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The oceans salty smell and the feeling of sand between her toes made Korra enter a relaxed state. The end of the school year had just started and a large celebration party was being held on the beach. Korra spent her time chatting with various party goers, talking of her feats in sports and how she was the star athlete for both the track team and the swimming team.
“Hey Korra, show them your special dive!” Bolin called out to her.
Korra gave Bolin a cocky grin before turning her attention towards the ocean. Her eyes scanned the closest thing she could dive off of and noticed a dock going further out into the ocean. Korra and the group she was entertaining made their way over towards the dock.
Bolin stared in anticipation as the group got closer to the dock. Asami wandered up behind him, giving him a tap on his shoulder.
“Hey Bolin, what’s going on?” she asked.
Bolin gave her a big grin and pointed towards the dock. “Korra’s gonna show everyone this really cool diving trick of hers!”
Asami peered out at the dock and frowned. “Wait...I don’t think that waters deep enough for a dive!”
Bolin’s warm expression melted away into worry. He quickly looked back as Korra began yelling.
“Alright everyone, watch this!” she announced.
“Korra, wait!” Asami called out, running towards the dock.
Korra didn’t hear her. Taking a few steps back, Korra ran to the ledge and jumped off, diving into the water.
Korra felt immediate pain as she landed in the water. She couldn’t move. Panic thoughts raced through her mind as she did everything she could do to at least move a little bit.
Nothing.
Korra squeezed her eyes shut, wondering if this was going to be how it ended.
Suddenly, she felt arms wrapping around her, but something felt off. Korra knew they were arms based on shape alone, but they felt...numb?
Korra was lifted up from the oceans water and laid down on the dock.
“Someone call an ambulance!” someone shouted out from the crowds of people that surrounded Korra.
Korra felt her lids grow heavy as everything slowly disappeared from her sight.
“Are you telling me that my daughter may never walk again?” Korra’s father, Tonraq, asked the doctor.
The doctor nodded and looked over to Korra as she laid in the hospital bed.
“I’m glad that she was able to survive. Diving in such shallow water could’ve easily killed her...I will provide her with some physical therapy and a wheelchair. Though, since she’s unable to use her arms, she’ll be needing an aid to make sure she can move around.”
Korra simply stared ahead, a blank look in her eyes as tears began to stream down her cheeks. She felt horrible, numbed on painkillers and the thought of never being able to walk again.
Korra closed her eyes and leaned back into the pillow more, sniffling.
‘It’s all my fault’ she thought.
Bolin had been pacing in the hospitals waiting room, head down and thumbs twiddling. A million thoughts racing through his mind as he went back and forth across his chair and Asami’s. Asami was sitting down, watching him with worried eyes.
“Bolin, you should sit down.” Asami said, reaching to touch Bolin’s arm.
“How can I sit down when I got my best friend sent to the ER?” Bolin exclaimed, hands gesturing towards where Korra’s room was.
Asami frowned and shook her head. “Bolin, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know that the water was that shallow.”
Bolin ran his fingers through his hair anxiously. “But I should’ve known, Asami! That’s the problem!” he grumbled out.
Asami stood up and took a hold of Bolin’s shoulders, gently guiding him back to his seat.
“None of this was your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. I want you to remember that, okay? Now...just take some deep breathes and lets keep waiting for Korra’s parents.”
As Asami took her seat, her thoughts ran from ‘I should’ve been there on the dock with her, I could’ve stopped her.’, to ‘what’s going to happen to Korra?’.
“And you’ll just blow into the tube here to move around.” the aid explained, showing a tube connected to the wheelchair.
Korra stared at the wheelchair, brows furrowed. “Am I really not going to be able to use my legs anymore?”
The aid’s smile faltered and she nodded. “I’m afraid so...but that doesn’t mean your life will be worse. Sure there might be a few hiccups here and there with this new disability of yours, but I’m certain that you’ll work past it and live your life to the fullest.”
Korra didn’t believe a single word of that. She simply gave a nod before returning her gaze towards the wheelchair.
“And you’ll be around to help me with things that’d require using my hands?” she asked.
The aid nodded and her smile returned. “Yep! That’s what I’m here for. I’ve made sure to teach your friends and family as well in case I’m not around to help you.”
Korra felt a lump in her throat at that. It was bad enough that she needed an aid, but now her friends and family were going to have to help her too? She felt even worse. Tears welled up in her eyes.
The aid frowned and walked over to Korra. “H-hey now, it’s okay, everything’s going to be-”
She was cut off by Korra yelling out, “No! Shut up! Shut up, I don’t want to hear that anymore! It’s not okay, nothing’s ever going to be the same! I want to go back to that party and stop myself from messing up my entire life! Please, something- anything! Let me go back!”
She was wailing, hitting the back of her head against the pillow in a blind rage. The aid quickly called in some doctors to help restrain her. After trying to fight against the restraints, Korra slumped back and continued to whimper and sob.
‘My life is over. I can’t change that.’
