Chapter 5
Asami:
Asami groggily opened her eyes. She felt like she had been hit by a satomobile. Her eyes adjusted to the lighting and she realized she was in the temple. It had to be subzero, icicles hung dangerously from the rafters, and Asami was absolutely freezing. She had no idea how she got there or why she was laying on a table in the center of the frozen temple. But a sound drew her away from her thoughts. Curious, Asami looked around and found the source of the noise. She rolled to her side and propped herself up with her elbow. The Avatar, the brave Avatar, was weeping. Korra was her best friend and if Asami was honest with herself, she felt more for Korra than just as a friend. She had been so careful to not reveal these feelings to the Avatar in fear that the feelings wouldn't be mutual and Asami would then lose her best friend. It tore her heart to pieces to see Korra so shaken up, she wanted to comfort her, but she didn't want to overstep her bounds. Plus, she didn't know what was bothering her. Cautiously, Asami lifted her hand to the Avatar's covered face. Her hand wavered in the air, should she break the barrier? Should she try to be closer than just a friend? Throwing all caution to the wind, Asami tenderly brushed her hands over the back of the Avatar's hand that covered her face and then gently brought it around to caresses her cheek and jaw line. Korra's hand slowly dropped, her tearful azure eyes looked up and they locked onto Asami's kelly green orbs. "Korra?" she tentatively asked. Before Asami could prod further the Avatar broke down, wailing uncontrollably. It was not until now that Asami noticed the state Korra was in. Her knee was heavily wrapped, her arm in a cast, her jaw heavily bruised, her nose sustaining a cut on the bridge, and she was missing a tooth. Worry flooded over Asami. She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the table. "Please, Korra. What's wrong? What happened to you?" But the Avatar couldn't manage to speak a word. Each time she tried another sob wracked her body. Tentatively, Asami placed her hand on Korra's good forearm. The Avatar reacted quickly and pulled the engineer into a tight embrace. She sobbed into Asami's hair, her tears flowed against Asami's face. She wouldn't say it out loud, but Asami relished being so close to Korra, she wished that no air would exist between them. Asami gripped her best friend tighter, crushing any space that was between them. She whispered sweet nothings into her ear in hopes that Korra would calm herself. She spoke again, "Korra, please." She begged, "Tell me what happened. What happened to you? I don't remember anything after..." the words stuck in her throat, "after my father's death." Korra managed a deep breath and looked deep into Asami's eyes, she was sure she would get lost in those beautiful sapphire eyes. Korra reached up and cupped Asami's face, she leaned into her hand. "You don't remember anything?" Asami shook her head, "Spirits. Asami, I've missed you." She gave Korra a confused look when Tenzin, Kya, Bumi, Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, Pema carrying a sleeping Rohan, Bolin, Mako, and the Beifong family burst into the room. "ASAMI!" Bolin yelled. They all let out a collective gasp before Bumi ran forward and scooped up Asami in a crushing hug. "I'm so glad your back!" The rest of the group joined in. When Bumi put her down, Asami looked around giving them all confused looks, "What's going on? Why won't anyone tell me what's going on? What happened? I don't remember anything."
"We have a lot to talk about Ms. Sato." Tenzin said glancing at Korra before giving her a tender look.
They all walked into the main living area. Asami pushed Korra next to the couch and sat down. As everyone else situated themselves Korra quickly grabbed Asami's hand and interlaced their fingers. Asami flushed at the intimate gesture, Korra had never displayed any kind of feeling like this toward her. "Is this alright?" Korra whispered to her, nodding toward their clasped hands. Asami blushed once more and nodded. Korra smiled her classic lopsided grin which about made Asami's heart jump out of her chest. Tenzin gently cleared his throat, causing both Asami and Korra to turn to him,
"Shall I tell her what happened or do you want to Korra?" he asked thoughtfully.
"I think I should Tenzin." Korra responded. She took a deep breath before she launched into her lengthy story. She described how Asami's parachute got stuck on the mecha's hand, how she plummeted towards the earth, how Bolin saved Korra (causing Bolin to grin), how Korra tried to save Asami. She paused thinking over what happened next and decided to skip it, she would talk about that with Asami in private. She continued on "When you landed on the ground you… you were impaled." Korra said gesturing to Asami's abdomen. It wasn't until now that Asami noticed the blood that soaked her leather jacket and the hole that ripped through her clothes. She gave out an astonished gasp.
