Asami was devastated when Beifong said that Amon had taken Korra. Of course she was glad that she was out of prison and she could see Mako again, but the sense of liberty seemed entirely too trivial compared to the worry that Asami held. What if the Avatar's bending was taken away and Korra never regained her confidence and strength? She knew that was Korra's nightmare. As such, Asami put all her efforts into helping with the search, noticing Mako be the most fervent. Yeah, naturally, everyone was concerned, but Mako appeared to be going beyond protect-the-Avatar distress and into I-need-to-save-my-beloved anxiety. Like, Asami thought her feelings for Korra were different as well, but it still hurt for her to see her boyfriend get so riled up about another girl.
Bolin basically confirmed her suspicions when she talked with him while searching the Equalists' series of tunnels. He wouldn't have acted all flustered if his brother didn't like Korra as more than just a friend, and even more so upon revealing that the two had previously kissed. He said it didn't mean anything, but…
It wouldn't have happened otherwise. Then where does that leave Korra and I? I don't know about her but that kiss we had did have a meaning…
She tried to get the matter out of her head and focus on the mission at hand. When they reached the end of the tunnel and Beifong said she couldn't see Korra, Asami felt the disappointment weigh heavily on her shoulders, overcoming her when it was discovered that Tarrlok was actually at fault for the kidnapping. That deceitful asshole! He was making everything so much worse, he was too blind to realize how wrongly he was acting; Asami's disdain for the councilman didn't account for the power of his blood bending, however, and she cursed herself when she woke up to everyone on the floor, Tarrlok gone after their encounter. The group immediately set out in an attempt to follow the water bender's trail.
After a long while of searching, a howl suddenly echoed. "That must be Naga!" Mako called out. The team had been riding Oogi to scour Republic City and its surroundings for signs of Tarrlok or Korra, and began descending to the ground in the direction that the wail had come from. Mako noticed a large, white figure and pointed it out so that they could land. Sure enough, it was Naga, who carried a battered Avatar on her back.
Mako pushed past Beifong and Tenzin, and lifted Korra into his arms. He spoke soothingly as he carried her over to Oogi and laid her down. Asami bit her lip, staring dejectedly at the pair. Mako wasn't being fair—he had no regard for Asami's feelings, and it wasn't as if he was the only one there that missed Korra. Asami longed to be the one to comfort the weakened woman, but she let the other two benders have their space. At least Korra was safe, so Asami could deal with her thoughts later.
But even since they had all arrived back at Air Temple Island, Asami continued to notice Mako act over-protective and clingy of Korra—watching her while she slept, waiting on her hand and foot… She wanted to say something, to either Korra or Mako, but she kept her distance from the two. She only observed them, observed how Mako barely took his eyes off of the darker woman while she ate with everyone at the table. And how he was sitting so close to Korra.
That should be me. Korra needs the comfort of a girl friend to relax. Girl. Friend. Which again tells me that Mako needs to consider his actual girlfriend, Asami reflected. She rose from her spot and offered to help Pema with the dishes.
"Hey, Korra needs hot water for tea. Could I get some?" Mako pressed through the curtain at the kitchen entrance and approached the women at the sink.
Asami didn't look up from the plate she was wiping. "So I'm guessing bending a little fire to do it yourself would be too much trouble? Or better, let Korra do it herself," she scoffed. Mako was silent and Pema shifted her eyes between the two. The tension was almost palpable.
"Er, I'm just gonna head back to everybody… You know, the baby, um, wants me to sit," she mumbled before shuffling out of the room.
Mako's gaze followed the older woman before snapping back to his girlfriend. "Something going on with you?"
"You're really attached to Korra, huh? Being so distraught when she was missing, staying so close to her…"
"Well of course I was worried, she was abducted and—"
"You have feelings for her."
Mako was taken aback. "What! No, that's…"
"And I know about the kiss." Asami put the plate down and turned towards Mako. "Really, Mako, you think it's okay to go and kiss other people while you're dating someone else?"
