Author Notes: Thank you TheToasterMarketingBoard for your edits! You always make the ideas a fleshed out reality!
There was lots of activity in the main boardroom of Future Industries' corporate office that morning. Kali, Asami's personal secretary, ushered members of the public relations and marketing departments into the room as they arrived, making sure the discussions in the lobby were not about the upcoming meeting. Korra stood beside the table, anxiously awaiting the start of the meeting.
"I hope that's not what you plan on wearing," Min asked Korra, stopping right in front of her. She pulled her glasses down the bridge of her nose and squinted to further inspect the Avatar's clothing.
"Huh?" was all Korra could get out.
Asami joined the two and ushered Min towards the other members of the public relations team. "She's the Avatar, this is what she wears. Please be respectful," Asami chided in a hushed tone. She looked around the room at the rest of her employees. "This is just a strategy meeting. Please keep that in mind, everyone."
"Yes Miss Sato," everyone chirped back.
"Why am I getting so much grief over my clothes lately?" Korra asked, pulling at a bit of her pants.
"Postwar stress, people are focusing on what little things in their lives they can control, like fashion?" Asami suggested.
"Well, what is it about what I'm wearing that's sticking out to people? It's all traditional Water Tribe clothes."
"That's just it. It's a look of the old world."
Korra crossed her arms in a pout. "Is this because of Varrick and his campy Nuktuk movers?"
"I don't think they helped."
"We have citizens without homes and what I'm wearing in an interview is the big topic of discussion?"
Asami rested her hands her Korra's shoulders, facing her. "Don't worry babe, we're going to be addressing that," Asami said quietly, raising a hand to stroke Korra's cheek. Korra closed her eyes and leaned into the touch. "Also I wanted to give you a heads up, I invited Jinora and Zhou Rhen."
Korra's eyes shot open.
"They should be here any minute, so let's take a seat so we can get this started," Asami said with a quick pat and moved towards the table.
"Are you sure this is going to be okay?" Zhou Rhen asked as he clutched his notebook tighter to his chest.
"Why are you asking me? Asami invited you," Jinora shot back.
Zhou Rhen sighed and thought back to the night of the engagement party. Jinora had insisted he was welcome at the affair. There were so many people, he realized even if he wasn't, who would notice?
It was about an hour after the party truly started when he was approached by Miss Sato.
"You're Zhou Rhen, right?" she asked, taking the free space against the wall beside him.
He blushed and examined the woman standing next to him. He opened his mouth but nothing came out.
Asami shifted her drink from one hand to the other, so she could comfortably offer her hand to him. "Asami Sato."
"Of course," Zhou Rhen breathed, taking her hand. "Avatar Korra's girlfriend…"
"I understand your organization has some concerns about that."
"Miss Sato, I don't-"
"You can call me Asami."
"Asami, I don't want you to get the wrong impression about me or the White Lotus." Zhou Rhen paused and sighed, collecting his thoughts. "It's complicated…"
"It may surprise you, but I understand the reservations. I want to assure you this will be handled with the utmost care. I'm aware that the White Lotus is a highly regarded organization, and in many ways, Korra is the face of it. She isn't the only one taking a risk here. I represent my company. If this goes poorly it could have a huge effect on my business."
"It sounds like you've given this some thought."
"It's still a work in progress… I want you to know that there is still a place for you in all of this. I respect the White Lotus and appreciate all it does for Korra. So, I am willing to allow your input during the public relations meeting we're planning. I also think Korra just hasn't realized that you are an asset to her. It's important she has people she can talk to that can challenge her, that think differently than she does. One day she'll come around."
"Jinora thinks so too. I just can't imagine when that will be…"
"Wish I could tell you. In the meantime, I will have my secretary provide you with the details of the meeting. Enjoy the party."
"Yeah, thanks…" Zhou Rhen muttered as he watched her saunter away.
"Ready?" Jinora asked, tugging at his sleeve, bringing him back to the present.
Jinora entered the boardroom with Zhou Rhen timidly following behind. Everyone was already seated, except Min. The pair claimed the only two vacant seats next to each other, directly across from Korra and Asami.
Once seated, Asami pointed them out. "Everyone, these are Korra's associates. Master Jinora of Air Temple Island and Zhou Rhen of the White Lotus. They are here to advise on Avatar-related issues."