"How much blood did I lose? How long was I out for?" she asked. The group before her gave each other concerned looks before Korra spoke again,
"Asami you didn't just pass out. Yy-ou… you died." Asami felt instantly sick. She had died. She had suffered the same fate as her father, but was lucky enough to return from the grave.
"Wh-hat?" she felt light headed. Everything before her swam. Darkness started to creep into her vision. Nausea hit her like a wave. She felt her body swaying and before she knew it, she truly had passed out.
A few moments later Asami awoke with a groan, "Urgh, what happened?" Korra's worried face appeared before her.
"You passed out when we told you that you died." Asami winced at her words. Slowly, she sat up and her nausea subsided with each breath.
"Okay. What happened next?" she asked, resilient as ever, her eyes stayed glued on Korra.
Kya hesitantly continued and took over the next part of the story, "Well Su and I managed to get you back to the temple while Korra fought Kuvira and her mecha. I instantly started a ritual on your body to help you spirit cross over safely into the Spirit World. From what Tenzin told me I guess, it didn't really work." She said with an apologetic smile.
"So did we beat Kuvira?" Asami pressed, finally turning her gaze away from the water tribe Avatar.
"We have Korra to thank for that," Jinora spoke, "she was a little mad to say the least when you… moved on. And she single handedly took out Kuvira's mecha tank. However, in its explosion Kuvira managed to escape and ran into the spirit wilds where she found the mecha's canon. She fired at Korra and I don't know how she did it, but Korra created a new spirit portal." She finished pointing out the window to the energy beam shooting into the sky. Asami gasped at its beauty, she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. She looked at Korra who shrugged, "I dunno… it just kinda happened."
Korra took over from there, "We locked Kuvira up and she won't be seeing the light of day for a very long time. After we settled all that business with Kuvira," she said with a look of disgust on her face, "I went into the spirit world and spoke with Iroh." Her features softened, "He told me about the ancient spirits of Dusa and Neschume. They are the ones who plan the time and date and the way someone dies. And if a person doesn't die according to their death date, their spirit will not return to the ancient spirits, but will instead be forced to wander in The Fog of Lost Souls. Which is where I found you."
Tenzin spoke again, "Jinora, Korra, and I all tried to get into the fog to save you, but only Korra was able to enter."
"I wandered for a while when I finally found someone and it turned out to be Aiwei. He tried to attack me but before he could, you got a hold of him. And then you kinda turned on me..." She said gesturing to her battered body.
Asami gasped, "I… I did that to you? Korra! I'm so sorry!" tears brimmed in her eyes, she reached forward and grasped Korra's hands.
Korra shrugged off her apology, "You sure know how to throw a punch Asami," Korra joked, her eyes twinkling softly, "I'm pretty sure you broke my nose."
"She did." Kya interject, "And your arm. She also managed to dislocate your knee, crack your jaw bone, break a few rib bones, knock your tooth out, and practically collapsed your esophagus. Did you even fight back Korra? I mean that took me a while to heal." Korra glared at the healer as all the color drained from Asami's face,
"Not the time Kya. But no I didn't fight back. I wouldn't hurt Asami. Besides, she wasn't thinking clearly. She called me Kuvira. I think that the Fog had infected her mind to think that Kuvira was attacking her…. Which must be your worst memory. But I can't remember a time where Kuvira attacked you, which made me think that the fog probably affected you differently since your physical body was dead." She said giving Tenzin a confirming glass, the airbender merely shrugged.
Asami gave Korra a look before squeezing her hand tightly, "I'm so sorry, for all the pain I caused you." Her tears fell freely now.
"You don't need to apologize Asami. I knew you didn't see me. Besides, I'm just glad you are back now. Safe and sound… with me." She smiled at Asami, her cheeks glowing slightly. Asami's heart skipped a few beats at the Avatar's words.
