Chapter 31

Keep me tethered

Asami climbed into the lobby of the dorm with shaking hands. The box was firm in her arm, but her exposed skin was pink. Korra's sweatpants didn't provide much protection once they were wet. She took a minute to catch her breath and gain feeling in her limbs. A roll of thunder jarred her from her near-asleep position against the wall.

Come on, Asami. You're almost there. Then you can have hot tea and food and warm up under the pelt with Korra – beside Korra – in the same room as Korra, just not, like – Fuck! She screamed in her head and blushed to her mental fluster. She struggled for the appropriate words to fill her thoughts.

Relax. Breathe. You're composed. Don't let your emotions get the best of you. Not anymore.

The engineer took in a deep breath and stammered down the hallway; her legs weren't quite working the way they should yet. She fished the key from her pocket and opened the door.

Korra was hunched over in the corner, shaking and sweating. Her coughing echoed in the empty room.

Asami rushed to her side and straightened her torso to clear her airway. The Southerner cracked her swollen eyes open. "You made it. I knew you would. I told you." She threw her hand forward in a matter-of-fact tone and pointed to nowhere in particular.

"Told who?"

"I told them you would make it. I wouldn't let anything happen to you." She placed her palms on either side of Asami's face. "Your skin is cold. Cold and… cold and pink!"

Spirits...

"You just, sit back here." She pushed the Bender against the wall in a sitting position. The heiress adjusted the pillow behind her back. "I've got some hot tea and some food. It should help. I don't know if you can chew or not. Maybe there's something broth based…" She ripped the box open and shuffled through the containers.

Noodles, tea, vegetable rolls, dumplings… ha!

Asami tore the lid off of the travel-bowl and grabbed a spoon. She poured a cup of tea and placed it on the desk next to the bed.

"What – what is that, Asami?"

She crawled onto the bed and brought the dish over to the injured woman. "It's soup. It looks like there's some vegetables and meat in it. I'm not sure if you can eat it, but the broth should help." The engineer almost put the container in Korra's hands, but thought better of it.

"It smells… really good. I think. Can I smell?" The Water Tribe girl tried to inhale through her plugged nose. "Does it smell good, Asami?"

"Yes, it does. Here," she guided the spoon in the Bender's hand to her mouth, "let me help, so you don't spill and burn yourself."

Korra slurped the liquid in and hummed. "So good…" She attempted to scoop more of the soup but missed the bowl altogether. "Why can't I do the… the thing?" The younger woman tried again to no avail.

Asami pulled the utensil from her fingers. "Maybe I should do this. You just slurp, okay?"

"I'm good at that. I think. Am I?"

"Let's find out." She spoon fed the Southerner until the broth was gone. The tea was almost cold by the time they finished, but she maneuvered the cup to Korra's mouth and made her drink the entirety of the beverage regardless.

"Thanks, Asami." The Water Tribe girl intertwined her fingers with the engineer's. "Hey, look, your skin is pink again." She pointed to her cheeks and smiled before the coughing returned. A considerable amount of fluid emerged from her throat.

"Here, cough into this tissue." Korra did as she was told. Asami rubbed her back. "I'll keep the box and the garbage by the bed in case you feel anything else come up."

She nodded in response and fell onto her side. "Has the storm stopped, Asami?"

"Oddly enough, it started to lighten up as I was coming back –" A loud crack of thunder penetrated their ears. Korra jumped and curled into the heiress. "I guess it's starting up again."

"I don't like the thunder, Asami. I don't like the lightning. I don't know why, but I just don't." She buried her face into the older woman's shoulder.

"It'll go away soon. And it can't hurt you when you're inside."

Korra pulled away and met her peridot eyes with hazy blues. "It can't hurt me because you're here and safe." She wrapped her arms around the raven. "I knew you'd come back and that it wouldn't take you away from me. I told them you would come back. I told them."

Asami's heart was heavy with concern. "You should lie down and get some rest." She rotated their bodies so that her back was against the wall. Korra folded herself into the raven's lap. It was then that Asami noticed the temperature difference. The Southerner's limbs were cold and shaky, while her head was burning with a fever. Her breath was short and rapid. Almost every inch of her skin was covered in sweat.

