Korra walked inside the mansion at little passed three in the morning. The green eyed beauty had more than delivered a wonderful night and she hadn't wanted darker woman to leave, demanding another round. It had been so long since the Water Tribe woman had been with someone that she was more than eager to continue their actions, by the end leaving both woman sweating, panting and sated.

Once the Colonel made sure her companion was asleep she got up, got dressed, grabbed her jacket on the way out and called a cab.

She walked into kitchen to grab a snack but instead found Asami asleep at the island, all sorts of papers scattered around her. Korra sighed and shook her head. Looked like she wasn't the only one who'd stayed up late.

"'Sami," she tried, shaking her shoulder.

No response.

"C'mon. We gotta get you to bed."

The heiress groaned, shifting slightly but not making a move to actually get up. She was so exhausted and didn't even feel up to replying.

"You've got to quit doing this to yourself."

Korra exhaled softly when she still earned no response and wrapped her arms under the older woman's knees and shoulders and lifted the heiress up into her arms before heading up the stairs. The ravenette nuzzled her head against the Colonel's shoulder, mumbling something unintelligible. Her best friend smirked, her grip tightening slightly.

They reached Asami's room and gently Korra sat the engineer down, helping her get under the covers and tucking her in.

Once she made sure her friend was comfortable, the Colonel went back downstairs, grabbing a peach from the bowl on the counter and going to her room. The Water Tribe woman smiled when she spotted her pup curled up in a ball on her bed. Korra sat down and petted the puppy, earning a sound of approval as Naga stretched out her legs. Her owner chuckled and lay back on the bed and drifting off to sleep.

Early the next morning, Asami woke up to the familiar smell of food and the sound of clatter in the kitchen. She blinked, wondering how she'd gotten to her room before remembering Korra's voice. The engineer smiled and stood, heading down the steps to see her best friend cooking.

"Morning."

"What's for breakfast?"

"Potatoes, eggs with cheese," the Water Tribe woman answered before handing her friend a cup. "And coffee."

"Mmm, thanks," Asami answered appreciatively. "You were out late."

"Well, Mako took me out to a bar and I got a little sidetracked."

The Sato beauty nodded her head, whispering a thanks as the brunette handed her a plate and sat down on a stool. When the shorter woman joined her, she started to eat, noting how good the food was.

"Who was she?" she asked after a while.

"Some woman," Korra answered with a smirk, remember the night before. "Really pretty. Really fun."

Asami sighed and continued to eat. Looked like the one night stands were going to start up again.

The heiress sighed as she entered the mansion. Her new project was taking up a lot of her time, sleep, and patience. She'd known it wouldn't be easy to make what she had in mind but she hadn't thought it would be this hard. The engineer had all the designs done, well, the interior anyway, but actually creating the parts was taking longer than she'd hoped.

When she walked in, however, she found that she wasn't the only one up.

Korra had been tossing and turning for what seemed like hours. She hadn't really been sleeping the past couple of days but as exhausted as she was, she just couldn't get her brain to shut down. The Water Tribe woman groaned as she shifted once more, Naga letting out a whine. Slowly her eyes began to close only to open moments later, empty and glazed.

The military woman stood from her bed, carefully making her way out of her room and shutting the door. She leaned back against the wall, her mind in a different time and place. In the Colonel's mind she was in a training camp, two years ago in the Boiling Rock with her team.

Asami saw her friend and smiled. "And you tell me I need sleep?" the older woman asked with a smirk.

When she didn't get a response, she stepped toward her friend before watching her as she ducked behind the sofa. The heiress stopped in her tracks, not moving as she watched her friend roll to a different part of the living room and make different hand signals.

Asami did nothing as she realized what was happening: Her best friend was sleepwalking. She wanted to wake her up, to snap her out of whatever trance she was in but knew better. She couldn't and shouldn't wake up a sleepwalker. So the billionaire waited.

Finally after what seemed like hours, Korra stood once more, and walked up to her room, Asami following, before she stopped at her door. The Colonel groaned softly, shaking her head and looked around, wondering what she was doing up. She didn't remember getting out of bed.

"Asami?" she asked when she spotted the ravenette.

The Sato woman blinked but managed a thin smile. "Hey, I was just coming in."

"It's late. What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same."

The Water Tribe woman furrowed her brow, before shaking her head. "I was just walking around," she answered, unsure. "Well, I'm going back to bed, good night."

Asami nodded, watching the shorter woman head back to bed. She didn't know. Korra didn't know she was sleepwalking. The heiress huffed and went down the hall to her room. She'd have to keep an eye on this.

