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Dark. Deep unending dark. Smoke filling my lungs. Fire licking my skin. Screaming. The ground trembling. More screams. Was I the one screaming? Bodies. My friends. There were tears on my cheeks now. I was definitely screaming. Blood. The scent filled my nose. It stuck to my skin. I was covered in it. Was it mine or theirs?
Flames illuminated long black hair. I stumbled towards it. Asami. Pain rattled my bones. My body hit the ground. Screams. I couldn't stop. Blood everywhere. Screams and crashes. Dead. So much death. I was next. I was-
I woke with a scream. Sweat was pouring down my body and I was shaking. The sheets were soaked. Hands landed on me, cradling my face, turning it towards the girl beside me. Asami. A sob burst from my lips and I fell into her arms.
She didn't say anything, just held me and stroked my sweaty hair.
I cried and cried until I was exhausted and there were no more tears left. They stuck to my cheeks, left tracks on my skin, seeped through Asami's t-shirt. She didn't mind. She kept holding me.
"Everyone was dead…" I whispered, my voice ragged. "Mako, Korra, Bolin, ...you… you were all dead. I couldn't- I was-" A hiccup cut me off. I couldn't string together a sentence anyway.
"Shhh," Asami pressed her lips to my hair, her arms squeezing me tight. "It's okay. It was just a dream."
"I thought- It felt so real. I saw-" I clutched her t-shirt tightly and buried my face in her shoulder.
"It wasn't real." Her voice was soothing and started making me believe it. "We're all alive. We're okay. You're okay. None of that was real."
"I just- It felt- I need-" I wasn't exactly sure what I needed or what I was trying to say.
"What do you need?" I lifted my head and finally actually looked at her. Unharmed. Whole. Here. Looking at me with concern and love.
"Kiss me," I whispered, my voice still sounding hoarse from my screams and cries. She looked surprised. "Please." A few tears welled in my eyes. "I need to know this is real. I need something real." The tears fell as her lips brushed against mine.
I sucked in a shaky breath. Real. This was real. I kissed her harder. Desperate. And she let me, kissing me back just as hard. Asami's love was fierce and unwavering sometimes and it was exactly what I needed. Real, real, real . The chant was strong in my head. Everything was alright. I was kissing Asami. She was kissing me. We were safe. We were alive. This was real.