Jinora and Zhou Rhen gave the room small and embarrassed waves.
"These are some members of the marketing department. Senior marketer Geng, and Junior marketer Tran. My personal assistant Kali. Head of Public Relations Min Yang is facilitating the discussion," Asami said, pointing around the table to the left of her, then pausing on Min who was prowling around the table like a pygmy puma. She then began pointing down the other side. "Then we have Min's public relations staff members, Dawn, Ena, and Namiyo. Now that we are all introduced, why don't we start?" Asami said, motioning to Min.
Min smiled and pushed the bridge of her glasses up her nose before speaking. "As you are all aware, we are here to help facilitate Miss Sato and Avatar Korra's announcement of their relationship. The goals of today's meeting are to brainstorm any potential backlash scenarios and how to best handle or avoid them. We will also be settling on an agreed upon list of acceptable questions and answers regarding the relationship. Miss Sato and Avatar Korra are taking a big personal risk by being transparent with the public; we have to protect them from any potential abuse."
Asami rose from her seat and addressed the room. "I want to thank you all for taking the time out of your day to help us with this. I won't lie and say I'm not nervous about the days to come. It means a lot knowing we have a brilliant team supporting us through this big announcement."
Asami looked down to Korra and smiled. She gave a slight nod of her head towards the group. It took a moment before Korra understood the cue. Her cheeks flushed and she looked out around the table. So many eyes were peering back at her.
"Yeah… we uh, really appreciate your help," Korra managed to croak out. She slid down in her seat a bit, embarrassed by what little she could mutter in response.
Fortunately, Min took command of the room again. "So, who do we have to call upon as character witnesses if things go sour? Public figures preferred."
"My father Tenzin," Jinora chirped.
"Ah yes, and he's somewhat of a spiritual leader, that's good. Who else?" Min asked, looking around the large table.
Asami spoke up. "Chief Beifong, though she's not one for words."
"The city respects her and knows her mannerisms. I think a cut and dry approval is all a lot of citizens need."
"Suyin Beifong, I think..." Korra offered.
"Suyin one hundred percent, asked or not. But I would put her on the bottom of the list, she has her own agendas," Asami directed.
Korra cocked her head. "What do you mean?"
"She's pushing for marriage."
"Our marriage?" Korra asked, her face flushed red.
"No, just our right to, if we ever so choose. She wants to legalize gay marriage."
"You mentioned supporting that movement," Min added.
"Yes, and I still do, I'd just like to keep some distance between that campaign and my and Korra's announcement. We're not getting married, we're just trying to be honest with the public."
"People are going to ask if that is why you're making this announcement. We need to make sure you both have a confident answer to that."
Min emphasized her point by jabbing her pen in the air at them.
Korra sunk down in her seat, her face still pink.
"Welp, we've already broken Korra," Jinora giggled.
"I can do this!" Korra protested. "It's just embarrassing. I didn't have to put it in the papers when Mako and I dated."
"Mako, that's the pro-bender guy you both dated?" Kali asked.
Korra and Asami nodded.
"He's a police officer, right? Is this information well known?" Min asked, looking around the room. Some of the staff nodded, while others shrugged.
"The tabloids will dig it up. When it inevitably arises, how we gonna handle it?"
Dawn, one of the public relations staff members, raised her hand. Min pointed for her to speak. "This is only embarrassing for Mako, right? It shouldn't affect Miss Sato or Avatar Korra."
Asami frowned. "We're not throwing Mako under the bus. Let's see how it plays out, and we can offer him whatever support he needs."
"Noted. By the way, how is he with it? How much prodding would it take before he'd break civility?" Min asked, looking down the bridge of her nose.
"Mako is a police officer, I think he can handle a little back talk. I'll send him on a vacation if it gets bad," Asami replied, waving off the sentiment.
"Got it. This is all worse case, our goal is to keep you two so busy with do-gooding that no one has time to dig around for petty gossip. We have reached out to The Republic magazine to conduct the interview that will reveal your relationship to the public. They have been told it's going to be a casual sit-down conversation focused on two prominent female leaders in the community, Avatar Korra and Miss Sato. I advised them in order to get this exclusive interview they must agree to only ask our list of approved questions. It took a lot of cajoling to get them to agree to that, but we promised the condition would be worth it given the importance of the story."
