Chapter 16

I fucked up

"Okay Korra, you can do this." She spoke aloud, her feet dangling off the edge of the medical bed. She slid herself down with care. Her arms were buckling by the time her toes touched the cold tile of the floor. She eased onto her soles, her right hand balancing herself on the mattress. Once she had her footing, she sighed in relief.

"Okay, now, to the bathroom!" She took two steps forward and slipped. Without thinking, she tried to brace her fall with her hands. Her sprained wrist twisted and did little to slow her descent. She hit the ground and was sure that she had re-injured her rib. She groaned in agony and called for a nurse. There was no response.

"Maybe I can…" She pulled herself around with her right arm. Using the chair beside her, she propped her body up and reached for the room buzzer. With a yank, it flew down and hit her face.

"Dammit!" Korra rubbed her bruised eye. "Fuck, that hurt. Okay, okay. Buzzer." She grabbed the little white remote and hit the trigger. An obnoxious sound rang to get the attention of the nurses. After a few minutes passed, she rang the bell again. Another five minutes elapsed with no assistance. When she saw some staff walk by her door, she called to them and squeezed the button. They continued on without a second glance. The Southerner hurled the metal device across the room.

"Fuck this." She gripped onto the arms of the chair and planted her feet on the ground.

Push.

She rose with a grimace and fell back onto the bed. Her right hand buried itself in her hair and tugged it. She let out a cry of frustration just as the door opened.

"Korra, what's wrong?" Asami rushed to her side, abandoning the tray of food she brought with her. "You're bleeding."

"I am?" She lifted her head and examined her hospital clothing. Her eyes followed the light blue fabric down to her abdomen, where a line of blood was spreading.

Shit.

"Let me get a nurse." The engineer reached for the room buzzer to find it missing.

"It's over there." Korra pointed with a sheepish look.

Asami followed her hand to find the metal remote in pieces against the wall. She turned with her hands on her hips and frowned at the Southerner.

"I hit that damn thing three times in a fifteen minute span after I fell and no one even came."

"You fell?"

The Water Tribe girl sighed. "Yeah. I guess my legs are still a bit wobbly. I was trying to get up to use the bathroom and I slipped."

"Once we get someone to check your wound, they can help you to the restroom." The engineer slipped out into the hallway to find a nurse.

"Good luck." Korra mumbled under her breath. Her hand grazed her stab wound and she winced. She was hoping to keep this injury a secret from Asami to lessen her worry. Now, there was no hiding it.

Fuck.

(-)

"Excuse me?" Asami called out to a practitioner down the corridor. He saw her coming in the corner of his eye and turned to leave with the nurse he was conversing with. "Wait!" She sprinted to him and caught him by the shoulder. "My friend is bleeding. She fell and called for a nurse but her buzzer wasn't functioning."

The man sighed and tossed his clipboard on the counter. "Where is she?"

The engineer clenched her fists and directed him to Korra's room. She had too many recent outbursts in the past day for her own good and didn't want another one.

They entered to find the younger woman sitting on the edge of her bed. Blood had gotten on her wrist bandages and its loss paled her face a shade. The doctor walked up to her with no urgency and lifted her shirt. He revealed a rather small, two inch slit on Korra's abdomen that had been bleeding profusely for Spirits know how long.

"You popped a stitch."

"Can you fix it?" The Southerner asked.

Asami was too flustered for words. Is that a… a stab wound?

"Of course I can. Lay down." He forced Korra onto her back and retrieved some tools from a nearby drawer. The snaps of his gloves made the engineer flinch. He worked too fast for comfort and was rough with his patient. She could see the Water Tribe girl grit her teeth to the plunging of the needle. "There, done. Try not to pop it again," he instructed as he placed a dressing on the laceration. He threw away the disposables, washed his hands, and left without a single word.

When the door shut, Asami lost it. "What is wrong with the people in this fucking hospital?"

Korra tried to pull herself up but failed. There was a fresh stinging in her knife injury.

