Fanon:Chapter 2 - Halfway Gone (SM)

"Halfway Gone" is the second chapter of , showing Asami's take on the events that she saw happening during Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding.

Previous on Smoke and Mirrors
''Mako confronted Korra about her feelings for Asami, something the Avatar thought would be a surprise to all if she would ever dared to admit to them out loud. However, since Korra was having difficulties accepting Mako's claim that Asami felt the same way, Mako decided to show that Asami was jealous whenever someone got close to Korra and kissed the Avatar in front of the Sato heiress, causing her to run off. Although the action enraged Korra, the unwanted kiss and Lin Beifong's explanation helped her to realize that there was truth to Mako's words, and she decided to confront Asami about it.''

Chapter 2 - Halfway Gone
Asami was the perfect socialite. From the moment she could walk and speak, she had been trained to thrive in the world of the high society. As a diligent scholar with a bright mind and natural curiosity, she was perfectly equipped to carry on conversations ranging from the intricacies of the law and politics to the principles of architecture and engineering and to the frivolous tactics of pro-bending. In addition to her fine education, she was witty and clever, could coin an amusing pun, and her vocabulary was both extensive and eloquent. She knew how to entertain dignitaries and interest royalty. In short, Asami Sato was an accomplished conversationalist who had mastered every kind of etiquette there was to master ... But for the love of Raava and everything good in the world, if Wu dragged her into another dance that involved his hands roving over her body, she swore she would punch him in the face. So as he turned to signal the band for another tune, she seized her chance to escape.

Making her way swiftly through the crowd, Asami could not wait to find Korra. After the wedding ceremony, they had gotten separated; she had been dragged onto the dance floor by Meelo while Korra had to talk to some dignitaries. Asami smiled wistfully to herself. The work of the Avatar was never done, but it would be nice if they could just spend some time truly alone for once. Especially with everything that had happened lately—the preparations for Kuvira's trail, her father's funeral, the business meetings about the rebuilding of the city—Asami felt like it had been months since they had found some time to themselves. It had been way too long since their last meaningful conversation, even longer since she had laughed, and more importantly, it had been the longest since she had seen Korra laugh until she could not breathe anymore. The memory of Korra with tears of joy in her eyes splayed out over the rug in her living room, clutching her sides, filled Asami with undeniable warmth.

Asami had come to terms with liking Korra as more than a friend years ago. It had taken Korra leaving her behind in Republic City for her to truly realize how much the Avatar ment to her. As the engineer that she was, she had spent many of those lonely nights dissecting her feelings over a bottle—or several—of red wine, sitting on that same rug in her living room. She had picked apart the tight bubble that enclosed her heart whenever the Avatar had touched her, even by accident, the joy she felt when she thought of the woman, and the comfort that would cradle her when Korra was with her. Dissembling each part, analyzing it on itself and as a whole with the rest, had led her to conclude that liking Korra as more than a friend was the only plausible option. That she appreciated Korra's aesthetic beauty had been easy to admit, everyone with eyes in their heads could admit to that. But owning up to a sexual attraction? That had required the additional bottles and several back and forth discussions with herself.

During one of her many talks with Sir Barolo and Madam Murua, Asami confessed this all in writing to Korra. In writing! Undeniable proof of her attraction on paper! Luckily, it had been the middle of the night, and the next morning Sober Asami had had the clarity of mind to reread the letter Drunk Asami had written before actually mailing it. While she could admit that Drunk Asami had told the truth ... Sober Asami lacked the courage to be that open, that vulnerable. She had been terrified of the idea that if Korra didn't feel the same way, she may never come back and remain in the South forever.

Asami lightly shook her head to bring herself out of her head and back to the present. With a renewed focus, it did not take her long to spot Korra standing off to the side with Mako. It was funny, now that she had embraced her attraction, she could not stop marveling at the natural beauty of the Avatar, leaving her to wonder why it had taken her so long to notice. What struck her as even more amusing, to the point where she could not stop a bright smile from playing on her lips, was the fact that Korra just blanked out Mako. How had she ever been attracted to him when there was also Korra?

When there was also Korra.