Korra:
It had been about four days since Asami's return and Korra couldn't help but feel the happiest she had been in a long time despite a serious nagging feeling in the back of her mind. She was finally out of the wheel chair and walking, more like limping, around. She spent the majority of her time talking with Asami about everything. Asami's dad being a topic that was regularly brought up and usually ended in tears. They spent time with Bolin and Mako, truly catching up with the brothers. Other days they spent it with the airbenders. No words could truly express how grateful Korra was for them and everything they had done for her and Republic City. It was decided by President Raiko that everyone needed a break and the reconstruction effort wouldn't begin for another week or so, which everyone was totally fine with. Due to the overcrowded island many of the guests were forced to share a room including Korra and Asami. Not that Korra minded, she loved being able to spend practically every waking moment with Asami. She was determined to never let her go. Not again. When Asami first woke up she told everyone that she didn't remember anything, which meant she didn't remember Korra's confession of love. And Korra hadn't repeated said confession yet. It's not that she didn't actually mean it, she did, and she loved Asami with all of her heart. It was just her emotions were so high then, that she had the courage to say the words that had been on the tip of her tongue since she got back from her healing trip. Korra knew that Asami loved her back but Korra had been thinking a lot lately about that nagging feeling in the back of her mind- what it would mean to be romantically involved with the engineer. All of Team Avatar knew about their feelings for each other (Bolin had a big mouth and word spread quickly that Korra told Asami she loved her) and everyone, even Mako, was okay with it. In fact they were all happy that they were able to find love and acknowledge it, even if it was for a brief moment. Of course being wonderful people, they all vowed to keep the confession a secret until Korra (or Asami) said it again. Korra knew that her friends would be forever understanding if the relationship went further, but she worried about what others would think. Two women dating one another wasn't very common and she was afraid how people would react. Plus, being "celebrities" of their caliber their relationship would constantly be under scrutiny. And Asami's company could possibly be hindered by people not wanting to do business with someone whose life style was not the norm. And what if Korra and Team Avatar were called on for help and Asami got hurt, again. Korra wouldn't be able to live with herself. But what the bender thought about the most was the fact that life is fleeting. She didn't know when or where she was going to die. What if it was while she was off saving the world as the Avatar? She couldn't hurt Asami like that… she couldn't leave her like that. She never wanted Asami to be alone. Korra wanted Asami to be happy for the rest of her life and she deserved someone who would stay by her side forever. Not someone who was off flitting around the world, trying to solve one deadly issue after the next. No. She wouldn't do that to Asami. She wouldn't do that to the woman she loved. No matter how much it pained Korra she realized that she could never be with Asami. Their relationship had to stay merely a friendship. She couldn't… wouldn't let it get any farther than that.
Korra:
Korra had gotten up early that morning to practice her bending. It often times helped her clear her mind. Plus, if she was being honest with herself she was far from mastering airbending. It had been a while since she had the time to practice the movements of airbending, but she flowed through it naturally never forgetting a step or a breath. After a few hours droplets of sweat beaded on her brow and the back of her neck. Deciding she should probably shower Korra wandered back to her and Asami's shared room. She pushed open the door and immediately regretted her decision to not knock beforehand. Asami's startled shriek forced Korra to slap her hand over her eyes. Her cheeks blushed furiously.
"I'm sorry Asami! I didn't know you were in here! I should have knocked." Asami calmly cooed back at Korra,
"It's alright, Korra. It happens." Korra cautiously peered at Asami between the cracks in between her fingers. Asami luckily had pants on and was in the process of pulling her shirt over her head. Korra was hit with how beautiful Asami looked and couldn't prevent her eyes from trailing down her body. But her eyes stopped their wandering when they hit the ugly scar that tarnished Asami's stomach. Without even thinking about her actions, Korra strode forward until she was inches from Asami. Her hand mechanically reached out, hovering inches away from the scar. Korra could feel Asami's green gaze studying her intently. Gently, Korra brushed the tips of her fingers against the scar. Asami jolted by the sudden touch, her breath catching in her throat, but she quickly recovered her composure. Korra's eyes flashed through a series of emotions. Anger, pain, sadness, and settled on guilt. She took a step back from the older woman. Her eyes fell to the floor, she couldn't look at Asami. Her brows furrowed as she opened and closed her mouth, desperately trying to form words for her thoughts.
