Chapter Text
One day after the Escape from Hiroshi Sato’s Hidden Factory
Asami couldn’t sleep. She was part of Team Avatar now, their main driver for their own taskforce to stop Equalists, a better one than Tarrlok’s. It was both exhilarating and not at all where she expected to end up. If she’d been told about this day three days ago, she wouldn’t have believed it. She switched to her right side, facing away from the moonlit window.
Her mind kept going back to that hidden factory under the mansion. She knew her father could be wrapped up in work a lot, but to build a hidden factory and make weapons for Amon? She couldn’t remember him doing much politically beyond meeting with the councils or president for contracts. Most of their conversations centered on engineering though sometimes he shared tales of his youth or when he started the company. How could she have missed his descent into hatred? Had they grown that much apart? It hurt to see him doing something so evil, creating weapons for Amon, knocking out Korra and her team, planning to take them to Amon. And he had the gall to ask her to join him in hurting the first real friends she ever had?
Betrayal. That’s what she felt. He had betrayed her and her mother’s memory. Hurt and anger simmered to a boiling point. She sat up, wrapped her robe around herself, and shuffled into her slippers. Quietly, she left her room and headed toward the study area of the women’s dormitory at Air Temple Island.
Muffled sounds of crying echoed from the room next to hers, and she stopped, realizing it was Korra’s room. She hesitated. Should she check on her? She recalled the look of sadness and kindness on Korra’s face when they found the passage to the hidden factory. She’d apologized when she didn’t need to, when it ought to have been Asami apologizing for not trusting in the Avatar. Then before their Team Avatar mission, Korra had been so worked up over her failure to airbend. Was it still bothering her?
She found herself knocking.
“Who … is it?” Korra’s voice sounded fragile.
“Me, Asami. Are you okay?” She felt a bit awkward since she had only just gotten to know the girl.
Silence at first. Asami started to move away from the door, but Korra’s voice stopped her. “Hey, you… you can come in.”
Asami slid open the door. Korra sat up in her bed, her hands clenched in her lap, and she looked away, toward the window. Shutting the door behind her, Asami walked to her bedside and sat on the edge of her bed. “Would you like to talk about it? Sometimes it helps.”
Korra rubbed at her face. “Angry at Tarrlok. Frustrated. And…” She sighed. “Seeing your father's mechs take out Tenzin, Beifong, the officers, and I… couldn’t stop it. Even Mako and Bolin couldn’t save us. I was scared we’d be taken to Amon.” Korra finally looked at Asami. Her face was still streaked with tears.
It shouldn’t have surprised her to see Korra in tears, but it did. The girl had seemed so strong, so invincible. Yet she was still just as human as Asami. “Feeling scared is okay. That was a pretty messed up situation.” Asami hesitated then decided that since Korra shared her feelings, she would too. “I’m not a bender, but even I find Amon scary. He’s hurt a lot of people. And his vision for the future is…” She grimaced. “A controlling, harmful, not equal mess.”
“Yeah, I don’t get why they call it equality,” Korra said.
Asami looked at her and was glad to see she’d stopped crying. Seemed calmer. “I guess they think if no one can bend, then that’s equal? But those mechs weren’t equal. They were monstrous. Seeing all of you scattered and mostly unconscious. It was a shock.”
“And yet you saved us,” Korra leaned forward, and her hand almost touched Asami’s. “That’s pretty amazing, you know. Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. It was the right thing to do.” Asami wondered if she ought to offer Korra a hug. The girl looked like she needed one.
Korra seemed to study her for a long moment. “Asami, how did you do it? I mean, that was your father. I don’t know if I could have if I’d been in your shoes.”
Asami looked down at her hands. The hurt from her father's betrayal clawed at her heart. “One of the few things I remember about my mother was her kindness. She wanted to help people. That’s what I want too. I thought Dad did, but seeing him there, all of you hurt…” The image of them sprawled on the ground, how the Equalists had started to round them, how Korra had been not fully conscious, and Asami suppressed a shiver.
Korra gently touched her shoulder, but then drew her hand away uncertainly.
For a moment, they looked at each other. Asami felt she ought to give a better response to Korra’s question. She sighed, frustrated with how words seemed suddenly difficult. Her thoughts that night hadn’t centered on her father or his reasoning. Nor did she think of her stance on the Equalists. Instead, she’d been thinking of Korra, Mako, and friends. How they didn’t deserve this. “I did what was right, Korra,” she said, firmly. “There wasn’t any other choice I could make.”
