AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is something of a breather chapter as well, since the next couple of chapters are particularly tense and game-changing. This one's kind of more a checkup on Korra and Asami's relationship since this is their first reunion in over 18 months. Well, that and I did promise Korrasami, and while it's definitely a slow-burn, I'm an author of my word. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the development so far though; even constructive criticism is very encouraging.
Happy Reading!
BOOK ONE: POWER
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: A FOND REUNION
Korra looked down at her clothes as they pulled up to Asami's estate. They were in fine condition, but the ragtag way she was wearing them, coupled with her bare feet, her headband, and her unkempt hair made the teen look much more like a vagabond than she was proud to admit—at least in front of someone she might have had feelings for.
"C'mon, really, Asami?" Korra turned to her friend.
"Since when did you care about your appearance this much?" Asami laughed as she flipped her hair and got out of the car, "Here I thought you'd be telling me to deal with it."
"It seems a bit rude to tell your father that," Korra admitted, "And I still think I left a bad impression with him the last time I was here."
"He's not going to throw you out," Asami assured her, "he's usually busy with this or that these days anyways, so we probably won't even run into him today."
"Is he fine with the Avatar trashing his estate?" Korra quipped as they went through the gates, her choice of words more joking than actual seriousness.
"He'll have to deal with it." Asami winked, inviting Korra inside. They crossed the threshold, and only after they were inside, Asami threw her arms around Korra to the Avatar's surprise.
"I missed you, Korra." she whispered as Korra's eyes bulged. She was not used to human contact outside of her parents, and it showed in the hesitant moments where Korra's arms simply stuck out before she wrapped them around Asami in turn. Kwan was friendly enough, and the rest of the Red Lotus wasn't cruel either, but they didn't exactly give her affectionate or friendly physical contact. Korra suddenly hungered for more of this contact, but didn't want to overbear on Asami. Not this soon, anyways.
"I missed you too," Korra sighed, nuzzling against Asami's shoulder. "It's been so long since I've actually had someone to interact with that wasn't trying to drill bending disciplines into my head. It's… nice to be able to not only relax, but to have someone to just talk to."
"It sounds like your adventures were less pleasant than you let on about," Asami pulled Korra off her shoulder, only to give her a concerned look as she analyzed Korra's face.
"I guess, maybe?" Korra scratched the back of her head and shrugged, "I enjoyed it… but there was definitely a social aspect of my life that I missed. I hope I'm not too clingy."
"You're fine," Asami put her hands gently on Korra's bare shoulders, "You're different from when we last met, but that's not a bad thing."
"It's not?" Korra tilted her head, her left eyebrow raised.
"You've grown; I've grown…" Asami began walking, cuing Korra to follow, "and I'm just glad we didn't grow apart during that time."
"Me too," Korra shook her head as they walked, "you're still my only real friend, Asami. That's important to me, and you're important to me."
"Maybe I should introduce you to the Fire Ferrets one of these days then," Asami offered, "I think you might get to like some of them. You have a very friendly demeanour, Korra. I don't imagine you'd have trouble getting along with them."
"Sure," Korra smiled, "I wouldn't mind having a few friends—nothing against you, of course… y'know; just branching out and having other people to talk to so I'm not always haranguing you all the time, you know?"
"I know, silly," Asami ruffled Korra's hair again, still walking as they talked; "I'm not going to get jealous if you have other friends. I'm friends with Mako and Bolin in particular, but that doesn't mean they've gone and pushed you out of my life."
"Well, for what it's worth, that means a lot to me," Korra smiled. "Thanks."
"My pleasure," Asami hummed, "and now, don't take this as criticism, but the more I look at your outfit, the more I'm curious about it."
"What about it?" Korra stopped walking, turning to give Asami a front-view of herself, complete with her knee-length pants, sleeveless shirt, her dark blue headband and the armband she wore on her right arm, "It's not much different from my everyday stuff except for a few extra accessories. You always seem to look your best though—what's up with that?"
"You say that like there's something wrong with indulging in a bit of fashion now and again," Asami giggled, her black and bronze attire that covered everything but her hands and head giving her a much more professional look than Korra could ever hope to achieve.
"Well, if you were wondering why I felt like I was underdressed," Korra elbowed her playfully, "now you know."
"We should get a picture together though!" Asami suggested, "as a way to remember each other in case we're separated for that long again. What do you say?"
"Do I have a choice?" Korra looked down at her ragtag outfit again.
