Alright! This is it! I'm really taking things slow now with this story. I do have more coming, but I feel like you guys deserve a long calm after the past twelve chapters. As a reward for following me in this craziness that I've created :)
...
Dinner wouldn't be ready for another couple hours, so Korra and Kuvira decided to show Asami their routine for training. Amused, Asami eagerly agreed to watch. She followed them out to the courtyard training area and the two alphas took their place apart from each other. Asami sat on the sidelines, Jinora, Ikki and Meelo beside her. Rohan sat in Jinora's lap.
"Ready to show off in front of your girl?" Kuvira joked with a grin.
Korra rolled her eyes. "Lot of talk from someone who rarely wins." She steadied herself and put her arms up. "On three. One-"
"Two-"
"Three!"
Kuvira sent the first rock, flipping to the side as the rock sailed across the yard towards Korra. Korra turned out of the way and flipped forward, lifting a rock with her foot as she did so and sending it at Kuvira. Kuvira guarded herself with her arms and the rock Korra sent held in the air. Kuvira separated her arms and the rock followed suit, splitting in two before her.
"Go Korra!" Ikki yelled with a wide grin.
Korra just chuckled under her breath and kept her focus on Kuvira. Kuvira gave a right hook, the first rock flying toward Korra as she turned and sent the second one right behind it. Asami's eyes traced right behind it, wide with curiosity and excitement. She watched, her heart skipping a beat, as Korra barely managed to dodge both attacks. She moved almost effortlessly on her toes and the rocks were grazing nothing but air.
"You goin' easy on me, Kuv?" Korra called when she stopped moving.
"Nope, just building you up." Kuvira said with a devilish grin.
Kuvira slid her foot across the ground, shifting the earth beneath Korra to throw her off balance. Korra rocked back on her heels and stomped the ground, raising a wall before her. She jabbed her hands at it and disks of the solid earth popped out one by one. They closed in on Kuvira and she ducked under a few before coming back up. She hesitated a second too long and one caught her in the stomach. Asami winced and leaned back, her hand instinctively going to her own stomach.
"You were saying?" Korra said.
Kuvira coughed a laugh and stood up again, rolling her shoulders back. She looked at Asami and smirked, mouthing 'watch this'. Asami raised an eyebrow but did so. Kuvira turned back to Korra and started moving her fingers, hands, then arms up and down. Places in the rock beneath Korra's feet would rise in cylinders, raising her up. Korra teetered forward, her arms going out to balance herself.
"Kuvira!" she exclaimed, trying to keep her feet flat on each raised space before the earthbender made it collapse back into the ground.
Asami and the kids burst into laughter, Meelo holding his stomach. Rohan giggled and clapped his hands. Kuvira clenched her hands into fists and pulled towards her. Every elevated rock fell at once and Korra crashed to the earth on her back. The others got to their feet and approached her. Korra sat up, rubbing her head, and looked up to meet a grinning Asami.
"Are you okay?" Asami asked and extended her hand.
"Yeah, yeah." Korra grumbled under her breath as she took Asami's hand and got to her feet. "Despite my pride being bruised, I'm just peachy."
Asami giggled and cupped Korra's face, gently pulling her towards her to kiss her cheek. "You started out great." she mused.
"She's just been soooo busy nursing that shoulder of hers." Kuvira laughed as she strode over to them, arms crossed and a teasing smirk playing at her lips.
"It doesn't even hurt, it's been a full month." Korra said. "Just scrapes, that's all." She pointed at the long scar going down her cheek. "This one, though. This one was hell."
Asami traced the length of the scar absently with her finger. "It was hard to close..." she mumbled, her gaze suddenly far away.
"Asami, don't." Korra said easily, making Asami look at her. Her gaze was pleading. "Don't do this to yourself now."
Asami's eyes refocused and she blinked, frowning. Her hand dropped from Korra's face and hung loose by her side. "I-I'm sorry... I just..."
"Shh, it's okay." Korra said. She pulled Asami in for a hug and Asami buried her face in the crook of Korra's neck.
