I should probably remember to upload this story here huh?


Asami's notebook was on the floor, having slid off her chest when she fell asleep, the pencil she was scribbling with lost somewhere in the sheets. With the chill growing deeper the further south they traveled she had gone to bed in a sweater over her sleep clothes. As with the night before, she shared the bed's two blankets with Korra. It was the shifting of said blanket that woke her up, the cold bite of the air drawing her from a confusing dream about fish talking about how to warm up the ocean. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and looked around in the dark. Before she could reach for her watch in the drawer she heard Korra's voice beside her. She was grunting and mumbling, though Asami couldn't make out the words. She watched her for a moment before reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder, and called her name. It took a few tries before Korra flinched, and swatted out in front of her, Asami having just enough time to dodge a fireball.

"Spirits!" She yelped, staring wide-eyed at the singe mark on the opposite wall.

"Asami?" She was too busy panting trying to come down from her startle to answer right away, swallowing thickly and nodding in the darkness.

"You were having a nightmare." Asami explained. She sat there as the silence hung between them, the flash of the fire disrupting her vision enough to no longer be adapted to darkness leaving the room cast in near-blackness. She heard the sheets shuffle and the bed creak, glancing at the shadow that was Korra. She pat around the bed for the edge of the blanket, frowning when she couldn't find it. "You've stolen the blankets." She tried to tease. More shuffling but she felt the fabric touch her legs and she was able to slide under them. She turned on her side and looked at the back of Korra's head, vision slowly starting to see vague shapes.

"Sorry." Korra mumbled after some time, when Asami felt sleep tugging at her. She blinked, turning her head to look at Korra. She was still turned to face the wall, having tugged her legs into a side-lying position.

"For what?" Asami asked. She was met with silence, hanging thickly in the air. She could hear Korra's breath hitch, a strong sniffle, and the lump in the bed shook slightly.

"Everything." Korra's voice cracked. "The nightmare, for almost blasting your face a second time, stealing the blankets, stealing you from Republic City, being a burden." She continued. Asami reached out, placing a careful hand on her arm but Korra jerked it away, causing Asami to retract. "It's not safe for you to sleep in here." She mumbled.

"I'm not going anywhere,"Asami insisted.

"Why?" Korra's voice croaked, and she finally turned her upper body over to look at her, face scruching as she cursed, reaching under the sheets and tugging hard, "damn legs! They don't work! Nothing does! My legs, my mind, my bending!" the slight hitch in her voice turned into a sob, then two; and when Asami reached out this time she didn't pull away. Korra grabbed at her, and Asami shifted close and pulled Korra into her arms, letting her bury her face against her chest and weep. She let her get the words out. Every curse, every self-damnation, every fear. She ran her fingers through her hair, waiting, holding. Time passed and the words drifted away, the sobs slowed. Korra's breath hiccuped, and Asami continued to run her fingers through her hair.

"You asked me why," she started, and hesitated for a breath. "You're my best friend. And I meant it when I said I would be there for you, if you wanted to talk, or anything." She thought about it. What she had back in Republic City. She had her company, the estate that felt big and empty even with Bolin and Mako's family. Her warehouses, office spaces, factory. Machines, papers, numbers, and distant employees who saw her as this terrifying force of economics and engineering. She had her father's actions forever present in the shadows of thoughts of home, tainting her memories with bitterness. Mako was often too busy at work to keep her company, and Bolin couldn't keep his focus on one thing long enough to be a reliable source of companionship.

Then there was Korra. Her best friend. The spitfire of a woman from the Southern Water Tribe who was the only one to match her own level of recklessness. Though, she had to admit, Korra's flavor of reckless tended to result in a few more broken things. Why was she joining Korra on this journey south, this trip that was certain to last a lot more than a few weeks.

"You're the most important person in my life. I couldn't bear to have lost you that day… and I want to be beside you like you were beside me after my father.." She continued.

"Thank you…" Korra replied, her voice muffled as her face was buried into the fabric of Asami's sweater. She tightened her grip, fingers curling and pulling, "I couldn't… not… not alone. Without you." she replied. Asami felt an urge that sent her heart racing, the crown of Korra's head so close she could plant a kiss in her hair with hardly a bend of her neck. She took a breath to steady herself, eyes staring up. She felt Korra's breath begin to steady, and the temptation of sleep drawing at her once more.

"I'm here, I'll be here the whole way." Asami whispered back. "Do you remember when we fought off those rebels in the earth kingdom?" She asked after some moments. Korra hummed back. "We make a good team, right? Then there was the time you crashed the airship in the desert."

