At the behest of both Korra's, Asami took the time to tie up her affairs at Future Industries for the year. Juggling the lies was becoming both irksome and difficult, and the more time she spent with the Korra who loved her felt like she was letting go of the Korra she was meant to love.

She felt a routine becoming apparent, and for all her time spent in the office, delegating, designing and planning for the newest launches, she kept finding herself distracted by the sheer brilliance that came before ten AM, when she would meet and watch Korra train with the other Jumpers. Korra would show off, excel, and look unequivocally happy both at what she could do, and that Asami was there to share it with. Alas the glee, Asami soon realised was something shared between all Jumper's and their Familiars.

Every time Mako and Bolin landed a particularly complicated trick they'd share the moment with a silent elated look. Even Kuvira and Bataar Jr. had an undeniable bond and synergy. Varrick was always ecstatic when Zhu Li dove off of a plinth in the assault course and remained airborne for thirty full seconds via continuous teleportation, catching herself in the water tank on the opposite side of the room. He was so proud when her lifted her out of the tank to embrace her he forgot his grip on the side and Zhu Li had to jump them back in for safety. Asami couldn't help but smirk when he pumped his fist and continued his mad ecstatic ministrations while the pair were still immersed.

And then after five o'clock, when she could snuggle up to Korra in her apartment, play with her hair and kiss her lips. They were the same person, but in the space of a few hours she had treat them so differently in order to feel accepted. More than once she'd gone to stroke Korra's hair from her eyes as she rested during training and had to stop herself. When she repeated the same motion hours later, Korra encouraged it, rewarding her even with kisses so passionate she had a hard time believing it was at all real.

The time traveller had taken to fixing up the place and meditating. The heiress lent her one of the Satomobiles from her fleet and having dismissed her mansion staff for the holidays Korra had free access to furniture that had been collecting dust in the manor for decades. Asami didn't want to say it, but the apartment was becoming more and more how she imagined a home.

"Go." Korra urged, hands still holding Asami by her hips and taking her bottom lip between hers.

"Mhm?" Asami tried to challenge, but Korra tugged her back into her arms off of her casual leaning position on the door frame. Her hands flew up to Korra's hair, which she would have pawed her fingers through if Korra hadn't tied it into an adorable miniature ponytail.

"I'm serious you're going to be late." Korra nipped playfully at her jaw and Asami bent her neck back.

"You can blame future you for making you wait."

"God I'm such a bitch." Korra retreated, pursing her lips and enjoying Asami's lipstick, holding the nape of her neck as her bravado snapped back.

"And on that note, Happy New Year." Asami smiled, indulging herself as she twirled loose umber strands around her fingers.

"Happy New Year's Eve," Somehow the sentiment sounded hollow coming from Korra then. She would have asked but her phone began to buzz in her pocket. "You leave it any longer and I'll be up here looking for you."

"How could she find me?"

"Take a wild guess."

"I knew you put a tracking beacon in that phone case." Korra smiled wryly at the joke, folding her arms over her chest. "And I'll take whatever you're keeping from me now, when I see you tonight."

"No you won't." Korra said it quietly, usually when she kept spoilers she sounded more playful and yet her gaze remained true, solemn and unyielding on Asami's. Inexplicably that brought the conversation to an end. Asami felt her present tugging her away a buzz at a time from her future. She let Korra pitch up on her toes and kiss her forehead, and while her mind was spinning she let her body lead her out of the building.

She felt the cool sunlight blind her as she walked aimlessly in the direction of the tower. The chill of winter finally found its way into her jacket, and as she hugged herself she realised that every step she was taking now was a complete mistake. She was about to turn back when the undeniable snap of a teleporter-in-training dragged her out of her languor.

"Hey you," before Asami could open her mouth Korra knitted her fingers through hers and jumped them into Varrick's lab.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The pair were suddenly submerged in confetti and streamers, Bolin, Bataar Jr. and surprisingly Mako were armed with confetti cannons and were caught in a game that crossed paintball with party poppers.

Varrick's arms flung more wildly than usual, adamant that no amount of plastic or paper touch the feast he had had prepared. Asami felt out of practice when it came to gatherings, with a lack of family and an entire company in her charge she really wasn't expecting much of a well to do except maybe a movie night with Korra. Her hand flitted away from hers, the Water Tribe girl eagerly sought out a gun of her own before being blasted by a suddenly appearing Kuvira, laughing wildly. The glove in Asami's purse weighed heavy, and for a moment as she watched she strongly considered using it.

