They arranged to travel south as soon as possible. As terrified as she was by the idea of going with Korra to her home country, Asami was all too aware of how little time they had; Tonraq still thought Korra was on Air Temple Island, and if she stayed away for too long – or if he decided to go and check on her – everything was likely to blow up in their faces.

Still, being aware of the necessity didn't make her fear any easier to deal with, and the day before they were scheduled to leave she found herself in the training grounds, sparring with Bolin in an attempt to expend some of that pent-up energy. He was a good sparring partner, but if Asami was being totally honest, not much of a challenge; he relied heavily on his size and weight, and Asami had learned very early on how to turn that to her advantage.

"So, you gonna tell me what's eating at you?" Bolin asked with a grunt as Asami helped him up from a particularly rough flooring. "Or are you content to keep kicking my ass for a while?"

Asami smiled tightly as she stepped back and readied herself again. "We're headed south tomorrow."

"Scared?" Bolin took a swing at her and she smoothly evaded the blow, dancing out of his reach but not retaliating just yet.

"Aren't you?"

"Well yeah, but I figure if Korra's brave enough to come here alone, it shouldn't be a thing for us to go there with each other."

Asami hummed her agreement as she ducked beneath another blow and swung her leg around with the intent of tripping Bolin. He jumped the attack, but Asami was moving again in an instant, her boot connecting with his stomach before he'd regained his footing and sending him crashing onto his back again.

"Damn Bolin, what'd you do to piss our Princess off?"

Asami half-turned to see Korra approaching. "Where's Mako?" she asked immediately. Every day since the engagement party, Mako had tailed Korra like a shadow at Asami's request – seeing the southerner alone made her stomach clench with worry.

Korra gave a vague wave of her hand. "I shook him off."

Asami gave her a hard look.

"What? I can handle myself, and he was starting to piss me off."

"Did he say something?"

"No, I'm just not used to having someone hover at my shoulder everywhere I go."

Asami turned from Korra as she realised Bolin still hadn't picked himself up. "You okay, Bo?"

Bolin puffed out a breath and flashed a thumbs-up. "Peachy," he wheezed.

"I have to say, I'm surprised," Korra said as Asami moved to guiltily help Bolin up. "I didn't really peg you as the fighting type."

"Not many people do," Asami shrugged.

"Yeah, but Asami's a total badass," Bolin said, rubbing gingerly at his stomach. "Even Mako can't best her in a fight."

Korra arched an eyebrow. "So why do you need him following you around everywhere?"

"I probably don't," Asami admitted, "but my father insists."

"I should've guessed." Korra folded her arms and then grinned. "So how about you give Bolin a break and take me for a spin instead?"

Asami forcefully suppressed the image that popped immediately into her head at Korra's wording. "I don't know," she said, her answering grin playful. "You think you can take a stubborn northerner?"

"Please," Korra scoffed, moving to take Bolin's place as he took a seat on one of the surrounding benches. "Let's go, Princess. I'll try not to wipe the floor with you too hard."

Asami's eyes narrowed, but she failed to suppress her grin.

They circled one another warily, sharp eyes watching for any sign of an attack. Asami's heart hammered in her chest and she suspected it had little to do with the imminent tussle.

Korra struck first; she leapt in and swung her leg high, aiming a kick for Asami's head, which Asami easily evaded. Korra was out of reach again before Asami could take advantage, but Asami moved swiftly, aiming two quick jabs at Korra's face; Korra lifted her arms to block the blows and Asami's right leg lifted to kick against Korra's exposed middle. Caught off-guard, Korra stumbled, and Asami fell into the next motion without hesitation, her left leg swinging up to catch the side of Korra's head.

Korra went down, but she was rolling and back on her feet in an instant, a gleam in her eye and a broad grin on her face. "Not bad, Princess," she said, rolling her shoulders. "Looks like I won't have to go easy on you after all."

"Oh, is that what that was?" Asami asked primly.

Korra laughed and Asami struck, but too slow; Korra wove fluidly out of her path and Asami reacted, swinging her leg at Korra's head, but this time Korra was ready for her. She felt Korra's boot connect squarely with her stomach and she went down with a grunt, leaping up just in time to ward off another blow and regain herself.

