Epilogue - Another First
Things are rarely simple and easy, and some complications may be avoidable, but are ultimately inevitable.
AN: If Korra seems OOC remember that this is pre-book2
(Asami's point of view)
"But how to generate enough thrust?" I muttered to myself as I went over the early designs of my latest spark of inspiration, still trying to figure out a way around the basic impossibilities of the concept; I was beginning to think I should take a step back and try something else to use as a stepping stone, this was a rather ambitious concept after all.
I let out a sigh as I decided to give in a stow the designs away in my desk and get on with the paperwork that had been waiting, oh how I loathed paperwork. I had tried to put it off as much as possible, it was nearly noon after all.
As I tried to work my mind kept drifting back to night I'd had the idea, two days ago on my first date with Korra. I'd had a date with Korra. I loved that as much as I loved her; not that I'd tell her, bringing in the l-word is probably part of why her and Mako had sputtered out and I was eager for this relationship to last nice and long.
It was still early days and I hadn't called or gone to visit her yet, maybe I'll stop by the Air temple tomorrow morning to catch her airbending practise; maybe invite her out for lunch afterwards if I could, somewhere nice.
I had to shake my head to try and make myself focus on the work in front of me, taking a deep breath as I flicked my hair out of my eyes, determined to buckle down and finish going through this set of shipping manifests.
I was beginning to make good progress when I was unfortunately interrupted by the sound of someone arguing with Arika just outside; I was then shocked when they got inside and horrified at who it was.
"I'm sorry Ms. Sato, she forced her way past-" Arika desperately attempted to explain as the one she referred to talked over her; voice angry and hurt.
"Asami!" Korra shouted, "What the hell?!" Holding up a newspaper she continued, "Why-Damn it! Why didn't you tell me about this?!" The newspaper she was showing had an article about the soon to be opening Future Industries Chi-blocking academy; I knew I should've told her the other night.
Letting out a sigh, I turned to Arika, "Could you please give us a minute?" Korra's gaze remained on me as Arika left the room, closing the doors outside and noting that she could called if she was needed. I mentioned towards the table in the middle of the room, with the coaches on either side, "Let's sit down." Korra sat down with her arms crossed, dropping the paper on the table as she did, her glare never leaving me as she did.
I breathed deep as I took a seat opposite her trying to figure out where to start and hopefully not destroy what me and Korra had; if that were even possible.
"Let's start at the beginning..."
(Korra's point of view)
Another morning on air temple island, another awakening from Ikki and another defeat by my arch-nemesis; the morning. I looked out the window at the risen sun, groaned and shook a fist towards it.
"One day..." One day I would sleep in and deny the morning it's victory, but that was not this day. Rolling out of bed, stretching and yawning, I started to get ready for the morning's airbending practise and hopefully less fumbling with the freaking staff. There was also the possibility of Asami showing up, she had mentioned it; no idea how Tenzin would react, I still needed to talk to him about the other day.
Training was the same as ever, through the spinning air gates, being the leaf and all that, meditation, which I still wasn't that good at. Then the staff, which made me glad that Asami hadn't shown up, I didn't lose my grip on it quite as much as before, but still enough that I would've felt pretty embarrassed in front of my girlfriend; still loving that.
After more staff drops than I'd care to count, lunch rolled around and morning airbending practise was over. I was glad for the opportunity to be cool off and not blast something in a fit of frustration, again; maybe I should take up Asami's offer for Arika to give me some pointers. For the moment I just wanted to enjoy my lunch maybe read the paper a little, didn't always get much news on the island.
I did not expect to find what I did in the paper; 'Soon to be opening, Futrue Industries Chi-blocking academy', I didn't believe it till I started reading it. Asami was opening a chi-blocking school? I stopped reading at the mention of Asami brushing off accusations of it being an easy recruitment ground for a second Equalist movement. I needed to talk to her right now.
Abandoning my lunch, I marched straight to the island shore, froze a small patch of ice to stand on and propelled it across the bay, launching myself onto the city streets; I wasn't going to wait for the ferry. I'd made sure to get as close as I could before I needed to walk the rest of the way; not that it took me long, I was eager to get there.
As I came up the steps to the front door, I found Arika just outside playing with a chubby black cat; which missed at the sight of me and ran off.
"Mikoto!" The maid called after the fleeing cat, "What could've spooked her so mu- Avatar Korra!" She jumped up quickly looking shocked before clearing her throat and smiling her usual smile. "We weren't expecting you." I didn't feel nervous around her right now.
"I need to talk to Asami." I told her my arms crossed, the newspaper still in one hand.
"She's in her study, I'll go and see if-" I wasn't in the mood for waiting.