"Plus we doubled the number of Satomobile ads we're buying with them for the next year," Tran from Marketing chipped in.
"That too," Min continued. "My team has assembled a list of the most common and appropriate questions. I just need to get your approval," Min explained, gesturing to Korra and Asami. The pair nodded.
"The first couple of questions are going to be obvious, get the point of the interview out of the way. Question one: Avatar Korra and Asami Sato, why are you sitting down with us today? You reply with the announcement of your relationship, and Asami you can throw in your mansion's renovation into The Yasuko Sato House for Vulnerable Citizens, or wait to conclude the interview with it." Min paused and checked to see that everyone was following. She then started again. "Wow this is unexpected, when did it start? You reply with a general time, like when you actually talked about it or started calling each other your girlfriend. Want to try throwing out an answer?"
Korra and Asami looked at each other.
"I'll go…" they both started.
Min smirked. "For the actual interview, I recommend deciding ahead of time who answers what, or a cue to let each other know that you'll go first."
They both nodded.
"I'm going to need more practice, so I can go," Korra offered. She took a deep breath and paused.
"Pretend you're telling this to a friend," Min encouraged.
Korra looked to Jinora. "It started in the Spirit World. I was trying to tell Asami how I felt when a good friend of mine crashed in on us."
Jinora smirked. "It really started when these two disappeared during the middle of a wedding party."
Min frowned. "Maybe less casual…"
Asami cleared her throat and sat upright, scooching close to the table. "We can't exactly say when we fell for each other. It wasn't until after the war and when we were alone in the Spirit World that we were ready to admit it. It wasn't something we sought out, we both resisted in our own ways, but it just happened. Then we were both so relieved to find out the other felt the same way."
"Show off…" Korra murmured grumpily, but her lips were smiling.
Geng from marketing raised his hand. "I've noticed some resentment around their multiple vacations."
"This news explains them," Jinora offered.
Geng shrugged. "Doesn't really justify them though."
"People need to get over that. Did the world burn down while we were gone?" Korra asked, crossing her arms. "No."
"Korra, everyone here hasn't taken any issue with our vacations," Asami looked around the room, beginning to doubt her conviction. "I'm assuming."
Korra threw one of her fists down on the table. "I'm sick of apologizing for the greatest week of my life. I would have told you how I felt eventually, it was bursting inside me. But I can't stress how meaningful having the space and privacy of being in the middle of the Spirit World was to me. I'm the Avatar, I have so little private space. But for a few days, we had a world of our own."
Asami blushed and laid a hand over Korra's clenched fist.
"That was perfect, maybe tone down the aggression just a little bit, but otherwise moving stuff." Min clutched her clipboard to her chest. "You two are just so cute… Moving on, what would you say to citizens who are concerned about the Avatar dating a prominent figure in the business world who might gain from your influence?"
"They're crazy, because Asami has done nothing but give back and save Republic City over and over again." Korra looked around the room to see everyone staring. 'What would a mature Avatar say?' "I approve the question, but I'm going to need help answering that."
After the meeting concluded, Asami coerced Korra, Jinora, and Zhou Rhen to have lunch together, her treat, to process the meeting. Just like earlier, Jinora and Zhou Rhen were seated across from Korra and Asami.
"So, Zhou Rhen, overall how do you feel about the approved questions?" Asami asked while casually glancing at the check. She absently fished for bills in her purse.
"I think they should be fine. It's all questions everyone is going to ask anyway, might as well just answer them right out of the gate."
Asami counted out the bills before resting them in the tray atop the check. "Do you want to send them to the White Lotus? We can get one more level of approval if that would help."
"No!" Zhou Rhen said nearly shouting. "No… I'm the representative that was selected, and it is up to my judgment."
"They don't know you're supporting this, do they?" Jinora asked.
Korra looked between the two across the table. "What does she mean?"
"Well, as you probably concluded, I was sent here to advise you with the full knowledge of your plans. Tenzin sent for me to specifically counsel you through this period. I was instructed to discourage you from making your relationship public and offer you all available support to maintain the status quo. But it's not up to me or the White Lotus to tell you what to do. You are a legal adult and we don't have that kind of authority over you anymore. Including the elders of the White Lotus on this process will just add stuffy old men trying to scare you about breaking the norms."
