In Hiding

Summary: Korra tried hard not to think about Kuvira living in a jail cell waiting for her trial to start – until she finds her sitting on her bed, looking for a place to hide. Set after series finale.

Chapter 7

Korra yawned and rubbed the back of her neck to get rid of the sudden flare of pain. Sleeping on the floor was starting to take a toll on her body, but she couldn't as Kuvira to switch where they slept. She wouldn't. Korra may not know what it is like sleeping in jail cell, but she knows what a decent bed feels like and as long as Kuvira stays, she's going to let her feel as comfortable as she can, even if she was trapped in a room.

"Morning, Korra," Tenzin greeted her as she stepping into the dining area. She responded with a grunt and a nod of her head. The sleep instantly left her body when she the scents of the food filled her nose. Korra quickly took her seat and received a plate from Pema. "You look beat."

"Yeah, the thunderstorm kept me up," she muttered before shoveling some noodles into her mouth.

"I'm sorry about Rohan," Pema apologized. She leaned over the table and wiped the sauce from around his lips. He whined and struggled against her. "I didn't think he would bother you. Normally he comes to me."

"It is no problem, Pema. I didn't even notice when he left." Korra smiled at the young child. "But he's a brave little man for going back to his room by himself. Braver than me at that age."

"Didn't you find out you were the Avatar around his age?" Ikki asked.

"Eat your food," she instructed.

Once he was finally able to pull away he looked over at Korra, who took a big gulp of tea from her cup. "Where Kuku?" Rohan asked. Korra choked on her mouthful of tea. She wiped off the bit of tea that had dribbled down her chin.

"Who's coo-coo?" Jinorah asked.

"Me," Korra answered.

"No, you're KoKo," Ikki said. "And I'm Eek, and Jinorah's JinJin, and Meelo is MeMe

"I hate that name," he grumbled from the other side of the table. Pema giggled into her hand before ruffling some of his hair. He looked at her with wide eyes before brushing his hair back to the way it was previously.

"Yes, that is true," she agreed "but I can be crazy. You all know that. It's just a new nickname I'm trying out." She shrugged. Jinroa looked at her with a raised eyebrow while Tenzin just stared. "Clearly it isn't a good one," she added.

"So what are your plans for today, Korra?" Pema asked.

"I'm meeting up with Mako and Asami in the city," she answered excitedly. "I owe it to them since I kind of blew them off last time," she added.

"You have become a bit of a homebody recently. Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, Pema," she said with a shrug. "I was just working on new meditation techniques." Tenzin's eyebrows rose. "Yeah, it's where you completely isolate yourself from others and sunlight."

"That sounds weird," he commented. "I've never heard of a meditation technique like that. What is it called?"

Korra stared back at him for a few moments. "Oh, I don't remember the name." She lowered her head so that her dark hair would hide her reddening cheeks.

"I'm glad you're taking your studies seriously," Tenzin commented. "It really shows your growth and maturity, not just as the Avatar."

"Thank you," she smiled brightly. "I'm going to head out. Have a great day everyone." She picked up her dishes and took them into the kitchen before heading back to her room. She knocked twice, paused, and then knocked a third time, before sliding the door open. She snickered and clasped a hand over her mouth as Kuvira turned to look at her.

The earthbender was dressed in red and gold robes. She was laying dowon vertically on the bed with her head dangling off the side and her feet propped up against the wall. "I can't tell if you're trying to die from lack of circulation to the rest of your body or doing sit-ups."

"I was doing sit-ups," Kuvira answered with a glare. "Are you laughing because of how I look or that I'm in these robes?"

"Definitely the robes," Korra said. She ducked as Kuvira tossed a pillow in her direction.

"I don't see what's so amusing," she muttered before placing her hands behind her head. She grunted while lifted her upper body. "You wear fur in eighty-degree weather as if you're some big socialite you can afford it."

"You don't have to do that."

"Do what?" she snapped.

"Be 'The Great Uniter'," Korra answered while making air quotes. Kuvira sat up and pulled her feet off of the wall. She stormed over and grabbed Korra by the collar of her shirt.

"Don't ever call me that, again," she growled.

"Relxa." Korra grabbed Kuvira's wrists and pulled them off of her shirt. "I meant, you don't have to hide your vulnerability. I've seen it a few times now. There's nothing wrong with being soft."

