Ripples of Korrasami

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Korra, nor do I profit from this writing. Please support the original creators.

Spoilers: Legend of Korra through Finale, Turf War, & Ruin of Empire Comic Series

A/N: This is planned to be a collection of one-shot stories of how Korra and Asami could have gotten together throughout various parts of the series inspired by Epeefencer's Harry Loves Ginny and Ginny Loves Harry. A link to this story can be found in my favorite stories. I highly recommend it for fans of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley.

Comments, reviews, and suggestions for future chapters are appreciated.

Chapter 1: Book 2 Finale

Korra fled from the throne room batting at the tears in her eyes. Moments before she had ended things with Mako. For good. Despite the lies and constant arguments, she felt gutted. She truly had loved Mako. However, even with her sheltered upbringing, Korra knew she and Mako would never work romantically. That their relationship had not been healthy. They just weren't compatible romantically. Mako didn't seem ready for the type of commitment Korra needed. Nor did he understand her need to maintain her independence and that she didn't need him to try to protect her. The relationship had honestly been a bit stifling from the start.

This thought didn't hurt her as much as she thought it would in light of the aftermath of Harmonic Convergence. The loss of her past lives sat in her chest like a fledgling void leaving most other troubles to feel like mere shadows. 10,000 years of wisdom and guidance were gone because of an uncle who left nothing but suffering in his wake. He had betrayed her father, her cousins, and all of humanity in the pursuit of power and his own warped sense of justice. Her anger and grief warred with her heartbreak for dominance leaving nothing but scars, sorrow, and her sense of duty.

Korra wasn't paying attention to where she was going. Corridors and doorways flew by without her notice. She just wanted to get away from where Mako was. She wanted to be alone. She didn't want anyone to see her tears and heartache. Her duties as Avatar could wait till morning. The civil war was over. The peace treaty was all but finalized. Her father and cousins were doing their best to settle the protracted conflict between the Northern and Southern tribes. It was going surprisingly well all things considered.

Korra turned a corner at random and without conscious thought. Her feet found their own path as she drew inward. In her haste and distraction, Korra slammed directly into someone who had been approaching from the opposite direction. The other person – unquestionably a woman – managed to stabilize them and keep them on their feet with some strategic maneuvering. Finally shaken from her internal struggles, Korra looked up – her vision blurred by tears and anguish – and was able to make out that it was Asami standing before her.

Korra was about to murmur an apology when Asami pulled her into a warm unrestrained hug. The apology died on Korra's lips as her melancholy hit her anew alongside Asami's comforting embrace. Instead of the apology, Korra broke down unabashedly in Asami's arms. Sobbing for what she had lost and what would never be. For the repressed pain and sorrow that gripped her heart from Amon and her isolated childhood. All the while Asami held her in a gentle embrace and let Korra cry herself out into her shoulder.

No words were spoken. They were not needed. Asami had known a similar pain in losing her connection with her dad and from Mako's inability to commit and be honest about his own emotions. She now too knew immense struggle of being a young woman in a high-powered position surrounded by those who thought they could manipulate her due to her youth and perceived inexperience. She didn't even want to start on the frustrations of being a young woman in the traditionally male-dominated spaces of business and international politics. Thank the spirits for all Avatars Yangchen and Kyoshi, Masters Katara and Suki, and the most recent generations of Beifongs had done for women's liberation. Despite Korra and Asami's past differences and misunderstandings, they both knew that they shared intensity and determination, a fundamental desire to make the world better, some parallel struggles, and a loyalty to their friends.

After several minutes, Korra's tears ran out and she slowly hugged Asami back. Her voice strained from her prolonged sobs, Korra croaked out, "Thank you. I didn't realize how much I needed that."

Asami hesitantly patted Korra on the back catching some of Korra's surprisingly soft hair in the process, "I'm here for you Korra. That's what friends are for. Do you want to talk about it?"

Korra had never been one to talk about her emotions, but she was surprised to realize that she wanted to talk about it with Asami. Something about the aura Asami was giving off told Korra that she would understand. Korra nodded, "Before running into you, I didn't but now I think I'd like that. How about we go to the kitchen, and I make us some tea? It probably won't be a short conversation."

Asami shivered as Korra pulled away – at the loss of Korra's warmth, the cold of the South Pole seeped back into Asami, who could not find relief to despite her warm fuzzy scarf and heavy jacket – and nodded, "Tea sounds great. I could use the warmth and company. Lead the way, Korra."

