AUTHOR'S NOTES: And now we get the answer to how Korra found Tarrlok and Asami all the way out in that, it's pretty much all Korrasami fluff until near the end. I had originally contemplated calling this chapter "Last of her Line" for a while, but the name didn't stick. Perhaps it will show up in another chapter somewhere down the line. Whatever the case, the Asami arc continues.
Happy Reading!

BOOK THREE: WATER

CHAPTER NINETY-THREE: THE TWO LOVERS

Asami was too dizzy and upset to drive, and Korra did not trust her skills or know where they were, and so Tarrlok stayed true to his word and escorted them back to Sato Estate.

"There's only one thing I wish to know at this point, Korra," he spoke as he drove, "and then I will be silent for the remainder of the trip unless otherwise requested."

"Go ahead." Korra shrugged. She was holding Asami in the backseat, as Asami rested against her chest, tired but content in the arms of her lover.

"How in oblivion did you get all the way out there and know where that cabin was?" Tarrlok exclaimed. "Not to say it threatens my already-shattered ego, but during my… research… of your antics, there was a general consensus that your direction skills were… lacking."

"I still don't know where it was," Korra admitted, not even trying to deny the claim that she got lost easily, "I was in the trunk and when I woke up I heard Asami screaming, so of course I jumped out to see what was going on."

"The trunk…" Asami looked up, "Korra, what even!? What were you doing in the trunk of a Satomobile of all places?"

"Nightmares, trauma stuff," Korra shook her head, "I couldn't fall back asleep, so I went back to the trunk of a car to close myself in and tell myself that I was safe. I'm sure that sounds ridiculous, but it kind of worked. I didn't think you'd choose the most nondescript car in your garage, so I chose that one. What are the odds, huh?"

"There's logic behind reliving traumatic events so that your body and mind can tell you that you are safe, Korra," Tarrlok noted, "but with that said, my curiosity has been sated, and I will leave you two be once we get you home."

"That…" Asami looked up before lying back down against Korra's chest again, "love, you should have said something."

"I wanted to, but you're still stressed and I didn't want to add to it," Korra admitted, "besides, it was short-lived, and I'm fine now."

"I see…" Asami closed her eyes again, and she went quiet as she tried to rest her headache off. True to his word, Tarrlok did not say another word until they arrived at the gates of Sato Estate.

"Don't worry about me," he told them as he stepped out of the vehicle before the gates, "I'll walk home. You two do what you need to do, and… Avatar Korra?"

"Hmm?" Korra looked up, her scarred hand still in Asami's hair.

"Thank you." He sighed, "I… am unsure of what I will be doing with this, but it is clear that for whatever stupid selfless reason you wished to spare me… that I needed it. I… need time to think everything over, and probably ponder my life decisions. And… Asami?"

"Asami muttered a lazy "hm" to indicate she was at least listening.

"As little as it may mean, I apologize for the defensive outburst." he shook his head as he left them be. "I will not let it happen again."

"Mhm." she mumbled. For a moment, the two of them sat there, with Korra caressing Asami's hair and humming a little tune here or there. After a while they returned to the estate proper, and seated themselves on their favourite patch of floor in front of a radio, although this time they weren't listening to music or doing anything beyond resting in each other's arms.

"Love," Korra spoke softly after a while, and this time Asami opened her eyes. "I… you…"

She paused before sighing, "You're not okay, are you?"

"No," Asami shook her head, before launching into a terribly detailed explanation of how her day had gone, none of which was anything positive.

"And now I'm just so overwhelmed and stressed out and it's putting me into this horrible attitude and it's just so unlike me…" she complained, "Korra, I'm sorry."

"No…" Korra whispered, "Don't be. Just tell me anything you want to get off your chest. Let me be there to support you; to care for you… to love you despite every flaw or shortcoming you may think you have. Let me put you in the center of my universe, Asami, because there's no one in this world that I would rather have in the center of my life than you. I love you… I love you so much and I can't stand to see you like this!"

"I hate that I've fallen this far," Asami softly sighed into Korra's shoulder, "I hate that you have to see this; that you have to be the one that holds me up when you're busy fighting your own nightmares at the same time."

"But that's just it, babe." Korra assured her, "I can handle it. I've proven that I can handle it and so I can help you just as you've helped me before. Not to say that you can't… but even I realize that No one can always be tough in the face of adversity… trust me. I know that all too well."

ASami paused for a moment as she registered Korra's words, and she smiled.

"No wonder you drive Tarrlok crazy," she nuzzled against Korra with a sigh, "Korra, you're unbelievably compassionate and full of love and concern for those around you, and it amazes me. It inspires me. It drives me. Honestly, the whole altercation with Tarrlok was probably me just releasing a bunch of things I should have released earlier. I almost want to grapple with him again just to get the rest of it out, but…"

"Well, there's always me," Korra chuckled.

"But I don't want to take my frustration out on you," Asami replied, "although I might want to remove your top again."

