Asami paced across the floor of her workshop, trying to settle her thoughts down. She knew that she should get back to work. Future Industries had been awarded a contract from the Fire Kingdom to develop the next generation of their trains, and there was a particularly knotty problem involving the design of the motor that Asami had been plugging away at for the last few weeks. Three days ago, she'd finally had a breakthrough, and she thought she might be able to finalize a solution any day now.
Today, however, was not that day. Today, she'd had very little success in keeping her mind on diagrams or stress ratios, or fuel efficiency, or really anything other than Korra. It had been a long time since Asami had seen her girlfriend as disturbed as she'd been the previous night. Not since before they were together, which meant that as far as their relationship went, this was new territory for Asami.
It was especially tricky when dealing with a problem like this one. Usually, Asami liked solving problems; taking things apart, figuring out how they worked, and devising ways to make them work better was the essence of her job, after all. But this: some strange mystical affliction, or attack, or curse, or… Honestly, she had no idea what was happening to her girlfriend, and even less of one as to how to stop it.
In spite of her best efforts to put it out of her mind, frustration with her own ignorance had been eating at Asami ever since Korra had left that morning. If there was nothing she could do, than she should just focus on her own work, but right then, engines just didn't seem that interesting, and so there she was, wearing a hole in the floor instead.
She didn't know how long it was before the sound of footsteps snapped her out of her distracted state, but when she turned to see Korra standing in the doorway of her workshop, her reaction was immediate. Tossing aside the wrench she'd been fiddling with, she ran over to her girlfriend, even as Korra smiled and said, "Hey there, gorgeous."
Korra didn't seem to mind the residue of oil and dirt that was still clinging to the engineer because as soon as Asami reached her, she wrapped her up in a warm embrace. Her strong arms were a comfort after the long hours spent apart, and as their lips came together for a kiss, Asami threaded her fingers through Korra's hair, trying to take in as much of her as possible.
She was reluctant to let it end, and when she finally did pull back, they were both left a little breathless. "Not that I mind that hello," Korra asked, "But is everything okay?"
"Yes… And no," Asami admitted. "I've been worried about you. Was Tenzin able to work out what was causing those visions?"
"Kind of. Maybe?" She and Korra walked over to one of the workshop's benches and sat down while her girlfriend continued, "We did figure a few things out though. So, this Kuruk, that not-you called me, was an Avatar who lived about 500 years ago. I actually think I've met him before in some of my other visions, but I didn't realize it until I saw a picture of him because, you know, I couldn't see my own face at the time. And now that I think about it, I'm not sure what I would've seen even if I could."
"An Avatar? So was this a vision of one of your past lives?" It was an encouraging possibility, Asami realized. Certainly better than some of the other alternatives she'd considered. Still, it did also raise some questions. "I thought you couldn't get those anymore."
"I thought so too. But Tenzin believes maybe they're coming back to me."
"That's great news." Asami leaned over and kissed Korra again, but when she looked at her girlfriend, she could see that her head was bowed and uncertainty was still written all over her features. "It is great, right? Because it seems like something's still bothering you."
"Uh, yeah. You could say that." Korra took a deep breath before continuing. "I think it was us making love that triggered the visions."
"It's true that was when they happened, but do you have any idea why that would be the case?"
Korra shook her head. "Mostly I'm just guessing. According to the histories Tenzin found, this Avatar Kuruk was a real ladies man before he finally fell in love, but then his fiancé Ummi got kidnapped by a spirit and he spent the rest of his life trying unsuccessfully to get her back."
"That's horrible, but it also might make sense. Maybe strong romantic feelings make it easier for you to connect with his personality."
"Maybe, or maybe there's something more going on here. I won't really know unless I find a way to have more of the visions." Korra looked away from Asami, her hair shielding her face when she spoke again. "Which is where this gets really weird. All day, I've been trying to get the connection back. I meditated, I practiced my bending… I even tried going into the Avatar state. None of it worked. I think we have to make love again."
Asami lowered her eyelids and gave Korra a sultry smile. "That hardly sounds like a bad thing, Korra."
