Chapter Text
When Korra finally escaped all the chaos, questions, people and formalities and found herself in the quietness of her own room, she froze on the spot.
It was just too bizarre to take in. For the first time in what seemed like forever she wasn't afraid of tomorrow. She knew she would awaken to no imminent threat, no crazy dictator on the horizon and no poison would disturb her heart and mind. And strangely in that very moment a kind of unrest overtook Korra: what would tomorrow bring? What was the next doom looming over them? But as her gaze shifted to the ornamented window and she behold the dark purple and red sky of the dusk she remembered the conversation with Asami and Tenzin on the pavilion and a smile appeared on her face; whatever would come she would face it. She wasn't alone. She had Tenzin, Bolin, Su, Mako, Lin and most importantly -
It knocked.
She sighed. Actually peace and quiet had just started too sound really good.
"Come in", she said in a tired voice.
The door opened and Korra gasped.
Asami stood in the doorway, unlike Korra not washed from the battle but still covered in dirt. Her dark luscious hair hung in strands to her face and her eyes and posture held such vulnerability that it broke Korra's heart.
They both stared at each other for some long seconds, before Asami said in a quiet voice:
"I.. just wanted to check on you. To see if you were okay."
Her eyes dropped to the floor.
Korra stepped forward and glanced at her beautiful friend in concern. She wanted to reach out and touch her, but was suddenly shy to do so.
"It should be me asking you that. I'm.. I'm so sorry Asami. I know that your father -"
Asami's head jerked up and her eyes were piercing. Korra shut her mouth and immediately cursed at herself for being so bad at such things. Even with Asami, brave, selfless Asami who always knew what to say to her, who had taken care of her without thought nor doubt and who she had left for so long and who somehow still made the most sense to her in this city.
And she just didn't know what to say. Asami continued to look at her and Korra held up her hands.
"Asami... I know I probably have no right to say this. You wanted to tell me about your father and I didn't listen and I'm... I'm so sorry we never got to talk about it properly. I'm sorry it was always about me, but Kuvira happened and the kidnapping and - what I want to say is, I'm here for you now. Finally", she added shamefully and ended her rambling. Pleadingly she looked at Asami, whose expression hadn’t changed.
Then, for the briefest of moments, Korra saw with great alarm how tears started to gather in the engineer’s eyes but before she could say anything more Asami had lunched herself at her, throwing her arms around her tightly and crying bitterly into her neck. Korra stumbled back before she too slung her arms tightly around Asami, pressing her as close as possible and holding her up, taking all the weight that she could from her and her heart broke from both happiness and deep sadness.
She wondered how Asami had done it all. Always remaining so put together, proud and kind, overcoming the betrayal of her father, of Mako, and finally of her so stoically, s unshaken as a cliff in a storm ragged sea. And always even having the strength to be there for others; rebuilding a city, rebuilding and forming the most successful company of the united republic, all the while writing hundreds of letters that she never answered.
Korra pressed the shaking and sobbing Asami even closer. She had been horrible. She had given nothing back of what Asami had given her but now she had her here, in her arms and she was alive and fought so bravely and yet again she was punished by the fates. But this time she wouldn't be alone. This time Korra had the chance to give back.
"I just don't understand why," Asami sobbed helplessly and her lips and tears wet Korra's neck as she spoke.
"I wished him dead for years. I hated him. I never wanted to see him again. And now when we just started - when I could finally - he just -"
The engineer gave a heart wracking sob and collapsed even more onto Korra and the avatar felt tears of her own dropping into Asami's hair.
"I wish I could have done something", she whispered in a broken voice.
"I saw it, but I couldn't - but he died as a hero. He made himself worthy of your trust and your love."
Asami always seemed so strong and powerful. Now she was like a child in her arms and Korra felt a sharp pain in her heart for her dear fiend, her dear Asami.
"What can I do?", she whispered helplessly.
Asami didn't answer for a long while, she just cried and Korra let her and while she did she thought that even like this, even this broken Asami was the most whole and beautiful thing she had ever seen.
Finally, Asami backed away a little so that she could look into her eyes; they gazed at each other intensely and her emerald eyes looked desperate, lost and yearning.
"Just hold me, please", she whispered and Korra gently placed a hand behind her neck and pressed her close again.
After a while she lowered them down to her small bed, Asami atop of her and clinging to her like she never wanted to let her go. And Korra didn't want her to. Concern was etched into her face but she wouldn't let her own tears fall, for Asami's sake.
After several minutes, when Asami quieted down a bit, their eyes locked again. Nervousness joined the many feelings in Korra's heart and for some reason she had to drop her gaze and it fell to the bruises and dirt on Asami's neck.
"I'll be right back", she whispered, gently disentangling herself from Asami and when the other girl looked confused and hurt she all but rushed into the bathroom, filling a bowl with water and taking a clean cloth.
She reentered the room and knelt down in front of the bed under the questioning, tear shimmering gaze of Asami.
"Let me wash you", Korra said and offered her a hopeful smile. Asami stared at her in a expression Korra couldn’t decipher but eventually she nodded.
She was completely still while Korra started to lift the soaked cloth and and gently started to brush it over Asami bruised skin. She stroke it carefully over the ingeneirers face and smiled when the familiar features shone again under her hands. When she had finished the skin on display she paused, unsure.
"Uhm, do you want to take of-"
Asami wordlessly unbuttoned her jacket and Korra worked on her bare arms, watching how the struggling uneven rise of Asami's chest calmed down a bit and she thought that maybe she wasn't behaving completely wrong.
"I'm sorry", Asami finally whispered and Korra startled. "You deserve to celebrate. Or to rest. I should have come tomorrow."
Korra's eyes widened and and she looked down at Asami in amazement before she frowned and took the other girl's hand firmly in her own.
"I am always here for you, Asami. Now I finally can be. I owe you so much... you took care of me after Zaheer poisoned me, you washed me and moved me around. And I left and you wrote me all these letters - and I read of all of them! And I, just as i told you, I never knew what to say... I never thanked you and I don't know why either. I think I was just so... thankful I couldn’t express it. And I know that's a horrible excuse! But let me thank you now. Let me do for you what you did for me."
Tears had again began to stroll down Asami's face silently. Blue eyes melted with emerald ones and Asami took their connected hands and pressed them to her face. She cried into their joined fingers and Korra hesitantly sat down on the bed before Asami pulled her down and rolled herself into a tiny ball, clinging to Korra as though she was the only thing that kept her from drowning. Korra rubbed her back gently and whispered soothing nothings into Asami's ear, threading gently through her hair and despite all the pain she had for her friend, she just felt so thankful. That they were both alive, and here and that she could hold her like she had wanted to do since the day she had left Republic city.
And when Asami finally fell into an exhausted sleep and stilled, Korra just couldn't. She held her, this most amazing person she ever met and stared down at her in wonder and wondered why her heart beat would never stop and at the same knew exactly why suddenly.
And Korra was never one to back down from a challenge.
She looked down lovingly at the sleeping girl in her arms. Her lipstick was smudged, her hair a tangled mess and Korra had never seen anyone this beautiful. There were so many things they had to talk about. But there was one thing Korra had to say just then.
"I love you" she whispered, amazed how speaking the words out loud made her heart swell with joy. And after a shy, brief moment of hesitation, she placed a gentle kiss on Asami's forehead.