"Ku..." the ringing in her ears grows louder. "...vir…" It puts other sounds into indistinguishable snippets. "...a." The feeling in her head is splitting and her eyes burn. Her flesh tingles and burns as though she'd been in summer sun all day.

There comes a sensation of hands shaking her.

But she is so dizzy and faint. Too weak to answer to the calling voices.

.oOo.

Kuvira thinks that she is awake, but her world is still black.

She feels, vividly, a plush pillow under her head. She can smell ammonia quite sharply. Can hear voices and footfalls.

"She's awake. Asami, she's awake."

Kuvira perks up at the name, but a ripple of pain and nausea sends her back to the pillows.

"Whao, take it easy." Korra says.

"What happened to me?" She asks weakly.

"There was an explosion and you took the blast for me." Asami explains.

Kuvira's mind is fuzzy, memories blown away by the blast. She realizes that she can't quite remember the days leading up to it either.

"Toph is going to be here soon to help you." Asami mentions.

"Help me?" Kuvira begins. And finally it registers that her vision is still wholly black.

"The doctors say that you might get some vision back but it'll just be blurs." Asami informs.

"Fuck…" Kuvira sputters. "And you said that you had some new lingerie to show me!" She doesn't need sight to know that her girlfriend is flushing.

"Kuvira, this is serious!"

"I know! I won't be able to tell you how wonderful you look...well I can but it won't have the same effect. You'll have to describe it for me."

"Kuvira!"

"Sorry." She mumbles. "But if I don't make jokes, I'll probably start crying…"

"Please just cry like everyone else so I can comfort you." Asami half-jokes.

The sorrow and fear induced tickles building up in her chest and stomach begin to spill over. With permission so freshly granted, she allows Asami to carefully take her into her arms and lets the tears fall. Asami rubs at what she assumes is one of the few uncharred parts of her back.

"How bad is it?"

Asami strokes her hair. "Not as bad as it could have been. Your right side is burned badly, but Korra got to you pretty quickly so it shouldn't scar too badly."

"I guess it's a good think that I can't see it, huh?"

"It isn't so bad, trust me."

"Would it bother you if it was?"

"That depends on what you mean by bothered. It would bother me to see you so hurt. Scars wouldn't bother me." She touches the back of her hand to Kuvira's uninjured cheek. "If anything, they would remind me that you loved me enough to get them in my place."

Kuvira tries to smile, but it only reaches the left side of her face. She winces.

She feels the bed shift as Asami leans in to kiss her right cheek.

"On the bright side, I have an excuse to take some time off of work and spend time with you." Asami points out.

"I think that I can tolerate that. It'll also be nice to get a break from Su lecturing and scolding me." She shifts uncomfortably against the bandages restricting much of her body.

Asami strokes the back of her hand.

It is comforting to know that, if nothing else, she will have Asami to help her work through this.

"Now why don't you lay back down and get some rest. The sooner you do, the sooner you can get back to being a badass."

Kuvira musters a smug half smile as she burrows into the pillow. "I'll try to stay put."

"I'll make sure that you don't get bored." She pauses. "And that you don't try to leave before you're recovered."

Kuvira sighs. She wishes that she could see the woman's soft and reassuring expression. It is going to be a difficult adjustment to make, but for once she will have the support to make it.