Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     A lone girl exists in a silent, black, and empty void. She sits with her legs crossed in the middle of nowhere, and twiddles with her thumbs as she stares into the abyss. She rolls her head backward and looks up, well what she assumes to be “up,” and sighs. The girl lets herself fall on her back as she starfishes in the void with her short dark hair spread out on the invisible platform. She shuts her eyes, distant and distressed hoots and barks echoing in the very back of her mind.

     A few moments before...

     Time seems to slow down as her eyes dart around the broken glass screen of her interface at all the holographic reports of damage and nonfunctioning parts. She knows it’s pointless. The mech is too critically damaged to last until she is behind her team. The screams and shouts of her name through her comms are crackling and warped. She closes her eyes and tunes out of the commotion, accepting her fate as her vision starts to blur. She hears her armor crack as it caves in on her followed by a millisecond of immense pain that pierces her chest and then...

     Nothing.

     *-~-*-~-*-~-*

     Something wakes her up with small wet licks peppering her face. She cracks open an eye and almost immediately closes them again as her unadjusted eyes are greeted by a blinding light. She squints at her small familiar sitting on her chest. The polar bear dog looks happily at her and she feels the feather-light touch of its tail thumping against her chest. 

     Korra tries to reach up and pet it but yells out as sharp and intense pain courses through her arm. Tears are in her eyes as she slowly rests her bandaged arm back down as carefully as she can and winces when it makes the slightest contact with the bed. Her familiar’s tail stops patting her chest and the white puppy looks down at her sadly, whimpering.

     “I’ll be okay,” she rasps weakly and attempts to crack a smile, but it looks more like a grimace. Korra looks up and squints at the door when she hears the sound of it cracking open.

     “Naga, why are you yip— Oh! You’re awake!” a young woman steps into the room and closes the door behind her. She’s slender and tall with fair skin and a cascading waterfall of long and wavy ink-black hair. The girl’s emerald eyes glitter at Korra as she moves closer. She checks the monitors next to Korra’s bed and looks at the IV drip.

     “Are you an angel?” Korra accidentally slurs through the haze of painkillers. The other girl lets out a bright laugh as she smiles down at her, eyes twinkling magically.

     “No, I’m not but that’s the sweetest thing I’ve heard all week!” Korra blushes, having realized what she blurted out. “I’m Asami, Asami Sato, and I’m still somewhat new here. They had me start helping out in the medical ward as they figured out my schedule and my room. They’ve been having me watch over you. It’s a miracle you’re awake. Your team—”

     “My team!” Korra’s immediately on alert at the mention of her unit and panic makes her stomach sink as she interrupts Asami. “I have to get back to them! None of them are hurt right?! I need to be on the frontline before it’s too late!” 

     She jolts to sit upright but folds in on herself from the pain. Naga tumbles off her partner’s chest and whines in protest from on her legs as she rolls off her back. Asami is instantly by Korra’s side and gently pushes her back down on the bed. A spark runs through the two the moment they made contact, giving them goosebumps, but it’s light enough that neither of them notices the sensation nor that their hair is standing on end. Then, both girls simultaneously wince at a sudden searing pain on their shoulder blades. Neither thinks much of it, Korra rightly dismissing it as a result of her injuries and Asami blaming her early morning work-out stretches for pulling a muscle.

     “Woah now. Hold on there, captain. Your team is perfectly fine. The battle is over. It’s been over,” Asami rubs the back of her neck, “for months now.”

     “For months?!”

     “Yeah, you were in a coma for about a month and a half. Speaking of your team, I should let them know that you’re awake.”

     Asami steps out of the room to go make the call. Korra sighs and sinks her head into her pillow. Naga climbs back up, crawls over her shoulder, curls up, and snuggles into the crook of her neck. She dozes off, contentedly cuddling with her human.

     Korra’s eyelids become heavy as Naga starts nuzzling her neck in her sleep but before she can drift off, the door to her room bursts open. Korra becomes alert, but she relaxes as she watches a familiar broad figure rush through the door and to her side. Naga also wakes up from the noise. As soon as she sees the dimpled boy, she jumps up with her tail wagging enthusiastically.

     “I’m so glad you’re finally up!” He squeals once he reaches her bedside.

     The visitor pets the tiny polar bear dog’s head with three fingers. Korra greets him softly, “Hey, Bo.” 

     “Don’t just ‘hey’ me!” Bolin frowns down at his captain. “You gave us all a heart attack! And when we were told you were in a coma, we were all afraid you wouldn’t wake up!”

     Korra looks at Bolin’s eyes which are tearing up. Her chest hurts. More than an ache of guilt, but her heart, oddly, feels like it’s being prodded with needles. “I-I’m sorry Bo,” Korra grimaces.

     Bolin notices and his eyes widen, “Oh shoot. Right. Sorry, I just forgot that your heart can’t really handle strong emotions right now.”

     “Why? What happened to my heart?”

     “Um... Uh,” Bolin hesitates for a few seconds before squeaking, “You were maybe… sort of... shot through the heart?”

     "What?!" Korra’s head reels as she tries to understand. “But... How did I survive? It went straight through my heart, Bo! I shouldn’t be breathing! But all that happened to me was that I was in a coma?! How..? I’ve got to be dead right now. Right?!” she asks her friend frantically. 

     Korra loses control of her emotions and, no matter how hard she tries, isn’t able to calm down the rapidly building panic. Her heart starts pumping faster at the panic and confusion and she curls in on herself, groaning in pain. Bolin tries to soothe his best friend, but Korra isn’t paying attention. She can’t. All she can focus on is the pain bombarding her from inside. All other sound is drowned out by the loud thumping of her heart reverberating and blood rushing in her ears. The young captain begins to hyperventilate and her vision gets blurry. She grabs at her chest and shouts out in pain.

     Bolin internally scolds himself and is frozen in place as he watches his friend contort in pain. Her screams of agony echo through his soul. The young man can’t even shout out for help when the door bursts open, an entrance much like his own, and watches as the slightly older girl rushes to Korra’s side. Bolin watches silently as Naga and Asami comfort the pained captain. She doesn’t notice the eight other figures slip in through the door after the girl.

     “Asa... Sami...” Korra brokenly croaks through tears of pain. Asami's heart breaks at the sound.