"Hn." Kuvira collapsed onto the bed. She glared down at the piece of red cloth on her shoulders. She brushed it away before rolling her eyes and it fell back in place.

"I'm heading out." Korra grabbed her glider fro next to the door. "You know the knock and what to do if you hear anything else. I'll be back soon."

"Try and get me some new clothes," Kuvira ordered.

"You're not calling the shots here," she said. "Things will be easier if you get rid of your desire for power over your life and others and just act normally."

"Because being trapped in a room is normal."

"Would you rather it be a jail cell?"

Kuvira bit the inside of her cheek. "Touché."

"Have you noticed Korra acting strange lately?" Mako asked. He slowly lowered himself to the ground next to Asami. They were sitting outside of a library on the stairs. Her nose was buried deep into an engineering book she just checked out.

"No, because I haven't seen her in the past two weeks," Asami said without looking up from her book. "I've been busy with reconstruction. Plus, I'm sure she's busy with Avatar things."

"Yes, but normally she's trying to get out of her busy schedule," he pointed out.

Asami looked up from the bootk with a start. "You have a good point," she agreed.

"There's something else," Mako said slowly. Asami marked her page before looking over at him. "When it was announced that Kuvira had escaped, Chief Beifong asked me to accompany her to the be the detective for the case/"

"That's not weird," she laughed. "You're a great detective. You found out that Varrick was behind the thefts and bombings a few years ago. You kept working on it when no one believed you."

"That's not it, but thank you." Mako cupped his chin. "When I went to search Air Temple Island with the Chief, she was kind of jumpy, plus she didn't object when Lin wanted to search the room or ask her questions about the whole issue."

"So?" Asami asked.

"Since when has Korra actually sit back and allow for things to happen out of her control?" Mako questioned.

"True." Asami nodded.

"My ears are burning," Korra announced as she hopped off of her glider near them. She closed the wings at the top and the bottom of the glider before resting it onto her shoulder. She winced when she heard a soft cry of pain from behind her. "Sorry, sir," she apologized when she noticed a grumpy man glare at her while rubbing the back of his head. "Asami, is there any chance you can make a compact version of this? Sometimes I get tired of lugging it around."

"Sure." Asmai brushed off the back of her pants as she got to her feet. "You'll have to start carrying a purse though."

"Nevermind," Korra said quickly. "So, what's the plan for today?" she asked excitedly. "It's great to finally have a day free of meetings."

"Asami and I were just talking about this whole Kuvira issue-" Mako started.

"What about it?" she demanded.

"That she's disappeared into the night without a trace," he answered. "It's giving people worry. There's talk around the police station that we may have a curfew set up soon just to find her."

"She deserves to be in jail after what she's done," Asami growled. "She's had us all fooled. Why give up and surrender but then escape from prison?" she scoffed.

"Would you like to have your humanity taken away by a mistake?" Korra questioned.

"So killing my father was a mistake?"

"I didn't say that."

"Ladies," Mako said with a cough. The two looked over at him. "We were supposed to enjoy today, remember?" he asked.

"Right," Asami said with a nod. She took a deep breath before smiling over at Korra. She placed a hand on her shoulder before playfully pushing her. "It looks like I'm taking over Mako's position. I'm the one arguing with you and not him."

"Jealous, Mako?" Korra asked with a half smile.

"Yes, because I can't live without fighting with you," he said with an eye roll. "I only have an hour and a half on my break and I'm sure Asami is busy working as well. What do you two want to do?"

Asami shrugged before slipping her book underneath her arm. Korra eyed the shops before noticing a small thrift store. It carried various clothing in different colors. "Asami, let's go shopping in that store," she suggested while pointing it out.

"You want to go shopping?" Asami asked in surprise.

"I could use some new clothes," Korra said while tilting her head to the side. She rubbed her arm and looked uncomfortable. "Ever since Zaheer…well, I know it's been three years, but not all of my muscles have come back since I found that fighting isn't the answer to everything." She smiled sheepishly. "I've been putting this off for a while now." Who says I'm a bad liar? Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have taken the sympathy route, but it worked.

"Okay." Asami nodded. Her eyes flicked down to Korra's muscles before looking back up. "I'll come too."

"You don't have to." Korra quickly turned. Mako and Asami ducked as the glider swung in the air near their heads. She muttered a soft apology.

