Chapter Text
Korra didn’t know how she, Lin, Bolin, Mako, Asami, and Tenzin and his family ended up taking a trip to Zaofu in a moment’s notice this morning. She and the others were visiting air bender island when Lin mentioned she had postponed her visit back to see Suyin and her family because she wasn’t able to get tickets for a boat ride there. That’s when both Asami and Tenzin offered an airship and bison, respectively, as options to get her to Zaofu. Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan overheard this and began asking the father to go with and visit the city of metal. Bolin mentioned wanting to go and see Opal, while Asami turned to Korra and mentioned wanting to take a break from her company and go on another vacation with her since they hadn’t done so since the spirit world. At some point, even Bumi and Kya joined the conversation. It went from a simple offer over morning breakfast to complete chaos.
Now they all were on one of Asami’s airships on their way to Zaofu and a simple trip for Lin to see her sister and her family had turned into an all-out vacation for the whole group. Korra was staring out the window, watching the scenery pass by. She realized she was lost in thought when she didn’t notice Asami walking up to her and asking her something until Asami had placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Are you okay, you’ve seemed out of it since we’ve left Republic City.”
Korra gave a weak smile and tried to reassure Asami she was fine but sighed when she saw Asami wasn’t buying it, “ I just feel off. My Avatar duties have been slower than usual lately, and I’ve got a gut feeling that’s making me uneasy about this sudden vacation to Zaofu. It’s making me a bit nervous.”
Asami gave Korra a sympathetic look, “You might be on edge because you’ve become used to your life and the lives of those around you in immediate danger from some enemy. Maybe this vacation will help you get used too not having to worry about everything else all the time. Enjoy the balance you have now.”
Korra gave Asami a skeptical look and smirked, “ I mean I doubt it, keeping peace and saving the world is pretty much the job description of being the Avatar, but maybe your right. Relaxing with everyone might be what I need right now. I mean it has been a while since all of us have been together like this, I should enjoy it.”
Asami smiled, “If you need to talk more, let me know. You can always come to me if you need it,” she then hugged Korra briefly.
Korra mumbled a quiet thanks, and then Asami left to go check-in with the crew and make sure everything was going smoothly with their trip, leaving Korra with slightly less worry than she had before and little more excitement for their arrival in Zaofu.
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The first day in Zaofu was as uneventful as it could be. The Beifongs greeted them when they landed, ecstatic that Lin was able to come on time. They went to their rooms provided by the Beifongs to settle in, and soon after that, everyone split off to do things throughout the city. Most of the adults stayed inside the house with Suyin and Bataar, happy enough to just talk and catch up. While they spoke, Jinora went to look for a library in the city, and Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan ended up joining Wing and Wei for a game of power disk, adding an air bending twist to the game. Korra was currently sitting in the gardens, enjoying the serenity and a moment of calm. She heard footsteps approaching and assumed it was Asami or someone else from Team Avatar coming to look for her, instead, to Korra’s surprise, the footsteps that rounded the corner belonged to Kuvira. She hadn’t seen her since arriving in Zaofu. She wasn’t there to greet everyone, and Korra was fully expecting to go the full trip without seeing her.
When Kuvira noticed Korra, she let out a small noise of surprise, “I didn’t know anyone else was in the gardens. I’m sorry for disturbing you.”
She made a move to leave but stopped when Korra called out to her, “You don’t have to leave just because I’m here, come sit with me.”
Kuvira hesitated for a moment before caving and walking over to the Avatar to sit down. The silence between them hung in the air for a moment. It wasn’t tense, but it wasn’t, by all means, a comfortable one. Korra was trying to think of something, anything to say, but they hadn’t kept in much contact after Kuvira was taken into the custody of Suyin, she didn’t know what to say. After a few minutes, she didn’t need to say anything, Kuvira spoke up first.
“So… how did all of you end up coming to Zaofu? I thought Lin was the only one coming to visit her family.”
“Oh, it was all suddenly planned this morning. When Lin mentioned pushing her trip back because of travel plans falling through, offers came from Tenzin and Asami for other ways to get here. Then all of a sudden, everyone was talking about how they wanted to visit Zaofu for one reason or another,” Korra hesitated for a moment before asking a question of her own, “What about you? How have you been adjusting to being in the custody of Su and the Beifongs? I haven’t heard from you since your trial after bringing Guan into custody.”
Kuvira heaved out a heavy sigh that almost made Korra regret asking in the first place. After a moment of considering her answer, Kuvira turned to Korra with a weak smile, “As good as it can be. The last few months have been a struggle, especially to earn the trust back from everyone, but it’s slowly getting there. The hardest trust to gain back has been Junior and Opal’s. Opal and I never really saw eye to eye growing up, and I wasn’t exactly friendly to her over the years and Junior...well you were there.”
Korra gave an awkward laugh at Kuvira’s statement. She wanted to ask something else to keep the conversation going, but Meelo came running over, telling them he was there to grab them for dinner. They both shared a small smile before getting up to follow Meelo to the dining room.
The dinner was rather lively, with the large group filling up the decently sized dining room adorned with earth and metal decorations. It felt like a blur too. As soon Korra sat down and joined the conversations going on, it felt like she was just as quickly back up and walking with Asami to their room. When they got to it, Korra flopped on the bed with a sigh, relieved to get some sleep. After a moment, Asami got into bed with her, snuggling close. Korra relaxed into her embrace, it becoming familiar after many nights of being together. It’s a comforting feeling that puts both of them to sleep almost as soon as they are together.
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The next morning Korra and Asami were both rudely snapped awake by Kya bursting into their room.
“Woah, what's wrong,” Korra asked through a yawn, not utterly awake yet.
“We’ve got a situation, and you two should come outside as soon as you can.”
They both stiffened at Kya’s words, Korra’s mind instantly went to the feeling she had yesterday. After sharing a glance, Korra and Asami quickly got ready and headed outside to the others who had already gathered.
Korra turned to Tenzin, “What’s going on? Why is everyone gathered out here?”
“That,” Tenzin said, pointing up towards the sky, “Is why we are all out here.”
Korra followed Tenzin’s arm up, and when she reached where he was pointing, her eyes widened in shock. There was a giant dark hole in the sky.