“But that’s really awesome of you. And badass. I mean, you took them out in seconds!” The awe in Korra’s voice surprised Asami.
The Avatar was in awe of her, a nonbender? This girl was no shortage of surprises. She adjusted the equation in her head: she felt no jealousy or anger at Korra for liking Mako too; her frustration was with Mako only. When it was just the Korra and her, she liked it. Mako’s confusing actions complicated things. She’ll have to confront him sometime about where he stood with the two of them.
Asami smiled. “If you’d like to see it again, we could spar sometime.”
Korra grinned. A smile that lit her entire face and body. It was adorable really. “You’re on.” She looked ready to jump out of bed that instant.
Asami laughed. “Korra, it’s the middle of the night. How about we do it tomorrow before we do another Team Avatar mission? Then we’ll find out if you can beat me.”
“Oh right.” Korra cocked her head and raised her eyebrows. “You really think you can best the Avatar?”
“Mmmm, yes. Though no bending in our sparring. I want to see your moves.” The idea of sparring with the Avatar excited Asami in ways that surprised her.
Korra nodded. “Sounds perfect.”
Asami took the chance and squeezed Korra’s shoulder. Again she wondered if a hug was okay, but the moment for that had passed. “Get some rest. You’ll need it to beat me.”
“Right, I think you’ll need yours more.” Korra still grinned, but there was a bit of cockiness to it now.
“We’ll see.” Asami stood and quietly left the room. Talking with Korra had helped her a bit too. She headed to her room, and this time, when she laid down to rest, she actually fell asleep.
***
Next day.
After breakfast, Asami offered to help wash dishes. Pema never fully declined but she never fully accepted either. It didn’t feel right to not help, so Asami rinsed and dried while Pema scrubbed. Her mind was still on her offer to spar with Korra, and she realized that she was looking forward to it.
“How are you settling in?” Pema asked. “I know it’s not been easy for you.”
Asami looked at her startled and touched by her asking. “It’s okay. Nothing here reminds me of my father, which is a bonus.” She saw Pema start to open her mouth, but Asami did not want to talk about her father. “I asked Korra to spar with me today. Figured it’d be a good outlet for us both.”
Pema looked at her, her head tilted slightly as if thinking. Suds bubbled around her hands, and she handed off a soapy plate to Asami. “Korra can be a bit… intense when she fights.”
That slight pause said a lot. Asami rinsed the plate and dried it. “I can be too. Only rules is no bending.” She placed the plate on the stack.
“Why don’t you go ahead then?” Pema lifted out a cup from the sudsy water and rinsed it. “I can finish this. Only two dishes left anyway.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Asami dried her hands and turned to go.
“No thank you. We’re glad to have you here.” Her words warmed Asami’s heart. Both Tenzin and Pema had said that to her now. She realized no one had ever said that to her. Being the daughter of a rich businessman and engineer, most people played the socialite game of getting close to her to get to her father. A game she understood and had been taught to play but secretly despised. It was refreshing to be able to just exist with Korra and her friends.
“I’m grateful to be here.” Asami headed out of the kitchen, through the dining area, and into the rock garden. A few clouds clustered on the south-eastern horizon, and the sky burned a bright blue. A chill was in the air, but she wore her Future Industries jacket, so it kept her from shivering at least.
“Hey!” Korra was running down a path to her left. She couldn’t quite see where the path went, but it was somewhat steep. “Asami! I was gonna go grab you from Pema! Wanna spar now?”
“Sure!” Asami waved with a smile. The excitement in Korra’s voice was contagious. Korra skidded to a halt by the garden. “Where’s the best place?”
“This way.” She motioned for Asami to follow and led her down the rightmost path further from the dormitories and nearer the middle of the island. Bits of grass and flowers grew between the rocks along the path, and birds chattered and sang from a few stunted trees. Peaceful place, Asami liked it.
The path opened up into a courtyard with a ring of sandy gravel in the center and benches on the sides. A few supplies were situated in a crate by one of the benches. Korra flipped it open and tossed her some sparring equipment. She caught it and donned the padding for her arms and legs and wrapped her hands and wrist. Made from solid fabrics, good quality too, though the colors were that signature air bender combination of yellow and bright orange. She still wasn't entirely sure what to think of the palette.
“Prepared to be beaten?” Asami said as she stepped into the ring.
“Nah, it’s you, Sato, that’s going down.” Korra challenged with that cocky grin.