Korra took her bearing. She had wandered quite far in her dazed state. Korra took Asami's hand and led the way through the myriad of corridors of the Chief's palace towards the kitchen. Since she had run into Asami, she was already starting to feel a bit better. Now that Mako was out from in between them, Korra's emotions toward Asami were no longer conflicted and muddled. She felt free from the barriers that had stood in the way of their friendship and was free to admire Asami as the brilliant, kind, hardworking, and gorgeous woman that she was.

Korra silently decided to go to the personal kitchen in the Chief's residence to avoid the typical hubbub that occurred in the public kitchen and cafeteria. She was grateful that her parents were otherwise occupied so it was unlikely they'd be interrupted. Korra knew this was going to take some time and she didn't want to stop once they started. For some reason, it felt like she wanted to tell Asami everything and truly clear the air between them.

Korra asked Asami to take a seat at the tall kitchen counter as she pulled out a kettle and chamomile tea – a mutual favorite appropriate for the late hour. Through a skillful combination of water and fire bending passed down from Uncle Iroh through Lord Zuko, Korra had two large mugs of tea prepared in no time. She then proceeded to warm the room for Asami's comfort. Korra knew that Asami did not have the benefit of fire or air bending or much physiological resilience to manage the cold climate that still managed to make itself felt even inside. The poor girl had been almost imperceptibly shivering during most of their time in the South. Korra set one mug in front of Asami and sat heavily next to her.

Asami smiled in thanks and took her first sip. It appeared to be to her liking as she closed her eyes in apparent pleasure and comfort. Korra couldn't help but notice just how cute she found the small gesture before starting on her own mug.

A comfortable silence grew between them as they enjoyed the relaxing hot tea. Korra knew that Asami was curious about earlier. But Asami had enough tact to know that Korra wanted to be the one to make the first move. This was a new experience for her. Normally people would try to force her to talk before she was ready or encourage her to meditate on whatever was troubling her. So far, she preferred this approach immensely. It felt non-judgmental in a quietly supportive sort of way. As if Asami wanted to listen to her instead of feeding her possible solutions.

When they were about halfway through their tea, Korra sighed. Pushing down her slight nervousness, she began simply, "Mako and I broke up for good. I realized he and I were never going to work as anything more than friends."

Korra started a little when she felt Asami place her hand on her shoulder. Korra glanced at Asami and found nothing but compassion in Asami's jade eyes.

Asami gave her a sad smile, "If it helps, I know exactly how you feel. I don't regret dating him, but it would never work out. My only regret is how much hurt it caused between the two of us."

Korra nodded sadly, "Me too. Spirits, Asami. I have been so awful to you. I'm really sorry. I should have never let my jealousy get so bad. You didn't deserve to have me take it out on you."

"I'm sorry too, Korra. I knew you were jealous, and I did nothing to address it. Maybe we can clear the air and start over?", Asami was almost pleading. "I think we could be really great friends without some guy's affections pitting us against each other."

Korra's face lit up with hope. Maybe she wasn't as alone as she felt. She readily agreed, "How should we start?"

Asami sagged with relief before smiling encouragingly, "Well…we both already apologized, so that's a good start. Should we talk about why we were so fixated on Mako? It might help us understand each other better and why things got so bad between us."

Korra hesitated, but talking to Asami was already helping settle her, so she forged ahead, "I guess I'll start. I was pretty isolated growing up and had never had a crush on a guy before, so I thought that meant that we were made for each other. I had never met someone so aloof towards me either so that made him that much more interesting."

Asami rubbed her chin, something in Korra's phrasing seemed familiar, "Just to clarify, was he your first crush or just your first crush on a guy?"

Korra flushed, Asami had seen right through her, "The second one. I've had a few crushes on other women but I didn't think those counted since I seemed to be the only one that felt that way. That it was a side effect of being the Avatar."

Korra couldn't quite interpret the fleeting look that Asami gave to that response. It looked almost pained but also sympathetic. Asami's answer came in a measured voice. "Of course they count, Korra. I've had crushes on other women too. Even quietly dated one for a brief time when I was in school. The majority of people may not feel this way but you're far from alone."

Korra looked astonished, she had never known, "The White Lotus left that out of my education for some reason. And the Water Tribes don't really talk about personal matters much. Here I was throwing myself at Mako because he's the only boy I've ever been even remotely attracted to outside of stories."

