AN: Greetings my readers, and welcome to the last chapter of Stress Relief... It saddens me to know that an end has come to this story that has come to mean so much to me. We had smut, we had ansgt, we laughed, we cried. I am so happy that you all shared this amazing story with me. How you told me over and over again that you all needed the newest chapter ASAP, how you all felt with Korra and Asami as they journeyed through their feelings. From start and now to the end.
A few days ago, I received a review of some coward anon who bashed this story and my writing style down, just because he/she could. Now, to be fair, I really didn't care about the message it held. I mean... he/she (lets call this person and it) it cant even use proper grammar... And telling me that I have no plot, no character developement while I have so many reviews to prove otherwise. In my reach of this coward, I posted it on my tumblr page. I had never expected that you all supported me in such an amazing way!
Truly, your response, your support, it warmed my heart... and to show you all my appreciation, I used quite a few reader names in the final chapter of Stress Relief. One of which is an amazing thundering kitty cat, that loves to roar ;) (yes thundercatroar, in case I wasn't obvious enough, I mean you haha) I didn't knew if you're a guy or a girl, so I went for a female character called Kitty. You warmed my heart with the PM I received from you last night and I fell asleep with a smile on my face. If you ever think and are willing to, please talk to me on my tumblr, or send me another PM on how I could possibly can contact you. Because I do think of you as a friend. Although I never met you.
My thanks go out to wood-spirit7 as well, Thank you as well for your support and kind words, I hope I'll ever get a chance to speak with you as well :)
To all the readers with a guest account, those who send me the support through a review, thank you as well, I hope to see you all again when I return and continue one of my other stories. For now, enjoy this final chapter.
Chapter 11
I have no idea at what speed we drove to the hospital but I'm sure I had at least five speeding tickets by the time we arrived there. I didn't care. After Bolin had managed to explain what had happened, we ran to my car and went on our way with the speed of lightning. It hadn't been easy to get the information from him. He had been crying ever since I had asked him about Korra. What I managed to understand from his explanation was that she had been in an accident and was laying in the hospital in critical condition.
He had also managed to introduce himself to me, after a little while. Once his sobs had died down to an occasional sniffle. "T-the… worst p-part is… they w-won't operate her…"
I nearly lost it. "What!? Why the hell not?!" I saw him flinch at my reaction so I forced myself to calm down the slightest bit. At least enough for him not to wanna jump out of the car and rather walk to the hospital instead.
"Her i-insurance… they d-don't cover her operation… her spine is broken in several places. It will be a very costly o-operation." He took a deep breath before he continued. "I contacted… her insurance… Korra's last payment didn't get through either…" He held onto the suitcase for dear life. Nearly crushing it. "And the rest of her body… Spirits miss Sato…" He fell silent again.
"Really? Well… we'll see about that once I get there!" I growled and pretty much pushed the accelerator of my car through the bottom of the metal vehicle. "And please, call me Asami." I added with a faint smile. He nodded slowly and returned my smile with a sad one of his own.
Finally, after what seemed to be hours but in fact had only been minutes, we arrived at the hospital. We parked the car somewhere and rushed inside. Bolin knew exactly where his friend was and we went on our way to her room. While we stood in the elevator, he took another deep breath before he spoke to me. "Be prepared… she… she's…" He swallowed hard and I could hear the suitcase crack under his powerful grip. "So many machines…" He whispered and the doors opened.
We walked into the hallway and passed by door after door after door. I stopped counting them but eventually, Bolin's voice came through to me. "The next one on your right…" I looked over my shoulder and nodded a thank you. I put my hand on the door knob but when I opened the door, I felt like my entire world crashed down. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw there. Bolin had been right. There were so many machines attached to the human being that laid on the bed. A heart monitor. One that helped her breathe. My heart broke when I realized that she was unable to breathe on her own and needed a machine to do the work for her.
I slowly stepped deeper into the room and felt tears burn in my eyes. My breath hitched in my throat. "Oh my Goddess… Korra…" My voice was small. Soft. Hardly audible. The faint beeping of Korra's heart monitor eventually caused my tears to spill over while I continued to step closer to the bed. Under all the bandages, plaster, the wires and tubes, laid the woman I loved. She looked so extremely pale. So vulnerable. My hand cupped her cheek ever so gently. Afraid I might hurt her even more. "I'm… so… so sorry Korra…" I sobbed and tears fell onto the white bed sheets and her hospital tunic.
Bolin stood on the other side of the bed after he had put down the suitcase. I tore my gaze away from the Southerner and looked him in the eye. "Can… can you… do you know… where I can find the…"
I didn't even need to finish my sentence for him to know what I wanted to say. He nodded. "He's the one in the fancy suit… Noatak is his name… he's the chief of surgery and once he found out that Korra's documents weren't in order, he had the surgeons stop working on her… only keeping her comfortable enough…"
I turned around and left the room reluctantly. I asked the first nurse where I could find Noatak and she gave me the instructions I needed to find his office. Although it was hard to miss. It was made out of glass and showed off all the expensive items and furniture that decorated the place. A woman behind a desk was about to ask me if I had an appointment but I ignored her and barged in without an announcement of some sort.
He was in the middle of signing papers. A crystal glass of amber liquid stood next the papers on his massive oak desk. He looked up briefly from his work before focusing back onto the task at hand. "The plastic surgery department is on a different floor honey." He said, his voice bored beyond belief.