Asami lost track of time as they fought, each taking as many hits as they landed, neither able to catch the other off-guard for long enough to secure a victory. They were too evenly matched – despite Korra's toned arms glistening with sweat proving an effective distraction to Asami. It was this that finally tipped the scale; she was so busy staring at the play of muscle over Korra's shoulders that she didn't notice the leg swinging at her side, and this time when she went down Korra followed, dropping on top of her and pinning her arms back above her head.

Bolin's cheering was drowned out as Korra hovered over her. Though they were both grinning, when their eyes met something seemed to pass between them and Asami could have sworn she felt the tiniest shift of Korra's hips against hers; but then Korra was gone, getting to her feet and offering Asami her hand.

"Impressive," Korra said as she hauled Asami to her feet. "Remind me not to catch you in a dark alleyway."

Asami was profoundly grateful for the exercise-induced flush on her face as she felt her ears burning for an entirely different reason.

"There you are!"

They turned to see Mako approaching. "I've been looking everywhere for you!" Asami felt a strange disconnect as she realised he was talking to Korra and not her. It was almost a pleasant experience to not be scolded by him for a change.

"Took you long enough," Korra grinned. "You're a pretty good bodyguard, Mako, but a tracker you are not."

Mako glared at her, but Asami couldn't help but notice that a lot of the venom had disappeared from his eyes. "We need to start preparing to leave."

Asami felt a sharp pang of guilt at his words. "Mako..."

He turned to look at her.

"You're not coming."

"What?"

"I need somebody here to keep an eye on my father and Varrick," Asami explained gently. "Especially Varrick. There's no one else I trust to do that."

"What about me?" Bolin asked a little indignantly.

Asami turned a rueful smile onto him. "Sorry Bolin, but you're not exactly subtle. If I left you behind, I'd worry more about you being caught eavesdropping than about what my father or Varrick might be up to."

Bolin regretfully agreed.

"But... who's going to look out for you?" The hurt and worry in Mako's voice pained Asami but she steeled herself against it.

"I can take care of myself, Mako. You know that."

"Yeah, but – "

"She'll have me." They both turned to look at Korra, who shrugged. "I know you still don't trust me, pretty boy, but if there's one thing I can guarantee it's that I won't let anything happen to Asami."

Korra held Mako's stare, pointedly ignoring Asami's own. Finally, Mako gave in. "Fine," he said. "I'll stay. But Bolin's definitely going with you."

"Obviously," Asami said.

They left the training ground in silence, the brothers walking ahead of the girls, and Korra gingerly reached out to link her fingers with Asami's as they walked.

Their departure was kept as quiet as possible. It was still dark when Asami, Korra and Bolin made their way to the airship, Mako following sulkily behind them.

A couple of midshipmen offered to take their bags aboard and once they'd handed them over, Asami turned to Mako.

"Be safe," he said, his bearing as stiff as ever though the turmoil in his eyes was clear as day.

"I will be," Asami said, fighting back tears as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. She'd never been without him before, and now she was going to possibly the most dangerous place on the planet – for her, at least – and she was deliberately leaving him behind. Part of her wanted to change her mind, but she knew she couldn't. She simply didn't trust her father or Varrick to behave while she was gone.

Mako hesitated for a fraction of a second before his arms wound around her, his tight hold betraying his fear for her safety.

Finally, Bolin cleared his throat and they parted regretfully.

"Don't worry bro," Bolin said, giving Mako a playful punch. "We'll keep her out of trouble."

"And who's going to keep you out of trouble?" Mako asked.

"I'm offended you even need to ask that," Bolin pouted. Mako grinned tightly and ruffled his brother's hair.

"We'll keep in touch," Asami promised.

Mako nodded and then turned to Korra. He said nothing, but offered his hand to her. Grinning, she took it and they shook.

"I'm holding you to that promise," Mako said.

"I expected as much."

"Alright, we should go," Asami said ruefully. It was with a heavy heart that she turned and made her way into the airship, Bolin and Korra at her back.