"What's wrong with her?" Meelo asked aloud, glancing at everyone.
"Nothing you need to worry about, Meelo." Jinora said. "She's fine."
A silence settled between them and Kuvira clapped her hands together. "Hey, who wants to play hide-and-seek?"
"We do, we do!" Ikki and Meelo said, the mood shifting drastically.
"Okay, you guys go hide and we'll count to thirty." Kuvira said, smirking at Jinora's knowing gaze.
Ikki and Meelo created their air scooters and took off to find a hiding spot. Kuvira watched them as they turned the corner to go behind the temple and sighed. "That'll keep them busy for about twenty minutes."
"You would think that they'd know there are only a few places they can hide here." Jinora said as she switched arms with Rohan.
"They're young." Korra said. "Let them believe in their illusion that it's impossible to find them."
They laughed and Asami sniffed, straightening up to stand beside Korra. "What do we do now?"
Korra shrugged. "I don't know, we have a little under two hours." Her face suddenly grew with excitement and she looked at Kuvira. "Do you think I'll have enough time to take her there?"
"There?" Asami repeated, eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"I guess. If you take Oogi you will." Kuvira said, picking up on her friend's hint.
"How do you feel about heights?" Korra asked Asami.
"Heights?" Asami said with a small laugh. "I think I might need a few minutes to adjust depending on how high we go."
Korra slipped her hand into Asami's hand with a nod to Kuvira. "If we're not back in time, tell them not to wait up."
"Got it." Kuvira said.
Korra turned and led Asami around the Temple toward a length of stables. Naga, hearing the footfalls of her owner, immediately perked up and whined eagerly, already shuffling her feet in anticipation. Korra gave her a sympathetic smile and patted her nose.
"Not today, girl." she said. "I need Oogi right now."
A bison in the stable beside Naga looked in their direction and huffed a bit upon hearing his name. Korra approached the gate and undid the lock, swinging it open. Oogi walked out and looked at Korra, who had a picked an apple from a nearby basket and tossed it to him. He caught in in his mouth and groaned a thanks as he ate it. Korra climbed up on his back and helped Asami up after.
"Ever been on a flying bison before?" Korra joked, knowing that Asami hadn't been.
"No." Asami said with a shake of her head. Her arms snaked tightly around Korra's waist.
Korra nodded thoughtfully and took the reins. She gave Asami a smile over her shoulder. "You'll have to hold on tighter than that." She smiled wider when Asami did so and faced forward. "Yip, yip!"
Oogi lifted his tail and slammed it back down before lifting into the air. Asami's breath hitched and her eyes widened as she glanced down. She could see Kuvira and Jinora grow smaller and smaller as they hunted around the island for Ikki and Meelo. She saw the water expand and stretch from each side of the island. When she looked back, she could the city in its entirety, a mass of buildings and cars and people.
"Enjoying the view?" Korra asked over the wind in their ears.
"It's amazing!" Asami praised. "This is more than I see from Future Industries!" She added as she saw the tower near the center of the city.
Oogi leveled out and the wind softened. Korra chuckled. "You haven't seen anything yet."
Asami gave Korra a curious look at she watched her mate urge the bison to the left. He obliged and Asami rested her chin on Korra's shoulder, enjoying the air ripple her clothes and hair. She enjoyed how, no matter how hard the wind blew, it didn't disrupt Korra scent flowing into her nose and lulling her into a sense of home and security.
And all of the past month's worries were forgotten for a while.
...
Asami didn't know that she had drifted off to sleep until she woke to the feeling of descending from the sky. She stirred slowly, opening an eye to catch Oogi lowering beneath a sea of treetops. He touched the ground softer than they had left it and Korra dropped the reins.
"Wake up, sleepy head. We're here." she said, knowing that Asami was waking. She enclosed her hands around Asami's wrists and gently eased them from around her. She slid off of the air bison's back and took Asami's hand. Asami's foot slipped and she toppled over, letting out a small cry of surprise. Korra steadied her feet and caught Asami in her arms. She grinned at the heiress.
