Despite the fact that summer was coming to an abrupt end, the sun shone as bright as it could. Autumn had yet to get its chance to break through, so it was only natural for people to take advantage of the nice and hot weather, visiting the beach one final time before school and work invaded into their personal life again.
This was also the case for Korra and her group of friends. She and Asami had invited Mako and Bolin to spend one final day at their favorite spot in the sand, close to the salty seawater they could easily reach when they wanted to cool off.
It wasn't difficult to persuade the two brothers. Bolin was easy-going and very social, happily taking any opportunity he had to spend his day with his friends. Mako, on the other hand, was very level headed. Even though he wasn't as social as Bolin, he did enjoy accompanying his friends whenever he could so he could show his support, because that was just the way he was. Supportive.
He could also give very mean glares to passerby's if they even dared to look at Korra and Asami in the wrong way.
While the four of them were really close, Korra and Asami were even closer. They had started high school as a small group of friends, but at the start of summer two years later, the girls had grown so accustomed to each other that they had started dating. Both had a unique story as to how their feelings came to fruit, but all that mattered now was how happy they were together and that didn't seem to change any time soon.
Bolin never shut up about it. He thought it was really adorable for them to be girlfriends, and more often than not claimed he had always known.
"I can't help it!" the young man exclaimed as Korra glared at him once he started that conversation again. He shifted on his towel as he gestured towards the two young women. "I mean, just look at you both! Asami is so smart she shouldn't even be in high school anymore, and Korra, you're a star athlete!"
His bright, green eyes shifted between the two as he spoke. "You're both so different, but you became besties so quickly. That's like the best way to become a couple, you know!"
The brunette scoffed. "You've been reading too much fanfiction lately," she quipped, playfully looking over to the boy as he muttered something.
"It's fun to read, okay? Much better than real books nowadays."
Mako shook his head and chuckled. Korra and Asami joined in with him.
"Besides, I don't have much time during the school year, so I had to! Once school starts again, it'll only take up all my free time…" Bolin added dramatically.
Korra looked down at the sand and started playing with it, grabbing a handful of it and slowly letting it fall back into place. "Yeah, I know what you mean," she said. "It's gonna be a punch to the gut this year, too. We're graduating soon, guys."
She didn't know if she was ready for that. High school felt like a safe space, simply because that had been her routine for the past two years. She had no idea as to what she could expect after this entire year, but it was bound to be completely different.
Mako sent her a reassuring glance and smiled. Asami took hold of Korra's hand and squeezed slightly. "Yes, but we'll be fine," she responded, causing the brunette to look up. Light green met cyan. "We'll still have each other, even after graduation."
The two brothers both gave their own form of agreement, causing Korra to smile at the three of them. She was blessed with her friends, she knew that much. "You all saying you ain't scared, huh?" she joked.
Mako coughed softly and looked away. The sky, although clear, was suddenly very interesting to look at.
Bolin choked. "Well, I-I mean – a little?" he said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
Asami simply giggled. "There's nothing scary about growing up," she said.
Korra grinned. "Easy for you to say, valedictorian-in-the-making."
A small blush formed on Asami's cheeks as she, too, began to stutter a few words in embarrassment.
The brunette laughed and stood up, dusting off her legs as she did so. Sitting on a towel wasn't exactly a fool-proof thing if you were surrounded by sand and sometimes it did start to itch. "I'm gonna go grab a wave," she explained.
The group nodded and wished her a good time, while they resumed their chatter on land, not really feeling the need to go in the water as well. Korra left them behind as she darted over to her surfboard and grabbed it to dive into the sea.
The first two waves she got were small and a quick warm-up, though it didn't exactly go well with her footwork. She cursed several times under her breath as she lost her balance, falling straight back into the water before she got out safely.
Korra wouldn't be Korra, however, if she kept trying. It usually paid off, and luckily for her, this time was no different.
A few more waves and she was back in business. The brunette enjoyed the action, feeling it was a welcoming change to the slow pace of their little chit-chat on the beach. She enjoyed it, mind you, but she was also a big fan of the adrenaline that was accompanied with sports. It was one of the main reasons why she liked working out so much.
Korra let herself fall back into the water to cool off a bit, sensing the sun's furious attempt to dry her up as quick as it could. The brunette smiled as she resurfaced and placed her arms on the board, taking a minute to sit back and relax in the small waves that came her way. It was really soothing.
