Chapter Text
PLEASE READ:
This fic is from 2015. Like, 5 years ago.
Reading back on it, the story doesn’t go anywhere and I never had any sort of ending planned. Also God that school shooter subplot is edgy and pointless. All in all this story is something I swept under the rug and hoped people would forget about it.
But it seemed like every time I checked my email I would get a new comment from someone asking when I was going to finish. So that’s exactly what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna wrap up this nightmare of a fanfiction so I can be done with it.
If this ending disappoints you, just be glad it has an ending lol. Thank you to all my readers who still enjoy my writing.
Kisses,
-Gummy
P.S. I finished this at like 2am so I didn't get around to editing it that much. Go easy on me fellas.
---
Cool under pressure, calm and collected, Asami Sato never paced. She didn’t fidget, tap her foot, bite her lips, wring her hands in her lap. Nothing. To survive in a competitive business market, you had to be tough. One of the first lessons she learned in her business classes was to have an unbreakable poker face. Once a competitor sniffed out your weakness you were done for.
Asami’s boots marched back and forth across the scuffed linoleum floors as she paced up and down the emergency room hallway. She bit her lips, tapped her foot and wrung her hands around in her lap, desperate for anyone to give her news on Korra’s condition. There had still been no word from her parents who were probably still fast asleep in the South Pole.
The EMTs had reluctantly allowed Asami to ride in the ambulance with Korra who faded in and out of consciousness as they pumped morphine into her arm. They spoke in complicated medical terms that Asami couldn’t identify but she knew they couldn’t mean anything great. They only acknowledged her to ask a question or two about what Korra had been doing before the accident. Asami didn’t know. They quickly discarded her as a useless witness.
Now there was nothing to do but pace and sit and fidget and stress while the doctors tried to figure out what was going on with Korra’s spine. It had been a couple of restless hours and nobody had anything to report. Asami felt like she could go insane waiting like this, knowing that her last conversation with Korra was basically a verbal fistfight that left them both fuming with anger. What if she never got a chance to apologize?
Asami shook her head angrily. She’s not dying Sato get a fucking grip.
But something was happening. She wasn’t dying but...What if she became paralyzed or she lost her legs or…
What if Korra blamed her?
“Aghh!” Asami let out a frustrated groan and forced herself to sit down in the uncomfortable waiting room chair. She felt helpless and responsible for this mess. She shouldn’t have scolded Korra like a misbehaving child for something she couldn’t even control. She jumped up when the ER doors swung open, but it was only a nurse moving to the next station.
They say no news is good news but Asami still felt like she was going insane.
She must have somehow dozed off in the back-breaking chair because someone gently shook her shoulder to wake her. A doctor wearing all white was looking down at her expectantly, a clipboard thick with papers in his hands. Asami jumped up and bombarded him with questions.
“Ms. Sato please,” He said patiently, “I need to ask you a few questions.”
Asami closed her mouth and sat back down in the chair next to the doctor who was flipping through the mountain of medical paperwork. Most of it looked like spinal diagrams and x-rays of Korra’s legs which didn’t do much to calm the nerves in Asami’s stomach.
“So, I have good news and bad news.” The doctor finally said, taking his thin-rimmed glasses off of his face. He looked exhausted.
“What’s the bad news?” Asami asked.
He sighed, “Korra needs surgery as soon as possible or she risks losing the use of both of her legs.”
“And?” Asami said, sensing there was something else.
“The procedure needed to save her legs is an incredibly new and risky surgery that only has a 30% success rating,” He continued, “And we can’t perform it without her written consent which we can’t get because she’s unconscious.”
Asami was quiet for a moment while she absorbed every horrible thing the doctor just told her. If Korra couldn’t give consent for the surgery, her parents would be the only other people who could. But they remained completely clueless down in the South Pole. Nobody had been able to get through to them.
“Korra has only a few hours before it will be too late,” The doctor said, standing up from his chair, “We’ll wait as long as we can but the longer we do, the higher chance that something goes wrong.”
“Wait!” Asami said standing up, “There’s nobody else that can give consent to the surgery besides Korra’s parents?”
“I’m afraid not.” He said, shaking his head, “I’m truly sorry Ms. Sato.”
