After popping her head into Korra's room to check on her over a dozen times, one of the air acolytes suggested that if she was really so concerned, Asami could sit beside the bed until Korra woke. She prepared to decline but the acolyte materialized with a chair, and Asami could hardly refuse such a kind gesture or the gentle smile directed at her. And she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel relieved once seated.
Watching Korra sleep was something else. Her hair was down, long and loose. Asami wanted to brush it out and braid it like she'd done to other girls' hair in school. She briefly wondered why Korra didn't wear it down more often when they were hanging out around the island. But it was Korra's face that was far more fascinating. Asami had seen a slew of different expressions cross Korra's visage but now, as she slept deeply, blank faced save for a healing scratch on her cheek, Asami couldn't help but stare.
She looks so young, Asami thought. They were practically the same age but Korra's Avatar responsibilities weighed on her, made her look so serious and so much older at times. Of course Korra also had her moments where she seemed more rebellious teenager than omnipotent spiritual icon, but as she slept, she was neither of those things. She was just a girl, a regular human being. And she was finally stirring.
Asami debated dropping the hand she'd been holding for a while, not certain if Korra would mind it. In the end, she kept the contact. It was more comfort for her than Korra, feeling the vital warmth seep into her palm; it was a reassurance she still needed. The healing scars on Korra's body were scary even now, but the healers that saw to her after they landed on the island assured Tenzin that there was nothing seriously wrong, and most of Korra's cuts and bruises were so minor that they were faded or completely gone now.
Blue eyes blinked out of sleepiness and Korra sat up in bed, the sheets previously covering her falling and pooling around her waist. "Mmm, Asami? What time is it?" Korra rubbed her face with her free hand.
She looked considerably healthier than the last time she was conscious. Asami leaned forward in her chair. "Two in the afternoon. You've been asleep for a while. Feeling any better?"
Korra took stock of her body, her eyes briefly taking in their hands wordlessly, and then smiled at Asami. "Still sore but other than that, I think I'm okay."
A sigh escaped Asami and she squeezed Korra's hand. She got a firm grasp back and the gesture, coupled with the fact that Korra really did look significantly more recovered, lightened Asami immensely. "Good. I was really worried about you. I felt everything that happened to you while I was still locked up in jail and I couldn't do anything to help. I didn't know if you were really hurt or..." She couldn't finish her sentence.
Korra's hand twitched in hers. "That sounds pretty scary. I was worried too, when I felt you getting bloodbent and then the pain just…stopped." She frowned, but then her head snapped up. "Actually, I came up with an idea for that while Tarrlok held me in that box."
"For what?" Asami cocked her head to the side.
"When we're apart, and we feel something happen, we can let each other know we're okay." Korra slipped her hand out of Asami's and threaded her own fingers together. "To ask if someone's all right, squeeze three times." Korra clenched her hands together hard a few times and Asami felt three faint throbs in her own pale fingers. "And to respond, two for yes and one for no."
It was a good idea, but something about it didn't settle right with Asami. "Do you think we're going to be apart a lot?" She didn't want this to become a regular thing.
Any excitement contained in Korra's eyes at her plan vanished and the grim faced Avatar was back. "There's bound to be a situation that calls for just the Avatar. Not that I don't want you fighting with me. I saw you take out that mustache guy." The seriousness faded a little as Korra offered her a small, crooked smile.
Pride swelled in Asami's chest. She absolutely could take care of herself. Though Korra had a point that they couldn't always fight alongside one another. "I know you're right. And it's a good idea." But Asami really didn't want to think about having to use pain codes right now, not when they were both safe. "So, you want to get cleaned up and get something to eat? I'll see if lunch is still going on."
"That sounds great, actually." Korra stretched, threw the covers off, and swung her legs off the bed.
She paused when her feet hit the floor. Asami stood up, meaning to leave the room to give Korra some privacy, but the look on Korra's face pulled her up short. She couldn't sense any of Korra's pain, but her friend looked troubled. "Are you still tired? I can help—"
Korra waved her off with a smirk. "You just want to sweep me off my feet again, don't you?"
Asami rolled her eyes but was glad Korra had plenty of energy to tease her. "You wish. Now, what's up?"
"Did you stay with me the whole time I slept?" Korra's face was composed, her voice soft.
"No," Asami said. "I checked in a lot though. And I've only been sitting here for a few hours." Or five.