I was furious. This was the pig that called the shots around in this place? "You, why doesn't the woman in room 986 not get the treatment she needs!?" I growled and shoved the paper he was working on aside and onto the floor. This actually made him look up at me. One of his eyebrows raised.
"Because she lacks the right amount of documents… she is not insured." He said simply and leaned backwards in his black leather seat. "You look familiar… have we met before?" He asked, his eyes sliding over my body as he sipped from his glass. His eyes suddenly grew wide and he put his glass down. "Ah! The woman from the video! I gotta say… you…-"
I had lost all patience and my brain went into action mode before the rest of my body had fully realized what was happening. I was behind his desk, grabbed him by his collar, pulled him from his chair and rammed his back against one of the bookshelves. "You listen to me you piece of shit! Yes, I'm the girl from the video! That's not what I'm here for! I'm Asami Sato! CEO of Future Industries! I earn more money every second than you'd ever dream of earning in your entire life! Now either you get Korra the care she needs or I swear to Raava I'm gonna do everything in my power to take your arrogant ass down! Not only will I buy this hospital from whoever owns it, I would fire your ass and make sure your next job is cleaning diapers at a kindergarten school! DID I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR OR DO I HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF!?" I was panting while I waited for an answer.
Noatak looked like he was about to shit himself. His glass on the floor along with the liquid it once contained. I released him from my grip and he got back to his seat. Once he sat down, he grabbed a phone with shaky hands and put it against his ear. "Y-yes… T-Tarrlok… it's me. T-there has been a c-change of p-plans. Ready the girl from r-room 986. She will be operated on immediately!"
I heard some loud babbling that came from the other side of the phone and Noatak threw me a fearful gaze. "Don't start arguing! Just do what I'm telling you to!" he said and slammed the device back into a drawer. "It's done miss Sato!" He said with a cracking voice.
"Good, and you don't need to worry about the costs. I will cover everything." I said with a slight growl. Without wasting anymore time, I turned around and left. Headed back to Korra's room to find out that she was being rolled out of her room while a confused Bolin followed the surgeons. I grabbed his arm and let the hospital crew do their jobs. He looked at me confused. "What… what did you do?"
I smiled faintly at him and we both walked back to Korra's room. "I pulled some strings… or more like… someone's collar…" I said and gently forced him to sit down on one of the seats. "They agreed to operate on her."
"But how? She doesn't have the money for it! She'll be working for the rest of her life to pay for this, if she can work at all!" He said with panic in his voice.
I put a finger against his lips to stop him from ranting on. "Bolin… do you know who I am…?" I asked unsure.
He nodded slowly. "You're Asami. Korra's girl friend?" He said without blinking an eye.
Girlfriend…? Fresh tears burned in my eyes but I brushed them away with the back of my hand. "S-She told you that?" My voice was soft as I felt my heart clench in my chest.
He nodded again but averted his eyes when he continued. "W-well… not really… she just was talking so much about you. How sweet you are. How pretty. I kinda guessed that…" He turned his eyes back on me. "She's right… you are very pretty. And friendly."
Guilt crashed down on me like a tsunami. "Bolin… I…" It was my turn to look away from his warm and kind eyes. I didn't deserve the way he was treating me. "I hurt her…"
"You're the Asami from the newspapers." He said. "Asami Sato."
"Yes…"
"Korra told me what happened… she also told me that she didn't do it and explained what had happened. Who she thinks stole it all from her phone."
"Can… could you… please tell me what happened…?" I asked and lost the fight to keep my tears at bay.
So Bolin started to talk. He told me everything that had happened that evening. Everything that Korra had told him. Including the part where Korra thought she had disappeared with me in one of the rooms. How she found out that it had been Scarlet. That she had been drugged. Bolin assured me that Scarlet hadn't sexually abused Korra and that the only thing that had been stolen from her were those files. He told me how awe full Korra had felt once I paid her my visit. How desperate she was. How she wanted to tell me the truth. "But… you never picked up the phone… or answered her texts…" He said. There was no blame in the sound of his voice.
"How c-can… I ever m-make up f-for this…" I whispered between my sobs. "How c-can I even t-think I deserve h-her forgiveness…"
"I know she will." Bolin said softly and when I looked at him, he had a warm smile on his face.
"Why? H-how can you b-be so sure…?"
"Because she loves you…" He almost whispered the words and put something small into my hands.
"B-but… how… that's… you… you don't…"
He nudged his head at the item in my hand and when I looked down at it, I saw it was a phone. Korra's phone, to be exact. The screen was damaged beyond repair but when you clicked on the buttons, you could still use it. Even with the cracks in the screen. "They used it to find her emergency contact… She put me and Mako, my brother, on top of the list. I happened to be the one that was called. They got it from her car and gave it to me once I arrived here… I checked her phone and got in contact with her parents. They are flying here as we speak… I also checked what she had been doing in the moments before…" He swallowed hard. "Before… it happened… and she was about to send you a text."
I felt my heart pound in my chest when I turned my gaze onto the small device and unlocked it. My hands were shaking as I clicked onto the broken glass gently to get into her text box. I opened the one with my name and saw the few little words she had wanted to send me. 'Asami, Please, call me. Please, I love you…'
I held the phone with one hand while I brought the other in front of my mouth. I couldn't believe what I saw. I looked from the screen to Bolin and back. I had become a stuttering, sobbing mess. All he did was smile and pull me in for a hug. Which I happily returned. "S-she… she a-actually… she's… I c-can't…" I held onto the young man who just patted my back in a comforting manner and chuckled softly at my reaction.