“Can I see her?” Asami said quietly. The doctor hesitated for a moment, checking his watch.
“I suppose,” He said, “They should have finished up the last of the testing. Room 1214.”
Asami thanked him quickly and rushed through the double doors, practically skidding to a stop in front of 1214. She gingerly opened the door, peeking through the crack to make sure the room was empty. She almost moaned when she saw Korra laying in the hospital bed, hooked up to several machines that hummed and beeped.
“My God,” Asami whispered, taking a seat next to the bed. She was terrified to touch Korra. She looked so...breakable. Asami trembled as her hand hovered over Korra’s face, finally touching down and resting gently on her cheek. The first tears of the night came spilling from Asami’s eyes as guilt flooded into her chest.
This is my fault.
Not just in the here and now, everything. If she had never left, if she had been a better friend. Korra would be the same happy and healthy goofball she had been all those years ago. Not a single bit of metal trapped in her body.
“I’m so sorry Korra,” Asami wept, resting her head on Korra’s chest. She stayed like that for a long time, feeling the rise and fall of Korra’s chest as she slept. The clock was ticking away every moment that Korra had left before the doctors would come in and take away her last chance at a normal life.
It wasn’t fair.
There was a nurse in the lobby calling Korra’s parents every ten minutes or so but nothing was getting through to their line. Asami could only imagine what they would feel when they woke up in the morning to find their voicemail full of urgent messages saying their only daughter was going to lose her legs. The clock on the wall read that it was nearing midnight which meant that it would soon be morning in the South Pole. There was still a chance but it was incredibly slim.
Asami reached up and ran her thumb across Korra’s cheek. Her eyes fluttered at the contact. Asami shot up.
“Korra?” She said urgently, “Korra can you hear me?” She began rapidly pushing the pager on the side of the bed to call the nurse. Korra’s eyes fluttered again as if they were going to close. A nurse peaked her head in the door and immediately went to page the doctor when she saw Korra was barely hanging onto consciousness.
“Keep her awake.” The nurse instructed, “Do whatever you can.”
“‘Sami…” Korra croaked, eyes still closed, “Is that you?”
“Yes Korra,” Asami said, fighting back tears, “It’s me, I’m here don’t worry.”
“What’s going on?” Korra’s eyes finally opened and blearily traveled around the room, “This isn’t my house.”
“We don’t know,” Asami said, gripping Korra’s hand tighter, “You were passed out when the medics got to your house and nobody can figure out what caused this,”
“I was kicking shit,” Korra slurred, “I was mad at Bolin and...and you.”
“Korra I need you to listen carefully,” Asami said, taking Korra’s face in both of her hands to keep her focused, “You need surgery or you’re going to lose your legs.”
“I know that Asami,” Korra said in her slow, drugged up mumble, “I don’t have a choice do I?”
“No, you don’t.” Asami said, “Just stay focused on me and don’t fall back asleep okay?”
“I’m sorry for blowing up at you.” Korra said, sounding like she was drifting away, “I’m a big dumb stubborn idiot.”
“I wasn’t angry with you,” Asami said gently, squeezing Korra’s hand, “I was scared and worried sick. I never wanted this to happen.”
“I missed you,” she slurred, head lulling to the side, “I thought of you every day that you were gone.”
“Stay with me Korra, please don’t go back to sleep.”
The doctor burst into the room, dropping quickly next to Korra’s bed. He had a stack of papers ready in his hand. He began explaining the surgery and it’s risks to a half-awake Korra who only stared blankly at him. Her eyes were glassed over as he handed the clipboard to her.
“You need to sign.” He said, holding out his pen. Korra only looked at it, seemingly unsure of what he wanted her to do with it.
“Korra, you need to do this.” Asami urged her, squeezing her shoulder, “This is the only way to save you.”
She seemed to perk up slightly at the sound of Asami’s voice. Korra grabbed the pen and sloppily wrote her name in the box at the bottom of the release forms, falling back against the pillows as soon as she was done.
“I’ll get her prepped for surgery immediately,” The doctor said, rushing off to get the papers processed and approved. Korra groaned in her bed, eyes shut tight as if she were fighting off a wave of pain. Asami felt a stab deep in her heart as she watched Korra, her oldest friend and newest love struggle against the odds of ever walking again. Not just walking. Working and getting to play soccer again like she used to, just living like the loose cannon she had always been.