     The young woman hugs her as tightly as she can without hurting her and whispers in her ear, “Shh... Shh. I’m here. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. It’s alright.” Her reassurances and presence instantly soothe the younger girl who buries her face into the crook of Asami's neck. Korra can feel her heart calming down as she breathes in the older girl’s sweet floral perfume.

     “I-It hurts. S-So much,” she says through tears.

     “I know, I know. You’ll be fine. Shh,” Asami gently rocks her fragile body side to side, running her hands softly through Korra's hair and rubbing comforting circles on her back. “Here,” she says as she gently removes herself from Korra to get painkillers and gives them to the girl. She moves to wipe the tears from the young captain’s cheeks. Korra thanks her softly and swallows them, the agony in her chest being reduced to a dull ache a few moments later.

     “Better?” Asami asks as she moves to gently take Korra’s uninjured hand in hers and uses her thumb to rub comforting circles on the back of it. Her round eyes are glowing with concern as she looks into the other’s puffy red eyes. The younger girl just nods and turns to cuddle Naga (as much as she can, seeing as she’s about as big as a phone) who has settled on her chest. 

     Mako watches the interaction from the corner, a hint of jealousy and guilt budding in his heart. He wants so badly to be the one holding the captain, who he’s known and lived with for years. He wants to be the one comforting her instead of Asami “a damn stranger that comes in suddenly and immediately takes up all of my Korra’s attention and—” his thoughts are cut off by a familiar voice and crying.

     “She’ll be fine, Bo. You didn’t mean to do anything.” Mako turns in the direction of the voice to see Opal cradling his younger brother’s face in her hands. Bolin’s eyes are wide and watering, his lips quivering in a pout. A little bit of snot escapes his nose and he sniffs. Opal wipes the tears from his cheeks and pulls him into a tight hug. Kuvira makes her way over to them and wraps them both in her strong arms. Mako hears shuffling as the others on the team join in to make a group hug. He hesitantly draws closer and awkwardly adds himself to the pile.

     “Oh, I brought her otter penguin plush,” Jinora pipes up, breaks free from the hug, and moves over to where an exhausted Korra has fallen asleep whilst clinging to Asami’s arm. She places it carefully next to the sleeping captain. Amidst her sleep, Korra recognizes the familiar feel and scent almost immediately. She lets go of Asami to hug the plush tight against her chest and snuggle her face into it. She subconsciously smiles in her sleep and Asami slips away to join everyone else who’s looking fondly at the girl.

     “Aw,” Wu coos, “Look at the big baby. So cute.” The teammates smile at the sleeping captain.

     “Looking at her like this, you would never think this kid was one of the most elite captains in this school,” Kuvira chuckles.

     “She is? Wow. She’s so young to be a captain,” Asami marvels.

     “Even though she seems to handle the responsibility well, we all know that she’s got a lot of pressure on her, but she refuses to open up to us. She feels like she has to keep everything inside because she doesn’t want to worry us. She thinks she needs to always be strong for us,” Opal says.

     “We know that she has a world of problems and pressures, both emotionally and physically, that she carries on her own. She doesn’t let us help shoulder that burden even though she shares every single one of our burdens when we are troubled,” Wu mumbles. His team turns to look at him, surprised at the sudden insightful comment.

     “Wow, Wu! You don’t usually say smart things like this,” Bolin remarks.

     “Like you’re any better, Bo,” Mako says, punching his brother on the shoulder. The boy stumbles backward and knocks over a few tools that clatter to the floor. Korra mumbles and scrunches her face up before rolling to her other side.

     "We should let her get some rest. We can continue talking outside," Asami shoots a pointed look at the brothers and the group follows her out.

     Asami glances one last time at the sleeping girl to make sure that she’ll be fine before shutting the door. "I have a few more things to tell you and ask you, but first I'll answer as many of your questions about Korra's condition as I can."

     The group stands together outside of Korra’s door in silence. Asami waits patiently, rocking back and forth on her heels while she waits for the others, who are all lost in thought, to ask her questions.

     “So.. What exactly happened? Like, how did she wake up after all that? We only got a very crude briefing,” Kuvira speaks up.

     “I… I only arrived at the school as they apparently got her back on campus. The headmaster enlisted me and a few other new students into the medical ward only moments after. I was rushed off to help on her case while the rest were assigned to other wounded pilots,” Asami begins.

     “She was on death’s door when I got to where they were treating her. They had sowed up the wound but her heart could no longer pump blood. Nurses were trying to get the circulation going manually and injecting more blood but they were losing more than they could inject. They had given up since her heart was pretty much dead when I stepped into the room, but miraculously her heart started beating on its own again.”

      “How..? There was a puncture right?” Opal marvels.

     “That’s why everyone was so surprised when it started up again and the stitches healed into nothing more than a scar—”

     “Huh... Wait. What ?!” the group’s jaws drop as they do a double-take.

     “Dr. Katara eventually managed to figure out that Naga had somehow managed to channel an extremely advanced ability that the pair hadn’t previously had the capability of performing, supposedly.”

     “And that ability was?”

     “For the familiar to essentially be the last resort ‘life support’—”

     “Heh, that rhymed.”

     “Shut up, Bolin.” Kuvira punches him on his shoulder. He pouts at her and she sighs, moving her hand up to ruffle his hair affectionately.

     “—and take control of vital functions and heal what normally couldn’t be repaired,” Asami finishes.

     “Doesn’t that..?” Jinora trails off.

     “Yes. It requires the energy and presence of the pilot's soulmate and the soulmate's familiar. It’s one of the most advanced abilities unique to the AV4T4R and it’s pilot’s soul link to the mech.”

     “Then that means…”

     “Her soulmate was on campus and close enough to the building to provide that assistance,” Asami nods.

Chapter Text

     Mako’s mind reels as he goes through a bit of a crisis, “But, I wasn’t on campus? I was still on the battlefield? I am her soulmate… Right? “

     “Do you have any idea who it could be? We’ve never noticed a soulmark on her before.” Bolin inquires.

     “Well in that case, as long as Korra hadn’t unknowingly found her soulmate before we arrived, I’d say her soulmate would be one of us new students.”

     Opal starts, “And how many new students are there? Maybe we can narrow it dow—”

     “I think there are over 350 new students? Give or take,” Asami cuts in.

     “...Yikes. Nevermind then.”