"We don't need any more of that…" Asami muttered.
Korra eyed Zhou Rhen and leaned forward. "What do you believe, honestly, about what we're going to do?"
Zhou Rhen fiddled with his chopsticks. "In all truth, when I was sent to meet you, I believed the White Lotus position of keeping it to yourself, was correct. Who really needs to know, right? Why flaunt your private business? Now, having spent time with you and seeing your lives here, from a practical perspective it wouldn't be very feasible. You would have to be constantly mindful of who is around you. Eventually, something would slip; a look, a touch or a word. I'm sure you could overcome the backlash, but it says a lot more about your relationship if you aren't acting like you're ashamed of it."
Korra relaxed back into her seat.
Zhou Rhen continued. "And hearing your answers today… Anyone can see you care for each other deeply."
"Alright enough, you're starting to embarrass me!" Korra barked, sinking down into her chair.
"Better get used to it Korra, in a week this will be your new reality," Jinora teased.
"And you can't melt down into the furniture when we're being interviewed," Asami pointed out.
Jinora giggled. "Put some metal in her pockets and hide Lin in the room. She can lift Korra up when she starts slinking."
"I'm getting my own table, forget all of you!" Korra pouted.
*** One Week Later ***
The morning sun was just starting to rise above the Republic City's tallest still-standing buildings as Korra, Bolin, and Opal sluggishly arrived outside the meeting point.
"That camera crew is here again…" Korra muttered as she swung her arm, attempting to warm herself up for the day's labor.
"Don't you mind them, Korra," Bolin offered, stealing a look over to Shey and her crew setting up their camera on a rooftop nearby.
Opal followed her boyfriend's sight path and shrugged. "Yeah, they're making our job easier by documenting all your do-gooding unprompted."
Korra nodded and began to stretch.
Opal let Korra drift away from them as she began her warm-up exercises. Once she felt confident Korra wasn't paying them any mind, she pulled Bolin to her side by his collar. "Okay, what is it with the camera crew?"
"What do you mean?" Bolin squeaked.
"I'm playing along in front of Korra for your sake, but you gotta tell me what's up. You've had one eye on them every day we've been out here. Is there something more going on than you're telling us?"
Bolin freed himself from Opal's grip, but stayed close to keep the conversation private. "The director lady, Shey, said she was filming a docu-mover about the reconstruction of the city."
"Then what, you got a crush on her?" Opal pressed.
"No! Okay, you wrestled it out of me!" Bolin barked dramatically. "I might have let something slip to her but after today it won't matter."
Opal stole a glance at their friend, who was still occupied with her work out. "She knows about Korra?"
"When I talked to her the other day she asked about Asami."
"So? You were working on her site. Plus, she's kind of a big deal in reconstruction these days."
Bolin nodded and grabbed the back of his head. "Yeah, but it was more like, how is Asami doing. Like from one friend to another."
"Did she say how she knows Asami?
"No, but I almost let it slip she was happy now that she's dating Korra, but I caught myself and just said she's like out in the scene. Single and ready to mingle. I don't fully remember what I said. I panicked and ran before she could ask any specifics."
"You probably confused her more than anything," Opal sighed and crossed her arms. "Well like you said, it won't matter after today. So please keep your focus on Korra, she doesn't need anything adding to her nervousness."
"You think she's nervous?"
"You blind?" Opal asked impatiently. The pair turned their attention over to Korra, just in time to see her trip herself airbending. The Avatar pounded her fists on the ground before easing herself back up on her feet.
"Maybe having a crew here to document isn't such a good thing today."
"It won't be Korra's best work, but it will have to do," Opal sighed as she waved down a group of approaching United Forces trucks.
The vehicles stopped a few feet in front of the trio. From them emerged Lin Beifong, a few mentalbender city police officers and several refugees.
Lin stepped apart from the group then turned to face them. "Alright folks, you point out your home or building and we'll let you know if it's safe to go inside."
An arm shot up from one of the refugees, a middle-aged woman of Earth Kingdom descent with a young boy holding on to the other arm. "If we can't return to our home, can we at least take some of our things?"