I eventually pulled back and still looked at the phone in my hands from time to time. He started talking about himself, his brother Mako and girlfriend Opal. While he worked as a handy man, his brother was studying and working. Mostly he failed in balancing the two out. Opal helped people with filling in their taxes and helped with other official documents. For a small fee.
Some hours had passed and a young man with amber eyes walked in. I introduced myself and smiled when he mentioned his name. He then turned to his younger brother. "You didn't tell her about that one time we were caught singing in our underwear, did you?"
Bolin nearly choked on the drink that his brother had given him and shook his head while he punched against his chest. "What!? No! But you surely just did!"
Mako's face remained serious when he looked from Asami to Bolin and back. "You don't happen to be Asami Sato, are you?"
I focused on a particular spot on the floor as I nodded. "The one and only…"
"Nice meeting you, Bolin texted me what you did for Korra." He said and smiled faintly at me.
"I have more money then I could ever spend… I just want her forgiveness and a chance to make things right between us."
"I'm sure she will. I have no doubt about it." He said and heard a soft knock on the door. A surgeon walked in. His scrubs still bloody.
"Good evening…" He started and I looked outside. It was already dark. Spirits… what time is it by now? "Are you Korra's family and friends?" He continued and I turned my focus back on him.
We all stood up and nodded. "We're her friends. Her parents are on their way. They're from the South so it will take some hours before they're here…" Bolin said and I nodded in agreement.
The surgeon nodded. "Very well, I'm Tarrlok. I'm the one who operated on your friend. There were some complications during the operation, but everything turned out okay. She's being brought to the recovery room. I managed to repair the damage to her spine but we'll find out how much permanent damage there is once she wakes up..."
"What… what kind of could that be?" I asked as panic slowly took hold onto my heart.
He lowered his gaze and sighed. "We did some tests during the operation. We found out there are no signals going and coming from both her legs. Don't panic! It can be temporarily!" He said when all three of us slowly started to panic. "Her spine was broken in several places, along with all the other injuries she has, it's a miracle she's alive."
"She would've had a better chance at recovery had you operated on her immediately!" I suddenly blurted out.
He flinched from my reaction and took a step back. "That… well… I-I was told not to operate on her…" He said as a weak excuse and opened the door.
I took another few steps closer and slammed the door shut before Tarrlok could escape through the door. The index finger of my other hand poked the man's chest repeatedly. "You better hope that she'll recover… or you can work along side your brother in the kindergarten department. Changing diapers!"
He looked like he was about to piss himself and tried to make himself as small as humanly possible. "Y-yes Ma'am!" He managed to stutter before he left. When I turned around, both brothers looked at me. Shocked and speechless.
Bolin leaned to his brother. "Remember never to piss her off bro…"
Mako nodded feverishly at his brother's words. "Totally…!"
I cleared my throat and gulped. "I'm sorry… I… uh… kinda got carried away…" I said and rubbed the back of my neck nervously.
"Don't be. I'm glad you showed those two! I don't want to think what would've happened if you hadn't been here." Bolin said, walked over to me and put an arm around my shoulders. "Do you think we can go see her…?" He suddenly asked.
"I'd like to see them try and stop us." Mako said and opened the door. "Come on. Let's go find our girl."
And so we left the room behind and asked one of the nurses where the recovery rooms were. They were located some floors down and the nurse offered to come along with us. Since she was on her way down there anyway. Once we arrived at the right floor, Yue, the nurse that had come with us, asked the number of Korra's room. After the information was given to us, we went on our way.
Korra had been moved into a room all for herself. When we entered, she was still attached to several machines, but she looked a lot better already. Her left leg was almost entirely covered in plaster. So was the arm on that side. She had been cleaned up and there were fresh bandaged pretty much covering her entire body. Except her face. Although there was a fair amount wrapped around her head, her face was free for most part. There were dark bruises that covered most of the left side of her face but the right seemed undamaged. She laid on a special kind of bed that kept the pressure off of her spine while she was recovering. She still had the tube in her mouth to help her breathe, but she had a chance now, at least.
I looked at her heart monitor and it beeped peacefully. Once again I felt the tears burn in my eyes when I looked at her. I couldn't help it and cupped her seemingly undamaged cheek tenderly, hoping she could somehow hear or feel my presence. "I'm sorry Korra…" I whispered and leaned down so my mouth was close to her ear. "I'm so, so sorry… I never should have doubted you…" A sob broke free from my throat and I kissed the tip of her nose. "If you can find it in your heart to forgive me… let's start over. I'll be waiting for you… no matter how long it takes."
"Look…" Bolin suddenly said and pointed at the monitor that registered Korra's heart beat. I looked up and saw that Korra's heart rhythm had increased the slightest bit. "She knows you're here Asami." He said with a soft voice and with tears in his eyes.
I looked back and forth between the machine and Bolin, and smiled. A few tears broke free but I wiped them away. Perhaps there's hope for us after all… I thought and slowly stood back up. The brothers now joined me. "There's new from Korra's parents… there's a snowstorm raging where they live… there are no planes flying at all."
"Oh no… that's terrible…!" I looked at Bolin who nodded at my words.
"I told them that everything was okay, that she had been in surgery and that she's now in her room."
I have no idea how long it had been but Yue eventually walked back in. She told us that, if all would go well. That Korra would wake up in a day or so. That the feeling in her legs would return as well, as long as she remained as still as possible. We all listened carefully at her explanation and promised to help wherever we could. I knew that the guys still had to attend school and that the had work to do. So I told them I'd be staying with Korra. Yue eventually left the room and said that we could always come find her if we had more questions. The boys and I said our goodbye's and they promised that they'd come back as soon as possible.
