Korra sighed as she watched the waves roll up and back as they hit the beach. The sun was out, the birds were singing and the waves were perfect for surfing. All around it was a perfect day to be out enjoying the water. Or it would be, if the circumstances were different for her.
She frowned as she looked down at her feet, the glint of her prosthetics looking back at her past the blue and white men's bathing shorts she wore. She wiggled her toes, the appendages responding appropriately. But then, that's what happens when your genius, CEO girlfriend pours her heart and soul in to building the world's most advanced prosthetic limbs so her girlfriend can get her life back. And they truly were the most advanced in the world. Korra could feel the sand between her toes, and the heat of the sun, and everything.
The former surfer took a large inhale, smiling at the scent of the ocean as it brought back fond memories of hour upon hour spent out on the water, riding the waves over and over, and loving every second of it.
Then she made the mistake of closing her eyes, and her smile faded as memories flashed behind her lids.
A sunny day much like today, she felt the wind in her hair and the spray of the ocean on her face as she rode through the tunnel of a wave, her hand stretched out and skimming through the water as she rode. Her eyes had been closed, much like now, and she had, had a smile on her face as she did what she loved best. Or perhaps second best. She blushed as she thought of Asami, her beautiful girlfriend waiting for her back on shore.
She opened her eyes, instinct telling her something was off, and she looked around seeing nothing amiss. About to return to her peaceful surfing, she noticed movement out her right eye, in the belly of the wave. It was small, just a flicker of light, and as she turned, it resolved itself in to a shadow.
Everything happened at once. The water exploded around her, and something slammed in to her with the force of a runaway truck, dragging her off her board, out of the wave and off into the water. She screamed as she was carried through the air, feeling as if thousands of serrated steak knives were sawing in to her body, the pain from several cracked ribs shooting through her torso. Soon her screams turned in to streams of bubbles, following her down as she was dragged deeper and deeper underwater.
It was only now that she could get a good look at her attacker, and her eyes widened in shock. A massive Great White shark had her clutched in its jaws as it dragged her deeper and deeper underwater, her blood streaming out over, and around the creature's head, trailing behind them through the water. There was a moment of panic, of struggle, before her body reacted on instinct. She knew she couldn't stay here, or she would surely drown long before the shark had finished eating her. Her right arm was trapped within the jaws of the shark, but her left hand remained free, and with it, she brought her right leg up as quickly as possible and reached down, ripping the knife she kept there from its sheath.
In this situation, the eye would be the ideal place to attack. It was soft, vulnerable, open to the damage a knife could cause. However, her rational mind was not in control, and her arm moved without thinking, arcing up over the nose and driving it as hard as she could in to the fleshy snout of the creature.
The shark reacted, thrashing, and releasing its hold on her, tossing her off to the side, She winced in pain as serrated teeth left her body, ripping apart and shredding already injured flesh, and tearing the knife from her grasp. She tumbled end over end, before coming to a slow stop and floating not far from the injured fish. It was only now, that she had a moment, that she could get a real look at the thing, and what she saw didn't comfort her in the slightest. The thing was massive, easily reaching forty feet, more than twice as long as the average length of its kind, its body covered in dozens of old white scars of various shapes and sizes. It had obviously had a long, violence filled life.
Even as she watched, it circled her, slowly, blood streaming from the wound in it's head, the knife sticking up prominently. It regarded her, a frightening intelligence in its big round eye as it stared at her. But a more pressing concern soon made itself known within Korra's body…Air. She needed air, and fast if she had any hope at all of surviving this situation. She needed to get to the surface. The only thing stopping her? The forty-foot predator currently out for blood…her blood. It had already gotten a taste, and she had no doubt it would soon be back for more, the knife having only presented a small irritation to it. But with the knife lodged firmly in the shark's head, her only deterrent and weapon to fight this killer was gone.
With a kick, sending painful reverberations through her body, she started her slow journey towards the surface. Her right arm did not respond. It hung limply, uselessly at her side, and so despite her broken ribs and torn flesh, she forced her body to move, clawing with her left arm and kicking with her legs. After what seemed like hours, but in reality, could only have been moments, her head broke the surface of the water, and she sucked in a glorious, yet painful, breath of air. She bobbed on the surface of the water, each breath she took sending painful jabs through her body that made her want to pass out. But she knew she couldn't do that. No, to pass out in this situation would mean certain death.