"Hopefully. We will determine the extent of the damage, but be advised some structures might be too dangerous even to enter."
"Our family portrait is still at our home. We forgot to grab it in the chaos of the evacuation. It's one of the only one we have of us all together before my husband passed," the woman pressed.
Korra, Opal, and Bolin had caught up to the group in time to hear the woman's plea.
"We'll do the best we can to recover the photo," Korra offered.
"Thank you Avatar Korra."
Korra shot the family and smile and then turned to catch a frowning Lin.
"I'm putting that woman with your team," Lin said.
"Aww c'mon Lin, you got to give them some hope."
"Hope is for when there is no hope. This type of hope puts my volunteers in dangerous situations. This is one of those cases where you have to manage expectations."
"I really want to argue with you about this, but I'm trying to be a more mature Avatar."
"The phrase is 'I politely disagree', for future reference. But the best advice I could ever give you for leadership is to manage expectations."
Korra slapped her hands together, turning to Bolin and Opal as Lin walked away. "Alright, I'm off to a great start."
"How are you feeling buddy?"
"Welp, I've already pissed off Lin before even starting the work day, and the whole world is going to know all about my personal business."
"When does it go on sale?" Opal asked.
"Now? Though it already feels like everyone's read it."
Opal glanced around, feeling Korra's imagined spectators. "I know this is going to be rough, but it was the right way to do it. Everyone finds out at once and then it's over.".
"You going to read it?" Bolin asked.
"I don't know if I can."
"Will you sign my copy if I get one?" Could be worth money someday."
"Bolin," Opal chided.
"It's an investment for our children's future."
"Okay, I thought talking about this might help but it's not. I need to do something physical."
"Great, let's get to work then. I'll see you back at the refugee camp," Opal said, giving Korra a quick pat on the back as she passed by.
"I'll miss yooou!" Bolin whined.
The day progressed like the past few since Korra joined the city clean-up and refugee support team. They drove refugees to their old homes, determining which buildings were safe, salvageable or needed to be marked for demolition. They were getting down to the last of the displaced who hadn't checked on their old homes. Tenzin figured they would be wrapping up this phase either today or tomorrow.
Korra hated to put the Spirit World on the back burner, but with no way around the Tigerpillar spirit and Opal's compelling testimony of the need in the physical world, it was clear where Korra needed to focus her energy.
Korra wished she could have at least spent this day with Asami, but they were given strict orders to be apart during business hours for at least a few weeks. With the world now watching they needed to prove their relationship was not a distraction.
Asami was likely hunched over her drafting table right now, finalizing her remodeling plans for her parents' mansion. She wanted to have a proposal ready in time for their big news to drop since she spoke about her plan in the interview.
Korra at first couldn't believe how quickly Asami was willing to give up her family home, but as she thought back to their first night together, it was clear that being able to give the building a purpose was provide her girlfriend relief.
Korra tilted her head towards the sun to get an idea of the time, then remembered she had one of Asami's father's watches. She dug into her pocket and peered at the face. "Shit, I still have to get the other back."
"Korra, last ones over here!" Bolin called out from around a corner, waving her over towards him.
Korra jogged over to catch up with the group.
Bo, one of Lin's metalbending police officer's foot was already stomped out to get a seismic reading.
The woman from earlier held her son to her at his shoulders, anxiously looking up at her former home.
From the outside, Korra could already tell this one was going to be marked for demolition. It was a row of small, modern-looking townhomes, probably only built a few years ago. They had been neatly stacked next to each other, with only an alley between them to maximize the space. Many little neighborhoods in Republic City were set up this way. Clearly, something had crashed into the building to its left, so like a row of Pai Sho tiles, it crashed into the family's home and then to the next. Somehow the building after this family's home still stood upright and could probably be salvaged. But not this woman's home; it was sandwiched right in the middle of the mess.
Bo's boot went back on and the woman rushed towards him, not waiting for the news.
"Can we at least go in to search for the photograph?" the woman pleaded.
Bo sighed. "M'am, I can't in good conscience let you into that building."
He stepped away from her, pulled a stick of red chalk out of his pocket and started marking the structure with "拆", the character for "demolish".
