Fanon:Chapter 5 - Hanging By A Moment (SM)

"Hanging By A Moment" is the fifth chapter of .

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TBA

Chapter 5 - Hanging By A Moment
Korra cleaved through the bay. The cold water stung her skin like a thousand needles, but she did not care. She just had to get away. Where she was going, she did not know, neither did she care, as long as it was away from the dock. Away from Asami. But no matter where her body would take her, her mind would not let the heiress go. Their last moments together were bouncing around before her eyes. She had done it, she had told Asami that she loved her, and Asami ... Asami had just stood there. Frozen in time and space. Sure, she had moved when Korra had started to walk away, but that was too little, too late. It had been excruciating to stand there ... She had bared her soul, she had taken the chance, risked everything they had...and for what? To be stared at like she had suddenly grown a second head?

Korra honestly did not know how she felt. Devastated? Furious? Hopeless? ... Lonely? Lost within herself, she was suddenly brought back to the present by a burning pain coursing through her numb fingers. Focusing on her surroundings, she noticed that she had scraped her hand over the rugged surface of a rock. At least the pain helped to clear some of her confusion, as now she was certain she was annoyed and angry about everything. Hoisting herself on the boulder, she broke through the surface and realized she had swam right into the base of Aang Memorial Island.

Brilliant. Just what she needed, to be reminded of what happened the last time she visited the island. Even though it had been four years, Korra would never forget the fear she had felt when Amon had approached her. Tenzin had found her in the aftermath, he had seen how broken Amon had left her, but she had never confided in him about the true depths of the damage the Equalist leader had inflicted. She had told no one about that, no one but ... Asami.

Korra walked inside the museum, looking at the paintings, relics, and scrolls of her past lives with unseeing eyes.

It had been the first real connection they had shared. After Korra had lost and regained her connection to Raava, she had tried to restore her connection to the past Avatars as well. When another long and fruitless meditation session had left her frustrated, Asami had suggested to move her next session to Aang Memorial Island, musing that the relics in the museum perhaps still contained some residue energy of that particular previous life, which could help her trigger the connection; Aang had done so decades ago with Kyoshi, so perhaps it could work for Korra too. Korra had thought the same before, but whenever she imagined meditating inside the museum, all she could see was Amon's masked face looming over her. Amon was gone and the Equalists defeated, but she never really dealt with how they had affected her; she could still feel his cold hand grip her neck and slip onto her forehead. The thought alone was enough to make her shiver, so when Korra tried to avoid the subject like she always did, Asami was the first to not be fooled by her bravado. The heiress had promptly sat her down and struck up a conversation about the Equalist leader and her father. She had confided in Korra how much she hated her father for what he had done but at the same time, she felt ashamed to admit that she still missed him dearly. It had pained her to say it out loud as she did not want him to still be on her mind, not after what he had put her through ... and had put Korra through. Korra had been so touched that Asami had dared to admit something like that to her. She had felt closer to the heiress than ever before and quickly discovered that confiding in her was one of the easiest things ever. Even more, it had felt so good, not just to get her fears about Amon off her chest, but to really know, to really experience that there was someone like Asami there for her, someone who listened without judging, someone who did not expect her to be the strong Avatar all the time, someone ... someone who just saw her as Korra.

Korra passed a serene painting of Kyoshi with her daughter Koko, followed by a brightly colored one of Roku with Ta Min and Rina. Would there ever be such a picture of her decorating those halls? Would she ever have such a happy family as her predecessors? She came to a halt before a large picture of a smiling couple surrounded by their three children. Aang and Katara had been together nearly their entire lives ... Korra's gaze halted on the young face of her waterbending mentor. Perhaps that was it. Katara had been Aang's soul mate, and he had been hers. And now that he had been reincarnated into Korra, Korra could never have a soul mate of her own, since Katara was still alive. She would never be able to find an epic love like theirs ... She scowled at her old mentor. It was not fair! She did not wish Katara dead, not at all, she loved the woman like she was her own grandmother, but it was just not fair! She felt her blood heat, and the rage behind the thought assaulted her like venom.

"Korra?" Asami's voice bounced through the deserted halls of the museum, and the anger inside Korra roared at the sound. "Can we talk?"