Asami sighed as her robot assistant was once again distracted. She couldn't seem to get her creation's attention long enough to get anything done when her best friend was around. The robot had taken a certain interest, almost liking, to the Southern Tribe woman which she found a bit fascinating.

Her bot was not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed but he had seemed to develop his own personality. The other robotic arm simply served its function, but this one did more than that. Asami suspected it was because he was one of her first creations for her new project and having spent a lot of time with her, and also having listened to her troubles, the robot had become a little more than it was.

"So what is the suit supposed to do, exactly?" the brunette asked.

"The titanium alloy suit is designed by Miss Sato to protect the host in battle," the computer system replied. "It is more flexible, easier to control, and with greater power than any suit in existence. In theory, that is."

The Colonel raised a brow, looking at her best friend. "Do you mind explaining?"

"J.A.R.V.I.S. is the computer program I told you about," the heiress explained. "He's helping me build the suit."

"What does J.A.R.V.I.S. stand for?"

Asami smiled. "Just A Rather Very Intelligent System."

Her best friend sighed and shook her head. Of course. The raven haired woman chuckled and Korra looked at the design on the computer, furrowing her brow.

"What is it going to look like?" she asked. "I mean, the outside?"

The engineer hummed. "I don't know yet. I'm sort of working on it from the inside out. This is just a prototype. It will probably take a year or so for me to perfect it."

The Colonel nodded her head, taking in the skeleton design before grabbing a blank sheet of paper. Asami raised a brow at the shorter woman's actions but returned her attentions to the arm she was working on, getting her distracted robot to help her. After some time, the Water Tribe woman pushed the piece of paper towards her friend and the mechanic took it, taking in the intriguing design.

"What do you think?" Korra asked with a smirk. "The chest is missing something. I thought about putting the Future Industries logo but it doesn't fit."

Asami nodded her head as she studied the possible look of her robot. She had to admit she was even more excited now.

"It's amazing," she finally answered looking up at the sketch's creator."

The Colonel smirked. "You're the one building it," she answered before looking down at her watch. "Oh, I have to go. I'm meeting a very good looking woman tonight and I don't want to be late."

The heiress sighed and nodded her head, watching her friend leave the garage. So much for spending time together.

Asami watched the brunette bench press from her spot on the treadmill. The heiress normally wouldn't think anything of it except that her best friend was lifting one hundred pound plates on each side as if they were nothing.

She had started to notice the Colonel's increased strength. Her reflexes were a lot faster, and she seemed to recover quicker as well. For weeks after the fusion between human and Spirit, the ravenette had started to observe these slight variations. Now, seeing this, she could only wonder what other side effects came with the bonding.

The shorter woman took a deep breath as she lowered the bar to her chest, exhaling as she lifted it up again. Korra had to admit that she loved the fact her best friend had a gym in the mansion. She often found herself needing another way to blow off steam.

Her phone rang and the Water Tribe woman lifted the bar up and set it on the rung before sitting up and answering, using her other hand to lift the hem of her shirt and wipe her brow. "Chief Tonraq, I didn't expect a call from you so soon, sir," she greeted.

The Colonel's father had just called her the day before to ask how training the soldiers was going and if they had any news on what was going on in the Earth Nation.

"This isn't a work call."

Korra furrowed her brow. "Oh. Is everything alright?"

"Your mother says you haven't answered her calls."

A loud sigh. "I've been occupied with the Earth Kingdom situation. The General-"

"I told you this wasn't a work call, Korra," her father interrupted. "She's your mother. She worries." A pause. "I worry."

"...I'm fine."

"Then tell her that. I'll be wanting a full report in a week."

"I thought this wasn't a work call," she answered dryly.

"You're still a colonel. Keep me updated."

The brunette sighed and ended the call, laying down on the bench, stretching out and rubbing her face.

Asami slowed as she studied the way the muscled arms flexed, the tendons shifting beneath a thin suit of skin. She stumbled slightly before catching herself and continuing her run, shaking her head.

As Korra's hand drew deliberate lines in her sketchbook her blue eyes would periodically flick to her phone before going back to the paper. It had been a couple of days since the brunette's father had called and she knew he'd call again if she didn't talk to her mother soon. The Colonel sighed as she worked on the details of her drawing. She was fine, her mother knew that.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, the robotic arm began to move towards the military woman, its wheels squeaking. It looked over the Water Tribe woman's shoulder, making a noise as it's camera lens studied the drawing. Korra raised a brow and looked over her shoulder at the machine, causing her best friend to laugh.

"Looks like you've got an admirer," the engineer teased as she sat in her mechanics chair.

"Doesn't it have something better to do?"

"You know, I could ask you the sane question."