Korra shut her eyes as she was wheeled out of the hospital by Asami. It was a breezy day and Korra kept her eyes closed, feeling the wind brush against her face. It was almost peaceful. Almost.
“Do you want to go anywhere specific?” Asami asked.
“Yeah...I-I can get there myself.” Korra stated.
Asami let go of the wheelchair handles and allowed Korra to maneuver the wheelchair herself. Korra moved past Asami and went over to the pond nearby. Asami stood next to her and watched as some ducks swam past, the little group quacking loudly as they swam.
“It’s nice out today.” Asami spoke calmly.
Korra nodded. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
Asami placed a soft kiss on Korra’s cheek, wresting her chin on Korra’s head.
“Are you ready to go back home?” she asked.
“No.” Korra muttered out quietly.
She wasn’t ready to go back. She never wanted to go back if it meant having loved ones take care of her. But Korra knew that she had to go back home. Staying at the hospital any longer would cause too many issues.
“Let’s go, please.” Korra said before she wheeled her chair around and headed back towards the hospital, seeing her family leave the front doors.
Bolin knocked on the door a few times, shifting his weight back and forth on the doorstep. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking around before going to knock again. Before he could, Korra’s mother, Senna, opened the door, causing Bolin to quickly reel back and give her a bright smile.
“Hey! I-is Korra home? I wanted to hang out with her.”
Senna smiled and nodded. “Yes, would you like to come inside?”
Bolin nodded and let himself in, shutting the door behind himself. He took a seat at the kitchen table, glancing around. He hadn’t been to Korra’s house in a long time. It felt strange for him to be there.
“I’ll go and get her, you can help yourself to some snacks in the meantime.” Senna called back as she turned down a hall.
Bolin’s leg jiggled as he sat there. He didn’t dare touch anything. When he heard the whir of the wheelchair nearby Bolin looked up to see Korra coming down the hall.
“Korra!” Bolin shouted as he stood up from his chair.
“Hey Bolin.” Korra chuckled, amused by his enthusiasm from seeing her.
“I’ve got something really cool to show you, you’re not busy are you?”
Korra raised an eyebrow at this. “That depends, what exactly are we going to be doing?”
“Come on, I...want to get you out of the house for a little while! You’ve probably been majorly bored, so I want to make it up to you, after...you know.” Bolin’s cheerful expression buckled for a bit as his words trailed off.
Korra felt her stomach churn slightly but she managed a smile.
“Yeah, I think we can hang out right now. I’m not doing much else today.”
Bolin’s cheerful smile returned and he ran over to the door, holding it open for Korra. “Awesome! There’s a show going on in the town later that I think you’re going to like!”
Korra laughed and wheeled herself outside. Bolin strolling beside her as they walked.
“So what’s the show exactly?” Korra asked.
Bolin gave her a big grin as he spoke. “It’s this little rock show, there’s a band that comes into town every now and then and plays a few songs from crowd suggestions.”
“Really?” Korra asked, curious.
“Yeah! Oh man I can’t wait to get there!” Bolin excitedly yelled out.
The sounds of a crowd cheering as loud rock music played in the center of town invaded Korra’s ears. She was in the back with Bolin, who was smiling his usual bright smile. Korra shut her eyes, focusing on the notes and rhythm of the bands instruments.
She didn’t feel the man in front of her as he stepped on her foot. Korra was shocked out of her peaceful state as the man began yelling at her.
“Hey! Move it you-...” the man paused as he got a good look at Korra.
Korra gave him a glare. “Why don’t ‘you’ move it, asshole?”
The man just glared at her before turning back around, grumbling out “fucking cripple.”
Korra felt immediate rage and looked over to Bolin.
“Did you hear what he just called me?”
Bolin looked from Korra to the man and marched over to him, giving the man a harsh tap on the shoulder.
“Hey! Don’t talk to my friend like that!” he yelled.
The man turned around and grabbed Bolin by the shirt collar. “Don’t you fucking touch me!”
“Let go of him!” Korra yelled, immediately moving her wheelchair forward and ramming into the man.
The man fell back, letting go of Bolin and crashing into a few more people in the small crowd.
The music died down and the crowd looked back to where Korra and Bolin were. Security for the band rushed over and looked from Korra to the man as he got back on his feet.
“What’s going on here?”
“That guy insulted me and assaulted my friend!” Korra yelled, using her eyes to notion towards Bolin.
The security got some folks in the crowd to testify, and when it was true about what the man had done, he was handled by the security and taken away from the crowd.
Bolin let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Korra. “Thanks for saving my butt there, Korra...hey, are you alright?”
Korra had tears in her eyes. She simply shook her head and turned in her wheelchair, moving away from the crowd and away from Bolin. Bolin rushed over to her, carefully grabbing a hold of her wheelchair handles so she couldn’t move farther away.
“Korra-” Bolin was cut off by Korra frowning at him.
“I don’t want to be here anymore, Bolin...I want to go home now, please. T-thanks for trying to cheer me up.”