The woman fell to her knees on the ground, her young son rushed to her side. "I should've gone back as soon as I realized I forgot it…" she murmured.
"It's ok Momma, I still remember Daddy's face," the boy said as he clumsily rubbed her back.
Bolin turned to Korra. His eyes were huge and watering. "Korra…"
The Avatar nodded. "We'll go in and look for it."
"Avatar Korra, that structure is highly unsound. It's not worth the personal risk."
"Bolin's a great earthbender, you're a great metalbender and I'm the Avatar. It's just a quick in and out."
"I'll stabilize the concrete and you the metal beams and rods," Bolin said pointing to the officer.
Korra put a hand on the officer's shoulder "Don't worry, you won't be held accountable."
"I'm quoting you on that when I get an earful from the Chief."
"Can you tell me where the photo is?"
"It should be on the mantel in the main room. See the window on the second floor? That's it right there."
"I think the Avatar is going into one of the buildings. Should we try getting closer to get a better shot?"
"Yes, let's take it to the ground level, but still keep a distance, we don't want to interfere."
Shey and her two crew members picked up their equipment and carefully walked down the fire escape stairs located on the outside of the building they had been camped out on. They moved to an alley a few buildings down and across the street and quickly reopened the camera's tripod.
Bolin and Bo approached the townhouse and then both stomped into a squat. Almost in unison, their bent arms coiled up to their sides, then like the heads of four snakes darted out at the structure in front of them. They clenched their fists as if they actually grasped the building, then pulled them back.
"Alright, we got a hold!" Bo hollered.
Korra stepped between them, then with a whoosh shot herself up to the second story window. She crouched on the ledge and then darted inside.
Bolin turned his head to the man beside him. "So, your name's Bo. Is that short for Bolin?"
"No."
"But it could be?" Bolin asked cocking his head to the side.
Bo shrugged. "I suppose."
"What's your name? Bo… just Bo. I like the sound of that."
Bo rolled his eyes as he listened to Bolin talk to himself.
Despite it still being light out, the home was pretty dark inside. When she cleared the window, a little more sun shone in, but not much. It looked fairly normal inside, except everything was tilted at an angle. The furniture pooled to the side of the house that was falling into the building over. Only small and fragile items appeared to be broken.
Korra crossed the room and dared a glance down the stairwell to the first floor. It was in far worse shape. The metal staircase had separated from the floor and hung jaggedly with bits of concrete still stuck to its feet. As they suspected, the window was her best way into the building.
With her curiosity satisfied, Korra glanced around for the mantel, which was on the sagging side of the home. A table and chairs had piled up underneath. Glass was shattered around the legs, and she deduced that must be where the family photo would be. The frame was likely broken, but it was the picture itself that really mattered.
Korra bent down under the mantel and table and pawed at the mess of wood and glass. She picked up a frame, but it was of just a baby swaddled in a patterned blanket. Little charms were tucked in beside it, and a plaque with a family name was resting on the blanket where his arms likely were. She was going to toss it, but changed her mind and fished the photo out of the frame.
Korra got down on her hands and knees for a better view, and she saw a large frame under the middle of the table. She squinted and felt confident it was a group shot.
Korra laid down to free both hands to reach for the frame. She considered crawling under, but there was too much glass.
"Wish glass bending was a thing…"
Suddenly the floor began to shake beneath her. She could hear shouting happening outside, but whatever was causing the rumble was too loud to make out what was being said.
Thinking fast, Korra shot a blast of air under the table, tossing the frame and shards of glass across the floor and towards the window. She darted over to the frame and flipped it to reveal an ornate painting of badger moles. "Shit."
"She's incredible, huh? Jumps up there like it's nothing," Shey sighed, relaxing her binoculars away from her face. She let them fall to her chest, held up by the strap around her neck.
"Falling in love?" asked Lan, the crew member operating the camera.
"Take a number, right? I can't imagine a person alive who likes women that doesn't have a crush on the Avatar. Pity, she doesn't though."
"Speaking of crushes, Nuktuk is here. I heard he just got engaged," Izzi the production assistant chirped.
Lan pulled herself away from the camera viewfinder. "What? To who!"
"Some airbender chick. I hear she's a Beifong."