Not having Mako around was something that Asami had never expected she might have to get used to and it didn't come easily. That first day was the hardest; she kept largely to herself, though she couldn't help but notice Korra always hovering nearby, pretending to be occupied with other things but clearly offering herself if she was needed. Asami took some comfort from Korra's constant presence, but it wasn't quite the same.

She was in the engine room when Korra finally approached her. Her hair was tied back and she wore only a loose-fitting white tank and a pair of overalls, the top half tied about her waist. Her grease-smeared skin was shining with sweat from the heat of the room; she was wrestling grimly with one of the enormous engines, her jaw set as the heavy metal only begrudgingly cooperated with her wrench. The job she'd taken on wasn't a particularly complex one, but it required a lot of effort, and expending the energy helped to calm her.

"That's a good look on you, Princess."

Asami spared a glance over her shoulder. Korra leaned her hip against a nearby railing, her arms folded as she regarded Asami with that familiar intensity; Asami turned back to her work, pretending to be busy and trying to ignore the way Korra's gaze seemed to burn into her skin.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Does it look like I want to talk about it?" Asami redoubled her efforts, the back of her neck prickling.

"No, but that kind of makes me think that you should."

"And what brings you to that conclusion?"

There was a moment of silence and Asami started when she felt Korra's hand on her shoulder. She hadn't even noticed the southerner approaching. "You've been moping around all day, and now you're in here at one in the morning attacking that engine like it's a personal insult."

"Ah, but the thing you don't know about me is that this is my process." Asami tried for a joking tone but didn't quite manage it. "Just ask Bolin."

"I did, and he said that he usually comes to talk to you when you're like this."

Asami paused, her hands falling still. She glanced over her shoulder again, taken aback by how close Korra was but trying not to show it; she met those stunning eyes steadily, her own gaze searching, curious. "You did?"

Korra's lips tugged into a smirk, but her eyes bore a slightly different expression – it was that foreign language all over again, but Asami had been studying, and this time it seemed almost legible. Before she could pin it down, however, Korra spoke. "I was worried. I know you're close with Mako. Bolin said you've hardly been apart since you were little."

Asami caught herself chewing at the inside of her bottom lip and quickly stopped. "We haven't." She was very aware that Korra's hand hadn't yet dropped from her shoulder and the contact brought them much closer than they probably needed to be.

Korra didn't say anything and Asami was speaking again almost before she realised she'd opened her mouth. "Did you know that they're orphans?"

Korra shook her head silently.

Asami sighed, turning slightly toward Korra. "Their parents were killed by bandits when they were very, very young," she said, rubbing a hand wearily over her face. "One of the officers who investigated took pity on them; he had a cousin in the palace guard, and he arranged for them to live in the barracks. But they had to earn their keep. They were trained by the guards – we met when I went down to train one day and found them there packing up the equipment."

Though the memory was a fond one, it was difficult to talk about with the knowledge that Mako was growing farther and farther away with each passing minute. Still, she pressed on. "We started spending a lot of time together. They were the only children my age I'd seen around the palace, with the exception of the servants' children, and my father wouldn't let me associate with them." Her nose wrinkled distastefully. "He wasn't terribly impressed with my choice of company in Mako and Bolin either, to begin with. But then an assassin broke into the palace one night.

"I was out late playing with the boys. Mako saw the assassin first and without a second thought he threw himself in front of me. Thankfully the arrow missed any vital organs, but he and Bolin were all over the assassin in an instant. They overcame him. Those two barely trained children took on a grown man, a trained killer, and won. For me."

"So Mako's obviously always had a penchant for doing stupid heroic shit, huh?"

Asami couldn't help but laugh, though it was subdued. "Apparently so. Either way, after my father heard of what they'd done, he changed his tune about them entirely. Even let them move into the palace proper. We've all been together ever since." A thought occurred to her then. "How's Bolin doing?" she asked rather guiltily. She hadn't even considered how much Bolin must be missing his brother.

"He seems alright, but I've never seen him upset. He could just be putting up a facade for all I know." Korra's eyebrows pulled into a slight frown as she spoke and Asami was touched by her concern for the younger brother. "Is that likely?"