"She was the one who kissed me!"
"But you returned it, didn't you? I mean, I know that Korra can be impulsive and when she does something like that she can be hard to reject, because when you covet her for that long and all of a sudden you get the chance to realize that it feels really good to kiss her…" Asami's voice trailed off. Mako crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.
"…So you seem to know the particulars. What can I say about you, then? You apparently get along well with Korra, too."
The industrialist grit her teeth. "She needs a friend, a girl she can talk to." She pushed past Mako to the kitchen's exit. "We can talk about our relationship problems later. …Don't forget the hot water, Mako."
Mako simply stood there and watched Asami leave. What's going on with Asami? Did gaining bending do something to her…? He filled the teapot he brought in with water and boiled it with his fire. Asami didn't look at him when he returned to the others, but he noticed her sending glances Korra's way. Things were indeed…complicated.
Asami stared at Korra, who was reclining against Naga. After all the recent trouble with the Equalists, Team Avatar had been forced to take refuge away from the eyes of Amon in an underground camp. Republic City and Air Temple Island were now Equalist domains, and even Tenzin's family had to flee. Asami worried about her father's support for the radical group, yet she could not help but focus on the issue existing between her, Mako, and Korra.
"Hey, Korra. You can't sleep?" The taller woman approached the water bender and sat down against Naga next to her.
"Oh, Asami. I just… This whole thing is so crazy. It's hard to imagine how I'm basically in the middle of a war now when a few months ago I was minding my own business in the South Pole."
"You've come a long way. And look at us—we've haven't known each other for too long but it's already as if…" Asami's words faded and she turned her gaze to the ground.
"Yeah, I think I get what you're saying." Korra studied the woman's face to see if she could decipher her thoughts.
"So when you kissed me that one time it was…?"
A blush flared onto Korra's cheeks and her body tensed. "Th-that was…! Er, well, you just got really close to me and I got caught up in things, you know…" She took a deep breath. "I was…confused. Because, um, I do like you Asami, and I just wasn't sure if—"
"Look, Korra," Asami cut in. Korra grew quiet, red still tinting her face. "I didn't say enough then… But I like you. I have these feelings for you that I want for you to be clear on." The paler woman brushed a strand of hair from Korra's face and rested a hand lightly on her cheek. Korra got lost in the feel of Asami's hand, the radiance of her lime-colored eyes, the roundness of her lips… She knew Asami's face was drawing closer, and she began to do the same, heart palpitating.
"You two are—!"
Asami and Korra both snapped their heads around to see Mako standing before them, his jaw clenched and eyes wide with shock. Korra jumped to her feet. "M-Mako! Heyy, uh… What are you doing?"
"I was up so I came to check on you," Mako answered, taking a step towards Korra while Asami slowly rose. "But then I see this…" He glared at the other woman, his voice steadily increasing in volume. "So that's what it was, Asami? The reason you were so aggressive in Tenzin's kitchen—because you were getting jealous of me and not Korra? I guess everything between you and I means nothing then."
"No, Mako, I'm dating you because I truly do like you. My heart actually fluttered in excitement when we first met," Asami asserted.
"What, because you were so thrilled to meet someone that knew the Avatar so your heart could instead flutter upon meeting her through me?"
"Mako!" Korra interrupted the exchange between the pair. "Look, I know this is weird and everything, especially since I did say that, um, you and I were meant for each other, but… I've had this growing connection with Asami and I've just come to be really attracted to her. Trust me, Mako, I still like you a lot, but when I kissed Asami my mind just…"
"Wait. When you kissed Asami?" Mako's outburst caused the two women to glance at each other uneasily. "This has been going on already and I didn't know!"
"Mako, please…" Asami spoke, attempting to reason with the guy.