I arranged a second bed in Korra's room for me to sleep in. I called to my company and had them bring over any paper work that I could work on while I stayed with Korra. Before I knew it, I had set up a small office on the bed I was supposed to sleep in. The tube in her throat was removed after two days, but she still needed an oxygen mask just to be safe. Yue came to visit me and I was surprised with what she was suggestion I could do.
"You can have her brought to your house, if you'd like? We could continue her treatment there. You can hire medical staff to keep an eye on her while you catch up on some needed sleep." She said with a soft smile. "And… that way you're not sponsoring the assholes that pretend to be in charge here…" She added on a whispering tone and winked at me.
My eyes went wide at her suggestion and I nodded. I couldn't hide a giggle when she whispered the last bit. "What… do I need to do for her to be transferred?"
"Let me handle the paperwork. All you have to say is yes and she'll be transferred to the address at your choosing."
"Shouldn't her parents… you know…" I swallowed hard, afraid of what she could say.
"I spoke with her parents over the phone. Your friend, Bolin I believe his name was? He gave me their phone number. He spoke to them first, explained everything and made sure that, whatever decisions you'd make. They would only benefit your friend."
I turned my head and looked at the younger woman. Pondering. "Very well." I looked back at Yue who smiled at me. "Bring me the papers that I need."
She playfully saluted at me and gave a bow. "Yes miss Sato. Your wish is my command." She said and walked out the door with a chuckle.
Things went rather quickly from that moment on. I signed the documents that were needed and Yue made sure everything was delivered at my house. She was brought in the bed that she laid in while at the hospital. It took the medical staff hours to remove her from this bed to the one I had at my home. The special mattress she'd be laying on had been installed on a normal bed to give the damaged woman a homey feeling when she'd wake up. I had hired Yue and many others that worked freelance at the hospital to come work for me instead. They had gladly accepted.
I asked Bolin and Mako for help when it came to decorating the room Korra was in. Opal came along to help and move some of her personal items that were at her apartment, back to my place. The last thing I wanted was for Korra to freak out when she'd wake up. Opal, Bolin and Mako came by when ever they could and Bolin kept Korra's parents in the loop of what was going on with their daughter. They had still not been able to get on a plane. The storm in the South had only worsened and it seemed that it would take a long time before they would be able to come over. Bolin assured them that Korra was in good hands, her parents said that they trusted his judgment and mine.
I had also contacted the press and with Varrick and Zhu Li's help, we shared the story of what had truly occurred. Cabbage Corp had hoped that my 'relationship' with Korra would force all the people that worked for me and the ones that had signed contracts with me, would leave or pull out from whatever obligations they had towards me. Instead, they started to support me more than ever. Clients that had been in business with my competition, broke their contracts with them and came to me personally to offer me an even better contract. Many companies in the Fire Nation had ordered the creation of Sato Boats. Ones that had either incredible speed and could participate in races, or ones that were just pleasure boats that could be taken out if one had a day off from work and wanted to spend the day floating on a river. Or a lake. Doing some fishing.
The Earth Kingdom placed orders for Jeeps. The heavy kind. They had many forests, jungles and swamps that required special vehicles. Ones they knew I could build and would last.
The Water Tribes from the North ordered special machines: Snow scooters and special jeeps. Sturdy things that would endure the cold climate like the ice and snow.
It was about four days after Korra moved to my place and I found myself in my office. Busy with the blue prints for all kinds of new machines. I had been working on them ever since I received my new contracts. I thought that it had been enough for today and when I stretched, I heard my joints pop and my spine crack. I turned off the lights and headed to the stairs that would lead up to the next floor. I decided to go check on Korra before I would get into bed. She had been put in the room right next to mine and when I opened the door, I saw that Yue was about to finish up.
"Good evening miss Sato." She said and smiled at me. "All is well. I checked her iv's and replaced them with new ones. The bruises on her face have started to fade. The swelling around her left eye is as good as gone. She's healing very well." She said and placed the clipboard on the nightstand.
"Thank you Yue… for everything. You should go lay down. It's been a long day."
Yue nodded and smiled before she silently left through the door. I gently sat down next to Korra on the bed but made sure I didn't move the mattress she was laying on. The bed was big enough for two so I had enough room to sit. I gently took her hand into my own and used my other one to tenderly stroke the right side of Korra's face. All the lights were out and the only light that penetrated the darkness of the room, was what the moon outside provided. It shone down on Korra's face and illuminated her features. My heart fluttered. "I love you, Korra…" I whispered and hoped that she heard me.
I was about to leave when I felt it. My heart skipped several beats while I sat perfectly still. I didn't dare to move. Did… or did I imagine it…? I looked down at my hand that held hers. I waited as my own heart rate went through the roof. "K-Korra…?" I whispered and looked from her hand to her face and back to her hand. My eyes shot open wide the next second. It was hardly noticeable but her hand, gently squeezed mine. An overwhelming feeling of euphoria came over me and I squeezed back. Finally, after what seemed like hours, I dared to look up and I took a shuddering breath when tired Sapphires looked into my Emeralds.
"Korra…?" Her name rolled out of my mouth in a desperate whimper and tears slowly blurred my vision. She blinked weakly and I heard her take a deep breath. One corner of her lips curled and she smiled at me.
