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Even dressed in practical clothes for a camping trip to the Spirit Realm, Asami looked the picture of elegance. Back when I first knew her and my chief reaction to her was jealousy, that would have really annoyed me. That was a long time ago. Anymore, I could never get tired of looking at her. I did my best not to stare. Friends , I thought. You're friends, and that's fine .
Her smile looked a little nervous and she kept resettling her pack on her shoulders. I just assumed that she was worried about entering the Spirit Realm. It's a strange place, and she had already heard enough to know that it could be dangerous. It seemed only natural for her to feel that way. Her trust in me as a guide was a big compliment. I made some vague reassuring remark. And since that didn't seem to help, I made another. And…
"Korra," she broke in as my nervous ramble threatened to grow out of control. "I need to ask you. What is this that we're doing?"
There was a really obvious answer to that question, and I was positive that wasn't what she meant at all. "I'm not sure I…"
"I keep going back and forth in my head," she continued. "Sometimes I think this is exactly what I want it to be, and sometimes I'm convinced that's just wishful thinking. I thought I could just go along with it and wait and see, whatever it was. But I've been waiting and not knowing and keeping quiet for so long, and if I don't ask, I think I'll go crazy." She wasn't looking at me anymore. She was hugging herself, and her face bore a fey expression that was starting to scare me.
"Is this two friends taking some time together?" she continued, still looking at some patch of ground off to the side. "Or is this a next step? Toward being more than friends. Are we…? Do you…?" She broke off with an anguished cry and buried her face in her hands. "Argh. Even when I know I need to say it, I can't say it. I just…"
"It is!" She broke off at my interruption. She dropped her hands away from her face but still didn't look at me. Her eyes widened and I would swear she was holding her breath. My words came out in a rush. "A next step, I mean. If that's what you want, too." I think it was the "too" that did it. She finally looked up at me and I could see hope dawning in her face. The smile on my face was battling the tears in my eyes. I didn't want to cry; I wanted to see her clearly. But I couldn't stop.
"It wasn't going to be when I asked you," I explained, trying to wipe the water from my eyes. "Not that I didn't want it to be. I did. I do. But any way I could think to ask sounded in my head like 'I'll help you with your pain, but there are strings attached.' That wasn't… that isn't who I want to be for you."
"You are exactly who I want you to be." I felt like I could live off the joy in her voice for a year.
"You are too."
We didn't kiss or hug then. I can't really explain why. I think that neither of us felt like we needed to do anything more to know the truth. So we didn't. We just stood looking at each other.
Asami took a deep breath, like someone waking to a new day. "Next step?"
I just nodded. "Next step."
We turned and started toward the Spirit Portal. I reached my hand out to her and met hers reaching to me. We just held hands as we walked in silence.
Almost on the threshold of the portal, Asami spoke. "You know, even after all of that, neither of us has come out and said it." She sounded amused.
"Shall we say it together?"
"Yes, let's." I could hear the smile in her voice.
We stepped into the portal and turned to face each other. I clasped her hands and looked up into her face. As the portal took us into another world, we both spoke the words that would take us into the rest of our lives.
"I love you."