That was still the question though. Was Korra there for her the way that she wanted her to be? Korra had returned to the city and thus left Sober Asami without any excuses to not set out on a journey to get answers. By now, Asami was fairly certain that she and Korra were on the same page when it came to their "relationship". After all, the Avatar was a lot of things but "subtle" had never been among them. Especially when they had met again for the first time at the restaurant after three years ... Asami could have sworn that Korra had blushed upon praising her looks—not when she had complimented Korra on her hairdo, but only when Korra had complimented her appearance. One did not blush when complimenting "just a friend", right? Ever since then, Asami had searched for the right moment to test her findings, but it always seemed like something—Wu just had to be kidnapped—or someone—Tenzin just had to intervene during their talk at the gazebo, and she didn't even want to mention that bitch Kuvira—stood in her way.

But now, at a wedding—people were always in a more romantic mood at a wedding, right?—Asami had decided it was time to talk to Korra about it. She was done speculating over the possibilities; she needed some facts. Before the end of the evening, she would know where she stood with the Avatar. She would know if Korra shared her attraction. She would know—

Asami's thoughts vanished like snow in the sun. Her heart stopped beating. Her breath froze in her throat, for Mako was kissing Korra.

Mako was kissing Korra.

Mako was kissing Korra.

What was going on? What was he doing? What was she doing? What ... just WHAT?! Asami did not understand any of it. It was like the smoothly rotating gears of her Satomobile had suddenly jammed for no apparent reason. She could not figure it out. What she was seeing ... the facts she was getting ... it made no sense. Maybe she was seeing things. That was it. She was just seeing things. She should not have had that glass of the Earth Kingdom's finest rice wine, and she was hallucinating now. Or maybe Wu had twirled her too much, and she was just dizzy. There had to be something she was missing. Something that had twisted reality. Something that ... that ... just something, anything! She just could not have miscalculated that much about Korra. She was Asami Sato, one of the world's leading engineers. She simply did NOT miscalculate.

But ...

Mako was kissing Korra.

Asami's head felt like it was going to explode. She could not bear the image that kept rolling over her eyes like a broken mover. She could not process the data her senses were overloading her with. She had to get away. As if her feet made the decision on their own, Asami started to trot away as fast as the clack of her heels would allow.

It was only when she nearly ran into someone that Asami realized she was on the verge of crying, the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes clouding her vision. The notion struck her suddenly as ridiculous. No, just no. She was not going to cry about this. She had cried enough already in this lifetime, she was not going to do it now. Besides, considering her track record of "good luck", had she really expected things to go her way?

Asami came to a halt when she reached the shore next to the empty docks of the island and just stared at the skyline of her beloved city. She was a child of the concrete jungle, enthralled by the majestic beauty of its architecture. Now that the actual jungle had draped itself over the buildings with playful spirits dancing through the sky, Asami could not help but just stare. The golden shine of the new spirit portal gave the scene a surrealistic atmosphere. The peaceful sight in combination with the soothing beating of the waves of the bay effectively calmed her mind. Closing her eyes and breathing deeply, she turned to face the cool evening breeze, welcoming the chill caressing her cheeks.

Now that her mind's overload had been purged, a thought seeped through that made a humorless snort escape her lips. Of all the reasons she had thought of why she shouldn't tell Korra how she felt, Korra and Mako getting back together had not been among them. It had never even been a remote possibility. They had talked about Mako and their respective relationships with him profusely, and never would she have thought either of them would get back together with him ... Asami's bitter laugh ended in a deep sigh. How was it she always ended up in the same situation? Why could she never be the girl at the end of fairy tales who lived happily ever after? Why did she always seem to be the supportive bridesmaid who got stuck with the cleanup and the drunk uncle?

"Asami?"

Korra had whispered her name so softly that Asami nearly missed it, and for the first time in her life, she actually wished that she had missed it, that Korra had not come to find her. She just was not ready to face her yet. Seeing Mako's lips on Korra's had not just broken her mask, it had shattered it in a million pieces. She was not ready yet to face Korra, not ready to play the role of the supportive friend. Just ... not yet ...

"Asami?"

What was she going to do? That was actually redundant question. She knew perfectly well what she was going to do. She would do what she always did: she would be there for Korra and support her in any way she could.

Whether she was ready or not.

Trivia

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