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Asami was meant to leave for two weeks. Not two years.
But she’d been gone for more than even that now, and Korra didn’t know how to cope.
It should have been her, was all she could think. She was the Avatar. She should have been the one going through this right now.
But they’d taken Asami instead, as a threat, as a warning, as a bargaining chip, and Korra had been too slow. Too slow, and the poison that had been meant for her... well, there’d been more than enough to go around. Asami had almost died.
It meant nothing that Korra had saved her in the end. She had failed her.
It should have been me.
But it hadn’t been. So Asami had gone to the pole to be healed by Katara... and she hadn’t come back. And she hadn’t written, either.
Korra wrote to her all the time.
Dear Asami,
How are you feeling? I hope you’re getting better. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I know you might not want to talk, and that’s okay, but I’m here if you do...
Dear Asami,
I miss you. It’s not the same in the city without you. How are you feeling? Things are going well here. They’re trying to redesign the city’s infrastructure around the Spirit Wilds, and I’m helping with the spiritual side of it, so I’ll be keeping pretty busy for a while...
Dear Asami,
This might be weird for you to hear, but there’s something I need to tell you. I think that I might
what I’m trying to say is
I think I might be
She’d never sent letters telling Asami how she felt, no matter how many times she’d written them. She couldn’t burden her with that right now. And anyway, if Asami didn’t feel the same, maybe she’d never come back at all. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t real. Korra loved her. She was in love with her. And she had been for a long time.
It had been two years and three months when Korra got a letter. She hardly dared to believe it... but who else would be writing her?
Dear Korra,
I’m sorry I haven’t written to you sooner, but every time I’ve tried, I never knew what to say. The past two years have been the hardest of my life. Even though I can get around fine now, I’m still not back to my old self. I keep having nightmares about what happened that day. Katara thinks a lot of this is in my head, so she’s been trying to get me to do mental and spiritual work, but sometimes I worry I’ll never fully recover.
Please don’t tell Mako and Bolin I wrote to you and not them. I don’t want to hurt their feelings, but it’s easier to tell you about this stuff. I don’t think they’d understand.
I miss you too.
Asami
Korra pressed the letter to her face. It even smelled like Asami, that perfume she wore which was unassuming but so familiar.
She realised she was about to cry and forced the tears down. Then she went to punch her feelings out, because that made more sense than any of this.
Asami was supposed to come home with Korra’s father when he came to visit. Korra had been on edge all day, waiting for the ship to pull in.
But now she stood on the docks and Tonraq was there, but no-one else was.
“Where’s Asami?” she asked, running to him.
“Asami? She left six months ago. Katara told us she thought she was ready to head home.”
“But she’s not here.” Korra sagged, hardly able to stay upright. What had happened? What if Asami’s plane had crashed? What if someone had captured her? What if...
A week after Asami had been meant to return home, and the entire world had been messed up. After Kuvira hijacked Wu’s coronation, and then decided to march on Zaofu, Korra’s hands had been full. She needed to head to Zaofu to help, but first, she needed a plan.
The airbender kids had headed out to find Asami, because everyone was scared for her, most of all Korra. And because they needed her help, her company and expertise, if this was going to become war. Frankly, Korra couldn’t care less if Asami came back to say she was dissolving Future Industries entirely, so long as she was home. The interim CEO of her company could help win a war, but only Asami could make Korra feel complete again.
Korra was sat in the meditation gazebo, gazing out across the water, when she heard the familiar noises of an air bison coming in towards land. She looked up uninterestedly. The bison came back and forth from the island all the time, carrying airbenders home from errands across the world.
She could see three of the Air Nation on this bison, and someone else. Someone...
Korra was up and running before she’d made the conscious decision even to move. When her brain caught up, she used an air scooter instead, heading down from the cliff at a ridiculous pace.
At this distance, she’d hardly been able to tell who the airbenders were, but she would have known Asami anywhere, just by her outline.
Korra stood in wait impatiently, hardly able to keep still. The bison came into land, and Asami was jumping off before it had even stopped, and running towards her.
She paused in front of Korra, looking almost sheepish. Her hair was different, Korra noticed. She’d cut it so that it only reached to her shoulders. And she wasn’t wearing lipstick. Or red and black. She was dressed in Earth Kingdom clothes. And none of that mattered in the slightest, because she was Asami .
“I saw you waiting down here. I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”
“Yeah, just three years,” Korra joked, and almost tackled her in a hug.
Asami held on to her.
“It’s great to see you again,” Korra said into her shoulder.
“You too.”
They pulled back to stare at each other.
“And I love your hair!” Korra added.
Asami reached up to touch it and blushed. Korra’s brain froze. She blushed. Why did she blush?
“Thanks. You’re looking... amazing, as always.”
Okay, what was happening?
The air kids had rushed off to find their parents, which meant that Korra and Asami probably didn’t have long.
“Asami...” Korra’s heart was in her throat. “Whilst you were gone, I... there’s something I need to...”
Asami leant forward suddenly and kissed her. Korra barely had time to react before Asami pulled back, pressing her hands to her face.
“I’m so sorry. Korra, I didn’t mean...”
“Wh... why are you apologising?” Korra asked, dazed and confused.
Asami’s eyes lit up with... something. “You mean...”
“I... I love you, Asami.”
A slow smile spread across the other girl’s face. “You do?”
“Ugh, I didn’t mean to say it like that.” Korra buried her face in her hands.
Asami took her hands away from her face gently. “Korra, it’s all right. I love you too. Obviously.”
This time, she kissed her for real, and the world and Kuvira and the war and the doubts and the fear just melted away. It was just her and Asami and their lips moving against each other and those words: I love you.
And then the sound of someone clearing their throat. They broke apart and Korra turned round awkwardly. Tenzin, Bumi and Pema were standing there, along with the kids. Tenzin looked completely shocked, although not in a judgmental way. Pema was smiling at them warmly. Bumi had his eyebrows raised but didn’t look all that surprised. Jinora had her hands over her mouth, but her eyes said ‘that’s adorable’. Ikki was hopping up and down for some reason. And Meelo looked bored and vaguely nauseated.
“Um... hi, everyone.” Asami was blushing again.
“It’s good to have you back,” Pema said kindly, before turning to her husband and waving a hand in front of his face. “Tenzin?”
“Yes, good to have you back, Asami. And... we’re happy for you both.” He looked extremely awkward. Korra almost felt sorry for him.
“So, is Mako in the city?” Asami asked after a few minutes, turning back to Korra. “I’d love to see him.”
“Yeah, he should be. In fact, let’s go over there now, before someone tells him you’re back and spoils the surprise,” Korra said.
“I guess we might as well.”
They said goodbye to the others and headed towards the bison. As they headed off the island, Asami grinned suddenly.
“Mako’s in for a shock.”
Korra turned her head to smile at her. “I hope he can cope with it.”
“Do you care if he can’t?”
Korra pretended to consider it. “Well, unless he decides he hates us, no. And even if he did... totally worth it.”
Asami laughed. “I really missed you. I’m sorry I was gone so long.”
“It’s okay. You’re home now.”
Asami’s face softened as she looked at Korra, her eyes filled with the kind of tenderness Korra had barely dared hope for. “Yeah,” she said, and there was more in her words than a simple acknowledgement of being physically home again. “I am.”