Asami smiled and settled into her fighting stance. She watched Korra’s movements, the flex of her muscles, and anticipated Korra’s rush forward. She lightly dodged, swung her body into the movement to gain momentum, and caught Korra’s arm, tossing her to the ground.
The girl shoved up and onto her feet. “Okay, you’re fast.” Korra adjusted her stance.
This time Asami bounded forward. She needed to get close to fully takedown an opponent. Korra blocked her punch, barely dodged her kick, but then retaliated with her own flurry of blows. Asami blocked a few, but then twisted to the side, dropped low, and swiped her leg at Korra’s knees. It knocked the feet out from under the Avatar, and Asami wasted no time in grappling her in a pin.
“Okay, okay! You win this round.” Korra grumbled from her arms. Her pout was absolutely adorable.
Asami released her and stood. “Can’t tell if you went easy on me or not.” She helped Korra to her feet.
Korra smiled sheepishly. “At first maybe, but that throw to the ground convinced me not to. Do you wanna do another? Maybe whoever wins the most in three gets…” She paused and tugged at her wolf tail. “Some sort of reward?”
With a laugh, Asami settled into her fighting stance again. “So if I win, I get to decide?”
Korra nodded. “And I’ll decide if I win.”
“You’re on.” Asami was glad she’d suggested this. It really helped release her frustrations and anger over the past few days, plus the practice would help prepare them both for their Team Avatar missions.
Asami slowly circled to Korra’s left. Korra responded by circling to the right. She carefully watched Korra, noted how her body moved, and again, saw the tensing of Korra’s legs right before she sprinted forward. Asami dodged the sprint punch with a tight roll to the left, bounded up to her feet, and ducked below Korra’s retaliating kick.
Back and forth the pair danced, sometimes landing punches or kicks, but other times successfully blocking or dodging. Sweat dampened Asami’s hairline. With Korra going all out and her pushing herself, Asami realized they were evenly matched. She’d have to adjust her tactics then.
Using her momentum, she sprinted forward, ducked under Korra’s attack, and swept her trajectory around her opponent, grabbing Korra’s arm. She flipped them both into the air, and they landed with a crash on the ground, Asami on top. She quickly grappled Korra before the Avatar could wrestle her way out.
“Woah.” Korra looked dazed. “That was kind of cool.”
“Glad you think so,” Asami said with another smile. “That’s two out of three.”
Korra pouted. “Oh, fine. You win, but…” For a moment, the two looked at each other, their faces so close. Asami realized she was still on top of Korra, and her heart was beating way too fast. Korra’s cheeks were flushed again, and she cleared her throat a bit. “…I still want that last match. Gotta get one win in!”
Her words broke the spell, and Asami released the hold and staggered to her feet, a bit embarrassed. “Okay. One last match.” Her heart was starting to calm down now that she was no longer on top of her friend.
Korra grasped her hand and leveraged herself to her feet. Again, their hands lingered in the touch, until Korra pulled away and took a deep breath. “All right. Focus time.” That cocky grin returned in full force. “Ready?”
Asami stretched her arms and legs and settled back into her stance. “Ready.”
Korra wasted no time and let loose an intense barrage of blows and kicks. Asami dodged and blocked, barely able to get in a punch or kick. She was pushed backward toward the edge of the ring. As Korra swept in for a hook shot, Asami dived under the blow into a roll to the left. Using her momentum, she swept up to her feet and kept her pace fast. Korra pivoted and rushed forward, her arm muscles tensed, her right arm moving backward to prepare for the swing. Asami leapt to the left to dodge the blow, and rammed hard into Korra’s side to flip her once again.
This time, Korra was prepared and pushed off the ground to tackle Asami. They crashed to the ground in a tumble. Korra was much, much stronger than her however, and the tackle had caught Asami on her weaker side. She soon found herself pinned under Korra. Her breath caught in her throat at once again how close they were. Those pretty blue eyes looked at her, and Korra’s cocky grin widened in triumph.
“Finally!” Korra laughed. She hadn’t moved off of Asami yet. “Got one win!”
“Match still goes to me,” Asami reminded the Avatar.
“Right, right.” Korra pushed herself up and helped Asami to her feet. “That was way fun. We should do this more often!”
“Yes. Let’s.” Asami dusted herself off and basked in that emotion of feeling like she belonged. It was unusual, new, and she liked it. “Since I won, I think for my reward…” she paused and studied Korra thoughtfully. The Avatar seemed to enjoy fast paced activities, fights, and exploring the city. “I’d like to ride Naga with only you. Destination up to you. As a compromise to the fact you won the last match.”
