection to give Asami the space she was entitled to, but deep down inside of her she had always believed that Asami was still her girlfriend.

"Then why? Why would you do this to me?" Korra's words soothed the storm in Asami's heart a little, but she needed an explanation. Korra scrambled to her feet and walked over to Asami to throw her arms around her. This time Asami let herself be pulled into a tight hug. Korra felt that sickening feeling that she was doing something wrong. Her muscled involuntarily contracted, but this time Korra didn't let go.

"I wanted to see you. I came looking for you because we need to talk. I didn't want to hurt your feelings. My mind is off track, that's all." Korra spoke against Asami's neck.

"Your mind?" Asami pushed Korra a little bit back to inspect her face.

"Yamamoto, he kept me in some sort of trance wherein he could implement ideas in my head. I've been feeling conflicted and confused ever since, but I shouldn't have let it come between us. Please, don't shut me out." Korra tried her best to keep her voice levelled. The feeling of Asami's body against her released a lot of bottled up emotions. She needed Asami to forgive her.

Asami slowly stroke her hand through Korra's hair. The yumi-berries, of course. If I see Yamamoto ever again I will... Asami shook her head before that thought could develop any further.

"Are you still confused?" She asked.

"I have this voice in my head. Tenzin says meditation will help, but I don't know." Korra mumbled, pulling Asami against her body again.

"I'm here for you. You know that, right?" Asami reminded Korra. Korra smiled, burying her face in Asami's neck. If they could stay like this forever, everything would be fine. She felt how Asami lazily rubbed circles on her back, something which made Korra forget all her worries, just for a while.

"I love you." Korra said, words that were stronger than the pinch in her mind. Asami continued her ministrations, but didn't response.

"Asami?" Korra lifted her head to see a distance look in Asami's eyes. Asami felt Korra move in her arms and was pulled back to the present.

"Yes?" She asked, seeing Korra's questioning eyes.

"You know you can come to me for everything as well" Korra said. Asami smiled and nodded.

"I know… Let's just enjoy this, for now." With that Asami moved forward and pressed her lips to Korra's, something she hadn't done for way too long.

The room was quiet and peaceful. Korra was laying on her back, sinking away in the soft mattress. Asami was laying with her head on Korra's shoulder. Korra enjoyed the sensation of holding Asami and she felt herself relax, almost drifting off into sleep. Asami had her eyes closed, but Korra could feel how her muscles were tense. There was still something wrong, but Korra didn't dare to ask. She didn't want to disturb this peaceful feeling.

"Spirits, I'm still wearing your jacket." Korra chuckled, just now noticing the sleeves. She totally forgot about that. Asami opened one eye and smiled.

"I noticed it on the drive back here." She said with a lazy voice.

"And you didn't say anything?"

"I guessed you had your reasons. I had to rip up the one I was wearing, that was my favourite one. But I think I have another favourite now." Asami spoke jokingly.

Korra knew where Asami's jacket had ended up, wrapped around Shin's leg. This brought back her doubts and questions. She had to know what was going on between Asami and Shin, but she also didn't want to ruin the mood. She felt how Asami breathed out contently. Korra felt bad for what she was about to ask, but she couldn't hold it in.

"So what were you doing in that cave anyway?" She tried as nonchalantly as she could. She felt Asami shift, lifting up her head to look Korra in her eyes.

"I fell, it was stupid." She answered and laid back down, hoping that Korra would drop it.

"But how did you fell in it and how did Shin end up there?" Korra continued, clearly not satisfied with Asami's vague answer. Asami sighed deeply, moving from her comfortable position to create a little distance. She understood the questions Korra had, but she wasn't feeling like sharing.

Asami was now laying on her back next to Korra, staring at the ceiling. Korra could see how tension returned to her body and how her lips tried to form words only to swallow them back in.

"Please Asami. You can tell me anything. I want to help you, but I can't if you don't tell me what is going on." Korra pleaded, dreading that Asami might close up on her again.

"I… I tracked him down. I followed him inside the cave. He had hurt you and I wanted to end it all. It was the only way I could think of to help you, even if you didn't want my help." Asami said, weighing every word.