"I didn't crash it! That was… bad luck." Korra replied. Asami chuckled, shaking her head.

"We got out of that scrap too together. We make a good team. You'll get through this too. Anything we try to do together, we kick butt." Asami assured her.

"We do make a good team. But it's not my fault that airship crashed." Korra replied.

"Oh it definitely was. Good thing I was there to save your butt." Asami said.

"You always do."

"And I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Guess I have no choice but to win, huh?" Korra asked, finally turning her head to rest her ear against Asami's chest. She made no move to roll back over in bed, and Asami enjoyed the warm of feeling her in her arms, the thought bringing a burn to her cheeks and ears.

"No choice." She said.

Asami woke as the first dregs of sunlight blinked into the room. She groaned, turning her head to slap around for her watch, noting that it was just past six, and set the device down. She sighed, going to rub her eyes when her senses snapped into place and she was aware of Korra's weight still lying against her. She stilled, not wanting to disturb her. Her hair was splayed, and her face was relaxed. She reached out to brush hair from her face and hesitated, concerned the touch would wake her. She watched her for a few moments, but it didn't take long for the tingling in her hand to demand movement; she carefully slid out from under her, grateful that the usually light sleeper wasn't woken by the movement. The room swayed as the ship rocked with the waves and she groaned, trying to will away the seasickness that was threatening to start her day off with a bang.

She picked up her notebook off the floor, unsure where the pencil ended up and only hoped she wouldn't be plucking it out of Korra's arm later that morning. She adjusted the lamp that was teetering dangerously close to the edge of the table, and noticed that the damned thing was supposed to be latched to the end-table to prevent it from tipping and causing a fire. Cursing herself for not noticing it sooner she set the latch to hold it in place. She knelt beside her bag to pull out her hairbrush, working out the knots that formed in her thick hair during the night. She changed out of her nightclothes and into something warm. Or as warm as she had.

In spite of the vague nausea threatening her, Asami's stomach rumbled and she thought about grabbing something to eat before she couldn't bear to swallow anything. She glanced at Korra, still fast asleep, and bit down on her lip as she debated leaving her alone. But when her stomach rumbled again she gave in, walking to the mess with the cabin door left cracked so she could hear if Korra called out for her.

She glanced around the mess to see what she could grab. There were a few pieces of fruit in the netting nailed to the wall, and a short search resulted in some bread. There were bags of uncooked rice, herbs, teas, a variety of vegetables, and a small ice chest that Asami assumed was filled with fish or other perishables. She settled for fruit and bread, and walked back to the room. She was surprised to see Korra awake, and had herself as propped up as she could with all the pillows behind her back. She had her notebook in her hands,thumbs running over the leather cover.

"My notebook?" Asami asked. Korra shrugged, her cheeks dusting pink and she set it aside. "You find anything interesting?" She asked, trying to keep her tone level so she wouldn't sound accusatory. She didn't particularly mind if Korra slipped through the notebook. Korra shrugged again, and Asami knew that today would be one of her quiet days. She sat down on the edge of the bed and set down one of the plates, placing the fruit down on the table and the bread on a plate. "Hungry?" She asked, offering some out to her. Korra accepted the plate, setting it down on her lap, picking at the crust of the bread as Asami took a bite from hers. She talked about the design for the portable furnace, musing aloud about ordering parts to delivered to the South Pole so she could tinker with a prototype. While she didn't ask questions, Asami could see she was listening to her. A nod here, a moment of eye contact there.

And so the day passed. Korra declined the offer to fish with her father, to cook with her mother. She half-heartedly played pai sho with Asami, but her attention drifted off partway into their second game. She had declined to change out of her sleepwear, but had allowed Asami to sit behind her and brush her hair before bed, after having declined earlier in the day. She fell asleep early. Or, at least, had laid down in bed on her side facing the wall. Asami stayed up late, working on designs in her notebook by the light of the oil lamp until exhaustion and the chill of the cabin got the best of her and she slid under the blankets. She looked over at Korra, remembering how warm she had felt with her in her arms. Her hand reached out, fingers hovering over Korra's shoulder for a moment before she curled her hand and drew her arms back in, tugging the blankets back around her shoulder and tried to will herself to sleep.

The week had passed with Korra alternating between her quiet days, and days that she could be coaxed out of her room for one activity or another. At night she would sleep almost pressed against the wall, but nightmares on two nights had brought Korra into Asami's arms, both women sleeping deep into the morning. It was the final day of the trip, and Asami could not wait to get on dry land. She leaned against the railing on the port side of the ship, chin resting on her arm, her free hand was within Korra's own, her thumb rubbing circles into the pressure point.