"Not when you put it that way, silly" Asami giggled, taking Korra's hand and leading her into a fairly plain-looking room. A word to one of the butlers, and within 2 minutes, Asami and Korra were both smiling for the camera. Asami had to force herself to keep from giggling at Korra's goofy and unphotogenic smile, but Korra was thrilled.
"You look so great!" Korra analyzed the picture as they stepped back out and Korra resumed following Asami wherever she was leading her. "...I look like a hobo."
"You're fine," Asami laughed as she took one of Korra's hands, which had moved to her hair as if to try and straighten it, "I like the look… you seem… wild."
"Well, I did have wild adventures when I was up there," Korra commented, "I usually dressed a little better than this though."
"The headband is new," Asami pointed out, much to Korra's concern, "is there a story behind it?"
"Just a bending discipline," Korra slowly removed it, pushing her bangs to her right to reveal the red eye-tattoo that was centered around her chakra point. Asami's eyes widened.
"They taught you that!?" she stared at the marking with awe. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"Very," Korra couldn't help but be a little smug, "but I handle danger like a pro. It's what I do."
"So what are you going to do now?" Asami raised her eyebrows, "now that you've mastered the elements and all that?"
"Well, I haven't exactly mastered them." Korra shrugged, "learning's the hard part though. After that it's just honing skills. After I finish that… well, I'm not sure. I guess I'll go around saving the world or something. I'll admit that I haven't thought that far ahead. How about you?"
"Obviously I'll eventually take over my father's company," Asami hummed as she started walking again, "but hopefully that doesn't have to happen for a long time. I know most of the ropes already, but dad's an intuitive and brilliant man. He's got plenty of years left in him."
"I hope so too," Korra nodded. "Although speaking of which… does he know I'm here?"
"I find it easier to ask forgiveness than permission,." Asami giggled, "but come now; I think you'll like what I've got planned for the evening…"
"Let me guess…" Korra eyeballed Asami's outfit and cosmetics again, "shopping, makeovers…"
"Oooh, not a bad idea," Asami's face lit up, "Bookmark that one though. This one's a little more simplistic. I figured a girl from the Water Tribes would appreciate water she could actually swim in rather than freeze to death in, hmm?"
"Huh…" Korra muttered, "I guess that's a valid point." She had hesitated; about to mention the comical 'Rite of Passage' her parents had put her through shortly before leaving the South Pole, but decided against it. That'd be a funny story for another time. "Lead on then."
The Sato Estate's swimming pool was almost as large as one of the massive reflecting pools the Southern Water Tribe Palace overlooked back home, except obviously much deeper and (Korra presumed) much warmer. She was so transfixed as she took in all the surroundings that she didn't even notice Asami disappearing into a small side room to get changed. Being unfamiliar with the notion of bathing suits, as well as being a waterbender who could instantaneously dry her clothes with a flick of her arms, Korra jumped into the water fully dressed without even giving it second thought. She spent more than a couple of minutes completely submerged, feeling more serene than she had in months by being completely immersed in her native element.
She emerged from the water just in time to see Asami stepping out in a little grey number that left almost nothing to the imagination as far as her arms and legs were concerned.
"Hey!" Korra waved, "you look great!" That was one way of putting it anyways. There were other ways Korra thought about putting it as well, but almost none of them were appropriate at this stage in their relationship. Asami dove rather gracefully into the water and appeared next to Korra a second later, looking her up and down and peeling a few wet bangs from Korra's face.
"Did you just jump straight in, clothes and all?" She laughed.
"Hey, I took off my headband," Korra replied, her tattoo half-concealed by her renegade bangs, "and I didn't exactly think I was supposed to strip to my smallclothes."
"That just means I need to make sure to get you an actual bathing suit when we do go shopping," Asami retorted, splashing Korra, "whenever that ends up being…"
"Oh ho," Korra took the splash as a goad, "are you challenging me?"
"Maybe I am," Asami playfully splashed Korra again.
"Hold it," Korra laughed, "you're seriously challenging a waterbender to a splash fight? Asami, I need you to stop for a moment and realize how crazy that is!"
"Well it's not a challenge if you're just going to cheat and use bending," Asami giggled, backstroking away from Korra to put a little distance between the two.
"I wasn't gonna cheat!" Korra spread her arms, a subtle little pout appearing on her face. "Okay, I totally was. Fine, no bending then?"
It went without saying that, had Korra used waterbending that Asami would have been overwhelmed within seconds, but in otherwise equal-grounded hand-to-hand, Asami was fast, even in the water. She had the swift, precise strikes of a chi-blocker, directing water at Korra almost as if she was bending it herself. Granted, neither of them were being too analytical and were really just there to enjoy themselves and each other's company. Korra did surprise Asami at one point by picking her straight up and out of the water, before stepping back to the edge of the pool and falling backwards—Asami still in her arms—back into the water. When they resurfaced, Asami pushed her in response.