Korra snorted, and blushed. "I mean… we're alone if that's what you're after…" she paused as her tone grew more serious, "but I just really don't want you to do what I did; to be the terrible person I was six months ago when I was screaming in your face and threatening you with the Avatar State. None of that was ever okay, and so rather than let you follow in my footsteps, I want to do whatever I can to help you let it out."

"Of course," Asami nodded, "there's just something on my mind and I need a very specific person to talk about it with."

"Can I help?" Korra didn't quite follow, "I mean, what do you mean?"

"Is it alright if I go and talk to people?" Asami asked, "I mean, other than you."

"Sure?" Korra's face dropped a bit, "I mean, we're not joined at the hip, although… is something wrong with me? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no; not at all!" Asami shook her head, "no, that was rude of me, Korra. I just… you know how there are some things that are more suitable to talk about with some people than others? You know, like how you might talk about Probending with Mako and Bolin; or how I might talk business with certain executives; or that sort of thing?"

"Sure;" Korra shrugged, her face still showing uncertainty, "I guess?"

"It's nothing against you, Korra; I promise." Asami kissed Korra's lips softly, "it's just… about my mom. I need to talk to Kwan about that considering that it was her and her sister that… well..." she trailed off, knowing Korra knew the rest.

"Any particular reason?" The curiosity and genuine concern for Asami's feelings showed in Korra's expression, indicating that she just wanted to know what was on her lover's mind rather than trying to pry at her every secret.

"Well, without my dad… I guess I just kind of want closure." Asami admitted, "I'm kind of in a really messy state right now, Korra—and I really don't want to do what you said and accidentally take it out on you. Can I make a request?"

"Babe, you could tell me to build you a city and I'd do it," Korra smiled, "you name it; it's yours."

"I'm just so tired after today…" Asami sighed in defeat, "cleaning up Hiroshi's mess drained me, and that fight with Tarrlok made me dizzy. Can I just rest in your arms… maybe let you run your fingers through my hair or something?"

"Of course," Korra didn't really even wait for Asami to finish before she hefted Asami's entire form up, shifted her so she was seated in front of Korra, her back against Korra's chest. Korra ran her fingers through Asami's hair for a moment before propping her up. She did not start right away though, causing Asami some slight confusion.

"Hm?" Asami wondered what the delay was, although her breath tensed up when she felt Korra shifting all of her hair to the left.

"Babe, you're going to scar me if you keep biting me there," It was hard not to smile at feeling Korra's affection again though—and Korra was a very affectionate lover.

"Fine, I'll move…" Korra leaned over and planted her lips in the crook of Asami's neck, nipping at the soft, tender skin there and causing Asami to lean to her left with her breath stuttered in all the right ways. One of Asami's hands shifted back and seized Korra's wrist, simply holding it for the sake of holding it as Korra nuzzled into Asami's neck and shoulder.

After a moment, however, Korra relented, and as such, so did Asami's hand. She straightened them both out and went back to playing with Asami's hair, which soothed the nonbender's frazzled nerves much more than she expected.

Neither Korra nor Asami was sure when it happened, but after a while, Korra realized that Asami was sound asleep in her arms. Rather than leave her be, Korra shifted carefully and meticulously, before hoisting Asami bridal style into her arms, a feat that she made look remarkably easy considering how strong she was. She didn't go far; simply to the nearest sofa and sat back, cradling the tall young woman in her arms like a baby, and gazing down lovingly at her serene expression. Korra blushed, feeling a giggle in her chest and butterflies in her stomach as she realized how in love she was.

"You're wrong about me, by the way…" Korra whispered, "I still got the better deal."

This was how she knew Asami was actually asleep, because if she had heard that and been awake she would have no doubt responded.

Incidentally, Korra fell asleep before Asami woke up, and so the largest tragedy of the whole situation was that no one was there to see how adorable the two of them looked snuggled together with Asami in Korra's arms.

Eventually however, Asami stirred, and her squirming was enough of a nudge to wake Korra up, and she woke up to a beautiful pair of green eyes gazing up at her.

"You fell asleep," Korra chuckled, "and I guess I just got a little too carried away thinking about how wonderful you are for me. How do you feel?"

"A little better," Asami touched her forehead, "and really, Korra—thank you for everything you've done. I think I may have downplayed myself all these months of telling you that what I do is just normal. It's just… coming from someone you love so much; I can see why you always held it in such high regard. I want you to know how much that means to me."

"Come on, babe, I'm the Avatar," Korra laughed, a noticeable red tint appearing on her otherwise brown face, "I'm not supposed to blush and stuff."

"Oh stop, you dork." Asami tugged some of Korra's hair, "hey… can I ask another favour?"

"Always…" Korra gave Asami a squeeze, caressing her lower jaw.

"I'm still a little lightheaded, although it might just be the stress," Asami admitted, "would you mind taking me to Kwan's Collision Repair? I need to get a few things off my chest and Ikiza needs to hear about them."