     “Wait, don’t soulmates need to have physical contact to establish the bond? No one new could’ve touched her until after she... died— so to speak,” Kai notes. They all murmur in agreement.

     “What I’ve read is that touching confirms the bond and makes it obvious to them by assigning the soulmark—if they weren’t born with an incomplete one—but the contact isn’t a prerequisite to unlock the abilities,” Jinora corrects.

     “Huh, so they might’ve not touched her after all. Either way, her soulmate is roaming around somewhere on campus as we speak… And they don’t necessarily need to be a new student considering Korra hasn’t had physical contact with every single student before the newbies.”

     “We’ll just have to keep an eye out for any sudden tattoo looking things on Korra, and if we find one, look for a match,” Wu shrugs.

     “Easier said than done,” Opal scoffs. “They can be super small birth-mark looking things or huge full tattoos. They might not even be exactly the same, just related, like a sun and a moon. Also, those things can appear practically anywhere on the surface of the body— with the exception of a couple of places.  I’d rather not be doing a daily check under our captain’s underwear.”

     “Why can’t we just tell her, let her know her soulmate has shown up? That way she is aware, maybe spot it if something happens, and you know, do those kinds of checks herself ?” Jinora suggests.

     “That… makes a lot of sense. That’s a good idea. Let’s do that.”

     The squadmates move on to talk about how Korra’s responsibilities should be split up since she’ll be out of action. Asami helps them plan by answering a few questions about what Korra can and can’t do.

     While talking, Asami suddenly checks out of the conversation and spaces out a little bit. No one notices until she abruptly turns from the group and quickly makes her way back into Korra’s room. The others share a look before following close behind her, wondering what just happened. As soon as Asami tentatively opens the door, she runs over to the bed. The team peaks inside to see a writhing Korra.

     The girl’s eyes are still shut as tears stream down her face accompanied by shouts and sobs. She’s sweating as she kicks around, her eyes moving rapidly from underneath her eyelids. Naga sits on the nightstand, tail between his legs as he whimpers helplessly. Asami cautiously creeps closer, careful to not be smacked by the long flailing limbs. She flinches and recoils when a short scream escapes Korra’s mouth before pushing on. 

     The closer she gets to the captain, the more her wild thrashing seems to calm down. Asami tentatively puts a hand on the girl’s forearm and suddenly Korra’s eyes shoot open. She looks up at the older girl with fearful eyes, panting heavily and sniffling. Asami reaches to grab a tissue and gently wipes her face of dried tears and sweat, leaning over the girl.

     “Hey hey… Shh, it’s okay. It’s over. You’re safe. Shh… I’m here,” Asami says softly as she strokes the top of Korra’s head. The younger girl’s eyes well up with tears again and she lunges forward to wrap her good arm around Asami’s neck and bury her face into the crook of it. Korra shudders with sobs while the older girl pats her hair, hugs her close. Asami hushes her like a mother would her baby as they rock back and forth. Korra pulls back and lays down again in Asami’s arms, her head being cradled as she curls up to snuggle into Asami’s front. Her hands find their way to the front of Asami’s shirt and Korra clings to it tightly as she calms herself down. Suddenly, her eyes grow a little wide.

     “Oh, sorry! I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Korra says bashfully as she removes herself from the warm embrace. Asami smiles at her, making her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

     “I didn’t mind at all,” she says and for good measure, gently takes Korra’s hand in hers.

     “How did you know?” Mako speaks up, fists clenched.

     “I don’t know. I just suddenly had a bad feeling and felt the urge to check-in,” Asami doesn’t turn her head and keeps her gaze on Korra as she shrugs, mindlessly stroking Korra’s hand with her thumb.

     “They look like a couple,” hearing a giggle, they turn to see Bolin and Wu whispering. Asami quickly removes her hand as she and Korra blush a little. Mako stiffens, feeling so lost and so unsure of himself. 

     “Why couldn’t I feel that something was wrong if I’m her soulmate? I should’ve felt something!“ are the thoughts that race through his mind. The doubting of what he so badly wants to keep believing, what he thought was true—no, a fact — is threatening to break him at this moment. His world is crumbling at his feet until the destruction suddenly just… stops. A warm, familiar, and comforting breeze encompasses him and makes all the destruction freeze. The breeze carries a gentle and loving whisper. “Breathe.” Mako snaps out of his despair.

     “Where are Jinora and Opal?” Korra asks as her eyes scan the group.

     “They went to go talk to the headmaster about some arrangements and details,” Kai answers. “About the distribution of your workload, recovery milestone expectations, your lessons, your soulmate, etc.”

     “...Soulmate?”

     “Yeah. The reason you’re still with us is that your soulmate arrived just in the nick-of-time to unknowingly provide the support needed for Naga to pretty much bring you back to life.”

     “You couldn’t do that before... Right?” Kuvira asks and Korra shakes her head.

     “No. One of the teachers has me, and other kids in the class, try one simple soulmate ability every other day during class to keep up with our ‘status’ so to speak. We’ve never been able to do it.”

     “Do you have a mark now?”

     “Not that I can tell… I’d need to go to the bathroom or have you all leave so I can check the.. less visible spots.”

     “You’re not in a good enough condition to get out of bed. We can leave, but don’t you think that you’ll need someone to stay behind and help you?” Asami asks.

     “I probably should have someone help… Asami, do you mind?”

     “Not at all.”

     The others file out of the room to give them privacy to search. Asami gently helps Korra take off the medical gown so Korra can check her front while the other girl checks her back.

     “Can you roll onto your side or is that too painful?”

     “I think I can. Hold on.” Korra turns to lay on her uninjured side to allow Asami to look at the back of her thighs.

     “Oh, if you need to... Um.. move my underwear to see my hips and stuff... you can,” Korra murmurs shyly and Asami blushes a little.

     “O-Okay, if you’re sure that you’re okay with it.” Asami takes a deep breath as she gently moves aside the girl’s underwear in sections just enough to see her hips and butt. “Uh. N-Nope. I don’t see anything,” she reports and quickly backs up. She turns her head away to hide her blush as she hears the rustles coming from Korra turning to lay on her back again.

     “..Asami? The medical gown?”

     “Oh right, sorry,” she heads back to the young captain to help her slip the gown back on. Korra hisses a little at the light touch of the gown on the bandages covering her left breast and shoulder blade as well as her arm up until her elbow. When Korra is dressed, Asami steps out to call the team back in.

