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Korra woke to blinding lights and the piercing smell of latex and hand sanitizer. Her head was pounding and there was a high pitched ringing in her ears. She was laying in a bed of some sort; she could feel herself sinking into the mattress and make out guardrails on either side.
“I think she’s waking up,” said a strange voice. Korra moved to find the source, but froze when she was answered with a shooting pain in her shoulder.
“Don’t move!” the voice said. A warm pair of hands guided her head back into place. “You need to stay still and rest, you took a pretty bad hit out there.”
Korra blinked against the light and her vision began to clear. Two nurses hovered above her, both in blue scrubs. The first was tall and slender, with cropped red hair and a ski-slope nose that reminded Korra of a cartoon poodle. The other had warm, forest-green eyes and dark waves tied back into a low ponytail.
“What happened?” Korra asked.
Even though the lower half of her face was covered by a mask, Korra could tell the dark-haired nurse was smiling by the twinkle in her eyes. “Your friends called us after you fell head-first into a rock.”
So that’s the voice I heard , Korra thought as she watched the nurse gather a stack of guaze from the steel cart beside her bed.
“What friends called you?” she asked.
The nurse came to Korra’s side and propped her up against the pillows. Korra winced in pain, but didn’t say anything. “Two guys, they seemed pretty worried about you,” she answered.
All at once, Korra’s memory came flooding back. She, Mako, and Bolin had taken Naga to the park. Bolin brought a tub of tennis balls he’d originally bought for Pabu, who, to no one’s surprise, didn’t take to fetch. After a few turns of Naga chasing balls and returning them to Korra’s hand, she had an idea.
“Why don’t you guys throw the balls and I’ll try and beat Naga to them?” Korra said.
Mako raised an eyebrow, “You’re going to fetch?”
“Sure, it’s good exercise for Naga,” she replied, shrugging. Naga barked in agreement.
“Okay then,” Mako sighed. He pulled a tennis ball from the bucket at Bolin’s feet and hurled it. “Go get it!”
Naga bolted ahead, Korra hot on her heels. She sped up, hoping to usurp Naga, but her enormous strides ensured her lead. The ball came into view, resting just fifteen yards ahead. With a sudden burst of energy, Korra plowed forward, passing Naga, but just as she was about to reach the ball, Naga launched herself forward. Korra felt an enormous weight collide with her side. Pain exploded at her temple as she hit the ground, and everything went dark.
She was brought back to reality by a stinging sensation.
“I’m changing your bandages,” the nurse explained. She turned to the redhead, who observed from the foot of the bed. “You can go ahead, Ginger, I got this one.”
With a silent nod, she exited the room, leaving Korra and the nurse alone.
“I was racing my dog,” Korra said.
The nurse hummed as she pulled a bloody rag soaked in alcohol from Korra’s forehead. “The guys that brought you in mentioned something about that,” she said.
“They’re my roommates,” Korra corrected. “Mako is the tall one that sighs a lot and Bolin is his brother.”
“Ah,” the nurse answered. She lifted a gauze pad from a tray beside the bed and leaned towards Korra. “They are good friends for bringing you in. Bolin seemed pretty freaked out, I’m pretty sure he thought you were dead.”
Korra snorted and rolled her eyes, “Sounds like Bolin.”
The nurse smiled and fastened the pad just above Korra’s eye. “You should be taken care of,” she said, standing up from the bed. “I’ll be here if you need anything. Just ask for Asami, okay?”
Korra watched as Asami moved towards the door. Her inky hair shone blue under the fluorescents. “I’ll be sure to do that,” Korra said.
Her eyes twinkled once more, and Korra drifted off to sleep at the sound of the door closing.
Asami returned several hours later carrying a tray of food. “I thought you might be hungry,” she said, sliding it onto Korra’s lap and pulling up a chair. A nurse had dropped by while Korra was sleeping and turned off the lights, bathing the room in darkness.
“Thanks,” Korra answered. She took a bite only to be greeted by the mushy, bland taste of hospital meals.
Asami smiled apologetically, “It’s not great but it’s what we have.”
“I’ve had worse,” Korra assured her.
They sat in silence for a few minutes as she devoured her dinner and Asami stared at her wound.
“Do they need to be replaced again?” Korra asked when she noticed Asami’s gaze.
“I think they’ll be okay for now,” Asami replied. She took the empty tray from Korra and set it aside. “How are you feeling?” she asked when she returned to her seat.
Korra shrugged, “Alright. My head doesn’t hurt as much. It’s kind of gloomy in here, though.”
“It would probably help if you let some light in,” Asami said. She approached the window at the far side of the room and pushed the curtains aside. The sky beyond was bathed in a riot of purples and oranges overlaid with wispy, pink clouds. Asami’s face was cast in a soft, golden glow, illuminating her emerald eyes and tracing the lines of her features. Korra couldn’t take her eyes off her.
“That’s much better,” she said, returning to her place beside Korra’s bed.
Korra worried the bedsheets in her fingers. “Thanks for that. I can’t open them on my own.”
“You could’ve asked me to come get them for you,” Asami reminded her.