Emerald eyes took in her surroundings, she felt like a sad stranger as she watched, her mind kept going back to Korra alone in her apartment. How long could she go before retreating to her arms for the next year?

And then she spotted something, a vestal, bright white flicker in the corner of her eye. She blinked and it shifted, ghostly and becoming more solid with each passing moment. The Spirit slowly caught the attention of everyone in the room, Asami found Korra, looking contrite as she stared at the creature like it was everything she ever wanted. The same expression marred Kuvira, Mako, Bolin and Zhu Li.

"What's going on?"

"Jumper's get ready!" Varrick abandoned the buffet and leapt for a trunk under the table of closed laptops. With great effort the Jumper's turned their faces away and rifled through the kit Varrick was handing to each of them. Kuvira led Korra and placed glasses over her blue eyes, Asami hugged herself as she measured the skin that the older woman traced over Korra's.

"Communication is key." she explained with a smile.

"Asami don't just stand there come and set up a computer!" Bataar Jr. took Asami by her elbow and led her to the bank. One screen per Jumper, their glasses had wireless cameras in them and Korra's and Kuvira's screens were filled with each other. One by one they returned their attention to the Spirit.

"Wait Korra." Asami all but dived after her. She fumbled and produced the electrified glove from her bag and pulled it on her best friends hand. "This should just knock people out…be careful." Korra hugged her, bringing her lips level with her ear.

"You too." Asami laughed.

Kuvira was reaching towards the light, reading what was beyond it with the skin of her fingers.

"Hostage situation." she read aloud, "Forty hostages. Belfrey Hotel. Incendiaries present…A bomb."

"This is madness." Asami breathed, but Korra was already walking towards the spirit.

"It's the job." She shot back.

"Korra you're new. If you feel afraid I want you to just get out of here. The boys and I can handle it."

"And let you have all the fun no way."

"Suit yourself Cupcake."

And like that they were swallowed.

Asami ran back to the bank; all five screens were filled with a colour scheme of red and gold. Tinsel tinged the seams, snow littered the windows. Kuvira and Bolin had already identified the major perpetrator, livid and screaming at the room of shaking and softly sobbing politicians to whom he had sworn certain freeing death. A madman to his left was wielding a flamethrower over heads, and a woman beside him balanced a sniper rifle on her shoulder. From the edges of the room, the corners and curtains the Jumpers seeped out. Korra spied Mako, silently signalling at her to reach out to a hostage and grab them.

Korra's attention was fixed however, a target the size of an apple in the leader's hand, red, small, flashing, his thumb on the trigger. She looked at Mako, who was now frantically shaking his head.

"Kuvira the bomb is remote activated, its in range of him by up to forty metres."

"I can't see it!"

"It has to be above or below."

"Don't do it Korra." Asami warned, even without looking at her she could feel that spike of stupid adrenaline and vertigo. She sprinted and vaulted off of a table, teleporting above him, legs high in the air, before anyone knew what was happening she extended an arm down and whipped the controller from the leader's fist.

Zhu Li was in the rafters, looking down she plucked the needle from a smoke grenade and plonked it into the crowd.

Words gave way to calamitous screaming. Bolin and Zhu Li took out the assailants with weapons ripping them from the ground and teleporting them into the hotel pool. The last man sprinted back, into a stairwell which Kuvira followed after. Her screen became dark as the decor faded into plain sparse walls and service halls. She leapt after the leader just as he hit a heating room and in its a centre a crate loaded with C-4, wires and tubes.

"It's too late the countdown has already started!"

"Deactivate the bomb Kuvira, you're the only one who can! Everyone else evacuate as many hostages as possible."

"How long do we have?"

"A minute." The screens lit up with red and gold and green, ethereal and blinding. Asami's heart was in her throat, she clutched her hands over her throat.

"Deactivate it Kuvira!" Bataar shouted holding her screen.

"I'm a little busy at the moment!" engaged in hand to hand combat with the leader. They were equally matched, Kuvira with skill, the leader with both a cool head and superior body weight.

Korra's screen was shaking, she had followed Kuvira and as she slammed into the door her glasses had lost connection.