     After they file into the room, Korra tells them about the lack of a mark and notices that Opal and Jinora are among them this time.

     “What’s the plan,” she addresses the two of them. They look at each other, trying to figure out who’s speaking. Opal steps forward a little bit to report to her captain.

     “Well, the headmaster requested to be told about your mark if you had one so he could log it onto your profile, but seeing as neither of you found anything, we can’t report back to him on that. There’s also going to be a little change in room assignments to better accommodate your situation.” The others all snap their heads to look at Opal, surprise evident in their faces. Opal glances at the shorter girl and steps back to allow Jinora to step forward, taking over the report.

     “Seeing as just about all of our squad members are mated, namely to each other—” Asami’s eyes are wide as she glances between the members.

     “Wait, really? Who?”

     “Bolin, Opal, and Kuvira.” Bolin wraps Opal in a back hug. He rests his chin on the top of her head as they grin at Asami. Kuvira sidles up behind them to drape an arm around Bolin’s shoulders and put a hand on one of Opal’s. Jinora links hands with Kai and smiles up at him. “Then there’s Kai and me. And finally, Wu has made contact with his soulmate, but we don’t know who it is yet.”

     “Wait... Three of you? I thought tri-bonds were a legend!”

     “Well, it’s very much a real thing. It’s just extremely rare. Do you know how some people are born with partial soulmarks and need their soulmate to complete it while some marks are identical and only appear with contact?” Kuvira asks and Asami nods. 

     Bolin picks up to tell the story. “Well, Kuvira and Opal were matched to each other and only partially completed each other’s marks. A couple of years later when I enrolled, Opal bumped into me one day and her the mark become whole. She grabbed my wrist and dragged me to meet Kuvira before I could even process what happened." He finishes the story with a dopey grin on his face.

     “Oh, wow!” The trio smiles at Asami. Kai steps forward.

     “So, about the room situation... we aren’t being grouped together by rank anymore?” Kai pipes up. He beams hopefully, quickly glancing at Jinora.

     “There are now going to be three rooms of 2 and a room of 3. Everyone is going to be with their soulmates, if they know them,” Jinora smiles at everyone.

     “But, that adds up to 9 instead of 7?” Wu asks, brows furrowed in confusion. He double-checks and then triple-checks his counting with his fingers.

     “We’re getting to that. We didn’t make a mistake,” Opal winks. She and Jinora, who escaped their partners, share a glance before Opal begins to drum roll on the bedside table. “The headmaster has made an exception for Kuvira to room with both me and Bolin even though she’s apart of a different team.” Kuvira stands up even straighter, chest-puffing out happily as she beams at the news. “And… he’s decided to add Asami to our team!” Jinora announces.

     The room is silent for a few seconds while the members process the information. Bolin is the first to react, moving to sweep Asami up in a crushing hug.

     “Yay! Welcome to the team!” he exclaims brightly as he squeezes the older girl in his arms. The others follow suit and welcome her warmly.

     “Oh. So, she’s going to be rooming with Wu then, right?” Mako assumes.

     “Well, no. You are. Asami’s going to be sharing a room with Korra,” Opal corrects. “Out of all of us, Asami knows how to take care of our captain the best.” Asami glances over to look at the captain’s reaction and is greeted by a soft smile and twinkling blue eyes. Mako’s heart sinks, but he can’t argue with that.

     “But who’s going to be staying with Korra when Asami has her classes?”

     “That won’t be much of a problem. There’s no point in the day where all of us have class. Asami will be able to be with her for the majority of the day. She’s a late bloomer. Her familiar hasn’t revealed itself to her yet, so there are limited classes that she can take without it. Maybe Jinora or I can fill in for her?” Opal suggests.

     “Oh, I didn’t know she isn’t awakened. How far in hiding is it, Asami? Has it shown anything to you yet?” Bolin asks.

     “Well… She has shown up in my dreams a few times, but only a silhouette.”

     “Do you know what she is?”

     Asami nods, “An owl. Her hoots are very distant and her visits are unpredictable. I think she’s still far away but... She’s around at least?”

     “That’s better than nothing.”

     “You guys should start moving rooms,” Korra suggests, though it sounds more like an order. Most of the group obediently files out but Asami and Opal hang back.

     “See you later, cap!” Bolin calls out from the hall as the door shuts behind them.

     “I’m not moving rooms so I can help you move your things into Korra’s,” Opal offers quietly with a shy smile as she turns to look at Asami.

     “That would be great! Thanks, Opal! Follow me,” Asami flashes a bright smile at her. “Oh, will you be okay, Korra?”

     “I’ll be fine. I think I might get some more sleep.” Asami nods and follows Opal out of the room. The young captain sighs once she’s alone and melts into her pillow. A whine sounds from her left side. She turns her head to see Naga padding over to her and onto her chest. She settles down on the blanket. She yawns and her eyes flutter closed in time with her partner’s. Their breaths sync as they fall asleep.

     *-~-*-~-*-~-*

     The next time Korra opens her eyes, she’s in the middle of a vast meadow. 

     It’s a familiar meeting spot and an escape for her and her familiar. She lifts her head to gaze at the colorful lights dancing across the starry sky. A cold breeze ruffles her hair and kicks up some snow. Korra feels the familiar fur blanket underneath her and looks down to see the basket of snacks and the pile of dog toys. A bark makes her look up to see her polar bear dog in her full-sized form running towards her, tongue hanging out happily. Behind Naga is a vast dark blue ocean littered with ice and icebergs.

     Korra turns to her right to gaze at the village off in the distance, emanating a warm glow from torches and lanterns. When she looks behind her, she notices something new in their private getaway. There’s an unsettling and ominous forest of barren, dead trees where there used to be nothing but infinite tundra. Somewhere deeper in the forest, a large bright column of light is rising from the ground and reaching towards the sky. She squints to look at a hole in a tree and is startled when a pair of large round, shining eyes suddenly appears and stares back at her. Naga notices it as well and barks happily, running towards the tree. A faint hoot echoes in the back of her mind as Korra’s world fades around her before she has the chance to follow her companion

     *-~-*-~-*-~-*

     Korra opens her eyes to be met with her familiar’s eyes blinking open at the same time. They look at each other, Naga’s tail wagging excitedly while her human’s eyebrows are knit together in confusion.