The next thing I did was slamming the button that was connected to Yue's room. It would send an alarm and within a ten second window, said woman came rushing into the bedroom. "What happened?!" But before she could do anything, she just stood there. Frozen. Her eyes went from me to Korra and they went open wide like mine. "Oh Raava…" She whispered and stepped closer while I moved aside. Korra's hand squeezed down hard onto mine but I had to pull her loose to give Yue her space. "Don't worry… I'm here… I'm not leaving…" I said soothingly and she gave the weakest nod.
Yue smiled and turned her focus on Korra. "Hello Korra, I'm Yue. How are you feeling…? Do you think you can speak?" She said and slowly removed the oxygen mask from Korra's face.
Korra swallowed and took another deep breath. Yue noticed her dry lips and grabbed the glass of water from the nightstand. She held it against Korra's lips and used her other hand to support the back of her patients head. The Southerner drank eagerly but had to stop when the glass was half full. Yue put it back and gave Korra the time to adjust to this new situation. "How are you feeling?"
"Hnngg… t-ti…red…" Yue smiled and nodded. Korra seemed to struggle to get out a single word.
"Do you remember what happened?"
Korra swallowed again and closed her eyes. A frown showed on her face and she nodded slowly. "Car… truck… it hit me…" She took a shuddering breath and both me and Yue noticed that Korra's heart rate increased.
"It's alright Korra, you're safe now." Yue said and took a gentle hold onto Korra's hand.
She opened her eyes again and looked around fearfully. I moved position slightly and kneeled down next the bed. Taking Korra's hand from Yue gently and taking it in one of my own, my other hand cupped Korra's cheek and I urged her to look at me. "Korra… you're in my home… we brought you here… you don't know but you were I the hospital before." I said and she seemed to calm down once her eyes focused on me.
"Sami…" She whispered softly and I smiled.
"Yes… I'm here. Just rest okay? You'll be alright… you're safe." I continued to stroke her cheek lovingly and she turned her face to nuzzle against it.
"So… tired…" She mumbled and her eyes closed once again.
"Then sleep… I'll be here when you wake up." My heart fluttered once again when she turned her face slightly to looked me.
"Th…ank you… Sami…" I smiled but it faded when I saw tears appear in her beautiful eyes.
"Korra… whats wrong…? Whats the matter?"
"So….rry… I'm… sorry… Asami…" She whispered and the tears now broke free. Slowly sliding down her face when she let out a heartbreaking sob.
I shook my head and cupped her face with both my hands now. My forehead rested against hers and my tears mixed with Korra's. "You've nothing to apologize for…" I whispered. "But I do… for all the horrible things I said to you… for not trusting you." I pulled back slightly so I could look her in the eye. My thumbs lovingly caressed her cheeks and wiped away her tears. "Will you forgive me…?" I asked with a small voice and while my tears never stopped, my heart pounded against my ribcage. I was so scared.
My answer didn't came immediately. Korra's somewhat healthy hand rose up and stroke my cheek gently. Her eyes moved from my own over the rest of my face. They stopped at my lips momentarily before our eyes met again. The hand that caressed my cheek moved and sneaked behind my head. With some trouble, she closed the gab between us and our lips met. What I felt next, I really have no idea how to describe it. She kissed me. I heard her take a sharp, deep breath through her nose and my first instinct was to pull back to see if she was okay. But she was having none of it. She held me in place and the kiss was never broken.
It was so much different then the other time we'd kissed. This kiss was full of emotion. Love. Trust and compassion. Even though I felt the muscles in my back object because of the position I was in. I ignored it. I'd give up anything just to stay like this. Our lips moved slowly but the kiss remained innocent. Slowly but surely she released her hold on the back of my head. Reluctantly, I pulled back. I wanted nothing more then to keep kissing her but the last thing I wanted was to push to far, to soon. So I let her decide the pace. I settled next her on the bed, my hands on my lap and she smiled weakly at me. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "I… love… you too…" She said with a hoarse voice. "And… I forgive… I forgive… you…"
My breath hitched in my throat and a shuddering sob escaped me when I heard those words. When I was about to respond, I heard a sob come from my right. I looked into the direction it came from and there was Yue, who had seen and heard everything. She just blew her nose.
"Spirits… you two are so adorable…!" She said and wiped away some stray tears.
Korra chuckled weakly but let out a relieved sigh. "You alright Yue?" I asked and the nurse just waved away my concern.
"I'm fine! I'm fine! I'll just… you know, go back to the room next door…! Sorry for interrupting! Oh and, if you want… you can stay with her. The bed is big enough. Just make sure you don't move the mattress she's laying on." She said before she closed the door behind her. Leaving the two of us behind.
I looked at the damaged woman who just smiled. "I'd like… that yeah…" She whispered.
"Let me get changed… I'll be right back." I set and got back on my feet.
"Heh… I… m… not going… anywhere…" She joked and I kissed her forehead before I disappeared through the door. Once I got into my own room, I changed with the speed of lightning. I don't think I changed this fast. Ever. I wore my usual sleeping dress that reached just above my knees but when I arrived back in Korra's room, she had already fallen back asleep. I stepped deeper into the room and smiled at the peaceful expression on her face. The soft snoring that escaped her was music to my ears and I slowly settled under the covers. I crawled close to Korra, or at least as close as I was allowed in her condition. Slowly but surely, as I listened to her calm respiration, I fell asleep.