"Possibly," Asami said. "He does tend to deflect with humour."

"He did seem rather more humorous than usual," Korra said.

Asami sighed, eyes closing as she reached up to rub at a temple.

"Hey." She felt Korra's fingers curl gently around her wrist and lower her hand, and when she opened her eyes, Korra was standing directly in front of her. "You'll be fine – you both will. We'll be with the grumpy bastard again in no time."

That crooked grin was encouraging, and Asami's answering smile was grateful. "Thank you."

Korra shrugged, though her hands had dropped to grasp Asami's between their bodies and she gave them a small squeeze. "If you're all done here, can I walk you to your room? It's late."

Asami flushed a little and nodded. "Just give me a minute to pack up." She rather regretfully dropped Korra's hands as she turned to wrap up the job and pack her tools away.

They left the engine room in companionable silence. The airship was largely deserted at this time of night – most of the crew on night watch would be on the observation deck, with only one or two patrolling the halls. Asami rather enjoyed the silence. The airship during the day was a bustling mess of noise and activity, but at this hour she could just soak in the muffled rumble of the engines and the hollow sound of their feet falling rhythmically on the metal floor.

She was taken by surprise when Korra suddenly shifted closer to her, an arm wrapping around her middle.

"Don't look now, but I think we're being followed."

That pleasant surprise quite abruptly fell away. "Are you sure?" she asked quietly. "It could just be a patrol."

"No. They're trying too hard to be stealthy." Korra's arm tightened around Asami's waist, drawing her closer, and she leaned in to brush her lips over the curve of Asami's jaw. "I have an idea," Korra murmured, her tone low and obviously intended to sound suggestive to whoever was following. "Come on." Despite the situation Asami's heart fluttered erratically from the contact and she almost hated herself for it.

Korra pulled her into a narrow corridor and before she knew what was happening, Asami found herself pinned between Korra's body and the cold steel wall. "What –"

"Shh," Korra breathed, her hands falling to Asami's hips. "We're gonna catch them off-guard. Maybe if they think we're... well, it could give us an advantage." Even in the dim light Asami could see Korra's cheeks burning. This was ridiculous. They could be under attack any minute and Asami couldn't stop thinking about –

Before she could finish that thought Korra's lips were on her jaw again, gently urging her head to turn toward the main corridor. "Try to watch without looking like you are," Korra whispered, and Asami barely managed to nod. Her heart seemed to have lodged itself in her throat; she didn't have to pretend to let her eyes flutter closed, though she did have to fight to keep them open just enough that she could see the hall to her left.

It wasn't easy. Korra was making it incredibly hard to concentrate. Her lips trailed aimlessly over Asami's jaw and down the column of her throat, hands roaming lazily along her sides – even this casual, distracted attention was making it difficult for Asami to breathe.

Then she saw a head poke around the corner and duck back again. Her hands gripped Korra's shoulders and she murmured her name, trying to sound breathless while making her warning apparent. Korra seemed to understand and her lips shifted to turn Asami's head back the other way. Asami felt a little thrill of panic – she couldn't see now! – before she noticed the very slight turn of Korra's head toward the main hall.

When Korra abruptly pulled away, Asami was ready. Her head whipped around to find their stalker almost upon them. They went for Korra first, a long blade in hand, and Korra ducked beneath their first blow to drive herself against their middle. For a fleeting second it appeared as if Korra had the advantage; but then the assailant expertly turned, using Korra's momentum against her, and flung her out of the corridor. Without a moments' hesitation, they turned on Asami.

Whoever the attacker was, they were small and nimble and knew how to use that to their advantage. Asami warded off the first few attacks, but wasn't prepared when her attacker made as if to throw a punch and then dropped instead to sweep her legs out from under her. She went down, her head cracking painfully against the floor, and then all she knew was the worst pain she'd ever experienced blossoming from her shoulder. She was distantly aware of someone screaming, and a few moments later realised the voice was her own. Lights were dancing in front of her eyes and she felt dizzy. A weight seemed to lift from her chest – then darkness enveloped her and she knew no more.