The Colonel furrowed her brow, looking at the heiress before letting out a groan. So her parents had called her too. She tried to ignore the engineer's stare and she put her pencil down, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm not calling her."

Asami's piercing green gaze didn't waver.

"She's probably busy," Korra tried to reason, shifting under the other woman's scrutiny.

The engineer raised a brow incredulously.

Korra huffed in defeat, shaking her head in frustration. "Geez, you're bossy. Fine. I'm calling, I'm calling."

"That's what I thought," Asami answered with a triumphant grin.

Both the bot and her watched the tan woman exit the garage as she started to dial her mother's number. Asami smiled softly to herself and called her creation to help her. At least now Senna would have some peace of mind.

Korra could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins as the plane took off. It had been a while since she'd flown a F-35 but all she knew was that she simply loved the feeling. Being the Chief's daughter, the military woman had been trained in almost every area and although she enjoyed having a tactical team, she also enjoyed flying.

All eyes were on her, and the heiress would be lying if she wasn't nervous. It would be the first real assignment and she didn't know if the shorter girl was ready. Rhodes on the other hand, saw it as an opportunity despite the General's objections.

Asami took a deep breath, standing next to her father who had decided to make a surprise visit and see how his latest aircrafts would hold. The raven haired woman had been happy to see her father but the man could see the nerves coming off his daughter. Hiroshi was vaguely aware of what had happened to the Colonel in the South but was glad she was okay.

"Ready Sapphire?" Iroh asked as he followed the aircraft in front of him.

He hadn't been thrilled about the Water Tribe woman participating in the test, but seeing as Chief Tonraq thought it was a good idea he had let her slide. Of course, he had agreed with the condition he too was able to fly along side her.

The drones they were up against had been worked on by both Satos, making them virtually indestructible. The General himself had tried to outdo the aircrafts with no success. Which is why Mako and the Southern Chief thought Korra should give it a shot. She was a hell of a strategist, and a great pilot.

"Born that way, Fireball," the blue eyed woman answered. The black drones zoomed past her causing her plane to shake a little. She looked up trying to get them off her tail with little success.

"Dammit Asami, what do you feed those things?" Korra asked as she maneuvered away from them. The heiress smirked, sharing a smile with her father. "Fireball there's no way we can take them down solo we need to work together, get over here so we can figure something out."

Iroh grinned. "On my way Sapphire." He knew she couldn't do anything he hadn't already tried.

The Colonel waited till her wingman was flying next to her, turning her head to look at him before smirking. This was going to be fun.

"Now sit right there, and look real pretty," she said as she pulled up and away from him, getting behind the droids.

The Firebender growled at that, making all sorts of maneuvers to shake them off. Hiroshi hummed thoughtfully as he watched, realizing what the younger woman was doing. Too soon the drones zeroed in on the General, locking in on their target and 'firing' away. Iroh let out a frustrated growl as his plane started to immediately descend, having lost the dogfight.

"Sapphire, did you just use your wingman as a decoy?" Mako asked, failing to hide his amusement.

Korra laughed in response, as zeroed in on the two drones. She raised her altitude, keeping more distance between them as she tried to get a lock on them. Child's play.

Asami frowned as she looked up and noticed her business partner on the balcony of the tower and went to see what he was messing with. "What are you doing?" the heiress asked.

"Working on a magnetic pulse, what's it look like?" Varrick replied, gesturing quickly to the device before him.

"We're testing the drones, can't this wait?"

"Sure thing," Varrick answered with a shrug. "Can't get the damn thing to work anyway."

To demonstrate this he flicked the machine on again, only to send out the intended magnetic pulse. Asami's eyes went wide as she ran back inside the control room, seeing the machines fail and watching in horror as the planes began to fall.

"Turn it off!" she snapped at the inventor.

The Colonel cursed as her plane turned off, watching helplessly as it spiraled down. She kept trying to reboot it with no success, slamming her hands on the control and closing her eyes.

Every weekend they came out early from their bunks and played soccer, Ben and her against the rest of the team members. Manny and Joey always tried to keep the two players away from each other while Amy watched the goal and Julie tried to keep the ball away. However, they always seemed to come up short against the duo, often buying them drinks after their defeat.

"Korra, you are approaching minimal ejection altitude," Mako warned his friend again, after she hadn't replied to his first two attempts of warning. "I repeat, eject."

The military woman could still hear their grumbles and laughs. Hopping up on Ben's back whenever they'd win and do their victory dance...

"Eject, dammit!" Asami snapped.

The Colonel sucked in a sharp breath, pulling the lever under her seat and ejecting out of the plane. She took deep breaths, trying to shake off what had happened.