I spend the days afterwards switching between my blue prints and being with Korra. Although I spend more time with her than anything else. I didn't care. Work could wait and Korra's health improved with each passing day. Unfortunately, the feeling in Korra's legs had only partly come back. She felt the pain from her broken leg, but couldn't quite move around with the other one. To make things worse, now that she had woken up, sitting still was not one of her favorite things. Even though it was needed for her recovery.
I remembered that she had many games back at her place so one time, when she was asleep, I decided I'd go to her place and get her her favorite hand console. Along with some of the games. Bolin called and told me that Korra's parents had finally been able to catch a flight. "That's good to hear, I'm sure Korra will be delighted to see her parents again."
"Totally, they should be arriving in a day or two!" I heard him chuckle on the other side. "Say, what are you doing?"
"I'm just looking for games Korra might wanna play on her VZ console… she's bored out of her mind now that she finally woke up and has to stay still. So when she fell asleep, I left and went out to get her something."
I heard him laugh before he continued. "Sounds like her yeah… she even seemed restless when we came over. But then again… Pai Sho has never been her game. And if I play against you, I never win."
I laughed at his comment, but I knew it was true. "Will you be coming over today? Or do you and Opal need to study?"
I heard him wince on the other side of the phone. "Sucks but yeah, we do need to study. Finals will be soon."
"That's okay, don't worry about it. I think she'll be busy for a while once I get her her games. I didn't find a lot though. So I'll go buy her some new ones."
"Oh oh! If you do! I can suggest a few that you can buy for her! That way, she and I can play together online! That'd be awesome!"
I started laughing and agreed. Once we hung up, I received a text with half a dozen names of games I could buy. "Guess I'll be going into the city today." I went on my way with Korra's console and some games stuffed in my bag. I drove off into the shopping district and parked close to the shops I needed to go to.
There were quite a few people out shopping when I mixed in with the crowd. I passed shop after shop when I finally found the one I had been looking for. It was one specialized in pretty much all the game consoles and games that were out on the market right about now. It was pretty packed when I entered the shop. There were games stalled out pretty much anywhere. "Damn… so many…" I said and looked around. Instead of starting a search with no end, I decided to talk to the guy behind the counter. While I waited my turn, I started to notice that there were people staring at me. One girl actually got her phone out and started to feverishly type on the small device.
I felt slightly uneasy, remembering the video. I focused my attention back on the guy behind the counter, who was still busy with another client. I swallowed nervously and was about to make a run for it, when another employee appeared from behind a curtain. She smiled friendly at me. "Hi, can I help you? You look a little lost."
I nodded. "Y-yeah… I uh… I'm looking for a few games for my… girlfriend…" Girlfriend… Can I already call her that? I felt a blush crawl its way up my face and pulled out my phone, calling out the titles that Bolin had texted me earlier.
"Wow… that's quite some list. Your girlfriend has some good taste. Alright, some of the games have collectors editions. You think she'd like those?"
"I… think so, don't they have extras?" I asked unsure. I had never been a true gamer.
The woman nodded. "Sure do. Be right back!" She said and walked out into the shop. She gathered the games without any trouble. Including the special edition ones. I just let my eyes slide over the shelves and saw that some were empty. I walked over to the display cabinets and smiled at the many statues and small figurines. There was even a special corner where people were playing card games. My nervousness returned when pretty much everyone was staring at me. Oh Raava… please hurry… I gulped and turned my gaze to the shops front window. My heart seemed to stop when I saw that there was an entire group of people standing in front of the window and door. Oh Goddess no… My heart sank and I flinched badly when the saleswoman touched my shoulder to get my attention. "S-sorry… I… I didn't mean t-to…" I stuttered, unable to look at the other woman.
"I'm sorry miss Sato, I didn't mean to startle you." She apologized.
"That's okay I was in thought…- wait… you know my name?"
I saw a blush appear on her cheeks and she nodded shyly. "S-sorry… I mean… you're really popular." She nudged her head towards the group outside. "Those people? They want to catch a glimpse of you."
"But why? I didn't do anything I…"
"We know what Cabbage Corp did to you. And that filthy bitch who sold your most intimate moment to your competition. We immediately took all the CC games from our shelves and send them back to where they came from. We only sell the games from Varrick Industries now. We actually wanted to gather enough signatures to… send to you. Ask you if you could start your own line of games…"
My mouth fell open. I couldn't believe what I heard. "I… what…"
The woman chuckled. "We girls should stick together…" And with that, she hugged me. Out of nowhere I was hugged by a stranger. Other people started giggling, laughing and before I knew it, the entire shop was filled with people who wanted my signature or take a selfie with me. The girl who worked at the shop was the first. She held up a sketchbook and a pen. I smiled nervously but took both items. "S-so whose name can I write down?"
"Kitty!" She said happily and pretty much bounced up and down.
"To this thundering kitty cat, love, Asami." Kitty squealed in delight and quickly asked one of the others to take a picture of both of us. She put an arm around my shoulder and smiled. Mine matched hers perfectly and after it was done, the next one came. Her name was Kim. She asked for my signature and asked her friend Della to take a picture of us. Next was Della and she did she same thing. Only Kim took a picture this time. Another one came after them, a guy this time. His name was Rod. He was adorable and carried a deep blush on his cheek when he hugged me. I thought he'd faint when Della suggested that she'd take a picture of us both, with his phone. I giggled softly when he eventually left with an even darker shade of red coloring his cheeks. The next person glomped me, took a picture of us together and in between it all, she said her name was Becca. Before I could even say anything, she had disappeared back into the crowd and all I heard were giggles that matched her voice. The next girl introduced herself as Rena and she asked if she could take a picture of the both of us. If I wanted to sign her cap and if she could hug me. I said yes to all of her requests and the smile on her face was enough to warm anyone's heart.