She even deliberately closed her eyes for a few seconds.
That was the one mistake she made.
Korra was so distracted by the relaxing motion, that she didn't notice the water pulling back for just a bit. Once she did, however, it was already too late.
Noticing a much bigger wave suddenly targeting her, she quickly opened her cyan eyes to look into its direction. She had no time to move and couldn't stop her body from being dragged along. There was much more force behind this wave than she had ever felt before, so it caught her off-guard.
Korra didn't yelp. She made no noise other than a small gasp as her head disappeared under water. The next few seconds went by very slowly for the girl, and yet the impact that she felt once her body hit something went by in a flash. A cough was forced out of her as she could feel her neck taking the brunt of it all, but all Korra could hear was the sickening snap shortly after.
She didn't know what she had crashed into, though she could guess that it was probably a sandbar. The brunette had smashed into them before, but never as intense as this.
Once the initial shock was over, Korra tried to move to confirm her suspicions and to get back on land. She didn't feel like surfing anymore, preferring to get back to her friends and just forget about the crash.
But she couldn't. Korra tried her hardest to move her arms, even just trying out her thumb and pinky. To her horror she found herself unable to.
A million thoughts quickly invaded her mind, including a lot of questions about what was going on. What was that snap? Did it have something to do with her current state? Should she call for help?
Korra didn't know for how long she had been floating in the water like she did, restless and yet probably looking very peaceful. Did she? The brunette had no idea.
It was Asami who eventually came up to her and dragged her out, asking her several times if she was okay. It sent Korra into a panic even further, unable to answer the question right away.
Once they were on land and Asami asked if she was alright again, the brunette finally snapped back into reality. "I can't move," she whispered, barely audible. Korra heard her own tone and grimaced. It was weak, and it definitely sounded a lot more broken than she wanted to let on.
Noticing that Asami moved closer, a worried expression evident on her face, she tried again. Her girlfriend didn't even need to say she hadn't heard Korra. "I can't move!" the brunette repeated, this time half yelling.
She barely recognized Mako and Bolin as they joined them, her vision blurring as panicked tears started to form in her eyes. "I can't move my arms – and my… And my legs! I don't know what's going on!" Korra continued.
The brothers shared a look before one of them headed back to grab his cellphone. They all knew this wasn't good, although Korra didn't like admitting that.
"What happened?" one of the two boys asked. The brunette wasn't sure which. She didn't take the time to look at him and she couldn't recognize his voice. By the tone that was used she figured it was Mako.
Korra gulped. "I closed my eyes for a sec and was caught off-guard by a big wave. It slammed me into something… I-I think it was a sandbar, but I'm not sure," she explained, calming down a bit as she was distracted by her own talking. It wasn't enough to calm her down entirely, however. Her voice shook and before Korra knew it, tears finally started to spill over and run down her cheeks.
She hated crying. Especially in front of her friends.
"Are you hurt? Where does it hurt?" Asami's voice came. She saw the raven-haired girl looming over her, checking everywhere for injuries.
But that was the thing. Korra didn't feel anything. "I don't know," she snapped. "I can't – I just don't know!"
Asami and Mako tried to calm her down and comfort her, sometimes asking a question about her wellbeing and if she needed anything. Bolin joined them eventually as they waited for the paramedics to arrive. They couldn't calm down Korra completely, especially not when a trauma helicopter arrived to carry her away.
The brunette didn't want to be left alone and her raven-haired girlfriend was allowed to travel with the helicopter to their new destination. Mako and Bolin joined them at the hospital, feeling slightly underdressed in their swimsuits and shirts. Asami didn't fare any better, but she didn't dare to leave and get changed. Korra needed her, even if she couldn't reach the young woman as they examined the injuries.
While the three of them waited for any news to come, Asami called Korra's parents to inform them about the accident. Roughly half an hour later they arrived at the scene. Tonraq and Senna both looked worse for wear and gave the three of them a big hug. Asami wasn't sure if that was because they felt like she, Mako and Bolin needed it or because they needed it themselves.
The wait was long. The raven-haired girl was going crazy if the silence kept going on, but no one dared to say anything. It was as if the tension in the room was made of extremely thin glass and just one word would fracture it into a million tiny pieces. Those hours were the most agonizing ones of Asami's short life.
She couldn't imagine how it must've felt for her girlfriend.