Korra muttered what sounded like, "only," before getting up and fishing around her closet for clean clothes. Asami took the opportunity to sneak out and head to the dining room. It was empty but there was a clattering in the kitchen. Asami poked her head in, nearly running into Pema in the process.
"Sorry," she apologized. "Korra's awake and I thought I'd see about lunch."
Pema smiled at her. "You guys just missed it, but I cooked extra just in case. I'll set it out and she can come get it when she's ready."
"Thank you. I'll let her know. She's getting cleaned up right now so she'll probably be along in a few minutes."
Pema nodded as she bustled about the kitchen with more speed than someone who was that pregnant had any right. Asami almost asked if she needed help when they both heard a door down the hall open. A twinge went through Asami's left side, like she'd bumped her hip against something. When no sounds of footsteps greeted them, Pema said, "Korra might say she's fine, but her legs are probably a little stiff from sleeping all day. You better make sure she's good to walk down."
Asami merely nodded and made her way back to Korra's room. The door was already open so Asami figured it was safe to enter. She started talking as she pushed the door the rest of the way open to alert Korra of her presence. "Everyone already ate lunch but Pema said she has some left—" Oh.
Asami froze just inside the doorway. Korra stood in the middle of the room, hair up in wolf tails again, completely dressed, but she'd lifted her shirt with her left hand while her right hand, encircled with glowing water, probed the fresh, dark scar just above the waistband of her pants on her left side; the most serious wound she'd gotten during her fight with Tarrlok. So that's what she felt in the kitchen. But it wasn't the scar or the healing technique that drew Asami's attention now.
"Abs." Asami blushed and bit down hard on her traitorous tongue.
Korra flinched and looked up at her. She flicked the water back into the cup on the nightstand and dropped her shirt. "Sorry, I didn't catch that. My side's still bothering me so I was trying to heal it some more."
"I didn't say anything important," Asami said regaining herself somewhat. "Just that Pema's got leftovers. You slept through lunch." Hopefully Korra wouldn't point out her red face.
Instead, Korra's hands flew to her stomach and Asami had to look away, remembering the sight just beneath the light blue fabric. She knew Korra was fit, so logically she probably had sculpted muscles everywhere (and it's not like her shirts really hid that) but seeing the hard lines and curves of dark skin was another thing entirely.
"Good 'cause I'm starving." Korra tucked her shirt into her pants and grabbed a dark blue hooded coat out of her closet before heading towards the door. "You coming?"
Asami nodded jerkily and half stumbled out of the room after her friend. Pull yourself together, Sato. So Korra has abs. Really impressive abs. Big deal, she thought as she and Korra stepped into the dining room. Pema already had a couple bowls of food set out on the table and Korra plopped down in front of them, eagerly digging in. Asami giggled when Korra groaned around a huge mouthful of bread, saying something that sounded like, "Soooo hungry."
"Don't choke," Asami said, smoothing her pants out before bending down to take a seat beside her friend.
Korra swallowed hard and wiped her mouth before saying, "Er, before you sit down, could you get me some tea? If it's not too much trouble?"
"No problem. Be right back." Asami straightened up and turned towards the kitchen.
It swung open before she reached it, allowing Bolin, the airbender kids, Tenzin and a tired Pema into the room. The mother gave her a polite nod as she passed, heading for the closest seat. Chatter began immediately as Tenzin asked Korra what happened after she confronted Tarrlok. Asami didn't want to hear about the bloodbending or the fight—she'd felt it just fine—so stepped into the kitchen and, after finding no hot water prepared, she fetched the teakettle from the cupboard, filled it in the sink, and set it on the stove.
Several minutes passed as she waited for the water to come to a boil and Asami longed to return to the room with everyone else. Just when she thought about abandoning her post next to the stove, the door creaked open and Mako entered. "Hey, Korra was wondering if you were okay in here. She said you've been in here 'forever'." He made air quotes as he said the last word. "She's just bored now that Tenzin's left for his council meeting."
"She wanted some tea but there wasn't any hot water so I put some on to boil." She smiled at him. "Think you could speed it along?"
"Uh, sure." He took the kettle from the stove and held it in his hands. He squinted like he was looking through it, then scanned Asami's face. "What's up with you two, anyways? You haven't left her side since we found her."