She bobbed on the surface, managing to keep her head above the waves despite the pain coursing through her body. Circling, she looked for the shore. She had to get out of the water, this much she knew. Land meant safety. Land meant survival. If she could get to land, she would be ok. The problem was getting there. With her injuries, and the forty-foot killer circling below her, it would be slow going with no guarantee of success. But there was really no other choice for her. It was either die here doing nothing, or try for land and possibly live to see another day. Weakly, she clawed and kicked her way towards the shore, but it was so far away. The shark had dragged her farther out then she had been, and she now found herself near the entrance of the bay, being buffeted by the waves coming in from open water.
And all the while, she wondered why the creature below was allowing her to do this. Had it been made wary by her desperate attack with the knife? Or was it simply toying with her, exalting in the thrill of the hunt, enjoying itself as it played with her, allowing her to think she had some slim chance at survival before cruelly and brutally yanking it away?
Even as the thought struck her, something else did as well, from below, closing in around her legs like a vice grip on a pneumatic press, and dragging her down beneath the waves once again, so quickly, in fact, that she barely had time to let out a scream.
It was the beast again. When she was able to open her eyes, she found herself once again in the shark's jaws, this time, with her legs jutting directly in to the creature's mouth. Perfect position, she reckoned, for the thing to swallow her whole, should it so desire. She stared at the shark, looking directly at its nose, and past to the eyes. Those eyes again, which as before, were regarding her with something beyond the beast-like intelligence she would've expected from a non-human creature such as this. And it frightened her. Frightened her so much, in fact, that for several moments, she did nothing, simply staring at her attacker as it dragged her deeper and deeper under the waves, and further and further out to sea, away from shore and safety. Once again she could feel the fish's teeth, like serrated steak knives, ripping in to her legs and holding her fast in its maw.
Once again, her body reacted on instinct and she beat at the shark's nose with her free left hand. However, her weak punches from her weakened body didn't seem to faze it one bit, despite the myths associated with punching a shark in the nose. Instead it only seemed to make it more determined. With a jerk of its head, it took a more firm grip on her legs, drawing her farther in to its mouth. Then with a large bite, it clamped down harder than ever on her injured limbs. It did it again, and then again, and then began shaking its head vigorously from side to side, causing her to scream, resulting in a trail of bubbles mixing with the blood coming from her body. Then, with a sickening crunch, and a wave of pain like nothing she'd ever felt before, the monster ripped her legs directly from her body, sending her tumbling through the water once again.
Floating there, drenched in a haze of pain and blood, once again starving for air, Korra was sure that this was her end. This thing would kill her here and now despite human's supposed mastery of the planet. Managing to open her eyes against the pain just a crack, she watched as the marine predator jerked its head up and down, swallowing her legs down in to its gullet.
Briefly, she looked down at herself, covered in bloody wounds, and everything below mid-thigh simply gone. A cloud of blood forming around her in the water, which would no doubt attract other predators. If she had the air for it, she would've sighed in defeat. Instead she just closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. When it didn't come, she cracked one eye open again, and then the other. The shark looked back at her, with that same terrifying intelligence, circled her slowly once, twice, then a third time…before rapidly turning and darting off in to the murk, headed towards the open ocean.
Brief confusion filled her, quickly followed by indignant rage and fury. You stupid fish, she railed at it in her mind. You go through all the trouble of attacking me, you rip off my legs, and you're just going to leave me like this?! You could at least have the decency to finish me off! No, instead it seemed it was just going to leave her to the inevitable swarm of predators that all of this blood would attract, no doubt including other, smaller sharks. That is, if she didn't drown first. Stupid fucking shark! I hope you get turned in to sushi! This was her last coherent thought, as shock and adrenaline, combined with blood loss sent her body in to a state of shock, the edges of her vision turning black as she lost consciousness.
The next thing she knew, she was waking up in the hospital with her parents, and a very concerned Asami hovering over her.
"…rra," A hint of a voice. "…orra." Again. "Korra!"