If Varrick hadn't slipped away after that little stunt the heiress might have strangled him. The panic and near anguish she'd felt had brought her back to a couple months ago, when Korra was close to taking her last breath. The engineer had watched helplessly as the aircraft plummeted, the Water Tribe woman still inside.

Just when all hope had seemed lost, and after the Firebender and raven haired woman practically yelled at her, the woman had ejected. Hiroshi had watched quietly from the sidelines, knowing that what would follow would be less than pleasant for the shorter woman.

A military truck approached and Asami quickly ran over and hugged Korra. "You've got to quit scaring me like this."

"I...I didn't mean to..."

She seemed a little disorientated, and felt a bit numb. It had been her second close encounter to death in such a short time. Mako placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a small smile before the General walked over. The Lieutenant Colonel huffed.

"You stupid son of a bitch," Iroh growled at the tan woman.

"Calm down, Iroh," the heiress replied. "It doesn't matter now."

"It does matter. I told you she wasn't ready."

"The crash wasn't her fault."

He scoffed and shook his head. "She's not ready."

"You know what, Iroh, back off," Korra replied. She was tired of everyone speaking for her like she wasn't there. "The crash wasn't my fault, the damn plane malfunctioned. And if you're sore because I did what you couldn't do, grow up."

"You can lie to yourself and maybe to your father," the General began. "But not me. You shouldn't be here." He bumped her shoulder as he left, causing her to growl. What the hell was his problem?

"What happened?" the heiress asked after a moment, her analytical gaze landed on her long time friend.

"I don't know, it just stopped working-"

Her best friend shook her head. "No, what happened?" The Colonel lowered her gaze. What could she say? She had choked. "Do you want to die? Is that what this is about?"

"Asami," her father cautioned.

The Water Tribe woman glanced over at the billionaire before returning her attention to his daughter and shook her head. "...No. No, it's about the soldiers that are still fighting." She wanted to help them, she needed to. "It's for them that I insist on going back."

"You took too long to eject-"

"I know what happened, Asami," Korra snapped, frustrated with this whole situation, at Asami, at herself. "I was there." The blue-eyed girl stormed off, heading back into the control tower and most likely home after that.

"Korra-"

"Give her some space," Mako told the heiress, grabbing her arm so she wouldn't follow the brunette. "She's been through a lot."

"Rhodes is right," the industrialist agreed. "Korra needs to be left alone. She'll talk, in time."

Mako found Korra inside changing her clothes in the locker room. The Colonel made her annoyance clear when she spotted her friend, closing her locker door and grabbing her jacket. The Lieutenant Colonel sighed and followed her to the door, blocking her exit. She growled in response and his lips twitched. He knew she'd get defensive after what had happened but he also knew how to calm her.

"Get out of my way, Mako."

"You know we're friends, right?" he asked. "I'm here for you."

The Water Tribe woman crossed her arms over her chest, letting out a huff. "I'm not going to talk about what happened."

He shrugged in response. "Okay."

Korra raised a suspicious brow. "Okay?"

"You need space, I get it," the Firebender answered. "I just want you to know I'm here. You don't have to be alone."

She studied him for a moment and he slowly wrapped his arms around her. The smaller woman allowed him, returning the embrace and feeling herself relax. Mako knew she had choked and that perhaps the General had been right, in a sense anyways. There was no question the Colonel was ready for the physical aspects of the military but clearing her head in dangerous situations was not something she could do yet.

"Rhodey, can you go with me somewhere?" she asked after a moment.

"Where do you want to go?"

Korra pulled away and smirked as she looked up at him. Not long after they found themselves in a tattoo shop, the shorter woman on her stomach, the Firebender holding her hand as the artist carefully tattooed five names in small black script so that it fit comfortably between the shoulder blades starting at the base of her neck. It didn't really hurt as the ink pen carved into her caramel back but she wanted a comfort of sorts, something Mako had always given her throughout the ups and downs of their relationship.

An hour or so later the Lieutenant Colonel parked at the gates of the Sato mansion, earning a sigh from his passenger. She knew the heiress would be worried if she didn't come home but right now she didn't want to talk about what had happened on the plane. The Firebender reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.

"She worries. We all do."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Then tell her that," Mako answered.

The Colonel sighed and nodded, getting out of the car and waving goodbye. She walked up the driveway before her gaze landed on the garage outside. She decided to head in that direction instead.

Korra turned on the lights, causing the computers to turn on as well, her gaze landing on what she was looking for. The robotic arm made a whirring sound when it spotted the brunette, wheeling closer only for her to glare at it and hiss to stay where it was. She pressed her hand against the chest of the iron suit before taking off her jacket, her choice made.

It was time for a test drive.