Uh oh. Mako was on to them. Telling him the truth—that she and Korra were soul mates—wasn't exactly high on her priority list, namely because Mako was a good friend and she didn't want to hurt him. Because how can you tell your friend that sorry, I found my soul mate and it's the girl you thought was your intended a couple weeks ago? Asami didn't know. So she planned on waiting to tell Mako (and everyone else), hoping that time would soothe any hurt or awkwardness between them. Maybe he'd even find his soul mate before then and they could all laugh about it.
She shrugged, and tried to act indifferent as responded to him. "You've been checking on her as much as I have." More than once, Asami heard Mako slide Korra's door open so he could peek in from the hallway, so she technically wasn't lying.
Mako shook his head. "I have, but I didn't camp out in her room. Or hold her hand while she slept." He saw that?!
Asami swallowed hard, rolled her shoulders, and stood tall. She wouldn't blush. Not that anything Mako said was blush worthy. Nope. "She's been really helpful making me feel comfortable here and helping me deal with my dad. So when she got hurt, I wanted to be there for her like she's been there for me." Though every word was true, Asami still felt like she was lying.
"You're really close." It was an observation and his tone was light, but Asami bristled like it was a personal attack.
"She's my friend." Squirming in her stomach made her frown. "My best friend." Some of the swirling relented.
It was because she wasn't being honest with Mako, denying the nature of the bond between her and Korra. It was nothing but guilt. But that word didn't fit as she tried to attach it to her feelings.
Ever since Asami moved to the island, Korra wasn't more than a stone's throw away from her most times. Granted, Korra's room was diagonal to hers and more often than not, Korra stayed on the island to practice her airbending forms while Asami sketched or tinkered with her glove or car. But at some point each day, they would end up sitting together—on the training grounds, under a shady tree, in one of their rooms—just talking about nothing. How unseasonably warm one day had been, how obnoxious Meelo was at lunch, how much they missed eating meat. It was so easy, like breathing.
And then there was the night where Asami couldn't sleep, when she missed her father and their mansion and wandered the halls of the women's dormitory. She tried not to let her anguish consume her but Korra felt it, found her, sat up with her until the wee hours of the morning, just listening as Asami said, "I can't believe he's with Amon," over and over again.
It was one of the kindest acts anyone had ever done for her, and Korra had done it not once but several times over, so Asami had no trouble calling the girl her best friend.
Asami jolted back to the present as the kettle whistled in Mako's palms. "Water's ready," he said.
He seemed unsure of what to speak about next but he didn't have to wait very long for a distraction. Something loud went off in the distance, making both of them snap to attention. They shared a look of panic before rushing into the adjoining room. Korra was on her feet, pulling on her coat while Pema urged her children to remain seated. Once Korra got her head and arms in the right holes, she, Mako, Bolin, and Asami ran outside. They spilled out into a courtyard and Asami stopped mid step.
Off across the bay, Republic City was engulfed in smoke and flames. Another bang echoed over the water and a cloud of gray shot up where a building used to be. The city was under attack. Lin, who must have been patrolling the grounds, did nothing to stop them when Korra said they had to go find Tenzin and do something to stop the attack on the city.
It only took Korra five minutes to prepare a boat and waterbend them across the bay. The whole time, Asami's eyes were glued to the dark smudges in the skies. As they neared the docks, she saw they were her father's airships, hulls emblazoned with equalist symbols, grander, faster, and more dangerous than any police model. Bile rose in her throat. Of course her dad would build Amon a superior fleet. She tried to force the terrible truth aside for now and tried to focus on the current mission to find Tenzin as they floated up to the dock. They all leapt down. Mako was busy securing the boat so Asami turned to Korra and Bolin. "Where did you say you parked the car?"
"It's right around here somewhere," Korra said, sounding shy, which was odd. "There it is!" She sprinted off and everyone chased after her.
Asami pulled up short when she caught sight of her car smashed into a light post. She'd helped build this car and was a little irritated to see the front dinged up, the paint gone in a few places. It was petty to get upset over superficial damage (and maybe she wasn't doing such a good job at ignoring her father's dark creations looming in the sky above either) but it seeped into her tone anyways. "Wow. Nice parking job."
Korra reacted defensively. "Hey! You got arrested and left me alone with the car. I made it very clear I don't know how to drive." She waved her arms around before huffing.
Asami rolled her eyes. "I offered to teach you the other day. If you'd taken me up on it, maybe you wouldn't have crashed."
"What's your problem? It's not even that bad!" Korra's voice was steadily climbing, which only made Asami more irked.