"You could have told us. We were looking for him too." Asami turned to Korra, her eyes sparkling with beginning tears, but Asami simply refused to cry.

"I couldn't. You would have stopped me."

"Why would I stop you?" Korra frowned in confusion. Asami swallowed, knowing that she couldn't lie to Korra.

"You would have stopped me, because I wanted to kill him." Asami said with closed eyes. She didn't want to see Korra's reaction. There was a moment of silence.

"You tried to catch him and…"

"No! I planned to find him and then kill him. I even made a special electrified glove to do it." Asami felt sick. Saying it out loud made it worse. How could she lose her way like this?

Korra processed the new information. Imagining Asami planning a murder seemed almost impossible to her. Since the day Asami attacked her father without hesitation because it was the right thing to do, she kind of became a beacon of morality for Korra. Even though they didn't get along very well in that time. Asami going after Shin with the purpose of killing him didn't even made sense. All thought it did explain why Asami was so worried about him. She didn't want to be a murderer and that's why she saved his life.

"You got carried away. You mended his leg. You're not a murderer. You stopped before you could seriously damage him. Asami, you just got lost, but you came back in time. You saved his life and made sure his leg got healed." Korra explained, more for herself than for Asami. Asami turned to Korra, guilt gripping her heart.

"Korra, I didn't stop for the reasons I should have stopped. I only let him life because…" Before Asami could get her sentence out a loud knock emerged from the door. Asami closed her eyes.

"What reason?" Korra ignored the door, but another round of knocking came along. Korra sighed and got up. With angry footsteps she walked to the offending sound and opened the door.

"What!?" She asked, only to be pushed aside.

"I had a feeling that you might be here!" Varrick announced, walking up to the middle of the room. Asami shot up by the sudden intrusion, drying her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Yin let us in." Zhu Li greeted, walking passed Korra as well.

"We're kind of in the middle of something." Korra protested.

"We can come back later. I told him you would be busy… in the bedroom." Zhu Li stated, making Korra blush.

"Geniuses never rests! I come with utmost precarious information." Varrick answered. He threw a device towards Asami, who caught it just in time.

"What's this?" Asami asked, not recognizing the device in her hands. It was some sort of small microphone attached to an half circle with something that looked like an earpiece.

"That's the headset you wanted me to investigate." Varrick answered.

"Headset? I never heard of an headset." Asami frowned, wondering if Varrick ever mentioned an headset to her.

"Well, I was going to name it the 'Varrick-whisperer', but Suyin changed it to headset, which works as well I guess." Varrick explained. Asami shook her head. Varrick made no sense at all, as usual.

"Suyin? I don't get it." Asami tried for another explanation, turning to Zhu Li.

"Suyin called us. She told us about Mountain Top Corporations and their attack on the Earth Kingdom. She had found this on the crime scene and wanted us to find out where it came from." Zhu Li cleared things up. Asami nodded. She remembered that some men working for Yamamoto wore these things on the heads.

"Turns out that was an easy task, since they came from me!" Varrick said.

"You mean, you sold them to Yamamoto?" Korra asked.

"Yes." Varrick confirmed with pride.

"Of course you sold it to the enemy." Asami mumbled.

"He paid a good price. Lucky for you kids, I can retrace the frequency of the Varrick-whisperers and kaboom! He's still using them." Varrick continued.

"So? Good for him." Korra said puzzled, but Asami jumped up.

"Which means you know where he is." She said hopeful.

"There are a couple of places where he could be. So we're not sure." Zhu Li rectified.

"So we just have to ambush all those places?" Korra asked, knowing how many people that plan would need. "That's impossible. We can't take that gamble, as soon as he sees we're on to him he just hides somewhere else!"

"This is all we got. Maybe you can fill in the blanks." Varrick said.

"Ugh, I'm so done with hide and seek. How should we know where he is?" Korra complained. Asami looked up, headset clutched in her hand.

"We do not know where he is, but I know someone who might."

Sorry for the extremely late post. I had a writer's block (bah). Anyway, I'm back on track! Thanks for reading.