"I can't compete with that last name." Lan leaned against the camera and sighed.
"Hey Shey, what did he end up telling you about Asami the other day?" Izzi asked.
"She's dating. Wouldn't say who."
"Did he say there was a who?" Lan added.
Shey shoved her hands into her blazer's pockets. "No, but he was skittish about the whole thing."
"Well he's a friend of hers, he must know how Asami's the private type."
"I dunno Shey, do you even really want to know? Why torture yourself?" Izzi asked.
"I just want some kind of answer, you know? Before we broke up she invited me to go to Sunday dinner to meet these people she considered family, then the very next day, she cancels and tells me she can't see me anymore."
"You were her first girlfriend, right? Maybe she got cold feet. Or her publicist told her not to come out. Might not have had anything to do with you specifically."
"That's what I wondered...It was just so sudden-" Shey's thoughts were interrupted by a distant rumbling. Her two crew members also heard it and moved to look down the street it was coming from.
"They're United Forces tanks!"
Shey looked to the camera and saw it shaking from the vibrations. "They can't pass through here with the Avatar inside the building, they could destabilize the whole thing." Shey ran out into the middle of the street and her crew followed. The three started waving their arms frantically.
"Hey!"
"Stop!"
Bolin and Bo watched the women as they attempted to get the tanks' attention.
"We can't let go, I don't trust the building to hold!" Bo shouted over the noise.
"Can anyone here earthbend?" Bolin hollered to the crowd. They all stood wide-eyed and stared. "How about throw rocks? Get the tanks' attention!"
Finally, the woman whose house they were holding up moved to grab some rubble and ran at the tanks. The other citizens followed. They stopped next to Shey and her camera crew and started chucking.
"The iron support rods are separating from the concrete," Bo murmured as he strained to hold his position.
Bolin sucked in a deep breath and yelled as loud as he could. "Korra, get out of there!"
The others kept hurling rocks. When one made contact with the narrow windshield of the lead tank it finally rolled to a stop. The hatch on the top flew open and a United Forces soldier popped out. "Do you people know the fine for assaulting a military vehicle?"
As he shouted, Korra half somersaulted, half fell out of the window she had entered the building from as it began to falter behind her. Everyone silently watched as the Avatar moved like a cat, contorting her body to land somewhat clumsily in a crouch. They all let out a collective sigh when it was clear the Avatar was unharmed. Korra also breathed a sigh and let her body relax onto the pavement.
The building's crumbling picked up pace and pieces began to fall. Without consulting, Bolin and Bo each grabbed one of Korra's arms and began dragging her away. Right as they pulled, a large cylindrical chunk of concrete landed in the spot Korra just occupied. Ultimately, they weren't fast enough. The chunk broke in two and one half landed on her left leg. The men felt the tug, let go, and turned around. Korra screamed as she feverishly bent the piece away from her leg; it crumbled to bits nearby.
"SH-SHIT!" Korra yelled as she grabbed at her left leg. "SON-Of-A… BOLIN?"
Bolin and Bo ran to either side of the Avatar and inspected the damage. Korra had pulled her pant leg up to reveal a large bruise was forming on the outside, and a bit of bone poked out on the inside of her calf.
Bolin dramatically covered his face and looked away. "Ugh, that looks terrible!"
"Bolin!"
"You're going to be okay buddy, but Asami is going to murder me."
The refugee group had begun to gather around them, forming a loose circle. Shey and her crew stayed by tanks.
"Uhhh, I think I'm going to pass out," Korra moaned.
"Everyone head back towards camp, try to find a phone, call for help. Bolin, go ask the troops with the tanks to radio Chief Beifong."
Bolin nodded and moved towards the tanks. The refugees scattered as well.
Bo looked down to Korra. "Now that your audience is gone, we better set that leg."
"Do what?" Korra managed to croak.
"I'm going put the bone back into place," Bo said as he moved to her feet. He straddled Korra's foot and closed his eyes.
"Bolin!"
"Don't worry, this will be quick." Bo pulled a sheet of earth on either side of Korra's left leg with his fists and swiftly crossed one hand over the slabs to sandwich Korra's leg between them. As they collided with her leg, the two pieces of bone made an audible pop and click as they joined.
