Chapter Text
Warm days at the South Pole weren’t exactly what Asami was accustomed to. Still, there certainly wasn’t any lack for beautiful views and when the sun was shining, Harbor City was always lively.
It was a good day, they had experienced more good days than bad lately, which had Asami feeling better in general.
“Mako sent a letter.” Asami said, staring off at a few kids throwing snow at one another.
Korra groaned. “His letters are so boring.” She said, laughing a bit. “I’m glad he writes but I don’t care about the weather.”
“Sunny,” Asami started, mimicking his voice. “Seventy-four degrees. Possible chance of rain tomorrow, according to the radio.”
“We shouldn’t poke fun,” Korra laughed. “We both dated him.” Korra groaned as she strained to look up at Asami above her “You know the worst part about all this is that we can’t talk to each other.” Korra said.
Asami stopped pushing and glanced down. “We’re talking right now.” She grinned.
“I know, but it's…awkward.” Korra shrugged, reaching down to shift one of her legs a bit.
“I thought awkward was your specialty?” Asami teased, leaning down to whisper into Korra’s ear. “I mean I did catch you staring at my butt when I was cooking you dinner last night.”
Korra’s face went completely red. “I—I wasn’t.”
“Oh Korra,” Asami kissed her cheek. “Your mom saw you doing it too.”
“Spirits,” Korra buried her face in her hands and Asami continued pushing her towards their destination. “You know I’m sitting down all the time so I’m like…always at eye level with butts!” Korra defended. Asami bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Just butts, all the time. Right in my face.”
“Yes, but Korra, I was halfway across the room when you were looking at my butt.”
With a huff, Korra crossed her arms and pouted. “Fine, then I’ll never look at your butt again.”
As they reached a newsstand, Asami stopped pushing again and squeezed Korra’s shoulder. “We both know that’s not true,” she said, but was a bit distracted by the varying newspapers and magazines staring back at her.
Asami felt Korra grab her hand and give it a soft squeeze. Her grip was nothing compared to what it used to be. Once strong enough to hold the world together, now barely enough to keep a tight hold on her utensils when she ate. It was little things like that which always brought Asami back down to earth when it came to Korra, reminding her far Korra still had to go.
Korra said something, but Asami didn’t hear it. Instead her eyes dropped onto the latest newspaper from Republic City. There was a picture of a man, standing proudly next to President Raiko in front of a very large construction site.
REPUBLIC CITY RECONSTRUCTION — OVERSEEN BY NEW CEO OF FUTURE INDUSTRIES
It would have been easier to turn around and keep moving, but Asami couldn’t help herself. She reached out and grabbed the paper, reading the short teaser article on the front page.
President Raiko has been singing the praises of Future Industries for weeks leading up to the start of reconstruction within the city. Newly appointed Future Industries CEO Ken Hayashi has been given the president’s full support — cont. p7
Asami knew it was fruitless to give any thought to this. It’s not as if she could go back and reclaim her—the company. She didn’t want to, her life was different now. Everything was different now.
She put the paper back on the newsstand and returned to Korra. “Any magazines you want?” Asami asked, looking down to see that Korra was staring at the same paper Asami had just put back on the shelf. “Korra?”
“Hmm,” This drew Korra’s eyes to her. “No, I—I’m okay.”
Asami smiled brightly. “Great, let’s go get some breakfast.”
Kumagoro was one of the more popular places to eat in the South. They served a wide variety of foods, mostly specializing in fish and noodles. The latter of which being Korra’s favorite meal at any given time in the day.
As they stepped inside, Asami scanned the area. It wasn’t overly crowded but it would be nice to put Korra somewhere out of the way, so no one tripped over her chair. She found a place toward the right side and stepped around Korra to move a chair out of the way. She then slid Korra up to the table before pushing the metal brakes into her tires.
“Do you want to take your jacket off? It’s kinda warm in here,” Asami asked, taking her own coat off.
Korra looked around a bit, Asami followed her gaze and saw another customer, an older man, at a table across the room glancing over at them. Asami made it a point to take a step between Korra and the man’s eyes.
“I’m okay,” Korra said softly.
Asami smiled down at her. “Korra, you’re a human heater. I know this place is too warm for you.”
“Oh alright,” Korra couldn’t help but smile at Asami’s stance above her. Hand on her hip, knowing Korra far too well. She lifted her arms and started pulling one out of the sleeve.
It was a delicate balance, to decide when to let Korra do things on her own and when to step in and help her. Korra was getting stronger, no doubt about that, but she had such a long ways to go. Asami wanted Korra to feel independent as often as possible. So she reached down and grabbed the end of the sleeve, holding it up as Korra slowly tugged her arm free.
Once the coat was off and Asami draped it across the back of Korra’s wheelchair, she turned back to see that the man was still sending glances in their direction.
Often times people would recognize Korra, but then immediately brush it off because Korra was the avatar, and the avatar couldn’t possibly be in such a state. It drove Asami crazy. It was the hardest part of going outside, for her: this idea that Korra wasn’t the same person because she was in a chair. The audacity that people would think less of her for it.
If Asami had to hear one more phone call on the radio about the world needing a ‘proper’ avatar she was going to lose her mind, because as she sat down across the table, she could only see Korra. Beautiful Korra who she cared about so much, sitting in her chair, reading through the menu even though she knew exactly what she was going order. Korra, just a girl, dealing with so much and fighting so hard, having to deal with the knowledge that the world was merely waiting for her so they could throw her to the wolves again.
Asami forced herself to stop, to focus on today and the fact that Korra wanted to go out and eat with her. It was a good day, she needed to treat it as such.
Just as Asami was about to announce her breakfast choice, Korra sat her menu down and sighed.
“Sami?” She was hesitant, her voice barely carrying across the table. “I saw the paper you were reading. The stuff about Future Industries.”
Asami smiled, setting her menu down. She shrugged. “It makes sense. The city needed refurbishing even before we left. Future Industries has the capabilities to do that.”
A sorrowed expression crossed Korra’s face, one Asami knew all to well. She sighed and lowered her head, dark hair falling across her face.
“Asami,” Korra looked up, her eyes shimmering. “Can I ask you a serious question? No brush off, no white lies. Just…tell me the truth?”
“Of course,”
Korra nodded, taking a deep breath. “Do you have any regrets about coming to the South with me? About giving up so much…for me?”
Asami gave a thoughtful look, staring into the blue eyes she’d come to know so well over the last six months.