Korra looked surprised at first, then she smiled. “Okay. You got it.” She looked like she was about to say something else when Ikki’s voice sounded behind them.
“Kooooorrraaa!”
They turned to see the young girl rush into the sparring ring. “Dad is looking for you!” She skidded to a stop and looked them over. “Whatcha doing?”
“Sparring. Asami beat me twice,” Korra admitted, while she took off the equipment and dumped it in the crate. “But I won the last match!” The pride in her voice was endearing.
“Ohh! Can I watch next time?” Ikki asked, excited.
Korra looked at Asami with raised eyebrows. Was she checking if it was okay? Asami found the expression hard to read. “If you don’t mind Korra, I don’t either.” That seemed a good compromise. She honestly didn’t care who watched. All her focus was in the fight, not spectators, otherwise it’d be easy to lose track of the opponent and lose. She undid the wraps and dropped the rest of the gear into the crate.
That cocky grin returned. “I don’t mind. I think Meelo would have fun too. Grab him next time, Ikki.” The young girl pouted a bit at her brother’s name.
Asami put one hand on her hip. “And you can pay up my reward later then.” The last time she’d tried to ride Korra’s animal companion was the first mission of Team Avatar, when they all got on Naga, and the polar-bear-dog responded by laying down. Asami had been a little relieved as she much preferred the car. Yet, part of her was curious what it’d actually feel like riding with Korra.
Korra gave her a thumbs up. “You betcha. See you soon!” She turned to the younger girl, who had been watching them with that piercing look the child got. Likely filing away the exchange to gossip about it later. “Come on, Ikki! Let’s go find Tenzin.”
***
After lunch.
Mako sat next to her in the den near the dining area of the building. She was trying to read a history book from the den’s library, but he was being distracting with his light touches on her leg. Despite dating him for a few weeks now, she found herself reluctant to get intimate with him again. The few times they had, it had been quick and satisfying for him, but very much not so for her. To make the matter worse, watching how Mako was with Korra made her even less inclined in finding a solution to that problem. Then there was the Team Avatar missions to distract them both. And also, if she was honest with herself, Korra had distracted her too.
“How are you doing with everything?” Mako asked. His expression was as usual fairly stoic, but the warmth of concern colored his tone.
She looked up from her book and studied his face. He looked a bit worn down himself. It had been a long day yesterday. “With what?”
He waved his hand vaguely. “This. Your father. Team Avatar missions. Tarrlok.”
“Mako,” she said, touched by his concern. “I’m not ready yet to talk about my father. Right now, the most important thing is us planning how to beat the Equalists.”
Mako nodded at her words. “Right.” He looked thoughtfully toward the den’s door. “Maybe we could have another date. Relax a bit. We have been working really hard lately.”
“That sounds nice.” A date could be a good outlet to distract her from the pain of her father’s betrayal. She leaned toward him and lightly touched his arm.
Korra bounded into the room. “Hey!” She looked at Mako and Asami, both of still leaning close to each other. She paused and stiffened a bit.
“What’s up?” Mako asked.
Korra looked a bit uncomfortable. “Are you two ready for another mission?”
Asami put down the book and stood. “Always. Let me grab my gear.”
***
After Korra is rescued from Tarrlok (Episode: Turning the Tides)
Asami yanked her hand away from Mako’s. “Well there might not be any relationship to worry about later.” She stormed past him and out of the kitchen. She couldn’t believe him! He got angry at Bolin for sharing the truth and had the gall to try to lie yet again about his feelings? If he’d been honest about the kiss and where he stood with her and Korra, then they could have talked through this and figured out a way forward that was better for them both. But no, he took the route of attempting to avoid accountability.
As she stepped into the hallway, she slid to a stop. Korra stood not far from the doorway to the doors to dining area and kitchen. Had she heard any of it? “Hey, Asami.” She looked a little better; the dark circles under her eyes weren’t as prominent. “I gotta get outside for a bit. Did… you want to come with?”
The offer startled her. “Don’t you need rest?”
Korra waved away the thought. “Remember that reward? Let’s do it now.”
Asami had almost forgotten about their sparring match. “Sure.” She followed Korra outside, glad to leave the house before Mako finished sulking in the kitchen.
