#undaunted4

“It's been awhile since we've had some downtime, huh?” Korra sat down in the grass, stretching out her legs. She distractedly played with the pink petals that recently fell from the blossom tree on the ground beside her.

The wind blew steadily, teasing the jagged ends of her hair, and she smiled softly. “Yeah. Things have been crazy,” she murmured, as if answering to a question. “The only time we ever got any time to ourselves was when we were discussing plans to bring down another tyrant.” A light chuckle. “Hopefully we have more time to relax at least before the year is over.”

She closed her eyes and fell quiet, enjoying the cool autumn breeze pass over her bare arms. The sun was setting behind the city, covering the metropolis in a warm blanket of vibrant oranges and yellows. The hill she sat upon was almost completely tucked in the shadows cast by the sun, but was illuminated by the delicate hues of the rays of light.

"I guess you want to know what happened,” Korra said finally. She heaved a sigh, searching her mind. “Spirits, where do I start? Uh... Well, you and your dad were dodging blows from inside your Hummingbird. I finally managed to freeze Kuvira's mecha suit in place while you two moved in to make an opening inside.”

She sniffed and brought a knee up to rest her arm on. Her azure eyes stared out over the city, lazily sweeping over the roofs of the buildings. “I got out of the way and waited for your signal. I saw from where I stood that the opening was already halfway cut. It was only a matter of time before we could move out.”

Korra paused, her gaze fixated on Aang's statue in the distance. Her jaw set, she continued carefully, “Before I could tell the others to get ready, I heard a small crack. I looked back up and saw the mecha suit's arm break free... Everything else was a blur...

"... Next thing I knew, I was leading the others into the suit. I trusted that you knew what you were doing, so I continued on with the plan. A little difficult, but it wasn't long before we had Kuvira handcuffed and behind bars. Everyone was just in high spirits and I just wanted to find you. To celebrate with you...” She inhaled sharply and closed her eyes, biting down on her lip hard. “But when I went to find you... in the wreckage...”

Her hands clenched and unclenched compulsively; it suddenly became harder to breathe. Her lower lip trembled briefly before she whispered, “That was the only time in my entire life I couldn't bear to look at you...” She turned to her right, running her hands over the horizontal surface of the engraved, rectangular stone. She choked out a sob as her wobbly fingers brushed over the characters carved into the speckled headstone-- “Asami.”

A quiet chuckle, almost deranged passing from her lips, broke through the sudden stillness in the air. “Remember that night before I left for the South Pole, you told me how much you'd miss me? How you hoped I would get better? ... I remember you carrying me to bed and sitting in a chair next to me.” Another soft chuckle. “Yes, I remember that,” she murmured to the stone. “You didn't know I was awake to hear you tell me all those things. That you wished I hadn't told you that you couldn't come with me. That you never wanted me to leave even though I needed to. That you loved me... I heard that. I never forgot that you said that, even though you hesitated.

“Way back then, I knew what you wanted me to know. I knew how bad you wanted to tell me. I saw it every time you looked at me... and I never brought it up... Now I wish that I had...” She dropped her hand to the ground defeatedly, right over where Asami's mangled chest would be.

The wind grew stronger for a few seconds, ruffling Korra's hair violently in her face, and then grew steady once again, gentle against Korra's skin as light goosebumps arose on her arms. She paused and waited for the wind to calm down before she let herself break, face buried in her hands. She sniffled while unfruitfully wiping away tears from her eyes.

“Of course I love you,“ she sobbed into her hands. “I just... It's just... Spirits, where was the time?” She looked over at the headstone through blurry vision. “Now it's too late...”

As if in reassurance, another light breeze rustled the branches of the tree near her and carried a fully grown blossom to land beside Korra's foot. She looked over and picked it up, twisting it around by its pedicel as she examined it. A few moments later she smiled brokenly and set the flower to rest against the base of the headstone.

"I know... I'm overreacting a bit,” she mumbled. “It's not too bad, I guess. We can still talk...” She sighed after a moment of silence and gazed back out at the sunset, now diminishing into a deep bluish-purple and signaling the end of the day. Another breeze blew past and she chuckled, leaning back on her hands.