Maybe the word "bothered" didn't fit how things worked for Korra lately. After the little Spirit World trip a few days back, the only word she could find was "complicated" and it did make things complicated for her too.

Thinking, which also qualified as talking to oneself according to Jinora, has become one of her favorite things to do now. The Korra everyone knew three years ago would have been terrified with the amount of emotional transformation the present Korra underwent.

Maybe "terrifying" fits better than "bothered" and "complicated" put together did.

Korra finally sighs heavily and moves out of the hospital bed. She could heal herself. No biggie. But today? She just needed an excuse.

Not an excuse to run away from responsibilities though. The things that kept her busy as soon as she got back from the Spirit World were much needed distractions. This entire situation now was just meant to stall something.

And so the Avatar sighs out of "frustration over her unsettled frustrations" once more. She tries to busy herself with the random portraits on the white walls of her hospital ward. Weird pictures of fishing villages bowing to the waves. Her lips drew into pout and her nose crinkles. Stupid.

She had a lot of words hanging now.

Bothered. Complicated. Terrifying. Excuse. Stupid.

What more was there?

There was a point during the evening of her return to the Material World when she even contemplated paying Zaheer another visit. Crazy idea. But she honestly thinks she was out of balance albeit at a relatively smaller degree.

Now there was another word - crazy.

Korra's palm went straight to her forehead soundly this time. Then the pain immediately shot through her entire arm, reminding her of her recent encounter with firebending looters downtown. She had wanted to reason with them, and, again, because of how "bothered" she seemed to be lately, she overestimated the looters' level of empathy. Thus, the burnt arm.

The over attentive nurse had left about ten minutes ago and Korra couldn't feel any more relieved. She wouldn't admit it but she needed this time alone - this excuse - even for just a few hours to sort her thoughts out and catch her breath. However, Korra looks down at her barbecued arm and nearly scoffed at the irony of her situation.

She wanted to "stall" a certain situation - no, phenomenon - but this very arm reminded her of that situation, of that phenomenon.

And that phenomenon-

-was no other than Asami Sato.

And this is exactly where every word she has thought of so far comes in.

Bothered. Complicated. Terrifying. Excuse. Stupid. Crazy.

She's bothered because she doesn't have the clearest idea of what was going on between the two of them. And yes, the situation was very complicated because of some untouchable wall she seems to hit every time she tries to make sense out of the Sato phenomenon. It's terrifying because she never would have projected her situation with Asami to hit this kind of... disbalance.

Now that she thinks about it, this whole busy with rebuilding Republic City shebang was slowly taking the form of an excuse to not deal with their situation. Maybe her recent liking to airbending was creating some sort of side effect - the "running away" sort of side effect to be specific.

They didn't stay very long in the Spirit World because of everything that awaited them here in Republic City. But during the week they stayed there, Korra could not have felt any happier seeing Asami smile - and the kind of smile she has not seen days after the Colossus was taken down.

Korra remembers each and every time she saw her smile, heard her laugh, even at Iroh's simple jokes. And in each of those moments, the Avatar found herself staring longer than necessary, longer than a friend should.

There was this one instance, Asami was deep into a Pai Sho game with Iroh, Korra stared - stared long enough to drown everything around her out and see and hear Asami and Asami only. It felt like falling into the ocean and falling even deeper into its trenches with the sunlight shooting down at her through the surface above to probably give her a hand. Minutes later then, she didn't take that hand; she let herself drown; she let herself take the water in - suffocate her.

She let herself... fall completely.

Then-

She sneezed.

At that moment Iroh made a comment about Korra probably deliberately sneezing into the board to give Asami the upperhand. And Asami - sweet, sweet Asami - took that moment to offer Korra an amused smile.

HAH. Amused she was, but the Avatar - almighty Avatar Korra - could have choked out of the very air that had just made its way to her lungs. She immediately coughed very awkwardly, eyes everywhere but Iroh or Asami and made an excuse about getting a cold - which was stupid really.

It was then when something hit the Avatar.

It might be crazy-

But Avatar Korra, many times the savior of the world, was beginning to realize that she was falling for Asami Sato.

Korra cringes at the thought - but not because she was disgusted. No, no.