     “Do you know what that was, girl?” the dog just grins at her, tongue lolling. “Of course you do, but it’s not like you can tell me,” Korra sighs. She lies in bed, staring at the white ceiling and pondering the reason for the sudden addition of her dreamscape.

     “Was it added because we found out about Asami’s familiar? Wait, no; that can’t be it.  Our little getaway has never been affected by something that was on my mind when I fell asleep,” she mutters to herself. “The only other time our dreamscape changed was when I was in a coma and you couldn’t reach me. Then why..?”

     “Hey, Korra!” Jinora bursts into the room. Korra notices her lipgloss is smeared. She gestures with her good hand at her own lips and Jinora runs over to the bathroom with a blush. She comes back, her face clean.

     “Aren't you supposed to be spending time with Ikki and Meelo?”

     “Opal and Asami sent me to ask whether they can move around your books, medals, trophies, certificates, and stuff to organize and make some space.”

     “Of course they can. I’m not like Mako; I don’t mind my stuff being rearranged.” Jinora gives her captain a thumbs up and turns to leave the room.

     “Jinora, wait.”

     “Hm?”

     “You’re the most spiritually attuned out of all of us so I was just wondering… Do you ever get someone else’s familiar as a visitor in your dreamscape?”

     “I mostly get normal dreams where some of the others and their familiars show up as like a cast. There have been a few rare instances where the familiar of someone I’m close to shows up, sometimes with their human counterpart, and we’re sharing my dreamscape. Sometimes I find myself being with them in their dreamscape or just seeing it through the eyes of my familiar. I’ve asked them after waking up and we remembered the exact same things happening, so we must’ve actually shared a dreamscape.”

     “Thanks,” Korra nods thoughtfully.

     “Why do you ask?”

     “It... it’s nothing. I just had a weird dream,” the captain shrugs. Jinora once again turns and leaves to relay Korra’s approval. Korra snuggles back into her pillow. She feels a sudden itch on the back of her left shoulder under the bandaging and huffs. Feeling a little anxious, she helplessly lays there as the annoying itch persists, not being able to do anything about it.

     *-~-*-~-*-~-*

     “It’s just around the corner,” Opal says as she adjusts Asami’s duffel bag on her shoulder.

     “Good! Spirits, I don’t think I could take another flight of stairs,” Asami huffs from behind her, dragging her heavy luggage along. They round the corner to see Jinora leaning against the wall by an open door.

     “Korra said it’s okay to move them.” Jinora flashes a thumbs up at Opal with a smile.

     “Thanks, Jinora.”

     “We have to go back to the junior building at some point and all she’s been doing during our limited quality time is running errands! Can we have our sister back now, lady?” a little boy’s voice comes from a few doors down, Jinora’s room, just before a bald head pokes out to stare at Opal.

     “Yeah! Give her back,” a young girl’s voice follows as she sticks her head out the door, just above the boy’s head, and they both pout at their friend.

     “Yeah, yeah. Sorry, Meelo and Ikki. She’s free to go.” Opal rolls her eyes with a smile. “Thanks again, Jinora.” 

     “Let me know if there’s anything else!” Jinora gives a little salute before turning around and walking over to continue helping her siblings. Asami turns to Opal.

     “Korra said it’s okay to move what?”

     Opal turns into the room with Asami behind her. Asami’s eyes widen as she walks in, being greeted by shining trophies and laminated certificates.

     “To move these,” Opal sweeps her arm across the room with a flourish to gesture at the full shelves.

     “Wow,” Asami breathes. Her eyes sweep around the room in awe.

     “Yeah. She’s one of the, if not the, best in the academy, seeing as she pilots the legendary AV4T4R,” Opal smiles, her chest slightly puffing out proudly.

     The two of them start to carefully relocate the awards and make space for the new roommate. Asami feels an itch on the back of her left shoulder accompanied by a sudden strange feeling of anxiety. She casually itches it and goes back to rearranging the room. After a few moments, Asami speaks up.

     "Speaking of her mech..."

     "Oh yeah! You've been the one repairing it right?" She nods. "Thanks for doing that! You really didn't have to do it."

     Asami shrugs. "I don't mind at all, I love doing it. Besides, how could I pass up on the opportunity to work on the AV4T4R? And not to be rude, but the person assigned to work on it wasn't making much headway."

     Opal laughs, "My brother is a brilliant designer, but the only mechs he's ever worked hands-on with are his paper sketches. Having a renowned Sato work on Korra's mech is a much better choice."

     "Do you think Korra would mind if I tweaked the mech?"

     "No, I don't think so, but you can always check with her. Now, where do you want these blueprints?"

Chapter Text

   Korra continues to be frustrated with the tenderness of her injury and the annoying itch. She wants to try rubbing her shoulder against her pillow like a bear but she relaxes as a faint scratching sensation makes the itch suddenly disappear. Finally being without distraction, she takes her right arm and mimes writing, only feeling a little bit of discomfort. Looking around, Korra notices her comm sitting on the bedside table. She carefully reaches over with her good arm and takes it, placing it gently into her ear. She clicks it on and speaks.

   “Can someone bring me some work to do and something to write with?” 

   “I— ”

   She winces and pulls the com away from her ear as someone yells back.

   “Shut up, Bo! I’m on it!” Mako shouts out and interrupts, apparently Bolin, who had only barely started to offer. Korra mildly amuses herself by imagining the scene playing out, if it were to physically happen, as Mako sprinting down the corridor and trampling his brother as he dashes by.

   A few minutes later, Mako skids around the corner and into the room with a pen and pencil as well as several filled manilla folders, each one labeled with a different class except for two: one marked as the student council folder and the other adorned with the Board of Captains insignia. He hands them to his captain and pulls up a chair beside her. Korra grabs her glasses from the nightstand and puts them on. She opens the files one at a time to scan through them before deciding what to start with. “How are you feeling? Can I get anything else for you?” Mako asks, scooching forward in his seat and sitting at attention.

   “I’m okay. Are you done moving into Wu’s room?” the girl asks without looking up from her papers. Mako nods.

   “...Are you really okay with Asami taking my spot in our— your room? I mean you barely know her!” Mako tentatively asks and Korra looks up to meet his gaze. He searches his commander’s face desperately for a feeling that mirrors his own unhappiness. Instead, Korra’s eyes seem to light up and a faint smile appears on her lips.

