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 21

"What's this for?" fifteen-year-old Kuvira grunted. She plucked the flower out of sixteen-year-old Baatar Jr's hands, twirling it around and inspecting it from every angle.

"I just thought you'd like it," he answered with a shrug.

"Junior and Kuvira sitting in a tree," eight-year-old Wei sang.

"P-u-c-k-i-n-g," his twin, Wang, added while sticking a finger down his throat.

"You spelled pucking, not puking," Baatar said with a laugh. Kuvira tightened her hand around the flower, slightly crushing it, but she didn't care. She exhaled sharply out of her nose, taking a step forward. Baatar stopped her, grabbing her by the elbow. Kuvira looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, her frown deepening. He smiled gently before "As annoying as they are, they don't mean anything."

"I know how to spell barfing," Wang shouted.

Kuvira crossed her arms over her chest. She looked at the flower, her frown deepening. She wasn't too big on romantic gestures, mainly because she was often teased by the younger Beifong children. Many often held her in high regard, especially since she is the captain of the Metal Clan, so it was very uncommon to see her acting vulnerable. While she knew Baatar was right, she couldn't help but feel the ire swell in her stomach. She hated to be made to look like a fool, even as a joke.

"Just be patient with them," Korra said with a shrug. Kuvira blinked and took a small step back. She could feel her cheeks warming as Korra took the flower out of her hands and tucked it behind her ear. "That flower looks good on you." She smiled brightly. Kuvira shyly looked down at the ground. "I know you like it, I just wish you'd show it more, the way you react to things when it's just us. You don't have to have a wall built up all the time, especially not around me."

"Thank you," she muttered. Kuvira placed a hand on Korra's shoulder before stepping closer, resting her head on her shoulder. "It was a nice gesture."

"Korra and Kuvira sitting in a tree," Wei chanted.

"B-a-r-f-i-n-g!" Wang spelled. Kuvira turned them out, relaxing in Korra's embrace as she felt a light kiss to her forehead.

"Kuvira!"

Kuvira jumped awake. She opened her eyes, before shutting them tight against the bright light in her face. Sitting up, she blindly lashed her arm out. She turned when she felt her wrist caught in a tight grip. Kuvira opened her eyes and swiftly pulled her hand away when she noticed it resting next to Korra's cheek in her grip. "Hey, I didn't mean to startle you," Korra said gently.

"What's going on?" she muttered, her voice raspy.

"I thought something was wrong," Korra answered with a sigh of relief. Asami exited the bathroom, brushing her hair. She took a quick glance in the small mirror on the wall, dapping at the corner of her lips with her finger, before sitting down in an empty chair. "You were tossing and turning in your sleep. And you were turning red, I wasn't sure if you were getting sick or if you were too hot."

Asami cleared her throat. Kuvira felt her right eyebrow make the slightest twitch before shrugging. "I'm fine. Thanks."

"We ordered some breakfast." Korra picked up a few objects wrapped in plastic before tossing them up in to the air. Kuvira easily caught them. She placed a few of them into her lap before unwrapping one: a bagel with cream cheese and poppy seed. It wasn't something she liked to eat, after having been spoiled at the Beifong Estate in Zaofu, but she ate it as if it were the best thing on the planet. "I was going to give Ayaka a bath, before we head out."

Kuvira turned when she heard movement behind her. Ayaka was tightly holding onto a book of Earth Kingdom fairy tales. Kuvira quickly deduced that Korra had asked if the hotel had anything for the young child when they ordered the food. Ayaka crawled over to Kuvira and sat next to her, resting her head against her arm. "Head out where?" Kuvira asked.

"We need to find out of Prince Wu or any of the other airbenders are here," Korra answered. "That way, we will be able to find a place to-"

"Korra, maybe that's not such a good idea," Asami commented. She wrapped her long hair up into a ponytail, and then slipped her brush into her pack.

"Why not?"

"Maybe we can rest for a day. We've been traveling for a while now, and when will have the opportunity to get decent beds again? In a day or two, you can go and find Prince Wu or an airbender." Asami's eyes flicked over to Kuvira for the briefest of moments. "It wouldn't be such a good idea for you to take the rest of us with you if there's no guarantee that we can find a place for her to aid in the reconstruction."

"That's a good point." Korra tapped her chin in thought, nodding in agreement.

"Besides, I have some business to attend to myself tomorrow," she said lightly. Korra looked over at her in confusion. "Nothing too big, I thought about expand the company to the other nations, and now would be a good time to start," she explained, raising a shoulder. "I was hoping I could take her with me, as it is."

"Really?" Korra asked in shock. Kuvira's eyebrows rose as she continued to eat.

"She's knows her way around the Earth Kingdom, so I think it'd be beneficial," Asami said evenly.

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Korra turned towards Ayaka and held out her arms. She took a few steps forward. "Come on sweetie," she called softly.

"No!" Ayaka dropped the book she was holding onto the bed before turning and burying her face in Kuvira's lap, along with the food wrapped up in plastic.

"It's okay, honey," Kuvira said gently. She rubbed small circles on the child's back. Ayaka peeked up, her eyes wide, looking up at Kuvira, who nodded her head in Korra's direction. "Rora-" she said with an eye roll, "will take care of you." Ayaka looked in between the two of them before reaching out and placing her small hand into Korra's palm. She hopped down from the bed and was led to the bathroom.

"It can be short for Aurora," Korra said defensively.