"I know the way." Through the front door, up the stairs, past the powder room and in the big double doors; Arika was right behind me saying something about not barging in, I wasn't listening.
"Asami!" I called at her shocked face, "What the hell?!" I held up the newspaper to show her what I meant, "Why-Damn it! Why didn't you tell me about this?!" Why would she do it was another question I wanted to ask my stunned looking girlfriend.
"Could you please give us a minute?" She mentioned to Arika as the maid backed out of the room. "Let's sit down." She waved at the couches and I did, making sure to have the paper open to the right page as I put it down as I crossed my arms, leaning back; eager for some answers.
"Let's start at the beginning... I was going to tell you..." Oh was she.
"When exactly?" I seethed though gritted teeth.
"The other night at dinner, but I lost my nerve; it was our first date, I didn't want to ruin the mood." That was one question down.
"Do you really not care?" I asked and Asami looked up from her hands, confused.
"W-what?" Yep, she was confused.
"The paper said that you brushed it off when people said the Equalists could use this for recruiting." Asami let out a casual, groan like she was tired of a piece of music or something.
"Did they misquote me again? I-"
"Does it matter?!" I shouted, damn I hated feeling angry with Asami, "Do you know how on edge I was for weeks when they were around? I had nightmares about them breaking into my room at night..." Asami's expression changed from sheepish confusion to something else I couldn't quite place.
"That's it?" She scoffed at my words, "Are you kidding me?"
(Asami's point of view)
"I was going to tell you..." As good a place to start as any I guess.
"When exactly?"Korra's anger was palatable as her words seethed through her teeth
"The other night at dinner, but I lost my nerve; it was our first date," I let out a sigh at my pitiful excuse, "I didn't want to ruin the mood." I dropped my head into my hands, dreading Korra's response, it wasn't what I was expecting.
"Do you really not care?" I wasn't sure where that non-sequitur had come from.
"W-what?" Not as eloquent as would have liked to come off.
"The paper said that you brushed it off when people said the Equalists could use this for recruiting." Oh for the love of - I was getting very tired of that being taken out of context.
I let out a groan at the fact that the blasted tabloids were now impacting my relationship with Korra, "Did they misquote me again? I-"
"Does it matter?!" I jumped a little at Korra's shouting, surprised at her sudden outburst. "Do you know how on edge I was for weeks when they were around? I had nightmares about them breaking into my room at night..." I had to blink at that for a few moments, did Korra really just say that.
"That's it?" That's why she was annoyed? "Are you kidding me?" Avatar Korra, my girlfriend, the girl I loved; I honestly found it hard to believe she was being so short sighted and self-centred.
"What are you-" She stared, sounding confused; not getting the chance to finish.
"On edge for a few weeks? Try being on edge for years." I seethed at Korra from across the table. "I'm going to make the same point I made to everyone else, how many chi-blockers do you think signed up with Amon because they were sick and tired of being afraid of the triple threats." I repeated once again, this time with more force than more.
Korra was about to respond, but the heat of the moment drove me to try and enhance the point, "Or the Red Monsoons." And I cut off Korra again, "Or how about the Agni Kais!" My voice was raising as I went on, "And speaking of the Agni Kais-" Korra cut me off this time.
"Okay! I get it!" Korra rose to her feet, arms spread wide to emphasize her words. "But that's what the cops are for-" It wasn't even close to that simple.
"They don't always get there in time and you know it!" I rose to my feet to stare down my angry girlfriend, "And that's before remember the possibility of dirty cops, sure Lin's good and honest but she can't keep every officer on the force under belt!"
"That not fare!" Korra rebutted, backing down a little; not that I was in a state of mind to notice.
"Of course it's not fare!" I all but screamed back the obvious statement at Korra; then I started to snap, "It's not fare that some people are made targets because they weren't lucky enough to be born with bending! It's not fare that some people lose everything, everything! Because some people lucky enough to be born with bending liked being criminals and attacking non-benders and having to be afraid every single day!" And then I cracked.
"And nightmares! Oh please! It's been over a decade since..." I trailed off as I put a hand over my stinging eyes at the memories of my own recurring nightmare; the growing flames, the fear and her final scream. "Over a decade and I still have nightmares about my mother's death." I didn't mention the more recent addition to those nightmares, his words 'there is no chance to save you'.
I collapsed back onto the coach hands over my burning eyes, suppressing the tears with shuddering breaths, I'd gotten used to that over the months of hiding my feelings for Korra; I didn't expect Korra to cause them this time. I didn't even notice Korra sitting down next to me.
