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Korra bolted upright in bed when she heard a blood-curdling scream from the next room over. “Asami?” she called, jumping to her feet and ripping the door open. There was no immediate threat when she scanned the hallway, so, still in her fighting stance, the avatar slowly slid open the door to Asami’s temporary new bedroom.
The young engineer was sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, with a look of pure terror on her face. She always looked perfectly poised even after a serious battle, Korra had never seen her look so… vulnerable.
"Hey, Asami? Are you… feeling okay?" After sliding the door closed behind her, the avatar sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I - Korra! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake anyone, I was just having a nightmare." Asami slowly lifted her head. Her hair remained perfect as always, but she had taken off her makeup before bed. In the light from the open window, Korra noted that her friend looked paler than usual, sweat shining on her forehead.
"It was about your father, wasn’t it?" The other girl nodded. "Do you want to talk? I’m here for you." Asami didn’t answer right away, so Korra continued. "You said that to me, you know, after Zaheer poisoned me. I know I left soon after, but it meant a lot to me that you said that."
Asami scooted over, making room for Korra to sit next to her. The water tribe girl complied, the two women sitting shoulder to shoulder. “When you were recovering, did you ever get nightmares too?”
Korra nodded. “Of course! For a long time, I’d wake up screaming two or three times a night. Even after Zaheer went back to prison, I couldn’t move beyond what happened.”
The nonbender finally found her voice. “I keep seeing my father,” she said. “For so many years, he was the only person I could count on. Then I had to learn the hard way that I couldn’t trust him. And after over three years, just when I was learning to move on from what happened, Kuvira attacks and he dies saving me, and now I’m all alone and I just don’t know how I’m supposed to feel.”
Korra put an arm around her. “Hey, it’s okay not to know. You’ve been through so much, and you’ve always stayed strong and composed, but it’s okay to be hurt. It’s okay… to not be okay.” Spirits, Asami still looked beautiful even with tears down her cheeks. It made Korra physically hurt to see her upset like that. Without thinking about it, she leaned up to kiss the taller girl’s cheek. “I know what it’s like to feel alone, believe me. But you’ve still got people who care about you.”
"Thank you so much for asking Tenzin to let me stay here for a while," Asami told the avatar, a trace of a smile appearing on her face. "I couldn’t face going back to my dad’s mansion."
"Of course. Asami, you took care of me when I was at my absolute lowest. This is the least I could do." She wrapped her arms around the other girl in a tight embrace. "There’s still a couple of hours left before the morning. We should both try to get some sleep. Don’t hesitate to wake me if you need me for anything." Korra let go of Asami and stood up, hesitant to leave the other girl alone.
"Hey, Korra?" Her voice was barely a whisper. The avatar froze and spun around. "Would you mind… staying with me?"
A deep blush had blossomed across the engineer’s face as she realized the implications of what she had asked. “You don’t have to, I… I just meant like….” She signed, turning away to face the wall. “I don’t know if I can fall back asleep if I’m just alone in here with my thoughts. I’m sorry, forget I-” She stoped talking off when a pair of strong arms enfolded her.
"Of course," whispered Korra into her ear. "I’m here for you."
Asami fell asleep to the sound of Korra’s heartbeat. For the first time in a week, she slept peacefully.