“Will you still be here when I get out?” Korra asked, barely above a pained whisper.
“Of course I will,” Asami said, almost choking on her words, “I’ll be here for as long as you want me to.”
“Forever would be nice,” Korra laughed drunkenly, head falling back against the pillows again, “I don’t know what I would do if you left again.”
Asami ran her fingers across Korra’s sweaty face, “I’m not going anywhere.”
On cue, a whole team of medics entered the room, solemnly waiting for Asami to move out of the way.
“We’re ready now Ms. Sato.” The doctor said, “If you’ll please wait outside.”
She turned back towards Korra who was only half-conscious, “I love you so much.” Asami stood and exited the room, taking one last sweeping look at Korra’s face and hoping this was the last time she would see her in pain.
---
The hours slid by like days. Every time Asami looked at the clock it seemed to be moving backwards. She tried to distract herself with games on her phone but it all seemed so arbitrary. Nothing could keep her mind distracted for more than a couple minutes before she found herself glancing at the time again.
Someone had finally gotten through to Korra’s parents who had jumped on the first plane back to Republic City and would be at the hospital sometime in the morning. Asami had been relieved to hear the news but still hated having to wait alone in the freezing waiting room. Senna had such a motherly, comforting aura it always made things feel like they were going to be alright no matter how dire the situation.
She hugged her torso and tried to hold back a tortured moan. She knew the waiting was nothing compared to what Korra was going through in the operating room but it was agonizing all the same.
Korra doesn’t blame you, she had to keep reminding herself over and over again.
But maybe she should.
It was an accident.
An accident you caused.
Asami mashed her lips together to fight off another groan. The ticking of the clock swam in her ears and reminded her how each minute was trudging by. Every second passing, she counted to sixty over and over again trying to keep her mind from fighting itself over who was to blame. Nobody was to blame. Every couple fought.
Not every fight ends in life altering surgery, her brain reminded her.
“Shut up!” Asami snapped, blushing deeply a second later at her outburst. She was thankful nobody else was in the waiting room. A door slammed somewhere in the hall and Asami jumped up from her chair, hands clasped tightly across her chest. Footsteps echoed and the swinging doors opened.
Bolin looked surprised to see Asami waiting so expectantly. He turned to look and see if someone was standing behind him. She sighed and sank back into her chair.
“Sorry,” he said, taking a seat beside her, “I know I’m not the one you wanted to see.”
“No, its good to have some company,” Asami assured him, “How did you know about Korra?”
“Katara called me,” he said, his mouth slanting, “She’s the only emergency contact Korra had they could get ahold of.”
“Is she here with you?”
“Yeah she’s with a bunch of doctors giving them all of the details about Korra’s physical therapy and stuff.” Bolin said. They sat in silence for a moment, Asami grinding her teeth and Bolin playing with a loose thread on his pants. In the honest truth they didn’t know each other very well and that was made very apparent in the heavy stillness between them. Knowing Korra was one of the only things they had in common, besides their competitive games of Pai Sho. Asami had never spent time with Bolin without Korra and it made things feel strange. It was hard to find something to say to someone you barely knew beyond how he enjoyed his coffee. Three sugars and a dash of vanilla creamer.
“Asami?” he said tentatively, “Is this our fault?”
The room seemed to freeze over as they both thought of the fight in the coffee shop that made Korra storm off, landing her in the current situation. Bolin seemed to shiver.
“I’ve been asking myself that same question since I got here.” Asami said.
Bolin looked back down at his pants as if he was afraid to hear the answer. She placed a hand on his shoulder.
“No matter what happens next, we’ll all get through it together.” Asami said, sure that Bolin could hear the false bravado in her voice. She wasn’t fooling anyone, especially herself. They sat together, listening to the ticking of the clock and the buzzing of the fluorescent lights, jumping in their seats every time a door slammed or a machine beeped. It was maddening. Even Bolin couldn’t keep himself distracted, opening apps on his phone and closing them five minutes later. As Asami continued to stare at the clock, she knew Bolin had the same racing thoughts going through his head as she did. They didn’t know each other but they shared the same pain.
The hours passed.