"I'm sorry, Asami." She began, "For everything. I feel like this is all my fault. Everything. The city that you built being destroyed, your father's death, you… you getting hurt. I just… I don't know..." she let out an exasperated sigh, her words clearly escaping her. "I don't know." She repeated. Asami stepped forward and grasped Korra's hands in a tight grip. Korra pointedly avoided Asami's gaze.
"Korra, look at me." Korra shook her head. "Look. At. Me." It was not a request, it was a command. Korra timidly looked up, Asami looked furious, but the tears in her eyes betrayed her façade. "Korra, I don't want you to think for one minute that any of this was your fault. I chose. I chose," she said pointing to herself, "to join Team Avatar, very well knowing the risks it would entail. The destruction of the city is not your fault. That was Kuvira. And don't you dare say if you had come back earlier it wouldn't have happened because it would have. As for my father, there was absolutely nothing you could have done. He chose to sacrifice his life. We all knew the risks and were willing to take them. Besides," she reached up and cupped Korra's face, "I would do anything and everything, if it meant I was able to help you Korra." She pulled her into a hug. Korra melted into the older woman's embrace, savoring being so close to Asami. She breathed in deeply. Man, she loved the way Asami smelled. Wait. Bad Korra. Staying friends. Nothing more, this can't become something. Korra pulled out of the hug quickly, muttered something about showering, and ran to the bathroom. She heard Asami call after her, but she closed the bathroom door pretending to not have heard her. She leaned against the door, the back of her head flush against the wood, and stared at the ceiling. This is going to be the hardest thing you have ever done, Korra, she told herself. She slowly slid down the door until she was sitting, legs stretched out in front of her. She sat a few moments longer before she got into the shower. The warm water raced over Korra's skin, liquidizing all soap on her. She couldn't get over how good it felt to be hugged by Asami. She wanted to stay in her arms forever. To be with her forever. No! I can't hurt her! I can't be with her! Let her go Korra! She thought sadly. Letting out a huff of air she turned off the shower. With a quick flick of her wrist she bent all the water off of herself. She picked up the plush towel off of the rack and wrapped herself in it. Guardedly, she cracked the door open and peered into her room. Asami wasn't there which meant she couldn't scold Korra anymore for blaming herself about Asami's injuries. She quickly grabbed an outfit, not caring if it matched at all, and changed. She didn't want to, but she knew she had to avoid Asami for the rest of the day.
Asami:
Why does she have to be so difficult? Asami thought to herself, If she would just listen to me, maybe she would realize that nothing she can do will keep me away from her. Asami sat frustrated in the family room, arms crossed; waiting for Korra to finish with her shower. She needed to talk to her. She had to tell the Avatar her true feelings. She had to tell her that she loved her. Lost in her thoughts Asami finally noticed that another 20 minutes passed and from what she could tell Korra hadn't left her room. Gingerly, she stood up. Her stomach was still very sore from where she had been impaled. Her mind boggled at the fact that she had died. Her stomach lurched every time she thought about it. Pushing the thought aside she resumed her search for the bender. As she entered the kitchen she almost ran straight into Su.
"Asami," the metalbender reached out and pulled her into a hug, "I'm so glad you are alright. Words truly cannot express how grateful I am for your sacrifice to help stop Kuvira. I will forever be in debt to you."
Asami blushed at Su's words as she stumbled for words, "You don't need to say anything, Asami." Su cooed, "You seemed like you were in a rush though, is there anything I can help you with."
Asami raised a hand and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, hoping her face had returned back to its normal color after Su's generous compliment, she didn't feel that she deserved it. "Actually, yes. Have you see Korra?"
"It was a while ago, but I saw Korra walking down to the beach. She said something about needed to collect her thoughts. She looked really troubled. Maybe you should talk to her." The metal bender suggested.