"You don't understand. When the visions hit me, I'd have to go with it. To see you as somebody else. Even see myself as someone else. I don't know it would be like or what I might do in that frame of mind, and it's not fair to ask you to go through it for me."
Asami could hear the quiver in Korra's voice and she leaned over, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. "Hey, don't get upset just yet. I want to work on this with you."
"You do?"
She leaned in even closer, her cheek brushing against Korra's and her embrace tightening. "I do. When you left Republic City after Zaheer hurt you, watching you go was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life. You were in so much pain, and I had no way to fix it. This time… This time there's something I can do to help you, and of course I'm willing to do it."
"Are you sure?" Korra asked hesitantly, a fragile hope appearing behind her eyes. "It might get kinda strange."
"If I wasn't okay with things being a little strange, I wouldn't be dating the Avatar, now would I?" she asked with a small laugh.
"I guess not," Korra admitted, but though she tried to smile, it was obvious that she was still nervous. Asami was too, truth be told. This wouldn't be quite like anything they'd ever experienced together, but she wasn't going to let that stop her.
"So, is there anything special we have to do to make this work?" she asked Korra. "A sex ritual, or something like that?"
"I don't think so but I'm not sure about any of this. I guess I need to be really into it, though." Her cheeks flushed with remembered arousal. "I definitely was last time, but now… Usually, getting turned on with you really isn't an issue, but I'm worried that now I'll be over-thinking it too much for this to work."
"Hmm." Asami ran her hand idly through Korra's hair while she thought about the situation. It was several seconds before she spoke, but when she did, a smile was on her face. She might not have understood much about past lives or visions or the Avatar state, but this was a problem she knew how to solve.
"Why don't you leave that part to me?" she told Korra. "I've got an idea or two I'd like to try out."
If I have my way, pretty soon you'll be too distracted to worry about anything else.
Korra shifted her back against the pile of pillows, doing her best to get comfortable. Squirming around wasn't going to help though; the problem wasn't with Asami's luxuriously large bed, but with Korra herself. Laying there, waiting for her lover to come out of the shower, she should have been giddy with anticipation. But she wasn't. Instead of thinking about what they would do together, she was fixated on what would come after that. They idea of shifting personalities, even realities, in the middle of sex was just too weird.
From the bathroom, the sound of the water suddenly stopped, and Korra took a deep breath, trying to talk herself down. How bad can it be? I mean, sure, it'll be strange, but I've dealt with lots of strange stuff. I just have to get through this and…
All thoughts of "just getting through it" vanished when the door swung open. There, fresh from the shower, was Asami, and not only was she not wearing a towel, she appeared not to have used one at all. Water dripped from her pale skin, rivulets of it running off of her breasts and belly, down to the little strip of dark hair just above her sex.
Korra's jaw dropped open and her mouth went dry as she stared at her girlfriend, who was busy showing off those ridiculously sexy bedroom eyes of hers. "I didn't want to make you wait while I dried off," she purred. "So maybe you could give me a hand with that now."
"Oh, uh, yeah," Korra stammered, "I could definitely do that."
Rolling up off of the bed, she snatched a towel from the rack in the bathroom before darting back over to Asami. Her lover lifted up her arms to give better access to her body, a move that only further showed off her gorgeous curves. Even though she'd seen Asami naked plenty, there were times the sight of her still took Korra's breath away, and this was definitely one of them. The only thing that stopped her from just standing there and starring was the knowledge that if she moved, she got to touch too.
Korra started with Asami's back, running the towel through her wet hair before sliding it along the length of her spine. When she squeezed the swell of her ass, Asami gave it a little shake and Korra felt arousal start to pool in her lower body. "Sprits, you're so sexy," she growled, letting the towel linger along Asami's hips while she pressed her lips against the back of her neck. The skin tasted clean, and a little bit cool, and she couldn't resist the urge to keep on kissing it.
"I'm glad to hear that," Asami answered, licking her lips suggestively, "But I'm not dry yet."