Asami hesitantly placed one of her hands on top of Korra's in an attempt to be comforting, "I had to discover it on my own too. The only person I've ever told before now was my ex-girlfriend. I can definitely understand your jealousy though. Mako was one of the rare guys I've been attracted to as well. I was trying to live up to other's expectations and not make waves. He made things easy enough even if I wasn't exactly as happy as I would have liked."

"Thank you for telling me, Asami. Seems like this is one more thing we have in common. I wish someone would have told me about this before," Korra sighed and took Asami's proffered hand in the attempt to reciprocate Asami's comforting gesture, "Maybe we've been trying too hard to live up to others' expectations. We can only be ourselves, right? We deserve some happiness."

Asami nodded. Korra's hand was warm and soft but calloused – matching Asami's engineering and tinkering worn hands. Asami drew great comfort from the simple act. For the first time since coming to the South Pole, Asami felt warm and settled. All because of Korra and her gentle thoughtfulness and concern.

Over the next several hours and two more mugs of tea, Korra and Asami spoke about many things. They spoke about Korra feeling the weight of Aang's legacy and the pain of losing her connection and Asami's struggles with her father's actions as an Equalist and saving Future Industries. They shared frustration with being public figures from young ages and female ones on top of that. They shared their hopes for the future and their fears. Smiles, laughs, and tears were shared in equal measure. And through it all, they drew comfort from their joined hands and steady presence. Their conversation flowed as easily as water through a mountain stream. Never before had they experienced such easy companionship.

Only as their conversation was overtaken with yawns and wilting eyelids did they realize that they had been talking for hours and that it was now long past midnight. At this realization, Korra and Asami laughed with an open intensity brought on by their exhilarated exhaustion. Korra choked out, "Time really flies when I'm with you, Asami. I feel like I could talk to you forever."

Asami just laughed harder – only as she did, did Asami realize how rare that had become in the past year. She added, finally calming from her laughter, "I know! I'm glad we ran into each other earlier. Too many things have been getting in the way of our friendship. I really like you, Korra. I have for ages."

"I really like you too, Asami. I'm so sorry for letting my jealousy get in between us," Korra replied seriously. She suddenly ran her free hand through her hair nervously, before continuing, "About my jealousy...There's something I feel like I need to confess."

Asami squeezed Korra's hand, "You can tell me anything, Korra. Anything you tell me will stay between us."

Korra nodded, "I know. I trust you, Asami. It's just...well...I think my jealousy...I was jealous because you were with Mako...but I was also jealous of Mako...because he was with you."

Korra fell silent after her halting confession and wouldn't meet Asami's eyes. Asami felt her heart skip a beat as she quickly recognized the full meaning of Korra's words. It was imponderable how the heart worked sometimes. It seemed that the spirits had recognized the carefully hidden longing in her heart after all. A wide smile split across Asami's face.

Asami reached over and took Korra's other hand, startling her. Asami's reply came breathlessly and in an unfamiliar husky tone, "It's okay. Believe it or not, I know exactly how you felt. I was experiencing the same thing while you and Mako were together. I wanted you for myself."

Korra lifted her head, hesitancy was written plainly across her, "Do you still feel that way?"

For the first time since they had begun opening up to each other, Asami hesitated. How she responded would change their friendship forever. She did not want to spoil their newfound friendship, but she knew she had to be honest. Asami said slowly, "Korra, you're without a doubt the most amazing and attractive person I've ever met. All I know is that I want you in my life however you'll have me."

Korra smiled and met Asami's eyes for the first time since her confession, "I feel the same about you, Asami," a look of hesitant restraint overcame her, "We should probably take things slow. I know I will need some time to heal after Mako and Harmonic Convergence..."

Asami smiled excitedly, "We can work on becoming better friends first. After both of us rushing into things with Mako, it'll be good to take our time and really get to know each other. We can become best friends and ease into things when we're ready."

Korra squeezed Asami's hands, "I'd like that a lot. I always wanted to fall for my best friend. It's getting pretty late. We should probably get some rest. I'm sure we'll have plenty of Avatar and CEO stuff waiting for us bright and early."

Asami laughed and pulled Korra into a hug as they stood. They sank into each other's arms as if they had done it many times before. The hug was full of warmth and comfort. It was with an excited leap in their hearts that they realized that they fit together perfectly. Korra was the perfect height to bury herself in Asami's silky sweet-smelling onyx curls while Asami was just tall enough to rest her cheek on Korra's soft heady chestnut locks.