"I shouldn't have yelled." I peeked through my hands to see my girlfriend's sombre face. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry," I repeated back at her, taking my face out of my hands, turning away from her; I wasn't eager to show her my reddened eyes. "I should've told you." If I had maybe this wouldn't have happened and me and Korra wouldn't be -
"I shouldn't have gotten angry." Korra broke my train of thought as she took my hand with an affectionate squeeze. "I should've let you explain because, you were right." Her hand twisted around a little, lacing our fingers together; it was comforting.
(Korra's point of view)
I can't believe she just asked that, what the hell would I be joking about? I didn't appreciate her keeping this whole academy thing from me and really didn't appreciate that attitude. "What are you-" I started asking her before she cut me off.
"On edge for a few weeks? Try being on edge for years." I had to blink at that that, I'd never seen Asami hiss something through her teeth. "I'm going to make the same point I made to everyone else, how many chi-blockers do you think signed up with Amon because they were sick and tired of being afraid of the triple threats." That still didn't justify joining up with a monster.
"Or the Red Monsoons." Asami cut me off before I could answer her.
"Or how about the Agni Kais!" She was really overdoing this point, "And speaking of the Agni Kais-"
"Okay! I get it!" I shouted at her as I got up so look down at her glaring at me, annoyed at not getting a word in. I responded with the first thing that came to mind. "But that's what the cops are for-" Now it was Asami's turn to stand up shouting.
"They don't always get there in time and you know it!" I learnt that my first day in Republic City, if I hadn't been there...
"And that's before remember the possibility of dirty cops," Did she just imply- "Sure Lin's good and honest but she can't keep every officer on the force under belt!"
"That not fare!"
"Of course it's not fare!"Asami yelled at me with the same 'are you kidding me' face as earlier. "It's not fare that some people are made targets because they weren't lucky enough to be born with bending! It's not fare that some people lose everything, everything! Because some people lucky enough to be born with bending liked being criminals and attacking non-benders and having to be afraid every single day!" I didn't have a clue how argue that, and now that I thought about it I started to think that maybe I shouldn't...
"And nightmares! Oh please! It's been over a decade since..." Asami started to breathe deeply and put hand over eyes; why would she be -
"Over a decade and I still have nightmares about my mother's death." I blinked hard at that, some girlfriend I turned out to be, some Avatar I turned out to be. The more I thought about her words, about people being afraid and made targets just because they didn't have bending, the more I thought she was right, and if they didn't have to join up with the Equalists to learn how defend themselves...
I noticed Asami was sitting down now, still covering her eyes and trying to not cry at the unpleasant feelings I'd drudged up. I couldn't believe this had happened. I walked around the table we'd been arguing across to sit down next to my, girlfriend, hoping I'd still be able to call her that.
"I shouldn't have yelled." I came here angry, and wanting answers just devolved into a shouting match. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry," I noticed Asami looking away from me, her breathing still a bit off, "I should've told you." Her shoulders sagged as she apologised; I hated that she looked so defeated. I took and chance and reached out to take her hand.
"I shouldn't have gotten angry." That rarely did me any favours anyway; certainly didn't help here. "I should've let you explain because," I took a breath before admitting. "You were right." I felt pretty ashamed right now, not being able to see past my own interests. I turned her hand in mine so our fingers could mesh, I liked that feeling.
"I still should've told you, trusted you." Asami shook her head, her voice full of guilt. "Keeping secrets was a bad idea, our entire relationship was a secret-" Was?
"'Was'? You mean you want to..." Our first date had only been a few days ago.
"Don't you?" She thought this was a deal breaker?
"No!" I gripped tighter on her hand. "Okay so we both messed up, but I still think you're amazing and let's be fair; I was the one who barged in yelling." I shrugged at that, "It was kind of rude." I finished my little admission with a blush, which I guess gave Asami a little chuckle; that was nice to hear even if it was a little hollow.
"Korra, I don't want you to stay with me out of pity." Did she really think that?
"It's not out of pity." I wasn't very good at this. "Like I said, I wish you'd told me, but what you said about why, you were completely right, I just couldn't see it." Mostly because I wasn't looking past myself. "And I don't want 'us' to end." I held Asami's hand tighter.
"Are you really sure-" Oh for crying out loud. I groaned and lunged forward grabbed Asami by the scruff of her shirt, pulled her around to face me and slammed a kiss on my girlfriend. She was a bit tense for a moment before leaning as well; I really liked doing this. The kiss may have been brief, but pulling away left us both a bit breathless.
"I'm sure." I said, looking her directly in her beautiful green eyes.
"Well, okay then." Asami blushed a little with an adorable smile.
"We should probably do fine as long as we don't keep dark secrets from each other." I suggested, which caused Asami's smile to fade and her to avert her eyes, me and my big mouth.
"It's not exactly pertinent to anything immediate." I decided to not ask what 'pertinent' and just went with my best guess that it meant it wasn't relevant to anything at the moment. "And it's kind of hard to believe..."