"No." Korra's temper had been tested the entire night; first with Mako kissing her, then with Asami's deafening silence, and now with the realization that she would never have the soul mate her past lives had. Enough was enough. "There's nothing left to talk about. Please just leave me alone."

It remained silent in the museum. Asami did not speak, but she did not leave either.

"Seriously? You're just going to stand there?" Korra blurted out the words, Asami's silence once again being like oil on the flames of her fury. "Fine, then I'll leave!"

As Korra marched toward the exit, Asami defiantly blocked her path. "No, you don't. This has all been a huge misunderstanding. We really need to talk."

"I don't want to talk anymore! There's nothing I have left to say!" Asami towered above her as she yelled to her face. Korra had always admired that tall elegance, but now it was just annoying.

"If you don't want to talk, that's fine. Just listen to what I have to s—"

"No! I don't care what you have to say, Asami! I gave you the opportunity to talk before, but you blew me off, so please, just let me be!" Korra knew she was lying, knew she would always care what Asami had to say, no matter what it was about. But right now, she just could not take it. She needed some time to recover. More than anything, Korra wanted to salvage the friendship she jeopardised with her stupid declaration of love, but in order to do that, she needed some time to piece herself back together. "Now move!"

Asami blinked at the angry pain in Korra's voice, though her eyes quickly narrowed in annoyance. "I did not blow you off! I just need some moments to process. If you could've been patient for once and stuck around, you would've heard me say that I lo—"

"I don't want to hear it!" Korra felt her anger spike and tried to bypass the heiress, though was backed into a corner when Asami blocked her path.

"Seriously, Korra, will you let me fini—!"

"Will you just let me go?!"

"NO!"

"Damn it, Asami!" She turned to leave again, but Asami gripped her by the arm and spun her around. Korra snarled and yanked her arm free, her anger swamping every last trace of rationality. "Let me go!" Korra hissed and slid into a combat stance. She did not want to fight, she just wanted, no, needed, to get away.

Asami stepped forward, her eyes blazing fiercely. "I can't, I won't let you go, not untill you lis—"

Korra screamed in frustration and leaped forward, causing Asami to stagger backwards. The heiress quickly came to a halt when she tensed her leg muscles, though that one second had been all Korra needed to push past her.

Asami did not relent, though, not this time. A second was all it took for Korra to make her move, but it also only took a second for Asami to react and give chase. Her long legs quickly carried her through the halls of the museum, catching up with Korra as they neared the exit of the building.

"This is not how I wanted to do this, but you're leaving me no choice!" The sudden heat in Asami's voice coming from right behind her smashed into Korra's own anger, and Korra yelped when Asami leapt at her. The two women crashed to the floor, rolling on top on each other as they fought for supremacy. Asami managed to twist slightly, and Korra ended up under her.

"Get off me!" Korra hissed, angry that she could not budge Asami off her; the heiress held her so tightly, it was almost as if her life depended on it. Korra could barely breathe, Asami lying completely on top of her, crushing her with her weight. "Before you couldn't move when I bared my soul to you, and now you won't give me the time I need to just fix what was broken. What is your deal, huh? I just don't—"

Korra blanched, as Asami's lips found hers, and instantly forgot what she was going to say. She could no longer think, no longer act, she could just feel. And oh did she feel. She felt Asami's rapid pulse hammering alongside her own. She felt her lips sliding over her own, so insistent, so soft. She felt Asami's breath slip inside her, warm, intoxicating ... seductive; it punched her core and made her heart lurch.

The most powerful woman in the world was rendered helpless, totally helpless, now that the Sato heiress had slipped her painted red lips over the Avatar's. Korra had been kissed before, even that same evening, but she had never felt anything like that. It was as if her whole body sparked with energy, an electric current rippling through her; it started from their lips and ignited every part of her, leaving a warm, tingling sensation it its wake.

When her mind started back up, forming something that resembled a cognitive thought, all she could think was that she never wanted to lose that feeling, never wanted Asami to stop.

But Asami did stop. Her long, soft hair brushed against Korra's skin, and although black strands obscured Asami's features from view, Korra could see her gazing down with emeralds that seemed to have liquified. "I'm sorry ... You just had to stop talking."

Korra reached up to tuck Asami's hair behind her ear, letting her hand linger on her cheek. "I won't say another word."

Trivia

 * The title song of this chapter can be listened to ***