Chapter Text
The nations were at peace. Spirits and humans now lived harmoniously together and democratic elections had been held throughout the earth nation. A new sense of balance has been ushered into the world, and for the first time in what seemed like forever no one was in need of a supernatural savior. Avatar Korra didn't know what to do with herself or how to feel about it. For so much of her life, people had relied on her to save them from things that no ordinary human could handle. She wasn't hoping for some ordeal to arise where she was needed to save entire nations. But in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but feel that something was going to come along and ruin it all.
Korra and Asami were together in their kitchen, sipping on tea before they had to head to town to visit President Zhu Li at the new housing development. Korra hopped up onto the granite counter and sighed. "I don't know Asami", she told her girlfriend. "I feel like something is off."
Asami walked over to Korra and planted a gentle kiss on the woman's cheek. "I know." She put her hand on top of Korra's and stroked the back of it with her thumb. "But Zhu Li said there hasn't been any sign of trouble anywhere. And it's mostly thanks to you, my avatar."
Korra blushed. It always made her heart melt when Asami referred to her as 'her avatar'. "You're right. It's silly."
"No, it's not silly. You just care so much. That's only one of the many things I love about you." Asami drank the last of her tea and placed the dirty cup into the sink.
Korra leaped off the counter and walked up behind the engineer. She wrapped her arms around Asami, holding on tight. "I love you."
Asami turned around and embraced her avatar. "I love you too." She closed the gap between their lips in a chaste kiss and smiled. "Think about it. When we were off, saving the world, we never had time to enjoy times like this without worrying about some impending danger."
"Oh, It's been very nice. Getting to spend so much time alone with you." Korra let go of her girlfriend and smirked that dumb, crooked grin that Asami loved so much. "Without having to worry about any interruptions." She wiggled her eyebrows teasingly, making Asami cheeks go red.
The engineer laughed, knowing exactly what her girlfriend was referring to. "You are never going to forgive Suyin for that, are you?"
"Nope." Korra grabbed the keys to their Sato Mobile off the table in the middle of the room and tossed them to Asami. "Now, let's get going before you tempt me into doing something that will make us any later than we already are."
"Avatar Korra, Ms. Sato", Zhu Li called over to the two women as they approached the nearly finished housing development. The president of Republic City had been going over plans with Varrick, Bolin, and Mako when they arrived. As members of the Republic City Police, and close friends of the avatar, the two brothers were assigned to the project to ensure all goes well with it.
"How are my two favorite girls?", Bolin asked, scooping them up in a hug.
"Great!", Asami told her friend.
"Sorry, we are late. Lost track of time", Korra told the group.
"It's alright", Mako assured them. "We were just looking over the plans with President Zhu Li and Varrick", Mako told the two women. "Though, they are the only ones who understand any of it."
Varrick pointed his thumb back to the two five-story buildings behind him. "These beauties are nearly finished, can you believe it?"
"I honestly can't. It seems like just yesterday we were setting up the refugee camp", Korra told the group.
"Come on", Mako told Asami. "I'm sure your dying to look at these drawings."
"They're blueprints, Mako...", the engineer corrected him.
Asami, Mako, Varrick, and President Moon walked over to the front of the building to discuss the project's progress. Future Industries played a major role in the project and the CEO was eager to catch up on all of the progress that had been made. Bolin stayed behind with Korra. He leaned over to her and whispered, "So, you two lost track of time, huh?"
Without thinking about it, the avatar replied, "Yeah." Bolin nudged her side with his elbow. She looked at him and realizing what he meant by the smug look on his face. "Oh, come on Bo. Not because of that." Her cheeks turned red from embarrassment. "Come on..." Korra punched his shoulder teasingly and the two friends walked over to join the rest of the group.
Asami grabbed Korra's arm and pulled the avatar to stand next to her. "Good news! President Zhu Li says we will be ready to move people into these buildings within the next week."
Korra smiled. This project had been a work in progress for a year now, and the two buildings in front of her were the last in the development to be completed. Most of the refugees had already been relocated, but a few families were still living in the camp. She would finally be able to give those families some peace of mind.
"I cannot thank you enough, Ms. Sato", Zhu Li told Asami. "Without the help of future industries, I don't know how long it would have taken the city to come up with the funds to do all of this."
"I'm honored that I could help", Asami told the president.
Out of the corner of her eye, Asami saw a streak of orange run by them to behind the buildings. Korra must have felt it the strange energy that came with it because she took Asami's hand and squeezed it. "Did you see that?", Asami whispered to Korra, not wanting to alarm the rest of the group.
"No", Korra told the engineer. "But something definitely grabbed my attention. I think it was a spirit."
Bolin noticed the two women whispering to each other about something. Confused, he asked, "Is something wrong?"
Korra and Asami looked at each other and silently agreed that whatever was roaming near them needed to be investigated. The housing development was near the new portal, but spirits stayed far away from the site. If there was some spirit that decided to check the area out now, they needed to determine whether it was benevolent or not for the safety of the inhabitants of the development. "Has anyone reported seeing spirits around here lately?'