"Oh, you think it's okay to kiss other people when you're dating someone? Remember those words Asami?" The heiress remained silent, and when Mako looked at Korra she did not say anything, either. "Sounds pretty damn hypocritical, right? …Forget this," he muttered, pivoting on his foot to stalk away from Asami and Korra. The latter made a move to follow Mako, but she felt Asami grab her wrist. She turned back, tears threatening to form from her eyes.
"Leave him be, Korra."
"Asami…" She felt tears run down her cheeks, and she buried her face into Asami's shoulder. The black-haired woman wrapped an arm around Korra and guided them to sit back down against Naga, whose eyes were cracked open and ears vaguely reacting to their conversation. "Heh, I'm not good with this whole 'feelings' thing."
"Just don't worry about it for now. I can wait for you to process all this."
Korra stared up at Asami, her arctic blue eyes tinged with angst. "I don't want to keep hurting you guys. I like both of you."
"Let's try to get some sleep, okay?" Asami said, soothingly running her fingers up and down Korra's arm. She twisted her neck down to give Korra a quick peck to her forehead; Korra reflexively broke from Asami's hold on her. The engineer stood up. "Sorry. …Good night, Korra."
"Good night." Korra followed Asami's departing figure with a yearning gaze. She then closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep amidst the emotional trouble that befell her heart.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
As expected, Mako barely said a word to either Asami or Korra the next morning. Bolin found it strange that his brother was all of a sudden ignoring his girlfriend AND the other girl he had a crush on, but he shrugged it off. Contributed it to concentration and nerves on the fight that was about to go down between the Equalists and General Iroh's fleet.
Which ended up not going so well for the United Forces. Korra saved Iroh, and the general regrouped with the team in the underground camp. They sent a message out to the reinforcements under Commander Bumi. The group then stood around a map of the area in order to devise a plan of action.
"Alright. We need to find a way to take down those aircraft. Since they flew in from over here," Iroh pointed to a spot on the map and traced a path with his finger. "Their base must be somewhere over this mountain range. We'll leave at dawn to strike."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and began to go their separate ways to prepare for their attack the next day. "Wait," Korra called out. The others turned their attention towards her. "…I'm gonna go after Amon."
Amidst the gasps, Iroh stepped forward. "That's probably not a good idea, for multiple reasons."
"No! I'm not going to let Amon just hunt me down. It's time for me to end this."
"…And I'm going with you." Korra raised her eyebrows when she heard Mako speak up. She didn't think he would so readily support her after the whole Asami incident the last night, but she was certainly grateful for him.
Iroh rubbed his chin. "Hm… Fine. I'll trust the Avatar's instinct."
Mako waited until the general walked away with Bolin to say something again. He angled himself towards Asami but kept close to Korra, wordlessly inviting her to stay for the conversation. "Right, so… I'm not exactly sorry about how I acted last night, though I know I was rough. But I need to do this."
"No, I get it," Asami said. "And I'm behind you accompanying Korra to confront Amon."
"You are?" Korra interjected.
"…Yes. You can't go alone, and I need to take down my father."
Mako cast the heiress a small smile and left the two women by themselves. Korra took a step towards Asami, looking up at her with pained eyes. "I feel horrible for messing things up between you two…"
Asami laid a hand on Korra's shoulder. "Please, like I said before, don't stress over it. You have much bigger problems to worry about." Her grip tightened and she averted her gaze. "It'll be okay." She dropped her hand, fingers passing down Korra's arm and over her waist. With a last glance at the shorter woman, she went to join the others.
But of course Korra would stress over it. These weren't feelings she could just whisk away, even with the looming encounter with Amon. It's probably best to let this play out and deal with it afterwards, but… No matter how much of a threat Amon is, Mako and Asami are still two of the most important people to me right now. I need to get my shit together. Korra steadily let her thoughts tame, looking even less forward to fighting Amon.
Hope y'all enjoyed this! I know it mostly picked up just after the beginning scenes, but you know major stuff's gonna go down in the next part :)