"It can be short for stupid," Kuvira snapped. Ayaka turned back around and faced Kuvira with wide eyes. "Go on," the earthbender said with a gently smile. Ayaka looked up at Korra, smiling shyly before fully stepping into the bathroom. Once the door closed and the water began to run, Kuvira turned and faced Asami. "I'm impressed. You're a good liar."

Asami half-smiled. "You would know, wouldn't you?" Kuvira shoved her mouthful of bagel, eager not to respond.

"You're having me arrested?" Kya demanded the minute Lin, Su, and Mako exited Air Temple Island. The Chief of Police rolled her eyes before crossing her arms over her chest. With a jerk of her head, she motioned for Saikhan and the remaining members of the police force to head onto the ferry.

"If there's something I learned from being around you and Korra, it's that water tribe women can never sit still for too long," Lin muttered. "No, I'm not arresting you…not today anyway. I need your help."

"With what?"

"You and Korra are the only two people who have had interactions with Kuvira, so you're ion the loop. Take Su to my place and get her something to eat," Lin instructed. "I have a radio there. Have her call Zaofu and whomever else she needs to get in contact with." She turned and nodded towards Mako, who stood firm and gave her a small salute. "Change of plans: you and I will go to the police station and check for clues, or really anything we can find." Lin walked over to Su and gave her a light hug. "We'll meet you there as soon as we can."

As soon as the ferry docked, the large group of people split off into three: Kya and Su headed towards Lin's place of residence, a few of the remaining other members of the police force went to patrol the city, enforcing the curfew, while Lin and Mako headed towards the police station.

Lin forced her office door open with the wave of her hand. Turning on the lights she sauntered over to the filing cabinets in the room, pulling them open one by one. "What's with all of the papers?" Mako asked.

"Reports from the jail," she answered gruff. When she couldn't find the item she was looking for, she closed the drawer with a harsh slam. "Updates on the behaviors of the criminals, reports and spread sheets about any incidents, things like that." Over and over again she opened and drawer, searched around, and then slammed it shut. "Damn, her file isn't here. It's been moved."

"Wait a second." Mako pulled a paper free from the messy pile on Lin's desk. "This looks to be reports about the electrical system. "It has information here dating back to six months, around the time Kuvira was first put in jail."

Lin pushed the rest of the papers off of her desk. As they fell to the floor, she pushed her chair out of the way. Mako placed the paper he was looking at onto the table, smoothing it out with his hands. She gently pushed him out of the way, and glared down at the paper. "I can't read this."

"There seems to be electrical surges every other week," Mako muttered. Lin stepped to the side to allow him a better view at the paper. He peered closely at it, his nose almost touching the ink.

"How do you know that?" she asked.

"I used to work at the Republic City Power Plant," he answered. "Back when I was a pro-bender, trying to gather money for a tournament entry fee." Mako looked up from the paper, rubbing the end of his nose. "You know, the one where Amon-"

"I remember," she snapped.

"I know how to read these graphs." He shrugged. "It was something I picked up while working there." Lifting the paper to the ceiling, her turned them sideways and held them directly underneath a light. "Interesting," he muttered.

"What is it?"

"Korra told me that Kuvira would have to go to the doctor and be healed every other week."

"That's right. Everyone in the jailhouse has to have their health monitored."

"Every time Kuvira was due to be looked at by the doctor, there was a power surge," he answered. Mako pulled a pen from his pocket, uncapped it with his teeth, before circling a few spots on the graph where some lines reached the highest point.

As he busied himself by marking the paper, Lin started to pick up the papers from the floor. Gathering them up into a haphazard pile, she looked at the one on the top of the stack. "Look at this," she instructed. Mako placed the graph back onto the desk before joining Lin at her side. "The same two guards would be on duty whenever she would go to the doctor." Crumpling up the paper in her hands, she threw it across the room. "Damn it!" Lin shouted. She slammed her fist onto the table, denting the surface. Mako took a small step away as she straightened back up, running a hand through her hair.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know," she muttered. "Well, I don't know exactly, but the two guards who were always present when Kuvira would go to the doctor…I sent them along with my group of officers to bring Kuvira back. They're with her somewhere in Ba Sing Se." Lin turned towards Mako. "I have a bad feeling. She's in danger."

The radio crackled on, echoing around the quiet office. Su's voice floated among the shadows, filling in the empty space. Her calls and shouts for interaction bounced off the walls. The office door opened, bringing in some light from the hallway. The office light clicked on, shortly before the radio was picked up.

"Hello, mother," Baatar Jr yawned. He lifted his glasses before rubbing his burning eyes.

"Oh, thank goodness you're there," Su sighed in relief. "Where is Opal?"

"She just recently left for a mission with some other airbenders," he answered. "A few hours ago, actually. Do you need dad? He is in work room, starting a new project. We're working in shifts-"

"No!" she barked. Baatar Jr looked at the receiver in his hand in confusion before gently lowering himself into a chair. Placing his hand on the back of his right knee, he picked up his right leg and placed it onto the nearby table, resting it against the corner. "Okay, listen to me carefully," she instructed.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I need you take hop on the next train and-"

"What?" Baatar Jr asked. He rubbed his glabella, trying to push away the headache that was beginning to form. "What are you talking about? It is very early in the morning here-"

"Junior, this is important!" Su shouted. "I need your help, and Opal's."

"With what?"

Baatar Jr frowned a silenced emitted from the radio. He twisted and turned the knobs a few times, checking to make sure the frequency was correct. "Junior…" Su said quietly. "Kuvira is somewhere in the Earth Kingdom. We think she may be in Ba Sing Se…"

"…Damn," Baatar Jr muttered.