She jumped, startled out of her memories by the shout and the firm hand on her shoulder. In an instant, she was back on the beach, sitting under the umbrella on the fuzzy beach towel. She looked over, meeting the concerned jade eyes belonging to her girlfriend Asami Sato.
"Are you ok," the raven-haired woman asked her, rubbing her shoulder. "You look pretty tense there, and you're sweating." The young CEO wiped a cloth across her forehead. "Are you in pain? Should I get your meds?"
Korra studied her face for a moment, taking in the laser focus of her gaze and the pure love and concern radiating from her girlfriend. This woman is too perfect, she thought to herself. She took Asami's hand and gave it a tender kiss, an eagerly tender smile on her face. "No," she assured the other woman. "I'm ok. Just…remembering." She pulled her legs up, crossing her arms around them and setting her chin on top as she looked out at the ocean. Her left arm came over and fingered the scars on her right through her surf shirt, her fingers absently tracing the bumps and ridges.
"I'm sorry." Korra could feel it as Asami rubbed her back, and squeezed her hand.
Korra looked over at Asami, confused. "Why? You didn't do anything wrong."
"Coming here was a mistake," Asami clarified. "It's bringing back bad memories for you. We can go home if you'd like."
The earnestness in her voice was truly touching for the younger woman. Smiling fondly, she pulled Asami in, kissing her firmly. "I'm fine 'Sami," she assured her. "Really. Stop worrying." She knew that she had surprised everyone, including herself, when she had agreed to come with them on this trip to the bay, the very bay where she had once nearly lost her life to a shark attack. But she felt like she needed to be here, needed to start getting over the hurt, to start facing the fears, otherwise she'd never be able to move on with her life.
Speaking of everyone, looking around she could see her friends, who were basically her big extended family. Mako and Wu were sunbathing not far away, Mako trying not to make it too obvious that he was eyeing up his boyfriend's body, which made Korra smile. Not that she blamed him. Korra was doing the same thing after all. Asami looked absolutely stunning in her red two-piece bikini. Bolin and Opal were closer to the water's edge making sandcastles with Ikki, Rohan and Meelo, while Jinora, Pema, and Tenzin were under their own umbrella, reading books and generally enjoying each other's company. Korra knew Pema would have one eye on all of her children even if it appeared otherwise. Even as she watched, Bolin, Opal and the kids all darted off from the sandcastle they were constructing, and rather forcibly collected Mako and Wu, and then headed over to Pema and Tenzin's group, picking them up along the way.
"Korra! Asami!" Bolin waved at them eagerly, despite only being a few feet away. "We're all going to the snack bar! Wanna come?" The group now stood next to the towel where the Southerner and the CEO reclined.
Korra could see the deliberation going on in her girlfriend's head as she looked between the group and the younger woman. "Go on 'Sami," Korra assured her. "I'll be fine right here."
Asami looked conflicted. "You sure?"
Korra kissed her forehead, chuckling. "Yes I'm sure. I won't break if you leave me alone for a few minutes."
Asami looked at her for some time, clearly searching for something, which she apparently found, because she sighed in defeat. "Ok," she agreed, standing and turning to the group. "But someone should stay with Korr-" She didn't even get to finish the sentence.
"Dibs," Bolin proclaimed loudly, plopping down in to the spot Asami had just been occupying, throwing an arm around her, making Korra laugh. He turned to his girlfriend. "Opal, would you get me-"
"One of everything," the girl guessed with a smile.
Bolin pretended to wipe a tear from his face with a dramatic flair and sniffle. "You know me too well. I pray thou dost return soon mine fair maiden, lest mine heart grow cold and perish from this earth!" He toppled over backwards with an arm thrown over his face. Korra and the kids laughed at his antics.
"Fine," Opal reluctantly agreed, trying to hide the smile forming on her lips.
"Same for me babe," Korra told Asami, giving her hopeful puppy dog eyes complete with lip quiver.
Asami regarded her for a moment with raised eyebrow, before sighing. "You're lucky you're cute." She was having just as much trouble concealing her enjoyment as Opal.
Bolin, who had sat up, and Korra exchanged high fives. Their girlfriends exchanged eye rolls.
"We won't be gone long," Asami assured. "Keep an eye on her Bo."
Bolin gave her a salute. "As you command General Sato!"