Zhu Li pushed her glasses up on her nose. "No one has reported anything. Why do you ask?"
Korra let go of Asami's hand and began walking behind the buildings. The rest of the group followed her, Asami staying close behind. "I think there might be one around here somewhere."
"Is that bad?", Bolin asked, very worried about it. The earth bender puts his fists up defensively, ready to fight.
"I don't know", Korra told her friend. "Split up and look around."
President Zhu Li and Varrick looked around the front of the building while Mako and Bolin searched the other building under construction. Asami and Korra split from the rest of the group and looked around the back of the two buildings. Construction materials, ladders, and equipment were still scattered all over the place; the spirit could have been hiding anywhere. They investigated the area for nearly ten minutes, scanning their surroundings and checking underneath everything, but couldn't find it. Everyone else was about ready to give up, seeing as the spirit wasn't coming out to attack anyone or making itself known, but Korra was determined to find the creature.
Everyone was probably right. Nothing was leaping out of the shadows or causing any trouble or harm to anyone, but the avatar could feel in her gut that the spirit was there for a reason. The energy she felt was light, good. But a spirit roaming in such an unusual spot didn't sit right with her.
Just when the avatar was about to give in and end her search, she saw a fluffy, orange tail poking out from behind a pile of wood and rebar. "Asami", she whispered to her girlfriend who was not far behind her. Korra waved her hand motioning to the engineer that she had found it, approaching the creature slowly. As the two of them neared it, the spirit popped its head out from behind its hiding spot. It tilted its head to one side, curiously looking at them.
"Is that a fox?", Asami asked Korra. "Just, a fox?"
The spirit was definitely not dangerous, Korra could see that now. It seemed familiar to her even though she had never encountered such a creature before. Korra crouched down and slowly extended her hand to it. The fox cautiously moved from behind the stack and sniffed it. After a few seconds, the spirit rubbed its head onto Korra's hand. Just like Naga, the avatar thought to herself. The fox spirit ran up to Asami and sat right in front of her.
"I think it's waiting for a head scratch", Korra laughed.
Asami bent down and stroked the fox's orange fur. The woman smiled, relieved that the spirit was friendly. "It's not even scared of us. Why do you think it's here?"
"No clue", Korra said. "Do I know you?", she asked the creature. It looked back at her and made some sort of yipping noise. The look it had on its face made it seem as if the fox was smiling at her. It walked in between the two of them and sat down, looking back and forth between them.
Varrick knocked over a bucket full of thick white paint while walking around the back of the building with Bolin and Zhul to see if Asami and Korra had found anything yet. "Spirits!", he yelled, staring at his paint-covered shoes. "These are designer!" The sudden commotion startled the spirit and it ran to hide behind the two women.
"Did you guys find it yet?", Bolin asked. He began to run up to his friends but once he spotted the creature behind them stopped in his tracks. "Watch out, it's right behind you!"
"Their friendly", Asami said with a sigh of relief. "Thankfully."
Bolin raised his eyebrows curiously. "Is that... a fox?"
"I think so", Mako told his brother.
"Are you sure it's a friendly spirit?", Zhu Li asked Korra. It wasn't that she didn't trust the avatar's judgment. But being in charge of such a large project that was important to so many, the president had to be extra cautious. "We can't be too careful."
Korra smiled down at the fox curled up behind her and pet its head, trying to reassure it that it wasn't in any danger. "Yeah. But I don't know what they are doing around here."
"It is rather odd. There haven't been any 'spirit fox' sightings in the city since the portal opened. Ever", the president added. "I will need to talk to Tenzin and see if he or any of the other air benders guarding the portal have ever spotted any spirit like this one."
Varrick began to approach the fox, curious as ever to get a closer look at the spirit. "Fascinating", he remarked of the creature. As he got closer to it, the fox became increasingly more frightened of the stranger. Before Korra or Asami could stop him from coming any closer, it ran off in the direction of the portal.
"Varrick...", Asami sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Zhu Li stared her husband down, disappointed at his lack of restraint. He shrugged and said, "Sorry. Couldn't help myself."
The president shook her head and turned back to the two women. "Should we delay construction until we are confident that the spirit or any like it will come back?", she asked Korra and Asami. Asami had no clue. She wasn't the most spiritually inclined, so she was lost as to how they should proceed. Leaving the decision to Korra was most likely the best idea in this situation.
"No, I don't think so. It was only curious. Just alert the crew about it, and see if you can get some of the air benders on watch here until construction is done." Korra looked at Varrick and folded her arms across her chest. "I don't think it will be coming back any time soon, since Varrick spooked it."
"I said I was sorry!"
Zhu Li rolled her eyes. "If you are sure." She sighed. "Anyhow... I would like to show Ms. Sato the inside before we finish up here."
Zhu Li walked around to the front of the building to grab some hard hats for the group. The buildings were mostly done, but it was still an active construction site. She handed everyone except Varrick and Mako a hard hat. "What about us?", he asked.