Asami prepared to snap a retort but Bolin cut in. "Ugh, guys, stop fighting like a married couple. Now's really not the time."
That shut her and Korra up. Asami couldn't bear to look at Korra, suddenly very embarrassed, so she got into the driver seat. She was disappointed when Korra climbed into the backseat behind her. She glanced in the rear view mirror and saw blue eyes fixed on her. Korra mouthed, "Sorry," and looked away before Asami could mouth back a, "Me too."
Screw what she said earlier. Korra totally wanted Asami by her side in every battle she fought, even big Avatar-only ones. The girl sacrificed her car—which Korra had to harass her about later because come on, blowing it up was so much worse than denting the front bumper on a light pole—to take out a couple of mecha tanks. Then, while she, Mako, and Bolin took out the rest of the platinum death suits, Asami dropped five chi blockers with her electric glove.
Korra, pretty busy with her own fight, only looked over once when Asami grunted in pain and a sharp ache shot up Korra's arm to her shoulder. She saw Asami twist out of the masked man's grip and deliver a shock to his back. He fell limply, like the four other equalists passed out on the ground.
Korra short circuited the last tank in front of her and saw Tenzin dispatch the final one. Mako, Bolin, and Asami rushed towards her and they huddled together. Asami wasn't even panting as she joined the circle, but her face was flushed and her green eyes shone with a hard, bright light. Korra stepped forward to tell her how amazing she was when Mako gasped. "Guys, look!"
Everyone followed to where he pointed. The blood drained from Korra's face and her stomach bottomed out. Two airships hovered over Air Temple Island. They all watched in horror as cables shot out, tethering the airships to the ground. "No," Tenzin said.
He whistled for Oogi and everyone hurried to climb up into the saddle. Korra pulled Asami up and they sat together silently as Tenzin urged his flying companion onward. When they started to put the city behind them, Asami spoke. "I'm so sorry."
Bolin and Mako stared at her quizzically. "What are you apologizing for?" Bolin asked.
Asami pulled her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. She looked absolutely miserable. Korra touched her arm but Asami didn't acknowledge it. "My father's responsible for this. He built the airships for Amon."
"So?" Mako raised an eyebrow. "If you think that something your dad did is your fault, you're wrong."
Asami blew out a puff of air and ran a hand through her long, dark hair. "Maybe if I noticed earlier." She bit her lower lip. "I knew something was off but I never imagined it was because he joined the equalists. If I'd paid more attention—"
"Hey." Korra waited until Asami's eyes were on her. "You couldn't possibly have known what was going on. Don't dwell on it."
Asami's eyes swam with tears as she gazed at Korra. "But if something happens to the kids, I—"
"We'll get there in time," Tenzin said stiffly from his seat. "We have to believe that."
No one spoke until they landed and saw Lin, Ikki, Jinora, and Meelo surrounding a bunch of bound masked people. Korra was relieved no one was hurt, but was also incredibly proud of the kids she'd come to see as her younger siblings. She was about to let Meelo tell the tale of how he took out a chi blocker with fart bending when Lin mentioned Pema had gone into labor. Tenzin rushed ahead and Korra tried to stay right behind him. She was surprised when Asami jogged up beside her.
"I want to see the baby," Asami said shyly.
"Then let's go." She grabbed Asami's hand and they both picked up the pace, rushing into the room in time to see Pema pass a squalling baby boy to her husband.
"Wow." Korra glanced at Asami.
Her face was lit up in wonder, her green eyes on the bundle in Tenzin's arms. "Pretty cute, huh?" Korra leaned closer to ask.
Asami met her gaze and nodded, but Korra also saw concern flash across Asami's face. She understood. The baby was so tiny, so fragile, so precious. He needed to be protected, as did his siblings. With more equalists drawing near, this was not the time or the place to fawn over the new child. Korra stepped forward, each foot fall heavy. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but more airships are coming."
The joy in Tenzin's eyes faded, replaced by a cold resoluteness. They were quick to come up with a plan to get his family out. Lin would accompany him and his family to a safe location. Korra was about to suggest her own plan of attack when Tenzin cut her off. "I want you to leave this island and hide for the time being."
Anger boiled up inside her. She was supposed to let Amon get away with bombing the city and infiltrating her home? "I'm not giving up!" She snapped.