"That's exactly what I plan on doing. Thanks, Su!" Asami exclaimed as she rushed out the door. She hopped the last couple steps and headed toward the beach. It was about midday and the sun was high in the sky. Asami squinted her eyes as she tried to adjust them to the sunlight. Asami reached the sand, she gently pulled her shoes off and squished her toes into the warm sand. She wandered the beaches until she saw the outline of Korra sitting on the edge of a rock that jutted out over Yue Bay. Cautiously, she approached the rock and gently cleared her throat. Korra whipped her head around, her face a mix of emotions. "Hi, Korra." Asami began, but before she could get any further Korra cut her off,
"Please, Asami I just need to be alone right now." Asami's eyes narrowed slightly,
"No. I'm tired of you avoiding me all day. I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong."
"Please, Asami. I can't."
"Korra," Asami pleaded, "Just let me in. Let me know what is wrong. I want to help you. Let me help you."
"You can't help me Asami!" Korra yelled.
"Well why not?" Asami yelled back.
"Because if you do you will only get hurt again! I care about you so much Asami! I can't see you get hurt again. I won't let you get hurt again. You have to keep your distance from me." Korra wailed. Abruptly, she jumped up and stormed away from the engineer. Asami chased after her. She reached out and caught Korra's wrist. With a slight tug she stopped the Avatar and forced her to turn around,
"I don't care if I get hurt again. Korra can't you see that. I can't be without you!"
"Well, why can't you see that I'm not good for you?! I'm only going to hurt you!"
"Dammit, Korra! Can't you see that you're hurting me more by pushing me away than any damage a physical injury could cause!" Asami bawled. Korra's cerulean eyes caught on Asami's, tears beginning to fill them. She tried to blink them away, turning her face away from Asami. "Please, Korra. I love you. Don't leave me." Asami begged, her voice cracking with sobs. The Avatar's head snapped up at the confession, her tears flowing freely now. She shook her head, "I'm sorry, Sami." With a tug of her hand she was gone.
Korra:
Korra sprinted down the beach. Her hands were pulled close into her chest. Her eyes burned with tears. She got to the docks and hopped on the closest ferry. She didn't care where it was going as long as it was away from Asami. She ran to the front of the ferry, ignoring the annoyed look from the captain. Her hands slammed into the railing, she couldn't breathe. She couldn't feel anything. She felt so lost and hopeless. Her heart felt like it had been ripped from her chest, stepped on a few times, and then sloppily sown back in. Her breaths came out in gasps. Panic filled her. Her knees crashed into the deck. Her palms felt slick against the rough wood. She clutched at her throat willing for one breath to flow through cleanly. Minutes flew by as she waited for the moment to pass, but it never came. The ferry blew its horn and Korra knew that they were close to docking. Clumsily, she reached for the railing and pulled herself up. The captain stopped by and Korra reached into her pockets only to find she had no money. "Oh, forget it. No one is gonna use the ferry now that the city looks like this." He said waving his hand towards the destruction. Korra didn't respond. She stumbled off of the boat and ran into the city.
Asami:
Asami collapsed on the ground. She couldn't breathe. Her hands clutched at her shirt, tears stained her cheeks. What have I done? she thought desperately. I've ruined everything. She buried her face into her hands and wept. Time seemed to fly by. Before she knew it the sun had set and a continuous chill ran up her spine. Slowly, she straightened her legs and lifted herself up. Trembling, she toppled to a nearby tree. She gripped it ferociously, throwing all her weight against it. A gasp left her body. She fell to the ground and leaned her head against the trunk. Just let me die here, she thought as she closed her eyes. Moments flew by before she heard soft feet crunching on the nearby rocks. She lifted her heavy eye lids only to find opal colored eyes peering down at her,
"Asami? Are you alright?" the airbender questioned. Asami stared blankly at Opal. She noticed Bolin and Mako staring worriedly down at her.
"We've been looking everywhere for you. You've been gone all day and we can't find Korra." Mako stated. Hearing Korra's name perked Asami's crumbling senses.
"I don't know where she is. She ran off when I tried talking to her earlier." Asami whimpered. Bolin ran forward and picked Asami up into a gripping hug,
"Ohhh. Asami I'm so sorry! Korra truly does love you, she is just being stupid right now!" the earthbender set her down gently and retreated to his girlfriend's side, grabbing her hand, interlacing their fingers.