Bolin had fallen asleep sometime around midnight. His head lulled against the back of the chair, mouth wide open, and gentle snores breaking the maddening silence of the waiting room. Asami was exhausted as well but knew her body would never let her sleep under this kind of strain. Nights before midterms and finals were always hell, the stress kept her from ever being rested before her exams. It was a trait she knew would never leave her.
She had flipped through every magazine in the waiting room, some of them she even read twice if they were particularly interesting. Bolin snored away, at least drowning out the clock’s incessant ticking. But time still dragged. Doors still opened and Asami still jumped every time. But nobody ever came to update them.
No news is good news.
---
Asami finally felt herself drifting off. Her cheek was smashed against her palm but somehow the exhaustion was overpowering the stress enough to let her brain relax, if only slightly. There wasn’t enough sleep medicine in the world to let her fall asleep fully, but the dozing was nice. Her jaw unclenched and the throbbing behind her eyes from the bright lights was finally fading. Images of Korra running to greet her with a big smile and joyful tears in her eyes flashed through Asami’s mind. Korra jumping around and kicking a soccer ball without pain or struggle, just living life. It was all she wanted to see.
Bolin jerked awake in his seat, interrupting Asami’s fantasy. They stared blearily at each other in confusion.
“How long was I out?” Bolin said in a raspy voice, glancing at the clock.
“I dozed off a little too,” Asami said, “A couple hours maybe?” They both stretched and yawned, Bolin slouching back into his chair. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through some notifications, seemingly uninterested in any of them.
“She’s been in there for a long time.” Asami said nervously, realizing just how long they’d been camping out.
Bolin looked up from his phone, “I’m sure things are going fine.”
“How can you know that?” she asked, “What if things are going terribly wrong.” It was hard to keep the hysteria from creeping up into her voice.
“Asami you’ve known Korra longer than I have,” Bolin said, “Does she seem like someone that would lose a fight?”
Asami’s mind flashed back to the day on the bus. Korra crushing the bully’s fist in her own and sinking her knee into his stomach. The beginning of a lifelong friendship between them. Nobody dared mess with Asami after word got around that Korra was no pushover in a fight.
Tears pricked at her eyes as she recalled the memory. No, Korra wouldn’t dare lose a fight like this. She was too brave and she had a whole life waiting for her when she woke up from surgery. Asami clenched her teeth and looked at Bolin, tears sliding down her cheeks.
“She’s fighting like hell in there,” she said, a blaze in her eye, “And she’s not going to lose.”
“Exactly,” Bolin said, a wide grin on his face.
The doors swung open and a doctor walked into the room, eyeing both of them as they stared. Both Asami and Bolin were stunned into silence, not sure if they were sharing a hallucination or not.
The doctor cleared his throat uncomfortably, “Um are you two here for Korra?”
They both flew out of their seats and bombarded the doctor with a million questions, leaving the poor man looking extremely overwhelmed.
“Please settle down,” he said, “I’ll answer any question you have in a moment.”
“Please tell us everything is okay!” Asami said in a jittery, panicked voice. She almost didn’t recognize it as her own, it was so high pitched.
“The surgery went well,” he said, consulting a clipboard, “There were a few hiccups but overall we think it was a success.”
“You think?” Bolin asked incredulously.
“Well with new technologies like these it’s hard to determine the complete outcome.” He said, “We’ll know for sure when Korra wakes up.”
“Can we see her?” Asami practically shouted. She couldn’t stand another minute in this waiting room.
“She’s out cold,” the doctor said, “We don’t think she’s going to wake up until later this morning.”
“We don’t care, we just want to see her!” Bolin said.
“They should be finishing post-op right now,” he checked his watch, “Follow me I’ll show you to her room.”
---
Asami had never been inside the ICU before. When the doctor had led them towards it, Asami immediately began to panic. He assured her that it was just hospital regulation but she still didn’t fully believe him. She was sweating despite how cold it was in the hallway and Bolin seemed to be fairing no better. His face was pale and she could see nervous sweat beading around his thick eyebrows.
The doctor stopped at the last door on the right and paused.
“Let me go in and make sure everything is finished up.” He said, leaving them to wait helplessly outside of the room, unable to see inside. Minutes ticked by and Asami immediately began to worry that something was wrong. Bolin gave her an encouraging look and flashed a thumbs up. It made her feel a little better but not by much.
