Written for the Probending Circuit
Prompts:
Write about a character's greatest fear
Color- Brown
Object- chair
Song- 'Beautiful' by Christina Aguilera
Word Count- 3,500
CRRRACK! Pop! Woosh! The air split with the loud noise, the sound echoing throughout the kitchen as the dark-skinned teen Apparated in to existence. Dressed in a tight fitting, blue, sleeveless shirt, tight fitting brown pants and fur boots, an animal pelt around her waist, and her light blue robe, open on top of that, the girl, searching around with her big blue eyes, made for a rather striking figure.
The tall, pale-skinned woman with raven locks, dressed in a light, floral patterned sundress, and barefoot, currently enjoying the view from the window whirled in shock, with a shriek escaping her lips. The teacup she was holding slipped from her hands, shattering on the tile below, and a pool of hot tea spreading along the floor.
The two women stared at each other for a moment, a sheepish blush spreading over the dark-skinned girl. "Hi Mrs. Sato," she said, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment.
"Oh," the older woman breathed out, a hand going to her chest as she visibly calmed, letting out a long breath. "Korra." She opened her eyes, smiling at the younger woman. "You scared me."
Korra's blush deepened. "Sorry. I'm still getting used to spending time around muggles. I forget sometimes." She gave the older woman a sheepish, toothy grin.
The older woman looked at her a moment, before smiling herself, the indulgent smile of a mother used to the antics of children. She closed her eyes, shaking her head lightly and chuckling quietly. "It's quite alright dear." She opened her eyes, surveying the damage. "Just let me get a rag and a broom and clean this up, and I'll be right with you." She sent Korra a radiant smile, before moving off towards a cupboard.
Korra looked down at the mess on the floor and winced, blushing more deeply. "Oops. Here," she countered, reaching in to her robe and drawing her wand, a masterpiece of magical craftsmanship at eleven and a half inches of polished cypress wood, mildly flexible, with a dragon heartstring core. "Let me take care of that." With a graceful sweep of her wrist, dragging the tip across the area of the spill, time seemed to reverse itself, the flow of tea halting, and then reversing as if the tides themselves were rolling backwards. Simultaneously, the tinkle of porcelain could be heard as the teacup began piecing itself back together, the whole concoction rising slowly in to the air, before coming to rest, fully formed once more and full of steaming tea, sitting on it's saucer on the counter.
"Oh!" Yasuko Sato held a hand to her mouth in surprise, as she stared wide-eyed at the resurrected teacup. "Oh my," she continued more quietly, replacing the broom in her hand back in to the closet. "I suppose that's one way to do it." The woman shrugged, laughing quietly, clearly a bit overwhelmed.
Korra grew embarrassed once more, scratching at the back of her head with her free hand once again. "M-maybe you should sit down Mrs. Sato," she suggested carefully, noticing the woman's legs trembling a bit.
The older woman blinked owlishly for a moment, before nodding, swallowing and speaking, "Yes…yes that sounds like a good idea. Thank you Korra."
Smiling widely, she walked over to the other woman and tentatively wrapped a steadying arm around her shoulders. The gesture was accepted by the elder, with a grateful smile. Korra flicked her wand at the chair the older woman was heading to and it pulled itself out from under the table, ready to be used. Clearly, this surprised the older woman as well, as she could see Yasuko flinch slightly, even as she helped her settle down in to the seat. And Korra gave a mental curse of, shit, even as she flicked her wand again, this time at the teacup and saucer, which rose in to the air, and quickly and silently, levitated itself over and placed itself on the table in front of the other woman, all without spilling a single drop.
I've really gotta stop doing that, she reprimanded herself. Asami's parents are muggles and aren't used to casual magic being performed around them 24/7…At least not yet. She can't help but blush at the thought, imagining being around enough, being around Asami enough to get both her and her parents accustomed to someone like her, someone from the wizarding world. A witch. A brief moment of insecurity flits across her face, as she wonders whether Asami will stay or not.
It had been quite a shock for her, Korra knows, when she revealed this side of herself, and thusly, the world, to the beautiful, green-eyed muggle. It had shaken her, the calculating genius woman, with a mind based on physics and math and natural laws, to discover that there were people like her, people like Korra, who, with a thought, and a few well placed words, could re-shape the world to their liking.
Magic, it was clear to the blue-eyed Auror, was not something Asami Sato had ever expected to encounter in her life, and yet here she was, a bona-fied witch, able to call the beautiful genius her girlfriend. And hopefully, now that Asami was her girlfriend officially, Korra would be able to show her more of her world, helping the other woman to adjust to the shift in her perceived reality.