"Maybe next time you travel you should take an airship." Korra teased.

"Lesson learned." She replied. Everyone was busy preparing for disembarkment, so Asami had declined Korra's offer to get her mother to prepare her tea and rice. She could see another vessel near the horizon again, and used it as her anchor to will her body into banishing this seasickness. Korra's pressure point was easing her nausea; now if only she could get the swimming in her head to cease. The quiet settled upon them once more, and over time the dizziness subsided as well. She sat down in one of the fishing chairs after assisting Korra into the other. They watched nothing in particular, listening to the wind and the waves. The air was cold and sharp, but Asami didn't want to retreat below decks just yet. Not while Korra seemed to be content outside of the cabin. She sat with her arms wrapped around herself, chin tucked to protect her face from the wind as best she could. She knew she would have to purchase warmer garb for herself, and wondered how she would look in blue.

"There you two are," Tonraqs voice cut over the wind. "The coastline was spotted, so we'll be there soon."

"I packed up our things this morning." Asami replied, her smile hidden as she muffled the words into the plume of her coat.

"I like your friend, she's always ahead of it." Tonraq laughed, clapping a hard hand down on her shoulder. Korra's lips pulled into a smile and she shrugged, eyes glancing off for a moment before looking back at her father,

"Not the most prepared for the cold." She teased.

"I'm not sure Republic City even sells clothing warm enough."

"There's a Water Tribe tailor downtown, off Eighth Street." Korra suggested. Asami held up her hands to show her thick three-fingered gloves.

"Amka's, right? It's where I got these." Asami replied. Korra jut her bottom lip and nodded, shifting in her chair with a grunt to right herself rubbing at her side from the awkward way her muscles had to work to turn her upper body.

"But no coat?" She asked.

"Republic City doesn't get very cold. Who would they be selling such clothes to?" Asami asked. Korra gave a hmph of defeat and her father chuckled at her.

"If you need warmer clothes I'll talk to Senna. One of her cousins is a tailor." Tonraq offered. Asami thanked him, Korra nodding as she kept her gaze out at the ocean. Alone again, the silence settled back on them, and Asami groaned, tilting her head back with a fresh wave of nausea. Korra turned to look at her, reaching over, grunting as Asami was just out of reach. She glanced at her, realizing after some moments her intentions and held her hand out for her to resume her pressure point massage.

"I wonder who that ship is." Korra remarked.

"Hmm?" Asami asked.

"The one we keep seeing." Korra explained, stiffening.

"Your father said it was just another fisherman." Asami suggested.

"Following the same route as us?" She asked.

"Ships follow currents a lot to make the route faster, perhaps we're following a current that has lots of those cheetah-salmon. We've been catching them every day we fish." Asami suggested. She looked at Korra, seeing how tense she was. Her eyes looked distant, and her nostrils were flaring as she breathed quickly. "Korra?" She asked. She got up from her seat when she failed to reply, kneeling in front of her, taking her hand out of Korra's so she could place one hand on her knee, the other against her cheek to draw her attention before grabbing her hand. "What if…" Korra started, her breath hitching.

"It's a fishing boat." Asami tried to assure her.

"But we can't see it! How do we know that's what it is!" Korra shouted back, balling her hands into fists and beginning to tremble.

"We don't." Asami admitted, grabbing both her hands. "But what we do know is we're on a common route between Republic City and the Southern Water Tribe. We know it's the time of year to catch cheetah-salmon." She said, squeezing her hands to try and draw her back to the deck of the ship, away from that boat on the horizon. Korra squinted her eyes tight, exhaling hard before taking a slow deep breath.

"Why am I so scared? I'm the Avatar!"

"You're Korra." Asami corrected. "When we were fleeing the Air Temple… I was terrified. Probably the most terrified I've ever been in my life." Asami admitted.

"You were? The great Asami Sato?" Korra tried to joke, but the croak in her voice lacked any humor, her distant gaze finally locking with Asami's eyes.

"If the great Asami Sato is allowed to feel scared, why not Korra?" she asked. But again Korra shook her head.

"But I'm the Avatar ."

"Do you think Aang was never scared? Kyoshi? Roku? Wan?"

"I don't know! I can't ask them!" Korra shouted, jerking her hands back causing Asami to flinch. "I can't ask my past lives! I can't enter the Avatar State! What am I!"

"You are Korra. It wasn't the Avatar who saved Republic City, saved the Spirit World, who stopped Zaheer and the Red Lotus. It was Korra ."