"You are not tracking wet paint across these new floors", Zhu Li told her husband, pointing at his wet shoes. Varrick huffed and crossed his arms. "What I need you to do is head over to Air Temple Island and tell Tenzin about the spirit. And see if you can find any information from him regarding any similar occurrences."
Being assigned an important task seemed to lift Varrick's spirits. "You can count on me", he said proudly.
"Mako?", Zhu Lia asked. She knew her husband would likely need some supervision to stay on topic.
"On it."
Varrick leaned over to kiss his wife's cheek then ran off to their Sato Mobile to began to drive off before Mako had a chance to catch up with him. Realizing he had left Mako behind, he pressed the brakes and skidded to a stop. Varrick stuck his head out of the driver's side window and shouted to the police officer, "Sorry! Got a little too excited." Mako rolled his eyes and hopped into the car.
"Come along", Zhu Li told the remaining party members once Varrick and Mako were gone and led them into the buildings.
Around midday, Asami and Korra got back to their house on the edge of the city. It had been a few hours since they had seen the fox spirit. As soon as they got home Korra began to think about it more. She had no doubt in her mind that it was a kind spirit, but there was some feeling of familiarity that it brought along with it. In her years of dealing with spirits as the avatar, Korra had never encountered anything like it. Why did the spirit decide to go poking around the housing development now? Why was it not scared of her and Asami? And why did she feel like it was there to find her?
Korra slumped down in a chair in front of the long mirror in their room, staring back at her own reflection. Asami was putting on makeup in the bathroom connected to the room, trying to talk to Korra but she didn't notice. The avatar was stuck in her own mind, replaying her interaction with the spirit.
"Korra", Asami called out to her girlfriend. "Did you hear what I said?" She walked out of the bathroom while trying to clasp a gold necklace around her neck. Korra didn't respond to her question, still staring into the mirror. "Korra", she tried one more time, leaning on the edge of the entryway to their bathroom.
Korra shook her head to get herself out of the daze she was in and looked at her girlfriend. "What?"
"I was asking if you were ready yet, which you are." Asami walked over to Korra and took her hand to stand her up. "Beautiful. See, I told you would look good in this", she said, eyeing her girlfriend up and down. Korra was wearing a light blue blazer and suit pants, a white collared shirt, and a dark blue bow tie draping around the collar untied. The blazer had navy blue trimming on it, adding just enough flair to the outfit without it being too flashy. Asami bought the new outfit for the avatar while out shopping one day specifically for tonight's occasion. When she saw it styled on a mannequin, she knew she had to buy it for her girlfriend. And Korra was so excited to wear it when Asami gave it to her.
"I do look rather dashing", Korra said half-heartedly, attempting to make a joke to mask what was going on inside her head. There was really no use in trying to hide it from Asami. The engineer could already tell that something was up with Korra. Cracking jokes could not distract her from it.
"Are you still thinking about the fox?", Asami asked. She let go of Korra's hand and the avatar slumped back down.
"Yeah", Korra replied. "I felt like I knew it for some reason."
Asami rested her head on Korra's shoulders and wrapped her arms around the other woman's stomach. "Are you worried about it?", she asked.
"I'm not really worried about it..", Korra told her girlfriend. "It was just, weird is all."
"Well, at least we know it isn't dangerous", Asami reassured Korra. She planted a kiss on top of Korra's head. "And if it ever comes back, well, we will figure it all out from there." Knowing that Asami would be by her side through everything made things easier for the avatar. No matter what was going on or what uncertainties she had to face, Asami was her rock. Her center. The one, true, reliable constant.
Korra looked at her and Asami's reflection and grinned. Her girlfriend looked stunning as always in her floor-length burgundy dress. It was all enough to put her mind at ease. "No use in worrying about it right now." She looked Asami up and down in the mirror and turned to face the woman, placing her hands on Asami's hips. "You know, I never get tired of seeing you all dressed up like this." Korra smiled and stood up, still holding on to Asami's hips. "You look beautiful."
"We are going to be the best-dressed couple at the restaurant tonight", Asami said.
Korra pulled Asami in for a quick kiss. "Yeah we are!" She stepped away from Asami and grabbed the pair of navy blue dress shoes at the foot of their bed. "Did Kya ever tell you who she is bringing with her?", she asked while slipping the right shoe on.
"No, she wouldn't tell me", Asami said. Tonight, Korra and Asami were going on a double date with Kya so they could meet the water bender's new girlfriend. She was very secretive about it all though, insisting her date's identity be a surprise for some reason. "She would have been more likely to tell you."
"I tried to get her to tell me, but she wouldn't break", Korra replied while sliding the second shoe on her left foot. "Do you think we know them? I honestly can't think of any reason she would want to make it a surprise if we didn't."
Asami thought to herself for a second. "Maybe." She laughed to herself. "One thing's for sure, though. Kya is VERY excited."
"Do you think it could be...", Korra started to say but thought about it for a second. "No. There's no way." She straightened her blazer in the mirror one last time and hooked her elbow around Asami's. "Ready to go, malady?"
Asami laughed. "Come on."