   “I don’t mind,” she shrugs, and though her words are indifferent, her voice betrays her excitement. “Why do you ask? Should I have a problem with it? Do you have a problem with it..?”

   “I— uh, no. No, I don’t,” Mako doubles down as he lowers his head and rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. They sit in silence, the room filled with the sound of the scratching of pen on paper. Mako bounces his leg and fiddles with his scarf as he admires Korra’s side profile. His mouth twitches into a smile every time Korra pouts or furrows her brows and scrunches her nose in concentration. Oh, how he’s missed his captain and soulmate. Soulmate … 

   That one word sends him spiraling down the rabbit hole of insecurity that had plagued him all throughout Korra’s coma.

If I’m truly Korra’s soulmate, then why didn’t I feel the pain of the shot that incapacitated her? Why can’t I feel the pain of any of Korra’s countless injuries? Why don’t I feel any echo of Korra’s emotions? Why doesn’t Korra feel an echo? Is there something wrong with me? Am I not good enough? Did I do something wrong? Why am I so useless? What—

   “—ko? Mako? Mako!” Mako is jolted and grounded back in the present when Naga slams into his cheek. He watches as the polar bear dog gives him a lick on the cheek in apology and floats back towards Korra, who gently takes Mako’s hand in her good one. She gives him a soft smile. “There you are. I lost you for a bit. Are you okay?”

   The captain, whose eyes are swimming with concern, searches her friend’s eyes, and lightly squeezes his hand. It hurts Mako to see that he’s the cause of the worry clouding those beautiful eyes. He should be the one taking care of Korra, not the other way around.

   “Yeah. I’m okay,” Mako’s voice cracks and he clears his throat. Doubt comes creeping back in. He flinches away from Korra’s touch and shoots up from the chair. Korra looks briefly hurt at his recoiling. Mako’s heart twinges, knowing that he made Korra upset.

   “You know that you can talk to me about anything, right?” Korra assures him tentatively.

   “I know.” But not about this, Mako thinks to himself. He slowly reaches back over to gently take Korra’s hand again. “I didn’t mean to pull away like that. I promise it’s not anything you did or said. I’m sorry that I upset you.”

   This time, Korra’s the one to gently pull away, tugging Mako’s heartstrings with her retreating hand. Mako knows that he prompted the move, but the loss of contact still hurts. He can feel it in the air, how the distance between them grew larger. Korra shakes her head as she takes back up her pen and paper. “No, don’t worry about me. I get it. You want space.”

   “ No! Don’t leave me alone, please! I want you to let me in. Let me help,” is what Mako desperately wants to say but can’t bring himself to. Mako wants so badly to just kiss her except there’s a presence nagging in the back of his mind, single-handedly holding him back.

   A presence emerges in the back of his mind, soothing him. Then, as quickly as it had come, it vanished, leaving Mako oddly calm and comforted, yet bewildered. The young man clears his throat and stands up. Giving his captain a stiff salute, he announces, “Well. If you don’t need me for anything else, I think I’ll head out.”

   Korra hums in acknowledgment and Mako sluggishly moves to head out of the room, lingering in front of the closed door. He turns his head to look wistfully back at the hard-at-work captain, hoping that Korra will look up and call out for him to stay. But she doesn’t. She’s merely resumed going through paperwork.

   Mako opens the door just enough to quietly slip out into the hospital wing’s hallway. He closes the door behind him and briefly leans his head against it, letting out a heavy sigh. When he looks up, he tenses, throwing his walls up, but immediately relaxes when he processes that it's Jinora who’s leaning against the wall across from the door. The younger girl takes it as a cue to step forward when they lock eyes.

   “Hey,” Jinora says softly.

   “How long— what brings you here?”

   “I just wanted to check in on Korra, since my siblings finally left to go back to their rooms in the junior building and Opal and Asami are busy.” Jinora’s eyes are understanding as she studies his face. “It’s not your fault, you know.”

   “W-What are you talking about?” Mako blinks at her.

   “You were brooding again, weren’t you?”

   “How did you—”

   “Well, it’s a safe guess since you’re almost always grumpy and brooding. But, I’m also a telepathic empath, remember? I’m very attuned to emotions. Only Korra and my family seem to remember that it’s a part of my passive ability skill set.”

   “Oh... right. Sorry,” Mako scratches his neck bashfully.

   “It’s alright. Everyone else’s passives are a lot more memorable and useful.”

   “Yours is still good and important though!” Mako grimaces at the way the words came out of his mouth, they sounded a lot better in his head. Jinora merely nods placatively, knowing that Mako didn’t intend for his scramble to reassure her to sound half-assed.

   “You delivered her work, right? I guess I should leave her to it. I’m here to listen if you ever need to talk” Jinora pats him on his shoulder. Mako stands still in the middle of the hallway, watching as she walks down the hallway muttering to herself. “Oh, I know! I’ll bring her some food!” 

   Mako’s shoulders sag as he lets out a sigh. Jinora takes a few more steps before her head snaps up and she points up in an “aha!” gesture. She swivels on her heel and rushes past Mako, who immediately snaps upright when she turns back around. “Right! I need to go ask Asami about okay foods…” The younger girl mumbling a list of Korra’s favorite foods to herself as she goes. 

   Just when Mako thinks she’s gone and he lets his guard down, he hears Jinora’s shout back at him, “Just talk to her, dumbass!”

   His head whips around to glare at Jinora’s back and he flips her off, even though he knows she can’t see him. She, probably picking up on his grumpiness from the end of the hall, surprises him again by lifting her arms to make a heart over her head as she rounds the corner and disappears from sight. Mako scoffs, rolls his eyes, drops his head to touch chin to collarbone, stares at his boots, and runs a hand through his spiky hair. He rights himself, sighs once more, and fiddles with his activation relic pin attached to his scarf before he takes off in the direction of the training grounds.

   Korra reclines on her pillows, not quite sitting up nor laying down, much more comfortable now that the tube that fed her while she was in the coma had been removed from her stomach. She gazes out the window of her hospital room at the purple-pink and orange sky, her mind far away. Naga is curled up fast asleep over Korra’s heart as if to reassure herself that her human is alive, having been lulled to sleep by the steady rise and fall of the girl’s chest and rhythmic heartbeat. Korra’s left hand absentmindedly twiddles her pen around, manilla folders and paperwork momentarily forgotten on the pulled-out desk over her lap.