"Korra can you hear me?"

There came a flash of mocha and bright electric blue across Kuvira's screen. A grunt. A crack and Kuvira's glasses too went blank.

"Get out of there!"

"How long ago was a minute?"

"Forty seconds ago."

Zhu Li, Mako and Bolin appeared in the lab, wounded civilians on each shoulder.

"Civilians evacuated Varrick." She announced as he ran over to them with the med kit.

"Where are the girls?" He enquired, receiving nothing but blank looks from the remaining Jumpers.

Asami counted softly in her head. 3, 2, 1. She felt a dip in her stomach. The worst had happened. She was sure of it. She dropped the breath she'd been holding, and felt an emptiness spill over her mind.

How could any of this have happened? Had she been kissing a ghost?

She took a step and stumbled. Closing her eyes as her knees hit the ground. Bolin caught her shoulders with his strong hands.

She shifted, the entire room did, all light and gazes seemed trained on the two women entangled on the crash mats at the centre. Kuvira had her hands either side of Korra's head. Korra had her ungloved hand gracing the hair at the nape of her neck. Their lips were touching just as Asami's world imploded. She was meters away, but as they parted and Kuvira smiled impishly at the Water Tribe woman, Asami could hear her mic feed picking up again.

"Happy New Year Cupcake."

"You too."

Asami free'd herself from Bolin's grip and collected herself, yanking up her jaw and devastation and slinging it delicately over her shoulder. Bearing down on her sobs she took up a med kit, and started mopping a cut on Bolin's forehead.

"You okay Asami?" She blinked, not expecting him to begin talking, or knowing how she felt about it. She swallowed and her lips formed the perfect lie.

"Peachy."

She felt the rush of a thousand heartbreaks in just two minutes, but it took Varrick just thirty seconds to start cracking open champagne and firing confetti in the wake of the bewildered disorientated trauma victims. His energy was contagious, and after medical treatment was applied they were offered a choice of a free jump home or to join the party.

Korra's hand felt like a branding iron on her skin, Asami felt the urge to grab her and reclaim her property but the mirth on Korra's face was too precious to ruin. Her lop sided grin was too perfect for words, so she waited for her to speak.

"So I guess we're both in relationships now." Asami flinched, feeling the familiar awful mantra filling her brain. "You didn't think I'd notice all the times your make up was mussed up." Korra teased, poking her playfully in her ribs. Asami didn't know what to say. "It's okay you can tell me when you're ready. Kuvira she's-" That was it Asami couldn't take any more. She snatched at her hand and immediately regretted it. She had no words. She could never bring herself to initiate anything with Korra. Even now it just seemed so confusing.

"You were great. In there."

"Better than a movie?"

"Scarier." Asami admitted.

"This was really good. Thank you." Korra pulled the glove she had tucked into her pocket and made a move to give it back. The glove that had saved Kuvira. That had saved Korra.

"You keep it. I can make more." She allowed herself a hug, tugging tight, burying her face in Korra's shirt. "I'm glad you're okay and all but I kind of want to go home." Korra leaned back.

"But you'll miss the countdown."

"No I won't." Asami gave her a meaningful look, hoping it would disguise her panic and dread that the person she wanted to kiss at midnight might either be taken or missing. Korra's lips went slack and then she smirked at her.

Korra dropped her at the harbour, Asami gave her a fierce hug.

"I'll see you next year." she joked, stepping back and collecting herself, hating every second that passed by where she had to act normal.

"Not if I see you first." Korra winked and disappeared.

Asami sprinted back to her apartment, the elevator wasn't quick enough, she ran until she was breathless. She had to know. She had to assure herself this emptiness wasn't permanent. That Korra was hers.

She was also gone. The mattress covered by mussed up sheets, dirty plate still on the counter top. Melted candles on the coffee table cold.

"Korra?" she dropped her bag, and felt her feet as heavy as lead as she aimed her stride towards the bathroom. She thought maybe she saw steam, but there were a lot of things she had seen today that any normal person would consider fake. She struggled with the doorknob, twisting and pulling frantically until it was yanked open from the other side. Korra in her robe, bra and boyshorts, towelling her short hair. Blue eyes soft and swimming. She didn't say a word, slinging the towel over her shoulder she put her strong arms around Asami.

