Stay Close To Me
-
"Look, Korra, I'm really sorry… but I promised Asami that she and I would go out for dinner tonight – "
"But this kid is driving me crazy! Besides, I have to train with Tarlok's task force later tonight! How in the seven hells am I going to do that without you here to watch her?"
A loud sigh was heard over the phone on Korra's end. Mako was being absolutely infuriating. Didn't he know that she didn't have time for this? Rushing from one place to another with a baby in tow was not going to work for her! She was the Avatar. That had to count for something, right? "Fine, Mako! If you're going to be like that… then just forget it!" A second later, she was slamming the phone back down onto its cradle. No need to continue a conversation that would only end up making her frustrated.
Besides, Korra knew he was right when he said he needed a break.
Mako had been the main contributor up until now – three weeks after they'd been given Fiera – and she knew that he deserved a little time off. It was time for her to grab the reins and take care of her… their kid (no matter how weird that sounded).
Right on cue, a squeal of happiness sounded from the doorway. Korra turned to see Ikki holding Fiera in her arms, being gentler and less rambunctious than usual, although there was still a huge grin on her face. "Fiera says she's hungry!" Ikki said loudly, holding out the one year old, who was currently sucking happily on two of her fingers.
"Mako just fed her… like… an hour ago!" Korra exclaimed – trying not to sound whiny. Poor Tenzin was probably close to having an aneurism after all the milk that had disappeared in the last three weeks. Ikki was now giving the Avatar a stern look, as if she knew just as much about babies as Pema did. Korra wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case. Finally, she sighed and stomped off to the kitchen to get Fiera's sustenance.
Since they were out of milk (Korra checked that down on her mental list of things she needed to buy), the Avatar decided on some baby mush that Pema had made before she left with Tenzin to go to some… meeting. "Alright, here you go!"
Ikki hopped into the kitchen and sat the baby down on a pillow, while Korra stuffed the food into Fiera's mouth until her cheeks look as big as a chipmunk's. Several swallows and cry fests later, Ikki seemed to be satisfied.
Unfortunately, Korra was not as content.
"Spirits, look at the time!" She shouted, pointing at the clock over the wall and grabbing Fiera up in her arms. The baby giggled, patting Korra's chest with her little pale hands and snuggling into her adopted 'mother', oblivious to the frantic state that the Avatar was in. "Ikki, get me a blanket! Yes, yes, that one'll do. Now open the door for me!"
Ikki did as was told, though she was laughing manically the whole time, and Korra rushed out into the chilly air with the little girl clutched to her tightly. It only took a few seconds for her to jump off the ledge at Air Temple Island and splash into the water, though she created a sudden bubble to keep them both dry. A moment later, they were both flying across the expanse of river in a frenzy, and… well, landed in Republic City only about five minutes later. It was the quickest trip over that Korra had ever taken, but she was in a hurry!
Fiera, however, seemed to be having the time of her life. She waved her hands in the air, grinning at people as they passed through the crowds. Korra tried to ignore the raised eyebrows and gasps that everyone wore and exhaled.
So much for this staying away from the press. It'll be all over the news by midnight.
It took a while, but Korra and the baby finally arrived at the meeting room that had been set up for the task force. Tarlok and a group of about eight others were waiting impatiently, though their expressions all turned from frustration to confusion as soon as they laid eyes on the two.
"Sorry I'm late!" Korra said breathlessly.
"Eeeeheehee!" Fiera giggled, clapping her hands together in greeting.
Tarlok blinked, then pointed a thumb in the baby's direction. "Who is she?"
"She? Her? You mean… you mean her, her? Well, uh… she's… she's my cousin."
"Your… cousin…?"
"Yeah, my cousin."
"She looks nothing like you."
Right, but Korra wasn't about to be fazed. She was on a roll now. "She was adopted!"
"Really?"
"Really."
Either Tarlok didn't care, or was just too flabbergasted to continue, because he quickly moved off to the board that showed the entire map of Republic City. Red marks covered the places where the Equalists had already struck, while the green hinted at places where they might be hiding or stashing weapons. The Cabbage Corp had turned out to be a real big lead, as well as the whole 'Sato bust' event. That latter hadn't gotten her many points with Asami, even though Korra had been right about it in the end.
"Here's the plan," Tarlok started, pointing a stick at one green mark positioned at the western end of the city. "We'll send teams of two here, here, and here – "
A loud squeal interrupted his next words. Tarlok looked around disapprovingly, as if he thought one of his own task force had been disrespectful, then he laid eyes on the child… and his frown grew deeper than ever. However, he sucked up his mounting frustration and continued. " – and here. If we take advantage of the publicity and attention that the Sato incident is getting then it should be pretty easy to get in – "
Another squeal and a handful of giggles from the one and only Fiera.