“Right, I just forgot I guess,” Korra said. She let out a nervous laugh and felt her face heat up.
The two went quiet. Korra finally lifted her eyes and found Asami gazing at her. Her eyes were gentle and inviting, and with a mere look Korra felt enveloped by warmth and comfort. It was as if the world’s roar came to a grinding halt, and it was just her and Asami, the only beings left on a kinder, quieter Earth.
“You should be able to leave in the morning,” Asami said softly, breaking the silence.
Suddenly, Korra was back in the gray-tinged scene of the hospital room. Outside, the sun was sinking below the horizon, and the brilliant array of colors was disappating into darkness. “Oh, right, leaving,” she replied. Her heart felt heavy at the words.
“Do you have someone to pick you up?” Asami asked.
“I can text Mako and Bolin to come,” Korra assured her.
Asami smiled and rose from her chair, “Good. I have some more patients to check on, but I’ll visit you on my way out once my shift ends.”
Korra smiled weakly, “Sounds like a plan.”
In the wee hours of the morning, Korra woke up to the door creaking open. Her eyes were bleary, and she couldn’t quite find the energy to sit up, but she could make out a dark haired-figure moving towards her.
Asami , her brain supplied.
Sure enough, as the figure came closer she could make out a pair of luminous green eyes in the darkness. Asami had changed out of her scrubs and mask, and instead wore a pair of black leggings and a faded Taylor Swift t-shirt. Her hair was undone and fell in loose waves down her shoulders.
“Asami…” Korra murmured, still half-subdued by sleep.
Asami shushed her and tugged a blanket over her chest. “You need to rest,” she whispered. “I’ll be back in the morning.”
Korra watched as Asami placed something on her bedside table, but before she could figure out what it was, she was pulled into sleep once more.
Korra woke to a bouquet of flowers and a card on her bedside table. She sat up and examined the flowers--white carnations complimented by pink roses--while her mind scrambled to figure out where they came from. Suddenly, she recalled a dark figure moving across the room, her mind foggy with sleep as she watched them place something beside her bed.
“Asami,” Korra said to herself.
As if on command, the door swung open. Korra sat up, her heart fluttering in her chest, but to her disappointment, the other nurse--Ginger--walked in.
“Where’s Asami?” Korra asked.
Ginger placed a tray of pancakes and fruit beside her. “Her shift doesn’t start until later,” she said.
Korra’s heart dropped, “Oh.”
“You need something?” Ginger asked.
“Uh, I just had a question for her. You know, since I’m leaving today and she’s been taking care of me,” Korra replied.
“I could take a message,” Ginger offered.
Korra shook her head, “Don’t worry about it.”
Ginger shrugged, “Suit yourself I guess.”
Mako and Bolin’s faces lit up when Korra rolled out of the hospital.
“You’re okay!” Bolin cried, throwing his arms around her and nearly toppling her wheelchair.
Korra laughed, “The nurses said you thought I was dead.”
“You looked dead to me!” Bolin retorted. “Your face was covered in blood!”
“I’m fine, Bo,” Korra said, grinning. “You don’t need to worry about me.” She passed him Asami’s flowers.
Mako stepped forward, his face impassive as usual and his hands folded into his pockets. “How are you feeling?”
“Been better, been worse,” Korra replied.
Mako nodded, “Good, we were worried.”
She looked towards the curb but didn’t spot Mako’s battered station wagon. “Where’s the car?” she asked.
“Wu’s bringing it around,” Mako answered. The corner of his mouth quirked upward, which Korra knew was equivalent to most people jumping for joy.
“Leaving already?” a familiar voice called.
Korra whipped around to find Asami standing behind her, freshly dressed in a set of hot pink scrubs.
Korra beamed, “Asami!”
She smiled and helped Korra out of her wheelchair, “I just got here for my shift, I’m glad I didn’t miss you.”
Korra flushed, “I’m glad you didn’t miss me either.” She remembered Bolin and Mako, who stood a few feet away, their eyes darting between the two women.
“These are my friends I told you about, Bolin and Mako,” Korra said.
Asami approached them and extended her hand, “I’m Asami, Korra’s nurse, nice to meet you.”
“Thanks for helping Korra out,” Mako said, taking her hand.
“I’d be fired if I didn’t,” Asami replied, chuckling.
Just then, Wu pulled up to the curb. He sounded the horn and waved to Mako.
“That’s our ride,” Bolin said. He approached the car and loaded Korra’s flowers into the backseat.
Korra’s heart sunk. She turned to Asami, “Hey, I know this might be a longshot--”
“I’m going to stop you right there,” Asami interrupted. “Did you read my card?”
Korra paused, “I was saving it for when I got home.”
“Read it now.”
Korra turned the card over in her hands and opened it. It was empty, save for a phone number. Her mouth fell open and she looked back to Asami.
“Call me okay?” Asami said.
Korra was too dumbfounded to speak and simply nodded along.
With one last smile, Asami turned on her heel and headed through the hospital doors. “See you later, Korra.”
Korra stared after her, heart leaping in her chest. She brushed her fingers over the numbers, “See you, Asami.”