The door opened and the doctor walked out, looking extremely pleased with himself.
“She’s pretty groggy but you guys are good to go in.” He stood aside and let them enter. The room was incredibly small, mostly dominated by the massive hospital bed and several machines that all beeped quietly but consistently. A few nurses were gathering up the last of their supplies, flashing big smiles at Asami and Bolin. They closed the door behind them and left them alone.
Korra lay still in the bed, several tubes and wires connected to her legs and arms. Her eyes were closed but the way she stirred meant she was awake in some capacity. Asami was frozen in place, not really sure what to do or how to break the trance she was in. The sight was so bittersweet. Korra was okay as far as anyone could tell but the uncertainty hung heavy in the room. Was the doctor’s optimism temporary? Would something go wrong when she was finally able to test how the procedure went?
“Asami,” Bolin said gently, “You can walk over to the bed.”
She snapped out of her thoughts and gave Bolin a frightened look. He returned it with a warm smile. Asami finally unlocked her legs and took a shaky step towards Korra who was struggling to open her eyes, fighting against the drugs still in her system. Hands clamped against her chest, Asami scooted to the very edge of the bed terrified of making a sound.
After another moment of silence she finally spoke. “Korra? Can you hear me?”
Korra only groaned in response and Asami wondered if she was in pain.
“A…” Korra slurred, “As...a…..ami?” Her eyes finally lolled open, cloudy and unfocused. She was high as a kite. Asami cracked a smile.
“Hey,” She said gently, “How are you feeling?”
It felt like a very cliche thing to ask but she had no idea what else to say. Korra seemed to slowly process the words one at a time.
“Like a million bucks.” She answered with a grin that drooped a little at the sides. Her foggy eyes were locked onto Asami’s face as if it took all of her concentration to focus.
“Sounds like a lie.” Asami said teasingly, relief flooding her chest like an adrenaline shot straight to the heart. She felt confident enough to reach out and gently stroke Korra’s cheek. It was damp with sweat.
“I feel like shit.” Korra said bluntly with a dizzy giggle, “I don’t even know where I am.”
“You’re in the hospital doofus.” Bolin said, walking up to bed as well. His large body was brushing against one of the machines.
“Damn what did I do this time?” Korra asked, a large smile still on her face.
Asami and Bolin exchanged a look, not sure whether or not to remind Korra of what happened. She probably wouldn’t remember what they told her anyway. The morphine would make her forget everything being said.
“Something stupid probably.” Bolin answered for both of them, “But that’s nothing out of the ordinary for you.”
Korra pondered this for a moment, “Yeah you’re probably right dude.”
All three of them burst into laughter, Bolin and Asami the loudest. They were high on the relief of Korra being her old self.
“I love you guys,” Korra said, head dropping to the side as she started fading back into unconsciousness, “Everything about you is wonderful.”
“We love you too Korra.” Asami said, running her thumb over Korra’s cheekbones. God, she loved her so much it made her whole body tighten. Korra hummed at Asami’s touch, leaning into the sensation.
“I’m stupid in love with you ‘Sami.” She whispered, speaking like a drunken text, “Just wanted you to know.”
“I know you do Korra,” Asami said, tears pricking her eyes, “I love you too, so much.”
Korra smiled, eyes struggling to stay open as the morphine drip started to take her back under. She reached up and put a heavy hand on top of Asami’s, running her thumb over it.
“I want to play soccer,” She said dreamily before the drugs took her back to sleep.
---
The weather was nice as it usually was in Republic City, especially since fall was rolling around and the air had turned slightly crisp. The sky was cloudless and Asami was enjoying the fresh air with Opal as they sat on a blanket in the grass. They had become very good friends in the past few months thanks to their significant others being best friends. Their double dates were always full of laughter, even when Mako sometimes tagged along.
The crowd around them had mostly dispersed and the only people left were the ones waiting like Opal and Asami. Nobody was complaining, the weather was too nice to be impatient.
“Asami!” Korra called from behind, running up with a ball tucked under her arm. Dirt and grass stains covered her shirt and knees, one of them scraped up enough to bleed a little.
