Gap Filler: Every Moment Red-Letter
Summary: Final Model Behavior gap filler. Korra finds her purpose to finally start the healing process, while Asami must make a decision on whether or not to move forward.
"Korra, your father, and I wanted to give you your space, but it's been about three months now. Maybe it is time you got some additional help. There is nothing to be ashamed of in asking for help."
"My arms are going to be twice as large as they usually are when she gets bored." Korra held out her hands, accepting the tennis ball from between Naga's teeth, wiping the drool off on her pant legs. Naga braked before leaning down low, her tail wagging rapidly. Korra drew her arm back and let out a grunt as she threw Naga's ball in the air. She cried out as Naga kicked snow in her face as she chased after the ball, jumping over the short stone wall surrounding the house.
"Katara, I'm ready," Korra said. She held a hand up against her forehead to block the sun from her eyes, as she watched Naga becoming smaller and smaller in the distance. She half-smiled once she saw the ball begin to sink towards the ground.
"…Are you sure?" Katara asked from her side. "It may take a long time to accomplish what you want."
The two were sitting in Korra's backyard, watching the sunrise over the horizon. The backyard became one of Korra's favorite places to be since she returned home. While she can't go that far from the house, nor is she comfortable enough to be out in public, the snow dampening all sound made her feel as if she were in a different world. For a few moments, she can forget that anything is wrong, at least until Naga decides she wants to play.
"How long does it usually take?" Korra asked. She sighed happily as she began to massage her right arm muscle.
Katara breathed slowly. "…Sometimes it doesn't work."
"Please…"
"Years," she answered. With a flick of her wrist Katara bent the snow off Korra before she clasped her hands together and placed them in her lap. "There was someone I worked with before and we were able to have them walk again, but it took about three to four years."
Korra clapped her hands loudly once she spotted Naga slowing to a walk. Naga picked up the large tennis ball, holding it tightly between her teeth, before turning to make her way back. "…It'll take me one."
"What?"
"I graduate next year." Korra gripped the wheels of her chair and maneuvered herself to turn and face the elder. "I want to be able to go back to Republic City and walk across my graduation stage," she said.
"Korra-"
"I want to accomplish something," she insisted.
Katara reached out and cupped Korra's cheek. "You've accomplished so much. More so than some of the past Avatar's, and you're only eighteen."
"…I mean…after." Korra reached up and gripped Katara's hand. "Please. I want to do this. I know I can do it. I should be doing it for myself, right?" she asked.
"Yes, that's true." Katara nodded.
"Then May 20th of next year," she insisted. "I'll walk by then. I'll do it."
Katara inhaled slowly. "…What if you don't?"
"I will," Korra answered.
"Korra-"
"I will," she insisted.
Katara looked at her blue eyes. She smiled warmly upon seeing the familiar flicker of determination. "Those eyes…just like when you first discovered you were the Avatar," she said wistfully. "…Okay. We'll have our first session tomorrow."
"Session?" Kya repeated. Korra turned towards her smiling. Naga walked up, breathing heavily. She dropped the large tennis ball into Korra's lap before brushing past her, using her tail to flip up her owner's highest wolf tail. "I'm not eavesdropping. I just came out to get you. Senna said its time to wash up for breakfast."
"Great, I'm hungry." Korra threw the tennis ball over her shoulder. Naga turned to chase after it but stopped and began to sniff the air. She walked over to the side of the house and pushed her nose against a set of window shutters pushing them open. Korra chuckled when she heard Senna shooing away her pet.
Kya laughed. "I know you love food, but I didn't think it'd turn your mood around so quickly."
"Korra decided she's ready to start," Katara announced.
"…Really?" she asked, her eyebrows raising. "What brought this change?"
"I want to walk at my graduation next year," Korra said, watching Kya closely. "Is that okay?"
"If you think you're ready, who am I to stop you?" Kya asked. She moved over to her mother's side and held out her arm. Katara placed her hand on her daughter's elbow and the two began to slowly head towards the house.
Korra slowly wheeled herself behind them. "That's it?" Korra asked.
"Mmm hmm," Kya said with a nod. Once inside the house, Kya helped her mother ease into her seat at the kitchen table. Tonraq smiled over at Korra as he moved around the table, putting down plates and silverware.
"Kya, may I talk to you…in my room?" Korra asked, tilting her head to the side in the direction of her bedroom. Before Kya could answer, Korra turned and rapidly wheeled herself out of the room and down the hallway. Upon entering the room, she moved to the side to allow Kya through. As soon as she passed the threshold, Korra gently closed the door. Kya settled onto Korra's bed, laying on her side, propping herself up on her elbow.
"What's wrong with my supporting you?" Kya asked.