Many more came after her and when the final person left the store, I could hardly hold the bags with all the items I had bought for Korra. That's how much cramp I had in my fingers. I promised Kitty I'd look more into the gaming market and promised to give her a call. The sketchbook that she had me signed actually contained amazing designs for future main characters for games. She had given me her number and I left the store after I paid. Who knew the gaming business was that big…? Some of the guys and girls that I had seen in the shop were still around and waved at me. I waved back at them.
I was almost back at my car, when I saw Della again. One of the first girls that I met today. She was waving at me feverishly. Her friends, Becca, Rod and Kim were there too. I still had some spare time left before Korra would wake up so I walked over to them. "Hey guys, everything okay?"
"Asami…!" Becca whisper yelled at me and pointed at the door of some kind of clothing store. "I… we think… we think we saw someone go inside…" She continued and I raised a curious eyebrow.
Della nodded and looked from the front door of the store to me and back. "Yeah… like… the mean lady that sold your video to CC?"
My eyes shot open wide at Della's words. "Scarlet? She's there…?"
Rod nodded and smirked. "Yeah… that's the one!"
My fists clenched around the handles of the bags I was holding. I held the bags up to Della whose face showed the biggest grin I've ever seen. "Be so kind to hold this… will you?" All she did was nod and took over the plastic bags from me.
"This is gonna be epic…" Della whispered to Kim and she nodded.
I was waiting in front of the store shop where my target was shopping. Probably with the money she received from selling my video. The longer I stood there, the angrier I became and by the time the bitch finally appeared… I was seething. "Hello Scarlet." My voice was like venom and she stopped dead in her tracks. She dropped the bags she held and her eyes went wide when she saw me. Fear written all over her face. The blood instantly drained from it.
"Asami… hi I didn't…-"
I didn't want to hear her speak. Hear whatever would come from her mouth. Hear any kind of explanation. Hear more of her lies. So I did the first thing that came to mind. I clenched my right hand into a fist. Ran up to her and planted said fist in the middle of her face. The satisfaction I felt when I heard the bones break is something I will treasure forever. The force I hit her with was so strong that it send her flying right back against the store's front door. I gave her no time to recover and closed the gap I created between us. I pulled her off of the pavement and held her by the collar of her shirt. Her back pressed firmly against the glass door. "If I ever…" I started, my voice nothing but a growl. "See you anywhere NEAR Korra… or me…" I said and gave her a second to let the words I said sink in before I continued on the same growling tone. "I will -destroy- you…"
Blood came from her nose. It ran down her lips, chin and onto her clothes. Her eyes wide open in fear. She nodded as if her life depended on it and when I released her from my grip, she forgot to take her bags with her and ran. I heard people cheering behind me and when I looked over my shoulder, I saw that a small group had gathered around Della and her friends. I let out a sound that sounded like a nervous giggle mixed with a fearful whimper. Oh dear… what did you do this time Sato… I walked back to Della who happily gave back the bags she held for me.
"That was pure awesomeness…!" She said excitedly and I blushed from her words.
"Bitch totally had it coming!" Someone else chipped in and the entire group agreed. After I thanked them for their support, I went back on my way and arrived at my car so much later then I had wanted to. I had put the bags on my passengers seat but grabbed my phone from my pocket and called the nurse that was supposed to be working.
"Hello this is Suki, how can I help you?"
"Hey Suki, it's Asami. I was wondering if Korra woke up yet?"
"She's still snoring like a little baby elephant rhino." She said and chuckled softly. "When will you be coming back?"
"I was about to leave and head home, so I'll be there soon."
"Alright! See you in a few then!" She said and we both hung up. I put my hands on the wheel but hissed in pain. When I looked at my right hand I saw that my knuckles were red and swollen. Damn… that bitch's face was harder to crack then I thought… I frowned and let the fingers of my other hand gently slide over my painful knuckles. I guess I can ask Suki to wrap it up or something. I smiled when I remembered how good it felt to finally hit that stupid face. The fact her nose was broken was just an added bonus.
I left the city and headed home. It didn't take that long and Lee opened the door for me when he saw me coming to the door. "Found everything Miss?" He asked and took the bags from me. I sighed in relief.
"Yes, thank you Lee… would you be so kind to take those upstairs? Just put them in front of Korra's room and send Suki to my office." He nodded and smiled at my words before he left. I headed to the kitchen first and held my throbbing hand under a stream of cold water. "Oh yes that feels good…" I said and let out a soft moan.
I heard soft laughter behind me and when I looked over my shoulder, Suki walked into the kitchen. "Well well miss Sato, what have we here?" She said amused and stood next me. A worried glace thrown at the hand that I still held under the tap.
"I got… in contact with someone's… something hard." I said and cleared my throat.
"Mhn-hm… like… someone's face?" She said and took a gentle hold onto my damaged hand. Carefully examining it. "Nothing broken, just bruised. I'll put some bandage around it." She said and just happened to have a small roll of it in her many pockets.
"Ah… how… how did you know…?" I started. The grin on her face only grew wider.
"There's a new video… posted on the 'Make Scarlet pay for what she did' page. Its been online ever since people know who did this to you."
"Oh Spirits…" I whispered and a dark red once again decorated my cheeks.
"Don't worry about it, you can't actually see its you. They stopped filming probably just before you turned around. So if anyone would try anything, they have nothing to use against you."