Korra was drawn out of her thoughts of her beautiful girlfriend, and her hopeful thoughts of introducing her more and more to the world of magic, by said girlfriend's mother.
"Korra?"
The young witch looked up, curiously, to find Yasuko looking at her. Embarrassed at being caught off guard, she scratched the back of her head with her wand-free hand, blushing slightly.
"Oh, yeah?" She tried to make it seem as casual as possible, but by the way the elder smiled at her, she could tell she hadn't quite succeeded.
"I was just saying that Asami is probably up in her room if she isn't in the garage. You are here to see Asami after all?" She's smirking now, making Korra's blush deepen. "Yes? I highly doubt you'd come all this way just to spend time with us old folks?"
"Uhh," Korra fumbles with her words now, rubbing the back of her neck once more, as she stores her wand away in her robes once more. "Well, yes actually. I-"
She is interrupted however, when the kitchen door slams open behind her, causing Mrs. Sato to nearly drop her teacup once more, and Korra to whirl in alarm, reaching for her wand once more in the process, before she calms, lowering her hand, and Yasuko settles, as the only one in the doorway is a sweating and slightly red faced Hiroshi Sato, Asami's father.
"Yasuko," he breathes heavily, his face contorted with nerves. "I heard you shout, and I heard something break. Is everything alright?" He moves quickly across the kitchen, Korra moving respectfully out of the way as he passes. "You're not hurt are you?" His brow furrows with worry as he inspects his wife, one hand going to her forehead, the other taking up her hand in his, his eyes flicking over her rapidly.
Yasuko let's out a chuckle, taking his one hand in her two as she comforts him. "No, no," she assures. "I'm not hurt, I just got a little startled. Korra decided to visit."
He raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Korra?"
She motions behind her, and Korra waves, smiling sheepishly. "Hi Mr. Sato."
Hiroshi stares at her for a moment, before looking back and forth between the two women in confusion. "She did that thing where she pops in to existence," Yasuko clarified. "What do you call it again dear?" She looked past her husband to the young girl.
"Well," she explains. "Dissaperating is when I disappear from somewhere and then Apparating is when I reappear at wherever I was going, so in this case, it was Apparating." She looks over at Hiroshi. "I sorta did it right in to your kitchen and spooked Mrs. Sato here." She chuckles shyly. "Sorry."
Once more, he looks between the women, and relaxes in to chuckles when Yasuko gives a confirming nod, backing up her story. "I see," he says, much calmer now that he knows his wife is not in some sort of danger. He straightens his suit. "Well then, welcome Korra. It's always nice to have you here." He smiles at her.
"Thank you," she accepts, smiling back just as warmly.
He looks as if he's about to reply when a thoughtful look comes over his face. "If everyone's ok, and no one was hurt, then what was the crash I heard?"
"Oh," Yasuko pipes up with a bit of an embarrassed chuckle, and a blush. "I'm afraid that was me. Korra suddenly appearing right behind me startled me, and I dropped my teacup," she lifts said cup in demonstration. "Shattered the whole thing."
His eyebrows go up in surprise. "This teacup?" He points at it, before scratching his head in confusion, looking between the two women.
"Yes." Yasuko nods. "This teacup."
Confusion causing his frown to deepen, he scratched the back of his head briefly, looking once more between the two women, helplessly lost. "Then how…"
"Oh," Korra finally speaks up after several moments of awkward silence between the three. "That was me," she proclaimed, blushing, Hiroshi swerving his gaze over to her. She pulled her robe open slightly, pointing at her wand. "I fixed it."
He looks at her for a moment, silent, glancing between her face, and her wand, before understanding blooms across his face. "Oh," he speaks slowly, carefully, as if heavily weighing each word and the consequences, should they escape his lips. "Right…magic…I see…"
She wasn't sure he truly did, and by the look on his face, she could tell neither was he.
"Ummm," Korra spoke up awkwardly. "Anyways I'll…I'll, just go see how Asami's doing." She jerked a thumb towards the door. "That is why I'm here after all…to visit her that is. Heh, heh." She laughed, scratching the back of her neck once again. "Yeah…"
Mr. Sato nodded at her, and turned back to his wife, and Korra chose that moment to nod to the couple, who's attention was now on each other, and duck out of the room. She would check the garage first and then Asami's room if her girlfriend wasn't secreted away with the muggle inventions she so loved to tinker with.