"I just didn't think you'd support me so quickly," Korra said with a shrug.
"I'll always support you, Korra. It doesn't matter if I agree with you or not." Kya raised a shoulder. She looked over her shoulder and spotted Asami's letter on the nightstand. "Have you responded to that yet?"
Korra looked over at it, her eyes tracing the wrinkles along the surface of the envelope. She's re-read it numerous times, to the point where she can recite it by heart. "…Why?"
"I just think it'll be good for you," Kya answered. "And since you answered my question with a question, I'll take it as a no."
"I don't know how to respond to it," she admitted.
"It's a letter, Korra," Kya giggled. "You just answer whatever questions she's asked."
"She didn't ask me anything…"
"Must be a special letter." Kya turned to lay flat on her back. She started up at the ceiling with a small smile. "I remember getting those when I was younger"
"You're not that old, Kya." Korra reassured her.
"I never said I was, but thanks," she laughed.
"Kya…" Korra quickly found that she was at a loss for words. She clasped her hands together and placed them into her lap. She rubbed the back of her left hand with her right thumb.
"Take your time," Kya said gently.
"Things are changing. Just…constantly changing. And I feel stuck." Korra whispered. "Nothing will ever be the same, will it?"
Kya sat up and moved to sit on the end of the bed. "It's okay to be afraid of the unknown. You just can't let it overwhelm you. No matter how hard you may try, and even if you are the Avatar, you can't control everything. Be the leaf."
"Be the leaf…" Korra repeated with a smile.
"I have found that sometimes writing what I want to say in a letter makes things easier," Kya suggested.
Korra sighed deep while rolling her eyes. She placed her right elbow on the arm of her wheelchair before propping her chin up in her palm. "Before we left Republic City to come back here, I found something out that I'm not sure I was supposed to know, and I don't know what to do with the information."
"Well, how does that information make you feel?" Kya asked.
"Scared, nervous…I don't know…a lot of things." Korra shrugged. "Confusion for the most part. It's hard for me to explain."
"That's understandable." Kya stood up and stretched. "So, whenever you're ready to really ask me what you want to ask me. I'll be around. In the meantime, let's go and have some breakfast." Korra looked at her in shock. "Sweetie, you've never been subtle."
"I'll be there in a minute," Korra said. Kya nodded once before leaving the room. Korra took a deep breath before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her cellphone. She pulled up Asami's name under her text messages and selected the message chain.
Ever since she left Republic City and read Asami's letter, Korra wasn't sure what to say or how to respond. She didn't know what to say to anyone who's been reaching out to her. While she felt guilty that she had left their sent messages with a Read notification, she found some comfort in letting her family know she was a least opening them.
The last text Asami had sent was a few days ago.
Asami: - 4:38pm- Hey! Bolin, Mako, and I went racing today. It made me think of you. So, I thought I'd just check in to see how you're doing. Hope you're doing well.
Korra pressed the reply button but couldn't bring herself to do anything afterwards. She knew that if she responded word would get around and she'd be flooded with messages. Flooded with questions that she wasn't ready to answer, and stories she wasn't ready to tell.
Korra backed out of the texting app and pulled up Instagram. Her feed quickly loaded and displayed photos of Tenzin and his family, Bolin and Opal at a beach, pictures of Mako starting with Republic City's police academy, and photos of Naga from her side account for her pet. She flipped through the comments, quickly deleting the ones asking how she was doing, wondering if she was still at the South Pole, and malicious ones demanding to know why she wasn't helping the other nations.
Then a new photo of Asami appeared, and Korra felt warmth rushing into her cheeks.
11:26am.
"You need to calm down," Kiyoko said. "You act as if you've never been on a date before."
"How many times do I have to say it? It's not a date," Asami insisted. "I used Bumble Friends. I just would like a new friend right now."
"Not a date? Asami, you've been talking about this nonstop for the past four days," she pointed out. "You got your nails done-"
"They needed to be done."
"You bought new clothes."
"Future Industries PR team thinks I need to mature my image now that I've graduated and I'm a full adult. Whatever that means." Asami looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a motorcycle jacket over a red and black plaid heath dress, and black high heeled ankle boots.
"And don't think I didn't notice the picture you just posted on Instagram of you waiting at the shop." Asami's phone buzzed. She removed it from her ear and saw a notification from Instagram that Kiyoko just liked her photo. "You look hot, by the way."
Asami moved her cellphone from her right ear to her left as she looked around the crowded coffee shop. Other customers were chatting happily as they ate their food under the golden light. She craned her neck, peering through the dark front doors.
"Are you nervous?"