"I'm sorry." she murmured.

"Shut up." Asami took her nose out of Korra's glowing soft skin, and aimed her lips over hers, "just shut up." she reiterated, tangling her fingers in her locks with one hand, and the other slipping off her jacket. The heiress threw her arms behind Korra's neck and led her to the mattress, pushing her down and straddling her.

"Asami-" every noise of protest was met with a fiercer kiss. Soon all Korra could manage were soft moans of pleasure. She'd hated waiting just as much as Asami did, and as the raven haired beauty slipped her robe off of her shoulders she soon felt her cautious mind shrinking in leu of a lustful one. Before either of them realised it, it was midnight, and the penthouse, at first dark, filled with the reflections of the fireworks over the harbour. Blue and pink and purple filled the room and dyed their skin tones. Dark and light came together, and Asami felt like this was the most erotic moment of her life as Korra finally undressed her.

She was glad to wake with an arm warming her thigh. She felt a flicker of dread spike her chest as she remembered Korra's rules, and her promise, and a secondary wave of guilt, knowing that there was absolutely now way she could regret what happened that morning. Korra wasn't lying about how long they had been dating, she knew Asami's body better than her own, her instincts were spot on and Asami was hard pressed to remember a moment where her eyes weren't rolling into her head, or moans were being teased past her lips.

"You awake?" Korra didn't relinquish her soft ministrations on Asami's thigh, but her free hand pushed raven locks from alabaster skin on her shoulder to kiss it.

"I'm not sorry."

"You shouldn't be. You're an engineer."

"What?" Asami turned to question her, only her words were swallowed by Korra's mouth. She placed her hands on the mattress on either side of her shoulders. Looking down on her, Asami held her face in her hands and couldn't help the sweet smile that graced her lips when she looked at her that way. Korra felt a tear peal down her cheek, but made no move to wipe it away.

"Your future is your own to engineer. Don't let anyone tell you you don't deserve what you want. Not even me." Her thumb was stroking strips over Asami's lower lip while she spoke, not content to not be touching them at all times. "I've always admired how you handle everything so perfectly. Asami." Asami didn't have to think of anything to say back to that, Korra lapped up her lips in a long daring kiss, pulling their bodies together and the sheet that during the night had separated their skin.

When Korra let her breathe and took to tasting her throat, Asami pursed her lips and found her words.

"I was considering this a beta test so technically I didn't completely ruin our first time."

Korra snickered against her skin. She admired how the sun rise, once or twice considered an intrusion on their hard earned sleep beamed through the penthouse windows and made Asami's skin sing. She had to taste every inch her tongue could reach before she let her leave the bed.

It was a lazy morning after that. Asami pulled on a robe and underwear and started preparing scraps that were left of the fridge. Their take outs had been habit forming.

"I don't think we have enough for one, let alone one of me and whatever it is you are." Asami joked.

"I'll go get us buns and coffee." She looked up from the food to see Korra, already in a t-shirt and jeans. "No teleporting I swear." She kissed the edge of her mouth before she could turn into it.

Korra was at the door grinning, whipping up her keys and jacket. A red circle fell out its pocket and Asami picked it up.

"Why do you have a yo-yo?"

"Spoilers." Korra chimed back before closing the door. Asami smiled after her, welcoming back Korra's playful tone and playing with the string in her left hand. She caught herself slipping it around her ring finger and blushing for no one.

She'd showered, she'd dressed and before she realised what she was waiting for she realised she was picking at the food Korra had gone to replace over an hour ago. Thinking she must be on her way up, she walked into the corridor. When she didn't come she walked down the stairs with an eager eye out the building length window. Stairs became a reception the reception the street. She cleared the six blocks it took to get to Kwong's in ten minutes without a sign of her. Heart in her throat she entered the store. Kwong was worrying away behind the counter of a dead shop. His tense shoulders and mumbling under his breath made Asami's heart seize.

"Sir?" she enquired and he looked up with eyes wide.

"You're her friend?" Asami swallowed, he indicated to the cups on the counter. Forever Girl was facing Asami, and faint lipstick touched the rim of Korra's cup. It was a bad habit, Korra never liked to wipe the marks Asami gifted her with.

"I swear I didn't do anything! She- handed me the money and then she put them down to check something in her hand see and she-she just disappeared…with a scream."