"What was that all about?" she laughed.
"Me showing off," Korra admitted without the slightest hesitation. "You're light."
"Hurr, I'm the Avatar, look at my muscles and how strong I am, I never do my hair and I hate wearing shoes!" Asami did a mock imitation of Korra, which made the Avatar giggle.
"Damn, that was actually pretty good!" Korra clapped, "want me to lend you one of my spare outfits next time? Just ruffle your hair a bit and flex your arms every three steps and you could pull off a decent enough imitation Korra."
"Oh?" Asami raised her eyebrow, "not going to try imitating me?"
Korra plunged her head under the water only to resurface and flip her hair, wiping her forehead with her hand, "Oh, right. I'm Asami and I just got out of a hurricane but my hair is always so perfect cuz I always look like perfection incarnate!"
The real selling point in Korra's act was when she tried to run her fingers through her hair in imitation of Asami, only for her fingers to get caught halfway down.
"So you think I'm little miss perfect?" she quipped, smiling at Korra.
"The same way you think I'm miss muscular Avatar," Korra riposted. She may have had a very unrefined approach to social situations, but spending so much time around so many droll individuals at the Red Lotus compound had honed Korra's wit to be sharp to the point of nearly always having a comeback on the tip of her tongue.
"Obviously I didn't mean it as an insult," she added, for clarity's sake.
"Well think of it this way," if Asami had been insulted she made no indication of it, "after we shop, you're getting that makeover, and then you can have perfect hair like me."
"One of these days I think I'm just gonna shave my head." Korra floated lazily on her back.
"Cut your hair and I'll cut you," Asami threatened, a smirk betraying that she wasn't trying to make it a terse remark, "your messy hair is part of your charm, Korra. I like how thick it is and how long you wear it."
"So you've picked up on my sense of humour, huh?" Korra quipped, raising her finger, although still floating on her back.
"It wasn't hard," Asami teased. "You're still not very subtle, you know."
"I didn't know I was trying to be," Korra shrugged, disappearing below the water and resurfacing a moment later, before pausing.
"Have you ever been in a moment like this, and thought to yourself that you wished it would never end?" Korra turned to Asami with a more serious expression on her face.
"Apart from this one?" Asami raised her eyebrows, "Not really. Our last meeting was fairly nice, but not quite the type of thing I wanted to last forever."
"I'm probably just rambling then," Korra shrugged, "Sorry."
"Don't be," Asami swam over to Korra, putting her arm around her. "Honestly… I'm glad to see you again, Korra. I don't imagine you're staying too long, but it means a lot to me that you were going to come and find me."
"It means a lot to me that you actually DID come and find me," Korra replied, pulling herself out of the water, shaking her hair 'dry', and bending the water out of her clothes, "I'm not sure how much longer I'll be back up in the mountains after this."
"It won't last forever," Asami put her hands on Korra's shoulders. "And just think: I'm not going anywhere, and if you still wanted to meet the Fire Ferrets when you got back, I'm sure they'll still be around. There's always something for anyone in Republic City."
"Why do you think I'm consistently drawn to this place?" Korra laughed, tying her headband back around her forehead, "still… thanks for having me over. It was a great way to end my day."
"My pleasure," Asami smiled, "Just give me a moment to get changed and I'll take you home."
"You make that swimsuit look good though," Korra flashed Asami a wink and a goofy grin. "Just grab some shoes and take me home like that." There was no harm in a bit of dorky teenage flirting, she figured—and she wasn't lying when she voiced her opinion on Asami's appearance.
Asami giggled, and Korra was not sure what the signs she was getting were, and so she didn't press the issue. A few minutes later, Asami was dressed and they were flying down the roads of Republic City back to Korra's hotel, where they said their goodbyes and parted ways.
Korra was somewhat more energetic than Nakkoa and Kwan, being in her sprightly teen years rather than slightly past their prime like 37-year-old Nakkoa or 35-year-old Kwan. Even if they had been awake, however, Korra did not imagine they would have asked her about where she had gone; she had made it pretty obvious.
The dip in the Sato's swimming pool had been rather relaxing, but at this point it was late enough that Korra crawled into bed and was also asleep within minutes, her dreams full of her recent adventures. To come back to Republic City after a year and a half away from almost all of society had been a breath of fresh air. So sound asleep were Korra and the sisters, however, that even in the dead of night several hours later, none of them even stirred when the lock on their room clicked open.