"They're so rude to you and to me. And why aren't the nurses coming to check on you? What if you got seriously hurt when you fell?" Asami growled as she examined her friend on the bed. "They didn't even clean the blood from your wound." She crossed the room and wet a paper towel. When she returned, she lifted Korra's gown and wiped the excess red away. The tan skin was taut and warm against her pale fingers.

At least her blood is clotting. She looked over the wound in a mixture of disgust and shock; she couldn't believe that Korra got stabbed, and was forced into more incredulity when she watched the way the doctor handled his patient.

"He didn't have to be so rough with your stitching. It was like he didn't even care that you were bleeding out! Seriously, I had to grab his shoulder before he ran away from me coming down the hall." The engineer pulled away and slammed the spent wad into the biohazard trash near the sink of the room. She rinsed her hands off in irritation. "And I doubt you'll even get fresh clothing without me physically yanking a nurse into the linen closet. What the fuck is wrong with these people?" She let out a small sound of frustration and plopped into the chair, holding her forehead between the index and thumb of one hand.

Korra was afraid to speak. She had never heard Asami get so angry before. "M-Maybe we can request a different nurse?"

The raven sighed. "Maybe."

The younger woman grunted once more during her attempt to rise.

"For Spirits' sake, Korra, let me help you." She pushed herself off of the chair and grabbed the injured woman with too much aggression.

She yelped and pulled away from Asami. A small tear fell down Korra's face from the extreme discomfort and the older woman broke.

"I'm… I'm so sorry, Korra. I didn't mean to hurt you." She sobbed.

"Asami, I'm okay. See?" The Water Tribe girl moved in a very small range that didn't make her recoil with pain to prove her point. "Just be a little gentler next time," she continued as she repeated the motion. When that didn't work, she patted the space beside her. "Sit."

The older woman complied and covered her face.

Korra put an arm around her, hiding the strain in her shoulder. "Talk to me."

"I fucked up, Korra."

"How so?"

"In chemistry, I let Sentai get the best of me. He made me go up to the board and draw molecules all class. I was so angry at him and everyone else that I never looked back at my desk." She wanted to look into Korra's eye, but couldn't. "They stole the letters, Korra. Took them right from my bag. I flipped out in the Dean's office when I couldn't find them and had a small meltdown. He told me without the letters, I had no proof of the threats and Sentai's involvement. And without proof, we could do nothing." The engineer was getting enraged as her story went on. It wasn't anger at the people who hurt her; it was loathing for herself.

"Asa –"

"That's not even the worst part. I did something so stupid, Korra. I was leaving the building and I stumbled on Sentai's office. I kicked his door down, pushed everything off his desk, and threatened him that I would get justice for you."

To this, Korra stopped rubbing Asami's back. Her heart dropped out of her body.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, Korra. What was I thinking?!" She buried herself into the Southerner's shoulder. Korra pulled her closer without thought.

"Everything's going to be okay. We'll figure something out."

Words so simple coming from the younger woman's mouth, in such a reassuring tone, was somehow enough for the engineer. Within minutes, she simmered down and had control once more. She vowed at that moment to never lose her grip and to act like the intelligent being that she was, not some emotion-driven, blinded fool. This wasn't her way of doing things. She was articulate and planned and prepared. She needed to be. She would take siege over her actions, and she would never hurt Korra in misdirected anger ever again.

"Asami?"

"Yes?" She responded through a final exhale.

"Are you alright?"

With a pause and a sigh, she nodded.

I should be asking you that.

Before she had the opportunity, the Water Tribe girl's stomach rumbled. Asami chuckled. She pulled away from the embrace to look into Korra's eye. "I brought food for us to eat from the hospital kitchen. And I was able to get the notes you missed from your other classes the past three days, so you can stay on track."

"Thank-you, Asami. You're so helpful." She had a genuine smile on her bruised face, even though it hurt. In her ambition, she attempted to step off of the bed by herself. Her legs were a bit more sturdy, but not enough. Lucky for her, the engineer was there to catch her.

Korra was very much aware of the proximity between them. She gave Asami a small grin, hoping that the raven would mistake her blushing for embarrassment in almost falling and not because of the feelings shooting through her chest when Asami held her that close.

Unlucky for her, Asami had an eye for detail, and she didn't miss a damn thing.