“You’re a mess,” Asami said with a laugh, “And look how sweaty you are, gross.”
Korra grinned, “Oh like you’re about to be?”
She dove and playfully tackled Asami, rubbing her sweaty face on every inch she could reach.
“Korra!” Asami said shrilly, trying to push her off, “That’s disgusting stop!”
They sprawled on the grass laughing while Opal rolled her eyes with a smile, looking away at her phone. She was probably trying to figure out where Bolin was. He was always two steps behind Korra.
“One of these days I’m going to get you back,” Asami said, gently punching Korra’s arm, “Give you a taste of your own medicine.”
“Yeah I’d like to see that happen,” Korra teased, “I’m way too fast for you.”
“I’m at a disadvantage since you have top of the line Future Industries technology built onto your body.” Asami said.
The sun reflected off of the sleek, dark metal of Korra’s prosthetic leg. She had initially been able to keep both of her legs after the surgery but when she was finally able to walk, they found that the right leg had rejected treatment. It had to be amputated from the knee down. But that never stopped Korra. She relearned how to walk, and then run, and eventually she was allowed to join her soccer team once again. She was happier than Asami had ever seen her.
“There you are!” Opal called as Bolin came jogging up,
“Sorry it was my turn to put the gear away,” Bolin said, face red and sweaty. He plopped down onto the blanket and chugged the rest of his water bottle. They all sat in relaxed silence, enjoying the gentle breeze blowing over the field. Asami glanced over at Korra who was smiling gently with her eyes closed, turning the soccer ball around in her hands. She looked so peaceful as the wind ruffled her hair around her face. Korra had more than enough suffering to last her a lifetime, it was time she earned some rest.
“I can feel you staring at me.” She said without opening her eyes.
“How could I not?” Asami said, “You’re just so gorgeous.”
Korra puffed out a scoff, “Yeah yeah, whatever you say.”
She was blushing slightly.
“Hey we’re gonna go get something to eat,” Bolin said, “Wanna meet up later?”
“Sure, I’ll call Mako and ask if he wants to come.” Korra said, “He needs a break from work.”
“You’re telling me,” Bolin grumbled, “See ya Korra, Asami.”
He and Opal walked off towards the parking lot, looking as in love as ever.
“What about you?” Asami asked, sitting up, “You hungry?”
“Yeah, but I have somewhere that I want to go first.” Korra said, “Maybe we can pick something up on the way.”
---
They sat on the edge of the dock together, feet dangling in the water as they ate to-go noodles from Narook’s. Korra had already finished one bowl and was digging into the other. She ate like a monster sometimes, her appetite seemingly insatiable. She said it was to make up for the 15 pounds of leg she was missing.
The sun was starting to dip below the horizon, putting on a brilliant show of bright oranges and earthy reds and purples. Asami set aside her bowl and lay her head on Korra’s shoulder, wrapping an arm around her waist. Korra also put her noodles down to rest her head on top of Asami’s. They both sighed in contentment.
“I’m glad this place was our first kiss.” Korra said, “Seems like destiny that we always end up here doesn’t it?”
“I’d say so,” Asami hummed, every nerve in her body lit up with just, love.
“Love always finds a way,” Korra quoted, “Always thought was kinda cheesy but I guess it’s true.”
“Korra?” Asami said, lifting her head to look into Korra’s eyes. The same eyes she had looked into when she told Korra she was leaving for school. There was no pain now, no anger, no resentment. There was just peace.
“Yeah?”
She squeezed Korra’s hand, “You know I’m never going to leave you right?”
Korra only looked at her.
“I’m sorry I missed growing up with you,” Asami continued, voice quivering, “I’m sorry I put my career before you and for never calling, and missing your birthdays and-”
“Asami stop stop!” Korra said in alarm, “Don’t do this.”
She put a gentle hand on Asami’s cheek.
“Do what?” Asami said through her tears.
“You don’t have to convince me that you’re not going to leave,” Korra said, “I know you’re not going to.”
Asami wrapped her arms around Korra’s neck and kissed her deeply, soft and reassuring that she wasn’t going anywhere. For every hardship and obstacle that awaited them in the future, they could handle anything wherever or whenever as long as they faced it together. Korra smiled against Asami’s lips.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
They sat until the sun went down.