Asami shook her head, chuckling, and turned to Korra. "Be safe ok?" Korra could hear the slight tremor of nerves in her girlfriend's voice. She could tell Asami wasn't completely convinced that she was doing all right here yet.
Korra grinned at her, saluting as Bolin had. "As you wish General Sato," she parodied Bolin's earlier response.
"Again," Asami spoke with barely concealed amusement. "You're lucky you're cute. See you in a bit." She moved off with the group, and Korra waved, watching Asami as she looked back several times.
She glanced at Bolin, who was sitting easily, legs extended out in front of him, one casually crossed over the other. He leant back, weight resting on his hands as he watched the waves. Korra copied him, assuming the same position, the sun glinting somewhat off her prosthetics. The pair was silent for a while, simply watching the waves roll up and out. Korra looked at him out of the corner of her eyes when she felt his gaze on her. She followed his gaze and found he was staring at her prosthetics, a worried frown on his face.
"Bo," she prompted, causing him to jump and look up at her, guiltily. "Why are you staring at my legs?" She smiled at him, amused.
He looked up at her, a blush forming on his face as he scratched at the back of his head. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I wasn't doubting you or anything!" He waved his hands in front of him in defense. "You are a strong capable woman who can do anything she sets her mind to, despite what others might perceive as limitations!" He looked at her nervously for a moment, before throwing his hands up in front of his face and cringing away from her. "Don't punch me!"
She raised an eyebrow at him, noticing he was sweating. "Ermm. O….kay?" She chuckled at him. "Thanks Bo. I never thought you were doubting me."
He breathed out, slumping forward. "Oh thank goodness!"
She laughed at this. "So what's up? You seemed like you had something on your mind?"
He looked nervous, with his eyes on his hands, which he twiddled on his lap. "I just…are you ok?"
Korra smiled fondly at him. "Asami asked me the same thing," she told him quietly. "I'm doing fine Bo, thanks for asking."
"Oh good, good," he breathed out in relief. "I was worried cause this is where…well…you know." He gestured vaguely with his hands, avoiding her eyes.
She patted him on the shoulder. "It's ok Bo. You can say it." She ensured he was looking in to her eyes. "It's where I got attacked," she said quietly.
"Yeah," he replied just as quietly, looking uneasy. "How are you doing with that by the way? I know I keep asking, it's just that…we care about you." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, smiling at her.
She reached up and squeezed it, smiling reassuringly at him. "I know Bolin. Thanks. And you don't have to worry about me. I thought it would be harder, coming back here, where it all happened, but it's not honestly, and I think a big part of that is having you all here."
He smirked at her, narrowing his eyes. "Don't you mean having ASAMI here?" He clasped his hands and made kissy faces at her.
Korra blushed a dark red. "Sh-shut up," she told him, fighting off a smile. She shoved him, and they both laughed. "Yeah," she admitted after a while. "Having Asami really does help. Here and otherwise." She couldn't help but smile as she watched the ocean. She reached a hand up, fingering the necklace around her neck, made from a shark's tooth, one of the same teeth, in fact, from the shark that nearly killed her. It had been in her body when she was rushed to the hospital, and she had asked to keep it afterwards.
"You really love her," Bolin said, and she turned to him. "Asami I mean." There was an understanding smile on his face.
"Yeah," she agreed, blushing again and looking at the sand. "I do. I mean, she was there for me so much after I got hurt…Before that too…and she's still with me now." She looked down at her legs, rubbing them slightly. "She built these legs for me," she almost whispered. "She gave me my life back." Looking up, Korra watched the waves again. "She's funny, and kind. She's selfless and smart, and plus she's so, so, gorgeous." She looked at Bolin, blushing harder. He was smirking at her. "W-what," she questioned embarrassedly.
"Your gay is showing," he teased her, nudging her playfully with his elbow.
She laughed, putting her hand in his face and shoving him. He flopped over dramatically on the towel, making dying noises. "Oh my god, shut up Bo," she told him between laughter. "Like you don't go all goo-goo eyed whenever Opal's around."
"Well can you blame me," he argued. "She's soft and sweet, and so pretty to smell," he said dreamily. "Plus I'm a dude, so it's expected. With you it's more of a surprise." He raised his hands up defensively, when she looked at him. "Not that it's a bad surprise. You know none of us have a problem with you and Asami right? So long as you guys are happy, that's all that matters."