"Yes, and it's weird," she admitted. "I'm just meeting someone to see if we can hang out from time to time. I just need that fun energy in my life again." Asami removed her phone from her ear and glanced at the time. 11:30am. "They're already five minutes late," she declared.
"…You got there five minutes early!"
"And being on time is late," Asami insisted.
"To you," Kiyoko cried. "Asami, why are you trying to sabotage this?" she demanded.
"I am…not."
"You hesitated!"
Asami looked around the coffee shop again before smiling up at the waiter who placed two waters with lemon on the tabletop. Asami picked up the straw and began to stab at the lemon. "I can lead corporation meetings and large projects, but this makes me nervous. You'd think I'd have been used to this feeling after …" she trailed off.
"You still haven't heard from her?" Kiyoko asked. "It's been months."
"No, but she'll talk to me when the time comes," Asami said quietly.
"Well, you speak to her mother all the time. She hasn't told you anything?"
"No, I'm sure she wants to, but I think she wants to respect Korra's privacy." Asami looked around the coffee shop once more and stopped when she spotted someone waving in her direction. She stopped messing with her drink and wiped her hand on her skirt. "Oh, I think they're here. What do I do? Do I shake their hand? Do I hug them?"
"Have you ever met someone new before?" Kiyoko said with a laugh. "Calm down and have fun. And tell me all about your date later."
"It's not a…Fine, I will."
"Oh, and hap-"
Asami quickly hang up her cell phone in the middle of Kiyoko's sentence. She winced and reminded herself to call her friend back and apologize afterwards. Asami turned the volume off before placing it face up on the tabletop. She looked up with a smile as a woman carefully placed herself into the seat opposite of Asami.
Asami was instantly struck by her grey eyes. Her caramel-colored hair was braided and fell over her right shoulder. A bright blue beanie was placed crooked on her head. A dark blue bomber jacket covered a white tank that stopped an inch above her pants, flaunting a sliver of her shaped abs. "Hi. Normally I'm not late, but I wanted to stop and get these. Here you go."
"Oh, thank you," Asami said with a smile as she received the bouquet. She closed her eyes and sniffed the bouquet. "Silver wisterias…they're one of my favorites."
"Happy birthday," the woman said with a bright smile.
"Excuse me?"
"May 20th. It's your birthday, right?" she asked. "I'm pretty sure that's what it said on your profile."
Asami taped a finger on her cell phone screen and glanced at the date. Text from Mako, Bolin, and Senna came flooding in. She pushed back a pang of disappointment as she pressed the power button to turn off the screen. "You're right…I forgot." She chuckled. "I actually forgot and you're the first person to say something, so thank you."
"Well, I'm sure running an empire keeps you a little busy," the woman laughed. A deep dimple appeared in her right cheek. "I hope I won't be weird or make you uncomfortable but you're beautiful," she said.
"Oh, thank you." Asami carefully placed the flowers in the empty seat next to her. "Are you from the water tribe…um…"
"Arnaq," she answered.
"Right, o-of course. I remember that now." Asami reached up and lightly tapped herself against her forehead. "Sorry, there's just a lot going on."
"I imagine. And yes, I'm from the water tribe. Northern, but I've ditched some of their traditions." The woman held her arms out and looked down at her clothing. "I guess you can tell."
"You look great…" Asami said, "In it," she added after a moment. The woman smiled again.
The waiter came back and placed a large red velvet cupcake in front of Asami. A black candle was placed in the center, lit with a bright red flame. The plate was decorated with edible glitter and script that wrote out happy birthday in chocolate. Strawberries but up in the shape of stars was placed around the base of the cupcake.
"So, I probably shouldn't start this with a lie. I arrived fifteen minutes before you and asked the staff to set this up," Arnaq admitted.
"Start what?" Asami asked.
"Whatever you want," Arnaq said her voice slightly deepening. Her lips twitched into a half-smile.
Oh, who am I fooling, this is a date!
"I'll be even more honest." Arnaq placed her elbows on the table, laced her fingers together, and leaned forward. "I find you very attractive. I know we matched through Bumble Friend about a month ago, and I don't know your preferences, but after our messages and everything I feel we'd be a good fit, and I would like to see where this goes."
"I guess it's my turn to be honest."Asami reached up and brushed some of her hair out of her face. She could feel Anraq's eyes watching her movements. "I'm not sure about my preferences either."
"I'm willing to walk you through it." Her dimple re-appeared. "Or if you just want to keep me as a potential friend who has no problem telling you that you're stunning, I'm all for that too."
Before Asami could answer, her phone screen lit up with a notification. She reached out and tapped on the Instagram icon and felt her pulse speed up. While it wasn't a response she was hoping for, she was at least happy to finally receive a message.
Korra liked her photo.