While they weren't ready to be together yet, there were still some ways they could show their affection while remaining strictly in the realm of friends. Acting on impulse, Korra moved to kiss Asami on the cheek. However, Asami had moved seemingly with the same idea. Their lips came together in an accidental kiss that sent jolts of emotion and pleasure through both women and let out a torrent of butterflies in their stomachs.

Sapphire blue eyes met jade green as they started away from each other. Korra and Asami stared at each other for the span of a heartbeat before their lips met once again.

Where the first kiss had been light and chaste with surprise, this second kiss was all-consuming. They put their entire beings into the kiss as desire and longing overtook rational thought. The pair felt the world shrink to just the two of them as pleasure flowed through them from their joined lips. Neither could be sure how long the kiss lasted. It could have been hours or years as they felt the fires of attraction and desire burn through them from head to toe. Never had the simple act of kissing felt so right to either woman. The stress of the previous months melted out of them as this sacred act of mutual attraction. If this was what balance and peace felt like, it revitalized their desire to ensure that the world had a chance to experience this bliss as well.

When they finally parted, Korra and Asami were breathless and flushed. Both were a bit weak in the knees and only remained standing due to their tight embrace. They smiled shyly at each other and stepped back suddenly awkward. Asami began rubbing her upper arm while Korra ran her hand through her loose hair.

Korra fought the overwhelming desire to start kissing Asami again and muttered, "I'm sorry. Your cheek... I meant to kiss your cheek."

This seemed to snap Asami out of her awkwardness and into a devious grin. She stepped forward and sloppily kissed Korra's cheek, "It's okay, Korra. We had the same idea, and both moved. Even if it wasn't intended, I don't regret it. It'll be an excellent reminder of what we can look forward to when we're ready, right?"

Korra nodded, fighting down the heat radiating from her cheeks, "I don't regret it either. It's just going to make waiting harder. I've never had a kiss like that..."

Asami sighed in remembered pleasure, "Earthshattering for you too, huh? It's good to know that we're wonderfully compatible in that way. Let's focus on healing first, okay? I don't know about you, but I don't want this to be a rebound for either of us."

Korra sighed in dreamy agreement, "It really was earthshattering. We'll stick to the plan. I think we both deserve to do things right and give us the best chance to build a long happy supportive relationship. Compatibility like ours shouldn't be wasted by being reckless with our hearts."

Asami smiled prettily and took Korra's hand, "Exactly. We should get some sleep. I doubt our obligation will let us sleep in even a little bit."

Korra groaned in anticipated exhaustion, "Don't remind me. I don't know which crazy morning person decided for everything to start so early. Whoever they are is a true villain. We can hang out more tomorrow, right?"

Asami could only laugh and nod at that. Asami appreciated that Korra was a night person like herself. It would make things easier later on assuming everything went according to plan. Asami led the way to their neighboring quarters. It took a few attempts to actually separate as they kept drawing each other into meaningless conversations. Finally, they hugged tightly, exchanged goodnights, and settled in for a few short hours of sleep.

Over the next few weeks, Korra and Asami spent as much time together as they could. Given their similarities, it did not take long for them to feel comfortable calling each other their best friend and confidante. They were excited to get to work together to try to address the spirit vine problem that was dominating Republic City – not that they had much luck.

Through this time, Mako remained distant to the point of being noticeably absent which was frustrating. Both women wanted to re-establish their friendship with him and warm him up to the idea of his ex-girlfriends falling for each other. Bolin remained close and was glad to see Korra and Asami getting along. Bolin thought this was a good first step to being a more cohesive Team Avatar.

By the time Korra had been exiled from Republic City and they began searching for new Airbenders, Korra and Asami were mostly healed from their heartache and began pushing the boundaries of friendship in small ways – kisses on the cheek, lingering hugs, cuddling, and subtle flirting. During this period, Tenzin and Bumi surprised them with several knowing looks. They later overheard the two muttering about telling Kya, which hinted at an answer to their recognition of what was building between the two women. Korra and Asami would have to sound Kya out the next time they saw her. Otherwise, no one really caught onto their evolving relationship.

They had their first official date over tea at the Jasmine Dragon in Ba Sing Se in between meeting the Earth Queen and fighting bandits over tax money. Years later, the couple would remember the date as the perfect balance of adventure and indulgence. The experience of having to restrain themselves from kissing so that Asami could fly the airship would many years later inspire Asami's dogged pursuit to invent an autopilot system for various forms of aircraft.