It was because she didn't know how to deal with it, and she still was Korra. And being a confused Korra means that slightest chance that something might get... destroyed?

Like a reflex, her better arm grabs the painting she was supposedly looking at, and just as she was about to throw it halfway across the room - or perhaps even through the hospital wall and out into the city streets, there was a faint knock on her ward door.

Bolin? Opal? Tenzin? Meelo? Ryu?

Anyone. Just not Asa-

'What are you doing?'

And there she was. So calm. So collected. So beautiful. And so out of timing, Korra thought. This girl might have been a Dai Li agent in one of her lifetimes.

Korra froze where she stood, painting still on one hand in throw position, while her burnt arm dangled awkwardly in a much more awkward bandage wrap.

Of course she'd know that voice anywhere and anytime - even when one of her ears went deaf.

'I-'

Korra casually returns the painting on the wall and began stretching as if ready for a dive.

'I was just - you know - trying to find things to keep me in shape.'

Asami laughs lightly as she leaned on the door frame.

'What? One firebender pulls a stunt on you, and you immediately go out of shape?'

'I would like to thank you for you concern, Miss Sato. It is very much appreciated,' Korra said with a hand on her chin like Tenzin would do when he was serious about something.

They both laugh this time, but Asami smiles throughout the silence that followed, much to Korra's discomfort.

'How are you doing?' Asami asked. She had leaned her head on the door frame now.

'Arm? Or me - the Avatar!'

Korra playfully points the thumb of her better hand at herself.

Asami rolled her eyes, still smiling. She finally strides into the ward and past Korra to sit on a visitor couch. Korra takes this as her cue to return to the hospital bed.

'You-' she answers without looking at Korra '-as in Korra.'

Right. Any friend of Korra wouldn't worry about her burning an arm. She was many times in the brink of death, and one arm injury definitely wasn't something to be bothered about.

Despite seeing each other everyday because of Republic City's rehabilitation, they literally just saw each other and haven't had a decent conversation since their trip at the Spirit World.

'I'm okay, I guess.'

Korra took the time to take the image of Asami in while the older girl wasn't looking and hoped somehow that behind their casual conversation was a buried "I miss you".

Because Korra missed her.

A lot.

But because of "complicated", "terrifying" and "stupid", she couldn't say it.

'Hey. Are you alright?'

Korra snapped into her trance and was thankful Asami didn't pester her over looking. Now that she thought about it, this wasn't even the first time she was caught looking. Asami was looking at her now, and she was looking at her in a very familiar manner - one she saw many times in the Spirit World or maybe her head.

The Avatar nodded and smiled. She knew that she wanted to say something, but at the moment, there was nothing and many things to say. Korra fiddled with the tattered blue sleeve on her bandaged arm.

'Is it that bad?' Asami asked with a look of concern now.

'I can actually heal it,' Korra answered, waving a hand too to push any budding worry in the other girl.

Asami playfully raises an eyebrow.

'If I didn't know any better, you had your arm grilled to get me alone.'

Then Korra laughs... a little too loudly, mind silently begging the spirits to have someone barge in. It didn't even matter if it was Zaheer.

Where was Jinora's apparition when you needed it?

Airbender kids? Please?

And like the spirit plane split the air in half, the door burst open, Ikki, Jinora and Meelo spilling into the room and runs to hug - crush - the ever thankful Avatar.

The kids sent a barrage of questions Korra couldn't even answer, but she was just so happy to see them in many ways.

'Don't be too energetic now. Korra's had a long day,' Asami told the kids who responded with different words of affirmation.

Maybe Korra missed one word today. It was terrifying and complicated having Asami around, but the Avatar will always remember feeling the lightest and the heaviest at the same time when it came to her.

Happy.

Just like that, Korra was happy - completely forgetting the tangle of thoughts and words in her head moments ago.

Amidst the chaos of Airbender kids tryin to hog her attention, Korra managed to sneak a look towards Asami, who, at the moment, looked at her and the kids with amusement and perhaps a tinge of adoration.

Korra mouthed a "thank you" at the other woman across the room before Meelo completely took the Avatar's attention by grabbing her jaw.