   The young woman is brought back to her body when she hears the door open. Korra turns her head to see her raven-haired caretaker’s head peek in. “Dinner’s here!” Asami announces as she slips into the room, balancing a tray of food on each hand. 

   She carefully closes the door with her foot and makes her way to Korra’s bedside. She sets one tray down on the chair next to the bed and uses her new free hand to pick up the captain’s work and replace it with her meal. Placing the folders and papers on the bedside table, she grabs the half-full pitcher of lukewarm water and goes to the attached bathroom to refill it with cold water. Asami returns with the pitcher and fills two paper cups, handing one to Korra who takes it with a soft “thanks.”

   The pale woman picks up her tray and sits down where it once was. She sets a napkin on her lap before setting the tray over it. Asami turns to watch as Korra picks up her spoon and looks in the bowl of grey mush, a look of disgust forming on her face. Naga chooses this moment to finally wake up. She floats up and joins her human in sniffing the grey goop. They simultaneously stick their tongues out, Naga’s brow furrowed into a mirror image of her companion’s repulsion. “Eugh.” Asami giggles, hand daintily hiding her mouth, and the bed-ridden girl looks over. Korra frowns. “Do I really have to eat this… melted elephant? Or is it melted duct tape? Maybe it’s liquid boredom...”

   “Sorry captain, but you only just got the tube out. Your digestive system is still weak. You won’t be having solid food for at least a week, or a few days if your recovery keeps at this pace.” Korra groans and picks up a spoonful, tipping it sideways. She watches the substance slowly pour back into the bowl and finish with a ‘glop .’ Asami takes a bite of her meal of actual food and presses the end of the handle of her fork to her lips in thought. “How about this: if you finish your cement paste, I’ll take you on an evening stroll around campus afterward.”

   Korra lifts an eyebrow and glances at Asami, then her mush, and back to Asami.  She resigns with a sigh. “Okay,” she grumbles, “deal. Can I at least get regular liquid-y food like applesauce or a smoothie or anything but this for my next meals?” Korra stirs her goop, visibly reluctant to put it in her mouth.

   “Sorry boss, that’s not for me to decide. I’ll ask Dr. Katara, but it’s ultimately her decision. Now stop stalling and eat,” Asami pokes Korra’s cheek. The other girl mumbles something about “fucking missing the tube” and apologizing to her tastebuds. Asami playfully rolls her eyes with a smile as she listens to Korra’s dramatics. She raises her eyebrow when the captain looks at her again with a last-ditch attempt, her trump card, her ultimate emove: puppy eyes. Naga jumps in to support the pilot, looking up at Asami with her own big chocolate eyes.

   The emerald eyes stare unwaveringly and unaffected—inwardly melting—into the shimmering turquoise ones. Korra deepens her pout, lip quivering, and Asami gives in with an exaggerated sigh, glancing between the two puppies. She feigns exasperation and rolls her eyes again, trying to keep the corner of her own ruby lips from fondly quirking upwards and giving her away. “Spirits, okay! I’ll sneak you some ice cream if you will just eat. the damn. paste.”

   Korra breaks into a full crooked grin and Naga yips happily, tail thumping against the tray. Asami snickers as the captain enthusiastically shovels a spoonful of the paste into her mouth and instantly regrets it. Her face contorts in disgust, nearly gagging. She swallows her mouthful and shudders, quickly reaching for her cup to wash down the taste. “Oh come on, don’t be such a brat. I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Asami says as she takes another bite of her food.

   “You want to try some?” Korra smirks at her and holds out a spoonful at mouth level. Asami regards it skeptically and slowly leans in to smell it. She quickly pulls back and coughs, waving her hand dismissively.

   “Yup, that smells great,” the engineer croaks, “Please, have all that wonderful nutritious mush to yourself. I insist.”

   “Oh come on, ‘Sami! It’s supposed to be good for you, right? You’re looking kind of pale right now so, please, have some. I insist .” Korra teases, waving the spoon in front of her and wiggling her eyebrows. The sound of Asami scooching her chair back echoes in the room and the captain lets out a hearty laugh. The power behind her guffaw makes her wince and Asami instinctively starts to reach out, but Korra holds up her hand as she takes deep breaths. Her caretaker never takes her eyes off of the injured girl, sitting tensed and ready to spring up to assist her at a moment’s notice. 

   Asami allows herself to relax slightly when Korra finally turns her head to look at her with a small signature crooked smile. “Okay, okay. No more fussing. But I will get you to try it one of these days,” Korra relents and ruefully eases another spoonful into her mouth.

   Nearly twenty minutes later, the pair finally strolls out of the hospital ward and into the main courtyard. As soon as they encounter the cool evening air, Asami double-checks that Korra’s comfortable. Is she warm enough? Yes. Does she need more blankets? No. Does anything hurt? Nope. Can Asami get them moving already? Yeah, yeah. Fine, Korra.

   Korra, wrapped in blankets and a beanie and happily shoveling ice cream into her mouth, take a deep breath of fresh air and looks up at the faint stars. Asami starts walking them along the path that wraps around a large tree in the center of the concourse and breaks off to connect other parts of the campus. The cold wind of the looming presence of an approaching winter rustles the fallen autumn leaves. Naga enlarges to her full form and Asami’s jaw drops at the sheer size of her. The large white polar bear dog barks at the two happily before bounding into the clearing ahead of them. Korra directs Asami down different paths, giving her an informal and brief tour of the campus as Naga energetically darts around nearby.

   As they stroll up towards the campus gym, two girls coming from the opposite direction on the path, seemingly headed to the gym, notice and start animatedly talking to each other.  Korra is pointing to the left, gesturing at the gym for Asami to look at while she talks about the facilities offered there when the two girls jog up to them.

   “Korra! Hey!” They shout and wave.

   “Hi, guys!” Korra’s head whips to face them when she hears her name and she greets them as they slow to a stop.

   “We’ve missed having you in class,” pouts the girl on the left with golden eyes and long black hair tied into a ponytail. Her friend with green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair nods. “Everyone was really worried about you. We’re glad that you’re okay now!”