" – and out."
Korra bounced the little girl on her knee, which only served to make the kid more excited than before, so several more giggles and squeals riveted off the walls of the tiny room. Everyone stared at her in annoyance, and the Avatar grinned sheepishly – clapping her hand over the one year old's mouth. "Continue, please, Tarlok."
"Of course," he grunted, tapping another spot with his stick.
Meanwhile, in a secluded part of town, Mako and Asami sat on a park bench together and watched a duck and its ducklings waddle past them. The ducklings sent a painful jolt through the fire bender, reminding him for the billionth time who he'd neglected so that he could go on a date with his girlfriend.
"Hey, Mako, is everything alright?" Asami asked. From the tone in her voice, she was obviously concerned for him. "You've been so quiet lately."
"Hm?" He muttered in response, then shrugged. "Yeah… fine."
"Come on," Asami shoved him lightly at the shoulder. "You can tell me what's bothering you. I mean, we're pretty… we're pretty close, right?"
Move over Sherlock.
Of course they were close. That was practically given –what with all the dates they'd been on already. But why did she feel the need to bring that up right now? Mako had something on his mind and it was frustrating him, mixed with the irritation that Asami wouldn't let up on him until he spilled the beans. He wondered absent mindedly why Korra hadn't asked Bolin to babysit… then remembered that they wouldn't trust Bolin with a stick, never mind a baby. Mako found himself wishing that Asami would move to Air Temple Island faster so this whole thing could be explained with the baby in person, but she was still packing her things and was set to go next week.
"I'm just sort of going through a rough time right now," he finally replied, sighing and raking a hand through his dark hair. "Well, both of us are, actually."
"Both? What do you mean 'both of us are?'"
"Korra and I. We have some… new responsibilities… that we have to share…"
Asami blinked in confusion. Responsibilities? What could he mean by that? Whatever they were, she was too curious to give up her prying. "And these responsibilities are…?"
"…parenthood…"
"What?"
The baby was finally asleep. Finally. Korra couldn't remember a time when she'd been so relieved. Fiera had wanted to play – and had apparently been teething as well – so getting her to bed that night had been close to impossible. Yet, Korra was the Avatar, so she'd achieved the impossible –with less than flying colors, but achieved it nonetheless. The worst thing about it was that Mako wasn't home yet… and it was midnight! Bolin was sitting next to her on floor, fast asleep and leaning on her shoulder as he snored. At least he had been there, thank the spirits. Korra didn't know what she would've done without him. Though she wouldn't trust Bolin to babysit the kid, he was still a natural at acting like one himself – so it had been easy for the earth bender to play with Fiera until she passed out.
Then again, he himself passed out as well, which wasn't as desirable - since he was currently drooling all over Korra's shoulder. Ew. Just ew. She sighed, too tired herself to move, and watched the door to the tiny room that they had set up for the child.
She wanted Mako to come home. She wanted him to have been home hours ago. She wanted Tenzin to stop being a grouch about this whole and just accept it as it was. She wanted… she wanted to know she was doing the right things.
Pema was there, helping her along, but Korra was the one who had to do most of the work – apart from Mako, of course. Caring for a baby was about the hardest thing in the world. Defeating Amon paled in comparison to it, and Korra found herself only mildly annoyed instead of frightened at the thought of her arch-nemesis busting down the door and taking away her bending. There were scarier things to think about now. Like Fiera falling out a window or drowning or getting kidnapped or choking to death or other equally terrifying events.
The Avatar stood, walking over to the makeshift cradle that had pillows lining the sides and bent down until her hand was an inch above Fiera's face – fingers splayed out. A gentle circle of air twisted about the girl's face, cooling off her sweaty skin. Korra knew how humid it could be sometimes in the stuffy Air Temple, and if it was bad for her, then it must be a thousand times worse for the one year old. She remembered how her father would sit and rock her to sleep every now and then, singing under his breath to her as her mother stood by the door and listened contentedly. Even now, Korra remembered the song, and began singing it under her breath to the happily dozing baby.
"I'll love you forever; I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."
So, before I move onto the next chapter, I'm going to give credit where is due. This whole concept is basically fitting around that song up there. It is not my song, I didn't make it up. It was published in a book called 'I'll Love You Forever' by Robert Munsch, and it is by far still my favorite children's book to this day. My mom used to read it me when I was little. 3 Give your kudos to that guy right there, because he's awesome.