"No, you're definitely not." Korra slid the towel around to the engineer's front, rubbing it over her breasts, but she didn't move along with it, instead staying behind Asami so that she could keep placing kisses on her shoulder blades.
Asami let out a low sigh at her ministrations, and Korra dropped to her knees, wrapping the towel around one of her girlfriend's ankles. She made her way slowly upwards, drying the skin off as she went, but also making sure to lovingly massage the skin while she did. As she approached the juncture of Asami's thighs she could smell the rich scent of the engineer's arousal, but she stopped just short of it, instead turning to the other ankle and repeating the process. This time, though, she kissed the wet flesh before she dried it off, and by the time her lips were running over Asami's inner thigh, the engineer was quivering with anticipation.
"Korra, please," she murmured, her legs trembling, "Touch me more."
She could never resist Asami, especially not when she sounded like that. Korra shifted around to her lover's front, bringing the towel up to her sex. The pink flesh there was glistening from more than just the shower and when Korra slid the fluffy fabric between Asami's legs, the moan that came from her lover's throat was enough to make her heart beat a little faster.
Korra stood, but even while she drew level with Asami, she kept up her motions, stroking her lover's sex with her towel-covered hand. The engineer tilted her head upwards, her eyelids fluttering closed, and Korra nipped at the soft skin of her throat. Asami's knees finally buckled, but before she could tip over entirely, Korra caught her up in her arms, leading her to the bed.
Asami stretched out there, her every glance an invitation, but before Korra could accept it, a disquieting thought froze her in her tracks. Her lover was so beautiful that she was overwhelmed by the need to see her, and only her, there. The prospect of her turning into someone else suddenly seemed even more unpalatable than before.
"Hey, there." Asami's warm voice cut through Korra's haze. "What're you seeing? Is something wrong?"
"I… I wasn't seeing anything yet. I just… I want you to stay you."
"I will. Whatever it looks like, I'll still be me, you'll still be you, and I'll always trust you." Korra nodded, anxious but willing to accept Asami's faith in her, and her girlfriend added, "Now come here. I haven't had nearly enough of a chance to play with you yet."
Asami's words were a lure that Korra couldn't resist, and she fell into her arms without further hesitation. Her top and pants were stripped off and thrown into a pile on the floor, letting Asami run her hands over the expanse of bare skin that were revealed. Their touch was warm and reassuring, rubbing the tension out of Korra's back muscles, while her lips roamed over the Avatar's face and neck. Heat blossomed everywhere Korra was touched. Her frustration at not climaxing the night before had been pushed aside by what had happened afterwards, but now, her body was remembering how much it craved this pleasure.
The two of them rolled over, and once she was positioned on top of Korra, Asami began kissing her way down her body. The Avatar's bra joined her other clothes in the pile and Asami's lips pressed against the soft flesh of her breast. She sighed with pleasure at the feeling and her back arched in an effort to get more of it. Asami obliged, her lips forming a tight seal over Korra's nipple and sucking on it while at the same time, her tongue flicked back and forth across the tip.
"Mm, 's good," Korra mumbled. "You're so good." Her voice was unsteady and she closed her eyes, letting the pleasure of the moment overtake her. Whatever else had been on her mind, it was banished for now, replaced with raw, burning need.
Asami didn't respond with words, but her hand traced its way down the hard muscles of Korra's abdomen before settling between her thighs. A tug of her panties exposed the Avatar's sex, and Korra spread her legs, silently urging her lover to touch her there.
"Oh, spirits," she panted as the pads of Asami's fingers brushed over her swollen folds. "I love how you do this."
Her lover knew just how to build up her pleasure, spreading her deftly and teasing around the edge of her clit. She started by touching everywhere but there, circling in slowly before finally, finally stroking the throbbing point itself. Electricity ran through Korra at the contact and her hips pushed against Asami's hand.
"Oh, yes," she groaned, "Don't stop. Don't ever stop."
The voice that replied to her wasn't Asami's. It was the other one, the higher, cuter one, and when Korra opened her eyes to see who it belonged to, the orbs that looked back at her were brown, not green.
"Don't worry, dear heart," Ummi told her, "I have no intention of doing that."