As it turned out, Asami was not, in fact, in the garage amongst all the, what were the damn things called again? Oh…right…cars. "Muggles," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head in bewilderment. They made, and then gave the strangest things the strangest names. Honestly. Give her a nice broom or portkey, or good old Dissaperation any day rather than one of those foul smelling metal monstrosities.
Asami was however, in her room, as the young witch discovered when she knocked on the door, only to receive an annoyed grunt, and a, "Go away," in response.
"'Sami," she questioned, through the thick wood. "It's me…Korra. Can I come in?"
There was another annoyed sound from beyond the threshold. "What part of 'go away' was unclear to you Korra?"
Korra couldn't help but smile, yet at the same time, felt her nerves rise. Asami had never flat out refused her company before. She had, in the past, left her subtle hints whenever the muggle wanted some alone time, and Korra had always obliged her. But never, had she flat out told the young witch to, "Go away." It was, unsurprisingly, concerning to the dark-skinned Auror.
"Asami," she proceeded, her voice slightly more pleading as she knocked again. "Are you ok? Please let me in. Whatever's going on, I'm sure I can help somehow. At least talk to me about it." And then a thought hit her. "Are…are you on your period? I can help with the pain you know? I've done it before." There was a long silence from the other side. "Asami?"
Some vague grumbling was her only answer.
Frowning, Korra tried not to get too upset. "Asami please. Whatever's bothering you, I want to help."
Silence.
Sighing again, she deliberated for only a moment, before coming to a decision. "Asami, I hope you're ready, cause I'm coming in." There was no response from the room. She reached out and tried the door handle, frowning when it was locked. Reaching in to her robes, Korra withdrew her wand. "Alohomora," she intoned, as she pointed her wand at the lock, hearing it click open at her command.
"Asami?" Korra pushed her way in to the darkened room, looking around, spying a vaguely Asami shaped lump underneath the covers in the bed. The room was so dark though, she could hardly make out anything else. Asami had all the curtains drawn. "Lumos." She flicked her wand, the tip lighting up in a brilliant white as she made her way to the bed.
"Asami," she spoke to the lump, getting no response, other than a grunt, and a tightening of the lump in to more of a ball shape. She frowned. "Asami come on babe, talk to me."
There's yet another mumbled sound, and a pale hand attached to an equally pale arm, finds its way out of the cocoon and waves her off.
Korra pouts at this, she's had enough of being practically ignored by her girlfriend for the last few weeks, which prompted this visit. She puts her hands on her hips and says, in the most authoritative voice she can manage, (which, being the senior Auror at the Ministry means it's quite a voice), "Asami Lillian Sato, you come out of there right now and stop ignoring me, your girlfriend, who's only trying to help you, before I magic you out!"
In a sudden fit of activity, scaring poor Korra out of her wits, and making her take several, stumbling steps back, the bed sheets were thrown off and a raging Asami stood to her feet, normally pristine face streaked with tear tracks, her makeup smudged, and those perfect, white teeth of hers bared in anger at her erstwhile unsuspecting girlfriend. Her normally demurely smiling lips were pulled apart in a hideous scowl.
"And that's just your answer to everything isn't it," an angered Asami shouted at her. "Magic this! Magic that! Oh look at me I'm so special, I can just wave my wand and make things happen because I want them to! Even now you've got your wand pointed at me like I'm some sort of enemy! What are you going to do Korra?! Kill me?! Are you going to strike me down like I'm one of those dark wizards you're so fond of telling me about?! Hmm?!"
Thoroughly startled by her girlfriend's unexpected reaction, Korra glanced down to find that, indeed, her reflexes had raised her wand, which was now pointed squarely at Asami's chest, it's tip still glowing, only the knowledge that this was, in fact, Asami Sato, and not some dark wizard or which she would be duty bound to capture or kill, preventing her from firing off some spell. Flushing embarrassedly, she lowered her wand.
"No Asami," she said quietly. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Hmmph," the heiress scoffed, crossing her arms and turning away. "You could have fooled me," she declared haughtily.
Getting annoyed again, Korra frowned. "What is your problem? You've been avoiding me for the last few weeks like I personally insulted you or something, and now you're growling at me over a misunderstanding."
"Just leave me alone Korra," Asami spoke, bitterness dripping from every word as she turned away. "You wouldn't understand."
Groaning, Korra threw her hands up in exasperation. "Well I can't very well understand what's wrong if you won't talk to me now can I?" She tried to keep her irritation in check, but couldn't help her volume going up slightly.
Asami looked at her over her shoulder. "You want to know what's wrong," she asked, her voice dark.