"I'm going to leave the stones up as a splint till someone can get here and wrap you up properly."
When he didn't get a reply, Bo crawled over to Korra's head and saw she had passed out. "Probably for the best."
Bolin was seated on the roof of the tank; the radio receiver cord was long enough to fit out if the tank, but he still had to bend down a bit towards the opening. He stared back at the curious eyes of Shey, her two associates and the crew members of the tank. They were far enough away to only hear his responses. "Yeah. No, it's bad. Yeah, it was that woman's home. I don't know if she knows yet, probably not. We sent some stragglers back to the base, but I'd figure Tenzin would just drop everything and come over. Please don't make me call her, I'm on a tank radio. Okay, see you soon."
"Thanks." Bolin passed the receiver to the lone crew member remaining inside the tank to operate the radio. "Okay, tank guys, we've got to wait for help to show up, so you can turn back around and go another way or hang here for a bit. Shey, you all can leave, we got it from here. We appreciate you stopping the tanks."
"You sure? Don't want the rescue of the Avatar documented for posterity?"
"No… I think you've gotten enough footage for today. It's not going to be pretty from here. Korra has a lot of parental figures in her life, and they're all about to descend upon her and rip her a new one."
"Understood. Hey, congrats on the engagement."
"Thanks! I might have just ended it today."
"I'm sure she'll forgive you."
Bolin watched the trio clean up their gear and head out. Once he was sure they were gone, he headed back to Korra and Bo. "Lin is coming. She's pissed."
"No surprise there," Bo murmured as he looked up at Bolin, his eyes squinting at the bright setting sun.
"She okay?" Bolin rushed to Korra's side.
"Blacked out from the pain. Nature's way of helping you stay sane in a crisis."
Bolin nodded and then brushed his hair back with both his hands. The nasally wailing sound of a siren grabbed his attention. He turned down the street where he could hear vehicles approaching. He held his hands on his head as he watched them stop just short of the crumbled home Korra fell out of. Lin was the first to exit one of the many vehicles. Even from where he stood, he could see the rage on her face.
Bo moved to Bolin's side. "Do you think Avatar Korra's promise of no accountability stands?"
Shey and Izzi had just finished processing their film footage from the day when Lan came back into the office with a bag of takeout.
"Perfect timing," Shey said with a grin.
Izzi moved to grab the bag, but Lan didn't pass it over. "You look like you've seen a ghost, what's up?"
"I stopped at a newsstand on the way back…" Lan murmured, reaching into the take out bag. She pulled out a copy of The Republic magazine and slid it onto their meeting table. On the cover was Asami Sato and Avatar Korra. Asami looked proudly at the camera with a hand on Korra's shoulder. Korra's arms were crossed with her back straight, almost looking ready for a fight. Below the photo, it read 'Exclusive interview and announcement from two of Republic City's most influential women. Page twelve.'
Lan did the two the favor of opening the magazine and turning to page twelve, which she had bookmarked with a folded corner, so it was easy for her to find, even upside down. On page twelve was a full page photo of Korra and Asami sitting on a couch in a chic office sitting room or lobby. A huge window overlooking the city was behind the two women. Their hands were clasped and nestled in the small space between them on the cushion.
"Holy badgermoles she's dating the Avatar!" Izzi blurted out in the silent room. She turned to the now stunned Shey. "I'm sorry buddy, that suuucks."
Shey swallowed and continued to look at the magazine. Her eyes locked on Asami's relaxed and cheerful face. "It's okay. I was worried this whole time she was just scared to be with me. Wanted to go back into the closet… and that wasn't it at all. I have my answer now. Fuck if I could compete with the Avatar."
"I think we all need to swear off celebrity crushes…" Izzi murmured.
Lan moved around the table to stand by Shey. She patted the magazine to get her attention. "This is huge though. They are two of Republic City's most influential women. Not two of, they are the most influential. And they're taking a stand. Sure some people will be bigoted assholes, but to the people who just don't understand there's no difference, that love is love, this will be world changing. Now is the time to make that a mover."
"What mover?" Izzi asked, looking between the two.
Shey bit at her bottom lip."I don't know…"
"No, it's time," Lan insisted. "And I think I know who we could ask to be our lead."
To be continued...