"I got ya." she said.
Asami smiled her thanks and took a small step back, looking around. "Where are we?"
Korra just grinned in response and took Asami's hand. "Close your eyes." She said.
Asami's eyebrows furrowed together in suspicion but she followed the request, relying on Korra's presence. Korra turned at slipped her hand between a set of vines, parting them to the side. She tightened her hold on Asami's hand as she stepped through. She brought Asami through next, whispering for her to duck her head for a second. She then secured an arm around Asami's waist and kept walking.
"Just lean on me for balance." she said as she started to cross a fallen tree trunk.
Asami nodded and took her steps slow. She could hear and feel the underbrush shifting under her and Korra's feet. She knew she was steady ground when the surface beneath her hardened. Korra brought her another few feet forward before telling her to sit down and take off her boots.
"Why?" Asami said, turning to where Korra's voice had come from.
"Do you trust me?" Korra said simply.
Asami tilted her head to the side as if to say 'really' and sat down, finding the strap to her boots and pulling them out. She took them off and set them aside.
"Now straighten your legs out and just let them dangle." Korra instructed.
Asami slowly straightened her legs out, her heels scraping the ground until they meet an edge. She kept her eyes shut as she let her feet glide downwards. Something cold met her skin and she gasped softly, her fingers curling against the grass under her hand. It moved against her feet and she calmed at the realization it was water. The water swallowed her feet and she shivered as the cold passed over her.
Korra placed an hand on hers. "Open your eyes."
Asami did so slowly, almost afraid of what she would see. Once her eyes were fully open, her breath caught.
She was sitting amongst spirits before a waterfall. Hues of blue, green, purple danced along the vines and leaves of the trees and colored the water as it simmered under the spirits. Rocks of all sizes lined the edge of the water, damp with mist. The spirits hummed their greetings upon seeing Asami and Korra. One with wings fluttered about their heads and Asami giggled as she stood up. Her eyes lit up with a child-like excitement and amazement.
"Korra, this is..." She was at a loss for words.
"I know, right?" Korra said. She took stand beside Asami, her boots also kicked off and laying beside hers. "Found this place a few years ago. I was going through the worst time, then, having just discovered my physiology." Korra laughed, embarrassed. "I took off with Naga then.
"We were wandering the forest for a good couple hours. I was kind of growling to myself. Naga had found a patch of berries and was eating them when her head just popped up and she took off running. I yelled at her to slow down but she didn't want to listen. Wasn't until we got about halfway here that I caught sight of what she was chasing."
"What was it?" Asami asked.
"A little blue wisp. Looked like a fire." Korra looked to the side and pointed at a wall of vines. "It led us in through there. Naga tore through it like a storm and took the quickest stop ever. I went flying and landed in the water. I was readying myself to yell at her when the wisp appeared again. I looked around and..." Korra smiled with a sigh. "I come here whenever I'm stressed."
"I can see why." Asami said. She reached her hand out to a lizard like spirit that was colored red and yellow with shades of orange. Its tail was tipped with tiny spikes. It landed on her hand and looked at her, making her smile.
"I came out here last month." Korra said, her voice low. "After we mated. I went to the Temple, grabbed Naga and took off without a word."
Asami looked at her, frowning slightly. "Were you really that stressed?"
Korra gave a short nod. "Could you blame me? I mean, it wasn't even supposed to happen, but... After I got here, my emotions just came together. If that makes any sense." She paused, taking false interest in a bird type spirit playing in the waterfall. "When I got here, I just knew everything was going to be fine for us."
Asami guided her hand to Korra's and smiled when she looked at her. She gently pulled Korra closer to her and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.
"I feel the same way." Asami said.
...
I am a sucker for the cliché. The dinner was going to be in this chapter but I kept writing and yeah. This happened. It will definitely be in the next chapter, though. Hope you guys enjoyed!
Thanks for reading!