"Asami, please we need your help finding Korra. You're the only one that I can think of that would know where she would go." Asami nodded weakly at Mako's words. She thought for a moment about where Korra could be,
"We have to go to the city." Mako turned to Opal,
"Opal could you go get Juicy saddled up? I think it's time we went downtown." Opal nodded and ran towards the stables. Mako gingerly took Asami's hands in his own and spoke tenderly, "Asami. I know it hurts, but we gotta find Korra. We gotta keep pushing on." Mako's words stung, but deep down Asami knew he was right, no matter how much she hated to admit it. She let out a deep breath, "You're right. Let's go bring Korra home." A massive form soon gracefully floated down towards them. Opal maneuvered Juicy expertly to the ground. The gang jumped on is back and within second they were soaring through the air. Asami gripped the side of his saddle and leaned out over the edge. She took a deep breath, relishing in the fresh air. Opal turned Juicy slightly and they were soon circling around the destroyed downtown district. Asami squinted trying to pinpoint exactly where they needed to go. Her eye's widened when she saw it. She pointed down and yelled to Opal, "Down there. By the bridge." Opal nodded and sent Juicy into a downward spin towards the bridge. The beast landed with a thud. Asami hopped off his back and motioned for the others to follow her. She jumped over a few hunks of concrete before her path became obstructed by a fallen building. Carefully, she entered the fallen building through a hole in the side. She ducked passed sparking wires and shards of metal. Dust wafted into the air with each step she took. She turned when she heard a startled gasp, Bolin was standing near a fallen wall staring down at something, a look of horror on his face. Asami stepped closer and closed her eyes when she saw it. She hoped that the image wouldn't be in her mind, but it was burned into her eyelids. It was a limp hand, undoubtedly attached to a body crushed beneath the fallen wall. Mako stepped next to her, "I guess the rescue team hasn't gotten to this part of the city. I thought this block was fully evacuated." He said his eyes downcast. He paused a moment before speaking again, "Come on, let's keep going." Asami shuffled forward and placed her hand on a low hanging I-beam above her head. Warily she stepped beneath it. A hole that was once a window appeared before her, she strode forward, and jumped through it. She looked around once she landed. She was in the center of a street and right in front of her was Korra. There was a red parachute hanging off of the side of a building a few feet from the crouching Avatar. Mako, Bolin, and Opal jumped out of the window behind her. Bolin gasped when he realized where they were, "I think we will let you guys have some space." His voice was so serious Asami could have sworn Mako made the comment. Unconsciously, Asami walked towards Korra. Once she reached the Avatar she put her hand on her shoulder, "Korra?" The young woman turned and looked at Asami, her eyes puffy and red from crying,
"This is where it happened." She said, "This is where I lost you." Asami looked around. A bloody chunk of metal stuck out from a pile of rubble and a startling large dried pool of crimson lay beneath it. Korra was still staring at Asami, her eyes full of worry, "Asami. I'm sorry." She stood and pulled Asami into a hug, her head nuzzled into Asami's hair, "I love you too. I'm just so afraid that you will get hurt again and I will lose you forever. That I wouldn't be able to bring you back." Asami broke the hug and looked deep into Korra's eyes. She grabbed the water tribe girls face and every so slowly their lips connected. The instant contact was made lightning spread through Asami's body. A shiver ran up her spin. Her chest exploded with warmth. Her lips tingled. The kiss was nothing like how she imagined. It was a thousand times better. The feeling was so indescribable. Korra's soft lips were against her own. She could hardly believe it. Korra raised her hand and intertwined her fingers into Asami's raven locks, deepening the kiss. Asami pulled her closer. It was absolutely perfect. Korra pulled back, their lips separated with an audible smack, both girls were out of breath. A slow blush burned Asami's face,
"I'm not going anywhere." Asami whispered. Korra gently brushed her fingers across her face and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear,
"You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen." She gave Asami a light smile. Asami pulled her into a tight embrace,
"Korra, please never leave me again. I can't live without you."
Korra breathily whispered, "I'm never letting go. I will stay with you forever. I promise to be with you until the end of time. I love you, Asami Sato. Always."