I smiled at her and nodded at her words while she continued to work on my hand "Thank you." I said once she was done.
"You're welcome, my shift is about to end and I think it was Yue's turn again. She should be arriving shortly." She said and put the left over of the roll back in her pocket. "I'll be seeing you somewhere this week, I think my next shift will be a nightshift." She chuckled and left after saying bye. Leaving me in the kitchen.
I ended up in front of Korra's door again like any other day ever since she stayed here. I picked up the bags that Lee had left near the door and entered the room as quietly as possible. I didn't have bothered cause my patient was already awake.
"Sami! Thank Raava…!" I only laughed and quickly joined her on the bed. She had her healthy arm reached out to me and once I put the bags down, I leaned over her so she could pull me in. She kissed my lips ad I felt butterflies going rampage inside my stomach each time she did this. She let go after a minute and smiled brightly at me. "Where have you been?" Her eyes suddenly fell onto my injured hand. "What happened!? Are you okay?!"
Such a dork… she's laying in bed, her spine broken in several places. Her leg and arm broken. Still partly paralyzed and she's asking me what happened… "Sweetie… it's nothing."
"Nothing…? Your hands are very important! You do important stuff with them!"
Stuff. Oh Raava help me she's adorable… "Korra. It's nothing, really. Only a mild bruise. So nothing to worry about." Nonetheless, she grabbed my hand ever so gently. As if she was afraid it would break if she'd hold it to tight. Brought it to her lips and placed a kiss on each individual knuckle. My cheeks had never been redder. I think I'm going to smelt…
I just sat next her on the bed and let her do what she wanted. I Enjoyed to see her move again with so much more energy. It has been about eleven days since her accident and Yue had told me that Korra was allowed to sit up for a few hours a day. If she kept going like this, she would be allowed to lay on a normal mattress within a week. I finally picked up the bags that I had brought with me and placed them on her lap. Her eyes shot open wide at the contents of the bag and she started to whisper 'Oh my Goddes… oh my Goddes!' every time she took out another game.
Needless to say, Korra was glued to her games from that moment. Kitty from the store had suggested that I'd buy some extra's. One of which was a headset that she could connect to the console and talk to her friends that way.
Another two days passed and I had Lee pick up Korra's parents from the airport while I stayed with their daughter. I had told her what had happened a few days prior after she had been told about the entire Scarlet being punched in the face, incident by Bolin while they had been gaming. She had laughed out loud about everything that had occurred that day. From me going to the gaming shop, being bombed to heroine. To punching that bitch where she deserved it. She sat with her back against the softest pillow mountain that was ever created by mankind. Our lips locked in a kiss that she had deepened only a few seconds before, when her father barged in. I flinched so hard that I nearly fell off of the bed entirely.
"Hellooooooohhhhh I think I interrupted something…?" He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. "Niceeeee one Korra…" He said and gave his daughter a thumbs up. I thought I'd die from embarrassment.
"Tonraq!" Another voice came from behind the tall Southerner and he was gently shoved aside. Senna came into view and smiled. "Excuse my husband, you'd think he was raised in some compound by a bunch of savages…" She said and her husband rolled his eyes.
"Mom! Dad! Its so good to see you!" Korra said and I moved aside so her parents could hug her.
"Well, we didn't came alone sweetie…" Senna said and looked at her husband who had the biggest shit eating grin on his face.
I looked quite confused and I saw Korra mouth the words 'no way…' when I heard a loud bark. Something huge and fluffy suddenly entered the room but Tonraq stopped it from pouncing on top of his daughter. For obvious reasons. It turned around and faced me instead. Oh shit… That's a…! Before I could do anything, or Tonraq for that matter, I was covered with the body of a Polar bear dog that licked my face like I was a piece of it's favorite meat.
"Naga! No!" Korra yelped but before she could do anything that would have consequences on her well being, Tonraq and Senna were so kind to pull the enormous animal off of me. I was also pulled back on my feet, since Naga had pretty much tossed me onto the floor when she pounced me.
"Bad Naga! You know you can't do that to other people except dad!" Korra said on a strict tone which caused the big fluffy ball to whine and whimper. "Are… are you okay Asami?"
I cleared my throat and straightened my clothes. "Nothing a shower can't fix…" I said jokingly which made the Southerners smile and laugh.
I excused myself so I could go and freshen up. Once I came back, I was asked by Korra to join her on the bed. As she held my hand, she officially introduced me as her girlfriend to her parents, who were ecstatic by the news. Senna announced that she'd cook Korra's favorite food and said that Tonraq would have the honors of helping her. He groaned but indeed followed his wife out of the bedroom while Naga happily followed the two Southerners.
When we were alone, my facial expression saddened and I was overwhelmed once again by guilt. Korra noticed and gently forced me to look at her. "What's the matter…?"
I took a deep breath before I started. "I… they're so happy… while it's my fault that you're laying here."
She stroke my face with her good hand, a smile present on her face. "I love you… Asami Sato… and you love me… we might have to explain one day what happened… or how this all happened. If they don't know already… but for now, this is enough."
"You sure that…-" My sentence was cut short when she silenced me with her own lips. She held me in place with the arm that still had the plaster around it and after she pulled me closer with her healthy arm first. Once that was done, she buried her hand in the mass of my black hair. Holding me close when she deepened the kiss. This time, there were no interruptions. Only love. I snuck both my arms around her carefully and held her close. Enjoying this intimate moment to the fullest I knew, it would surely not be the last.
AN: The end...?