She smiled widely at him. "I know Bolin. Thanks."
He smiled back, and they sat for a while in silence. "But if you had a cape," Bolin suddenly added. "It'd be a rainbow cape."
This made her laugh. "What, really?"
He nodded eagerly. "Yeah! You'd be known across the land as," he jumped to his feet, gesturing wildly. "Gay Gal! Defender of Equality!"
She laughed hard at this. "Really Bo? Gay Gal?" She looked at him incredulously though amusedly.
"Yeah!" He nodded again. "Hotter than a dripping pussy! Able to make women cum with a single glance!" He wiped a tear away dramatically. "You are truly a symbol for the people."
They looked at each other, and for a moment it was all, silent before both of them burst out laughing, unable to stop until their sides ached.
When she finally caught her breath, she smiled over at him. "You're gross," she told him, chuckling.
"But you love me." He winked at her, bouncing his eyebrows, as he sat back down.
"Bolin," she said with mock seriousness, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You're a very nice man, but I'm afraid my heart belongs to another."
This brought more laughter from the pair.
"I would like to have that power though," Korra admitted.
"Which power?" He looked at her.
"To make Asami cum just by looking at her." She smirked at him, bouncing her eyebrows up and down.
"Ha," he laughed. "Now who's gross?"
She laughed as well.
"Korra," Bolin said after a bit of silence.
"Hmm?" She looked at him.
"Thanks for coming out today." He smiled at her.
"Bolin. I don't know if you noticed," she smirked at him. "But I came out a long time ago."
"Clever." He laughed, and Korra did as well.
She let her eyes wander, taking in the beach, the waves, the bright blue sky with nary a cloud in sight. And then her eyes settled on something right next to her. Standing upright in the sand, next to the towel were two surfboards. One was black and red. This was Asami's. The other was blue and white. This was hers, recovered from the bay when she was rescued, though she hadn't used it in three years. She hadn't even been in the water outside a swimming pool or the tub at home since then, the terror of the attack controlling her mind and body, and preventing her from doing something she used to love, namely surfing. Now however…she was feeling the urge, which she hadn't felt in some time. Why not, she reasoned. Worth a shot. And if I freak out, well Asami's here to help me.
"Hey Bo," she started, and he looked over at her.
"Hmm?"
"I'm glad I came out here today too. Say can you do me a favor?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah sure. What's up?"
"Hold down the fort for a bit." She gestured to the towel and the umbrella, standing.
"Sure." He looked a bit confused. "Bathroom run? You gonna get Asami, cause don't girls usually do that together?"
She rolled her eyes. "Very funny Bo. No I'm not going to the bathroom." She smiled at him, before walking over to her board, and pulling it from the sand.
Bolin looked at her with concern. "Are you sure you're gonna be ok?"
Korra smiled fondly at him, touched by his concern. "I'll be ok. Thanks Bolin. This is just…something I gotta do, ya know? I have to try."
He nodded, smiling at her. "I gotcha. Go for it Kor." He gave her a double thumbs up. "I'll take care of things here."
"Thanks Bo," she said gratefully, before slinging her board under her arm, and heading for the water.
She felt the ocean lapping round her feet as she began to walk in to the surf, and she smiled. This was a feeling she had sorely missed. She waded out further, expecting a freak out, expecting the terror to begin to consume her as she stood waist deep, the waves rolling by her. Instead, she felt calmed, as if the ocean was welcoming her back after a long absence with a loving embrace, whispering, "Where have you been?" The waves rolling round her hips like a series of warm hugs.
Smiling, she looked out over the bay, spotting the buoys at the entrance, marking the electrified shark net that had been installed there after Korra's attack, the people demanding the addition after hearing Korra's story. Asami may have also been involved in the project, the Sato name bringing a sense of legitimacy and no small amount of financial support for the project. And Korra would be lying if she said that she was unaware of Asami's personal stake in the matter.