   “Yeah. We’ve really missed having you pin us down,” the other girl speaks up with a sultry tone as the black-haired girl sports a suggestive smile. A light blush dusts Korra’s cheeks as she rubs her neck bashfully. Asami tightens her grip on the wheelchair handles, trying to quell the inexplicable jealousy. “Straddling us, leaning over us, chest heaving from the exertion, delicious muscles flexing, plush lips parted, and messy bun even messier,” the girl adds, licking her lips.

   Korra’s face immediately turns a deep red. “W-Well,” she coughs, “I’m glad my hits haven’t hurt enough to make you hate that class.”

   “We like a little pain,” the second girl winks as the other bites her lip and nods. Asami bristles and has to actively prevent a grumble that bubbles up in her throat. The engineer finds these new protective-slash-jealous-slash-possessive reactions extremely puzzling. Only needing a second to discipline her emotions, she instead opts for a raised eyebrow and clears her throat. The duo ahead of them finally seems to notice Asami’s presence. 

   “Oh! Right. Um, Asami this is Yin and Mei, two of the girls in the close quarter's combat, sans mech, class that I’m occasionally the assistant instructor in. Yin and Mei, this is Asami Sato.” They look at her and frown slightly, sharing a skeptical look. 

   “Uh-huh. We know.” The way their eyes dart to her and then back to each other, silently communicating, makes Asami’s shift uncomfortably. She can guess what the reaction is about. She looks down to see Korra curiously studying the response, her shyness immediately gone from her body language and instead alert.

   “What is it?” The other three girls are all startled by the sudden seriousness in her voice. Yin and Mei shuffle awkwardly. Naga returns to her partner’s side, seeming to have felt Korra’s shift in mood, and hovers intimidatingly.

   “It’s nothing—” “It’s ok, Korra—” The girls speak at the same time Asami tries to brush off the topic. Korra’s good hand shoots up, silencing them immediately. The captain stares at them intently as her crystal blue eyes bore into them.

   “If you have something to say, if you have any complaints, you are to report to me with such matters concerning my teammates.” Yin and Mei’s eyes widen.

   “Your— your teammate?” Yin sputters incredulously, her and her friend’s eyes darting between Korra and Asami.

   “Yes. Is there a problem, girls?” They open their mouths but Korra holds up her hand again and stops them. “And don’t even think about lying to me.”

   “It’s just... She’s Asami Sato. ” Turquoise eyes stare blankly and the captain tilts her head, unimpressed.

   “You know… her dad is Hiroshi Sato.” Mei practically hisses Asami’s father’s name. The engineer’s stomach sinks and she ducks her head.

   Korra blinks. “Okay, and?” Does she really not know? Asami wonders, surprised.

   Yin and Mei stare at their senior, mouths agape. Ying stammers, “What do— What do you mean?! Her dad de—”

   “Yes, he defected to the Red Lotus and was outed as a traitor who had been supplying the terrorist cell using Future Industries. But Asami is not Hiroshi.” Asami’s head shoots up and she gazes at Korra in awe. Her heartbeat picks up speed and a light blush colors the tips of her ears. “She even helped the Chief expose him and built it back up from the rock-bottom reputation he left it in. I don’t ever want to hear either of you — or anyone else for that matter — give Asami shit for what her father did. She’s not him. Do I make myself clear?” Naga growls to emphasize the captain’s demand. Asami nearly swoons, extremely touched by the captain’s defense of her and finding Korra’s assertiveness… hot. Yin and Mei’s mouths flap open a few times before they finally gather their words.

   “Y-Yes, ma’am!” They salute her. Korra relaxes and Naga, in response, does as well.

   “Good.” Suddenly a smile graces her face and her tone lightens. “Have a good rest of your night! Let’s go, Asami.” The young inventor shakes herself out of her daze, heart still soaring, and gets them moving again. Korra resumes her impromptu tour like she didn’t just defend the honor of someone she hasn’t even known for 12 hours, someone who’s virtually still a stranger to her.

   They don’t manage to finish going around the school grounds, having to get Korra back to the hospital wing to take her medication and go to sleep.

   “I’ll show you the rest after breakfast tomorrow,” she says as Asami helps her out of the bathroom and back onto the bed. Naga, once again miniature as per building rules, floats over and settles herself down on the corner of her human’s pillow.

   “Who said anything about a morning walk?” The pilot lets out an offended scoff and gapes up at the mechanic, who carefully brings Korra’s legs over to lay on the bed comfortably. Asami’s green eyes sparkle as she observes the other girl’s dramatics.

   “But... You said that if I finish my food we could go out on a stroll,” Korra whines.

   “I said that about today. I never said the compromise would still be valid afterward.” Korra pouts and huffs. If she could, she’d probably be crossing her arms. Asami rolls her eyes, but can’t stop the fond smile that blossoms on her face. She giggles and pokes Korra’s cheek. “I was just teasing. Of course we’ll go on walks after you eat.”

   Ocean blue eyes immediately light up and pearly white teeth shine. “Yes! Thanks, ‘Sami. You’re the best.” Asami’s heart flutters and she has to resist the impulse to lean down and kiss Korra’s forehead. What is going on? She wonders as she adds the reaction to the pile of inexplicable urges to show affection that she’s put pins in to evaluate later. After getting the bedridden captain to take her medicine, Asami turns off the room light and turns on the bedside lamp, sits down on the chair beside the bed, and picks up a book to read while she waits for Korra to go to sleep.

   When the patient finally falls asleep, her caretaker gets up and notices that pressed against the wall was a small cushioned bench that had been brought in from the hallway. On it lay a pillow on a folded blanket and next to the stack is a neatly folded change of pajamas with a pack of makeup removal wipes, a washcloth, a toothbrush, and toothpaste sitting in a cup. Asami sets her book down on her chair as she gets up and makes her way over to the bench. She notices a slip of paper sitting on the pillow.

“ I thought that you’d want to stay close to her, just in case, for her first coma-free night, so I bugged Kuvira and Bolin to bring in the bench while I got the other stuff. We’re just a call away if you need anything! Good night!

~ ♡ Opal ”

   Asami smiles at the note and makes a mental one of her own to thank the trio and give Opal a hug. With a yawn, she goes through her bathroom routine and settles down onto the bench after one last check on Korra. She lets out a sigh of relief as she relaxes and slips into a dream.