After what seemed like an eternity for all of them, a doctor finally exited the room and noticed all of them. He made his way over with a solemn expression, and that dampened the mood even further.
"Doc," Tonraq addressed, his eyes in disbelief as he stared the man down. "Please tell me she is all right." It didn't sound like a plea. It was more like an order.
The doctor eyed Korra's father for a brief moment. "He's family," Asami quickly interjected. "Her father."
That was more than enough information that he needed. "I'm sorry," he said evenly. Asami could hear Senna gasp sharply to her right. "The damage that has been done to her body is extremely severe. I fear there's nothing we can do to fix it completely."
Tonraq's eyes hardened. The corners of his mouth drooped down and his eyebrows almost covered his eyes. "No!" he immediately shouted in anger. "There has to be something you can do!"
Senna grabbed her husband by the arm, trying to hold him back. Asami feared that if the woman hadn't, he would've punched the doctor right in between his eyes.
The man shook his head solemnly. "Physical therapy, at most," he spoke.
Mako finally opened his mouth as well. "What's wrong with her?" he asked, voice full of concern. Bolin joined him, his tone and facial expression much like his brother's. "Yeah, is she going to be fine? Can we do anything to help?"
The doctor turned his attention to the two boys. "I'm…" he started. He stopped and sighed, recollecting his thoughts as he began anew. "Your friend has suffered a severe trauma. She broke her neck and damaged her spinal cord at the C4 vertebrae," the man explained shortly.
Asami and Mako raised an eyebrow. "Meaning…?" the young woman drawled.
The doctor took in a deep breath. "She's paralyzed. From the shoulders down," he breathed. "I'm sorry, but other than physical therapy, there's nothing we can do… It's incurable."
He looked genuinely sorry. Asami saw it in his eyes. In that moment she realized that the man wasn't very uncaring towards them because it didn't bother him. It did bother him, and he was trying to push those feelings deep down. Being a doctor must be really hard on him.
Senna was the first to break the unsettling silence that drew over them. Their expressions varied in shock, but they were all shocked to hear it nonetheless. Korra's mother broke down in tears first and while Tonraq took her in his arms to try and comfort her, he too shed a few tears that were seen by the others.
Asami bit her lower lip in disbelieve and felt the tears in her eyes well up too. Mako and Bolin each took a spot next to the raven-haired girl, the former placing a hand on her shoulder to squeeze it softly. The younger of the brothers grabbed hold of her hand.
She didn't smile at them like she normally would, instead her focus on the doctor that had given them the devastating news. "… Does she know?" Asami finally spoke, the first thing she said ever since the doctor had summarized the situation.
The girl hated the way her voice sounded, so fragile and broken. Asami didn't know if the nod he gave her was reassuring or made it worse. A small lump in her throat had formed and stubbornly remained there, no matter how many times she tried to swallow it away.
"I know you all want so see her right now, but I'm afraid I can only let two of you go to her. We don't want to stress her, especially in her current situation," the doctor spoke again.
A look was shared between the others. Mako and Bolin took a step back, releasing Asami while they did. "We'll come back when she can handle more visitors," the older of the two said. His younger brother nodded. "Yeah, you guys should go. Please tell us how she's doing, okay?"
Tonraq thanked the two and waved them off, while Asami held Senna in her arms in his stead. She was lost in thought until he touched her shoulder caringly. "You and Senna should go. She'd appreciate you two taking care of her," he said.
Asami gave him a look of confusion. "But sir," she started, though he held up his hand to stop her. She did. "Please, Asami," he responded. A small break in his voice. He tried to hide it, but the raven-haired girl could easily detect it.
She understood. He was Korra's father, but she was Korra's girlfriend. They both had a great impact on her life, even if it was different for the both of them. She nodded, but felt guilty nevertheless. Asami figured she should pay him back somehow.
"Thank you," the girl said to Tonraq. He offered her a small smile and took a seat on one of the lonesome chairs in the hallway. His eyes never left the two women as they were guided inside Korra's room, until he could no longer see them.
A/N: Hey all! Mod Cecille here. Last weekend I wrote this commission for someone and they said I could upload it anywhere I want, so... Here's what you could get if you commissioned me! More info can be found on my tumblr.
I chopped it in half because it would've been a lengthy chapter otherwise. Part two will be uploaded on saturday, so be sure to look forward to it if you enjoyed this first chapter! This is the first time I explored this type of angst and I have to say it was rather fun.
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