Eagerly, she slapped the board down in to the water, and climbed on, paddling out to wait for the perfect wave. It didn't take long, before she felt the ocean swelling up underneath her, and with an instinct, un-dulled even with the passing of time, she chose her moment, pushing herself to her feet, and dropping from the crest of the wave, riding the board as if all that time away had been merely minutes, rather than three years. "Ha," she yelled out. "Woooo!" She used her momentum to ride back up, coming off the wave, grabbing her board and spinning through the air before coming back down again. It was as if she'd never left.
Asami approached the towel, setting down her girlfriend's large helping of food, and looking around, not seeing said girlfriend anywhere. Bolin was still here however, which worried her. She glanced over, seeing the girl's surfboard was missing, which meant she probably wasn't in the bathroom. What's going on, she wondered. Did Korra leave without telling anyone? Did she go home? Oh, I knew I shouldn't have left.
"Bolin," she got the young man's attention, even as he eagerly took his food from Opal, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice. He looked over at her, taking a big bite out of a hamburger, and drinking from a soda cup. "Where's Korra?" She swallowed, anticipating the worst.
Instead of speaking, he simply smiled at her, setting down his soda and pointing out towards the bay. She followed his finger, and gasped, clasping her hands to her mouth when she saw what she was looking for. There was Korra, out on the waves again, for the first time in three years, surfing without a care in the world. Asami watched, tears coming to her eyes as her girlfriend streaked across the waves, doing tricks and enjoying herself as if she had never been attacked in the first place. Even from here, Asami could see that Korra looked happy, which made her laugh, a teary smile coming to her face, even as the tears flowed gently.
A gentle hand on her shoulder made her turn, looking in to Opal's concerned eyes. "Asami," the young Beifong asked, looking at her in concern. "Are you ok?" The rest of the group was also looking at her in the same manner.
She laughed shakily, wiping at her tears. "I-I'm fine Opal. Great actually." She pointed as Bolin had. "Look."
The rest of the group followed her gaze as well, and Asami watched their various reactions, most of them gasping and then ending up smiling as she had. There were several, "Well would you look at that's," and "Good for you Korra's." Asami went to her bag, digging in to it in search of her phone. She went to the water's edge, flipping on the camera app and finding Korra in the screen. She hit the record button, smiling to herself. Tonraq and Senna will love this. She would send the video to them later.
Korra spent nearly the entire day out on the water, trudging up back on to land, only when the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon. She had barely made it out of the shallows when she was suddenly tackled back down in to the surf by an enthusiastic Asami, making her drop her board. The CEO pressed her lips to Korra's, stealing the surfer's breath away. Surprised, Korra blinked a moment, before wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's waist and returning the kiss eagerly.
When Asami pulled back, Korra had to take a moment to catch her breath, staring up in to the red tinged face of her girlfriend, who was looking at her with a mix of love, lust and pride.
Eventually, Korra seemed to find her voice. "I'm certainly not complaining," she said, fondly rubbing her hands up and down Asami's back. "But what was that for?"
"I love you so much," Asami said while peppering Korra's face with kisses. "I'm so fucking proud of you." She buried her face in Korra's chest, sniffling.
"Aww babe," Korra chuckled, patting her back. "Don't cry sweetie. I love you too, and besides, I couldn't have gotten back out there without you." She took Asami's chin in between her thumb and forefinger, tilting her face up. With her other hand, Korra wiped away the tears on the beautiful woman's face. "You made me these legs, you helped me through the darkest time in my life, and you've always been there for me, always supporting me no matter what."
She looked in to Asami's eyes, long and hard, trying to convey her emotions as clearly as possible. "You're my everything Asami," she said quietly, and kissed her, cupping her face and pulling her in hard, which Asami eagerly returned, hands bracing themselves in the sand on either side of Korra's head.
The two eventually had to come up for air, and they lay there simply looking at each other, their cheeks tinged with pink, letting out little chuckles.
"Marry me," Asami said suddenly, breaking the silence.
"What?" Korra was shocked. Had she heard what she just thought she heard?
"Marry me Korra," Asami said again, blushing. "Please. I love you so much and I want you in my life forever."
Korra stared at her for a heartbeat, stunned. Then she smiled, looking up at this gem of a woman whom she had somehow gotten lucky enough to be with. "Yes…Of course," she answered quietly.
"Really?" Asami looked at her with surprise.