"If it's not really important to anything, you don' have to tell me." It didn't seem fair, bursting into her office, yelling at her, almost making her cry and now getting some unnecessary secret out of her; some girlfriend I was turning out to be.
"Thanks but," Asami's grip on my hand squeezed a little tighter."I want to... It's about my mother..." And now I felt really guilty. "Or rather, my grandmother."
"Your grandmother?" I guess that's why it wasn't important right away, but what could it be about then?
"Yeah," Answered with a small nod and a deep breath before continuing; I was a little worried about this now. "My grandmother was..."
(Asami's point of view)
"I still should've told you, trusted you." I told my beloved Avatar, there was already more than enough deception necassary as things were, keeping things from Korra was a terrible idea. "Keeping secrets was a bad idea, our entire relationship was a secret-"I didn't get the chance to finish
"'Was'? You mean you want to..." Hearing Korra's pained voice tormented me a little inside; I was beginning to think that kissing her and starting this in the first place was a mistake.
"Don't you?" I was terrified of the inevitable answer.
"No!" The fervour in her voice and extra pressure of her finger gripping mine made my heart skip a beat. "Okay so we both messed up, but I still think you're amazing and let's be fair; I was the one who barged in yelling." Which wouldn't have happened if I'd just trusted Korra. "It was kind of rude." I guess I couldn't really argue with that, it gave a small mirthless laugh. Korra's words were comforting, even if I was afraid of the motivation behind them.
"Korra, I don't want you to stay with me out of pity." It hurt a little to give up what I thought was my last chance, but I wanted a real relationship.
"It's not out of pity." I wished I could believe that, but right now I couldn't. "Like I said, I wish you'd told me, but what you said about why, you were completely right, I just couldn't see it." I still shouldn't have resorted to shouting like I did. "And I don't want 'us' to end." I didn't want that either, I wanted o be with this magnificent woman, but I also wanted her to want me.
"Are you really sure-" I didn't even get the chance to finish my question before Korra grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me into a kiss, one hell of a kiss. She caught me by surprise at first, then I just relinquished myself to the sweet passion of this expression of affection; this beautiful Avatar's words may not have entirely convinced me, but this kiss did, actions did speak louder than words.
The only disappointing thing about this kiss was its short length; though I did get to see Korra's deep blue eyes afterward; damn I loved those eyes "I'm sure." The taste of her lips had made a rather compelling argument.
"Well, okay then." Was all I could really think of to say whilst I absentmindedly savoured the taste of Korra's lips on my own; also wondering if that was weird or something.
"We should probably do fine as long as we don't keep dark secrets from each other." Korra gave a small chuckle at her joke, I on the other hand was reminded of the other secret of mine, the one from my mother's diary. I guess Korra noticed my change of expression, judging from the groan she let out.
"It's not exactly pertinent to anything immediate." It really wasn't, but it was also unlikely to come up at any other time so I guess, this was as good a time as any. "And it's kind of hard to believe..." I didn't believe it at first, I still barely do.
"If it's not really important to anything, you don' have to tell me." I was thankful for that offer but I thought it would be good to get this off my chest; plus I didn't want Korra to find out somehow else and get upset, again.
"Thanks but, I want to... It's about my mother..." I tightened my grip on Korra's hand trying to summon the courage to just come out and say it. "Or rather, my grandmother."
"Your grandmother?" I guess that was confusing without the big part of the secret.
"Yeah," I took a deep breath, swallowed and just said it. "My grandmother was..."
Korra: There! You end it there! Why?! I want to know damn it!
Asami: I can tell you, it's-
Rottenwraith: Hey! Spoiler, my stories, please don't.
Korra: But you kind of left us hanging out to dry here.
Rottenwraith: I know I sort of did, but the reveal's part of the prequel and putting it here would ruin that story, so I decided to put the latter part of this epilogue in that story's epilogue.
Korra: So we should have it in a few months when you finally get around.
Rottenwraith: Actually I posed it today.
Asami/Korra: Huh?
Rottenwraith: Yeah, along with the last chapter of the aforementioned prequel and it's Omake
Asami: I'm not sure what to think...
Korra: Me neither... Is this like a sigh of the apocalypse or something?
Rottenwraith: What?!
Asami: Could be...
Rottenwraith: Oh for bloody hell's sake, you too?
Asami: Think about it, four updates in a single day when it hasn't months since your last update.
Rottenwraith: *eye roll* Yeah, really excellent point, I'm sure that works...
Korra: I'm scared... Hold me Asami.
Asami: Only if you hold me too.
Asami/Korra: *hold each other*
Rottenwraith: *groans* Readers, please review or whatever.