Tenzin assured her that his plan was the wiser, safer choice and in then end, Korra agreed to wait for the United Forces to arrive before taking back Republic City, though it was an unhappy decision. That didn't stop her from hugging her mentor farewell and wishing him safe travels before he disappeared into the air on Oogi.
Korra barely had time to mourn the loss of her home and her second family when the first airship fired a stake into the ground near her. Dozens of equalists slid down the attached cable. The White Lotus guards on hand told her to go as they held off the wave of descending enemies. Korra felt bad about leaving them behind but she had her mission: run and hide.
She called Naga and this time, when everyone climbed on, she ran without fuss. Then'd barely been running for a minute down the path to the shore when Asami's arms tightened around Korra and she took a sharp intake of breath. "Korra—"
"Mustache guy!" Bolin shouted.
Sure enough, Amon's second in command leapt from a ridge, wielding his signature electrified sticks. Naga reacted and Korra felt a little smug that her companion didn't need urging to take out the bad guy, batting the man away with a giant white paw while barely breaking her stride. "Nice one, Naga." Korra ruffled the fur on the polar bear dog's neck.
As they reached the shoreline, Asami's voice was in Korra's ear again, slightly panicked. "Wait, are we going to swim all the way across the bay? Aren't we going to get wet? It's freezing out."
If they weren't fleeing (again, Korra lamented) she would have laughed. "Don't worry about it."
Clearly that didn't reassure Asami because as soon as Naga jumped off the end of the stone pier, Asami's arms were vices around Korra's middle and she buried her face between Korra's shoulder blades. The water rushed up to meet them literally as Korra bent the water around them to form a giant air bubble. Both Mako and Bolin made noises of amazement while Asami loosened her death grip. "See?" Korra said. "We're good."
"Wow." Asami shifted behind her so Korra guessed she was looking around at the bubble.
Bolin was the first to start a conversation. "Korra, this is seriously so cool and I'm super glad I'm not soaking wet but, uh, where are we going to go now?"
That was the question, wasn't it? Where did people go to hide in Republic City? Being the Avatar meant being in the world spotlight all the time, so Korra had no idea where to start looking for secluded spots. Thankfully, Mako did. "The sewers or the underground are probably the best place to hide," he said. "Lots of homeless people live down there so we'd be able to blend into a crowd."
"Okay. I've seen drain pipes to the east of the docks. We'll go there." Korra adjusted the bubble accordingly to steer Naga in the right direction.
It was silent for the rest of the trip as the reality of their situation crashed down upon them. At least that's how it felt to Korra. They were alone in a city being run by man able to strip people of their bending with a technologically advanced army backing him. And all they could do was hide until the United Forces showed up to save them.
When they finally broke the surface of the deep blue water, they came face to face with a large, industrial pipe. Korra bent a platform of water so Naga didn't have to scramble up. Her friends got off and started walking down into the tunnel but Korra couldn't. Not yet. She looked back at Air Temple Island, now overrun with Amon's men. She wanted to hit something. This patience plan sucked.
"Korra, we should get going," Mako said as he and Bolin waded deeper down the sewer pipe, Naga trailing behind them.
Korra crossed her arms and stared at the horizon, where the sun was setting, painting orange and pink streaks across the sky. Water sloshed around her ankles and Korra clenched her jaw shut so she wouldn't yell at Mako. Except the hand that touched her shoulder wasn't Mako's.
"We really should move," Asami said gently.
Korra sighed and felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes. "This isn't the way I want to fight. It feels like I'm abandoning the city."
Asami's hand pushed Korra's shoulder away, forcing Korra to turn and look at her. Korra was taken aback by the anger in Asami's eyes. "You're not. We're not. We're just biding our time until we can do something."
"Patience, I know." When was everyone going to learn that that wasn't her thing?
Asami frowned and looked out to the island too, though Korra noticed her eyes were on the airships in the sky. "I'm not happy about it either. If there were a way for me to take down my father right now, I'd do it. But we need back up."
Of course Asami was just as anxious to do something to stop the equalists from taking over, but she was much better at restraining herself. "I know. Doesn't make waiting any easier."
"Come on. Let's catch up to the boys." Asami turned her back on the pipe entrance and started forward, down into the dark depths, but then stopped. "You don't think the rumor about cat-gators in the sewers is true, do you?"
Korra snorted, not sure if Asami was serious or trying to lighten the mood, but appreciated the distraction all the same. She walked forward and Asami followed. "Guess we'll have to find out."