"Yes really." Korra nodded. "I can't think of anyone I'd rather spend my life with. I love you Asami."
Asami kissed her again, long and hard, with plenty of tongue, until they were interrupted by a shout.
"Hey you two! Get a room!"
They looked up at Bolin standing not too far away, hands on his hips, and a shit-eating grin on his face. "Seriously. There are kids here."
Looking at each other, they blushed, laughing, and in unison, put up their hands, flipping Bolin off, causing laughter all around.
Asami heaved herself off of Korra and helped her up, and Korra picked up her board, holding her fiancé's hand with the other, and Asami led her back to the group.
"Hey guys," Korra said when they were back among their friends. "We're getting married!"
Expressions of shock and disbelief were soon followed by heartfelt congratulations and much back patting and cheers of joy. Soon the alcohol was brought out, Jinora pouting when she was not allowed to partake, not being of age just quite yet.
Later, Korra and Asami sat close together, a bonfire providing light and keeping away the night's chill. Korra pulled her blanket wrapped fiancé close, smiling fondly at her, which was returned. Something glinted in the firelight, and Korra looked down at her dark-skinned hand, where the bright light of a diamond engagement ring reflected off the fire. Korra chuckled. Asami had, had the thing in her bag of all places, making Korra wonder how long she had been carrying that thing around, how long she had been planning this. When asked, of course Asami would reveal nothing, though she had admitted that hadn't been how she had intended to propose, though neither of them could find it in themselves to regret that it had happened.
"You doing ok," Korra asked her, and Asami turned to look at her, smiling.
"Perfect now that you're here."
Korra smiled back. "To us," she declared, holding her beer bottle out.
"To us," Asami agreed, clinking her own bottle against it, and they both drank.
"Oh," Senna said in surprise, holding up her phone. The blustery winds of the South Pole raged outside, the warm fireplace crackling and keeping the inside of the house warm and cozy.
"What is it?" Tonraq looked up from his newspaper.
"Asami sent us a video," she told him, tapping the screen. She watched for a moment, before tears began gathering in the corners of her eyes, and she sniffed loudly. "Oh," she exclaimed quietly, holding her hand to her mouth.
"Senna, what is it," Tonraq asked again, his wife's reaction concerning him.
She moved over, sitting on his lap. "Tonraq," she said. "Look." She tapped the screen, playing the video from the beginning, and Tonraq looked down at it curiously.
He smiled widely, chuckling as he watched his daughter riding the waves once more. "Good for you Korra," he murmured, the pride and love for his daughter obvious in his voice.
"I'm so proud of her," Senna remarked, wiping at her tears.
"Me too," the big man agreed, wrapping his arms around his wife's waist. "And we should thank Asami. She's always taken such good care of her."
Senna leaned back in to her husband. "Mmhmm," she agreed, closing her eyes. Her phone buzzed soon afterward, making her open her eyes.
"What now?" Tonraq looked up from his paper, which he had been reading with one hand.
"A text from Korra," she told him, tapping at the screen again. A moment of silence, then, "Aaaaah!" Senna was shrieking, bouncing up and down on Tonraq's lap with joy.
"What," her bemused husband asked her. "What now? What's going on?"
"Look!" She eagerly shoved the phone in his face, revealing a picture of a smiling and blushing Korra showing off the diamond ring on her left hand. "Asami proposed," the text read. "We're getting married!"
Tonraq laughed largely and happily. "Ha," he exclaimed. "Good for you Korra," he said once again. He looked up at Senna, both of them smiling broadly. "She's doing ok isn't she?"
Senna nodded, smiling. "Yes," she agreed. "She is."
He picked his paper back up, settling back in and Senna leaned against him again. "We'll have to go visit them sometime soon, congratulate them in person."
Senna nodded, agreeing even as she texted away, sending their love for their only daughter and soon to be daughter in law.
"Keep on riding Korra," Tonraq muttered fondly. "Ride the waves of life."
A/N: Wow, this turned in to way more of a monster than I intended it too. It was originally just supposed to be a short little piece of Korra going back to the water, but it evolved in to a rather long piece encompassing a bit more than that. I can't say I regret it though, as this is what happens when I get inspired. Anyways, tell me what you guys think, as always reviews are encouraged and appreciated!