“Riding Naga always helps me feel better.” She led Asami down the path to where Naga was sniffing in some bushes by the edge of the sparring ring. “Hey Naga!” She ran up and rubbed her polar-bear dog’s fur. “You know Asami, don’t you?” Korra gestured for the engineer to join her.
Asami gingerly reached out to pat the fur of the massive beast and was surprised to find it was fairly soft.
Korra helped Asami onto the polar-bear-dog’s back then took the front and grasped the reins. “Hold on.”
Asami grasped her waist, and Korra flicked the reins. Naga sprinted the mountain paths, up and down the inclines. The wind whistled in her ears, her hair swept behind her, and the way the polar bear dog bounded was exhilarating. After Naga started up a trail they'd already traversed, Korra re-directed Naga to the pagoda. She slid off and helped Asami down. “So, I know it was a short ride, but what did you think?”
Asami rubbed the fur behind Naga’s ear, which the beast seemed to enjoy. “It… was smoother than I expected. I take it you’d go much faster if you had more space? I bet that would be thrilling.”
“Of course!” Korra leaned against the railing of the pagoda. “I also wanted to get away from the house. I felt… crowded.” She sighed. “And I get why. I mean, I was locked in a box for quite some time.” Naga settled beside her, and Korra absently rubbed her head.
“Wait, inside a box?” The image was repulsive and made Asami hate Tarrlok even more. “Inhumane monster.” She leaned against the railing on the other side of Korra.
Korra nodded and looked toward the city on the other side of the bay. “Understatement! Asami, bloodbending is more horrible than I'd thought. Having no control like that? And then stuck in there? I panicked at first, but then remembered something Tenzin said about figuring out that vision from Aang. So I meditated hard. And I finally saw the full vision, how Aang had to deal with Yakone, Tarrlok’s father. He was trying to warn me about Tarrlok. I should have figured this out earlier! Ugh,” her words held a slight bitter tang to them. “I hated feeling so helpless. When Tarrlok came back, that’s when I realized you all confronted him. But how'd you know? No way he'd have admitted it to any of y’all. And Tenzin didn’t say.”
The word bloodbender chilled Asami still. “Tarrlok claimed Equalists took you. Planted evidence even. Lin broke Mako, Bolin, and I out of jail to help search for you. We went pretty deep under the city directly into the Equalists' lair.” She described the search but carefully left out all mention of her talk with Bolin about Mako. When she told Mako she liked Korra, she meant it. Her anger was all toward Mako, not Korra, and she wanted Korra and her to be friends. “Tarrlok knocked us all out with his bloodbending.”
Korra pounded her fist into her hand. “Maybe I could have avoided this whole thing if I’d figured out the vision sooner!”
“Korra,” Asami interrupted, gently. “What’s happened, happened. And Tarrlok got what was coming to him.”
Korra groaned but smiled too. “Don’t go sounding like Tenzin! One of him is enough.”
Asami pictured more than one Tenzin and felt the urge to laugh. “Okay, yeah, one is enough. But Korra, think, you did it! You connected with Aang. That’s amazing.”
Her friend’s smile widened into a grin. “Yeah, I did.” She sighed. “Except, we’re running out of time, Asami. How are we going to defeat Amon? Tenzin felt sure he was entering his endgame.”
The problem bothered Asami immensely. She’d been tossing ideas around in her head ever since her father betrayed them, but each day, sometimes each hour, revealed more information that upset the equation’s balance. Her mind tended to seek solutions, and not able to find one irritated her. “We’ll think of something. And you won’t have to do this alone. You got us.”
“I know.” Korra looked down the path toward the house. “I guess I still feel like the worst Avatar. It’s really hard to shake that thought.”
Asami remembered Korra’s outburst earlier that week. How all of them had reassured her and came up with the idea of Team Avatar missions. Even though they’d known each other a few weeks, Korra kept surprising her with how much she cared, how hard she fought to do the right thing, and how she persevered despite the odds. “I’ll repeat what I said last time. You’re amazing, Korra, and I think you can do anything you put your mind to. If those thoughts do come back, let me know. I’ll gladly keep repeating that truth.”
“Thanks, Asami. You’re pretty awesome too.” Korra smiled and jerked her thumb at Naga. “Wanna head back? Probably should plan Team Avatar’s next move.”
“Good idea.” Asami walked beside Korra, while Naga bounded off ahead. The path to the house wasn’t far, and up ahead, she could see Mako and Bolin in the rock garden. She’ll have to do her best to put aside her anger at Mako to better support Korra and her mission.