Birds chirped loudly outside of Korra’s bedroom window as the sun shined in on her face. Korra groaned and turned her head away from the lights painful glare before opening her eyes. She propped herself up on her shoulder, a trick she finally mastered after several mornings of practice, and looked over towards her wheelchair as it rested beside her bed.
There was a knock on the door and Senna walked into the room with a warm smile.
“Good morning, Korra, are you ready to get up?”
Korra nodded and did her best to sit up, still a little uneasy about having people care for her being the new norm. She was helped into her chair and wheeled herself out of the room.
As eleven am rolled around, Asami showed up to the house, a warm smile on her face as she was greeted by Korra’s mother and then by Korra herself in the kitchen.
“Hey Asami! What are you doing here?” Korra asked.
“I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk with me.”
Korra grinned and wheeled over to Asami. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
Senna waved goodbye as the pair left the home. Asami walked beside Korra as they went about their stroll.
“Hey, Korra? You’ve seemed a little agitated these past few weeks...is something up?” Asami questioned.
Korra paused and looked over to her girlfriend. “Well...kinda...sorta...” She finally sighed and her smile melted away. “I’m just a little anxious about senior year coming up soon.”
Asami furrowed her brows at this. “How come? You’ve gotten used to using the wheelchair, right?”
Korra shook her head. “It’s not that, I just...I can’t go back, everyone’s going to laugh at me!” she spoke with a louder tone.
The pair had stopped walking altogether.
Asami frowned at this and gently squeezed Korra’s shoulders. “No one’s going to laugh at you. And if anyone does, I’ve got your back.”
Korra rested her head against Asami’s shoulder, a soft smile on her face. A warm and comforting sensation enveloped her as she sat there with Asami. It was a feeling she hadn’t felt for a few months now.
“Thank you, Asami. I love you.” Korra said softly, brushing her tears away on Asami’s shoulder.
Asami smiled and placed a gentle kiss on Korra’s forehead. “I love you to. There’s actually something I want to show you. Mind if I wheel you over to it?”
Korra shook her head and smiled up at her beloved partner. “No, you can steer, I can talk to you more this way while we get there.”
Asami gripped the handles of the wheelchair and gently steered Korra towards where the towns local park was. There was a soft breeze that day and Korra smiled more as it lightly brushed against her face.
“It feels great out today.” she commented with a soft sigh.
“Just wait, today’s gonna get even better.” Asami stated confidently.
The pair wandered over towards a large tree with a small pond not too far from it. Asami wheeled Korra towards the tree, sitting down next to her. The sun shun softly on the water as small, noisy ducks swam through it.
“What do you think?” Asami asked.
Korra smiled brightly, taking in the view carefully. The breeze, the sweet smell of grass. Everything felt peaceful to her.
“It’s gorgeous...Asami, I’m sorry if I haven’t been like myself lately. I’m still getting used to this wheelchair and all and I just...I feel helpless.” Korra looked down at herself as she continued, “I don’t know what I’m going to do when we go back for senior year.”
Asami frowned at this and scooted closer, placing a hand over Korra’s. She squeezed it gently, knowing that even if Korra couldn’t feel her, she wanted her presence to remain anyway.
“You’ve been through so much these past couple of months. You’re really strong, Korra. And I know how rough everything’s been since the accident...I want you to know just how much I love you, and how I’ll never leave your side no matter what.”
Korra felt tears welling up in her eyes as she gazed down at Asami, cheeks burning. Asami climbed to her feet and leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on Korra’s lips. Korra shut her eyes and gently kissed back, tears streaming down her cheeks. Asami cupped Korra’s face in her hands and smiled as she broke the kiss.
“You’re very important to me, Korra, and I couldn’t ask for a better girlfriend.”
“Asami.” Korra’s voice quivered slightly, mostly from the tears but as well as from the intense amount of emotion that was running through her mind.
“I promise that I’ll stay by you for however long I’m able to.” Asami promised.
Korra chuckled and rested her head against Asami once more, laughing softly and crying. “God, what did I do to deserve someone like you?”
Asami held Korra gently, lightly brushing her hair. “I guess we can thank that time I hit Mako with my bike. Then I would never have met you.”
“And then you two got together.” Korra teased.
Asami laughed. “And then after that, you got together with him.”
“And look at where we are now!” Korra replied, laughing harder.
As Asami finally quieted down her own laughter, she got an idea.
“Hey, Korra? Do you mind if I try something? It’ll involve lifting you for a bit.”
Korra raised a brow at this but nodded. “Go ahead. I wanna see if you can even lift me in the first place.”
And so Asami did, effortlessly picking up her girlfriend and sitting down in the chair, allowing Korra to rest on her lap. Korra felt her face heat up at this.
“I forgot you were that strong, babe.” Korra spoke quietly, somewhat bewildered.
Asami smiled and held her close in her arms. Korra rested her head against Asami’s shoulder, looking out at the pond again.
“Glad I could remind you.” Asami whispered.