"Yes," Korra answered with a nod, finally feeling as if she was getting somewhere with her obstinate girlfriend.
"You really want to know," she asked again.
Korra frowned. "Yes," she insisted more firmly. "I really do."
There was a long silence, as Asami refused to look at her, and Korra was trying her best to remain patient, even as she doubted if Asami was about to answer her at all.
Then, just as Korra's patience was reaching an end, just as she was about to reach forward, spin Asami around and shake the answers out of her, Asami spoke, quiet, nearly a whisper, Korra straining her ears to hear it. Just two words.
"I'm scared."
"Scared?" Korra couldn't help but be confused, and a bit annoyed, as much as she knew she shouldn't be. Asami wasn't making sense, which lead Korra to put a bit more of her irritation in to her tone then she had perhaps meant to. "Of what?" She could feel herself sneering ever so slightly, and tried to smooth her expression out.
Asami whirled on her, surprising her once more as the taller woman took hold of her shoulders, and shook her slightly. "Of losing you!"
The women stared at each other for a tense moment, panting, before Korra smiled slowly, chuckling, and reaching out to Asami, even as the older woman let an expression of hurt flash across her face, Korra pulled her in and kissed her.
"That's ridiculous," she declared. "Why would you think you would lose me?" She drew Asami in and held her tight, feeling the other girl's arms wrap round her shoulders even as her own, went around Asami's waist. She felt it as Asami's head dropped in to the crook of her shoulder.
"Because," Asami sniffled. "You're so amazing. You can do all these things with your magic that I didn't know were even possible before I met you. And…and I'm worried that one day, you'll wake up…and regret being with me. That one day, you'll find someone just as amazing as you are, and that you won't want me anymore…or that you'll be killed in battle against some enemy or creature. Korra being with you is so wonderful but at the same time…it's the most terrifying thing in my life."
"Asami," Korra tried to interject, but Asami clearly wasn't done.
"I just…I can't do the things that you can. I can't do magic or anything like that. I'm just…normal. And it terrifies me…more than anything I'm terrified you'll leave me, whether you do it willingly or not...because I'm not like you."
"Asami," Korra consoles her, kissing her neck, her cheek, any skin she can reach. "That's so ridiculous. I love you. You know that. And you know you don't have to be magical the way I am for me to think you are. You can do things I never could. I could never build cars or computers or any of that technology stuff you're so good at. That's your power. That's your magic: that big sexy brain of yours that I love so much."
Asami, despite herself, gives a wet, teary chuckle in to Korra's shoulder, sniffling loudly. "Y-you mean that? You aren't just saying that to make me feel better?"
Korra shrugged. "I am saying it to make you feel better."
Asami made an indignant noise, and attempted to pull away, but Korra held her close. "But," she stipulated, feeling Asami grow still in her arms once more. "It's also true. You are the most beautiful, amazing, brilliant, kindhearted, determined, resourceful, sexy woman I have ever had the privilege to meet and subsequently call my girlfriend, and I could never leave you…willing or otherwise." Korra chuckled, and to her gratification, Asami did as well. And she pulled back, reaching up to wipe Asami's tears from her cheeks with her thumbs.
Korra stared at her and Asami stared back, before she pulled Asami forward, kissing her again.
"Thank you Korra," Asami spoke once they had pulled apart again, the black-haired girl's head resting on her girlfriend's shoulder. "That means more than you could ever know."
"Hey," Korra said after a moment, smiling.
"Hmm?"
"That song you had me listen to a few weeks ago. The one by that muggle artist you like so much. Do you remember what it was?"
"Oh," Asami's forehead creased as she tried to remember, flattening when she did. "You mean, 'Beautiful' by Christina Aguilera?"
Korra nodded. "Yeah. That one." She chuckled.
"What about it?"
"Sing it for me?"
"Korra," Asami tried to protest.
"C'mon," Korra insisted. "For me?"
There was a moment of silence, before Asami sighed, and Korra grinned, knowing she'd won. And Asami began to sing.
Every day is so wonderful
Then suddenly it's hard to breathe.
Now and then I get insecure
From all the pain, I'm so ashamed.
I am beautiful no matter what…
A/N: Once again I meet my greatest enemy: Word limit! Dun dun dunnnn! Lol, anyways I had a lot of fun with this one, and it's the first time I've dipped in to the Harry Potter universe (sort of :P) in my writings, so I hope everything was ok on that end. I'll certainly be writing more Harry Potter related things in the future, and I even have a major fic planned, so that's something to look forward to! Anyways, as always, reviews, follows and favorites are all encouraged and appreciated! Enjoy!