"Do you have enough money?" Mako asked.

Korra looked everywhere but at the two of them as she stuck a hand into her pocket. She pulled it out and a stray piece of the scrambled eggs she had for breakfast spilled out. "What are the chances that my title would work?" she asked sheepishly.

"People don't run these shops as a hobby," Asami answered with a soft giggle.

Mako looked at the name of the store before peering into the window. "I'll wait for you out here," he suggested with a light flush. Asami and Korra looked at him before peering into the window. It was then they noticed the story was aimed mainly for girls, especially because a stand by the windows held a mannequin that was showing off an underwear set.

"Good idea." Korra let out a soft sigh of relief before walking through the doorway. As soon as Asami stepped inside, she pulled Korra over to a rack in the corner of the store. "Did you really want to go shopping or did you just want to get away from for a few minutes?" she asked with a smile.

"A bit of both." Korra slipped her hand into Asami's and gave it a light squeeze. Asami smiled softly before pressing a light kiss to her cheek. Korra flushed before tugging her over to a pile of green clothes.

Suyin smiled as she bit into a piece of fruit. She dabbed at the juice spilling down the corner of her mouth with a napkin before turning her attention to her husband next to her. Baatar Sr was hunched over a blueprint, shaking his head and making small marks on the paper with his pencil. After a few seconds he sighed in frustration before erasing the marks.

"Don't worry, honey," she said calmly. "I'm sure things will come together soon. You helped create the city before."

"Yes, but with all of the metal that Kuvira took for her mecca tanks and the colossus, I'm working around items we're either low on or don't have." He slowly rubbed his temples before tapping a finger on his chin in thought.

"You have a fantastic mind." Suyin placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She gave it a light squeeze before leaning over and placing a light kiss to his cheek. "I know you will come up with something." Suyin looked across the room at her son, Huan, was was hunched over a sketchbook. "Maybe Huan could help come up with structural designs."

Huan grunted in response.

"Great idea, mom," Wing said around a mouthful of eggs. "Have the artist help."

"Our buildings will be structurally safe with spirals and corkscrews holding it up," Wei added. He punched his twin brother before the two burst out laughing. Huan threw a spare pencil at the two of them, and quickly ducked his head when it hit Wing on the right side of his face.

"What was that for?" he shouted at Wei.

"I didn't do anything," Wei answered before punching him in the arm. The two started to spar each other. Opal rolled her eyes and smiled before continuing to eat her breakfast. Beside her, Baatar Jr, who decided to go by his namesake once more, just stared at his plate full of food.

The Beifong family looked up in surprise as the new captain of the metal clan and a few guards quickly entered the room. Suyin looked at them in surprise before gesturing over to the nearby food table, silently offering them some breakfast. "Suyin, you are needed urgently in Republic City."

"Please don't tell me my sister destroyed Air Temple Island again,'" she groaned.

"Aunt Lin destroyed Air Temple Island?" Opal asked.

"Avatar Korra mentioned it to me in passing." She nodded. "Something about an air nomad taking an ex-boyfriend away from her."

"Aunt Lin lost someone to another girl?" Opal's eyes widened in shock. "That's hard to imagine."

"I know," Suyin chuckled. "I never suspected Lin to ever find someone tough enough to date her."

"Suyin, I'm afraid this cannot wait," the captain interrupted. "Chief Lin Beifong has asked for your help."

"What's happened?" Suyin asked while reaching for her glass of juice. "It must be something big if my sister can't handle her city."

The captain's right eye twitched. He looked at the few members of the Metal Clan behind him before nudging the closest one to his left with his elbow. The guard looked up at the captain, who in turn elbowed him harder. He winced in pain before stumbling forward as the captain placed a firm hand on his back and pushed. "K-Ku-Kuvira escaped from jail," the guard stammered.

Suyin froze, her hand right in front of the glass. She pulled her hand into a fist before dropping it into her lap. Opal gasped. Wing and Wei stopped their sparring. Baatar Sr. dropped his pencil to the table. Baatar Jr. tensed in his chair. Huan broke the pencil in his hand in half. The six of them slowly turned towards their mother, waiting for reaction.

Suyin slowly got up out of her chair. She looked the captain in the eyes, making note that he didn't shift his gaze or fidget under her sight. She took a deep breath before slamming her hand onto the table. "Damn," she muttered.