"I'm so tired, Asami. So tired. Everything… everything hurts." She clutched onto her abdomen as a sharp pain shot through it. "I don't know, why… why it all hurts. I don't remember… how did I get here?"

The heiress shed her coat and kicked off her boots. She pulled Korra closer. One hand covered the sick woman with her pelt while the other wiped the sweat from the Water Tribe girl's brow with the sleeve of her jacket. "You left my apartment and travelled through the storm to get here."

"But how did I get here? I remember being in the storm, but I don't… I don't remember getting here." She tried to prop herself up but failed.

"Just rest, Korra." Asami gripped her bare tan shoulder and forced her down. "You can figure it out in the morning." Her other hand combed through the mass of brown hair on her lap.

The younger woman melted into her and hummed. She let her eyelids meet and allowed the engineer's fingers to bring her into a much-needed sleep.

(-)

They both awoke to violent coughing. Korra was curled in on herself, hacking into her knees. Her hands were on her chest, trying to push down the pain that arose with each breath.

Asami pulled the Southerner upright. She held her there for a few convulsions before Korra ripped away.

The Water Tribe girl keeled over the bed as she choked. Blood spewed from between her fingers and splattered onto the carpet.

The engineer flew off of the mattress and grabbed the trashcan. She brought it to Korra's face just in time to catch the bile the injured woman vomited up. She held her brown hair back as she hacked. This time, thick, green mucus emerged.

When the Bender had finished, Asami wiped her damaged face with a tissue. Korra was just as warm as she had been when they fell asleep. Sweat dripped from her skin.

"Here, drink this." She poured another cup of tea from the small pot given to her. "You need fluids." She brought the mug to the Southerner's lips.

Korra snatched the cup, ignoring the pain in her wrist, and drank it with desperation. She flung it against the wall when it was empty and it smashed into pieces.

"Korra!"

Before she could reply, a painful bout of coughing hit her. The thunder shook the apartment. She retreated into the engineer's arms.

Asami kept her upright as she writhed. "It's going to be okay, Korra. It's going to be okay." She tried to believe her own words as she rubbed the sick woman's back.

"Water, Asami. I need…" Her hacking cut off her sentence.

The heiress leaned her against the wall to keep her steady and rushed to the bathroom. She filled the empty teapot under the tap and brought it to the bedroom. "No throwing this one." Her hands were firm around its base as she guided it to Korra's lips.

The Water Tribe girl took the fluid in like it was the first oasis encountered after being in the desert for a month. When the pot was empty, she pushed it away and tumbled onto her side. Within a minute, her coughing started up again.

"You should sit up." Asami pulled her upwards and forced her into the corner of the bed. She wrapped her in her pelt and pulled a blanket from Opal's bed.

"This, this is Opal's. You shouldn't use it. What if, what if she needs it?"

"She's not here right now, so I don't think she'll be needing it any time soon."

Korra squinted her eyes to look across the room. The other bed was empty except for a sheet and two pillows. A flash of lightning lit the room and the thunder that followed worsened her shaking.

Asami took a cloth from the bathroom and dabbed the Southerner's forehead. She pushed the strand pieces of hair stuck to her face behind her ear.

"Don't leave me, Asami. Please don't leave me."

"I'm not going to."

Korra used the little strength she had left to pull the heiress closer. She lifted the blanket and pelt to allow the older woman to slide in next to her. Once she was settled, the Water Tribe girl placed the back of her head on the wall and closed her eyes. Her muscles ached. Her abdomen was in pain. Every cough made her ankle and hand burn in agony. Each breath produced sharp jabs into her chest. She wheezed and searched for a means of escape. A beckoning slumber overwhelmed her, but she fought it.

"Everything will be okay."

The voice beside her was reassuring. The fingers of Korra's left hand found the pale ones of Asami's right. A final thought filled her mind just before she slipped into unconsciousness:

Keep me here. Keep me tethered. Don't let me fall away.