"Sure thing," Korra nodded, rising to her feet and gently setting Asami down onto hers, "just let me get dressed. If I run around looking like a vagrant people are going to think there's something wrong with me again or something."

As lazy as Korra often was when she was tired or any time before noon, she was remarkably swift in getting dressed, and was there in the car waiting for Asami by the time she arrived.

"Your driving's improved," Asami commented, her eyes closed as they flew across town, "although you still brake a bit too hard."

"Kwan gave me an ultimatum once," Korra quipped, "back when we broke back into your estate to get our stuff after… well…" she trailed off, not exactly wanting to bring up Hiroshi Sato this early considering that the morning had proven it was still a touchy subject.

"I should really look into improving my security it seems," Asami crossed her arms, "but not because of you; no… I was and am grateful for what you did that day, Korra. I was grateful for a lot of things you did for me that week, actually."

"Any time," Korra smiled, pulling up to Kwan's shop much more skillfully than she did the last time she drove there, "so, did you want me to come in with you, or should I just wait out here?"

"I might be a while, so you can come in," Asami offered, "and I mean, she's your friend, right? I wouldn't want to deny you the privilege of saying hello."

"Alright then," Korra smiled weakly as she followed Asami inside. She could tell that Asami was still in a funk that she was trying to hide, but perhaps out of fear of looking hypocritical, Korra did not decide to confront her about this—not yet anyways.

Asami moved to knock on the door of the shop, but noticed that Kwan had installed a doorbell between now and the last time she had paid a visit. She rang it, only for it to sound a buzzer, and then Kwan's voice was heard.

"Who's there?" her voice sounded a bit tired.

"Asami," Asami answered, "and Korra's here too."

"Sato?" Kwan grunted, "oy, come on in; I'm upstairs in the flat."

Both Korra and Asami realized they had never actually been in Kwan's apartment, and so both of them were surprised at how it looked.

It was a very small area: a kitchen and living area formed the one main room, with a small hallway branching off towards what was presumably just a bedroom and a bathroom.

"You…" Korra spoke, "you live like this?"

"We can't all live in the lap of luxury, Avatar," Kwan hummed, "but don't worry about me; I've been here for almost a year now and it suits my needs just fine. Now, what can I help ya with?"

"I'm sure you've heard about my father," Asami frowned, and Kwan's expression dropped. "And I guess just after everything… knowing you were there when my mother was killed, and that that began his spiral down into the twisted, bitter, angry person he has become…" she trailed off. Part of her wanted to scream and strangle the short little earthbender as if that would somehow right all of her wrongs—and another half knew better.

"Look, if you think killing me will make ya feel better, go right ahead," Kwan shrugged, "I've been trying to atone, and if that's the only way… well, it's not me you're gonna have to argue with. The Avatar defended me from the wrath of her mom; I'm pretty sure she'd have a word or two for you if you try it. That's just who she is."

"That's not…" Asami shook her head, but seemed at a loss for words.

"Asami, look," Kwan put her hands under Asami's jaw, looking her in the eyes, "I know that it's gotta hurt when your own family turns against you and tries to kill you. For reals—I've been there and done that. It's just… well; I also know how it feels to be the last of your line."

"I suppose there's that too," Asami hadn't thought about it that way, but with Kwan being more than twice her age, she figured that Azula's line was going to end with this little earthbender. On one hand, part of her felt vindicated in knowing that the line that had slain her mother and sent her father down a malevolent path was doomed to fade away, but on the other hand, rather than wanting to throttle Kwan, she couldn't help but listen to what appeared to be genuine words.

"Now, I'm sure I'm the last person you want advice from, Sato," Kwan continued, "but you've still got your whole life ahead of you, you're a talented driver and mechanic, you're now in control of one of the most successful companies in the world… and you've got the best damn girlfriend in Republic City. That's gotta amount to something, right?"

"I mean, you're not wrong," Asami gave a weak smile, "I'm just… so tired, Ikiza. I'm frustrated and I wanted to take it out on you because you're the only one from that whole ordeal that's still alive, and… and that's not appropriate. I apologize."

"Well, thanks for not trying to kill me, at least." Kwan scratched the back of her head, "and hey, maybe talk to Korra about it. I'm sure she can give you a much better insight on things than I could. Seriously… the kid does it all. That reminds me… Korra, this is for you."

Kwan got up and retrieved a large, well-kept book. Korra didn't take it right away, but glanced at Kwan curiously before glancing down at what she was holding.

"Now," Kwan continued, "you might not like it, considering who it's about and such; but… maybe it'll clear some things up. But heck; do what you want with it—read it, tear it up, burn it, whatever. I just feel like you should have it."

"How bad could it possibly—" Korra began but cut herself off as she looked at the book. Based on the title and the images on the front, it looked to be journal or record—written by Nakkoa.